Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz's Amira Hass to discuss the recent demonstrations in the Palestinian territories and the Palestinian Authority's violent repression of those protests. We ask: What role does the Israeli occupation play in Mahmoud Abbas' ability to crush dissent? How is the Palestinian national struggle also a struggle for democracy? And why are Palestinian security forces targeting women?

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz's <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/WRITER-1.4968114">Amira Hass</a> to discuss the<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-confident-of-support-from-the-west-the-pa-suppresses-protests-violently-1.9946744"> recent demonstrations</a> in the Palestinian territories and the Palestinian Authority's <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-death-of-an-abbas-opponent-in-palestinian-detention-stokes-revulsion-toward-his-rule-1.9941098">violent repression</a> of those protests. We ask: What role does the Israeli occupation play in Mahmoud Abbas' ability to crush dissent? How is the Palestinian national struggle also a struggle for democracy? And why are Palestinian security forces <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-as-palestinians-protest-death-of-an-abbas-opponent-women-are-assaulted-in-response-1.9966244">targeting women</a>?

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Your audio guide to Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Haaretz Podcast

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

How Israel, Fatah and the PA join forces to silence Palestinian protest: LISTEN to Amira Hass

In this special edition of the Haaretz Podcast, recorded during the first hours of the dramatic joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, and as Tehran began its retaliatory strikes on Israel and on U.S. targets across the Middle East, Haaretz senior analyst Amos Harel joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer for a real-time update and discussion.

"The stakes are much higher than last time," Harel said, referring to the 12 day Israel-Iran war in June 2025. For Israelis, "there is a certain amount of danger," although it is impossible to say at this point how hard the country will be hit by Iran and its proxies. For Iranians, "this is going to get messy and bloody," not only because of the military strikes, but also because of growing clashes between government forces and those hoping to throw over the regime. 

In this special edition of the Haaretz Podcast, recorded during the first hours of the dramatic joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, and as Tehran began its retaliatory strikes on Israel and on U.S. targets across the Middle East, Haaretz senior analyst&nbsp;Amos Harel joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer for a real-time update and discussion.
"The stakes are much higher than last time," Harel said, referring to the 12 day Israel-Iran war in June 2025. For Israelis, "there is a certain amount of danger," although it is impossible to say at this point how hard the country will be hit by Iran and its proxies. For Iranians, "this is going to get messy and bloody," not only because of the military strikes, but also because of growing clashes between government forces and those hoping to throw over the regime.&nbsp;

Breaking news podcast: Inside the high-stakes U.S.-Israel attack on Iran | Haaretz defense analyst Amos Harel

For Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, the financial support and professional opportunities afforded by her fellowship at the Wexner Foundation, which plugged her into a network of the “the most powerful Jewish professionals in the country,” were substantial. 

But as a feminist rabbi whose most recent book is titled “On Repentance and Repair,” she felt she could not ignore the disturbing reality of the close personal and financial ties between Leslie Wexner, the benefactor of the foundation, and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, she tells the Haaretz Podcast.

In a personal act of accountability and repentance, in 2019, Ruttenberg – “shocked, disturbed and unsettled” by the early revelations regarding Epstein and Wexner – donated the funds she took from the foundation to an organization confronting sexual violence and challenged others to take similar steps. 

There was little reaction to her call at the time. Now, with new details revealed in the Department of Justice release of the Epstein files, she says “my only regret is not speaking out earlier and more forcefully, no matter the cost.” 

She warned that “when we try to pretend that none of this is happening, we feed every conspiracy theory. And when we say that who matters are raped children, and when we center the people who are harmed, and when we live the values of our Torah and of every other teaching that we claim is holy, then we dispel those theories, because we become the people who we are supposed to be … the people who are living our values.”

Read more: 

Island Visit, NYC Flat and 'Belarusian Girls': Ex-Israel PM Ehud Barak Addresses Jeffrey Epstein Ties

The Ferrari, the Meetings and 'The Redhead': Latest Jeffrey Epstein Files Reveal Ties With Popular Israeli-American Researcher Dan Ariely

Memorializing Jeffrey Epstein? Pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 Confuses Convicted Sex Offender With Beloved Israeli Singer

Life After Harvard: What's in Store for Wexner Foundation's Israeli Leaders Program?

From 2020: Wexner Foundation Named After Billionaire Philanthropist Distancing Itself From Founder

For Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, the financial support and professional opportunities afforded by her fellowship at the Wexner Foundation, which plugged her into a network of the &ldquo;the most powerful Jewish professionals in the country,&rdquo; were substantial.&nbsp;
But as a feminist rabbi whose most recent book is titled &ldquo;On Repentance and Repair,&rdquo; she felt she could not ignore the disturbing reality of the close personal and financial ties between Leslie Wexner, the benefactor of the foundation, and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, she tells the Haaretz Podcast.
In a personal act of accountability and repentance, in 2019, Ruttenberg &ndash; &ldquo;shocked, disturbed and unsettled&rdquo; by the early revelations regarding Epstein and Wexner &ndash; donated the funds she took from the foundation to an organization confronting sexual violence and challenged others to take similar steps.&nbsp;
There was little reaction to her call at the time. Now, with new details revealed in the Department of Justice release of the Epstein files, she says &ldquo;my only regret is not speaking out earlier and more forcefully, no matter the cost.&rdquo;&nbsp;
She warned that &ldquo;when we try to pretend that none of this is happening, we feed every conspiracy theory. And when we say that who matters are raped children, and when we center the people who are harmed, and when we live the values of our Torah and of every other teaching that we claim is holy, then we dispel those theories, because we become the people who we are supposed to be &hellip; the people who are living our values.&rdquo;
Read more:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-politics/2026-02-13/ty-article/ex-israel-pm-ehud-barak-addresses-jeffrey-epstein-ties/0000019c-576c-d5d5-a5fc-ffeeb0af0000">Island Visit, NYC Flat and 'Belarusian Girls': Ex-Israel PM Ehud Barak Addresses Jeffrey Epstein Ties</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2026-02-10/ty-article/.premium/epstein-files-reveal-ties-with-popular-israeli-american-researcher-dan-ariely/0000019c-47f6-d8d9-adfd-4ff65aeb0000">The Ferrari, the Meetings and 'The Redhead':&nbsp;Latest Jeffrey Epstein Files Reveal Ties With Popular Israeli-American Researcher Dan Ariely</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/2026-02-08/ty-article/.premium/pro-netanyahu-channel-14-posts-epstein-mugshot-in-tribute-to-beloved-israeli-singer/0000019c-3d85-dfa4-a5bc-3dd7d2a90000">Memorializing Jeffrey Epstein? Pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 Confuses Convicted Sex Offender With Beloved Israeli Singer</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-06-13/ty-article/.premium/life-after-harvard-where-is-wexner-foundations-israeli-leaders-program-heading/00000190-113e-db28-a995-55bf25940000">Life After Harvard: What's in Store for Wexner Foundation's Israeli Leaders Program?</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2020-07-19/ty-article/.premium/wexner-foundation-named-after-jewish-philanthropist-distancing-itself-from-founder/0000017f-ef74-d0f7-a9ff-eff509520000">From 2020: Wexner Foundation Named After Billionaire Philanthropist Distancing Itself From Founder</a>

'The Jewish community still thinks there's a technical fix to the Epstein scandal'

When an ultra-Orthodox mob attacked two women soldiers in the city of Bnei Brak earlier this week, Israelis were shocked and horrified. 

But for Uri Keidar, CEO of Free Israel, this violent expression of ultra-Orthodox opposition to being drafted into the military did not come as a surprise. 

“It’s not the first violent occurrence we have seen, and unfortunately, it probably also won't be the last incident. But it's definitely a sad moment for us as a country,” Keidar said, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. 

As the Netanyahu government continues to seek a way to pass legislation exempting tens of thousands of able-bodied ultra-Orthodox men from mandatory military service in order to preserve their political coalition, Keidar sees the country at a “historic” crossroads in which Israelis will stand up and refuse to let it happen. 

“It's a very basic idea, I think, that the law applies to everyone,” he said on the podcast. In a post-October 7 reality alongside the IDF in a manpower crisis, he said, “the Israeli public just will not accept the fact” that “there are tens of thousands of young haredi men who are totally healthy, who can join the IDF at any given moment, and are refusing to do so.”

That refusal, he said, represents the country’s “biggest civil disobedience movement since its history” and Israelis “from the right, left and center” are uniting to oppose it.

Read more:

Explained: The Military Conscription Bill Driving Riots in Haredi Cities

Overturned Cars, Motorcycles on Fire: Police Arrest 26 in Haredi Riot Sparked When Two IDF Soldiers Visit Bnei Brak

Bnei Brak Riots Break From Ideology and Become an Outlet for Aimless Rage

Israel Police Tells IDF They Will Not Assist in Arrest of ultra-Orthodox Draft Dodgers

When an ultra-Orthodox mob attacked two women soldiers in the city of Bnei Brak earlier this week, Israelis were shocked and horrified.&nbsp;
But for&nbsp;Uri Keidar, CEO of Free Israel, this violent expression of ultra-Orthodox opposition to being drafted into the military did not come as a surprise.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not the first violent occurrence we have seen, and unfortunately, it probably also won't be the last incident. But it's definitely a sad moment for us as a country,&rdquo; Keidar said, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.&nbsp;
As the Netanyahu government continues to seek a way to pass legislation exempting tens of thousands of able-bodied ultra-Orthodox men from mandatory military service in order to preserve their political coalition, Keidar sees the country at a &ldquo;historic&rdquo; crossroads in which Israelis will stand up and refuse to let it happen.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It's a very basic idea, I think, that the law applies to everyone,&rdquo; he said on the podcast. In a post-October 7 reality alongside the IDF in a manpower crisis, he said, &ldquo;the Israeli public just will not accept the fact&rdquo; that &ldquo;there are tens of thousands of young haredi men who are totally healthy, who can join the IDF at any given moment, and are refusing to do so.&rdquo;
That refusal, he said, represents the country&rsquo;s &ldquo;biggest civil disobedience movement since its history&rdquo; and Israelis &ldquo;from the right, left and center&rdquo; are uniting to oppose it.
Read more:
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-politics/2026-02-19/ty-article-magazine/.premium/explained-deserters-and-dodgers-what-led-to-a-violent-haredi-riot-this-week-in-israel/0000019c-6dd8-d759-a7bf-ffdaca610000">Explained:&nbsp;The Military Conscription Bill&nbsp;Driving Riots in Haredi Cities</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-politics/2026-02-15/ty-article/.premium/police-arrest-22-in-haredi-riot-sparked-when-two-idf-soldiers-visit-bnei-brak/0000019c-616b-d468-adbf-e9eb46ac0000">Overturned Cars, Motorcycles on Fire:&nbsp;Police Arrest 26 in Haredi Riot Sparked When Two IDF Soldiers Visit Bnei Brak</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2026-02-16/ty-article-magazine/.premium/bnei-brak-riots-break-from-ideology-and-become-an-outlet-for-aimless-rage/0000019c-6703-de36-a19f-ef8f468f0000">Bnei Brak Riots&nbsp;Break From Ideology and Become an Outlet for Aimless Rage</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-02-01/ty-article/.premium/israel-police-tells-idf-they-will-not-assist-in-arrest-of-ultra-orthodox-draft-dodgers/0000019c-19a7-df12-abdc-3fff589b0000">Israel Police Tells IDF They Will Not Assist in Arrest of ultra-Orthodox Draft Dodgers</a>

How Israel, Fatah and the PA join forces to silence Palestinian protest: LISTEN to Amira Hass

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