The biggest story in Israel in recent weeks has been the alleged use of Pegasus spyware by the Israeli police against journalists, directors of government ministries, witnesses in the Netanyahu trial and other civilians. But did it really happen, or is the entire situation one big conspiracy theory? And what lessons can democratic governments learn from Israel's spyware scandal?

To answer these questions, our guests on this week's episode are Haaretz cybertech editor Omer Benjakob and Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, a senior fellow at the Israeli Democracy Institute and an expert on law and technology. They also explain how Israel used Pegasus and similar cyberweaponry for foreign policy purposes, and what you, the listener, can do to find out if your phone has been hacked. Listen to their full conversation with host Amir Tibon.

The biggest story in Israel in recent weeks has been the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-former-israeli-police-chief-we-don-t-have-pegasus-someone-will-pay-for-reports-1.10609737">alleged use</a>&nbsp;of Pegasus spyware by the Israeli police against journalists, directors of government ministries, witnesses in the Netanyahu trial and other civilians. But did it really happen, or is the entire situation one big&nbsp;<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-either-israel-police-or-nso-story-source-is-lying-time-to-find-out-who-1.10611745">conspiracy theory</a>? And what lessons can democratic governments learn from Israel's spyware scandal?
To answer these questions, our guests on this week's episode are Haaretz cybertech editor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-nso-rogue-pegasus-spyware-for-private-ops-1.10608704">Omer Benjakob</a>&nbsp;and Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, a senior fellow at the Israeli Democracy Institute and an expert on law and technology. They also explain how Israel used Pegasus and similar cyberweaponry for foreign policy purposes, and what you, the listener, can do to find out if your phone has been hacked. Listen to their full conversation with host&nbsp;<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT.MAGAZINE-we-ll-lose-some-israeli-votes-nixon-said-but-we-kept-our-boys-out-of-there-1.10318946">Amir Tibon</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.

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