This special episode of the Haaretz Podcast features two of the standout sessions from the recent Haaretz-UCLA conference: Israel After October 7
First, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman sits down with Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn to discuss the “perils” and “opportunities” that lie ahead for Israel in the aftermath of the war in Gaza.
Friedman predicts that "Israel is either going to come out of this with a new relationship with the Palestinians in 2024” or will “go back to 1947-48 with new weapons,” if it fails to develop a coherent vision for the future of Gaza and a wider strategic plan for the region.
The latter option, he fears, becomes increasingly likely the longer that the extreme right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - a group of “incompetent” ministers he would not want “as waiters at my grandson’s bar mitzvah” remains in power.
Then, Haaretz diplomatic correspondent Amir Tibon and his father retired Major General Noam Tibon join deputy editor-in-chief of Haaretz English, Maya Lecker, to recount the dramatic episode on October 7 when armed Hamas militants infiltrated Kibbutz Nahal Oz, where Amir lives. He, his wife, and their two little girls spent tense hours locked in their safe room without food or electricity, before Amir's father undertook what he called "the mission of his life" and drove south in a daring campaign to rescue them on his own.
"On the morning of October 8, I said that everyone responsible for this failure, the biggest failure in the history of the state of Israel, needs to go," Noam Tibon said, echoing Thomas Friedman's message - that Israel needs a change in leadership. "The leadership of the IDF, the Shin Bet – they took responsibility and I know they will go. All of the government too. But the first one who needs to take responsibility is Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister. I believe that Netanyahu is personally in charge of this failure, he basically developed Hamas as an asset. He needs to go as soon as possible."
The entire conference is available for viewing on YouTube here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aluf Benn: 'Israel's far right sees a chance to drive out hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza'
'Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony exemplifies what the day after the Gaza war could look like'
'Biden is willing to sacrifice reelection for Israel. That's shocking, heartbreaking and dangerous'
'The campus wars over Gaza suck. But they are not a violent, antisemitic nightmare'
'Young U.S. Jews believe Judaism is about social justice. They ask, does Israel stand for that?'
'If One of Those Missiles Hit Tel Aviv We Would Be in a Very Different, Devastating Situation'
'U.S. military aid to Israel is endangered. More people will say it should be cut'
'Ultra-Orthodox Israelis are at the peak of their power and they don't pay a price in war'
'The more oppression there is, the more younger Arabs in Israel prefer to identify as Palestinians'
Tony Kushner: Israel's Gaza war 'looks a lot like ethnic cleansing to me'
Franklin Foer: 'Simplistic moralism is dividing the world into good and evil, and placing Jews on the side of evil'
'Netanyahu wants the world to accuse Israel of genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing'
Former PM Olmert: 'Netanyahu’s overconfidence and arrogance led to October 7'
'Israelis are rejecting Netanyahu. That doesn't mean they are embracing left-wing views'
'This is not our first war, but it's the first war we've seen Israel's credit rating drop'
Israel's former head of military intelligence: 'If we don't offer an alternative, we'll end up with Hamas again'
Rallying for democracy, calling to free hostages: Where Israel's protest movements stand
The ugly price Israel will pay for the decision-making failures that led to October 7
'Can Netanyahu be ousted?' and other burning questions from Haaretz readers
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