Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

On Sunday evening in Israel, after 471 days in captivity, three hostages — Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher  — were released from Gaza and returned home to Israel, as a ceasefire in Gaza went into effect. 

There has been speculation as to why this deal was agreed upon now, and about whether January 19th effectively marked the end of the Gaza war. And more than anything, there is palpable anxiety about the fate of the remaining hostages. 

To take in this moment and unpack these questions about what comes next, we are joined by Yossi Klein Halevi and Wendy Singer.

Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Yossi has written a number of books, including his latest, "Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor," which was a New York Times bestseller. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Times of Israel. He is co-host of "For Heaven's Sake" podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-heavens-sake/id1522222281

Yossi Klein Halevi's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001IXOA04

Wendy Singer was the professional founder of Start-Up Nation Central (SNC), where she served as Executive Director for nine years. Wendy currently serves as a strategic advisor to select Israeli start-ups and NGOs, including the National Library of Israel. Before joining Israel’s tech scene, she spent sixteen years as Head of AIPAC’s Israel office. Wendy is a board member of the Shalom Hartman Institute; and a Trustee of the Russell Berrie Foundation. 

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

After fifteen months of war, and months of on-again, off-again negotiations, Israel and Hamas have reached a hostage deal, which is set to take effect this upcoming Sunday. 

What are the key points of the deal? What should we expect - or brace for - as hostages return home to Israel? And - will this deal mean the end of the war? 

To take in this historic development, and to help us understand all the above questions, we welcome back Nadav Eyal to the podcast. 

Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

As we wait in anticipation of a hostage deal, we welcome President Trump’s incoming National Security Adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, to the podcast, to discuss the possible hostage deal, and his thoughts on the U.S.-Israel relationship. 

Congressman Mike Waltz is a Colonel (Ret.) in the National Guard, and the first Green Beret to be elected to Congress. He worked on counter-terrorism in the Bush White House and was a policy advisor at the Pentagon, serving under Secretaries Rumsfeld and Gates, and a Congressman from Florida. As President Trump is sworn in as president - this upcoming Monday, January 20th, inauguration day - so will Mike Waltz, as the president’s National Security Advisor. 

Mike graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with Honors and served 27 years in the U.S. Army and National Guard. After being commissioned as an Army lieutenant, Mike graduated Ranger School and was selected for the elite Green Berets, serving worldwide as a Special Forces officer with multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. For his actions in combat, Mike was awarded four Bronze Stars, including two for Valor. 

Mike is the author of the books, “Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan”: https://a.co/d/18NEaB0 , and “Hard Truths: Think and Lead Like a Green Beret”: https://a.co/d/c0lnM9B

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

The collapse of Assad’s regime in Syria has created a new geopolitical reality, in which Turkey has emerged as a dominant regional power, both militarily and diplomatically. For Israel, this new reality entails certain risks, but also opportunities for cooperation?

What is Turkey’s next move - and what are Erdogan’s ambitions? And how is Israel preparing for this new order? 

To help us understand, our guests are Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak and Call me Back regular Nadav Eyal. 

Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, who moved to Israel from Turkey, is a researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, and an expert on contemporary Turkish politics and society. Yanarocak is the editor of Turkeyscope, and a member of the Middle East Network Analysis Desk. He is a frequent guest on Israeli media, where he regularly appears to discuss contemporary Turkish issues. 

Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

Yesterday in Washington D.C., former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service was held at the National Cathedral. 

The former president’s post-presidential legacy has had a lasting impact on today’s Middle East. President Carter was known for brokering the Egypt-Israel peace treaty between Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, which has lasted over four decades. However, he was also the first national leader of his stature to openly embrace Hamas, to accuse Israel of “apartheid”, and to legitimize Hamas’s slaughtering of Jews through suicide bombings and other forms of terrorism, during and following the Second Intifada. 

How did President Carter go from an engaged diplomat working for peace between Israel and Egypt to championing Hamas and its narrative of Israeli “apartheid”? 

To discuss the paradox of President Carter when it comes to Israel, and his impact on current day events in the Middle East, our guest is Ken Stein. 

Dr. Kenneth W. Stein is Emeritus Emory Professor of Middle Eastern History and Israel studies where he taught from 1977-2024.  Early in the 1980s, he led  the Middle East Program of the Carter Center, which included multiple trips to the region with the Carters, writing a book with him, and  providing monthly analyses to the former president. In 1998, Ken established the first Israel Studies Center in North America and founded the Center for Israel Education in 2008.

Pertinent to this interview, are his 1999 publication, Heroic Diplomacy: Sadat, Kissinger, Carter, Begin and the Quest for Arab-0Israeli Peace  and a personal collection of the hundreds of hours of conversations he had with Carter over a twenty year span.  He is also the author with Ambassador Samuel Lewis,  “Making Peace Among Arabs and Israelis: Lessons from Fifty Years of Negotiating Experience”,  https://www.amazon.com/Making-peace-among-Arabs-Israelis/dp/B002X78MGW [amazon.com]

Book discussed in this episode: https://tinyurl.com/4h7pmwzf

Recent article by Ken Stein: https://m.jpost.com/international/article-835320

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr8LqOg69K8

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit:  https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

A few days ago, we all learned of new details and viewed footage from one of Israel's most high-risk and complex commando operations. The operation was a covert mission conducted by the IDF on September 8, 2024, targeting an underground missile production facility near Masyaf, Syria. The facility, associated with Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center, was reportedly on the verge of producing precision-guided missiles with ranges of up to 300 kilometers, intended to be supplied to Hezbollah for use against Israel. 

To unpack what exactly happened in this operation to neutralize this Iranian/Syrian facility — and the implications for Israel’s broader war with Iran — we are joined by Nadav Eyal. 

Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

🔗 Watch video episodes of Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

🔗 Visit our website to sign up for updates, access transcripts and more: https://arkmedia.org/

🔗 Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

🔗 Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

The string of Israeli successes against Hezbollah — culminating in the killing of Hassan Nasrallah — last September was partly the work of Israeli military and intelligence agencies infiltrating Hezbollah’s networks, planting booby-trapped communication devices, and tracking the leaders’ movements to dismantle the group's military capabilities. This campaign crippled Hezbollah by also destroying thousands of missiles and disrupting its leadership, delivering a blow to Iran’s regional strategy. 

An investigative report recently published by the New York Times delves into how deeply Israeli intelligence had penetrated Hezbollah ranks. Our guest today is one of the report’s authors: Ronen Bergman. 

Ronen Bergman is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and Senior Correspondent for Military and Intelligence Affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli daily. Ronen has won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the Israel-Hamas war and the pre-war intelligence failures. 

The New York Times’ investigative report, co-authored by Ronen: “Behind the Dismantling of Hezbollah: Decades of Israeli Intelligence” - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/29/world/middleeast/israel-hezbollah-nasrallah-assassination-intelligence.html

🔗 Subscribe to watch video episodes of Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

🔗 Visit our website to sign up for updates, access transcripts and more: https://arkmedia.org/

🔗 Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

🔗 Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

Last Thursday, The New York Times published a long investigative piece titled “Israel Loosened Its Rules to Bomb Hamas Fighters, Killing Many More Civilians”. The article tries to identify an unprecedented shift in the IDF’s military strategy and rules of engagement during its response to Hamas’s October 7 invasion, and reports on the impact on Palestinian civilians, including a substantial increase in risk to Palestinian civilians. 

To discuss the ethics of Israel fighting a just war justly, to help us unpack and respond to the key charges in the Times investigation, and to briefly reflect on the (post-presidential) legacy of President Jimmy Carter, we welcome back to the podcast, Yossi Klein Halevi, who is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Yossi has written a number of books, including his latest, "Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor," which was a New York Times bestseller. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Times of Israel. He is co-host of "For Heaven's Sake" podcast.

Yossi Klein Halevi's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001IXOA04

Articles discussed in this episode: 

“Israel Loosened Its Rules to Bomb Hamas Fighters, Killing Many More Civilians” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-bombing.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&tgrp=sty&pvid=1FCD1780-A3CA-40EB-BBFF-99870A87D46E

“Teens forced to perform sexual acts on each other: Report to UN details Hamas torture” https://www.timesofisrael.com/teens-forced-to-perform-sexual-acts-on-each-other-report-to-un-details-hamas-torture/

“Jimmy Carter, friend of dictators and champion of terrorists” 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3181150/jimmy-carter-friend-dictators-and-champion-terrorists/

🔗Subscribe to watch video episodes of Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

🔗Visit our website to sign up for updates, access transcripts and more: https://arkmedia.org/

🔗Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

🔗Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

On thousands of street corners in Israel today, there are banners that read: “bring the hostages back from the darkness.” It’s excruciating to think that this is the second Hanukkah since October 7th with hostages still in Gaza. 

For today’s episode, we will be replaying an episode from a conversation I had with Haviv Rettig Gur during the 4th day of the pause in fighting during the last (and, to date, only) hostage deal, while hostages were being returned to Israel, back in November 2023. As Haviv put it  in this conversation, it had been the first time since October 7 that he could “breathe”. It’s a feeling that we can pray will be alive again soon. 

This replay episode is one way to reflect on where we were a year ago, and where we are now. Today, Hamas is only more desperate and Israel’s geopolitical and military position in the Middle East has never been stronger. There is a lot of analysis in this conversation with Haviv that is relevant to the hostage negotiations occurring right now.

Over the past week, we have seen headline after headline, indicating that Israel and Hamas appear to be closer than ever to a ceasefire and hostage deal. 

According to reports, the agreement would take place in phases, and would include a halt in fighting, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in aid to Gaza. The final phase would include the release of any remaining hostages, an end to the war and talks on reconstruction. 

How legitimate are these reports - is this for real? What political conditions, both in Israel and among key players in these negotiations, could allow for such a deal to be finalized? 

To help us understand, and to briefly discuss the recent Houthi attacks, Nadav Eyal returns to the podcast. 

Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

Was 1929 a harbinger of October 7th, 2023?

August 23rd, 1929, nearly 100 years ago, marks the day of what is referred to in history as the 1929 Arab Riots: a wave of pogroms waged against the Jews living in British Mandatory Palestine. These pogroms began in Jerusalem and quickly spread to other cities and towns, including Hebron, Safed, Jaffa, and Haifa. The riots had largely subsided by August 29th, after 113 Jews were murdered. 

Just a few months ago, we at Call me Back released a special series of episodes wherein we spoke with thought leaders about the lasting impact of October 7th on Israelis, on Jews, and on the geopolitics of the Middle East and beyond. (Watch the special series here on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiYCxMRIBxFoxg8e8Efe0Rz5DZv7VXQeQ)

Today, we examine the 1929 Arab Riots taking a broad view at how they shaped the following 100 years. 

Our guest is Yardena Schwartz, author of the recently published book: “Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict” - a meticulously researched work that examines the 1929 Hebron massacre, where nearly 70 Jewish residents were killed by their Arab neighbors and friends, and that explores its impact on the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

Yardena Schwartz is an award-winning journalist, an  Emmy-nominated producer, and author of “Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict.” Her reporting from four continents has been published in dozens of publications, including the New York Times, New York Review of Books, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Time, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, and Foreign Policy. She has also worked at NBC News, and she reported from Israel for 10 years. 

Yardena’s newly released book, “Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli conflict”: https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Holy-War-Palestine-Arab-Israeli/dp/145494921X

Pre-order the audiobook here: https://tinyurl.com/hwphyrp4

Video on the seven American hostages held in Gaza: http://pic.x.com/pkUKmtYrQW