A ceasefire deal has just been reached.

In the past, Israelis have been united in elation and relief about the return of hostages, even at a high cost to national security. But not this time. Far-right MKs and ultranationalists had vigorously decried the deal, protesting any concession that would allow Hamas to hold on to power, no matter how small. What is behind their bitter dissent, and will this deepen rifts in Israeli society?

In this episode, recorded as the deal was still being finalized, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi consider closure, family loyalty, and the basic value of derech eretz (common decency) in negotiating the return of the hostages, and why the lens for ultranationalists in Israel is so starkly different.

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Israelis often speak proudly about their army’s rigorous moral standards. But after falling prey to the barbaric massacre by Hamas on October 7, national security has become top of mind for many Israelis while topics like Gazan civilian casualties are avoided. Are these two values—morality and survival—mutually exclusive?

This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi tackle the state of moral discourse in Israel, international criticism of the war, and the troubling relationship between victimhood and brutality.

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Most Israelis want a comprehensive hostage deal but seem unwilling to call out actions by Netanyahu which have sabotaged negotiation efforts with Hamas. Have Israel’s citizens become complacent?

This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi diagnose Israelis’ passivity in the face of deeply unpopular government decisions and their reluctance to consider the future of Gazans or of Palestinians in general.

This episode is sponsored by Lois Kohn-Claar and Gary Claar.

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What is Hanukkah? A military victory by Maccabean heroes? A miracle of light in the darkest of times? This year it’s something more complicated.

In this episode Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi consider how Hanukkah’s classical Zionist narrative of power and sovereignty was challenged by October 7th, and how the Festival of Lights has changed again after Israel’s recent war victories.

This episode is sponsored by Lois Kohn-Claar and Gary Claar.

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Now that Israel has succeeded in defeating the Iranian axis on its borders, Netanyahu—and Hamas—seem earnest about a ceasefire deal. Can all the hostages and the remains of those deceased be returned? And how will Israelis heal from the lingering trauma of October 7th?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi consider the harsh likelihood of a partial hostage deal and analyze how Ben Gvir and Netanyahu are jockeying for the hearts of Israelis as the war winds down.

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Less than two weeks after Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal, the Assad regime in Syria was overthrown by rebel militias and Hamas is showing more openness to a hostage deal than ever before. As Iran’s siege along the borders of Israel unravels, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi ask in this episode: are Israelis ready for the war to wrap up? They discuss the new geopolitical reality in the region, the success of the judicial system in bringing Netanyahu to trial, and the fate of Gaza post-war in the minds of Israelis who are deeply divided.

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What is motivating Netanyahu’s coalition government to undermine Israel’s democratic checks and balances, even as a ceasefire with Hamas becomes a serious possibility?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine how the Jewish State’s early decades under Labor Party rule influenced the current government’s actions, and explore how Israel can heal from deepening partisan rifts.

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On Tuesday, November 26, Netanyahu signed a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. Why, after all this time stalling on a deal with Hamas—with hostages on the line—has the Prime Minister pursued this separate arrangement in Lebanon?

In this episode recorded hours before the agreement was reached, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi debated Netanyahu’s motives for the deal, and what it will mean for the fate of Gaza, the unretrieved hostages, and the psyche of Israelis who have endured over a year of war.

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Dozens of hostages are still struggling to survive in captivity under terrible conditions, 410 days after the war in Gaza began. On this episode of For Heaven’s Sake, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine the ways that the hostages have been neglected and used as political pawns as they advocate for the prioritization of their return.

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On Thursday, November 7, Israeli soccer fans were beaten and harassed by hordes of masked assailants on the streets of Amsterdam, followed by calls for a “Jew hunt” on social media.

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi discuss the shockwave this sent to Israelis about traveling abroad, Jewish vulnerability, and how a reemergence of violent antisemitism in post-Holocaust Europe could have occurred.

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