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You are listening to an art media podcast.
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It's Thursday, june 11th. This episode was recorded at 9:00pm new york time on Wednesday. I'm deborah pardes and this is arc news daily. Trump is losing patience with Iran and now he's negotiating with bombs The US Struck Iran for the second night in a row yesterday. Central Command confirmed it launched what it called self defense strikes on multiple targets in Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced it in advance from CENTCOM headquarters in Florida.
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Because Iran has a chance to make a good deal, a great deal to codify what they said they've been willing to do and they haven't been willing to do it. So. So they're going to have bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the United States of America.
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The latest round of fighting started on Monday when an Iranian drone brought down a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. The US Struck Iranian air defenses in southern Iran. Iran then fired back, launching missiles and drones at US Military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. The backdrop to it all is nearly two weeks of silence from Iran. According to Axios, in late May, Trump was close to an agreement, but then decided to send Iran two new requests, one about diluting its enriched uranium and another to stop tolling ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's foreign minister asked for a few days to respond. That turned into nearly two weeks of nothing, while Trump faced criticism for being unable to close the deal. Yesterday, Trump accused Iran of playing us for suckers and said that they had taken too long to negotiate. U.S. officials say the strikes are not meant to restart the war, but to force Iran back to the table. Still, they expect Iran to retaliate. Iran says they will. Their president called Trump's threats a sign of desperation, not strength. With the standoff still in place, a delegation from Qatar is in Iran right now to try to get the negotiations back on track. Yesterday, the ultra orthodox fight against the draft played out on two fronts at once. On the streets and inside the Knesset. On the street, the extremist group Jerusalem faction blocked vehicles at four detention facilities across the country. Their goal was to stop the transfer of 19 yeshiva students into military custody for dodging the draft. Police moved in to disperse the crowds. Three protesters were arrested for rioting and attacking officers. Now, this came about a week after a mob descended on the home of Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Solberg. He's one of the court's most senior justices and a member of the bench that issued the 2024 ruling striking down the ultra orthodox draft exemption. The rioters destroyed Solberg's car and smashed the windows of his home while he and his family were inside. The police described it as a secretive, organized operation and said it was a serious criminal event with real intent to harm on the second front Inside the Knesset, there was a fight over a bill. The bill was designed to protect ultra Orthodox men from evading the draft. The original version would have formally equated yeshiva students with IDF soldiers giving draft evaders the same legal rights and benefits as people who actually serve. That language was stripped out before the vote after several lawmakers threatened to vote against it. Instead, lawmakers passed a version that would enshrine Torah study in Israel's Basic law. Israel doesn't have a formal constitution, but basic laws carry special legal weight and are much harder to overturn. The bill states that anyone who devotes themselves to studying the Torah performs a, quote, significant service to the state and to the Jewish people. Critics say the phrasing is softer than the original language but still designed to give ultra Orthodox men the same protections. Both the fight over the bill and the protests show just how far the ultra Orthodox are willing to go to resist the draft and how much political cover they still have from the top of the government. So far, Israel's prime minister has remained silent on both the protests and the latest bill. Netanyahu seems to be making a political calculation that he can maintain his alliance with the ultra orthodox no matter how unpopular their position is, because his opposition has an even worse problem. Their coalition is dependent on support from the Arab parties who are also unpopular. Netanyahu is betting that an opposition with Arab support will be a harder sell to swing voters than his own alliance with the ultra Orthodox. The upcoming election will show if the voters agree. In the meantime, the bill still needs a committee review and three more readings before it becomes law.
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If you give me the chance, I will be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator.
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Democrats from Maine voted in the primaries yesterday and Graham Platner won by a landslide. Platner is a 41 year old Marine veteran and oyster farmer from a small coastal town. He ran as a populist progressive taking on the billionaire class. He's also against the war with Iran and promises Medicare for all. The tally so far has him winning with 72% of the vote. That's despite his controversial past. Platner had a Nazi SS tattoo on his chest for nearly two decades. He claims that he didn't know what it was. His wife also confirmed that after the they got married. He had sent sexually explicit texts to other women. The day before the primary, his own former campaign director published an op ed in the Washington Post saying he, quote, shouldn't be a U.S. senator. Platner is a polarizing figure. For many American Jews, there's the Nazi tattoo, but also because he's a critic of AIPAC's influence on American politics and has called for ending support to Israel. But he's different from someone like Amir Makled. Makled is a Democrat from Michigan who ran for a seat on the Board of Regents. His campaign was based almost entirely on his opposition to Israel and his work defending pro Palestinian protesters for Makhlid hostility to Israel was the whole campaign. For Platner, it's one part of a broader economic and anti war message. He will run against Republican Susan Collins in the November election. The seat could decide which party controls the Senate. Collins is seen as an establishment candidate and has the support of pro Israel donors. That could put the fight over Israel and antisemitism at the center of one of the most consequential races this year. I'm Deborah Pardes and this is ARC News Daily. See you tomorrow.
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Hi, I'm Dan Senor, host of the Call Me Back podcast. These past few years have asked a lot of the Jewish world. We've been wrestling with pain, disagreement and dilemmas. The war in Gaza, the war with Iran, the pressure on Jewish communities in diaspora societies. And the upcoming Israeli elections, which may bring many of these tensions to a head. These are not simple stories. And in a moment filled with bad information and overly simplistic answers, it can be hard to know who to trust. At CallMeBack, we know that trust has to be earned and we know your time is valuable. So when you spend it with us, we take that seriously. We don't claim to have all the answers, but we do try to ask better questions with honesty and humility. And maybe that is where hope begins. Not in pretending this moment is simple, but but in believing at a minimum, we must face it together. You can find Call me back on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you there.
Date: June 11, 2026
Host: Deborah Pardes
Theme: This episode covers escalating US-Iran military action, the geopolitical and Jewish community impacts, Israel’s ongoing ultra-Orthodox draft crisis, and the implications of a political upset in Maine’s Senate Democratic primary.
Main Story:
Key Context:
Notable Insights & Quotes:
“Iran has a chance to make a good deal, a great deal... So they're going to have bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the United States of America.” ([00:47])
"Trump is losing patience with Iran and now he's negotiating with bombs." ([00:13]) “Trump accused Iran of playing us for suckers and said that they had taken too long to negotiate.” ([01:00])
Diplomatic Moves:
Timestamps:
Street Protests and Knesset Showdown:
Recent Background:
Legislative Battle:
Notable Quotes:
"Both the fight over the bill and the protests show just how far the ultra Orthodox are willing to go to resist the draft and how much political cover they still have from the top of the government." ([04:40]) “Netanyahu seems to be making a political calculation that he can maintain his alliance with the ultra orthodox no matter how unpopular their position is, because his opposition has an even worse problem.” ([05:00])
Political Calculations:
Election Impact:
Timestamps:
The New Populist Progressive:
Controversies Explored:
Contrasts:
General Election Stakes:
Notable Quotes:
“If you give me the chance, I will be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator.” ([05:17])
"For many American Jews, there's the Nazi tattoo, but also because he's a critic of AIPAC's influence on American politics and has called for ending support to Israel." ([05:26])
"That could put the fight over Israel and antisemitism at the center of one of the most consequential races this year." ([07:13])
Timestamps:
This episode deftly captures the geopolitical and domestic crosscurrents shaping both Middle Eastern conflict and Jewish life. It examines how military escalation is used as a negotiation tactic, reveals the persistence of Israel’s internal cultural rifts, and explores how US electoral politics intersect with global Jewish concerns. The reporting is brisk, clear, and punctuated by memorable, sometimes sharp language from both policymakers and the host.