Sneak Peek: Nadav Eyal on J.D Vance’s Comments

Summary

Call Me Back – with Dan Senor
Episode: Sneak Peek: Nadav Eyal on J.D. Vance’s Comments
Date: June 20, 2026

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Episode Overview

This members-only sneak peek features journalist and ARC Media contributor Nadav Eyal in conversation with host Dan Senor. Together, they examine the heated political climate in Israel following controversial comments by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and a consequential new Iran deal. The discussion focuses on Israeli reactions—across the political spectrum—to American policy and rhetoric, the fraught state of U.S.-Israel relations, and widespread anxiety among Israelis about their national security and future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Fallout from Vice President J.D. Vance’s Comments

• Context: Vice President Vance publicly criticized Israeli cabinet members for their harsh criticisms of the U.S. administration regarding a new Iran deal.
• Key Quote:
  • “If I was in the Israeli cabinet, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have left.” (Nadav Eyal quoting Vance, [02:24])
• Impact in Israel:
  • Vance’s language is seen as unprecedentedly blunt, causing shock and insecurity among Israelis.
  • Eyal notes that such direct criticism from a U.S. Vice President about Israel is “pretty amazing” and “has not been heard in reference to Israel in many years.” ([02:32])

2. The Iran Deal: Anxiety and Division

• Unexpected Developments:
  • Israelis are unsettled by the sudden announcement of a deal with Iran, perceived as favoring the Iranian regime.
• Defense Establishment Reaction:
  • There’s a widespread perception that the deal was a surprise and potentially harmful to Israel’s security. Military analysts across the political spectrum are pessimistic, with frequent dire push notifications fueling public anxiety.
• Notable Attribution:
  • Nadav Eyal relays the sentiment from an experienced Israeli:
    • “I’m terrified... because it feels like they might not have our backs anymore.” ([05:17])
• Former Intelligence Chief’s Take:
  • Tamir Heyman, ex-head of Israeli military intelligence, is quoted as saying:
    • “If this is the result, we shouldn’t have fought this war to begin with. This is worse than we began with.” ([06:00])

3. Media and Political Fissures Inside Israel

• Right-Wing Media Reaction:
  • Channel 14, a right-wing outlet, is described as feeling “betrayed.” A prominent anchor used an antisemitic slur (“Yehudonim”, translated as "Jewboys") against American Jews involved in the deal negotiation, causing further outrage.
• Netanyahu’s Position:
  • There is speculation but no confirmation that Netanyahu orchestrates these media narratives. Eyal stresses it is not as direct as Netanyahu giving orders, but notes possible indirect influence.

4. Caution Amidst the Clamor

• Deliberation Over Immediate Reaction:
  • Both Dan and Nadav emphasize withholding judgment and not adding to “the hysteria,” expressing the need to evaluate the situation as more information becomes available.
• Expert Insight:
  • Eyal references U.S. and Israeli intelligence skepticism about the Iran deal’s viability, quoting American sources who doubt a substantive agreement with Iran will actually materialize. ([07:00–07:25])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Vice President JD Vance’s warning:

  • “If I was in the Israeli cabinet, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have left.” — relayed by Nadav Eyal ([02:24])

• On Israeli fear and loss of trust:

  • “People are terrified because... push notifications are from one military expert after the other... We are really screwed.” — Nadav Eyal ([05:12])

• Disgust at media bigotry:

  • “He used the term Jewboys... which is in itself an antisemitic hate speech against Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.” — Nadav Eyal ([03:54])

• On national anxiety:

  • “Sometimes anxiety is extremely justified.” — Nadav Eyal ([07:54])

• On responsible analysis:

  • “I myself still did not write anything on my substack because I want to give it time.” — Nadav Eyal ([06:28])

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Key Timestamps

• [02:02–02:30] – Eyal summarizes Vice President Vance’s pointed remarks and the Israeli sense of being “unmoored.”
• [03:50–04:57] – Discussion of Channel 14 anchor’s outrage, “Jewboys” slur, and internal rifts on the Israeli right.
• [05:12–06:05] – Multiple Israeli perspectives on the Iran deal: criticism across the spectrum, national fear, and voices calling the war a mistake if this is the outcome.
• [06:28–07:25] – Dan and Nadav discuss the importance of waiting before reaching conclusions, referencing security expert opinions and U.S. skepticism.
• [07:54] – Eyal articulates the emotional state in Israel: justified anxiety over the state of national security.

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Tone & Language

• The episode maintains a sober, direct tone, combining urgent analysis with a candid airing of Israeli fears and frustrations.
• Nadav Eyal’s comments are measured; he urges a cautious approach while faithfully relaying the grave anxieties expressed by his sources.
• Dan Senor reinforces the value of context and discourages knee-jerk reactions.

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Summary Usefulness:
This episode provides a nuanced, real-time window into the Israeli psyche following provocative U.S. statements and a controversial regional deal. Through direct quotes, contrasting perspectives, and context, listeners gain a clear sense of why this moment feels pivotal—and perilous—to Israelis and the wider Jewish community.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. You are listening to an art media podcast.

[B]

Hi, it's Dan. Over the past couple of years, Call Me Back has grown into something much bigger than we ever expected. A place for clarity, context and honest conversations at a time when those things can seem hard to find. That's what ARC Media is all about. Building a truly independent voice, which means no one shaping what we say or or how we say it. To help support our rapidly expanding operations, we created Inside Call Me Back our members only feed. If Call Me Back has been meaningful to you and you want to be part of what we're building, I hope you'll join us. Your contribution goes a long way in helping us show up when it matters most. You can subscribe@ark media.org or through the link in the show Notes and to our insiders. Thank you. Welcome to Inside Call Me Back, our

[C]

members only edition where we open the door and let you shape the conversation. Today in the hot seat, addressing your questions and personal dilemmas is ARC Media contributor Nadav Eyel Nedav, welcome back to the Inside.

[A]

Thank you. I'm glad to be here again.

[C]

So Nadav, you are in Israel. You just mentioned to me before we started recording that you just came from Channel 12 where you were on television there. And we'll get into our members questions in a moment. But my first question before we get into your take on the MoU is obviously there's a lot of news and heat being generated today from some of the things Vice President Vance said. Full disclosure, I haven't read the entire transcript of what he said, so I haven't seen every line. But there's obviously a few lines that are making their way around social media and the press and I'm sure they are bouncing around like a pinball inside Israel. So let's just start specifically anything that Vice President Vance said, said that is having an impact inside Israel.

[A]

So, Dan, the Vice President has a briefing today in the White House. He was criticizing elements in the Israeli cabinet that, as we know, were criticizing the deal. But they were not only criticizing the deal, they had this very acidic attacks against the President and against the Vice President. And this is what the Vice President said. If I was in the Israeli cabinet, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have left. The thing about this, Dan, quite simply that people feel now unmoored, they feel insecure. They just learned about this news of a deal with Iran that Israelis did not expect. It's not that they didn't expect the war to end. It's not that they didn't expect that there would be compromises from both sides. It's the language of the deal and the assumption of the professionals in the defense establishment that this deal is very favorable to the Iranian regime, together with the way that the government are having this open confrontation with the Trump administration. And the Trump administration is answering with these pretty amazing quotes by the vice president that have not heard or this kind of language has not been heard in reference to Israel in many years. Now, to be fair and to put it in context, the vice president and the president have been attacked by important figures of the Israeli right wing who are estimated to be close to the prime minister. Main TV anchor who's close to the prime minister.

[C]

This is the Channel 14 anchor who's the right wing news channel in Israel. And this anchor is close to Netanyahu and was a big fan of Trump's.

[A]

Yeah. But now he feels like many parts of the Israeli right wing betrayed. And he used the term Jewboys. The expression in Hebrew is Yehudonim, which is of itself an antisemitic hate speech against Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who negotiated this deal. There is a context here. The feeling is that Netanyahu is either allowing this, which I'm not sure he is, it's not that Netanyahu picks up the phone and give orders to everyone in channel 14. It's not how it works. Although one could conclude that they have been briefed by people close to the prime minister. And that TV presenter also attacked JD Vance in words that were even more hateful than the ones that he used for Witkoff and Kushner. So there's a confrontation, and because of that, many people that don't come from the Israeli right wing. It's not that difficult, Dan, to find people who are very critical of Netanyahu. I know I'm surprising you.

[C]

All I have to do is read your Hebrew account and Twitter to actually see firsthand what you are describing.

[A]

Some people, you couldn't hold back. You know, I opened that gate.

[C]

I couldn't.

[A]

I'm sorry.

[C]

You rarely give me an opening.

[A]

This.

[C]

I could drive a freight train through that opening. Okay, go ahead.

[A]

At any rate, even these people who are very critical of the prime minister feel. Now, one person told me, and he's been in this business for a really long time, he said, I'm terrified. And I said, why? And he said, because it feels like they might not have our backs anymore. People are terrified because they're getting every five minutes in Israel in the last 48 hours push notifications down on their mobile phone. And these push notifications are from one military expert after the other. It comes from left and right and center who are saying, pardon the language, we are really screwed. And this comes from everywhere. So you have a centrist kind of military commentator. He says that you have right wingers on channel 14. They're saying that you have the left. The left is saying. And it's Bibi's fault, too. He has brought us to this. You have people like Tamir Heyman that you had on your show, who was the chief of the Israeli military intelligence, a very serious man who says, if this is the result, we shouldn't have fought this war to begin with. This is worse than we began with. And he said that on the record. Now, again, I'm bringing all this not because I agree with every piece of judgment. And I myself still did not write anything on my substack because I want to give it time.

[C]

Why, Nadav? Why do you want to give it time? Personally, I think that's the right impulse, to be honest. I've been, like, getting criticized for many folks for not adding to the hysteria. And I've been trying to kind of process what I'm seeing as it plays out. But I'm curious why you feel that way.

[A]

I'll give you one example. So I wrote something, and then I started reading the document again and talking with sources and talking with professionals at the defense establishment. And they told me, look, they're not going to reach an agreement with the Iranians. And you don't need to believe the Israeli experts. You need to believe the story that was published by Axios. As to the head of the CIA who said that he doesn't think that the Iranians are serious in getting any agreement there. There's no way that there's going to be a detailed agreement in 60 days.

[C]

Right.

[A]

But what he said is, look, they are supposed to either dilute or destroy their enriched nuclear material. That is the thing that worried us. And they can't have nuclear weapons and status quo in between. We went to this war, said that official, because of the nuclear issue. Now, do I buy into that narrative completely? No, I don't. I don't worry about geostrategy right now. I worry as to my security, security for my family. This is what that TV Persona I spoke with was talking about. What's going to happen to us now? Hezbollah is gonna get injected with money. Hamas is gonna be injected with money. What's gonna happen with all the things that we fought for? As a nation, sometimes anxiety is extremely justified.

[C]

That's it for our sneak peek today. If you wanna catch the full episode, please subscribe to inside. Call me back the description or by going to ark media.org that's ark media.org your support is what allows us to do what we do here at arc media. I hope to see you there.