The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Episode: War Abroad, War At Home

Date: March 13, 2026
Host: Jon Podhoretz, with Abe Greenwald, Seth Mandel, and guest Eli Lake

Brief Overview

In this episode, the Commentary Magazine team, joined by Eli Lake, discusses the dual threats facing American and Jewish communities: the ongoing war with Iran and a series of domestic terror attacks. The hosts analyze the motivations, tactics, and responses to these threats, examine the American government's preparedness and strategy, and reflect on the evolving reality of Jewish communal security. The conversation weaves between war policy, the psychology of terrorism, community preparedness, and media narratives. Eli Lake also discusses his new Commentary article on Israel's decades-long intelligence campaign against Iran.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Domestic Terror Attacks: Lone Wolves vs. Sleeper Cells

• Old Dominion University and West Bloomfield, MI: Coverage of two terror attacks—one foiled at a synagogue, the other resulting in casualties (00:55–04:43).
• Nature of Attacks:
  • Eli Lake argues these are “inspired lone wolf attacks,” not orchestrated sleeper cell plots, likening them to the ISIS attacks of the 2010s.
  • Quote (Eli Lake, 04:05): “These look like the kind of things that we associated with ISIS in the 2000 and tens... Individuals, literally, literally.”
• Challenges in Prevention:
  • Eli notes that digital propaganda enables radicalization without the need for physical networks (05:04).
  • Increasingly, “a single, cell of one” can radicalize and act alone, leaving few traces (Abe Greenwald, 07:41).

2. Jewish Community Security: Successes and Realities

• Crisis Averted in Michigan:
  • Detailed recount of synagogue security teams’ effectiveness, noting a joint FBI training exercise was pivotal (15:48–17:56).
  • Jon Podhoretz highlights the $750 million annual investment by Jewish organizations in security (18:05).
  • Quote (Jon Podhoretz, 18:05): “The Jewish community in America has stepped up to an unprecedented degree... nearly a billion dollars a year being spent on security.”
• Security Infrastructure:
  • Discussion of rare but sophisticated setups in large synagogues (20:00–23:50).
  • Recognition that most synagogues cannot afford such robust protection.
• Target Selection and Planning:
  • The attacker deliberately targeted one of the largest synagogues in the country, emphasizing premeditation even for “lone wolves” (Jon Podhoretz, 20:52).

3. The Dearborn, Michigan Issue: Political and Social Implications

• Political Pressures on Law Enforcement:
  • Is the FBI prioritizing Jewish institutional safety amid contentious local politics?
  • Eli Lake: “Dearborn is a cesspool... communities that have taken clearly anti American, viciously anti Israel, anti Semitic views, and that the kind of politics of extremism in the Middle east has become a kind of normal thing for the politics of Dearborn.” (25:30)
• First Amendment Dilemma:
  • The challenges of monitoring extremist activity while protecting civil liberties (Jon Podhoretz, 39:23).
• Community Divisions:
  • Eli: The best allies against radical Islam are Muslim Americans who have fled such regimes, not regime apologists or ideological organizations like CAIR (31:25).

4. Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism & Media Narratives

• Media’s Focus on ‘Islamophobia’:
  • Skepticism about the media’s framing of the issue as primarily a threat to Muslims rather than violence perpetrated by radicalized individuals (Jon Podhoretz, 03:07 & 36:20).
  • Discussion of CNN’s efforts to reposition the narrative, often refuted or corrected after the fact (32:21–34:50).
• Iranian-American Perspective:
  • Counter-narrative to claims that Iranian Americans are endangered by U.S. policy—most are refugees from the regime and likely support action against it (Jon Podhoretz, 33:40).

5. The Strait of Hormuz and Strategic Narratives

• Current Situation:
  • Iranian threats to mine and close the strategic Strait of Hormuz raise alarms in media and Congress (42:46–46:27).
• Claims of U.S. Unpreparedness:
  • Jon Podhoretz dismisses the idea that the U.S. military is unprepared; CENTCOM has planned for this for decades:
    • Quote (Jon Podhoretz, 46:27): “It is extremely unlikely... I am telling you right now, this is a lie. The press is being lied to. They're being told an untruth.”
  • Media narratives about surprise/demoralization are identified as “environmental efforts to demoralize the country” (46:26–48:12).
• Trump’s Strategy:
  • Affirmation that both military planners and Trump himself have a longtime focus on keeping the Strait open (Abe Greenwald, 48:12).
  • Critique: The administration has been inconsistent in articulating war aims—sometimes regime change, sometimes deterrence, sometimes noncommitment (Eli Lake, 49:07–51:37).
• Influence Operations:
  • The Iran Experts Initiative and figures like Robert Malley are mentioned as shaping narratives (51:37–54:40).

6. Israel’s “Generational” Intelligence Efforts Against Iran

• Eli Lake’s Commentary Article:
  • Focuses on Israel’s decades-long operation to undermine Iran’s military and nuclear capability (60:20–61:16).
  • Examples: Penetrating electrical grids, hacking infrastructure, cultivating sources, and creating conditions for swift, targeted warfare.
  • Quote (Eli Lake, 61:16): “What we're seeing is the fruits of... a generational project which is to penetrate Iran... not just through the traditional means of recruiting agents but also technical elements of things like hacking the traffic cameras in Tehran...”
• Operation Rising Lion/12 Day War:
  • Trump was initially neutral—didn’t believe Israel could pull it off, then grew enthusiastic once early operations exceeded expectations (61:16–).
• Revolution in Military Affairs:
  • Decapitation strikes, cyberwar, and airpower create a fundamentally new style of warfare (61:16–).
• Regime Change?
  • Neither Trump nor Netanyahu promised regime change, rightly resisting overpromising (66:25–70:29).
  • Jon: “All the best that we can hope for really is that there be space... for political change in Iran.” (66:25)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Lone Wolf Terrorism:

  • “You can now just sort of as a single, as a cell of one, you can radicalize, get the material you need, go out into the world and do your attack without leaving much of a trace around you.”
    —Abe Greenwald (07:41)

• On Jewish Community Security Investment:

  • “This is nearly a billion dollars a year being spent on security for, you know, for 5.2 million people or for institutions that serve 5.2 million people. It's an extraordinary outpouring, a very deliberate and very responsible behavior.”
    —Jon Podhoretz (18:05)

• On Iranian-American Reactions to the War:

  • “If you had to pick a community in the United States that was probably close to 100% supportive of the mission of the war in Iran right now, it would be the Iranian American community...they fled the Islamic Republic takeover in 1979...”
    —Jon Podhoretz (33:40)

• On Media Narratives and Demoralization:

  • “You are being lied to. And the purpose of the line...is demoralization. The strategy seems to be...to say they don't have a plan. I don't know what they're doing...”
    —Jon Podhoretz (46:26)

• On Israel’s Strategic Innovations:

  • “It's a revolution in military affairs. We've never seen anything like it....to do that on the scale that Israel has done, knocking out an entire level of military leadership...is an incredible accomplishment.”
    —Eli Lake (61:16)

• On American War Aims in Iran:

  • “Trump has never said that this was a war for regime change. He's never said that. Bibi has never said that. BB has said, wait until it's safe to go out in the streets. Trump kind of said the same thing...But when the dust settles, we'll see what the circumstances are....And so that's all the best that we can hope for really is that there be space if, because you know, it depends on how rooted that, you know, you can't pull a tree out by its root.”
    —Jon Podhoretz (66:25)

Lighter Moments

• Football Analogy:
  • “48 to 3 is not considered a close game...as a Jets fan, if your team is up 48 to 3, you're still biting your nails.”
    —Unknown Female Speaker, Jon Podhoretz (59:52–60:20)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------------------------|-------------------| | Intro, guest introductions | 00:22 | | Overview of recent terror attacks | 00:50–04:43 | | Analysis: Sleeper cell vs. lone wolf | 04:05–07:41 | | Jewish community security efforts | 15:48–23:50 | | Political climate in Dearborn, MI | 25:30–32:21 | | Media narratives: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism | 32:21–36:20 | | The Strait of Hormuz & military planning | 42:45–48:12 | | Debate on clarity of U.S. war aims | 49:07–51:37 | | Influence of Iran ‘experts’ in U.S. administration | 51:37–54:40 | | Israel’s generational intelligence campaign | 60:20–61:16 | | Regime change debate; war aims | 66:25–71:10 | | Podcast wrap-up, recommendations | 71:43–72:10 |

Tone & Style

• Direct, sometimes grim but often laced with irony and humor.
• Deeply informed with historical allusions; combines current events with decades-long context.
• Skeptical of mainstream media narratives and official statements, encouraging listeners to think below the surface and avoid demoralization.
• Continually brings discussion back to Jewish-American realities and the challenges of proactive self-defense.

Summary Prepared for Readers Who Missed the Episode:
This episode dives deeply into the current climate of war and domestic terrorism, emphasizing the shift from organized terror plots to isolated lone wolf attacks inspired online. The hosts praise the Jewish community’s substantial and effective investment in communal security while candidly confronting the political and social difficulties presented by communities like Dearborn, MI. They dissect media narratives that invert victim and perpetrator, call out demoralizing misinformation about military unpreparedness, and illuminate Israel’s extraordinary intelligence achievements against Iran. The conversation underscores that regime change may not be attainable or promised, but significant space for change in Iran has now been created—if Iranians are ready to seize it.