The Promised Podcast – “Washington, Doha & Oslo” Edition

Date: July 10, 2025
Host: Noah Efron
Co-host: Miriam Hershlag
Podcast: TLV1 Studios

Episode Overview

This week, the hosts dive into the newest, highest-stakes developments in Israeli politics and society: Prime Minister Netanyahu’s dramatic trip to Washington and the imminent, convoluted hostage deal; the moral and logistical quagmire of prioritizing hostages for release; and reflections on Israeli society, personal loss, and finding solace during troubled times. Throughout, the podcast maintains its distinctive combination of warmth, humor, and raw honesty about the heartache and beauty intertwined in life in Israel.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening: The Surreal Splendors and Dangers of Tel Aviv Development

• Noah Efron opens by painting a vivid, slightly tongue-in-cheek portrait of the soon-to-be Trump-branded Sirona Hotel—the newest, tallest, most extravagant addition to Tel Aviv’s skyline—juxtaposed by its proximity to key military targets and regulatory hurdles.
  • Quote: “Arguably nothing captures the optimistic, opportunistic, if-you-can’t-be-with-the-one-you-love, love-the-one-you’re-with spirit of this city we love so well, Tel Aviv, better than looking forward with happy anticipation to having a chilled Trump vodka on the 59th floor rooftop garden of a future Trump Sirona Hotel…” (05:35)

2. Personal Anecdote: Recognizing the Humanity Behind Tragedy

• Noah recounts an interview with Shachar Levi, whose father Eitan Levi was murdered and taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th. He highlights the intricate family dynamics, the loss, and the creative ways the family tries to find comfort (e.g., personalized teddy bears with voice recordings).
  • Quote: “The same old thing that I for some reason seem to need to learn over and over and over is that I don’t really know anything about anybody, because every one of these lives is so much more complicated, so much more human, and so much more beautiful than anything that I can imagine…” (17:22)

3. Discussion 1: Washington, Oslo, and the Ceasefire/Hostage Deal

• Setting the Stage: Netanyahu’s dinner with Trump positioned as a momentous, if somewhat ceremonial, event, with the unofficial highlight being Bibi’s public nomination of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize (with slight procedural cluelessness attached).
  • Quote/Clip: “I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize Committee. It’s nominating you for the Peace Prize, which is well deserved and you should get it. Thank you very much.” (23:17)
• Deal Details: Leaked draft agreement suggests:
  • 60-day ceasefire, during which 10 live and 18 dead hostages will be released.
  • Mutual withdrawal and prisoner swaps, with the possibility of permanent ceasefire negotiations during this period.
  • Trump personally “guaranteeing” Israeli compliance if Hamas does as well.
• Analysis: Intense uncertainty as to why Netanyahu resists ending the war entirely, opting instead for incremental deals:
  • Theories offered: Maintaining political coalition, lack of a real plan for postwar Gaza, desire to preserve image of victory, or fear of internal backlash.
  • Political dynamics dissected: With opposition support possible, why maintain support from far-right partners at the cost of hostages’ lives? (31:09–33:03)
    • Noah: “I can’t conjure in my mind the picture of something that Prime Minister Netanyahu feels he could go to the Israeli people and say, aha, this was the ultimate victory that I promised you.” (37:54)
  • Miriam: “We’re still trafficking in ideas of... turning Rafah into... What would likely be a humanitarian disaster and feed into this Trump pipe dream of self-deportation... I want to hope it’s some kind of fantasy. That is also why Israel is still talking about maintaining that Morag corridor, which would surround Rafah.” (39:06)

4. Discussion 2: “Dr. Sophie’s Choice” – Should Doctors Prioritize Hostages?

• Background: Leaks reveal the existence of a medical triage committee, tasked with advising which hostages (of the remaining 20 believed alive) should be prioritized for release.
• Public and Professional Backlash: Fierce, emotional opposition:
  • Israeli Medical Association denounces participation as unethical.
  • Families and commentators liken the idea to Nazi-era selection practices (“solexia”)—profoundly traumatic and reminiscent of Dr. Mengele.
• Ethical Conundrum:
  • Miriam: “If Israel doesn’t make the choices, Hamas will. So once we go into a phased deal… someone will decide.” (50:14)
  • Reminds listeners society has already performed selection—prioritizing women and children in previous exchanges, even if hard to admit.
  • Docs lack effective data, and decisions ultimately belong to political, not medical, leadership.
  • Noah recalls a released hostage’s account of captors forcing hostages to decide among themselves who would live/die—a situation the committee is now being compared to, reinforcing why many simply refuse to play this “sick, sick game.” (55:05)
  • Miriam: “All of this is a form of dehumanization and I think it’s going...there is an inevitable dehumanization for both sides in this... Now here we are talking about whether someone should go blind, should be left to go blind, or someone should be allowed to come and see his… children he hasn’t seen in two years.” (57:22)

5. "What a Country" – Personal Reflections and Solace in Troubled Times

• Miriam’s Tribute to Berhanu Youssef: A moving memorial to a friend who existed in the “interstitial spaces” of Israeli identity—Ethiopian, Christian, Palestinian, deeply enmeshed across Jerusalem’s cultures, yet “other” everywhere. His mosaic life echoes the complexity and beauty of Jerusalem itself.
  • Quote: “Berhanu’s identity was complicated and dynamic: Ethiopian, Arab, Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic, secular. He held them all and lived in the spaces between.” (66:50)
• Noah’s Book Week Adventure: Finds meaning, connection, and unexpected wisdom at the book fair, especially after a serendipitous encounter with the author of a book on bees—drawing hope from the idea that “the bees can help us fall in love with the world” and humility in the face of complexity.
  • Quote: “She says, that’s just the thing: I did not come to the bees. The bees, they came to me... The bees help us think about who we want to be.” (74:49)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Tel Aviv’s Trump Hotel Project

  • Noah Efron: “Maybe soon, all the more spectacular because it was reported last week that the Trump Organization, led by Eric Trump... is in negotiations to, well, not quite buy the hotel, but to brand the hotel and to manage it...” (04:30)

• On Family and Loss

  • Shachar Levi (paraphrased by Noah): “I am my Abba’s only biological child... My Ema came out of the closet. She met a woman, her partner with the years, three enchanting kids were born... We became one big family. He was our rock–economically, spiritually.” (13:57)

• On the Deadlock of War

  • Noah Efron: “It is obvious that this is the moment when the war should end and… he [Netanyahu] absolutely [is] saying no. Do you have a theory about why that is?” (29:56)
  • Miriam Hershlag: “His methodology has been for years as a divider… He generally has not turned towards the center and the left for this, because the center or left do offer candidates who can… pose viable alternatives to him, like Bennett and Gantz...” (32:30)

• On the Hostage Medical Panel

  • Lt. Col. Amir Bloomfeld: “I think that any decent physician in the state of Israel, one that has morality and conscience, would see that it is forbidden from cooperating with this terrible act of judging which hostages need to get out immediately and which hostages can survive maybe a little bit longer…” (45:56)
  • Miriam Hershlag: “The choices that we have become, like—this kind of Sophie's choice—those are imposed from the outside… Whoever fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster.” (49:29)

• On Humanity in the Face of Horror

  • Noah Efron: “I was very moved by the fact that they came to what, once they came to this decision, seemed to me to be the only obvious decision: No, we’re not doing this.” (55:05)

• On the Unexpected Beauty of Bees

  • Mor Khadison (quoted by Noah): “The bees help us think about who we want to be… The bees, they can help us fall in love with the world... even the hum of the bees, it does a thing to you. It makes you realize you’re part of this world in some deep way.” (74:49)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00-06:00]: Tel Aviv’s architectural developments and the Trump Sirona Hotel story
• [11:03-18:58]: Shachar Levi’s family story and reflections on empathy
• [22:41-40:20]: Netanyahu’s Washington trip, the hostage/ceasefire deal—terms, analysis, and political implications
• [43:42-57:53]: Hostage prioritization committee, ethical dilemmas, Nazi comparisons, and perspectives from the medical and family communities
• [60:15-69:20]: Miriam’s eulogy for Berhanu Youssef and Jerusalem's human mosaic
• [69:30-79:30]: Noah’s Hebrew Book Week fair, meeting Mor Khadison, and meditations on bees, interconnectedness, and hope

Overall Tone

• Deeply personal, candid, and humane
• Blends caustic humor and sharp critique of Israeli politics with moments of vulnerability and hope
• Ethical reflection and a commitment to seeing complexity—in politics, society, and the human heart

Closing Remark

This episode serves as a multifaceted meditation on the paradoxes of Israeli life—where heartbreak and beauty, cynicism and hope, history and current events, swirl inextricably. The hosts balance political analysis with urgent moral dilemmas and intensely personal stories, never losing sight of the individuals behind the headlines, nor the “weirdness” and wonder that still persists.