Podcast
What Matters Now
Hosted by The Times of Israel · EN
A weekly exploration of one key issue shaping Israel and the Jewish World right now.
44episodes
Episodes
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Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: Inside the technocratic council set to rule Gaza
Jan 2000:42:27Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, the head of Realign For Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse. This week, we dive into the 12-member National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. The technocratic council is headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy planning minister Ali Shaath. It is tasked with running daily affairs on the ground and providing services for Gazans in place of the Hamas terror group. The committee held its first meeting in Cairo on Thursday, but is currently barred by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip and its work remains in limbo as the Board of Peace begins its activities in Davos this week. We hear how the names on the technocratic council are relatively consensus figures -- among Gazan Palestinians -- and learn about Israel's objections to this committee and Trump's naming of Qatar and Turkey to the Gaza Executive Board. Alkhatib delves into the lack of popular Hamas support throughout the Strip, but points out the massive enforcement problem that the committee will face as the armed terrorist group maintains its hold. And so this week, we ask Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (courtesy) / A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, January 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Podcaster Mitch Ginsburg: Escape from Tehran, an untold 1979 Israeli caper
Jan 1501:21:38Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Israel Story producer Mitch Ginsburg. On February 20, 1979, the last 33 Israelis returned from Tehran upon the forced closure of the Israeli embassy. After the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khoumeini's new regime, the Israeli trade mission's location was given over to the Palestine Liberation Organization, whose supporters immediately stormed the building. In today's episode, we relay the untold saga of the derring-do that saw these final Israeli officials back to the Jewish state. A story of four chapters, Ginsburg narrates the tale through the eyes of the Tehran embassy's military attache, Brigadier General Itzik Segev. Hear how they walk the plank, assume false identities and eventually meet up with the American delegation, which was also fleeing the country. Our conversation is followed by the complete episode of Ginsburg's recent Israel Story installment, "Frankly, My Deer," which tells the tale of the final and frantic days of the Shah’s regime, when an unlikely Israeli envoy — a cross between David Attenborough and Jason Bourne — landed in Tehran. His secret mission was to bring back something certain powerful people in Israel sorely wanted. And so this week, we ask Mitch Ginsburg what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: In this December 10, 1978 file picture, demonstrators hold up a poster of exiled Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini during an anti-shah demonstration in Tehran at the Shayah monument which was built to commemorate the monarch's rule and symbol of his power. (AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Stand-up comedian Liz Glazer: 'Israel is the reason I exist'
Dec 3000:30:33Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with stand-up comedian Liz Glazer, who is coming soon to Israel as part of the annual Comedy for Koby tour. On stage and off, the former law prof -- a graduate of New York's stalwart Modern Orthodox Ramaz high school -- is loudly and proudly out about her life as the spouse of a female rabbi. Perhaps more unusually, since the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on Israel, she's also made no secret of her support for the Jewish state In our conversation, we hear which of Glazer's identities -- lesbian or Jew -- is trickier for her to navigate on stage. We learn how being the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors has shaped her personality -- and career choice. And finally, we hear how becoming a mother two years ago has shifted Glazer's comedic sensibilities. Comedy for Koby is a fundraiser for the Koby Mandell Foundation, which was founded by Seth and Sherri Mandell, whose son Koby and his friend Yosef Ishran were murdered in a terrorist attack in 2001. Jumping off from the foundation's motto, "From tragedy to community," the comedy tours have brought 88 comedians to Israel since comedian Avi Liberman began hosting and organizing them in 2008. From January 5-12, Glazer will be joined by Andy Pitz and Rich Shnyder throughout Israel. And so this week, we ask Liz Glazer what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: Five likely scenarios for Gaza in 2026
Dec 2300:52:30Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, the head of Realign For Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse. This week, we dive into the five likely scenarios that could play out in Gaza during 2026, which Alkhatib recently proposed on his social media channels. According to Alkhatib, the five proposals all "undermine Hamas severely and massively change the calculus and geostrategic landscape following the Trump-sponsored ceasefire in October, which has temporarily halted the war." The five proposals include: A mutiny from Hamas’s ranks within Gaza due to economic and cost-of-living pressures; a significant rise and empowerment of anti-Hamas militias in different areas of the Gaza Strip; mass protests and large-scale uprisings against Hamas throughout the Gaza Strip by civilians; a mass exodus of civilians, from the Red Zone controlled by Hamas behind the "yellow line" into the Israeli-controlled Green Zone; and a successful international stabilization force (ISF) deployment with the mandate of battling and demilitarizing Hamas. We go through each scenario point-by-point throughout the conversation, leaving time for a reader's question or two. And so this week, we ask Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Palestinians walk along a street past a tent camp in Gaza City, December 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What Matters Now to Prof. Dan Turner: Treating our enemies humanely makes us human
Aug 1300:30:53Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Prof. Dan Turner, the head of a pediatric gastroenterology unit at one of Israel’s most respected hospitals located in Jerusalem and Deputy Dean of the School of Medicine at the Hebrew University. Turner, alongside his work as a physician, educator and researcher, is also an ardent activist in a variety of fields concerning human rights and dignity, inside and outside of medicine. Our podcast conversation was spurred by his response to images of Muhammad al-Mutawaq, a severely emaciated 18-month-old living in Gaza, which were published on the front pages of newspapers around the world, prompting a global outcry about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Following an independent journalist's investigation, it was revealed that al-Mutawaq suffered from severe illnesses, including neurological and muscle disorders. For Turner, al-Mutawaq's underlying medical conditions don't excuse his appearance -- quite the contrary. The malnourished child is emblematic of Israel's inhumane treatment of all Palestinians, from security prisoners handcuffed in hospital beds to babies who require special medical care in Gazan tent cities, he says. In a wide-ranging interview, Turner explains how he was "awoken" to his duty to advocate for Palestinians' basic medical care and treatment with dignity. He shares the blowback he has received -- and why he now sparks conversations about the ongoing war in Gaza by "looking like a caveman." And so this week, we ask Prof. Dan Turner, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: The transfer of Palestinian men arrested during a military raid on Jenin, January 22, 2025. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What Matters Now to Haviv Rettig Gur: When Temple Mount prayer is a call to settle Gaza
Aug 5, 202500:36:18Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with ToI's senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur. During the Tisha B'Av fast on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir again made headlines for going up to the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. There were two big differences this time: One, he led a prayer service out loud, and two, he called for the Jewish resettlement of the Gaza Strip. Both aspects of Ben Gvir's trip were highly documented, including his statement on the ongoing war in Gaza. Ben Gvir said, “I am saying, davka [intentionally] from here, from the Temple Mount — the place from which it was proven that it is possible to have sovereign rule — davka from here, we are relaying a message that from today on, we are conquering the entire Gaza Strip, announcing our sovereignty on the entire Gaza Strip, and taking down every Hamas member and encouraging voluntary emigration. Only in this way will we return the hostages and win the war.” Ben Gvir's semi-messianic vision may come partially true as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears poised to announce an IDF operation aimed at conquering the entire Gaza Strip. Resettlement of the Palestinian enclave, says Rettig Gur, is a completely different matter. We hear how this latest publicity stunt is a disservice to the Temple Mount movement, which stresses that Jews may have freedom of worship at Judaism's most holy site. And so this week, we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Haviv Rettig Gur (courtesy) / Illustrative: Jews visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, on Jerusalem Day, May 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What Matters Now to Daniel Taub: Still mourning, Israel is not ripe to talk peace - yet
Jul 30, 202500:37:52Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with author Daniel Taub. Taub is an Israeli diplomat, international lawyer and author born in Britain in 1962. He moved to Israel in 1989, later serving in the IDF as a combat medic and as a reserve officer in the international law division. He started his path in diplomacy in the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1991 where he held many legal and diplomatic posts, including as Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2015. In his new book, "Beyond Dispute: Rediscovering the Jewish Art of Constructive Disagreement," Taub synthesizes his years spent at negotiating tables as a diplomat with his lifelong learning of Talmud. Drawing on techniques from both spheres, Taub argues that disagreement can be even more constructive than easy consensus -- and is necessary for treaties to last. We begin the program speaking about the Tisha B'Av holiday marked this weekend and how Israeli society today -- specifically, the painful ongoing debate over universal draft -- is coming close to the senseless hatred that tradition ascribes as a reason for the fall of the Temples. We then hear how one must pick a ripe time for negotiations, and how Taub's experiences on negotiation teams with Palestinians and Syrians make him think that Israelis, at the very least, are not ready to discuss a practical peace -- yet. And so this week, we ask Daniel Taub, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Author Daniel Taub (courtesy) / Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man pray as they gather for the mourning ritual of Tisha B'Av, in the Old City of Jerusalem, August 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What Matters Now to Dan Ben-David: Israel's moment of truth is here
Jul 23, 202500:49:08Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with leading economist Prof. Dan Ben-David. Ben-David heads the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and is a senior faculty member in the Department of Public Policy at Tel-Aviv University. Earlier this month, he wrote an op-ed in The Times of Israel with the provocative headline, "‘Just not Bibi’ is not an action plan for a national pivot." In it, he lays out the need for a complete overhaul of swaths of Israeli society and institution -- and insists that this is the pivotal moment that it must be done. “The demographic-democratic window of opportunity is closing at an exponential pace. This is the time for leaders who demonstrate that they grasp the gravity of this moment and what is required of them at the crossroads that we’ve now reached,” he wrote. We drill down into Ben-David's vision for Israel 2.0 and its four cornerstones — educational overhaul, budgetary overhaul, a change in our system of government, and a constitution. We also dive into the role that the ultra-Orthodox or Haredi community plays in implementing — or torpedoing — his vision. And so this week, we ask Dan Ben-David, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at Mount Meron during the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer, which marks the anniversary of the death of the Talmudic sage in Meron, northern Israel, on May 15, 2025. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What Matters Now to comic Guri Alfi: Israelis and American Jews must remain unified
Jul 15, 202500:23:23Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Guri Alfi, comic, actor and producer of "The New Jew." Recorded before the conflict with Iran, Alfi speaks about his experiences filming the second season of "The New Jew," a series he first created with public broadcaster Kan 11 in 2021 that had him looking at the Jewish community in the United States. For these latest episodes, Alfi traveled to the US to speak to Jews in the wake of October 7 and the intense antisemitism and anti-Zionism that exploded across college campuses and American cities. Guri discusses his conversations with a range of Jewish leaders, including Reform Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl, student leaders from Columbia and Harvard universities, and bereaved parents whose dual-citizen children became Israeli lone soldiers and were killed in the line of duty on October 7 and during the ongoing war. Guri says he wanted to show the bonds between the Israeli and American Jewish communities, and to show the hope and future that still exist despite the terrible events and trauma of the last 21 months. He also talks about one of his latest projects, “Speeches Against Despair” during the upcoming Israel Festival, in which he, along with actress Noa Koler, musician Noga Erez, actor Norman Issa, actress Maya Landsmann, screenwriter Galit Hoogi and others offer new interpretations to historical speeches. And so this week, we ask Guri Alfi what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What Matters Now to Micah Goodman: Israel may soon remake the region
Jul 9, 202500:42:12Tap to summarizeWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with author and public intellectual Micah Goodman. Just ahead of this week's What Matters Now recording, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump sat in the White House for a celebratory meal. The table was set for a grand announcement -- a sealed hostage release-ceasefire deal -- but the guest of honor and his terrorist counterparts have yet to come to terms. Goodman looks back at the two huge "double gambles" made during these 21 months of war. The first was by former Hamas leader Yahye Sinwar, who launched the invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, after viewing the intense divisiveness in Israeli society. His double-or-nothing bet was that Iran and its proxies would immediately join in the onslaught -- they didn't. Goodman compares Sinwar's double gamble to that of Netanyahu, who launched a surprise preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear program on June 13 and wagered that the United States would join. Now that Netanyahu's bet has paid off, Goodman describes how the region is ripe for a realignment -- if tough compromises can be made to end the Gaza war. And so this week, we ask Micah Goodman, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and video edited by Thomas Girsch. IMAGE: Shiite Muslim mourners hold portraits of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a religious procession held to mark Ashura, on the 10th day of the Islamic holy month of Muharram in Karachi on July 6, 2025. (Asif HASSAN / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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