🇮🇱 Israel Episodes

Last Friday, the state budget for 2026 passed. This budget can be given all sorts of headlines, but ultimately, it's a budget caught between war and elections, needing to contend with the expenses of the last two years while also not harming citizens too much. So this time, with the help of our correspondent Yuval Sade, we will try to understand if this is even possible, what such a budget looks like, and what it means for all our pockets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Officially, we have been in a ceasefire in Gaza for two months. But last week, in a single day, several dramatic events occurred that make it clear how restless this arena still is. It began with an Israeli announcement about opening the Rafah crossing in one direction only – from Gaza to Egypt – a move that greatly angered the government in Cairo and ultimately did not happen. A few hours later, terrorists in Rafah opened fire at an IDF force, wounding five soldiers, and the IDF responded by attacking in the Strip. And despite this tension, a few hours later, the body of the abducted casualty, Suththisak Rientalak, was returned. So this time we will ask our correspondent Ohad Hemo how all of this happens concurrently, and what it means for the next phase of the deal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Treating trauma in children requires a unique approach, combining work with both the child and the parent while considering the developmental stage and emotional regulation. Dr. Porto Ben Harush, an expert in child trauma treatment, explains how to provide children with the tools to understand and process difficult experiences. In collaboration with the Trauma Recovery Center at the Hebrew University, with the support of JFNA | Episode 5 in the series on trauma and recoverySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is not new – there has been a war in Sudan for decades. But in recent weeks, particularly cruel and unequivocal documentation has emerged, revealing that a genocide is taking place there. So how is it that no one is talking about it, protesting against it, why does it seem like the world is silent? This time, we are with Prof. Judith Ronen, an expert on the Arab world and the Arab-African interface from the Department of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University, on the story of Sudan: what is really happening there, and why?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonathan had a dream: to open a kosher restaurant that is open on Shabbat. Is this possible, who did everything to make things difficult for him along the way, and how does all this fit into a larger struggle that costs us all a lot of money? Presenter: Alon Amitzi; Editor: Yonatan Kitain; Associate Editor: Lihie Zadok; Producer: Adi Efrat; Sound Editor: Tal Vanig, Image: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A post-army trip is not a new thing. The desire to get a little distance from home, find peace, and breathe, is very familiar to discharged soldiers - especially after the last two years. But sometimes it's precisely the distance and silence that stir up difficulties, bringing up emotions they don't always know how to put into words. In Israel, there are already various solutions - but what about the tens of thousands abroad who experience symptoms they don't know how to deal with? For these travelers, "HaMakom" (The Place) was established: a center for mental health assistance for Israelis in India. This time, we are with Hezi Shochat, one of the center's founders, and Shaked Katz, a discharged reserve soldier, to talk about the Israeli corner that emerged in the middle of India and became a home, even if just for a moment, for combatants and survivors who find themselves far from home and coping with mental distress.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recent years, November has become the biggest shopping month, and most packages arriving in the country are full of clothes. These are clothes that mostly come from fast fashion websites – whose products may contain dangerous chemicals, and which belong to one of the most polluting industries in the world. So this time, we'll take a peek into the backyard of the fashion world and try to understand how we got to this situation. Guests: Maayan Prati, consumer reporter for Channel 12 News, and Dr. Meital Peleg Mizrachi, fashion and climate researcher, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Economics at Yale University.

A fresh take on the classic episode of the answer: Where did this strange song everyone is singing on TikTok come from, how did a 150-year-old inside joke make its way from New Zealand to your phone, and what on earth is a Wellerman? Including the full version of the hit "A Pharmacist Will Come Soon".

Netanyahu's lawyers sent the President's Residence a 111-page document and a personally signed letter: a request for a presidential pardon. For years, Netanyahu's public line was that the trial was collapsing, that justice would be served in court, that he would be acquitted. Yesterday, the Prime Minister still claimed he would be acquitted - only this time, the conclusion he reached was that because of this - the President must cancel the trial. This time we are with Dafna Liel and Dr. Dana Blonder, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and co-author of the book "The Institution of the Presidency in Israel," about Netanyahu's request. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tension between a Minister of Defense and a Chief of Staff is not an event that has not occurred in the past. The tension between Minister of Defense Katz and Chief of Staff Zamir is different. This time we are with Ofer Shelah, a journalist and former Knesset member and today a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, and our reporter Omri Maniv – who will tell us about the conflict between Minister of Defense Katz and Chief of Staff Zamir, and how it might affect the IDF.

Thoughts that lead us to believe that suffering will not pass can worsen the pain and delay natural recovery from trauma. Dr. Danny Derby, an expert clinical psychologist, explains how Cognitive Processing Therapy allows patients to free themselves from distorted thoughts and focus on emotional recovery. In collaboration with the Trauma Recovery Center at the Hebrew University, supported by JFNA | Episode 4 in the series on Trauma and Recovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Similar to the plots of popular thriller series that deal with power, money, and honor struggles, here in Israel too, there is an old institution that could serve as the basis for exactly such a script. Ponevez Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, a prestigious institution that generates millions, has been at the heart of a bitter and ongoing family dispute over inheritance for three decades. The quarrel created two camps, each of which saw the other side as a real enemy. Last week, this battle was decisively settled - and the ending did not disappoint. This time, our reporter Eli Hirshman takes us to the battle that tore an entire community apart: the family dispute at Ponevez Yeshiva, which shaped the character of the Lithuanian Haredi community for generations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than three years after the Russian invasion, the war in Ukraine reached a turning point this week: a ceasefire agreement that looks like the beginning of the end, but actually opens up a series of new questions. So this time we are in conversation with our envoy in Washington, Barak Ravid, who will explain what really happened behind the scenes and why we are at the closest point to ending the war since it broke out, and why, despite this, it's really not certain that this is the end.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all use artificial intelligence, we all talk about it, stock markets are soaring because of it, so why does it feel like we've seen this movie before? After all, that's how people talked about the internet 25 years ago, and although the promise was real, investors experienced a collapse of almost 80% along the way. Could it be that we are on the verge of another crash?Presenter: Shaul Amsterdamski; Editor: Yonatan Kitain; Assistant Editor: Lihie Zadok; Producer: Adi Efrat; Sound Editor: Tal Vanig, Image: Shutterstock, GeminiSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most often, we as a public are exposed to violence against women only when it reaches its most extreme and deadly stage - murder. But most abusive relationships do not start there, and they almost never look like that in the beginning. This was also the case in Libi Kessel's story. Years after she left an abusive relationship, Libi encountered an eight-stage model that describes how a relationship can deteriorate into dangerous violence, and realized that her story ended at stage six. As part of processing this difficult realization, she decided to talk to friends and family about how they experienced her relationship - a journey that became the documentary "I Left at Six." So this time, we are in conversation with Libi about her personal story, about the early stages of abusive relationships, and about how they can be identified and helped, before they turn into a tragedy.

Imagine yourselves sitting in a room, facing a terrorist and trying to get into his head: what motivates him, what makes him act. Hard to imagine, but this is the work of Dr. Sagit Yehoshua, a criminologist, profiler, member of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism Policy at Reichman University and the Deborah Forum, and this time, we will try to understand with her - what does a terrorist's profile look like, what has changed from the generation of Hamas leaders to the Nukhba forces, and what does she think about the death penalty law for terrorists?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recent days, we have been hearing more about violence and riots by Jews in Judea and Samaria. Arson of cars, buildings, a mosque, attacks on Palestinian farmers, Israeli social activists, or IDF soldiers. According to all the data, in 2025 there is more violence by Jewish rioters in Judea and Samaria. This time, we are with three people who tell of the loss of control in Judea and Samaria: Dvir Kariv, former senior official in the non-Arab terror prevention division of the Shin Bet. Yuval Ben Ari, a reservist and left-wing activist who was injured in clashes with rioters in Judea and Samaria, and Abdullah from the village of Al-Lubban al-Gharbiya, whose agricultural fields were partially seized by one of the rioters in Judea and Samaria. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trauma sometimes leaves us frozen in front of a deep memory. Dr. Nitza Nakash-Axelrod, an expert psychiatrist and director of the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Research Clinic at Sheba, explains how prolonged exposure therapy allows one to revisit a painful memory, in order to start breathing anew. In collaboration with the Trauma Recovery Center at the Hebrew University, with the support of JFNA | Episode 3 in the series on Trauma and Recovery See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

استقبل ولي العهد السعودي محمد بن سلمان هذا الأسبوع في البيت الأبيض استقبال الملوك، وأبرم مع ترامب صفقة قد تغير الشرق الأوسط: مئات المليارات من الدولارات، وطائرات مقاتلة متطورة، وربما تطبيع مع إسرائيل مشروط من جانبه بحل الدولتين. وفي الوقت نفسه، وافق مجلس الأمن التابع للأمم المتحدة على الخطة الأمريكية لـ "اليوم التالي" في غزة، والتي تتحدث أيضًا عن مسار لدولة فلسطينية. إذن هذه المرة نحن مع معلقتنا السياسية دانا فايس حول تداعيات هذا الأسبوع على إسرائيل، وكيف يمكن أن يبدو الشرق الأوسط الجديد الذي يتشكل أمام أعيننا.

Every year, a new argument develops between the Finance and Defense Ministries regarding the size of the defense budget for the coming year. But in the last two years of the war, the budgets of the army and the defense establishment have grown unprecedentedly, and despite the security challenges that still exist, the country still has many other needs. If compromises are not found, we will reach a situation that will deteriorate the economy and lead to a real crisis: not many remember, but Israel has reached such a situation in the past - and it was not easy to recover from it. This time, together with our economic correspondent Yuval Sadeh, we will dive into the debate on the defense budget for 2026: the dilemmas, the gaps between the parties, and what it means for the economy.