Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/rbGlvM

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

On Thursday, French President Emanuel Macron announced that France will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN meeting set to take place in September. France will become the first major Western country to recognize a Palestinian state, prompting many to wonder if this will set off a chain reaction. Is it possible that Hamas’ savage attack could set off a chain of events that results in the establishment of a Palestinian state?

Meanwhile, there has been a lot of press in recent days about starvation among Gazans. Research by Yannay Spitzer of Hebrew University on the price of flour in the Gaza Strip has convinced many reluctant Israelis that this time, unlike before, the reports of starvation are real. In response, Israel announced that it will halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of the strip, as Jordan and the UAE resumed airdrops of humanitarian aid.

To discuss the food crisis and the significance of President Macron’s declaration, we were joined by Call me Back contributors Nadav Eyal and Amit Segal.

(00:00) Introduction

(04:44) Vote for a Palestinian state

(08:04) Hunger crisis in Gaza?

(28:05) Hostage and ceasefire negotiations

(30:55) Could 10/7 go down as Independence Day for the Palestinians?

(39:21) Retrospective on Israel’s strategy

(46:59) What happens to the hostages?

(51:40) Outro

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/rbGlvM

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

Last week, we witnessed the eruption of violent aggression on behalf of the Syrian government and local Bedouin tribes against Syria’s southern Druze community, leaving more than 1,400 people dead. The Druze are a community that also has deep roots in Israel, and over 1,000 Israeli Druze citizens crossed the Israel-Syria border to support their brothers and sisters being attacked.

In response, Israel launched a series of strikes against military facilities in Damascus, prompting widespread global criticism. As of Saturday, all sides have agreed to a ceasefire. However, we are still seeing reports and videos on social media of Druze being attacked in Southern Syria.

Many are asking what to make of Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Al Qaeda affiliate who claims to have moderated. People are also wondering to what extent Turkey – a supporter of the new Syrian regime – played a role in what’s unfolded in Syria.

Joining us to discuss – and at points, debate – these complex questions are Charles Lister, senior fellow and director of the Syria Initiative at the Middle East Institute, and Hay Eitan Cohen Yanarocak, researcher of modern-day Turkey at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.

(00:00) Introduction

(05:05) What happened in Syria?

(11:16) The involvement of Turkey

(15:06) The U.S. response to Israel’s intervention in Syria

(31:20) Turkey’s ambition

(37:51) Did Israel make a mistake?

(43:45) Outro

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/rbGlvM

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

On Monday, the three Haredi parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition were presented with a draft of a new Haredi conscription bill, which they say did not satisfy their demands for military exemption for Haredi youth.

This led two of the parties, Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael, to leave Netanyahu’s government on Monday, bringing the coalition down from 68 to 61 seats, which is the smallest possible majority in the 120 seat Knesset. On Wednesday, Shas, another Haredi party, announced its resignation from the government, but not from the coalition, leaving the coalition’s majority at an extremely thin margin.

In other news, over the past couple days, the new Syrian government led by Ahmed el-Sharaa, has been working alongside local Bedouin tribes to violently target Syria’s southern Druze community. This has prompted around 1,000 Israeli Druze to breach the Israel-Syria border in an effort to join their brothers and sisters’ struggle. In response to the Syrian government’s actions, Israel launched a series of airstrikes targeting military infrastructure in Damascus.

To unpack the developments taking place in Netanyahu’s government, as well as the chaos unfolding in Syria, we were joined by Call me Back contributors Nadav Eyal and Amit Segal.

(00:00) Introduction

(03:51) Israel’s system and current composition

(09:24) What are the parties negotiating?

(16:45) Haredi conscription in the IDF

(22:37) Why did the ultra-Orthodox parties resign?

(28:29) What are Netanyahu’s options?

(36:31) What does this mean for a hostage deal?

(39:09) Crisis in Syria

(48:33) Outro

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/rbGlvM

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode: Part 2 of our conversation with Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer.

A few days ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Israeli delegation, which included Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, concluded their trip to Washington D.C., where they met with President Donald Trump and other senior American officials.

The visit came just a few weeks after the historic military success on behalf of Israel and the U.S. against the Iranian regime. Following these stunning achievements, there has been talk of future normalization with certain Arab states and the potential for a hostage-ceasefire deal in the near future.

Minister Dermer has been at the forefront of all these issues. In a conversation divided into two episodes, he and Dan discuss Israel’s standing globally and in the Middle East after the war with Iran, the future of Gaza, the hostages, and where the country is heading internally.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

This is the first of a two part interview. The second part will be published tomorrow, Tuesday, July 15.

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/rbGlvM

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

A few days ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Israeli delegation, which included Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, concluded their trip to Washington D.C., where they met with President Donald Trump and other senior American officials.

The visit came just a few weeks after the historic military success on behalf of Israel and the U.S. against the Iranian regime. Following these stunning achievements, there has been talk of future normalization with certain Arab states and the potential for a hostage-ceasefire deal in the near future.

Minister Dermer has been at the forefront of all these issues. In a conversation divided into two episodes, he and Dan discuss Israel’s standing globally and in the Middle East after the war with Iran, the future of Gaza, the hostages, and where the country is heading internally.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/rbGlvM

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

On Monday, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu conducted their highly-anticipated meeting at the White House, where they engaged in a press conference from the White House State Dining room.

Prime Minister Netanyahu told the press that Israel and the U.S. were communicating with several countries willing to take in Palestinians who want to leave the Gaza strip, suggesting that Gazans would not be forcibly removed from the strip, but rather given the option to relocate if they so choose.

President Trump disclosed that the U.S. was engaging in direct talks with Iran, with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff saying a meeting with the Iranians would take place within a week.

Notably, there was no big announcement on the hostage-ceasefire front, which many people were anxiously awaiting after more than a week of Trump expressing optimism regarding a deal.

To unpack what we learned from Monday’s White House meeting – what might develop over the days and weeks ahead – are Call me Back regulars, Senior Analyst at Yedioth Achronot Nadav Eyal and Chief Analyst at Channel 12 Amit Segal.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/rbGlvM

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

On Monday, July 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House, where we assume they will discuss an end to the Gaza war and the new Middle Eastern geopolitical landscape after the recent war with Iran.

Because this meeting is likely to bring big Israel-related news, we decided to hold off on recording a full Call me Back episode until tomorrow. Instead, we recorded a brief news round-up to help keep you up-to-date on recent developments, and to prime you for Monday’s meetings in Washington DC.

Among other things, we’re keeping our eyes on a potential hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza and the possibility of normalization between Israel and certain Arab States, including Syria.

Stay tuned for more Call me Back analysis on developments out of Israel and DC.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: lnk.to/rbGlvM

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

Over the past few days, we’ve observed strong signs that Israeli leaders are moving to bring the Gaza war to a close, though it remains unclear how exactly this would take shape.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermermet with senior Trump administration officials in Washington, DC. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the White House on Monday, July 7.

This comes just over a week after Israel’s 12-day war against the Iranian regime. The war also included, of course, a round of American strikes on Iran’s three key nuclear facilities.

Prime Minister Netanyahu spent his entire political career warning of the existential threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program, and he is now largely being credited — even by domestic critics — with its destruction. As the post-Iran War geopolitical map is being drawn, we wonder, what could be Netanyahu’s next moves in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria. Saudi Arabia, and domestically, in Israel?

To discuss this we are joined by Israeli author and journalist Ari Shavit. Ari is the author of the award-winning book My Promised Land and was a senior correspondent at Haaretz for many years.

To order Ari’s book, My Promised Land: https://tinyurl.com/45jbnhbz

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer