Israel Update

Israel Update

This is the audio version of Israel Update. Israel Update is a video podcast hosted by Israeli historian and political commentator Gadi Taub and Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. The show offers news from the ground as well as an unparalleled insider perspective on the war.

Episodes

The Truth Behind the Media Lies

July 30, 2025 • 47 mins
Mike and Gadi lift the lid on the libelous narrative about the deliberate starving of Gazans.
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Famine in Gaza?

July 25, 2025 • 59 mins
The Israeli press is leading the “famine” campaign. Mike and Gadi discuss its reasons for lying. Also, on this episode – the crisis with the Druze population on both sides of the Israeli-Syrian border opens a window to the shifts in regional geopolitics. Mike reminds Israel not to act rashly, lest it ends up helping Iran return to Syria.
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A Bond Like No Other?

July 10, 2025 • 79 mins
Mike and Gadi assess the strong message that the intimacy between Netanyahu and Trump sends to the world and to the region, as well as to domestic friends and rivals, in both Israel and the States. Then there's the deal, and the war that's dragging on in Gaza. Also in this episode: Gadi's essay on Tablet about the myth of "settler violence."
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A Region-Wide Deal?

July 3, 2025 • 74 mins
Israel’s domestic politics may have reached a turning point. But that may soon be overshadowed by even bigger geopolitical changes which may unfold during Netanyahu’s visit to the White House early next week. Mike and Gadi speculate, unburdened by what has been.
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New Mid-East Order?

June 27, 2025 • 57 mins
Mike and Gadi think they ought to congratulate themselves for getting it right. Or mostly right. The question now is, is this the dawn of a new regional order, or is this just an improvement of the old?
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War with Iran?

June 12, 2025 • 82 mins
Mike and Gadi try to read the tea leaves and ask whether a showdown with Iran is now inevitable. Plus: Israel is paying for its juristocracy with the lives of IDF soldiers. 
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IU Special – How Israel Can Win In Gaza

June 6, 2025 • 43 mins
We have a special guest for you this time: the man who planned the current operation in Gaza – Brigadier general (res.) Erez Winner, former Chief of Operational Planning, Southern Theater (Gaza).  We spoke about the plan that can deliver victory in 2-3 months, and why it hadn’t done that yet.
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Has Trump Turned his Back on Israel?

May 19, 2025 • 76 mins
As Israel is moving into Gaza there is growing concern about Trump’s plans for the Middle East. Mike and Gadi discuss the administration’s policy vis-à-vis Teheran, Riyad, Ankara and Jerusalem.
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At the JNS Summit: Netanyahu vs. Edward Said + Gadi's Family Bio

May 9, 2025 • 42 mins
We've been asked to say a few words about who we are, here's where you'll learn about one of us. That, plus Gadi's speech on Netanyahu's role in the global war over woke ideas.
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Israel's Legacy Media?

May 2, 2025 • 71 mins
The rogue Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has now announced he will retire on June 16 – a date of his own choosing. Ignoring the cabinet's decision to dismiss him, he took the fight to the Supreme Court where an affidavit by Prime Minister Netanyahu exposed his transparent lies. But the legacy media prefers to turn a blind eye, demonstrating once again that it would make a hero out of any villain provided he turns out to be useful for the...
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The Qatar-Gate Hoax

April 4, 2025 • 66 mins
Ronen Bar, the insubordinate head of Shin Bet, steps up the investigation into alleged ties between members of the prime minister's staff and Qatar. Mike and Gadi think this is all nonsense, transparently designed to prevent the prime minister from removing Bar, as the cabinet unanimously voted to do. This does not mean the trumped-up charges will not become politically dangerous to Netanyahu's government. Also in this episode: is...
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The Head of the Shin Bet Rebels Against the Cabinet

March 21, 2025 • 73 mins
Gadi and Mike lay out the order of battle of the brewing crisis Israel is heading into in the wake of the cabinet's decision to terminate the tenure of the failed head of Shin Bet (Shabak), Ronnen Bar. The Supreme Court has already moved to freeze the cabinet's decision, but it is not clear whether the cabinet will obey the legally dubious order. Is a clash between the elected government and the administrative state now inevitable?...
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Is Israel Wrong About Syria?

March 13, 2025 • 74 mins
There is much that is patently false about the rhetoric regarding the savagery in Syria. But it should not distract Israel from the real game: the geopolitical problem is the Iranian attempt to use the Alawite minority in order to regain a foothold in Syria. And one cannot begin to make sense of the chaos without taking account of this development.  Also in this episode: former heads of Shin Bet use mafia-style threats to reveal se...
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The IDF and Shin Bet Cover-Up

March 6, 2025 • 66 mins
We're back! And there's a lot to talk about. Like the recently submitted conclusions of IDF and the Shin Bet inquiries of the October 7 disaster. To the extent that the press releases represent the actual content, both are shamelessly political, and both attempt to excuse, cover up and shift the blame – to Netanyahu, of course. The press is therefore eager to cooperate.  Also on this episode: the Russian initiative to mediate negot...
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Gaza: Are Trump and Netanyahu on the Same Page?

February 12, 2025 • 67 mins
Trump's plan for the future of Gaza caught the world by surprise. It seems to have caught prime minister Netanyahu by surprise too. To what extent is it feasible, and if it is - would it be good for Israel?
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IU Special: How Jews and Christians Can Save the West - with Author Melanie Phillips

February 11, 2025 • 66 mins
Gadi spoke with British author Melanie Phillips about her new book The Builder's Stone: How Jews and Christians Built the West—and Why Only They Can Save It.
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Mike's and Gadi's Shouting Match Over Gaza

January 29, 2025 • 68 mins
While Israel is reeling from the drama of the hostage deal, Judge Yitzhak Amit appoints himself President of the Supreme Court. Minister of Justice Levin refuses to accept the brazen move. But all this pales – at least on this episode – in the face of a fierce, Israeli style, shouting match over the future of Gaza. And then there is, of course, Trump disrupting the accepted terms we use for discussing the Israeli Palestinian confli...
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Trump In - Halevi Out

January 23, 2025 • 63 mins
Chief of IDF staff General Herzi Halevi resigned after a career that will be forever remembered as an abject failure. Gadi explains why so many – himself included – are breathing a sigh of relief, but Mike warns against judging Halevi motivation solely through a political lens. Meanwhile, Trump's first days in office still send mixed signals to Israel and the Middle East.
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The Hostage Deal: Is Trump Endorsing Biden's Policy?

January 15, 2025 • 77 mins
The deal that Israel is now forced to accept is not very different from the one the Biden administration has tried to impose. Combined with the rise of the isolationist elements of MAGA, this may signify a worrying trend. But Mike is less concerned than Gadi is. Granted, he also had significantly lower expectations. Plus: turmoil in Israel's Knesset, and a new scandal involving the man designated to preside of Israel's Supreme Cou...
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Mike's Visit to Damascus

January 9, 2025 • 78 mins
Accompanied by a Turkish driver and two lightly armed escorts, Mike had the opportunity to see firsthand what post-Assad Syria is like. The country was devastated. The scenes of poverty and destruction are heart wrenching. At one-point Mike's escort had to change the route to evade an attack by Israel. Meanwhile in Israel chief of staff Herzi Halevi seems intent on evading a serious enquiry in the disastrous failure of the army un...
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