Best Amir Factor Podcasts (2025)

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Have American Jews pushed Israel toward extremism or moderation? 32:15

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2h ago32:15

32:15

On a special edition of the Haaretz Podcast – as Israel faces the Jewish High Holidays mired in war and political division, host Allison Kaplan Sommer speaks to Prof. Adam Ferziger about soul-searching and atonement with a focus on the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel and the Diaspora. Ferziger, who is also an ordained rabbi, believes the proces…

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German ambassador: 'It's not a coincidence that so many Israelis are considering moving abroad' 44:11

4d ago44:11

44:11

In a special guest episode of the Haaretz Podcast, German ambassador Steffen Seibert sits down with Guy Rolnik and Anat Georgy, co-hosts of “The Markers” – the Hebrew-language podcast of Haaretz’s sister publication, The Marker. In the interview, Seibert addressed the increasingly complicated relationship between the two countries since the Gaza wa…

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'Deeply harmful and dangerous': Trump undermines Jewish Studies at U.S. colleges 33:18

8d ago33:18

33:18

New York University professor Lila Corwin Berman has a warning for her colleagues. Corwin Berman, along with two fellow academics, recently penned a provocative piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education headlined "Jewish Studies Scholars, Beware: Trump's Deal Will Corrupt You." On the Haaretz Podcast, Corwin Berman explains how, in her view, the a…

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'Enough war, bloodshed, and destruction': Israel, Gaza and what comes next 38:46

10d ago38:46

38:46

This special episode of the Haaretz Podcast features voices from the September 14 conference held in Toronto jointly sponsored by the New Israel Fund of Canada and JSpace Canada. The event brought together current and former Israeli and Canadian politicians, journalists, academics with Israeli and Palestinian peace advocates to assess the current t…

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'Playing with fire': How Israel’s attack on Hamas in Qatar has likely exploded hopes of ending the Gaza war 22:37

15d ago22:37

22:37

The Israeli decision to bomb Doha, targeting Hamas leadership as they met to consider a cease-fire proposal, made little sense if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is truly concerned with the fate of Israel’s hostages, said Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. While it may “work against our basic instincts of…

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‘The Trump White House has outsourced all policy on Gaza to Israel’ 28:36

18d ago28:36

28:36

As Israel’s Gaza City offensive intensifies, the lack of a “fully articulated policy” on the part of Donald Trump’s White House means that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can move ahead with a “blank check” from the U.S., said Haaretz Washington correspondent Ben Samuels, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. The message from Trump officials to Israel…

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'Gaza started as a legitimate war of self-defense. It became merciless, cruel vengeance': This Israeli ex-foreign minister speaks his mind 24:58

22d ago24:58

24:58

Former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami invested substantial time and effort into shaping a two-state solution during his political career – and ultimately came to the conclusion that it was not viable. On the Haaretz Podcast, Ben-Ami cast a critical eye on the current push by French President Emmanuel Macron and a long list of countries including t…

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'Astonishing backlash': Hear the Orthodox rabbi who spoke out against Gaza's famine and settler violence 34:27

24d ago34:27

34:27

Rabbi Yosef Blau has been the focus of both fury and admiration over the past week, called both a hero and a traitor, and garnered attention at a level that has astonished him, he said on the Haaretz Podcast. The pushback comes after Blau spearheaded an open letter signed by 80 Orthodox rabbis that called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “one of the…

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Western leaders may be pushing for a Palestinian state, but in the West Bank, 'annexation is the reality' 28:44

29d ago28:44

28:44

While the world has been focused on the devastation in Gaza, "the annexation of the West Bank has become reality," Hagar Shezaf, Haaretz's West Bank correspondent, said on the Haaretz Podcast. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Shezaf explained, has created a system "that is accelerating" the process of integrating the West Bank into stat…

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Inside Gaza's hospitals: 'The children were very thin. Weak. Glazed eyes. It was devastating' 32:45

1M ago32:45

32:45

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly challenged the assertion that starvation is rampant in Gaza, most recently when he slammed a UN report on famine as “blood libel.” On the Haaretz Podcast, Yarden Michaeli takes listeners behind the scenes of his in-depth reporting with Nir Hasson on the scale of severe acute malnutrition in Gaza. As …

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‘Netanyahu will never leave Gaza. War is part of the classic authoritarian playbook’ 31:02

1M ago31:02

31:02

Israel is approaching the “horrifying” position of becoming a pariah state due to the Gaza war, former MK and Middle East expert Ksenia Svetlova said on the Haaretz Podcast, expressing deep worry that it was dangerously close to following in the footsteps of her native Russia. Western nations' refusal to cooperate with Russia due to its aggression …

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'Israeli musicians must choose if they want to be boycotted at home or boycotted abroad' 22:44

1M ago22:44

22:44

Israeli musicians are learning the hard way that speaking out against the war in Gaza comes at a price, Haaretz culture reporter Shay Ringel explained on the Haaretz Podcast. The letter, signed by 1,200 members of the cultural and artistic community, was unusually outspoken regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling on Israeli soldiers to d…

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'A very dangerous gamble': Netanyahu's open clash with IDF leaders over invading Gaza City 32:36

1M ago32:36

32:36

The Israeli public is “exhausted” by the nearly two-year conflict in Gaza, and the vast majority of IDF military leaders believe it should end. Yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is forging ahead with his plan to invade Gaza City and expand the war because “he will do whatever he can to stay in power,” said Haaretz senior security analyst Amos H…

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Recognizing Palestine? 'It may be a punishment for Netanyahu, but it's a big prize for Israel' 22:23

2M ago22:23

22:23

Israel is swimming in unprecedented diplomatic waters. Last week, Germany announced it will restrict arms exports to Israel, and a growing number of world leaders – led by France and the U.K. – are declaring their intention to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. “We are hearing things that we never heard from great friends of Israel,” said …

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Behind Netanyahu's dangerous Gaza takeover: A conversation with Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn 31:59

2M ago31:59

31:59

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is often portrayed as a political improviser who seizes opportunities and dodges land mines as they occur to preserve his hold on power, he is in fact guided by a clear and consistent mission, Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn tells the Haaretz Podcast. “Netanyahu’s strategy, since the inception of his career…

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Why ‘deep pain’ over Israel and Gaza is boosting Jewish support for an anti-Zionist candidate for NYC mayor 23:32

2M ago23:32

23:32

The "last thing" Rabbi Rachel Timoner says she wanted to do was block the street in front of New York's Israeli consulate as part of a protest calling on Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid in Gaza – let alone get arrested for doing so. The Brooklyn rabbi said on the Haaretz Podcast that when she was asked to take part in the demonstrat…

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'Israel doesn't want journalists on the ground': CNN’s Jeremy Diamond on the fight to enter Gaza 34:19

2M ago34:19

34:19

The foreign press corps in Israel has been battling – unsuccessfully – since the Gaza war began in October 2023 to be permitted access to the Strip in order to report on the conflict and the humanitarian situation there from the ground. Appearing on the Haaretz Podcast, CNN’s Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond breaks down the status of the lega…