For Heaven's Sake

Israel at War — A Nation that Dwells Alone

One of the goals of Zionism is to reintegrate the Jewish people into the “community of nations,” recognizing Israel’s sovereignty and forging global partnerships built on mutual respect and shared values. But as the war in Gaza takes a new turn, France, the UK, and even Germany have amplified their criticism, and President Trump is considering ending continued military support. Israel may soon find itself, politically and economically, “a nation that dwells alone”. In this episode, Donniel Hartm...

Israel at War — Red Lines

What does it mean to fight a just war justly—and who decides when we’ve crossed a moral red line? What began as a just war of self-defense has evolved into something more morally ambiguous, raising questions about Israel's tactics, humanitarian concerns, and international standing. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi confront their differing "red lines" regarding Israel's conduct in Gaza and examine public discourse on this issue, including Yair Golan’s recent controversial s...

Announcement - Hiatus

Israel at War – The New Plan

As Israel enters a perilous new stage of the Gaza war—authorizing indefinite occupation of captured territory—Netanyahu’s pledge of “complete victory” over Hamas is deepening societal rifts and threatening to further fracture Israeli unity, pitting nationalist agendas against calls for restraint. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the cascading consequences of occupation tactics, from escalating Gazan casualties to the erosion of soldiers’ morale, and as the conflict...

Israel at War — Independence Day: Gratitude and Hope

This Yom Ha’atzmut carries an apt but concerning metaphor for the State of Israel: as a brushfire burns along Route 1, the annual Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony has been canceled and the connection between Israel’s cultural and ideological poles, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, is literally blocked. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi test the limits of their gratitude to the Israeli government and look for avenues of hope in a deeply broken country this Independence Day. J...

Announcement: Thursday Release

Israel at War — Holocaust Memorial Day

In the wake of the Holocaust, the Jewish people defied history. We restored sovereignty in our homeland and established the State of Israel, vowing that such victimization would never befall us again. Then came the massacre on October 7. Though Israel has successfully fought back against Hamas and its allies, the war is still being waged, hostages remain in captivity, and the evil that motivated the attack grows. As we approach Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein...

Announcement – Passover Break

Israel at War — The State of our Freedom

A shadow lingers over Passover this year: 59 hostages still languish in Hamas captivity, Netanyahu continues his efforts to mold Israel into an authoritarian state, and Gazans once again live with the dangers of war. How can we celebrate freedom when so many in and around Israel are figuratively—and literally—not free? This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi reflect on the Pesach seder as they explore how our oldest holiday can liberate us from despair and inspire us in this precarious...

Announcement: Thursday Release

Israel at War – Believe it or Not

The Shin Bet, IDF, and Israel’s judiciary should serve the nation regardless of the government’s political leanings. But Prime Minister Netanyahu seems determined to bend these institutions to serve his will and that of his right-wing coalition. Despite his visibly corrupt behavior, he may already be succeeding at instilling autocracy into Israel’s highest public institutions. This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi unpack the unbelievable recent absurdities and tragedies—from Netanyah...

Israel at War — “We Will Die and Not Enlist”

With the return to war in Gaza, a wave of fresh recruits would relieve the intense pressure on Israel’s fatigued fighting force and struggling economy. But those potential new recruits—Ultra-Orthodox young men—are refusing or ignoring their conscription orders, often at the behest of their rabbis and leaders. This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi untangle the enigma of Haredi draft refusal. Why has this community—whose livelihoods rely so heavily on Israel’s taxpayer funds—acculturat...

Israel at War – War and Corruption

In the early hours of Tuesday, March 18, the IDF resumed airstrikes on Gaza, breaking the two-month ceasefire with Hamas. Israel’s decision to return to war can be debated, but what is harder to understand is why Netanyahu, after promising to fire the chief of the Shin Bet—Israel’s counter-terrorism agency—and with a new Haredi draft exemption in the works, has chosen this moment to thrust Israel back into the fray. This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi discuss Hamas’s resurgence, th...

Israel in Ceasefire – The Domestic Front

As pressure mounts to move forward with further ceasefire negotiations, Israel finds itself beset with national scandals and crises, including a new Haredi draft exemption bill, threats to fire the Attorney General and Shin Bet Chief, and allegations that Netanyahu’s office took money from Qatar, while a looming budget deadline threatens to topple the government. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi unpack the growing set of threats on Israel’s domestic front and ask how Israe...

Israel in Ceasefire – Zelenskyy

Over the past year, Israel has shared a certain kinship with Ukraine; both countries are locked in existential wars started by their neighbors and backed by the U.S. administration. But in a shocking foreign policy turnaround, the Trump administration is stonewalling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, demanding mineral wealth from his country in exchange for further military support. In a world where Trump wields the weight of American power as he sees fit, what does this mean for Israel, ...

Israel in Ceasefire – The Wars of Gaza

Hamas has released each round of hostages amid increasingly cruel and theatrical public displays, going as far as returning a stranger’s body in place of Shiri Bibas, who was abducted with her two young children and killed in captivity. With stage two of ceasefire negotiations due to begin, Netanyahu, and many Israelis, are instead gearing up for a return to war. Is this the response Hamas is aiming to provoke? In this episode of For Heaven’s Sake, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi discuss ...

Israel in Ceasefire – Agony and Uncertainty

Today, Thursday, February 20, Hamas is returning to Israel the bodies of Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas, and her young children Kfir and Ariel, all slain in captivity. A fresh outcry of rage is expected from the Israeli public, not just over Hamas’s brutality, but against the government’s failure to gain release of these and other hostages sooner. In a conversation recorded yesterday, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi express their nation’s deep anguish, and ask what a second stage of the cease...

Announcement: Thursday Release

Israel in Ceasefire – Faces of the Hostages

It seems that every country around the world has condemned Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, and understandably so. The permanent relocation of Gazans would amount to an act of ethnic cleansing. Why, then, is Israel the only nation other than the U.S. to take Trump’s morally questionable proposal seriously? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi consider the fact that eight in ten Israelis are polling in favor of the Trump plan and how the Holocaust, the promise o...

Israel in Ceasefire – Trump’s Dystopia

Voters were aghast, world leaders were outraged, and Netanyahu seemed jubilant, when President Trump recently doubled down on a plan that seems totally detached from reality: a U.S. take-over, clean-out, and transformation of Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Though the White House has since clarified that Palestinian relocation would only be temporary, the shockwaves it caused in the region, and the reaction of the Israeli public, are telling. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yoss...

Israel in Ceasefire – Prime Minister Trump

Many Israelis are grateful to the Trump administration for pushing forward the hostage deal, but an unsettling reality seems to be taking hold. Has Netanyahu become subservient to the returning US President, even at the expense of his own coalition? As newspapers across Israel are abuzz with the “Trump Plan” for Palestinians in Gaza, some question whether Israel has relinquished its sovereignty and moral fortitude to the whims of America’s new leader. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi K...

Israel in Ceasefire — They’re Returning, Where Are We Going?

Three hostages have been safely returned to Israel, with more to be returned each week. But while Israelis share the relief of this long-awaited moment, Hamas is emerging from the shadows with victory cheers and a deep ambivalence over the ceasefire deal is brewing in Israel. Who has won this war, and can Israelis come to terms with the price they must pay to bring all the hostages home? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi discuss the divide in Israeli opinion, the country’s ...

Israel at War – Coming Home

A ceasefire deal has just been reached. In the past, Israelis have been united in elation and relief about the return of hostages, even at a high cost to national security. But not this time. Far-right MKs and ultranationalists had vigorously decried the deal, protesting any concession that would allow Hamas to hold on to power, no matter how small. What is behind their bitter dissent, and will this deepen rifts in Israeli society? In this episode, recorded as the deal was still being finalized,...

Announcement: Thursday Release

Israel at War — Morality and Survival

Israelis often speak proudly about their army’s rigorous moral standards. But after falling prey to the barbaric massacre by Hamas on October 7, national security has become top of mind for many Israelis while topics like Gazan civilian casualties are avoided. Are these two values—morality and survival—mutually exclusive? This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi tackle the state of moral discourse in Israel, international criticism of the war, and the troubling relationship between vict...

Israel at War – The New Israeli Silence

Most Israelis want a comprehensive hostage deal but seem unwilling to call out actions by Netanyahu which have sabotaged negotiation efforts with Hamas. Have Israel’s citizens become complacent? This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi diagnose Israelis’ passivity in the face of deeply unpopular government decisions and their reluctance to consider the future of Gazans or of Palestinians in general. This episode is sponsored by Lois Kohn-Claar and Gary Claar. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MOR...

Israel at War – Hanukkah: Redefined

What is Hanukkah? A military victory by Maccabean heroes? A miracle of light in the darkest of times? This year it’s something more complicated. In this episode Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi consider how Hanukkah’s classical Zionist narrative of power and sovereignty was challenged by October 7th, and how the Festival of Lights has changed again after Israel’s recent war victories. This episode is sponsored by Lois Kohn-Claar and Gary Claar. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Th...

Israel at War – Looking Forward

Now that Israel has succeeded in defeating the Iranian axis on its borders, Netanyahu—and Hamas—seem earnest about a ceasefire deal. Can all the hostages and the remains of those deceased be returned? And how will Israelis heal from the lingering trauma of October 7th? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi consider the harsh likelihood of a partial hostage deal and analyze how Ben Gvir and Netanyahu are jockeying for the hearts of Israelis as the war winds down. JOIN OUR EMAIL ...

Israel at War – Crossroads

Less than two weeks after Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal, the Assad regime in Syria was overthrown by rebel militias and Hamas is showing more openness to a hostage deal than ever before. As Iran’s siege along the borders of Israel unravels, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi ask in this episode: are Israelis ready for the war to wrap up? They discuss the new geopolitical reality in the region, the success of the judicial system in bringing Netanyahu to trial, and the fate o...

Israel at War...with Itself

What is motivating Netanyahu’s coalition government to undermine Israel’s democratic checks and balances, even as a ceasefire with Hamas becomes a serious possibility? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine how the Jewish State’s early decades under Labor Party rule influenced the current government’s actions, and explore how Israel can heal from deepening partisan rifts. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click h...