He’s been nicknamed “Europe’s Last Dictator” by much of the media. He’s been in power for over 24 years. He’s suppressed and even arrested much of his political opposition and he just prevailed through his 5th consecutive electoral win but many, if not most, question its legitimacy. Can you guess which head of state we’re talking about? Alexander Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994 and today the country seems like it might be on the brink of a revolution. Shalom Boguslavsky o...
Sep 07, 2020•57 min
No matter where you’re from, it’s hard to ignore what’s going on in the United States as of May. The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer ignited massive protests and widespread riots across the country. Covid and an approaching election did nothing to calm the storm. When something this dramatic happens to Israel’s most powerful ally, it’s especially hard for Israelis to ignore. Unrest usually doesn’t bode well for either Israel or Jews in general. Today we’re with an old gue...
Aug 31, 2020•54 min
What do you have in your fridge right now? Some eggs, a head of wilted lettuce, maybe a loaf of bread? How do you decide when it’s time to move on, when your food is overdue, and destined to be thrown out and replaced by fresh, shiny, new food? According to some estimations, about 30-40% of all food in the United States is being wasted, thrown to the garbage because it wasn't eaten in time. Sometimes, we even throw good food - food that’s still completely edible. And it makes you think - what if...
Aug 26, 2020•55 min
Two months ago, against the backdrop of a global pandemic, a subsequent economic crisis and a prime minister accused of corruption, thousands of Israelis decided to hit the streets. Gathering in Jerusalem, right next to the Prime Minister’s residence, they had one goal in mind. Benjamin Netanyahu must resign. His failure in handling the health and economic crises and his questionable legal standing means one thing - he’s gotta go. These protests continue today both in Jerusalem and across the co...
Aug 18, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Naor and Eytan discuss current events.
Aug 11, 2020•1 hr 2 min
A legendary Jewish poet once wrote: “It’s lonely at the top”. And indeed, the higher you climb in politics, the lonelier it gets. And when you’re the Prime Minister of Israel - which some might argue is the most difficult job in the world - and you need to decide whether or not to attack Iran, you can listen to smart people, sure, but no one will be there when you make the final decision. No one but you. And still, even prime ministers can’t do everything by themselves. They must surround themse...
Aug 04, 2020•1 hr
Most people don’t hang flags above their beds. But Ariel Karlinsky isn’t most people. Above his bed, throughout his childhood and well into high school, Ariel hung the red flag of the Soviet Union - its yellow sickle and hammer watching over him every night. Until one bright day he decided to take it down, fold it up and tuck it away, along with his strong beliefs in the Communist system. Ariel Karlinsky is an Economist at the Kohelet Policy Forum, a conservative think tank dedicated to (quote) ...
Jul 29, 2020•1 hr 27 min
6,744 miles. That’s the distance between Israel and America. Together, the two countries are home for 90% of Jewry around the globe. But while in Israel Jewish identity is obvious to almost everyone, from the moment they are born to the moment they punch their ticket - in America, things are a bit different. As the years progress, some young Jewish Americans feel more and more detached from their Jewish identity. Some are only half Jewish, or quarter Jewish, some don’t even know about their Jewi...
Jul 21, 2020•44 min
Naor and Eytan talk about everything that's been going on in Israel lately.
Jul 14, 2020•1 hr 1 min
July 1st was a date some Israelis were looking forward to. For the past few months, most Israelis have been speaking about one thing, (well, except for corona) - Annexation. Aka instilling Israeli law in much of the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria. Since the Six Day War in 1967 when Israel conquered the area - Israeli citizens have been living there in settlements under military rule. Annexation would change that permanently, and settlers would cease to be settlers. They would be living, de fact...
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Israel is one of the youngest democracies on the face of the planet. If you turn on the news here in Israel, or a reality TV show for that matter, even if you just go out to buy a carton of milk at the supermarket, you’re bound to hear people arguing. Everyone here has a strong opinion and they’re not afraid to share it. Right-wing, left-wing, you name it. In Israel, free speech is the word. But every once in a while, someone says something that stretches the boundaries and tests the tolerance o...
Jul 02, 2020•1 hr
If you live in Tel Aviv, you simply can’t miss them. They are part of your life. When you hang out with your friends at the local bar - they’re there. When you go out for jogging - they are there. When you come home from your parents on Friday night and waiting at a red light in the entrance to Tel Aviv - they’re there. They are Tel Aviv’s saddest souls, the homeless. Yes, Tel Aviv is not Seattle nor is it San Francisco. But the city struggles with its own homeless people, asking the passersby t...
Jun 24, 2020•47 min
Naor and Eytan discuss recent events.
Jun 06, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Once upon a time, in an election far far away, in April of 2019, amidst the political cacophony of right and left, one party stepped into the lime light as a possible king maker. You see here in Israel, as a small party, you can tip the scales of a coalition - and thus hold a lot of power. Zehut, or Identity, led by Moshe Feiglin was predicted to receive as much as 7 mandates. For many, Zehut is an enigma. On one hand the founder of the party Moshe Feiglin leads a libertarian approach to governm...
Jun 04, 2020•1 hr 14 min
For many, during these times, it’s all too easy to slip into hibernation after a steady diet of Netflix, while suffering existential angst, anxiety and apathy. Anything beyond that can seem, well, just too hard. But, let’s face it. Nothingness - doing nothing - simply breeds more nothingness. So, it’s no surprise that the nation that made the desert bloom, has created a whole lot of some things out of this current Covid climate (CCC). Australian-born Israeli Achi Kushnir could be considered your...
May 28, 2020•49 min
Eytan and Naor talk about everything that's happened in Israel during the last month, and much more.
May 13, 2020•46 min
Coming from a long line of musicians and artists, our guests today has been praised by the New York Times as “sensational in concert” and as a “striking virtuoso” by the Los Angeles Times. Her awards and accomplishments are way too long to list, but suffice it to say that she’s performed as a solo artist and a chamber musician at some of the world’s most renowned venues - Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall of Tokyo, the list goes on and on and on. She’s serving as a ...
May 06, 2020•50 min
We could all use a good laugh. Especially now while many of us are secluded in our homes, far away from our loved ones, with nothing better to do but watch Too Hot To Handle on Netflix. True story. Don’t watch it unless you want to feel a strong, deep, unshakable sense of shame. If only there was an Israeli English speaking comedian who would agree to risk her life and come to our studio, to boost the national morale and give hope to our listeners around the world. How amazing would that be? Wel...
Apr 29, 2020•57 min
We all want to be the best we can be. And of course, we want to surround ourselves with the best of the best. But this seemingly positive motive has led some people to say and do some pretty horrific things throughout history. The Greek Philosopher Plato suggested selective mating to breed a higher class of humans. In Sparta, a council of elders inspected every child to determine if he or she was fit to live. In early ancient Rome, fathers were expected to immediately kill their child if they we...
Apr 22, 2020•54 min
Is the world overreacting to coronavirus? How has it influenced the political arena? Will a new government finally be formed or is Israel headed to a 4th round of elections? And finally, how long before life returns to normal? Tune in to the Two Nice Jewish Boys Podcast!
Apr 13, 2020•47 min
Hey everyone! We have a new podcast! It's called Economize Me, and here's the first episode. What forces are at play in our relationship with our wallets (and our hair)? What exactly causes us to spend money? And how does that influence the way we behave? As a student of film and television, my acquaintance with economics was... non existent. But after 4 awful haircuts (one of which was free), I found myself asking: “Why did I act so irrationally?” In an attempt to understand my own behavior, I ...
Apr 04, 2020•25 min
These are highly turbulent times in Israel. Not only are we facing the Corona crisis with a health system that’s more or less stuck in the 80’s, we are also in the midst of a political earthquake that’s shattering the entire Israeli political landscape as we know it. Here’s a small recap of what’s happened here in just the past few days: the Supreme Court ordered Yuli Edelstein, the head of the Knesset, to hold an election for his successor, he refused and resigned, thus causing a constitutional...
Mar 30, 2020•1 hr
From the time of the cave-men to this day, painting has been deeply rooted in the DNA of mankind. It’s as primal as humanity itself, and can teach us much about what it means to be human. Maybe that's why millions of people visit the louvre to see the Mona Lisa, or to Rome to behold the Sistine Chapel - maybe through these works of art, they can understand themselves. Miriam Cabesa’s career has reached peaks many Israeli artists can only dream of. For the past 20 years, she's lived in NYC, devot...
Mar 25, 2020•49 min
It’s officially the end of the world, so we thought we’d do one last, no holds barred, all-in, episode extraordinaire! And who better to do that with that an old friend of the podcast, the man, the legend, the one who a Mako blog recently described as “pretentious, possessing an awful sense of humor, nerdy, out of his element, with a hint of personal and professional self-disappointment.”, ladies and gentlemen, Roy Iddan! Roy Iddan is a scriptwriter, he’s created and/or written many Israeli TV s...
Mar 16, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Mordecai Chertoff came to Palestine in 1947 as a twenty-five-year-old, determined to make his contribution to the emerging Jewish State. Between 1947 and 1949 he was variously, local news editor, foreign news editor and war correspondent for the Palestine Post, soldier in the Haganah and resident of Jerusalem. In a series of vivid and often moving letters to his family back in the United States, Mordecai described the news of the UN vote for partition, the ongoing battles along the dangerous Jer...
Mar 10, 2020•41 min
LIVE: 2NJB Monthly Recap - Corona and Elections in Israel (third time is NOT a charm), Dem Primaries and much, much more!
Mar 06, 2020•50 min
Jews have always loved a good argument. From the oral teachings to the Talmud, the culture of arguing, making a point and then a counter point - is deeply rooted within the Jewish tradition. Maybe that’s the reason that in recent years, under the radar, Israel has become an international juggernaut in the debate world. The debating clubs are thriving, and in international debating competitions Israel is winning big prizes. Yoni Cohen Idov is the world debate champion for 2019. He’s a debate coac...
Feb 26, 2020•54 min
The fires this season in Australia have claimed the lives of 29 people to date. 15 Million acres of woodland have burned in Australia. Not to mention the 4.6 million acres that have burned in America and over 2 million in Brazil. It is estimated that in Australia alone, between 500 million to one billion animals have died, including approximately half of the entire Koala population. In many cases, governments are either helpless or completely uninterested in the problem. And although it is clear...
Feb 19, 2020•43 min
What happened in Israel in the last month? 2NJB are here to summarize.
Feb 11, 2020•56 min
Recently, President Trump and his team unveiled the much awaited Deal of the Century, a plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This immediately led to a media frenzy. Several obvious opponents including the PA and the Arab League rejected the plan flat out. Others joined in their rejection claiming that it completely ignores the Palestinian side. On social media, many people shared a meme comparing the plan to the one laid out at the Oslo Accords, claiming the two to be identical. We fi...
Feb 06, 2020•44 min
