Call Me Back - with Dan Senor

How much of the Middle East’s history was actually shaped by the West?

The story most of us learned about who created the modern Middle East is incomplete. Dan is joined by historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The Cauldron, who argues that we give Western powers too much credit and the people of the region too little agency. In Part I of their conversation, they trace the forces that shaped the region, from the Ottoman legacy and the rise of nationalism to the Iranian Revolution and Islamism.

Purchase a copy of Simon’s book The Cauldron here.

Get your tickets to a live taping of Call me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.

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This episode is sponsored by RootOne. Help the Jewish teen in your life experience Israel for themselves. Visit RootOne.org to learn more.

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In this episode:

- Who really made the modern Middle East?

- The myth of empire as a Western phenomenon

- How the Middle East lost its diversity

- Did the nation-state fail the Middle East?

- Why Iran’s 1979 revolution changed everything

- How Khomeini turned Islamism into a regional force

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Beth Pearlman, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo

This is a sneak peek from the members-only edition of Inside Call Me Back. Dan is joined by Ark Media contributor Amit Segal to answer a listener question about the column he wrote calling Ben Gvir a disaster for Israel, why he holds Smotrich to a different standard, and why he argues that Israel pays an international price for a minister who sells publicity while delivering almost nothing on policy.

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Call Me Back is made possible by our subscribers. If these conversations are where you turn to understand Israel and the Jewish world, consider joining them. It's what keeps this show going.

For the full episode, subscribe here to - Inside Call me Back

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You can access the full episode here, where Dan and Amit answer listener questions about:

Why Amit turned on Ben Gvir, and why he judges Smotrich differently

When Amit’s own brother attacked him over settler violence

What Shas is really selling with its campaign ad about a soldier coming home

Ofer Winter, Hili Tropper, and the killing zone of the Israeli center

Why no Israeli leader will say “two-state solution” out loud

Would Netanyahu ever serve under Eisenkot in a unity government?

More Ark Media:

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Newsletters | Ark Media | Amit Segal | Nadav Eyal

Instagram | Ark Media | Dan

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

Get in touch

Credits: Ilan Benatar, Beth Pearlman, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo

With a weaker Iran, do Turkey’s regional ambitions put it on a collision course with Israel?

Dan and Nadav Eyal analyze the shifting dynamics in the Middle East, focusing on whether Turkey’s President Erdogan aspires to become a regional superpower given the vacuum left by a weaker Iran. They discuss whether Turkey’s military is trying to move further into Syria, crossing what Israel considers a “red line,” Israel’s recent response, and the emerging Sunni axis between Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

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Get your tickets to a live taping of Call me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22.



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Call Me Back is made possible by our subscribers. If these conversations are where you turn to understand Israel and the Jewish world, consider joining them. It's what keeps this show going.

Become a Subscriber - Inside Call me Back

This episode was sponsored by the Jewish Communal Fund. Learn more about JCF’s donor advised funds at jcfny.org.

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In this episode:

-Israel-Turkey relations and recent military friction

-President Erdogan’s strategic ambitions and desire to revive the Ottoman Empire

-Turkey's influence in Syria and the potential threat to Israel

-Implications for NATO of the new Sunni axis led by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan

-Syrian response to Israel's military strike on a Syrian airbase

-How internal politics in both countries are amplifying the tensions between Turkey and Israel

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More Ark Media:

Want to join Ark Media? Check out our careers page for new openings.

Explore Israel Votes

Listen to Ark News Daily

Listen to For Heaven's Sake

Listen to What’s Your Number?

Newsletters | Ark Media | Amit Segal | Nadav Eyal

Instagram | Ark Media | Dan

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Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

Get in touch

Credits: Ilan Benatar, Beth Pearlman, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo

How will current issues or past discrimination against Mizrahi Israelis influence this election?

Dan and sociologist Mijal Bitton discuss the history, identity, and political narratives of Mizrahi Jews—whose families came to Israel from across the Middle East and North Africa—and how those narratives continue to shape Israeli politics. They unpack the factors of historical discrimination by an Ashkenazi elite, questions of economic opportunity, dignity and belonging of the Mizrahi community, and the Mizrahi devotion to maintaining the Jewish character of the state of Israel.

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Get your tickets to a live taping of Call me Back at the Streicker Center in NYC on October 22. 

 

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Call Me Back is made possible by our subscribers. If these conversations are where you turn to understand Israel and the Jewish world, consider joining them. It's what keeps this show going.

Become a Subscriber - Inside Call me Back

This episode is sponsored by The Shalom Hartman Institute. Register for The Road to the Israeli Elections webinar with the Shalom Hartman Institute's Tani Frank and Masua Sagiv.  ___

In this episode: 

-Historical roots of the Mizrahi and Ashkenazi divide

-Cultural and religious differences in their countries of origin

-Do Mizrahis still resent how they were treated by Ashkenazis during immigration?

-Israelis political realignment in 1977 and Mizrahi powerful support for Likud

-The rise of Mizrahi political movements like Shas

-How Mizrahi voters think about the “deep state” in Israel

-Contemporary Mizrahi identity and integration into Israeli society and politics

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More Ark Media:

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Explore Israel Votes

Listen to Ark News Daily

Listen to For Heaven's Sake

Listen to What’s Your Number?

Newsletters | Ark Media | Amit Segal | Nadav Eyal

Instagram | Ark Media | Dan

X | Dan

Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

Get in touch

Credits: Ilan Benatar, Beth Pearlman, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo

This is a sneak peek from the members-only edition of Inside Call Me Back. Dan is joined by Jon Polin to answer questions from young Jewish adults and teenagers about how to reconcile personal Zionism with those who commit violence against Palestinians in the name of Zionism. They also discuss the pressures and  social costs faced by American young people who stand up for Israel and how to handle some of those tough conversations.

Learn more about Jon’s new project, Foundry 515 here.

Beyond Dispute by Daniel Taub

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl 

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Call Me Back is made possible by our subscribers. If these conversations are where you turn to understand Israel and the Jewish world, consider joining them. It's what keeps this show going.

For the full episode, subscribe here to - Inside Call me Back

____

You can access the full episode here, where Dan and Jon answer listener questions about:

- The social cost for American teens and young adults who stand up for Israel

- How to find Jewish joy outside of religious observance

- What the hostage crisis broke in Israeli society

- Did Hersh have an impact on his captors?

- How Jon, Rachel and others are finding a new “why” after Hersh’s tragic death

- Why Jon chose to make Aliyah

More Ark Media:

Want to join Ark Media? Check out our careers page for new openings.

Explore Israel Votes

Listen to Ark News Daily

Listen to For Heaven's Sake

Listen to What’s Your Number?

Newsletters | Ark Media | Amit Segal | Nadav Eyal

Instagram | Ark Media | Dan

X | Dan

Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel

Get in touch

Credits: Ilan Benatar, Beth Pearlman, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo