What Matters Now

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with the head of the Israel Democracy Institute, Yohanan Plesner.
As millions of Israeli voters will cast a fateful ballot on October 27, what are the top three issues driving them to the polls -- and why?
Plesner, a former member of Knesset for the now-defunct Kadima party, begins the program by explaining the purpose and goals of the IDI, which he calls a "think-and-do-tank."
We learn about the overabundance of parties that officially registered this week, the use of joint party "lists" to reduce wasted votes and how a politician's word may be somewhat flexible, leading to broken promises.
Even after a vote is cast, the challenges in setting up a stable coalition are immense. It is not at all clear that we're not about to head to another series of inconclusive elections, warns Plesner.
And so this week, we ask Yohanan Plesner what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt.
As antisemitism surges worldwide by some 900% over the past decade, Greenblatt explores how the 113-year-old organization's mission to protect Jews has -- and has not -- evolved to meet the new challenge.
In light of the drastic uptick in hate, Borschel-Dan jokes that the ADL commands more money than a very small sovereign state (she erroneously names Nauru) and asks if the organization has failed in its mission.
Greenblatt assures her that a $100 million annual budget is a drop in the bucket against well-oiled hate machines funded by petrol states and says the ADL, like all other Jewish organizations, is working to regain its footing in a post-October 7 world.
We learn how the foundational anti-hate body has had to make some tough choices and how it is increasingly leaning on AI to reinforce its human staff.
And so this week, we ask Jonathan Greenblatt what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with author Yossi Klein Halevi.
The Hartman Institute senior fellow, writer and thinker joins us in our Jerusalem studio for a probing conversation about Jewish extremism.
Klein Halevi is the author of the 1995 "Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist," based on his time spent as a disciple of far-right racist firebrand Meir Kahane. He is uniquely poised to delve into the psyche of the violent fringe terrorizing West Bank Palestinian and shaking members of the settler movement.
We discuss the throughline between the era that spawned Kahane and his followers and today's national traumas that are spurring extremists to believe Kahane was right all along.
Through Kahane's vanities and human frailties, Klein Halevi realized that the cult of personality was dangerous and unhealthy. We ask, what happens if adherents believe their racist violence is actually in the service of God?
Klein Halevi, optimistic that these youth can be awoken, sets out conditions that could, slowly, allow for their transformation.
And so this week, we ask Yossi Klein Halevi, what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with CEO of Community Security Service Richard Priem.
While guarding his Dutch synagogue as a 17-year-old, Priem knew there were two places where Jews wouldn't experience antisemitism: Israel and the United States. Whereas in Europe, where Jews regularly must go through security checks and metal detectors before entering community events, he was sure the Jewish State and the Goldene Medina were different.
That "age of security" for US Jewry changed around the time of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life shooting, he said.
This is where his NGO steps in: Founded in 2007, the not-for-profit aims to empower Jewish volunteers and strengthen their communal security toolboxes to prevent attacks and de-escalate situations as they arise.
As Priem, a former paratrooper in the IDF puts it, who better to preemptively ascertain something is amiss than the community regulars themselves?
In this episode, we hear real-life examples of how CSS volunteers saved lives. Later, Priem lays out a hypothetical plan to secure Borschel-Dan's upcoming speaking gig in Chicago.
We learn about the need for "digital hygiene" and how a force of thousands of volunteers -- and growing -- are allowing Jews to be loud and proud again.
And so this week, we ask Richard Priem, what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with leading economist Prof. Dan Ben-David.
Ben-David heads the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and is a senior faculty member in the Department of Public Policy at Tel-Aviv University.
Before Israel heads to the ballot box on October 27, Ben-David is on a crusade to raise awareness of just how crucial these elections are to stave off an almost inevitable "spiral of collapse."
In economics, a "spiral of collapse occurs when a country starts to collapse economically; the first to leave are the most educated, the most skilled, the people with options, which means that there's a greater burden on those who remain," explains Ben-David. Right now, due to decades of sectoral politics, Israel is headed towards such a cliff, he feels.
But through careful planning and a complete overhaul of Israel's education system, the country can still bounce back. Ben-David explains how the Jewish state needs to create one unified core curriculum for all of its citizens -- and teach it well.
And so this week, we ask Dan Ben-David, what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.