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 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.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, the director of the Israel Democracy Institute's Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society and head of the Religion and State Program at the center.
Ahead of the upcoming October 27 elections, Israel is looking increasingly stratified, with each segment fighting for its own electorate and particularist needs.
In this week's conversation, we focus on two pivotal Israeli societies: the Religious Zionist and Haredi or ultra-Orthodox communities.
Ravitsky Tur-Paz, who earned two degrees from the Hebrew University's law school, has spent much of her professional life dealing with the question of how religion can coexist with modern civil society.
In the first half of the episode, we learn about the Religious Zionist community and how the party of the same name does -- or does not -- reflect it.
We delve into the settler movement and new patterns of extremist, violent behavior within it. How do these actions align with Jewish theology, or is a new theology being forged?
In the second half, we turn to the Haredi sector and learn about its own mosaic of communities.
Ravitsky Tur-Paz describes the growing resentment facing the society as it chooses to prevent the vast majority of its men from serving in the IDF and from participating in the workforce. We hear what demographic, security and financial concerns this lifestyle presents to Israel today, and in the near future.
And so this week, we ask Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, 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 deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, the head of Realign for Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse.
Alkhatib gives us an overview of the conditions on the ground right now in the Gaza Strip. We learn about an uptick in diseases such as chicken pox due to extreme unsanitary conditions and lack of vaccinations. There are new efforts to allow residents to open bank accounts -- but where is the money to be found even as paper bills are so worn they are disintegrating?
Khalil al-Hayya has been elected to be the new leader of Hamas, the terror group announced Monday after months of speculation following a vote in the General Shura Council. We learn how, following the subjugation of protests in the Gaza Strip in late June, al-Hayya's annointing is another signal that the terror group is entrenching its ties with Iran and continuing consultations with Hezbollah.
In the second half of the program, we discuss the intensity of support for Hamas in three population centers: the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan. Alkhatib's comment on the Palestinians living in the Hashemite Kingdom may surprise.
Finally, Alkhatib describes his new short book, "Hamas and its Two Million Hostages." Part memoir, part explainer, the work is an attempt to offer an approachable take on the past almost three years of war and how Hamas's stranglehold is only tightening on the people in the Strip.
And so this week, we ask Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, 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 Times of Israel's senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.
With the sudden death of US Sen. Lindsey Graham this week, Rettig Gur is asked to expound on the loss of this staunchly pro-Israel politician who was able to rally both sides of the aisle.
We then turn to the recent visits of two Democratic wannabe presidential candidates -- Rahm Emanuel, most recently the US ambassador to Japan, and US Rep. Ro Khanna.
We hear how both politicians came with distinct messages and very different goals.
And finally, as America turns 250, we learn about Anglo Jewry's inability to foresee the new phenomenon of antisemitism hitting the US's teeming shores. Does the vilification of Israel change their hypothetical plans for escape?
And so this week, we ask Haviv Rettig Gur 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 Deborah Gilboa, MD, an expert in resilience and navigating change.
The Pittsburgh-based family physician and author of "From Stressed to Resilient: The Guide to Handle More and Feel It Less" begins the program by defining what is -- and what is not -- resilience. We learn that it can be exercised and strengthened to be employed when we are presented with unexpected choices, positive or negative.
Gilboa, whose son served and was injured as a lone soldier in Gaza, shares how she personally found inner fortitude following his deployment in October 2023 and was able to be the mother he needed when called upon.
We also hear about Dr. G's Squirrel Hill community and its coping mechanisms in the wake of the October 27, 2018, shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, in which 11 people were killed by a white supremacist terrorist. We learn that the community's response to US President Donald Trump's visit lines up with resilience tactics, including drawing boundaries and uniting through tragedy.
Finally, Gilboa gives quick tips for how listeners may hack their own resilience muscle in times of stress.
And so, this week, we ask Dr. Deborah Gilboa 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 edited by Yitzchak Ledee.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.