For Heaven's Sake

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How do you go about daily life — bar mitzvahs, trips, work — when every two hours the news cycle shifts, every Israeli with a cousin in the Air Force has a take, and even seasoned analysts can't say what comes next? 

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi take us inside the strange collective experience of Israeli life: suspended in waiting, saturated with rumors, and bracing for a military confrontation that could reshape the entire Middle East — before anything has happened yet.

Watch the video version of our podcast on our Youtube channel.  

Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org. 

For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST. 

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more. 

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: 

Register for this summer’s Community Leadership Program or Rabbinic Torah Seminar. 

Educators, apply now to the Wellspring Summit for Educators!

Can a country survive when tribal loyalty overwhelms collective responsibility? 
This week on For Heaven's Sake, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine something unprecedented: while Israel defends its borders from external threats, it's losing the ability to govern within them. From ultra-Orthodox attacks on IDF soldiers to epidemic crime within and against Arab communities to ministers contradicting national policy—Israel faces a sovereignty crisis from within. 
- 01:35: Not Iran — Israel’s Internal Sovereignty Collapse
- 04:15: Bnei Brak: When the IDF Can’t Enter an Israeli City
- 06:00: Murder, Mayhem, and Government Retreat
- 08:20: The Draft Revolt Goes Mainstream
- 16:00: Governing vs. Surviving: The Coalition Choice
- 22:00: From “Who’s Sovereign?” to Sovereignty Lost
- 27:30: Tribes, Territory, and the Fracturing State
Watch the video version of our podcast on our Youtube channel.  
Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org. 
For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST. 
Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more. 
Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: 
Listen to “America Betrays the Stranger” on Identity/Crisis.

Antisemitism is everywhere in Jewish conversation. But what are we missing? 
Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi zoom out to examine the assault on the Jewish story, the cost-benefit calculus of Jews around their identity, and the abuse of antisemitism discourse within Israel. An exploration of what antisemitism is doing to us—beyond the fear. 
02:00 – A New Era of Antisemitism? Old Threat or New Reality
06:00 – Anti-Zionism and the Assault on the Jewish Story
13:00 – Jewish Identity as Choice: Will Antisemitism Push Jews Away?
19:00 – Defiance or Drift? Lessons from Soviet Jewry
22:30 – Are We Letting Antisemitism Define Jewish Identity?
26:00 – The Internal Danger: “Weaponizing” Antisemitism in Israel
34:00 – What Does Persistent Hatred Say About the Jewish People?
 
Watch the video version of our podcast on our Youtube channel.  
Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org. 
For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST. 
Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more. 
 
Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: 
Register for this summer’s Community Leadership Program or Rabbinic Torah Seminar. 
Educators, apply now to the Wellspring Summit for Educators!

Israel is headed toward elections again, but can either side form a stable government? 
In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi take a step back to examine the current political climate: the politics of exclusion, the historic unification of Arab parties around domestic issues, and the stalemate that could leave Israel stuck in another cycle of deadlocked elections. They offer a clear-eyed look at where Israeli politics stands—and where it might be headed. 
00:00 - Elections in the Shadow of War
05:00 - The New Fault Line: Ultra-Orthodox vs. Arab Parties
14:30 - Arab Politics Recentered on Personal Security
18:45 - A Jewish–Arab Civic Moment in Tel Aviv
26:30 - Israel’s Returning Political Stalemate
30:00 - Interim Governments and Uncertain Endgames
Watch the video version of our podcast on our YouTube channel.  
Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org. 
For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST. 
Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

The hostage clock stopped at 843 days, 12 hours, and 6 minutes. But did the healing begin?
Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi reflect on the return of the body of Ran Gvili—the last hostage from October 7th—and what this moment reveals about Israel's wounds, its divisions, and its desperate need for goodness. A meditation on trauma, ritual, and the human need for moments of grace—even when the underlying problems remain.
Watch the video version of our podcast on our Youtube channel. 
Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.
For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST.
Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.
Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:
Learn more about Rabbanut North America, our three-year rabbinic ordination program, and the newest cohort!