U.S. Jews and Israel 'are no longer exceptional': Dahlia Lithwick and Joshua Leifer on being 'Trump's chess pieces'
Haaretz Podcast12 Joulu 2025

U.S. Jews and Israel 'are no longer exceptional': Dahlia Lithwick and Joshua Leifer on being 'Trump's chess pieces'

When it comes to liberal American Jews and President Donald Trump, the “cognitive dissonance is real,” said award-winning journalist Dahlia Lithwick on the Haaretz Podcast.

While Lithwick “doesn’t dispute for a minute" the fact that the U.S. president and his envoys “did yeoman’s work” negotiating a cease-fire deal, it is not enough for her to soften her perception of the level of danger that Trump represents.

With democracy and rule of law being challenged, “You have to ask yourself, am I transactional enough to say that I will subordinate all of that to parochial interests?” she said in her conversation with Haaretz columnist Joshua Leifer and podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer.

“If you say you can pick and choose which authoritarian you want to align yourself with, cross your fingers and hope you know this time, being a court Jew is going to work out – history suggests otherwise.”

In their in-depth discussion, Lithwick and Leifer also consider the trends in U.S. politics on the right and left, which are upending the long-held assumptions of American Jewish life and the urgent need to confront the new “transactional” reality and abandon “magical thinking.”

“American Jewish organizations sold the idea to American Jews that they were more powerful than they were. And I think Israel sold to American Jews – and also Israelis – that Israel is more powerful than it is,” Leifer said.

For U.S. Jews to effectively fight for their interests, including the battle against antisemitism, he said, they must leave behind “the old rhetoric and strategies – because no one cares anymore.”

Read more from Haaretz columnist Joshua Leifer:

In Blood-soaked Israel-Palestine, the Dangerous Status Quo of Before October 7 Has Returned

It's Clear What Defendant Netanyahu Gets Out of a Pardon. But What's in It for Trump?

The Ultra-hawkish Right and anti-Zionist Left Have Drowned the American Jewish Majority

Why Netanyahu Is Sharing Leftist Conspiracy Theories About a Mossad Sex Cabal

Israel's Right Wing Bet the Country's Future on American Christian Nationalists. That Has Backfired

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(100)

How a Haaretz investigation into stolen Ukrainian wheat triggered a diplomatic crisis

How a Haaretz investigation into stolen Ukrainian wheat triggered a diplomatic crisis

A diplomatic crisis over Israeli import of stolen grain from occupied Ukraine exploded this week following the publication of a Haaretz investigation that documents Ukrainian allegations that Russian ...

1 Touko 25min

'American Jews really hate Trump. But they hate Netanyahu even more'

'American Jews really hate Trump. But they hate Netanyahu even more'

The average American watched the Gaza war from afar as a "dramatic and gruesome humanitarian crisis that Israel was responsible for" – but the U.S.-Israel war in Iran is having a far greater impact on...

28 Huhti 29min

Making Israel's case to ChatGPT and Grok: Hasbara meets AI in multi-million dollar PR push

Making Israel's case to ChatGPT and Grok: Hasbara meets AI in multi-million dollar PR push

Fighting antisemitism online was meant to be the focus of the Israeli government’s multimillion-dollar digital PR campaign run by President Donald Trump’s former digital guru, Brad Parscale. But inste...

24 Huhti 28min

'You can't heal in a perpetual war': Israeli peace activist Yonatan Zeigen on following in his mother's footsteps

'You can't heal in a perpetual war': Israeli peace activist Yonatan Zeigen on following in his mother's footsteps

The final moments of Vivian Silver’s life were a “pivotal turning point” for her son Yonatan Zeigen, who now dedicates his life to Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, following in the footsteps of his...

20 Huhti 27min

'The Hungarians turned their anxiety into hope, that's the main lesson for Israelis'

'The Hungarians turned their anxiety into hope, that's the main lesson for Israelis'

The dramatic landslide election in Hungary toppling authoritarian populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, resonated deeply for Israel in diverse ways, explained Haaretz’s David Issacharoff, who covered ...

17 Huhti 25min

'We'll kill you, traitor': How far-right thugs and police target Israel's antiwar protest leaders

'We'll kill you, traitor': How far-right thugs and police target Israel's antiwar protest leaders

As diplomatic talks between Iran and the United States continue in an effort to extend the temporary cease-fire due to expire on April 22, public opinion surveys show that while a majority of Israelis...

14 Huhti 32min

Iran war cease-fire update with Amos Harel: 'Trump wants out and Netanyahu is extremely disappointed'

Iran war cease-fire update with Amos Harel: 'Trump wants out and Netanyahu is extremely disappointed'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "extremely disappointed" by the terms of the temporary cease-fire hammered out between Donald Trump's White House and Iran, but has little choice but to accept it ...

9 Huhti 17min

What Trump got wrong about Iran, what the IDF got wrong about Hezbollah: Amos Harel on wars with no exit strategy

What Trump got wrong about Iran, what the IDF got wrong about Hezbollah: Amos Harel on wars with no exit strategy

As the war with Iran drags on and the conflict with Hezbollah intensifies, a growing number of Israelis are “losing faith” in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promises of a decisive victory, Haaret...

6 Huhti 30min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
tervo-halme
rss-podme-livebox
aihe
rss-ulkopoditiikkaa
viisupodi
rss-pinnalla
the-ulkopolitist
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-asiastudio
radio-antro
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
otetaan-yhdet
rss-mina-ukkola
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit