Episode 3: John Spencer on why Israel hasn't yet won the war in Gaza
Ask Haviv Anything26 Helmi 2025

Episode 3: John Spencer on why Israel hasn't yet won the war in Gaza

In our first interview episode, Haviv Rettig Gur sits down (virtually) with Prof. John Spencer of West Point, one of the foremost experts in urban warfare who has made a special study of Israeli warfighting tactics and strategy.


Many subscribers to this podcast have asked us why Israel doesn’t seem to have won this war, why Hamas is still standing after 17 months of fighting and why Israel must still negotiate for its hostages.


For answers we turned to Prof. Spencer. We learned about the IDF’s astonishing successes, such as its groundbreaking tactical innovations in tunnel warfare. And we learned about the gaping lacuna at the heart of Israel’s strategy in Gaza — the reason it still hasn’t won the war.


Thank you to Joe and Shira Lieberman for sponsoring this episode in honor of those we lost on October 7th.


Please join me on Patreon to support this project: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything


If you would like to sponsor an episode please email haviv@askhavivanything.com

Jaksot(93)

Episode 32: Hunger and the Gaza war

Episode 32: Hunger and the Gaza war

There is now hunger in Gaza, widespread and dangerous. It's less dire than Western media claims, but could reach those proportions if it isn't reversed through an aid surge.How did we get to this poin...

31 Heinä 202545min

Episode 31: The century-old harbinger of October 7, a conversation with Yardena Schwartz

Episode 31: The century-old harbinger of October 7, a conversation with Yardena Schwartz

Welcome to a special episode of Ask Haviv Anything. This episode was a live conversation with author Yardena Schwartz taped last week at Martha's Vineyard and hosted by Chabad on the Vineyard.Please n...

27 Heinä 20251h

Episode 30: How the Middle East broke, a conversation with Hussein Aboubakr Mansour

Episode 30: How the Middle East broke, a conversation with Hussein Aboubakr Mansour

Hussein Aboubakr Mansour was born and raised in Egypt before fleeing to the United States and dedicating his life to understanding how the Arab world came to be defined by state failure, religious ext...

21 Heinä 20251h 19min

Episode 29: After the Druze massacre, can Israel make peace with Joulani? A conversation with Druze activist Rania Fadel Dean

Episode 29: After the Druze massacre, can Israel make peace with Joulani? A conversation with Druze activist Rania Fadel Dean

The clashes in Sweida in southern Syria this week focused world attention on the plight of the Druze and questions about the nature of the new Syrian government. Videos and claims of atrocities drove ...

17 Heinä 202555min

Episode 28: The Gaza Paradox

Episode 28: The Gaza Paradox

As hostage talks seem stalled and the war grinds on into its 22nd month, doubts about Netanyahu’s strategy and intentions have become ubiquitous.Netanyahu has given many reasons to distrust him, inclu...

14 Heinä 202545min

Episode 27: Music amidst trauma - a conversation on life in a war with Aya Korem and Adam Ben Amitai

Episode 27: Music amidst trauma - a conversation on life in a war with Aya Korem and Adam Ben Amitai

There are many ways to process and manage painful and difficult times. After the massacre of October 7 and the multi-front war that ensued, many Israelis turned to music, and often to the powerful bal...

7 Heinä 202555min

Episode 26: How Iran’s regime subverted Shia Islam - with Hussain Abdul-Hussain

Episode 26: How Iran’s regime subverted Shia Islam - with Hussain Abdul-Hussain

The Iranian regime has long claimed to be the bearers of Shia Islam's vision of messianic redemption. The Supreme Leader, who ruled under regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini's ideology of "wilayat al-faq...

4 Heinä 202553min

Episode 25: What is happening in Gaza?

Episode 25: What is happening in Gaza?

A bombshell Haaretz report last Friday concluded that IDF soldiers were responsible for a great many of the deaths of Gazan civilians outside aid distribution centers in Gaza.What should we make of th...

1 Heinä 202547min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mayday-fi
huijarit
totuus-vai-salaliitto
mystista
tsunami
konginkangas
rss-ikiuni
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
rouva-diktaattori
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
rss-peter-peter
rss-kirkon-ihmeellisimmat-tarinat
rss-sattuu-sita-suomessakin
historian-nurkkapoyta
tiedetta-ja-sirkushuveja-vanhojen-aikojen-podcast
hippokrateen-vastaanotolla
rss-outoja-uutisia-pohjois-suomesta