Episode 13: John Spencer on war, morality, politics and the fight for the future.

After a delay (Haviv got a bad flu), we're happy to share a great panel with Haviv and Prof. John Spencer that took place at the Woodbury Jewish Center in Woodbury, New York on May 7.Thank you to Rabbi Jason Fruithandler and Rob Dwek for hosting, and to the Malin family for sponsoring the speaker series this event was part of.

Haviv and John talked about whether victory was in the cards against Hamas, what it would require, and whether Israeli society would persevere; about claims of starvation and genocide and the role of propaganda in conflict; about whether Gazans all support Hamas; about the distinction between civilian and combatant and what it might mean for the IDF to be, as many Israel defenders say, the "most moral" army; about Netanyahu's leadership and politicking over the past 19 months; about whether Israel could go it alone on Iran; and finally, about what the rise of a new American antisemitism might mean for the biggest diaspora Jewish community in all of history.

Lots and lots of topics, so it went on a bit longer than our usual episodes.

This episode is sponsored by someone who asked to remain anonymous and to dedicate the episode to someone who fell on October 7. We are dedicating the episode to Yoram Bar-Sinai, architect, kibbutznik and grandpa, who died age 75 in a gunbattle with Hamas terrorists while defending the home of his daughter Ruti in Kibbutz Be'eri. Yoram died in that firefight, but not before forcing the Hamas gunmen to give up on the house, saving his daughter and grandchildren who were inside. May his memory be a blessing.

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A podcast by Haviv Rettig Gur