Unholy: Two Jews on the News

A thousand days after October 7th — and Benjamin Netanyahu wants to talk about unity. This week, as Israel edges closer toward elections, Yonit and Jonathan discuss a prime minister campaigning on togetherness after- say his critics- a long career spent dividing Israelis against each other, and trace the strange alliance between Israel's nationalist right and the ultra-Orthodox parties who for the most part reject Zionism on principle.

 

Zohran Mamdani keeps doubling down on Israel and AIPAC, six months into his mayoralty — and sees no reason to slow down. And as America turns 250, Jonathan asks an uncomfortable question about what happens to a constitution when the people meant to enforce it simply don't.

 

Plus: our Chutzpah award goes to a finance minister taking credit for something he objected to while our Mensch of the week pulls off an unexpected feat of German diplomacy - and language.

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Yonit Levi
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A wave of antisemitic terror swept across Western Europe this spring — and one man appears to have been behind it all. This week, Yonit and Jonathan hear the full, remarkable story as they sit down with Jason Burke, The Guardian's international security correspondent and terrorism expert. He describes how a single Iraqi-Iranian dual national is accused of leveraging both social media and teenage criminals to orchestrate what looked like a series of scattered attacks but was, in fact, a coordinated proxy campaign. And they discuss the broader questions: has the long arm of Iranian terror been constrained at all by US-Israeli military action? Did October 7th represent a strategic break from Iran's usual playbook — or was it a tactical aberration? And as the 50th anniversary of the raid on Entebbe approaches, was that operation a turning point in the long history of global terrorism - and what can be done now to beat back the menace of terror?

 

00:00 Introduction to Jason Burke and His Work

02:23 Profile of Mohammed Bakr Saad, Al-Sadi

05:13 Al-Sadi's Operations and Recruitment Methods

07:50 The Arrest of Al-Sadi and His Plans in the US

12:42 Impact of Al-Sadi's Arrest on Terror Operations

15:26 October 7th: An Evolution or Aberration in Terrorism?

19:06 The Role of Qatar in Terror Financing

22:55 Countering Terrorism: Challenges and Strategies

26:05 The Significance of the Entebbe Raid

30:03 Convergence of Leftist and Islamist Terrorism

33:01 The Evolution of Terrorism and Its Future

 

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Yonit Levi
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Jonathan Freedland
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📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com
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The new reality of Washington’s relationship with Israel is slowly sinking in — and it’s not pretty. As JD Vance grows visibly chummier with Qatar and Pakistan than with Israeli officials, Yonit and Jonathan discuss the likely impact of the shift and whether Israel’s old assumption — that an American president will always have its back — has to be discarded for good. Then: as the Mamdani effect ripples through New York’s primaries, sweeping in a slate of politicians sharply critical of Israel, the two debate who’s really to blame.

 

Plus: Keir Starmer’s resignation and likely successor, two former Israeli PMs along with a veritable platoon of former and current IDF commanders denounce settler violence in the West Bank - and a Jewish American comic genius reaches a milestone.

 

00:00 The World Cup and Jewish Connections

04:25 Israel's Changing Geopolitical Landscape

16:02 Shifts in American Politics and Israel's Position

24:04 The Nuances of Anti-Semitism and Political Shifts

29:13 Israeli Politics: Elections and Controversies

35:47 The Resignation of Keir Starmer and Its Implications

43:23 Celebrating Mel Brooks: A Comedy Legend

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Yonit Levi
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Israel just learned that the US and Iran have agreed to a deconfliction cell with Lebanon — and Israel wasn't in the room. As the dust settles on a war whose outcome is, at best, ambiguous, Yonit and Jonathan sit down with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who wants his old job back.

Bennett doesn't hold back: on why he believes this government dragged out a war Israel was never built to fight, on the "infinite power of propaganda" keeping Netanyahu afloat three years after October 7th, and on whether he can trust Trump — or JD Vance — to look out for Israel's interests when Israel isn't at the table. He also lays out, in detail, what he'd do differently on the Haredi draft, the judiciary, the Palestinians, and Ben Gvir and Smotrich — and admits the polls aren't moving the way he hoped.

 

00:00 Introduction: Naftali Bennett joins Unholy

00:09 The Iran deal and the deconfliction cell with Lebanon

03:18 Would he have avoided this war altogether?

06:29 Did Netanyahu prolong the war for political reasons?

08:05 Trust in Trump and JD Vance on Iran

13:11 Reports the Trump administration is opening channels to him

15:19 What would actually change if Bennett became PM?

17:39 The Kogat story: improving Palestinian quality of life without a state

21:51 Pushback: is a two-state "spectrum" really viable?

24:06 Why he opposes full Palestinian sovereignty

24:39 Mansour Abbas and Arab parties in a Bennett coalition

26:52 Lapid, the polls, and stepping aside for Eisenkot

29:34 Judicial reform: would he continue where this government left off?

31:26 Why Ben Gvir and Smotrich are out

33:51 Fears of a "January 6th" scenario in Israel

36:16 Was joining forces with Lapid a mistake?

39:21 Did Bennett change, or did Israel change?

42:05 The story that brought him back: a scientist in tears

44:43 How is Netanyahu still in this race?

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Yonit Levi
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Jonathan Freedland
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As the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding is signed in Versailles — covering a ceasefire, sanctions relief, and billions in unfrozen assets, but saying nothing about uranium enrichment, centrifuges, ballistic missiles, or Iran's proxies — Israel is left reading a deal it wasn't part of and only received hours before Trump's signature. Yonit is joined this week by CNN senior global affairs analyst and Unholy co-author Bianna Golodryga, live from a New York celebrating the Knicks' first championship in 53 years, for a conversation about what this MOU actually says, what it doesn't, and what it means for a country that spent 40 days in shelters waiting for something better than this.

Plus: a Cornell sophomore makes headlines for the wrong reasons, and a design school in Israel sends wounded soldiers down a runway.

 

02:09 Responses to the MOU in Israel and the U.S.

06:59 Concerns from Israel Regarding the MOU

11:20 Netanyahu's Position and Reactions

17:24 Implications for U.S.-Israel Relations and Regional Dynamics

24:42 The Political Landscape of the Iran Deal

27:08 Consequences of the Ceasefire and Future Implications

28:56 Comparing Past and Present Iran Agreements

31:03 Economic Reactions and Military Posturing

32:49 The Changing Dynamics of U.S.-Israel Relations

35:28 Chutzpah: Cornell Sophomore Austin Franco

37:30 Mensch: Shenkar College Designs for Wounded Soldiers

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🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLY
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🎙️ THE HOSTS
Yonit Levi
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X: https://x.com/LeviYonit
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Jonathan Freedland
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📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com
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