Ask Haviv Anything

• Episode 51: Antisemitism and the Black experience

  Coleman Hughes is an American writer, host of the podcast Conversations with Coleman, a visiting professor at the University of Austin, and the author of The End of Race Politics.He joins the podcast to talk about America, the Gaza war and the standing of American Jews in American society. A prominent Black thinker who has written and spoken a great deal about race in America, Coleman also helps guide us through the complicated intellectual and cultural story of Black antisemitism in America.This episode is co-sponsored by Earl and Jordanna Lipson of Toronto in appreciation "for the thoughtful commentary the show has been providing to those in the diaspora who hunger for understanding during these very unsettling times." They asked to dedicate the episode to "non-Jewish allies who have shown strength of character, heartfelt compassion and a willingness to seek out understanding when so many around them have proven unwilling to do so. Sadly, in a world gone crazy, it takes courage to speak up against the tsunami of blood libel and hatred being cast upon us. These courageous souls should know that their righteousness is greatly appreciated and is so very important to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you."And it is cosponsored by Eve and Bobby Lapin, Leslie Gilstrap, and Suzanne and John Landa, known as "Haviv's Houston Herd," who wish dedicate this episode to the courageous soldiers of the IDF and the IAF, and to the families of Israel’s fallen soldiers. As diaspora Jews in a climate of increasing antisemitism, we are deeply grateful for the sacrifices all of you have made to protect Israel as a safe-haven and homeland. Your fortitude inspires us. Our hearts are with you – and with the hostage families - each day."If you like this podcast, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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• Episode 50: Hostage Deal - A new day for Gaza, a bad day for Hamas

  On October 8, President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to his peace and hostage release deal. Israel's tormented hostages will soon be home.The agreement delivers almost everything the pro-Palestinian campaign claimed to want. No Israeli annexation, no Gazans have to leave and any who do can return, and a full rebuilding and rehabilitation under Arab and international auspices - all of it confirmed in an explicit Israeli commitment to the United States.It's the best possible deal for Gaza.And that's exactly why it's the worst possible deal for Hamas. Only Hamas loses here, only Hamas is required to disarm - or pretend to for a while. To relinquish authority - or pretend to for a while. It's no longer possible to pretend that Gaza's interests and Hamas's interests are the same. You can support one or the other, but not both.So will it work? And what does it tell us about the past two years, and about the future of Israelis and Palestinians?This episode was sponsored by the Goldstein family of Monsey, NY for the Refuah Shleimah (full and complete healing) of former hostage Romi Gonen and all the hostages. The Goldstein family writes: “Romi’s name was given to us 'randomly' (though nothing is truly random) by one of the hostage sites that sprang up after 10/7, to connect those who wanted to pray for hostages with an individual name and face. I printed this out, and Romi’s beautiful young face and name was taped to a chair at our dining table. Every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there was Romi. Every Shabbos, there was Romi. We read more about her online, how she loves dance and leopard print clothes, how she had been a Tzofim (Scouts) leader, and I thought how much her troop of girls must miss her. I saw videos and interviews with her amazing mother Meirav as well, a powerful and articulate fellow Jewish mother. When Romi’s name was announced as one of the young women scheduled for release, our prayers were being answered! Seeing her walking out, being embraced by her family! We cheered, and cried. And we continue to cheer for Romi. Through multiple surgeries, through what looks like grueling physical therapy, Romi is prevailing. Romi, and every former and current hostage, continue to be in our prayers. They are extraordinary, every one of them."If you like this podcast, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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• Episode 49: Finding hope in the tunnel of Hamas, with Eli Sharabi

  On October 7, 2023, Eli Sharabi's home was surrounded by Hamas terrorists. As he was dragged into Gaza, he shouted to his wife Leanna and two daughters Noiya and Yahel that "no matter what they do to me, I'll be back."It was only in February 2025, as he arrived back in Israel after enduring 491 days of physical and psychological torture at the hands of his captors, that he learned that his family was murdered that day.Eli's new book, "Hostage," is the first comprehensive account of the experience of an Israeli hostage. It contains unique insights about the experience of captivity, about how hostages supported one another and searched for hope in the dark tunnels, about the world-conquering fantasies and fondness for American movies of their Hamas captors, about near-lynchings by ordinary Gazans, about Hamas's expectation that the war that followed their attack would be a short one and their desperate hope that Trump will force an end to the war.This episode was sponsored by Doug and Fabienne Silverman in memory of the Jewish community of Rhodes, which was all but destroyed in the Holocaust. Fabienne’s mother Maggy’s family came from the ancient Sephardi community on the island, which the family visited in the summer of 2025 to learn about their roots.If you like this podcast, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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• Episode 48: Two years to October 7

  The two-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre falls on the joyous holiday of Sukkot. The Hebrew calendar anniversary will fall on the holiday of Simchat Torah, literally "the Joy of Torah."How do we deal with the juxtaposition of these painful anniversaries, of wounds and anxieties and pain that are very much still with us, and the demand to be happy, to celebrate - or even just to try to find release from the pain?The sages of the Talmud, who lived through great and abiding traumas of their own, show us how.This episode was sponsored by an anonymous sponsor who asked to dedicate it to all our fallen soldiers and to the sacrifices of the reservists and their families from October 7 until today.If you like this podcast, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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• Episode 47: Building a new Gaza, with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib

  The day after Trump's release of his 20-point plan for an end to the Gaza war, Haviv sat down with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Palestinian-American analyst and director of the Atlantic Council's Realign for Palestine project, to discuss what it means.Can Hamas really be disarmed and removed from power in Gaza, as the plan envisions? Can an international force in Gaza succeed where the likes of UNIFIL and countless other international interventions in the region have failed miserably? Who in Palestinian society can push back against Hamas or build out political and military power to rival and ultimately suppress Hamas? Can Gazan society be deradicalized?Two tweets are mentioned in the conversation.1. On his transitional force idea: https://x.com/afalkhatib/status/19717477262209845412. On Hamas's withdrawal from Gaza City and regrouping in Nuseirat: https://x.com/afalkhatib/status/1972114914069086285Today’s episode is sponsored by Unpacking Israeli History, a podcast from Unpacked, an OpenDor Media brand, which I’ve had the pleasure of joining several times as a guest. Hosted by my friend Noam Weissman, the show dives into Israel’s most fascinating and sometimes controversial moments. It’s smart, nuanced, and never afraid of complexity, taking the headlines we think we know and uncovering the deeper story of how we got here.If you want more of the kind of thoughtful conversation we have here at AHA, go follow Unpacking Israeli History at https://unpacked.bio/havivUIH.And if you like what we do here at AHA, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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