For Heaven's Sake

Why does Israeli political life appear hopelessly frozen at the top even as tectonic shifts stir beneath the surface? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine the looming Israeli elections, the persistent mathematical stalemate b...

What do four political earthquakes in a single week – as the Knesset is on the brink of dissolving – reveal about the election that will define Israel's future? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi open Israel's election season by ma...

What do four political earthquakes in a single week – as the Knesset is on the brink of dissolving – reveal about the election that will define Israel's future? 

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi open Israel's election season by mapping the upheaval: the sudden formation of new parties, Gadi Eisenkot's rise to rival Likud as Naftali Bennett fades, a blitz of contentious legislation, and a government openly declaring it will defy the Supreme Court. Together they ask what Israelis actually want and whether this moment marks the true end of the Netanyahu era. A clear-eyed guide to the opening shot of the most consequential election in years. 

This episode originally aired on July 8, 2026. 

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Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: 

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Can the Jewish people hold on to moral tradition in the era of Jewish power? In this special episode—recorded live in the courtyard of the Shalom Hartman Institute's Jerusalem campus on July 14, 2026, at the Institute's Wellspring Summit for Educators—...

Can the Jewish people hold on to moral tradition in the era of Jewish power? 

In this special episode—recorded live in the courtyard of the Shalom Hartman Institute's Jerusalem campus on July 14, 2026, at the Institute's Wellspring Summit for Educators—Yossi Klein Halevi joins Sara Labaton, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America for a candid conversation on Jewish anti-Zionism, the Israel–American Jewish divide, and the crisis of Jewish memory. Together, they reflect on power, victimhood, and what we owe the next generation of Jewish learners.  

Watch the video version of our podcast on our YouTube channel.  

Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org. 

For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST. 

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.