Coleman Hughes vs. Peter Beinart Debate: Should Israel Be a Jewish State?

Conversations with Coleman

The Free Press

Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 June 2026

⏱️ 104 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Peter Beinart is a writer and author who has contributed to The New Republic, The Atlantic, and The New York Times. He grew up a committed Zionist and has spent the last decade publicly refuting that position, arriving at the view that Israel cannot be reconciled with the principle of equality under the law. His most recent book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, caused shock waves in the Jewish world. In this conversation, Coleman and Peter debate the Palestinian right of return and whether it’s comparable to Israel’s Law of Return for diaspora Jews. They argue over whether a one-state solution would produce equality or civil war, and whether the idea of comparing Israel to South Africa holds up under scrutiny. They get into the role of jihadist ideology in the conflict, whether Iran constitutes an existential threat to Israel, and what it would actually mean for Israel to be a democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.7	Welcome to another episode of Conversations with Coleman. My guest today is Peter Beinart.
0:36.8	Peter Beinart is a writer and author who's written for the
0:39.5	New Republic, the Atlantic, and the New York Times. This is another in my ongoing series of debates
0:44.9	on the Israel-Palestine conflict, starting with Dave Smith and Glenn Greenwald. In this episode,
0:50.4	we talk about the prospect of a so-called one-state solution. We talk about the Palestinian
0:55.6	right of return. We talk about the role of jihadism in the Israel-Palestine conflict,
1:01.0	and we talk about whether Iran constitutes an actual threat to Israel. Peter and I disagreed
1:06.9	very strongly in this episode, but we were able to keep it civil for the most part,
1:10.9	and I thank Peter for that. So without further ado, Peter Beinart.
1:20.1	On this show, we spent a lot of time having honest, unfiltered discussions around Israel,
1:28.1	Zionism, and anti-Semitism. And if our conversations have made you more curious about any of these
1:33.1	topics, I have a recommendation for you. Wondering Jews with Mijal and Noam is a podcast hosted by two
1:39.8	of the leading Jewish voices of today, Noam Weissman and Mijal Bhitan. On their show, Mijal and Noam are
1:46.7	finding fresh perspectives on tough subjects. They've explored the war on Iran from the viewpoint of
1:52.0	Persian Jews. They've poked fun at anti-Semitism with comedians, and they've asked prominent rabbis
	...

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