Inside Israel’s Leadership Crisis | Interview: Matti Friedman

The Dispatch Podcast

The Dispatch

Politics, News

4.4 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Seasoned journalist Matti Friedman joins Jamie Weinstein to unpack the current state of Israel’s war against Hamas, exploring the tension between military objectives and the return of hostages. He also delves into the role of American leadership, the morality of warfare, and what the future might hold for Israeli-Iranian relations. The Agenda:—Public trust in Israel's government is at an all-time low—The dilemma of the hostage return—Perception of American leadership and Donald Trump—Qatar: friend or foe?—Taking out Iran’s nukes—Is there a Leonard Cohen in today’s war? The Dispatch Podcast is a production of ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Dispatch⁠⁠⁠⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and regular livestreams—⁠⁠⁠⁠click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Ava from Vanta.
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0:17.0	So whether you're a startup going for your first stock two or ISO-27,001, or a growing
0:22.1	enterprise managing vendor risk, Banta makes it quick, easy, and scalable, and I'm not to say
0:27.2	that because I work here. Get started today at banta.com. Welcome to the dispatch podcast. I'm
0:33.1	Jamie Weinstein. My guest today is a returning one. Mati Friedman, he is one of the most insightful
0:40.6	commentators on Israeli society, an author of many books about Israel, and probably the most
0:49.4	influential essay that I have ever read and that our previous podcast was on. He is a seasoned journalist who
0:57.6	understands the failings of covering Israel in the West by many media organizations. He is also the
1:04.4	author of books like Bives of No Country, The Secret Lives at the birth of Israel, and his most recent one,
1:11.8	Who by Fire, Leonard Cohen in the Sinai. We get into a lot of different subjects in this
1:16.8	podcast, including what Israelis think about a number of issues that are going on right now,
1:23.5	including the war in Gaza, the potential attack on Iran, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu,
1:28.8	and more. Also about the difficult situations and moral dilemmas Israelis face in this fight against
1:37.1	Hamas. And finally, I ask Matti if there is a Leonard Cohen of this conflict. I think you will find
1:43.7	this podcast interesting,
1:45.5	informative, and as always, with Mati Friedman insightful. So without further ado, I give you
1:50.7	Mr. Mati Friedman.
2:09.6	Thank you. Maki Friedman, thank you for joining the Dispect Podcast.
	...

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