Matti Friedman: Israel's forever wars in Lebanon
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 21 March 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with author and journalist Matti Friedman.
The first half of our episode is dedicated to an in-depth discussion of Friedman's newest book, "Out of the Sky," set for publication next week. The book is a deep dive into the meaning and myth surrounding a team of Jews living in British Mandate Palestine who -- after escaping the Holocaust -- parachute back into Nazi Europe in 1944.
The most famous of the unit is Hannah Senesh, whom readers will know as the tragic young woman who heroically attempted to save Jews and left behind Hebrew poetry, including "Eli, Eli." In his new book, Friedman busts myths surrounding the mission's participants and then tells their even more stunning real tales.
In the second half of the program, we draw upon Friedman's personal experiences in Lebanon, which he recounted in a previous book, "Pumpkin Flowers."
We discuss the crossroads Israel again finds itself as it contemplates a large ground maneuver on a road too well-traveled in southern Lebanon.
And so, this week, we ask Matti Friedman, what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Yitzhak Ledee.
Matti Friedman / Troops of the 300th 'Baram' Regional Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued by the military on March 18, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's What Matters now, a weekly podcast delving into one issue |
| 0:09.3 | facing Israel and the Jewish world right now. |
| 0:12.2 | I'm your host, Deputy Editor Amanda Borschal Dan, today in our Jerusalem studio with author, |
| 0:18.0 | journalist, Mati Friedman. |
| 0:19.7 | Thank you so much for joining me today, Mati. |
| 0:21.5 | Thanks for having me. It is such a pleasure and it's a long time coming and we're going to |
| 0:25.9 | peg today's conversation. I hope the first of many to your new book that is just out of the |
| 0:32.8 | sky. Now, Mati, you have to say the title again in your proper accent, okay? |
| 0:38.7 | A good Canadian accent. |
| 0:40.1 | Oh, I guess this is actually the Canadian edition of the book, so it's fitting. |
| 0:43.7 | It's called Out of the Sky, of course. |
| 0:45.9 | Thank you so much for indulging me with that. |
| 0:48.2 | So we're going to talk about the book in the first half of our conversation. |
| 0:52.1 | And then in the second half, we're going to discuss Lebanon, |
| 0:55.1 | which was the subject of one or two of your previous books. Is that correct? It's the subject of |
| 1:01.3 | one book, but some of the other books end up touching on Lebanon as well. There's two more of them. |
| 1:05.6 | So you are a resident expert on Lebanon. So all of this and more when we're back. |
| 1:13.4 | This episode is brought to you by Jewish Communal Fund, the preferred donor-advised |
| 1:18.2 | fund of the Jewish community for over 50 years. Charitable giving should be impactful and |
| 1:23.7 | efficient. That's why many people choose to give through a JCF donor-advised fund. |
| 1:29.2 | A donor-advised fund is like a personal charitable bank account. You contribute a minimum of $5,000 |
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