You don't see topless or scantily-clad women in Jerusalem every day. But on Friday, several hundred protesters marched in the center of the capital as part of SlutWalk, a protest that started in Canada in 2011 and has since spread all over the world. Shoshan Weber, one of the organizers, tells host Gilad Halpern that the message applies to all sectors of society, and that religious and Arab women also took part in the march.

Radical clerics in London have issued a ban on women drivers, threatening to expel children from schools if they were dropped off by their mothers. The ban comes not from fanatic Islamists, but from Belz Hasidim in the London suburb of Stamford Hill. Following a complaint, the education minister announced she would launch an inquiry into the matter. London-based journalist Daniella Peled tells host Gilad Halpern that the government has jumped on this story as proof that it has nothing against Islam, but fights discrimination across the board.

One of the most crucial lifelines of Bashar al-Assad, the embattled Syrian President who has been bogged down in a bloody civil war for more than four years, was the unwavering support of Russia. But, according to the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, this is going to change soon. The paper reported that Moscow has withdrawn military experts from Assad's war room in Damascus, evacuated non-essential personnel, and stopped showing public support for Assad. Prof. Eyal Zisser, a Syria expert from Tel Aviv University, tells host Gilad Halpern that the reliability of the report is not certain, but if it's true, Assad's downfall is imminent. Sadly, those who will fill the void are Islam

Vladimir Katriuk was the second-most wanted Nazi war criminal suspect on the Wiesenthal Center's most wanted list. He no longer is – because he died last week in Canada, aged 93. Dr. Ephraim Zuroff, director of the Wiesenthal Center's Jerusalem office, tells host Gilad Halpern that Canada has been notoriously lenient on suspected Nazi war criminals. Even though Katriuk was under investigation and a judge ruled that he had lied in his immigration application, he wasn't denaturalized and was never brought to justice.

Tel Aviv's 17th Gay Pride Parade will be launched on Friday June 12th 2015 under the slogan "Tel Aviv Loves All Genders." This year, the parade will focus specifically on the rights of the transgender community, acknowledging their significant contribution to the LGBTQ community and the City of Tel Aviv. Shai Doitsch, one of the producers of the "TA Gay Month," joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to explain what we can expect.

It’s too darn hot in Israel. So hot that things are getting dangerous: Bush fires were reported across the country; outside Tel Aviv three homes went up in flames after a gas tank exploded; delays were reported at Ben Gurion International Airport; a toddler was taken to the hospital after being left in a car for two hours in Petah Tikvah; and the National Fire and Rescue Authority has asked the public to refrain from lighting outdoor fires. Meteorologist Dr. Noah Wolfson, CEO of Meteo-Tech, tells Allison Kaplan Sommer if this is just the beginning, or just a fluke.

Last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that Israel had agreed to purchase four new missile boats from Germany, for the purpose of protecting offshore gas facilities in the Mediterranean Sea. The deal came after a minor crisis in Israeli-German relations in October, relating to missile boats and their price - and Israel ended up getting a good deal In tomorrow’s issue of the Hebrew newspaper Maariv, a big story will appear on the deal; its author, Sara Leibowitz-Dar, joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss.

It felt almost like a summer rerun: Rockets were launched from Gaza, sirens went off in southern Israel, and explosions were heard. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad attack drew a response from Israel - a bombardment that targeted empty facilities and killed no one. Avi Issacharoff, analyst at The Times of Israel, has written that “when two Gazans fight, Israel suffers.” He joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to talk about the tensions in Gaza that led to this exchange.

Israel’s 34th government - the fourth headed by Benjamin Netanyahu - has been making its first steps since it was sworn in at the last minute a couple of weeks ago. Although Likud ministers were scrambling for portfolios, the Foreign Affairs portfolio, one of the most prestigious, was left unmanned. And now we’ve learned that Netanyahu has appointed his close adviser, former Ambassador Dore Gold, as the director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Dr. Alon Liel, former director-general of the MFA, tells host Gilad Halpern whether this really is a watershed moment in Israeli foreign affairs, at a time of increasing global hostility to Netanyahu’s foreign policy.

Israeli social media has been in turmoil over the past few days. An Interior Ministry official committed suicide after a woman accused him of racial discrimination in a Facebook post that went viral. Dr. Avshalom Aderet, founder of Eshnav and chairman of Path to Life, discusses the troubling subject of internet lynching with host Gilad Halpern. He explains that his son committed suicide after being encouraged by his online “friends,” and it prompted him to minimize the adverse effects of social media that often seems innocuous.

Fifteen years ago this week, Israel ended its 18-year-long presence in Lebanon, which started in 1982 with a medium-scale invasion that soon spiraled out of control. The unilateral withdrawal in 2000 was seen by many, in Israel and the Arab World, as a sign of weakness, and as the event that triggered the second Palestinian intifada later that year, as well as the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Mitch Ginsburg, military analyst for The Times of Israel, wrote yesterday that the withdrawal was a watershed moment. Ginsburg explains to host Gilad Halpern how it impacted Israel’s deterrence power.

Shavuot is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah by God to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. But let's be honest, we mostly know it as the holiday of cheese. So how do vegans cope on Shavuot? Do they dread the holiday or somehow find a way to make it their own? Sivan Pardo Renwick, founder and director of The Vegan Woman blog and volunteer for Anonymous for Animal Rights, explains to host Allison Kaplan Sommer why Shavuot isn't all about cheese!

The Jewish festival of Shavuot is coming up, and who doesn't like a nice "best of" list to accompany their cheescake? The Jerusalem Post has obliged, with their annual Shavuot list of the world’s 50 most influential Jews. Noa Amouyal, features editor for The Jerusalem Post, explains to host Allison Kaplan Sommer how the team came up with this list.

Times are changing in the US-Israel relationship in the diplomatic arena, and but the defense relationship between the two countries appears to be going strong. News has just broken that the US State Department this week approved a $1.87 billion arms sale to Israel. Yaakov Lappin, defense correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer what exactly these weapons are that Israel is receiving, and what they do.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's signals have been very mixed when it comes to his policy towards the Palestinians. The coalition guidelines say it “will advance the diplomatic process and strive to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians and all our neighbors.” But how can you be serious about peace when you name someone like Silvan Shalom in charge of your peace talks? Amir Tibon, diplomatic correspondent at Walla! News, joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to break down that decision, and to answer the million dollar question: What does Netanyahu want?

Israel just marked the 50th anniversary since the death of Eli Cohen, the best-known spy in Israel’s history, notorious for his apprehension and execution in Syria. Historian and writer Professor Michael Bar-Zohar tells host Gilad Halpern that Eli Cohen became so famous for two reasons: his phenomenal success (he was privy to the highest decision-making forums) and his tragic failure.  

Israel just marked the 50th anniversary since the death of Eli Cohen, the best-known spy in Israel’s history, who was apprehended and executed in Syria.

The 5th Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism, a bi-annual international conference, was held in Jerusalem last week. Ambassador Gideon Bachar, Director of the Department for Combating Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Remembrance at the Israeli Ministry of Forgein Affairs (one of the event's sponsors) as well as the chairman of the conference tells host Gilad Halpern thatAnti-Semitism is an international problem, not just a Jewish problem, and is a human-rights issue.

Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino called it one of the most remarkable feats in the history of the Israeli police. More than 50 suspects were arrested yesterday in what seems like the most vigorous attempt to date to crack down on organized crime in Israel. Much of the information is still under a gag order, but host of TLV1's Reasonable Doubt and Jerusalem Post crime reporter Ben Hartman sheds a little more light on what we know. He tells host Gilad Halpern that he doesn't actually expect the investigation to break the back of the problem.

Israel’s political culture allows for almost anyone to set up a political party and try their luck in the general elections. Some parties are more bogus than others, and to find out which category the new vegan party belongs to, we’ve invited Daniel Adar, a co-founder of the party and a long-time animal rights activists, to join us today. Adar tells host Gilad Halpern that the issues the party advocates have a direct bearing on everyone's lives, and their significance should be recognized.

The National Union of Israeli Students has asked the Council for Higher education to introduce Muslim and Christian festivals to the academic calendar to benefit the growing non-Jewish student population. Einav Livne, spokesperson for the National Union of Israeli students, said “Fasting on Ramadan, for example, can affect students’ academic performance, and we’re trying to persuade universities to recognize this as an extenuating circumstance.”

Limmud, a grassroots Jewish learning movement, finds the connections between Jewish thought and just about everything else. The annual conference was founded in the UK in 1980. Since then it’s gone global, reaching 80 communities and 40 countries. And on May 14th Tel Aviv held its first Limmud. But why did it take so long to get here? Well, Tel Aviv is staunchly secular city. And even though Limmud isn’t particularly religious, secular Tel-Avivis were still a little wary of it — until they went and

The growing popularity in Tel Aviv of Tikkun Shavuot, an all-night study session, attests to the extent of the spread of Jewish renewal among secular Israelis. The event that was scheduled to take place next week at Tzavta theatre in Tel Aviv — the bastion of secular culture in the city — was supposed to stand for harmony and religious tolerance. But it turns out that Tzohar, a group of moderate Orthodox rabbis, vetoed the participation of non-Orthodox rabbis and instead agreed that representatives of the Masorti and Reform movements, who are not rabbis, attend. Izhar Hess, head of the Masorti movement, says “Just as a veto on women’s participation would be unacceptable, we find this equally abhorrent.”

Rabbi Moshe Levinger, the man who single-handedly established the settler movement, died yesterday aged 80. On Passover Eve in 1968, Rabbi Levinger led a group of Orthodox Jews to hold their Seder at Park Hotel in the then fully Palestinian city of Hebron, which paved the way to renewal of Jewish presence in the city. Rabbi Levinger was also one of the founders of the Yesha council, the representative body of West Bank settlers. Former Yesha Council member Danny Dayan says of the late leader, “Rabbi Levinger was a true visionary whose strength lay in his ability to combine political pragmatism with hardline ideological zeal.”  

Earlier this week, Bar Ilan University’s think tank, the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, invited former US National security advisor Elliot Abrams and a group of Israeli and American academics to discuss the future of US-Israel relations, in light of Netanyahu's imminent reinstatement. TLV1’s Gabriel Avner brings us this report.

The announcement of the new coalition and its line-up of ministers is looking like a last-minute scramble to the finish line, with the unveiling scheduled for Thursday evening. Haviv Rettig Gur, political analyst for The Times of Israel, is here to take us through the home stretch. He explains to host Allison Kaplan Sommer exactly who's got what positions, and if any surprises are looming round the corner.

What actually is "excellence in education"? Does Israel's education system encourage excellence? Can every child be distinguished? What should be done for a child to receive educational excellence? Nava Ben-Zvi, Hebrew University professor and chairwomen (volunteer) of the Israel Center for Excellence through Education in Jerusalem, is this year's winner of the Yakir Yerushalayim prize for citizenship. Nir Yaron, a senior at the Israel Arts and Science high school (IASA), is the bronze medal winner at the Asian Physics Olympics. They both join host Allison Kaplan Sommer to answer these difficult questions on education.

What actually is "excellence in education"? Does Israel's education system encourage excellence? 

If everything goes as planned, a new government with a wafer thin majority of 61 Knesset members will be sworn in Thursday evening at 7 pm. 15 MKs are still vying for 12 ministerial positions, made possible by a vote in the Knesset yesterday, which reversed last year's decision to reduce the number of ministries in order to save public money. The move to increase the number of ministries squeaked through, but not before a filibuster led by the opposition. The Labor Party's MK Merav Michaeli tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer what she thinks will happen in this 'Game of Thrones,' and why Labor is being accused of not fighting hard enough to oppose this legislation.

Kamatech is a unique player in the Start-up Nation: It’s an accelerator for ultra-Orthodox high-tech ventures, which has recently awarded funding to six new Haredi start-ups. Moshe Friedman, the founder, tells host Gilad Halpern that there are about 15,000 Haredi high-tech entrepreneurs, all of whom are autodidacts.

African asylum seekers have dominated the Israeli news for years now; it's focused mainly on their treatment by the government, which some have deemed too generous and others not nearly generous enough. Ahead of a fundraiser later this week, we’d like to highlight another issue: Apparently 5,000-7,000 of Israel's African asylum seekers have been victims of kidnap and torture by gangs in the Sinai peninsula. Miriam Meyer, a coordinator at the Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel, tells host Gilad Halpern

Benjamin Netanyahu's fourth government, which will be sworn in this week, will be homogeneously right-wing. In fact, this is the first government in two decades that did not vow upon its formation to promote a two-state solution. However, Akiva Eldar, a columnist for Al Monitor, recently wrote a piece in which he says that the ideological right is actually a minority in the incoming Knesset. Eldar tells host Gilad Halpern that we need a game changer, a “Sadat moment,” that would tilt public opinion in favor of a two-state sol

Israel and Germany are marking 50 years since the normalization of ties between them. The sale of four German warships to Israel was announced this week, on top of two submarines that have been supplied over the past couple of years. Mitch Ginsburg, military analyst for The Times of Israel, tells host Gilad Halpern that Israel's military cooperation with Germany is second only to its cooperation with the United States, mainly because Germany is the principal provider of non-nuclear powered submarines.

Today is Lag b’Omer, one of the less widely known Jewish holidays around the world. In Israel, the typical Israeli will head to a local bonfire. Many, however, gather at Mount Meron for a technically informal, but giant celebration. The fabled location of Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai's burial place, who according to (a false) tradition wrote the Kabbalistic book the Zohar, is now the gathering place for thousands of Jews each Lag b'Omer. Micah Mador, an American participant on Masa Israel Journey's Career Israel program, speaks to host Allison Kaplan Sommer about his intense and fascinating experience on Mount Meron.

Wednesday morning, the Sudanese army said that it had toppled an Israeli drone infiltrating its air space. This came after Arab media reported that a weapons facility near the area of Omdurman had come under missile attack. Ariel Ben Solomon, Middle East Correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer that reports of the attack may have revealed that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is playing games as he tries to curry favor with both the Saudis and Iran.  

The Sudanese army claims it toppled an Israeli drone in its air space. This came after a reported missile attack on a weapons facility near Omdurman.

 As the political cartoons show, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have arrived bloodied, bruised, and out of breath, but he made the deadline presenting a coalition of 61 Knesset members to the President in order to retain his right to form an Israeli government. Tal Shalev, diplomatic correspondent for i24 news, joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer to help us sort out the winners and losers in this coalition and what we can foresee for its future.

Ronel Fisher, the celebrity lawyer, former journalist and media personality suspected of bribing police officers on behalf of his clients, is back in the news. While the Fisher case is not new, it is in the headlines this week after Ruth David, a former Tel Aviv prosecutor, was arrested on suspicion of obstructing justice and committing ethics violations in the Fisher case. Ben Hartman, crime reporter at Jerusalem Post and the host of TLV1's Reasonable Doubt, tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer that the case - as the story of corruption and bribery unravels - has the potential to seriously damage the public credibility of both the police force and the prosecutor’s office.

  The Ehud Olmert saga continues as the government asked to sentence the former Primer Minister to 8-18 months in prison over his role in the so-called Talansky affair, in addition to the sentence he received in the Holyland case.  The defense team submitted two letters of support from public figures: one by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan noting Olmert's leadership in security-related matters, and another by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair praising Olmert's effort to reach peace. Yonah Jeremy Bob, Jerusalem Post legal affairs correspondent, informed host Yae

After clashes erupted in the heart of Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, dozens were injured as police fired stun grenades and tear gas. With Baltimore's riots in the back of many Israelis minds, the issue of police brutality and the extent of it has been raised. Ben Hartman, Jerusalem Post reporter and host of TLV1's Reasonable Doubt, tells host Yael Wissner-Levy that questions of crowd control are now being raised, and what extent should police forces be involved in demonstrations and protests.  

The clock is ticking until the coalition formation deadline, and the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman struck a political blow to his long-time comrade Benjamin Netanyahu. Lieberman announced yesterday that he would stay out of the government, claiming he was choosing “values over Parliament seats.” Now, the Jewish Home party, understanding their significance in the narrow 61 seat majority, have decided to play hardball and leverage their position. Tal Schneider, political blogger and commentator, tells host Yael Wissner-Levy that Lieberman’s political discretion and decision making have been problematic for awhile, and time will tell if his departure will be politically successful.

Breaking the Silence - an NGO made up of former Israeli soldiers turned whistleblowers - has collected more than 60 anonymous testimonies from IDF soldiers who served during last summer’s Operation Protective Edge. It paints a picture of a military that failed to distinguish between militant and civilian targets, claiming the IDF violated its own ethical code of conduct. Achiya Schatz, director of public outreach for Breaking the Silence, tells host Yael Wissner-Levy an independent investigation is needed to check the policies and the high-ranking commanders, and not the soldiers on the ground.

A case of police brutality against an Ethiopian Israeli soldier sparked a series of protests that turned violent. It also brought an issue to the surface that has been simmering, silently, for decades. Racism — particularly Jews being racist against other Jews — is something that many Israelis find deeply disturbing. Shoshi Shmuluvitz reports on the very complicated picture these recent events have painted of race in Israeli society.

About 2000 Palestinian citizens of Israel filled Rabin Square last night to protest the government's housing policy, which sees Arab residents evicted from their homes because they have been built without permits. Protests like this one are a weekly occurrence in Arab towns. But an Arab demonstration of this size in Tel Aviv is a first. TLV1's Shoshi Shmuluvitz met the protesters, including some who've recently received eviction notices. They explained why people build illegally in the first place.

With summer fast approaching, many Israelis are becoming concerned about a replay of last year’s traumatic conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Host Allison Kaplan Sommer discusses some worrying developments with Yoram Schweitzer, an expert on international terrorism and head of the Program on Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict at the Institute for National Security Studies. These include the fact that Hamas seems to be rebuilding Gaza's tunnel network and rocket capabilities, as well as the news that Mohammed Deif, the commander o

Pulling together a coalition has been harder than many predicted for Prime Minister Netanyahu after his comfortable election victory over a month ago. Although yesterday he did take a big step forward, inking agreements with two parties to join his coalition. Haviv Rettig Gur, political analyst for The Times of Israel, discusses the deal-making with Allison Kaplan Sommer. He predicts that despite the protracted negotiations, Netanyahu hasn’t and won’t lose sleep over pulling together a coalition of 67 members of Knesset to be approved by the president for a ruling coalition.

“Minds of Peace” is a grass roots Peace Making and Public Diplomacy organization which describes itself as an effort to create the social conditions for peace in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by involving the public. Its co-director is Gabriel Bacalor and he said that citizens have as much to contribute to resolving conflicts as political leaders and politicians.

The Arab Higher Monitoring Committee is organizing a rally in Rabin Square today to protest the housing shortage and house demolitions in Arab communities.

Sources in the Likud say Prime Minister Netanyahu will agree to give Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett the Education Ministry despite the opposition this has aroused among his own party. With only a few days left to build a coalition, the question remains: Why doesn’t any political party want the education portfolio? Prof. Yaara Bar-On, President of the Oranim Academic College of Education, tells host Yael Wissner-Levy that for the past 20 years all education ministers left political life after serving in this position, so many politicians are wary of taking up the job. <p style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font

As the death toll rises from the earthquake that ripped through Nepal, Israeli aid delegations are starting to return from the Himalayan nation, bringing back those Israeli travelers who were stranded.  Ravit Martinez-Amitai, a 35-year-old MDA paramedic from Kibbutz Erez, tells host Yael Wissner-Levy that Kathmandu is a city without electricity, filled with people sleeping outside on the streets, and that Nepalese hospitals are filled with patients with broken limbs.

Strong words came out of Washington yesterday when U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman cautioned an audience of Jewish leaders that if the new seemingly right-wing Israeli government does not show its sincerity to the two-state solution, the U.S. will have a hard time slamming down international initiatives - such as the Palestinian issue - at the United Nations. Tal Shalev, i24 News diplomatic correspondent, tells host Yael Wissner-Levy that as Netanyahu finalizes his government, the US feels this is the time to reiterate that support for Israel is not unconditional.

A massive earthquake in Nepal left over 2,000 dead and thousands more lost or stranded. Alon Lavie, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “There are currently 200 Israelis that we’ve been unable to contact, but that’s not necessarily related to the devastation: some of them are on a remote trek.”  

Israeli cinema has become all the rage in the last decade or two, but for many years before that, it was looked down on by film buffs and scholars alike. Two former film students have decided to set the record straight and set up the first definitive database dedicated to the history of the local film industry, which includes 200 hours of filmed interviews with past and current insiders.  Marat Parkhomovsky, co-founder of Israeli Cinema Testimonial Database, said, “Unlike the old guard, we thought that classical Israeli cinema has many artistic qualities that should be documented and cherished.”

An Israeli Defense Forces officer was attacked in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, when he visited two of his soldiers who live there. Lately we’ve seen a sharp increase in violence against Haredi soldiers, and it seems that very little is being done to prevent it from recurring.   Shahar Ilan, VP for Research and Development Hiddush - the movement for religious freedom a

Several international media outlets reported that Hezbollah targets were hit over the weekend in Syria in an airstrike that was purportedly carried out by Israel. This is the tenth such attack that has been attributed to Israel since the Syrian civil war started in 2011 - Israel never claimed responsibility for any of those attacks, but defense officials have said on a number of occasions that they would not allow any arms transfers to Hezbollah from their patrons, Syria and Iran.Major-General (res.) Yaacov Amidror i

Two thousand people have been confirmed dead in the most powerful earthquake to hit Nepal in almost a century. Hundreds more are buried in the rubble and many others were left stranded. Many of them are young Israeli tourists and trekkers — as well as young childless families seeking surrogates. Attorney Dana Magdasi, director of Lotus Surrogacy, said, “In recent years Nepal has become a coveted destination for single parents and gay couples, since India and Thailand banned surrogacy.”

An alternative memorial day ceremony held jointly together with Israelis and Palestinians drew a record-number of participants this year. But in the run-up, the event was mired in controversy as settler protesters petitioned the Israeli Defense Minister to abolish the gathering altogether. TLV1’s Inna Lazareva reports from the ceremony, speaking to some of the Palestinian and Israeli participants, many of whom continue to strive for a peaceful and urgent solution to the conflict, despite losing family members and friends in the ongoing and bloody conflict.

As Israel marks 67 years of independence this week, defense leaders continue to assess the wide range of threats facing the country. While much of the focus is on ISIS and Iran, many in the security establishment have highlighted cyber security as a significant threat. National Cyber Bureau Chief Dr. Eviatar Matania recently called for allocating eight percent of every ministry’s budget to information technology and cyber security, and earlier this month Israel was attacked by 'hacktivist' group Anonymous. TLV1's Gabi Avner s

This year, Remembrance Day (Yom HaZikaron) falls two days after the 67th anniversary of a very personal tragedy for 28 families, including that of TLV1's Matt Jevotovsky. Just south of Kiryat Shemona, overlooking the Hula Valley on Route 90, lies the former Nebi Yusha fort. During the War of Independence, three battles occurred there that claimed the lives of 28 young men a month shy of Israel’s declaration of independence. One of those men was Matt's great uncle, Eliezer Futerman, then 17 years old. Matt traveled to the memo

The ‘switch’ from Memorial Day to Independence Day takes place in a matter of seconds, when an Israeli flag is raised from half-mast to the top of the pole at a national ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. The unique and emotional transformation has a clear message: Israelis owe their independence – the very existence of the state – to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for it. And then the celebrations begin, with barbecues and music performances throughout the country. Yedioth Ahronoth's culture correspondent, Einav Schiff, tells host Yael Wissner-Levy how municipalities try to compete with each other, forking out big money to try to attract top musicians and artists to p

“Face. Day. Memory" is a project that uses today’s technology to revive the memories of those we commemorate on Memorial Day, beyond just one day of the year. The BEIT AVI CHAI cultural center turned to animation artists to recreate moments of life and, together with 19 bereaved families, produced virtual art for both personal and collective memories. Dr. David Rozenson, CEO and Executive Director of BEIT AVI CHAI, tells host Yael Wissner Levy that the medium of animation draws in the audience in a unique way. He explains that several clips have been translated and are being shown worldwide, and th

Prof. Abraham 'Avi' Ohry is a professor of rehabilitation medicine at Tel Aviv University and the Reut Medical Center. He was one of only eight men out of 21 who survived an Egyptian attack on his Suez Canal bunker during the Yom Kippur War. Prof. Ohry tells host Yael Wissner-Levy that he co-founded an NGO called "Erem BeLaila" (“Awake at Night”) because the Ministry of Defense has ignored and neglected the POWs from all of Israel’s wars. He and his colleagues are still fighting to convince the authorities that POWs are war veterans, since physical and psychiatric symptoms can appear years after they return home.

The Seventh Eye, Israel’s only media review magazine, announced a few months ago that it would shut down, but now it’s been put on a life support machine of sorts: it’s now been re-launched as a nonprofit, and has started a crowd-funding campaign in the hope of becoming self-sufficient. Avner Hofstein, investigative journalist, member of the founding committee of the Seventh Eye, says that the magazine's erstwhile sponsor, The Israel Democracy Institute, decided to terminate its support. The Seventh Eye is now looking for other options as well, but focussing on crowd-funding for now.  

It’s been just over a year since the conflict in Ukraine started. Among the many who have been in distress are the country’s Jews. The Jewish Agency has been called into action, which culminated a couple of weeks ago, just before Passover. Host Gilad Halpern is joined by Avi Mayer, a spokesperson for the Agency. He says Aliyah from Ukraine has tripled over the past year. The Jewish Agency has beefed up its services in Israel as well as in Ukraine, because they think that Aliyah should be made from a position of strength.

Dov Lipman, a former MK for Yesh Atid, is still reeling from last month’s general election, in which he lost his seat. He is now looking wistfully across the pond, to the recently launched presidential campaign in the United States, which according to him, is all about ideology, vision and mainly hope for a better future - all of which, he says in a column published last week in the Jerusalem Post, were absent from the Israeli campaign.  

Dr. Tomer Persico is a religious scholar. He has written extensively on the past and present of Judaism and politics. In today’s Haaretz newspaper, he published an op-ed that reviews the decline of the concept of Jewish democracy in the eyes of international observers and Israelis alike - and his bottom line is this: Jewish democracy is a disaster and is detrimental to Judaism.   Dr. Perisco also tells host Gilad Halpern that public opinion is "more convinced that Judaism is contradictory to democracy." 

There are few experiences as distinctively Israeli as Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) - 24 hours when the Holocaust is remembered and discussed. When the siren sounds, the country stands solemnly to remember the dead and show solidarity with the survivors who lost so much. Hanna Yablonka, a professor of Holocaust Studies at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and staff historian for the Ghetto Fighters' House, tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer about the origins of Holocaust Remembrance Day. As the number of survivors dwindle year after year, how wi

A growing number of Israelis have been foregoing the public Holocaust eve ceremony on television or in the town square, and sitting in someone’s living room hearing survivors' stories in a small, intimate group as part of a program called “Zikaron B’Salon” - Memories at Home. Sara Haetzni Cohen, the project's coordinator in Jerusalem, tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer that some survivors tell their stories for the very first time at these events. The program has even gone international, she says, with events going on in other countries.

One in four Holocaust survivors in Israel lives in poverty. Two years ago, the Knesset’s Health and Welfare Committee was bowled over when an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor criticized them for wasting time on endless debates while survivors die in poverty, calling what they were doing a crime and a disgrace. That survivor was Dora Roth, now 85 years old. She shares her story with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, and explains how she ended up at the Knesset that day two years ago.

According to a survey commissioned by the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors: “More than 80% of Israelis believe that in a few years from now, the memory of the Holocaust will become a vague historical event, one of a series of difficult incidents in this history of the Jewish people.” Colette Avital, Chairwoman of the Center, tells host Allison Kaplan Sommer that the growing feeling of distance from the Holocaust is the result of our failure to educate ourselves and our kids properly about the tragedy.

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: Defending against defense Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was lifting a ban on the sales of the S-300 missile defense system to Iran. The system is intended to protect against missiles, rockets and hostile aircrafts, and has different versions with varying capabilities. Senior Israeli officials denounced the decision as a direct result of the legitimacy that Iran is receiving from the nuclear deal. Dr. Azriel Bermant, a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, s

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Where would Hillary stand on Israel? It’s going to happen any minute now: former first lady, senator and secretary of state Hillary Clinton is set to launch her presidential bid for 2016. She is the first Democratic heavyweight to do so, after a number of top Republican lawmakers threw down the gauntlet.Sheldon Schorer, chairman of Democrats Abroad in Israel, says, "Clinton will bring a new approach to foreign policy, which will have a knock-on effect on

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Letting the settlements slide: Is Zionism in decline? Israel Harel, a veteran settler leader, prolific writer and currently a columnist for Haaretz newspaper is this year’s recipient of the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism. Harel tells us that "The most important aspect of Zionism for me is settlement, and the fact that the government has deferred it to the Yesha Council, an NGO, shows that Zionism is not really a priority anymore - and that should be rectified." <p style="color

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: Bibi takes his words to Sunday talk shows Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rallied the Sunday talk shows in the US to figuratively blast the nuclear understandings between the six world powers and Iran. He said he was not against any deal with Iran, but it was simply a "bad deal." Journalist and intelligence expert Yossi Melman gives us his outlook. <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New R

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: African migrants face deportation Israel has started handing out official notices to African migrants held in the detention facilities, informing them of their impending deportation from Israel to third-party countries. Attorney Rachel Friedman tells us that the Israeli Attorney General’s decision to deport these asylum seekers is a clear violation of international and Israeli law, and against previous Supreme Court rulings. <p style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'B

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: Iran nuclear talks: What’s NOT on the table The Russian foreign minister says there are good prospects for a nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran, while here in Jerusalem, PM Netanyahu says that such a deal would serve as a reward for Iranian aggression. TLV1 discusses with Amir Tibon, the diplomatic correspondent for Walla, and Dr. Brandon Friedman, research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Iran deal ‘closer than ever’ It’s still too soon to tell, but it seems that as we speak, history is being made in Switzerland, with Iran and the P5+1 countries looking set to sign a preliminary deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. Several sources have said that the sides are “closer than ever” to reaching a deal, and US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was supposed to fly back home today, has decided to stay in Lausanne and work out the remaining sticking p

Today on So Much to Say with host Allison Kaplan Sommer: The ties that bind, the ties that breakWhat will life be like at the United Nations for Israel without protection from the United States? Dr. Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, tells TLV1 that any move towards a UN resolution for a Palestinian state would "stand in complete contradiction" to signed agreements between Israel and the United States as part of the Oslo Accords. A bump in the roa

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: Former Israeli ambassador to Washington: Spying allegations fabricated The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports this morning that Israel spied on the United States during nuclear talks between the US and Iran. Danny Ayalon, former Israeli deputy minister of foreign affairs and former Israeli ambassador to the US, says that US-Israel relations are at an all-time low. He says the WSJ report is completely false. <p style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Two states or one? Obama and Bibi butt heads United States President Barack Obama reacted publicly to Benjamin Netanyahu’s election victory. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Obama castigated Netanyahu’s sweeping objection to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and said that despite that, he is determined to find a way forward towards a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Alon Liel, former director general of the Foreign Minist

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: Likud prevails, the left trails, and more election day tales Israelis woke up to a surprising, yet spectacular, landslide victory for the Likud party and the Prime Minister, with the Zionist Union and left-leaning parties left speechless. Haviv Rettig-Gur, political correspondent and analyst for the Times of Israel, tells host Yael Wissner-Levy that although the left-wing parties performed better than in past years, it will have to implement lessons learned from these electi

Listen to a special election panel with Noah Efron, Debra Kamin, and Gil Troy as they break down the surprising overnight results.

Tues. 9-11PM (Israel); 3-5PM (EST); 12-2PM (PT) Join TLV1 anchors Ilene Prusher and Gilad Halpern for LIVE coverage of Israel's election madness as the exit polls come out and the votes begin to be counted. We'll have TLV1 & Haaretz correspondents at the major campaign headquarters and special reports on the issues facing Israeli voters. Weds. 7AM (Israel); 1AM (EST); 10PM (PT) Listen to our special LIVE election panel of Noah Efron, Debra Kamin, and Gil Troy putting together the pieces of the jigsaw as the Israeli election results come in - that's when the political game really begins in the race to form a coalition.   Tune in LIVE at www.tlv

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: ISIS: Much ado about (close to) nothing? Yossi Melman, a journalist specializing in intelligence and espionage, has published an article in the Jerusalem Post, in which he says that “The group, once so terrifying, seems to be a passing fashion.” He explains: the emergence of ISIS took the intelligence community by surprise, and the foreign powers that are now involved in fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria have perhaps overreacted. <p s

Today on So Much to Say with host Allison Kaplan Sommer: Political endeavors: What's the outlook on next week's election? For the last time before election day, Lahav Harkov, political correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, joins Allison Sommer to give a summary of this week’s political adventures. Ultra-Orthodox give a rallying cry pre-election Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attended a rally near Tel Aviv Wednesday in a bid to drum up support for the United Torah Judaism party ahead of next week’s election. Hollywood speaks up on upcoming elections We’re used to American celebrities speaking out on American politics and Israeli celebrities on Israeli politics. But it’s a rare that an American Jewish celebrity and speaks on Israeli politics. Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman has come out in favor of the left-wing Zionist Meretz Party. Unfortunate events in A

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: A clash amongst neighbors Internal tensions are rising in the West Bank and Gaza, with security forces detaining dozens of Hamas supporters in raids across the West Bank. With a week until Israeli elections, Hamas supporters are trying to flare up the situation in the West Bank. Eran Zinger, Arab affairs correspondent for Israel Radio, details the situation. <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roma

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Did Netanyahu agree to major concessions to the Palestinians?Two days ago, Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper unveiled a secret document, from August 2013, that shows that Netanyahu agreed to some major concessions on issues that he himself presented as deal-breakers - such as the 67 borders, the division of Jerusalem, and a possible repatriation of Palestinian refugees within Israel. Netanyahu dismissed the report out of hand, and said that it was a working paper suggested by the Americans, that none of its clauses got any approval from the prime minister. He questioned the timing of the publ

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: #BibiSpeech stopped Likud leaking votes, but will it change the map?Much has been said about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress, but the real question is what the impact will be not only on policy, but on the polls. Lahav Harkov, the Knesset correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, tells TLV1 that the Likud party had hoped the speech would regain them at least two more seats in the polls. While it hasn't quite been the catalyst they hoped for, it has stopped them leaking votes. <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter'

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Bitterness between Obama and Bibi likely to affect security cooperationMore than 200 high-ranking Israeli officers have launched a petition against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional speech; they say that Netanyahu’s demeanor seriously undermines Israel’s security. Ret. Maj. General Amnon Reshef, founding chairman of a movement called Commanders for Israel's Security, is the man behind this initiative. He tells TLV1 it's likely that the acrimony in the relationship between Netanyahu and Obama will trickle into security cooperation between the two nations. <p style="color: rg

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Egypt court: Hamas is a terror groupAn Egyptian court ruled several weeks ago that Hamas’s military wing is a terrorist organization. Over the weekend, the same court made a complementary decision, branding the entire Islamic organization - including its political leaders in Gaza and beyond - as terrorists. Prof. Efraim Karsh of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University says, "Every weakening of Hamas is good news for Israel." <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height:

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: US-Israel relations permeated by mutual distrustAs if relations between the Israeli and US administrations couldn’t get worse, over the past few days National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Secretary of State John Kerry both had harsh words to say about Prime Minister Netanyahu in public. TLV1 speaks to Chemi Shalev, U.S. editor and correspondent for Ha’aretz, who says the harsh rhetoric we've heard in recent days illustrates a mutual distrust in US-Israel relations. She also speaks to Tal Shalev, diplomatic correspondent for i24news, who says that Netanyahu’s Congress speech could allow h

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Israel turns off the lights in the West BankDarkness descended on two of the largest Palestinian cities in the West Bank - Jenin and Nablus - after the Israel Electric Corporation pulled the plug for about 45 minutes at 2pm yesterday, in response to a 1.9 million shekel debt owed by the Palestinian Authority. Celine Touboul, deputy director general of the Economic Cooperation Foundation, a think tank that focuses on Israeli-Palestinian relations, tells TLV1 that while the Palestinian Authority may not collapse imminently, its ongoing financial woes will have direct implications on Israel’s secu

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Oslo Muslims take a stand against antisemitismMembers of the Muslim community in Norway held a vigil in Oslo last night that was aptly named the peace ring. More than a thousand people held hands and formed a human shield around Oslo’s main synagogue and chanted “no to anti-Semitism, no to Islamophobia.” Michael Gritzman, member of the board of the Jewish community in Oslo, says, "That was a clear statement from young Muslims that they’re looking for another way. You can’t change the world in one night, but last night was a beginning." <p style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bi

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: Stormy weather: Israel braces itself for the real thingJerusalem has closed down its schools today in preparation for expected snow flurries, part of a storm due to hit the country all weekend. Dr. Noah Wolfson, CEO of Meteo-Tech, promises that not only will the Holy City witness a blanket of snow, but even desert cities such as Arad, Dimona, and Mitzpe Ramon could be covered in white as well. Expenses scandal allows Netanyahu to avoid big issues

Today on So Much to Say with host Allison Kaplan Sommer: Labor's general to TLV1: Netanyahu has no influence on Iran deal due to antagonistic positionGeneral Amos Yadlin, director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the Zionist Union's candidate for the defense portfolio, talks to TLV1's Yael Wissner-Levy at the annual INSS conference. He talks about the damage Prime Minister Netanyahu's policies inflict on Israel's national security, and how the defense policies of a Labor-led government would be different. <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Terror attacks in Copenhagen are all too familiar Copenhagen, the Danish capital, witnessed terror attacks that were remarkably similar to those that we saw in Paris a mere month ago: a shooting at an event dedicated to free speech, attended by a controversial artist who published provocative images of Prophet Muhammad, followed by a shooting at the entrance to the city’s main synagogue, killing 37-year-old Dan Uzan, a member of the comm

Today on So Much to Say with host Yael Wissner-Levy: Pro-Iranian forces in Syria approach Israeli border All eyes are on Israel’s Golan Heights border, as pro-Assad troops and fighters from Hezbollah are advancing in the region, taking control over several towns and villages south of Damascus, home to various rebel groups. Eran Zinger, the Arab Affairs correspondent and analyst for Israel Radio, tells TLV1 that Israel will have to monitor this major military activity closely. Why Netanyahu doesn't want a televise

Today on So Much to Say with host Allison Kaplan Sommer: Palestinians to ban products from 6 major Israeli companies The Palestinian Authority this week announced a ban on the sale of products from six major Israeli companies, as part of a renewed effort to boycott all such goods in the Palestinian territories. Dr. Mustafa Bargouthi, head of the Palestine National Initiative, tells TLV1 that this move is the Palestinian leadership's official response to Israel’s decision to freeze the tax revenues it has collected on behalf of the PA. <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, s

Today on So Much to Say with host Gilad Halpern: Horrified and enraged, Middle Easterners and Westerners unite against ISIS  People across the Middle East have expressed outrage following the gruesome murder of a Jordanian pilot at the hands of ISIS. Now, countries like Jordan, where people were reluctant to get involved in a war they saw as not their own, are more fully on board with the US-led coalition against the Islamic state than ever before. ISIS also suffered a major setback wh

Today on So Much to Say with host Allison Kaplan Sommer: Police officers in prison could be just what the force needsMajor General Hagai Dotan, the commander of the Coastal District, was brought in for questioning after several women officers filed complaints against the officer and testified that he had harassed them. Ben Hartman, host of TLV1's 'Reasonable Doubt' crime show, tells us that the scandal, which has been unfolding for more than a year, could result in officers serving time in prison. This could be what has to happen in order to change the culture of how women are treated in the police force. <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51)