Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

On Sunday evening in Israel, after 471 days in captivity, three hostages — Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher — were released from Gaza and returned home to Israel, as a ceasefire in Gaza went into effect.

There has been speculation as to why this deal was agreed upon now, and about whether January 19th effectively marked the end of the Gaza war. And more than anything, there is palpable anxiety about the fate of the remaining hostages.

To take in this moment and unpack these questions about what comes next, we are joined by Yossi Klein Halevi and Wendy Singer.

Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Yossi has written a number of books, including his latest, "Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor," which was a New York Times bestseller. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Times of Israel. He is co-host of "For Heaven's Sake" podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-heavens-sake/id1522222281

Yossi Klein Halevi's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001IXOA04

Wendy Singer was the professional founder of Start-Up Nation Central (SNC), where she served as Executive Director for nine years. Wendy currently serves as a strategic advisor to select Israeli start-ups and NGOs, including the National Library of Israel. Before joining Israel’s tech scene, she spent sixteen years as Head of AIPAC’s Israel office. Wendy is a board member of the Shalom Hartman Institute; and a Trustee of the Russell Berrie Foundation.

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

After fifteen months of war, and months of on-again, off-again negotiations, Israel and Hamas have reached a hostage deal, which is set to take effect this upcoming Sunday.

What are the key points of the deal? What should we expect - or brace for - as hostages return home to Israel? And - will this deal mean the end of the war?

To take in this historic development, and to help us understand all the above questions, we welcome back Nadav Eyal to the podcast.

Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

As we wait in anticipation of a hostage deal, we welcome President Trump’s incoming National Security Adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, to the podcast, to discuss the possible hostage deal, and his thoughts on the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Congressman Mike Waltz is a Colonel (Ret.) in the National Guard, and the first Green Beret to be elected to Congress. He worked on counter-terrorism in the Bush White House and was a policy advisor at the Pentagon, serving under Secretaries Rumsfeld and Gates, and a Congressman from Florida. As President Trump is sworn in as president - this upcoming Monday, January 20th, inauguration day - so will Mike Waltz, as the president’s National Security Advisor.

Mike graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with Honors and served 27 years in the U.S. Army and National Guard. After being commissioned as an Army lieutenant, Mike graduated Ranger School and was selected for the elite Green Berets, serving worldwide as a Special Forces officer with multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. For his actions in combat, Mike was awarded four Bronze Stars, including two for Valor.

Mike is the author of the books, “Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan”: https://a.co/d/18NEaB0 , and “Hard Truths: Think and Lead Like a Green Beret”: https://a.co/d/c0lnM9B

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

The collapse of Assad’s regime in Syria has created a new geopolitical reality, in which Turkey has emerged as a dominant regional power, both militarily and diplomatically. For Israel, this new reality entails certain risks, but also opportunities for cooperation?

What is Turkey’s next move - and what are Erdogan’s ambitions? And how is Israel preparing for this new order?

To help us understand, our guests are Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarojak and Call me Back regular Nadav Eyal.

Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarojak, who moved to Israel from Turkey, is a researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, and an expert on contemporary Turkish politics and society. Yanarocak is the editor of Turkeyscope, and a member of the Middle East Network Analysis Desk. He is a frequent guest on Israeli media, where he regularly appears to discuss contemporary Turkish issues.

Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

Yesterday in Washington D.C., former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service was held at the National Cathedral.

The former president’s post-presidential legacy has had a lasting impact on today’s Middle East. President Carter was known for brokering the Egypt-Israel peace treaty between Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, which has lasted over four decades. However, he was also the first national leader of his stature to openly embrace Hamas, to accuse Israel of “apartheid”, and to legitimize Hamas’s slaughtering of Jews through suicide bombings and other forms of terrorism, during and following the Second Intifada.

How did President Carter go from an engaged diplomat working for peace between Israel and Egypt to championing Hamas and its narrative of Israeli “apartheid”?

To discuss the paradox of President Carter when it comes to Israel, and his impact on current day events in the Middle East, our guest is Ken Stein.

Dr. Kenneth W. Stein is Emeritus Emory Professor of Middle Eastern History and Israel studies where he taught from 1977-2024. Early in the 1980s, he led the Middle East Program of the Carter Center, which included multiple trips to the region with the Carters, writing a book with him, and providing monthly analyses to the former president. In 1998, Ken established the first Israel Studies Center in North America and founded the Center for Israel Education in 2008.

Pertinent to this interview, are his 1999 publication, Heroic Diplomacy: Sadat, Kissinger, Carter, Begin and the Quest for Arab-0Israeli Peace and a personal collection of the hundreds of hours of conversations he had with Carter over a twenty year span. He is also the author with Ambassador Samuel Lewis, “Making Peace Among Arabs and Israelis: Lessons from Fifty Years of Negotiating Experience”, https://www.amazon.com/Making-peace-among-Arabs-Israelis/dp/B002X78MGW [amazon.com]

Book discussed in this episode: https://tinyurl.com/4h7pmwzf

Recent article by Ken Stein: https://m.jpost.com/international/article-835320

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr8LqOg69K8

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

A few days ago, we all learned of new details and viewed footage from one of Israel's most high-risk and complex commando operations. The operation was a covert mission conducted by the IDF on September 8, 2024, targeting an underground missile production facility near Masyaf, Syria. The facility, associated with Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center, was reportedly on the verge of producing precision-guided missiles with ranges of up to 300 kilometers, intended to be supplied to Hezbollah for use against Israel.

To unpack what exactly happened in this operation to neutralize this Iranian/Syrian facility — and the implications for Israel’s broader war with Iran — we are joined by Nadav Eyal.

Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

🔗 Watch video episodes of Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

🔗 Visit our website to sign up for updates, access transcripts and more: https://arkmedia.org/

🔗 Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

🔗 Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

The string of Israeli successes against Hezbollah — culminating in the killing of Hassan Nasrallah — last September was partly the work of Israeli military and intelligence agencies infiltrating Hezbollah’s networks, planting booby-trapped communication devices, and tracking the leaders’ movements to dismantle the group's military capabilities. This campaign crippled Hezbollah by also destroying thousands of missiles and disrupting its leadership, delivering a blow to Iran’s regional strategy.

An investigative report recently published by the New York Times delves into how deeply Israeli intelligence had penetrated Hezbollah ranks. Our guest today is one of the report’s authors: Ronen Bergman.

Ronen Bergman is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and Senior Correspondent for Military and Intelligence Affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli daily. Ronen has won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the Israel-Hamas war and the pre-war intelligence failures.

The New York Times’ investigative report, co-authored by Ronen: “Behind the Dismantling of Hezbollah: Decades of Israeli Intelligence” - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/29/world/middleeast/israel-hezbollah-nasrallah-assassination-intelligence.html

🔗 Subscribe to watch video episodes of Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

🔗 Visit our website to sign up for updates, access transcripts and more: https://arkmedia.org/

🔗 Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

🔗 Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

Last Thursday, The New York Times published a long investigative piece titled “Israel Loosened Its Rules to Bomb Hamas Fighters, Killing Many More Civilians”. The article tries to identify an unprecedented shift in the IDF’s military strategy and rules of engagement during its response to Hamas’s October 7 invasion, and reports on the impact on Palestinian civilians, including a substantial increase in risk to Palestinian civilians.

To discuss the ethics of Israel fighting a just war justly, to help us unpack and respond to the key charges in the Times investigation, and to briefly reflect on the (post-presidential) legacy of President Jimmy Carter, we welcome back to the podcast, Yossi Klein Halevi, who is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Yossi has written a number of books, including his latest, "Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor," which was a New York Times bestseller. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Times of Israel. He is co-host of "For Heaven's Sake" podcast.

Yossi Klein Halevi's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001IXOA04

Articles discussed in this episode:

“Israel Loosened Its Rules to Bomb Hamas Fighters, Killing Many More Civilians” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-bombing.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&tgrp=sty&pvid=1FCD1780-A3CA-40EB-BBFF-99870A87D46E

“Teens forced to perform sexual acts on each other: Report to UN details Hamas torture” https://www.timesofisrael.com/teens-forced-to-perform-sexual-acts-on-each-other-report-to-un-details-hamas-torture/

“Jimmy Carter, friend of dictators and champion of terrorists”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3181150/jimmy-carter-friend-dictators-and-champion-terrorists/