The October 7 attacks in Israel and the ensuing war heightened already dire political tensions in the nation’s government. In this clip, Omer Bartov explains why he thinks that the Gaza War and extremist elements in Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition in the Knesset threaten to bring Israel to the brink of a democratic crisis.
This is a clip from the episode that went out to paying subscribers on Monday. To get access to the full episode, as well as an ad-free podcast feed, Q&As, and other exclusive content and benefits, click below.
Quite disappointing episode. Glenn usually plays the devil’s advocate regardless of his personal opinion on any given topic. This skill was glaringly absent in this podcast. Glenn let his guest express his opinions unchallenged for almost the entire segment.
One of the few real questions Glenn posed, Mr Barton simply did not answer. Glenn didn’t even pose the question himself, he just passed on a viewpoint of a student.
Mr Bartov offered extensive sentiments on the failure of Israel. Not once did he offer any tangible steps Israel could take to address the savagery of October 7 or Hamas in general. Clearly a cease fire will accomplish nothing. How do you respond to a organization (Hamas) that openly advocates for your (State of Israel) destruction?
I want my devil’s advocate back.
Omar has the Israeli equivalent of TDS --> NDS. I found some of the historical statements to be interesting but my mind shuts down as soon as anyone equates the IDF actions with Hamas Oct 7. Also during all of the criticisms of Israel and the IDF there was no mention of how thought Israel should have responded to Oct 7th. Politically every country in the world has political contingents on the extreme right and left, although Israel and the US are countries where these people are visible. The fact that Israel leans right now doesn’t mean it stays that way. To say otherwise means that you consider the majority of Israeli voters unable to decide their own path. The last thought I had but he made no mention of is that the killing could stop today, this minute, Hamas putting down their arms and releasing the hostages. John thank you for having this guy on your show. It was interesting, and I’m happy I know who this guy is, but I was disgusted by his positions and I am neither Jewish or Israeli.