On this bonus episode of The Glenn Show, I’m joined by Noam Dworman, host of the Live from the Table podcast and owner of the Comedy Cellar, a legendary comedy club in New York City. Noam and I began corresponding years ago, and those email exchanges have developed into a real friendship. He’s an extremely thoughtful guy who, like many of my friends, disagrees with some of the things I’ve been saying about the Gaza War and Israel-Palestine. Noam decided he wanted to persuade me to think about the issue from a different perspective. To that end, a little while ago, Noam and his wife made the long drive from New York to Providence, accompanied by Coleman Hughes, Coleman’s fiancee, and a hefty bag of books about Israel. Over a long, sumptuous dinner, all of us, including my lovely wife LaJuan, talked about the issues, and much else.
Noam’s trip up to Providence was, in my view, not really a political gesture. It was a touching act of friendship. It made me think about the ways that cataclysms like the Gaza War can inject themselves into our most precious relationships, and sometimes end them. I’ve lost friends over political disputes before—it is a wrenching experience. I have no wish to repeat it. But neither can I stomach repressing my point of view for the sake of loyalty. Noam attempted to persuade me to think about my statements about Israel-Palestine, but he did so in order to reaffirm our friendship rather than to threaten it. How can we maintain our relationships with loved ones even when we differ on the most vital issues? Noam seemed like the ideal person with which to attempt to answer this question. As you’ll see, my friend has many wise things to say.
Sign Up for City Journal’s Newsletter
City Journal provides rigorous analysis that allows you to reach your own conclusions, rather than rehashing ideologically “safe” talking points. Explore it for yourselves and sign up for their free newsletter today.
This is a bonus episode of The Glenn Show. To receive weekly early access to TGS episodes, an ad-free podcast feed, Q&As, and other exclusive content and benefits, click below.
0:00 Why Noam gave Glenn a bag of books about Israel
5:25 Why Glenn felt burned after The Bell Curve
8:49 Loyalty among friends during the Gaza War
13:15 The blowback from Brown’s ceasefire letter
17:18 Talking about Israel across the ideological spectrum
19:42 Glenn: Loyalty tests are unreasonable
23:16 Trying to understand the human costs of war
26:26 Glenn: There is no decent alternative to a two-state solution
33:32 “Apartheid,” “genocide,” and other potentially unhelpful terms
39:29 Noam: Thank God for President Biden
44:13 Why Noam is worried about American attitudes toward Israel
49:08 Will the Gaza War end up strengthening Hamas?
56:08 The tone-deafness of some supporters of Israel
Recorded January 31, 2023
Links and Readings
Noam’s podcast, Live from the Table
The Glenn Show Live at the Comedy Cellar
Glenn and John Live at the Comedy Cellar
Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein’s book, The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life
Glenn’s conversation with Charles Murray
The Brown University faculty’s ceasefire letter
Glenn’s conversation with Omer Bartov
Glenn’s conversation with Norman Finkelstein
Glenn’s conversation with John Mearsheimer
Glenn’s most recent conversation with Robert Wright
Benny Morris’s book, One State, Two States: Resolving the Israel/Palestine Conflict
Aaron Maté’s appearance on Noam’s podcast
Noam Dworman – Friendship in a Time of War (Bonus Episode)