Israel Uncensored

Oct

2019

Did Zionism Die in 1967?

On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, an interview with Rabbi Yehuda HaKohen from the Brit Hazon – Vision Alliance Movement. His movement’s goal is to re-instill a sense of Zionism for Jews in Israel and around the world, which he says perhaps has faded since Israel’s miraculous victory in the 1967 Six Day War. Hear how HaKohen and his colleagues are intellectually inspiring and shaping the next generation of Jewish thinkers and leaders.

For more information and further details visit: https://visionmag.org/ and https://soundcloud.com/visionmag

Oct

2019

Remembering Ari Fuld HY”D

On today’s very special edition of Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, Josh reports from the Gush Etzion ceremony on the anniversary of the murder of warrior for Israel Ari Fuld HY”D. People from all over Israel and some from overseas attended the moving event including Col. Richard Kemp, former British military forces commander in Afghanistan and Dr. Harold Rhode former Pentagon specialist on the Middle East. Josh also spoke to many other friends of Ari who told stories of how Ari inspired them to stand up for Israel, whether in the IDF, on social media, or throughout the world of public diplomacy including Avi Abelow, Brian of London, Zahava Englard Shapiro, Rachel Moore, Nadia Matar, Yehudit Katzover, and more.

Sep

2019

The Head-Scratching Israeli Election

Israelis went to the polls this past week, but results produced a stalemate leading to a period of uncertainty as to which Israeli leader will form the next government. While Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party received two more Knesset mandates than the incumbent – Prime Minster Netanyahu’s Likud, neither side has enough support to form a government. The ball is now in the court of President Reuven Rivlin to try and help the sides make compromises to reach the necessary 61 seats. If not, Israel could in fact be headed towards yet another election – its third in less than a year, this coming winter. On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, Josh tries to sort out the confusion and explain Rivlin’s daunting task.

Photo Credit: Commons Wikipedia / Scanned by Open Clip Art Library user Johnny Automatic

Sep

2019

Israel Getting Ready to Vote

On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, Josh speaks to representatives from two of the right-leaning parties who according to polls will pass the electoral threshold as Israel gets ready to elect representatives to the 22nd Knesset on Tuesday. First it’s Jeremy Saltan English Campaign Manager and candidate for Knesset from the Yamina party. Then a conversation with Fred Moncharsh, Likud Central Party Committee member. Yamina and Likud have gone after each other in recent days trying to secure votes on the right. Who should right-leaning Israelis vote for? Maybe the Otzma Yehudit party is the answer? Either way, Josh says that the Jewish People living in the State of Israel are blessed to be able to elect their own leadership after 2,000 years in exile.

Sep

2019

What Would an Israeli Victory Look Like?

On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, Josh shares some interviews from Sunday’s Israel Victory Project conference held in Ramat Gan including comments from Naftali Bennett. The conference brought together politicians, academics, journalists, military experts and others to discuss their views on how Israel should go about achieving a victory over her enemies, from Hamas in the south to Hezbollah in the north, and all others who seek Israel’s demise and refuse to accept the existence of a Jewish State.

Photo Credit: Koby Dovraz

Sep

2019

European Flag Football Championship is a Touchdown for Jerusalem

This past weekend 21 teams from all over Europe arrived in Jerusalem to compete for the 2019 Flag Football European Championship. Denmark took the gold for the men while Spain won the women’s crown. On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, American Football in Israel (AFI) president Steve Leibowitz says that the biggest winner in the competition is the city of Jerusalem, hosting the largest ever delegation (over 400 players) for a specific sport in an internationally recognized tournament. While the Israeli men’s team finished fourth and the women finished sixth, Israel already has its sights on the 2020 world championship in Copenhagen.

Aug

2019

Friday Jihadist Terror Strikes Again

In yet another Friday terror attack in Israel, 17-year-old Lod resident Rina Shnerb HY”D was murdered this past week, when Arab terrorists remotely detonated a bomb near a Binyamin-area spring. Her father and brother were also wounded in the attack. On this week’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, Josh discusses this horrific incident, and other acts of terror which seem to be taking place in Israel nearly every Friday this summer. Also on the show, an update from a tense situation on both Israel’s northern and southwestern borders.

Photo Credit: English Wikipedia / Tewfik

Aug

2019

Two Israeli Teens Injured in Gush Etzion Car Ramming

On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, an interview with Ben Goldstein who is on the first response anti-terror team in the community of Elazar, Gush Etzion. On Friday morning a terrorist using his car as a weapon rammed into two Israeli teenage siblings making their way to a bus stop outside of Elazar. One of the teens was seriously wounded while the other suffered light to moderate injuries. Goldstein discusses the attacks and says that Israel must restore deterrence as the threat of terror heats up throughout the country.

Aug

2019

1,729 Visit Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av

While many waited for hours in the blistering sun, 1,729 Jews ascended the ramp for a visit to Judaism’s holiest site – the Temple Mount on Tisha B’av, which is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. The Israeli police on instructions from the government flipped-flopped throughout the day, opening and closing Judaism’s holiest site to Jewish visitors. Muslim rioters had positioned themselves at the site, hanging a Hamas banner, and were vocal in opposing the area being opened for Jews. Yet while certainly not a smooth experience, Jews did in fact make it to the Temple Mount to mourn the loss of both Jewish Temples, and yearn for the rebuilding of the third – speedily in our days.
Photo Credit: Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 4.0

Aug

2019

Building Bridges Between the Jewish People

On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, an interview with JJ Sussman International Director of the Gesher Organization. Gesher, Hebrew for “bridge,” tries to close the gaps between Jews from different religious and political backgrounds. This goal is especially relevant as we are in the midst of the nine day mourning period leading up to Tisha B’av which commemorates the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem, with our sages teaching that the 2nd Temple was destroyed as a result of baseless hatred and slander between Jews. Sussman says that his organization encourages Jews who might have disagreements to find common ground and should meet each other face to face, as opposed to behind the keyboard, in order to build those bridges.