Complexity Welcome

In this episode, Nadav Eyal (prominent Israeli author and journalist) and Professor Kenneth Bamberger (Berkeley Law) discuss the fast-changing developments in Israel and in the region – including the continuing hostage crisis, the firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israeli society and the burdens of reserve service in the 14th month of war, and the reelection of Donald Trump in relation to Israel and the Netanyahu government. This episode was recorded in mid-November 2024.Featuring:Nadav Eyal, Senior Columnist, Yediot Ahronot; Senior Commentator, Keshet 12; 2024–2025 Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs; Winner, Sokolov AwardKenneth Bamberger, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Law; Faculty Co-Director, Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies, UC BerkeleyAbout the Helen Diller Institute:The Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies provides a rich academic forum for our nation’s future leaders to explore the breadth and complexity of Israel and contemporary Jewish issues. At a time when polarization is more severe than ever, we bring integrity, excellence, and grit to fostering dynamic spaces where students and the wider community can thoughtfully exchange ideas. To learn more about our mission and work, please visit hdi.berkeley.edu. Production by Yellow Armadillo Studios. Click here to view a transcript of this episode. 

In this episode, leading expert on Jewish-Arab relations in Israel Mohammad Darawshe, and Professor Masua Sagiv (Koret Visiting Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies at the Helen Diller Institute) discuss the challenges and opportunities for building shared society in Israel post-October 7. The events of October 7 and the Israel-Hamas War have had a unique impact on Jewish and Arab-Palestinian communities across Israel, and have posed significant challenges for intergroup relations. Darawshe and Sagiv discuss Darawshe’s vision for a way forward at this precarious juncture. This episode was recorded in November 2024. Mohammad Darawshe, Director of Strategy, Center for Shared Society, Givat HavivaMasua Sagiv, Koret Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies at UC Berkeley (2021–2025); Senior Faculty, Shalom Hartman Institute; Researcher at the Menomadin Center for Jewish and Democratic Law, Bar-Ilan University Law FacultyThe Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies provides a rich academic forum for our nation’s future leaders to explore the breadth and complexity of Israel and contemporary Jewish issues. At a time when polarization is more severe than ever, we bring integrity, excellence, and grit to fostering dynamic spaces where students and the wider community can thoughtfully exchange ideas. To learn more about our mission and work, please visit hdi.berkeley.edu. Production by Yellow Armadillo Studios. Click here to view a transcript of this episode. 

In this episode, Israeli author and memoirist Ayelet Tsabari and Professor Yael Segalovitz (Israel Institute Visiting Professor at the Helen Diller Institute) discuss Tsabari’s newly released, debut novel Songs for the Brokenhearted, a poignant story about family, loss, and lost family stories, and the unbreakable bonds between a mother and a daughter. They also explore Tsabari’s writing process, literary choices, and the social, political, and historical contexts in which the stories of this Yemeni Israeli family unfold. This episode was recorded in October 2024. Ayelet Tsabari, Israeli author of The Art of Leaving; Finalist, Writer’s Trust Hilary Weston PrizeYael Segalovitz (Moderator), 2024–2025 Israel Institute Visiting Professor at the Helen Diller Institute; Lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the NegevAbout the Helen Diller Institute:About the Helen Diller InstituteThe Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies provides a rich academic forum for our nation’s future leaders to explore the breadth and complexity of Israel and contemporary Jewish issues. At a time when polarization is more severe than ever, we bring integrity, excellence, and grit to fostering dynamic spaces where students and the wider community can thoughtfully exchange ideas. To learn more about our mission and work, please visit hdi.berkeley.edu. Production by Yellow Armadillo Studios. Click here to view a transcript of this episode. 

In this episode, Israeli author and clinical psychologist Ayelet Gundar Goshen and Professor Yael Segalovitz (Israel Institute Visiting Professor at the Helen Diller Institute) discuss the fragile emotional state of Israeli society one year after October 7, and in the wake of the murders of hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat. With a keen interplay of literary and psychological sensibilities, they explore in depth Gundar Goshen’s clinical work with October 7th survivors and the impact of trauma and war on her literary process. This episode was recorded in October 2024.Ayelet Gundar Goshen, Award-winning Israeli author; Winner, Sapir Prize for Literature of Israel; Clinical PsychologistYael Segalovitz (Moderator), 2024–2025 Israel Institute Visiting Professor at the Helen Diller Institute; Lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the NegevAbout the Helen Diller Institute:The Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies provides a rich academic forum for our nation’s future leaders to explore the breadth and complexity of Israel and contemporary Jewish issues. At a time when polarization is more severe than ever, we bring integrity, excellence, and grit to fostering dynamic spaces where students and the wider community can thoughtfully exchange ideas. To learn more about our mission and work, please visit hdi.berkeley.edu. Production by Yellow Armadillo Studios. Click here to view a transcript of this episode.

In this episode, Professor Keren Friedman-Peleg (College of Management-Academic Studies) and Dr. Rebecca Golbert discuss Friedman-Peleg’s ongoing ethnographic fieldwork examining processes of meaning-making after trauma among October 7th survivors. They also explore the fragile mood of Israeli society following the murder of six hostages in Gaza. This episode was recorded in October 2024.Featuring:Keren Friedman-Peleg, Spring 2025 Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor; Senior Lecturer and Dean of Students at the College of Management-Academic StudiesRebecca Golbert (Moderator), Executive Director, Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel StudiesAbout the Helen Diller Institute:The Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies provides a rich academic forum for our nation’s future leaders to explore the breadth and complexity of Israel and contemporary Jewish issues. At a time when polarization is more severe than ever, we bring integrity, excellence, and grit to fostering dynamic spaces where students and the wider community can thoughtfully exchange ideas. To learn more about our mission and work, please visit hdi.berkeley.edu. Production by Yellow Armadillo Studios. Click here to view a transcript of this episode.

In this episode, Nadav Eyal (prominent Israeli author and journalist) and Professor Kenneth Bamberger (Berkeley Law) discuss the fast-changing developments in Israel and in the region — including in Gaza and in Lebanon — and consider Iran’s response as well as U.S. foreign policy in advance of the U.S. election. This episode was recorded in late September 2024.Featuring:Nadav Eyal, Senior Columnist, Yediot Ahronot; Senior Commentator, Keshet 12; 2024–2025 Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs; Winner, Sokolov AwardKenneth Bamberger, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Law; Faculty Co-Director, Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies, UC BerkeleyAbout the Helen Diller Institute:The Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies provides a rich academic forum for our nation’s future leaders to explore the breadth and complexity of Israel and contemporary Jewish issues. At a time when polarization is more severe than ever, we bring integrity, excellence, and grit to fostering dynamic spaces where students and the wider community can thoughtfully exchange ideas. To learn more about our mission and work, please visit hdi.berkeley.edu. Production by Yellow Armadillo Studios. Click here to view a transcript of this episode.