Tel Aviv Diary

Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the Israeli public at a Press conference last night, following the announcement of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) reached between the United States and Iran. Many expected him to discuss the MOU and its implications for Israel. Netanyahu did not mention the agreement even once during his remarks. What he did stress, multiple times, was his belief that without his actions over the years, Israel would already have been destroyed by an Iranian nuclear weapon.

In this episode of the Tel Aviv Diary Podcast, Marc Schulman speaks with Rabbi Uri Regev, President of Hiddush — Freedom of Religion for Israel — about one of the most important internal battles shaping the future of the Jewish state: the struggle over religion and state.

I have lived through more than a few extraordinarily crazy days in Israel. Yesterday was certainly one of them. I will not revisit all the events of the day, which I covered in yesterday’s diary update. Suffice it to say that, for most of the afternoon and evening, it appeared we were headed toward another round of confrontation with Iran. Like many Israelis, we prepared for the possibility that the night would once again be interrupted by air-raid sirens and trips to the bomb shelter.

As I was about to push “publish” on tonight’s Tel Aviv Diary, the Prime Minister of Pakistan announced that the United States and Iran had reached an agreement and that it would be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday. Following the Pakistani Prime Minister’s statement, President Trump followed up by posting: The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete.

n this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman speaks with Inbar Harush, one of the leading voices behind the movement for “Service for All” in Israel and a key figure in shaping Yashar’s policy platform under Gadi Eisenkot.

When I began writing tonight’s Tel Aviv Diary entry, it looked as though we would once again be going to sleep not knowing whether we would be awakened in the middle of the night. The question hanging over everything was whether Iran would respond to the American attacks by firing missiles at Israel. I listened today to several well-known commentators who argued that we cannot “normalize” this situation. They are right.

President Trump continues to dominate the news in Israel on multiple fronts. Of course, the most immediate development was last night’s American response to the downing of the helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. We discussed the initial reports yesterday, but the operation turned out to be more extensive than it first appeared. The United States carried out three waves of attacks. The targets seemed carefully chosen.

President Trump announced this evening, Israel time, that Iran had shot down an American helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. The crew was reportedly rescued by drone. Trump declared that the United States would have to respond to the attack.

In this episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Marc Schulman speaks with author Avi Shahaf about his new book, Pain and Healing: Testimonies from the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum. Shahaf, a former organizational consultant who has spent years studying narrative research and human dignity, interviewed Israeli and Palestinian members of the Bereaved Families Forum—people who lost loved ones in the conflict yet chose reconciliation over revenge.

Today, one story overshadowed all others in Israel … and that was our latest round of fighting with Iran. The chain of events began last week when Hezbollah intensified its attacks on northern Israel. Israel responded by preparing a strike on Hezbollah’s command center in Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as the Dahiya. Iran warned that it would retaliate directly against Israel if the attack went forward. That threat prompted immediate intervention from Washington.