Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Middle East remains in turmoil. Trump is waging “Project Freedom” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz; the war with Iran continues; the United Arab Emirates just dramatically departed from OPEC; Israel is still fighting on its northern border with Lebanon; and Hamas’s grip on Gaza persists.
It can be hard to keep track of this—much less make sense of it. Which is why I sat down with Free Press Middle East analyst Haviv Rettig Gur to ask him about all of it. We also examined escalating settler violence in the West Bank, and why Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tacitly supports it; UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s appearance on the cover of British Vogue; the latest Gaza flotilla; and likely presidential candidate Rahm Emanuel’s recent declaration that “the days of taxpayers subsidizing Israel militarily are over.” And overall, can the region shake its martyrdom ideology?
Find Unpacking Israeli History — a production of Unpacked — on your favourite podcast app or YouTube, and subscribe today: https://unpacked.bio/6il
The Middle East remains in turmoil. Trump is waging “Project Freedom” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz; the war with Iran continues; the United Arab Emirates just dramatically departed from OPEC; Israel is still fighting on its northern border with Lebanon; and Hamas’s grip on Gaza persists.
It can be hard to keep track of this—much less make sense of it. Which is why I sat down with Free Press Middle East analyst Haviv Rettig Gur to ask him about all of it. We also examined escalating settler violence in the West Bank, and why Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tacitly supports it; UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s appearance on the cover of British Vogue; the latest Gaza flotilla; and likely presidential candidate Rahm Emanuel’s recent declaration that “the days of taxpayers subsidizing Israel militarily are over.” And overall, can the region shake its martyrdom ideology?
Find Unpacking Israeli History — a production of Unpacked — on your favourite podcast app or YouTube, and subscribe today: https://unpacked.bio/6il
