End of week round up

Catch up on this week’s episodes below

INSIDE Call me Back, May 21st, 2026

Due to the Shavuot holiday, Dan shares a different kind of conversation: his appearance on Rabbi David Ingber’s Detours and Destinations. This time, Dan is the one answering the questions, reflecting on the family stories, personal losses, political detours, and Jewish commitments that shaped the work he does today. It’s a rare look at the backstory behind Call me Back, and at the experiences that continue to shape Dan’s thinking about America, Israel, and the future of Jewish life.

Call me Back, May 20th, 2026

How do unverified claims become a New York Times column?

Did the U.S. and Israel plan to replace Iran’s regime with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?!

A new New York Times investigation has revealed an astonishing alleged U.S.-Israeli plan behind the war with Iran: not just strikes on nuclear sites and missile capabilities, but a broader attempt at regime change, together with none other than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ronen Bergman joins Dan to explain how the plan was built, why Ahmadinejad became part of it, why it collapsed before it could fully begin, and what it means that the story is coming out while the war is still unresolved.

For Heaven’s Sake, May 20th, 2026

Is it possible to win every battle and still lose where it matters?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi confront what may be the most dangerous front Israel faces today — the narrative. They lay bare the forces converging against Israel’s legitimacy: the collapse of Western institutions and the global spread of antisemitism amplified by social media and a systematic anti-Zionist campaign decades in the making. They reflect on the way this has reframed every chapter of Israel’s story — from founding to present — as settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide — and the psychological toll of this multi-front narrative war.

What’s Your Number?, May 20th, 2026

Yonatan and Yael unpack whether the next U.S. military aid deal with Israel could be the last. Unlike in the 1980s, now the amount of aid is a small share of Israel’s economy and a tiny line item for Washington. The bigger questions are: How can Israel move from an aid-based relationship to a strategic partnership built around defense, technology, infrastructure, and shared security interests? And how do the two countries retain and improve a special relationship through investment, business and cultural ties.

Call me Back, May 18th, 2026

Was the Trump-Xi summit a win, a loss or neutral?

Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping ended with no major breakthrough, no dramatic concession, and no public rupture. But according to Carice Witte, Founder and Executive Director of SIGNAL Group, that may be the real story. China projected confidence, framed itself as America’s peer, and tried to turn the summit into proof of U.S. decline. Yet on Taiwan, Iran, and regional leverage, Beijing got far less than it wanted.

Carice joins Dan to unpack what really happened in Beijing, why China wants Iran weak but intact, how Israel’s military successes have changed Beijing’s view of Jerusalem, and what Israel should do differently as China watches the war from the other side of the world.

That’s a wrap for now.
We’ll catch up again next week with new episodes!

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