Introduction
Today on the podcast, we continue our exploration ofidentity, conflict, and understanding — this time turning to the Israeli experience, and the complex interplay between faith, belonging, and the search for peace.
I’m joined by Yossi Klein HaLevi, a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and one of Israel’s most respected writers and thinkers on religion, society, and coexistence. Over the past several decades, Yossi’s work has sought to illuminate how Israelis and Palestinians see one another — and how, despite history and hardship, empathyand dialogue can still be possible.
He is the author of several acclaimed books, including LikeDreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation — which won the Jewish Book Council’s Everett Family Foundation Award for Jewish Book of the Year — and Letters to My PalestinianNeighbor, a deeply personal and courageous attempt to reach across the divide, inviting Palestinians into a conversation about narrative, identity and hope.
Through his writing, lectures, and engagement at the Hartman Institute, Yossi has become a leading voice in promoting religious and moral understanding, both within Israel’s deeply divided society and between Israelis and the wider region. His work consistently reminds us that peace isnot merely a political process, but a human and spiritual pursuit — one that requires listening, empathy, and the willingness to encounter the other in full.
In today’s episode……
In today’s episode, we discuss the responses his work has received, both from Palestinians and within Israeli society, and explore the emotional and moral boundaries of empathy — asking whether there are places where understanding must meet principle, and where compromise cannot go.
The conversation also turns to the power of narratives — howstories can both prolong conflict and open space for reconciliation — and the role of writers and public intellectuals in helping societies wrestle with history, memory, and the hope for a different future.
It’s a thoughtful and deeply human conversation aboutlistening across difference, confronting painful truths, and imagining the possibility of coexistence.
Closure
A special thank you to Yossi Klein HaLevi for joiningme and for sharing his insight, honesty, and openness in exploring such a complex and deeply human subject.
And to our listeners — thank you, as always, for tuning inand supporting these conversations. Your engagement helps us continue to bring together diverse voices and perspectives from across Israel and Palestine.
Her work, including her recent efforts in Gaza and her roleas a co-founder of Gaza Medic Voices, provides a profound understanding of the realities faced by healthcare professionals in such environments.
Until then, thank you for listening to Israel & Palestine Unpacked.
Yossi Klein HaLevi's Titles on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Letters-Palestinian-Neighbor-Yossi-Halevi/dp/006284492X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8H8TFBP2YCV2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Cvg2ctO_RafAvI5r4HCANmHPyKIm8ROZe79S8B9lHGbNFPTUwSXLDO2A1cPq7yte_x6aNAafXD6goydRD9gWKzdjSa4eIBcr7ChQTzbGHa6EnBO2MBcjUCqEKrBK1Cko5MzH4klCVKsvmgYNVVBaCshv8zUipyUXmA_2naKTaiZEPRQQkzToqnB3vvXY0PIwvbI-2HtZ3usXHRLhjQxw-sehn5Ksi5BHIkod0kAITqM.7EN_jaFx_fCrSc-W1BmsdwejWyUQ5Wf2MEDcmVlZPdY&dib_tag=se&keywords=yossi+klein+halevi&qid=1759845087&sprefix=Yossi+Klein%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Like-Dreamers-Paratroopers-Reunited-Jerusalem/dp/0060545771/ref=sr_1_2?crid=8H8TFBP2YCV2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Cvg2ctO_RafAvI5r4HCANmHPyKIm8ROZe79S8B9lHGbNFPTUwSXLDO2A1cPq7yte_x6aNAafXD6goydRD9gWKzdjSa4eIBcr7ChQTzbGHa6EnBO2MBcjUCqEKrBK1Cko5MzH4klCVKsvmgYNVVBaCshv8zUipyUXmA_2naKTaiZEPRQQkzToqnB3vvXY0PIwvbI-2HtZ3usXHRLhjQxw-sehn5Ksi5BHIkod0kAITqM.7EN_jaFx_fCrSc-W1BmsdwejWyUQ5Wf2MEDcmVlZPdY&dib_tag=se&keywords=yossi+klein+halevi&qid=1759845087&sprefix=Yossi+Klein%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-2