Watching the Protests From Israel
About this episode
Klein watches the U.S. campus protests over Gaza with Ari Shavit, an Israeli journalist, and asks whether American critics can distinguish between Netanyahu's government and the Israeli state itself — between a failed policy and a doomed project. Shavit argues the protests conflate the two: Israelis remain traumatized by October 7, with everyone connected to someone killed or kidnapped, and many believe peace was tried and answered with rejection. Yet he breaks sharply with the government: he opposes invading Rafah, wants the war ended, and calls for national unity, reform, and outreach to America. He concedes Palestinians' hatred is understandable but blames the absence of constructive Palestinian leadership, citing Salam Fayyad as his model. Klein pushes him on the power imbalance and Palestinian suffering; Shavit acknowledges Israel's moral failures but insists denying Jewish self-determination is his red line. He closes warning that Israel must reconcile its liberal and tribal selves.