Support American Friends of Israeli Navy Seals: AFINS.us/warriorcare

Register here for the Live Call me Back event at the Streicker Center on Thursday Oct 23: https://t.co/Y5tCz9uXwo

Ronen Bergman and Adam Rasgon’s piece in The NYT: https://bit.ly/475B5nF

Ilan Benatar’s essay on Sinwar’s plan: https://medium.com/@ilanbenatar/the-story-is-the-war-f6482ab94c1f

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back: https://inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: http://inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: https://arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: https://instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: https://tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

On today’s episode, we are joined by Israeli journalist and Call me Back veteran Ronen Bergman. Ronen recently published a piece for the New York Times titled “A Memo in a Bunker, Intercepted Communications and Hamas’ Oct. 7 Plans,” in which he and his co-author Adam Rasgon discuss a recently uncovered six-page memo from August of 2024, which Israeli officials believe was written by Yayha Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza and main architect of the October 7 massacre. Dan and Ronen discuss how this memo – as well as other documents discovered earlier in the war – shed light onto Hamas’s goals in launching the attack, and whether, in retrospect, they succeeded.

00:00 Introduction

07:23 Sinwar’s memo recently discovered in Gaza

09:45 How Hamas meticulously documented its activity

12:42 How do we know this was written by Sinwar?

13:51 Hamas terrorists ordered to record and broadcast their crimes

20:20 Sinwar’s strategy behind broadcasting October 7

26:03 What Sinwar got right, and what he got wrong

28:53 How Hamas activated support worldwide

33:39 10 Hamas protocols obtained by the IDF in January, 2024

37:25 How Hamas managed to deceive Israel before October 7

38:43 How Hamas chose the date of October 7, 2023

42:47 Collaboration between Hamas in Doha and in Gaza

44:33 Sinwar’s goal of igniting regional war

46:17 Disrupting Saudi normalization and releasing Palestinian prisoners

49:04 Sinwar succeeded at terrifying Israelis

50:46 The next phase in Gaza will determine the outcome of the war

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Support UJA, this episode's sponsor: UJA.org

Register here for the Live Call me Back event at the Streicker Center on Thursday Oct 23: https://t.co/Y5tCz9uXwo

Subscribe here to INSIDE Call me Back: https://inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: http://inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: https://arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: https://instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: https://tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

On Sunday, Palestinian operatives attacked Israeli forces operating in the Rafah area, killing two soldiers and wounding three more. The IDF troops were operating on the Eastern side of the Yellow Line – an area which remains under Israeli control according to the terms of the ceasefire deal. The IDF responded with dozens of strikes on Hamas targets throughout Gaza.

Meanwhile, since the ceasefire came into effect last Monday, Hamas has been conducting public executions of Palestinians who oppose their rule. To discuss what’s been unfolding in Gaza over the past week, Dan was joined by Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib and Joseph Braude. Ahmed grew up in Gaza and left in 2005. He is one an outspoken critic of Hamas and runs the organization Realign for Palestine, which promotes de-radicalization of Palestinian society. Joseph is the President of the Center for Peace Communications, which has amplified anti-Hamas voices in Gaza throughout this war.

00:00 Introduction

06:48 What happened during the brief rupture in the Gaza ceasefire?

09:49 Will Hamas return the bodies of all deceased hostages?

10:40 Anti-Hamas factions in Gaza

12:42 The security dilemmas Gazan civilians face

16:47 How ceasefires increase the risk of Hamas violence against dissidents

18:19 Public support for Hamas among Gazans

22:03 Can there be an anti-Hamas uprising in Gaza?

27:07 International responses to Trump's Gaza plan and obstacles of reconstruction

36:25 The Arab world's shifting attitude toward Hamas

41:03 Predictions for the future of Gaza

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Register here for the Live Call me Back event at the Streicker Center on Thursday Oct 23: https://t.co/Y5tCz9uXwo

Subscribe here to INSIDE Call me Back: https://inside.arkmedia.org

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl's book: https://tinyurl.com/4m4mrfft

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: http://inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: https://arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: https://instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: https://tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

For a bonus episode, Dan was joined by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl to discuss her new book Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging. Rabbi Buchdahl is the senior rabbi at Central Synagogue in New York City. She was the first East-Asian to be ordained as a rabbi, and has received national recognition for her Jewish leadership, including being listed as one of Newsweek’s “50 most influential rabbis.”

She shares her journey from feeling like an outsider to Judaism to becoming a contemporary Jewish leader. They also discuss how Rabbi Buchdahl guided her congregation after Oct. 7 and how the past two years have changed the Jewish community around her.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

LIVE EPISODE TAPING with Dan, Nadav & Amit

DATE: Thursday October 23 at 8:30 pm

LOCATION: Streicker Center

Register here

With the implementation of the ceasefire and all the living hostages back home, where do Israel, Gaza, the Arab States, and US foreign policy go from here? From Jerusalem to Washington, there are still many unanswered questions, which will be the focus of this live podcast taping.

Join Dan Senor and two veteran Israeli journalists and regular Call Me Back contributors: Nadav Eyal of Yedioth Achronot and Amit Segal of Israel’s Channel 12 News & Israel HaYom. Amit is the author of the new book, A Call at 4 AM: Thirteen Prime Ministers and the Crucial Decisions that Shaped Israeli Politics.

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back: https://inside.arkmedia.org

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: http://inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: https://arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: https://instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: https://tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

Today we are joined by author and journalist Ari Shavit, who has been closely following the making of the hostage-ceasefire deal. Ari and Dan discuss what happened behind the scenes that took us from the seemingly intractable situation of the past two years to suddenly seeing our hostages return and regional leaders, as well as President Trump, touting a new era of hope and peace.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Support Birthright Israel: https://birthrightisrael.foundation/callmeback

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back: https://inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: http://inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: https://arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: https://instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: https://tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

On Monday, October 13th, all 20 live hostages were returned to Israel and reunited with their families after two years in Hamas captivity. Israelis all over the country erupted in cheer, with tens of thousands of people in Tel Aviv’s hostage square celebrating as news of returns trickled in. Hamas has also handed over just 4 of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages, in what Israel is calling a “blatant breach” of the ceasefire agreement.

While all of this unfolded, President Trump landed in Israel, where he met with former hostages and hostage families and gave an hour-long speech at the Knesset in which he lauded his administration’s support for Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership throughout this war. President Trump then traveled to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, where European, Arab, and Muslim leaders are meeting to discuss Trump’s plan for the future of Gaza.

To discuss all the many dramatic events that took place on this historic day, in which President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that the war is over, Dan was joined by Ark Media Contributor Nadav Eyal and International Law Expert Tal Becker.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

A Call at 4am by Amit Segal: amazon.com/Call-AM-Thirteen-Ministers-Decisions/dp/B0F316MDXV

Rachel Goldberg-Polin's speech on Oct 11th, 2025 - https://youtu.be/VyTIiBz7W20?si=SjSnGq_glvPnXLUo

Steve Witkoff’s, Jared Kushner’s, and Ivanka Trump’s speeches at Hostage Square: mako.co.il/news-israel/2025_q4/Article-5da0684b793d991027.htm

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back: https://inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: http://inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: https://arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: https://instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: https://tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

Ark Media Contributor Amit Segal released a new book titled A Call at 4am, in which he dives into Israel’s thirteen prime ministers and the most critical moments that shaped Israeli history. Dan sat down with Amit to discuss some of the book’s most dramatic moments, from Golda Meir’s sleepless nights before the Yom Kippur War to Amit’s personal conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after the October 7 attack.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Support Birthright Israel: https://birthrightisrael.foundation/callmeback

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back: https://inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: http://inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: https://arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: https://instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: https://tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of President Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war which requires the release of all remaining living hostages within 72 hours. Israelis have responded with an overwhelming outpour of emotion. But what do we really know about the plan and its implications for the future of the region? Ark Media contributors Amit Segal and Nadav Eyal join Dan to unpack what we know and what we don’t at this historical juncture.

00:00 Introduction

04:40 The emotional climate in Israel

08:32 Details of the ceasefire deal and hostage release

12:21 The limits of the deal

14:29 Trump’s goals of hostage returns and regional peace

18:49 U.S.-Israeli partnership under Trump

23:24 External pressure on Hamas in the lead-up to the deal

24:45 How Hamas’ is narrating the outcome of the war

26:33 Regional actors’ stakes and goals: Qatar, Turkey, Egypt

30:08 What this means for Israel’s internal politics

38:47 Israeli public’s thirst for reform

43:21 Jewish people and the Israeli-Diaspora relationship

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back: https://inside.arkmedia.org

Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: http://inside.arkmedia.org/gifts

A Call at 4am by Amit Segal: amazon.com/Call-AM-Thirteen-Ministers-Decisions/dp/B0F316MDXV

Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: https://arkmedia.org/amitsegal/

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts:

• For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA
• ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Ark Media on Instagram: https://instagram.com/arkmediaorg

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel: https://tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn

Today’s Episode:

Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement tonight to end the Gaza war based on the outline of President Trump’s plan. The agreement includes the imminent release of all remaining living hostages in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. In an emergency pod, Ark Media Correspondent Nadav Eyal joins Dan to share his initial impressions of the first phase of the deal, what this means for the short and long term balance of power in the region, and whether Hamas gets to claim this as a victory.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

MARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional Editing

MAYA RACKOFF - Operations Director

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer