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

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

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Please follow this link to subscribe to SAPIR, a quarterly publication edited by Bret Stephens: sapirjournal.org/CallMeBack

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Last month we published the first in a series of interviews with former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, telling the story of the October 7th War from his unique vantage point. Our first interview, “Four Days in October,” focused on the intense deliberations that took place behind closed doors regarding the possibility of Israel responding to its stronger adversary first, Hezbollah in Lebanon, rather than Hamas in the Gaza Strip. If you have not heard or seen that interview, you can find it here.

For the second interview in our series with General Gallant, we focused on the most difficult aspect of this war - the hostages in Gaza and the efforts to bring them home.

Yoav Gallant served as Israel’s Defense Minister from 2022 until 2024. He was fired by Benjamin Netanyahu twice in those two years, first in 2023, when massive protests in Israel led Netanyahu to reverse his decision, then again in November of 2024. Gallant is a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party. His military career spans five decades, beginning in 1977 as a naval commando in Shayetet 13, and serving as chief of the IDF’s Southern Command during Operation Cast Lead, an early war with Hamas that lasted from late 2008 to early 2009.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor

YARDENA SCHWARTZ - Executive Editor of Ark Media

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research Intern

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

AMIEL SHAPIRO - Voice Actor

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

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

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

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

Last week, three federal agencies — including the Department of Education — announced a comprehensive review of the funding relationships between the federal government and Columbia University in regards to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Like most universities, Columbia receives a great deal of federal funding.

The Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, created by the Trump Administration, announced that it will visit 10 university campuses that have seen a shocking rise in antisemitism since October 7, 2023.

According to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, “Americans have watched in horror for more than a year now, as Jewish students have been assaulted and harassed on elite university campuses. Unlawful encampments and demonstrations have completely paralyzed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish students of learning opportunities to which they are entitled. Institutions that receive federal funds have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination. Columbia’s apparent failure to uphold their end of this basic agreement raises very serious questions about the institution’s fitness to continue doing business with the United States government.”

According to Maya Sulkin in the Free Press, “even though Columbia formed a Task Force on Antisemitism weeks after Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, and issued two reports that revealed shocking instances of Jew hate on campus—not just among students but professors and administrators—the college has done little to root out the problem.”As a result, on Friday the Trump Administration announced the cancellation of $400 million in federal grants to and contracts with Columbia.

Following these developments, one could be left with the impression that higher education is doomed. Yetwe were struck by the reaction from the Call Me Back community to a conversation we had with the Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, Daniel Diermeier, last November, in an episode titled “How Vanderbilt University is getting it right.” It reminded us that some universities have impressively navigated the past 16 months.

Vanderbilt is one of them. Another is Washington University. The Chancellors of both universities (Washington University Chancellor Andrew Martin and Vanderbilt’s Diermeier) recently issued a set of principles that every university should be able to adopt. They summarized these principles in a piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education, titled: “Universities Must Reject Creeping Politicization.” You can read it here:

There have been other universities, like the University of Michigan, which in the months after October 7, 2023 experienced massive disruptions. Yet according to conversations we have had with current Jewish students, the university administration has been doing much better than others. University of Michigan President Santa Ono has taken promising steps on a number of fronts, including the University’s relationship with Israel, that could also serve as a model.

So, against the backdrop of chaos at Columbia and Barnard this past week, we sat down with WashU’s Andrew Martin and Michigan’s Santa Ono at the ADL’s “Never is Now” Summit in New York City, for a candid conversation about what has happened at each of their universities, lessons learned, and charting a path forward.

Additional items:

ADL’s Campus Antisemitism Report Card: https://www.adl.org/campus-antisemitism-report-card

-Free Press reporting on Columbia University:

https://www.thefp.com/p/exclusive-trump-administration-cancels

-https://www.thefp.com/p/trump-columbia-antisemitism-federal-funding

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Editor

YARDENA SCHWARTZ - Executive Editor of Ark Media

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research Intern

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Watch the conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pSSh03tpRII

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

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

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

The Two-State Solution had been on life support long before October 7. While Hamas’s massacre shattered Israelis from all walks of life, those from the kibbutzim near the Gaza border — many of whom lifelong advocates for a Palestinian State — were among the hardest hit.

Though stark divisions in Israeli society remain, there now seems to be a broad consensus among the people of Israel and their political parties on one conclusion: the two-state solution is all but dead. Yet one Israeli leader - one of the very few who battled terrorists in Southern Israel and rescued Israelis on October 7 - continues to hold out hope.

Yair Golan is a decorated general, former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff and head of the The Israeli Democrats Party. We sat down with General Golan to discuss Israel’s future, the misconceptions that led to October 7, and the unique role he played on that darkest of days.

CREDITS:

ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor

MARTIN HUERGO - Editor

YARDENA SCHWARTZ - Executive Editor of Ark Media

GABE SILVERSTEIN - Research Intern

YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer