Boundless Insights - with Aviva Klompas

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected] or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.In this episode, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis reflects on what Hanukkah asks of us this year, in the wake of the antisemitic attack on Jews in Australia. He explores how an ancient story of courage, conviction, and spiritual resilience speaks to a moment when Jewish communities are confronting rising antisemitism, deep communal strain, and the challenge of remaining visible in difficult and frightening times.The Chief Rabbi discusses the enduring meaning of the festival, what it takes to keep Jewish identity proud and vibrant in the face of threats, and how individuals and communities can bring light into a world that often feels shadowed by fear and uncertainty.Guest Bio:Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis is only the 11th Chief Rabbi of Great Britain since the office was introduced in 1704. He is the religious figurehead for Jewish communities right across the Commonwealth, from Hull to Hong Kong and from Cardiff to Cochin. He was installed on 1st September 2013 in an historic ceremony attended by His Majesty King Charles III, then The Prince of Wales.Born in South Africa, he previously served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and Rabbi of the Western Marble Arch and Finchley (Kinloss) Synagogues in London, making him one of the UK’s most respected community Rabbis. As Chief Rabbi, he is a primary representative of the Jewish community to government, other faiths and civil society as well as being responsible for oversight of crucial parts of the UK Jewish community’s religious infrastructure.Chief Rabbi Mirvis is known as a principled leader who has broken new ground in the fields of interfaith and social responsibility as well as tackling a number of particularly complex or controversial issues including the welfare of LGBT+ students in Orthodox Jewish Schools and antisemitism in the British Labour Party. Chief Rabbi Mirvis serves as Associate President of the Conference of European Rabbis, President of the London School of Jewish Studies and was made a Knight Commander of the British Empire, by His Majesty The King in 2023.  

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected] or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.Israel is facing a moment without precedent: a sitting prime minister on trial for corruption is now asking the president for a pardon. Benjamin Netanyahu has spent years fighting charges of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting gifts from wealthy associates. The trial has dragged on through political crises, judicial reform battles, and two years of war. He insists he’s the target of a political conspiracy. Others say the case is a test of whether Israel’s leaders can ever be held accountable.Now he argues the trial is hurting the country — and wants President Isaac Herzog to bring it to an end.The move has split Israelis. Supporters say a pardon would allow the nation to turn the page. Critics warn it would set a dangerous precedent and undermine public trust in the rule of law. And into this already charged moment stepped President Trump, urging Herzog to grant the pardon and calling the prosecution politically motivated.In this episode, Dr. Michael Oren joins host Aviva Klompas to break down the stakes: what a pardon would mean for Israel’s democracy and how it could reshape the political map.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected] or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.In this episode of Boundless Insights, host Aviva Klompas speaks with Dr. Einat Wilf about her decision to launch a new political party in Israel and what she believes the country urgently needs right now. Wilf explains why she founded the Oz Party, arguing that Israel must move from what she calls “exile-consciousness” to true sovereign behavior — reclaiming clarity, responsibility, and strategic purpose in a time of political exhaustion.Their conversation explores Wilf’s insistence that any future peace depends on Arab and Palestinian recognition of Zionism and the legitimacy of the Jewish state, as well as her views on citizenship, military service, sovereignty, and the limits of the current political consensus. Wilf also addresses skepticism about her platform, the challenges of building a new coalition in a polarized landscape, and what kind of leadership she believes Israel requires to navigate its next chapter.Boundless relies on your support to produce courageous conversations and nuanced analysis at a time when clarity matters more than ever. If this episode helped you better understand the moment we’re living in, please consider making a donation at boundlessisrael.org/donate.Guest BioDr. Einat Wilf is a leading thinker on Israel, Zionism, foreign policy and education. She was a member of the Israeli Parliament from 2010 to 2013, where she served as Chair of the Education Committee and Member of the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.Born and raised in Israel, Dr. Wilf served as an Intelligence Officer in the Israel Defense Forces, Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and a strategic consultant with McKinsey & Company.Dr. Wilf has a BA from Harvard, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. She was the Goldman Visiting Professor at Georgetown University.Dr. Wilf is the author of seven books that explore key issues in Israeli society. “We Should All Be Zionists“, published in 2022, brings together her essays from the past four years on Israel, Zionism and the path to peace; the co-authored “The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace”, was published in 2020

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to [email protected], or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas. Boundless relies on your support to produce courageous conversations and nuanced analysis at a time when clarity matters more than ever. If this episode – or any of our work – has helped you better understand the moment we’re living in, please consider making a contribution at boundlessisrael.org/donate.Host Aviva Klompas sits down with Dr. Michael Oren to examine how the U.S.–Israel relationship has been reshaped over the course of the war — and what Israel may be conceding in the process.Together, they explore how shifting American leadership has transformed the boundaries of Israeli decision-making, from constraints on military operations to mounting pressure around Gaza’s future governance and a potential path toward Palestinian statehood. Dr. Oren unpacks the tension between strategic dependence and national sovereignty, and questions whether Israel is being nudged toward an uneasy reality in which Hamas survives by default.Their conversation also addresses growing concerns over Israel’s qualitative military edge, the implications of arms commitments to regional powers, and whether the alliance still rests on shared values or has evolved into a more transactional dynamic.Guest BioDr. Michael Oren is a historian, author, and former Israeli ambassador to the United States. A leading voice on Middle East strategy and Israeli politics, he has written numerous best-selling books and served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Middle East analyst David Makovsky joins Dr. Rachel Fish to unpack the “phase one to phase two” handoff in Gaza: what the Trump plan actually changed, why returning the remaining hostages bodies still matters, and why an international stabilization force is unlikely to disarm Hamas. Makovsky outlines a de-Hamas future for Gaza built on a West-Berlin model that pairs PA-Israel security coordination with technocratic Palestinian governance, while Arab states provide funding and public cover. They also map the Saudi calculus on normalization, the risks of delay, and how Israel’s coming election could reshape U.S.–Israel ties, regional alignments, and Israel’s democratic character.Further ReadingDavid Makovsky and Shira Efron, For Progress in Gaza, Empower the Palestinian Authority