Episode 48

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Published on:

11th Jun 2021

#48 Seth Frantzman - Mideast Analyst, Journalist, Foreign Policy Expert, Truth Seeker, & Author

…So Much Trouble in the World…

It isn’t just one of the greatest Bob Marley songs, it’s the truth.  We live in a wild place during a crazy time.  But, it helps to remember that ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’…things have by and large been ‘burning since the world’s been turning.’  Only now, we have the added benefit of social media, a decentralized media landscape, echo chambers, clickbait, hardcore polarization, the 8-second attention span, Q, Wokeism, endless conflicts abound (especially in the Middle East) and it just seems like the thing’s starting to spin out of control – so much so that it’s kind of hard to make sense of it all.

This week’s guest, Seth Frantzman, gets up each and every day and tries to do just that – to make sense of the chaos and explain it to the world with proper context, nuance, and care – all with the perfect modicum of outrage, sensibility, and perspective.

Seth J. Frantzman is a Middle East affairs analyst based in Jerusalem. He is the author of After ISIS: America, Israel and the Struggle for the Middle East and 'Drone Wars: Pioneers, Artificial Intelligence, Killing Machines and the Battle for the Future, and executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis. He runs the Israel Gulf Report, which follows developments between Israel and the Gulf countries, and has reported extensively from and conducted research in Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, and the UAE. A former lecturer at Al-Quds University on US foreign policy, he has a Ph.D. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he writes on Middle East Affairs for The Jerusalem Post and contributes to Defense News and other publications and media.

Our time with Seth on the show was just as interesting and thought-provoking as his articles.  Together, we jumped right into some amazing topics such as modern warfare (Seth’s newest book, Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Battle for the Future comes out next week!), contextualizing Israel’s predicament in Gaza, the prevalence of atrocities and Western European resistance to the Nazis, western thought supremacy, the arrogance of some western approaches to Israel and the Palestinians and positive attributes of western culture such as human rights, freedom, and democracy, the cause celebre of turning Israel into a pariah state, progressive politics and false narratives of Israel as a white supremacist, settler-colonialist enterprise, the media’s deliberate omission of Hamas from its coverage of the conflict, the peace industry = war industry, the frequent disingenuity of the Israeli right’s approach to Palestinian national aspirations, Mansour Abbas and Raam, whetherIsrael’s adversaries (Iran & Turkey) will test the new Israeli government, and much much more.

Links:

Pre-order Seth’s newest book, Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Battle for the Future, on Amazon.

Visit Seth’s official website

Seth Frantzman at the Jerusalem Post

Seth Frantzman at Defense News

Seth Frantzman at Foreign Policy

Seth’s Facebook page

Drone Wars, Seth’s forthcoming book’s Facebook page

Seth’s Twitter page

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For more information, visit us at http://www.jewanced.com

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About the Podcast

Jewanced
A nuanced exploration of Israel, the Jewish world and beyond
Jewanced is hosted by Dan Feferman and Benny Scholder, two guys who grew up in America and live in Israel.
They're curious. They want to discuss. They want to challenge popular conceptions, they want to think critically, examine independently, and most of all, they crave nuance.

Each episode features a different guest. All interesting and original people who strive to break boundaries. Together with Dan and Benny, take a deep dive into politics, foreign affairs, religion, science, technology, food, the arts, business – you name it. Explore the nuanced crossroads of Israel, the global Jewish experience, and beyond.

What's the goal? To create a daring platform where people share their stories, insights, creations, and visions. Jewanced has no talking points, no script, no agenda...just a deeper nuanced understanding of our existence.

Join them on a journey as they explore, think, debate and discuss …. And most of all, listen.

About your hosts

Benny Scholder

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With over a decade of experience in Israel's tourism industry, Benny has managed sales, marketing, travel content, digital content, and the operations aspects of tour companies and travel agencies. Today, he is the Director of Sales-North America at Kenes Tours, Israel's leading provider of incoming tourism services, where he is proud to deliver transformative, custom-crafted Israel travel experiences designed to exceed expectations.
Originally from Minneapolis, Benny fell in love with Israel as a young adult, moving to the country in 2004. He has an extensive background in everything Israel-travel related, having completed Israel's intensive tour guide course in 2010. His career spans both logistical, content-related, and sales management positions with major and boutique Israeli tour companies alike. Benny lives with his amazing wife Maayan and two incredible children in the charming village of Gedera. In addition to his passion for transformative travel experiences, he's super passionate about food, modern & ancient history, politics, addictive TV, and game-changing podcasts. Contact him at Benny@jewanced.com

Dan Feferman

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Dan Feferman is a Major (res.) in the Israel Defense Forces. For almost a decade, he served as a foreign policy and national security analyst, strategist and adviser in the IDF General Staff; as a special assistant to the Deputy Chief of the General Staff; and a commander in an elite intelligence unit of AMAN's Research and Analysis Division.

He is a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, a think-tank focusing on issues of importance to Israel and the Jewish people, where he researches religious pluralism in Israel, trends in Jewish identity and Israel-Diaspora relations. He is also a political and strategic consultant and publishes and speaks widely on the Middle East and Israeli defense and political matters.

He is the author of Rising Streams: Reform and Conservative Judaism in Israel, and of a soon-to-be-published book on the changing face of American Judaism.

Dan holds a BA in International Politics and Middle East Studies from the American University in Washington DC and an MA in National Security Studies from Tel Aviv University.

Originally from Indiana, Dan moved to Israel in 2005. He is married to Elisheva, has three amazing kids, and lives in Rehovot. When taking a break, Dan stays busy with Crossfit, martial arts and cooking.