Israel's Greatest Paradox with Micah Goodman
4/21/20261 hr 13 min
Why did Israel's enemies, Sinwar, Khamenei and Nasrallah, all believe Israel was on the verge of collapse? Israeli philosopher Micah Goodman joins Noam to reveal the deep misreading of Israeli society at the heart of that miscalculation. They unpack why Israel's hybrid of radical individualism and fierce collectivism is its greatest strategic asset, and why the world keeps getting it wrong. Here is a link to Micah Goodman's work: https://micahgoodman.com/en/books/ Note: This episode was recorded on April 7, 2026, one day before the region reached a fragile ceasefire. This episode was sponsored by Barbara Sommer & Alan Fisher and Andrea & Larry Gill. To sponsor an episode or to be in touch, please email noam@unpacked.media. Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount. Check out this episode on Youtube. This podcast is brought to you by Unpacked, an OpenDor Media brand.
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out: Jewish History Nerds Soulful Jewish Living Stars of David with Elon Gold Wondering Jews
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsNoam Weissman· Host0:00
Hey, I'm Noam Weissman, and this is Unpacking Israeli History, the podcast that takes a deep dive into some of the most intense, historically fascinating, and often misunderstood events and stories linked to Israeli history. This episode of Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Barbara Summer and Alan Fisher, and Andrea and Larry Gill. If you wanna sponsor an episode of Unpacking Israeli History, or if you just wanna say hey, be in touch at noam@unpacked.media. I really love hearing from you each week. It's awesome. Before we start, as always, check us out on Instagram, on TikTok, on YouTube, all the places. Just search Unpacking Israeli History and hit the follow or subscribe button, and make sure to share some content. That's always a good thing. Okay, yalla. Let's do this.
Yitzhak Rabin· Soundbite0:46
[instrumental music] We, the people of Israel, are prepared and anxious to meet the representatives of our neighbors without any preconditions.
Shimon Peres· Soundbite1:08
There are people in Israel and elsewhere say it's impossible to make peace between the Arabs and Israel or the Jewish people. I think they're wrong.
Noam Weissman· Host1:18
There are moments in history that don't just change what happens, they change who people are. October 7th was one of those