Why The Media Is Wrong About Israel - A Conversation with Journalist and Best-Selling Author Matti Friedman
Explicit content warning
04/21/24 • 73 min
Very excited to have Matti Friedman on The Lonely Podcast.
Matti Friedman is an Israeli-Canadian journalist and a best-selling author of several books, including The Aleppo Codex, Pumpkinflowers, Spies of No Country, and Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai.
In 2014 Matti published two essays in Tablet Magazine and The Atlantic where he recounted his experience as a reporter for the Associated Press working in Jerusalem covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from 2006 to 2011.
Matti’s essays shed a concerning light on the way international media is framing and covering the story, how through their “journalistic work” they launder biased reporting that portrays Israel as the villain, and why this one tiny country that constitutes less than 0.5% of the entire Islamic world, became the most covered story in journalism.
We recorded this conversation two days after the unprecedented attack against Israel launched by Iran and its proxies, which illustrates again why framing this conflict as an Israeli-Palestinian one is so wrong and misleading.
Our conversation was focused mainly on Israel, but we also touched on Matti’s books. We discussed, Matti’s experience at the AP, why Israel gets so much bad press, the role of Qatar and Al-Jazeera in amplifying the propaganda against Israel, the role of Israeli journalists in covering the conflict, whether Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame for the deteriorating US-Israel relations, the almost inevitable future war against Hezbollah, the First Lebanon War and its impact on the way Israel is pursuing wars ever since, Leonard Cohen’s visit to Israel during the Yum Kippur war of 1973, what is the Aleppo Codex and why Matti started investigating the story about the most ancient Hebrew bible in the world, and much more.
Matti is one of the more honest journalists out there, and if you read his articles, books, or essays, it is hard not to conclude that he is doing something that has almost vanished from this world - true investigative journalism.
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YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON:
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@LonelyPodcast-uh1rp
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ktRM7SIzVWcAhE9jqGIq3
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lonely-podcast/id1510273071
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) - Introduction
(05:10) - Working for the Associated Press (AP) covering the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
(08:20) - Why Israel is getting so much (bad) press?
(13:23) - How does the Media launder Palestinian Propaganda?
(19:15) - Why framing the story as an Israeli-Palestinian conflict is misleading?
(24:48) - How Israel should be covered?
(26:40) - Journalism vs. Activism
(31:15) - Do Israelis understand how the Media captures them?
(39:30) - How is Benjamin Netanyahu prosecuting this war?
(44:00) - Is a war with Hezbollah inevitable?
(49:50) - Has Israel forgotten how to win wars?
(55:10) - Why a change in Israeli leadership is necessary
(59:00) - Who By Fire
(65:00) - The Aleppo Codex
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MATTI’S BOOKS:
The Aleppo Codex: In Pursuit of One of the World’s Most Coveted, Sacred, and Mysterious Books: https://a.co/d/8mpMXVX
Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story of a Forgotten War: https://a.co/d/hLwegmh
Spies of No Country: Israel's Secret Agents at the Birth of the Mossad: https://a.co/d/h2nl0HY
Who By Fire: War, Atonement, and the Resurrection of Leonard Cohen: https://a.co/d/3tyCi3Q
Very excited to have Matti Friedman on The Lonely Podcast.
Matti Friedman is an Israeli-Canadian journalist and a best-selling author of several books, including The Aleppo Codex, Pumpkinflowers, Spies of No Country, and Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai.
In 2014 Matti published two essays in Tablet Magazine and The Atlantic where he recounted his experience as a reporter for the Associated Press working in Jerusalem covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from 2006 to 2011.
Matti’s essays shed a concerning light on the way international media is framing and covering the story, how through their “journalistic work” they launder biased reporting that portrays Israel as the villain, and why this one tiny country that constitutes less than 0.5% of the entire Islamic world, became the most covered story in journalism.
We recorded this conversation two days after the unprecedented attack against Israel launched by Iran and its proxies, which illustrates again why framing this conflict as an Israeli-Palestinian one is so wrong and misleading.
Our conversation was focused mainly on Israel, but we also touched on Matti’s books. We discussed, Matti’s experience at the AP, why Israel gets so much bad press, the role of Qatar and Al-Jazeera in amplifying the propaganda against Israel, the role of Israeli journalists in covering the conflict, whether Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame for the deteriorating US-Israel relations, the almost inevitable future war against Hezbollah, the First Lebanon War and its impact on the way Israel is pursuing wars ever since, Leonard Cohen’s visit to Israel during the Yum Kippur war of 1973, what is the Aleppo Codex and why Matti started investigating the story about the most ancient Hebrew bible in the world, and much more.
Matti is one of the more honest journalists out there, and if you read his articles, books, or essays, it is hard not to conclude that he is doing something that has almost vanished from this world - true investigative journalism.
.........................................................................
.........................................................................
YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON:
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@LonelyPodcast-uh1rp
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ktRM7SIzVWcAhE9jqGIq3
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lonely-podcast/id1510273071
.........................................................................
.........................................................................
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) - Introduction
(05:10) - Working for the Associated Press (AP) covering the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
(08:20) - Why Israel is getting so much (bad) press?
(13:23) - How does the Media launder Palestinian Propaganda?
(19:15) - Why framing the story as an Israeli-Palestinian conflict is misleading?
(24:48) - How Israel should be covered?
(26:40) - Journalism vs. Activism
(31:15) - Do Israelis understand how the Media captures them?
(39:30) - How is Benjamin Netanyahu prosecuting this war?
(44:00) - Is a war with Hezbollah inevitable?
(49:50) - Has Israel forgotten how to win wars?
(55:10) - Why a change in Israeli leadership is necessary
(59:00) - Who By Fire
(65:00) - The Aleppo Codex
.........................................................................
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MATTI’S BOOKS:
The Aleppo Codex: In Pursuit of One of the World’s Most Coveted, Sacred, and Mysterious Books: https://a.co/d/8mpMXVX
Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story of a Forgotten War: https://a.co/d/hLwegmh
Spies of No Country: Israel's Secret Agents at the Birth of the Mossad: https://a.co/d/h2nl0HY
Who By Fire: War, Atonement, and the Resurrection of Leonard Cohen: https://a.co/d/3tyCi3Q
Previous Episode
Drugs in Nazi Germany, The CIA, and The Truth About Psychedelics
Very excited to have Norman Ohler on The Lonely Podcast.
Norman Ohler is a German Novelist, screenwriter, and a New York Times Bestselling author of the Book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany. Norman had just released his brand new book Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age
In this conversation, we discuss how and why he started investigating the issue of drugs in the Third Reich. The prevalence of drugs in Germany during the war, the birth of LSD, how it was misused and experimented by the American CIA, the origins of The War on Drugs, what are the medicinal advantages of LSD and psilocybin, how micro-dosing of LSD helped Norman’s mother to treat her Alzheimer disease, the current state of research on psychedelics, and much more.
I really enjoyed speaking with Norman and believe that his books are a must-read. Personally, I can say that as someone who has avoided using any kind of drug throughout my life, I have become very curious to at least try micro-dosing after reading Tripped.
To support us please share this podcast with your friends and family to help spread the word.
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) - Introduction
(03:55) - Drugs in Nazi Germany
(06:15) - The Role of Methamphetamine in Germany During WWII
(07:53) - The Role of Methamphetamine in the German Army
(10:34) - The Deteriorating Effects of Pervitin
(14:00) - Is Adderall the New Pervitin?
(17:15) - Why Performance-Enhancing Drugs Are a Vehicle For Success in Capitalist Societies?
(20:55) - The Unintended Results of Legalizations
(27:35) - How Should We Introduce Drugs Into Society?
(28:50) - The Birth of LSD
(40:30) - The Prohibition of Psychedelics
(42:45) - The Truth Behind The CIA's Mind-Control Program
(47:00) - The Impact of LSD
(50:25) - Western Discovery of The Magic Mushroom
(56:45) - The Current State of Research on Psychedelics
(58:15) - LSD For Mom - The Impact of Micro-dosing on Norman's Mother Who Suffers From Alzheimer
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LINKS TO NORMAN'S BOOKS:
Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich - https://www.amazon.com/Blitzed-Drugs-Third-Norman-Ohler/dp/1328663795
Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age - https://www.amazon.com/Tripped-Nazi-Germany-Dawn-Psychedelic/dp/0358646502/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UH4U8FknRlqBWMauOVjzBiagdC5oTnBSg5jctwhLnJm8FVIHV5Veuj226ZjDncOaC5rkqH2-kIP9C4I9sEzlamFymeH3gmsi-Pwp0EXQT16ZaCKghjDXNgHDQ4JKs6wgMBTDJ73hB19onQXnmewCHKlxY7xhwPPfi45bjMpKpHLBYkOmukA1Hy6aeKvnmjP8BVzSSaaVJGU2uIVEvTcuvQ.gZ4VrZTW_x9Ykd2ZA9x5UHLzFTT0-eCpGrevF7mIXsw&dib_tag=se&hvadid=580696009408&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028787&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1341579547687034599&hvtargid=kwd-307468164419&hydadcr=22563_13493224&keywords=blitzed+by+norman+ohler&qid=1713213229&s=books&sr=1-4
Next Episode
How To Be An Effective Interviewer And Expose Manipulative Propaganda - A Conversation With Jamie Weinstein
Very excited to have Jamie Weinstein on The Lonely Podcast.
Jamie is a journalist and a political commentator. His work has been featured on The Daily Caller, the Rolling Stones, and the Daily Beast, and he has appeared on MSNBC and Fox News and was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher, among others. Jamie is also the host of The Dispatch Podcast Monday show, as well as The Jamie Weinstein Show.
One of the reasons I wanted to speak to Jamie is because of his ability to effectively converse with challenging and “controversial” figures like Mehdi Hasan and Bill Ayers.
In today’s world, many in the “Podcast Sphere” invite very controversial figures to just “have a conversation.” However, more often than not, these conversations become a tool for bad actors to engage in manipulative propaganda without being effectively challenged by the interviewer. Jamie is an excellent example of how one should engage in challenging conversation with notoriously manipulative guests.
In our conversation, we discuss the Oct. 7th massacre and the aftermath, the future of the Jewish community in the diaspora, college campus demonstrations, America’s involvement in the Middle East, the rise in Anti-semitism in Europe, public opinion on Israel, Iran’s military power, how to effectively converse with “controversial figures,” and much more.
It was a true pleasure to have a fruitful discussion on these many different topics with Jamie.
To support us, please share this podcast with your friends and family to help spread the word
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction
04:00 - Oct. 7th And The Aftermath
08:50 - Oct. 7th's Impact On World Jewry
12:47 - How American Jews Deal With The Oct. 7th Aftermath
16:55 - How Israel Is Being Perceived By The World
20:00 - How Can Europe Deal With Antisemitism?
26:00 - What Is The Fundamental Difference Between Europe and The United States?
29:30 - Do College Campuses Represent America?
39:00 - Are We On The Precipice of Genocide?
40:10 - Should We Be Pessimists Or Optimists About The Future?
44:10 - Why International Institutions Are Anti-Israel?
52:00 - Netanyahu Derangement Syndrome
56:00 - America's Involvement in The Middle East and In Israel In Particular
59:40 - The Consequences of Obama's Foreign Policy In The Middle East
63:00 - Are We Overstating Iran's Military Power?
66:40 - What Americans and Israelis Get Wrong About Each Other?
70:30 - Do Israelis Understand How The World Views Them?
73:00 - Should We Platform Controversial People?
78:00 - How To Prepare For an Interview With a Controversial Figure?
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LINKS: The Dispatch - https://thedispatch.com/article/introducing-the-newest-dispatch-podcast-host/
The Jamie Weinstein Show - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jamie-weinstein-show/id1158060960
Jamie's Interview With Mehdi Hasan - https://youtu.be/YzpFBPwka0s
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