Boundless Insights - with Aviva Klompas

Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas.After two years of war, Israel now faces a new kind of battle — the challenge of winning the peace. President Trump’s Gaza plan calls for the demilitarization and deradicalization of Gaza: dismantling Hamas’s weapons and tunnels, building a new Palestinian police force, and bringing in an international coalition to oversee security and reconstruction.But can Gaza truly be transformed into a terror-free zone? What will it take to keep Hamas and other armed groups from rebuilding? And how does I...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.Matti Friedman has spent more than a decade dissecting how Israel is covered in the press and what those stories reveal about the storytellers themselves. His 2014 Atlantic essay, What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel, remains one of the sharpest examinations of why global attention is fixated on Israel and why the coverage so often skews against it. In this conversation, Matti reflects on whether the problems he identified then still hold true today i...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas.Phase Two of President Trump’s Gaza plan envisions a demilitarized, “terror-free zone.” The Strip would be cleared of weapons and tunnels, militants who renounce violence could receive amnesty or exile, and an international stabilization force — composed of U.S., Arab, and European personnel — would oversee security and help train a new Palestinian police force.But how realistic is demilitarization? And can Gaza truly be de-radicalized? Jonathan Conricus joins host Aviva Klompas to unpack the securi...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @AvivaKlompas.After 738 days of war, Israel’s hostages are home and the country is beginning to exhale. But relief comes with hard questions about what happens next.In this episode, Aviva speaks with Dr. Einat Wilf about what the end of the war reveals about Israel’s strength, its divisions, and the road ahead. They explore what it will take to keep Hamas disarmed, rebuild Gaza without empowering extremists, and whether peace and normalization with the...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.After two years, the last hostages are finally returning home. This moment — long prayed for and nearly impossible to imagine — is one of relief, heartbreak, and reckoning.Dr. Michael Oren joins host Aviva Klompas to reflect on what this moment means for Israel, the Jewish people, and the wider Middle East. Together they explore how a conflict that began in terror has brought about profound military, political, and moral challenges.Mentioned in this...

After two years of war, Israel stands at the threshold of peace. The ceasefire agreement marks the end of a long and painful chapter — bringing relief, uncertainty, and deep emotion across the country.In this episode, Avi Mayer joins from Jerusalem to reflect on what this moment feels like inside Israel. We discuss the mood on the streets, the cautious hope surrounding the hostages’ return, and the immense grief that still lingers beneath the relief.Avi Mayer, founder of Jerusalem Journal and former Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post, shares his perspective on a historic and deep...

After two years of war, a breakthrough is within reach. Negotiators in Egypt have been working through President Trump’s 20-point plan — a framework that could end the fighting, free the remaining 48 Israeli hostages, and set the stage for rebuilding Gaza.To break down the key points and what it would take for any agreement to lead to real and lasting peace, retired Lt. Colonel Jonathan Conricus shares his insight on Israel’s red lines, Hamas’s calculus, and the challenges that could determine whether this moment ends in peace or another cycle of conflict. Guest Bio...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.For nearly a year and a half, Keith Siegel lived through the unimaginable. An Israeli American originally from North Carolina, Keith and his wife, Aviva, were taken hostage from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7. Aviva was released during a ceasefire in November 2023, but Keith remained in Gaza for 484 days. He was shuttled between more than 30 hiding places — sometimes held with fellow captives, other times left for months entirely alone. In this episode, Keith op...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.Two years after the October 7 massacre - the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust -Israel is still at war and Jewish communities worldwide are still grappling with its aftershocks. In this episode, Aviva sits down with historian, diplomat, and former Israeli Ambassador to Washington Dr. Michael Oren to reflect on how that day changed Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish people.As the second anniversary of October 7 arrives - and as we...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.President Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza has stirred international attention — not only for its sweeping scope, but also for the unusual support it has drawn from key Arab states. The proposal promises an immediate ceasefire, the return of hostages, and the removal of Hamas from power, with Trump himself at the helm of a transitional authority overseeing Gaza’s reconstruction.But the plan hinges on Hamas, the one actor yet to...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.At this year’s UN General Assembly, a fresh wave of governments — including several G7 members and two permanent Security Council members — moved to recognize a Palestinian state. Supporters call it a step toward peace; critics say it rewards Hamas, undermines hostage diplomacy, and does nothing to change facts on the ground.In this episode, host Aviva Klompas speaks with historian, diplomat, and former Israeli Ambassador to Washington Dr. Michael Oren about “recognition fever.” They trace...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org.Former presidential speechwriter and author Sarah Hurwitz joins Dr. Rachel Fish for an honest conversation about Jewish identity, Israel, and how to navigate a post–October 7 world without giving in to simplicity. Drawing on her new book, As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us, Sarah explains why she avoided Israel in her first book, and why she brought it to the center this time. Together they explore how anti-Judaism’s ancient tropes seep...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.In this special pre-Rosh Hashanah episode, Boundless Insights steps away from its usual format. Aviva offers a personal reflection on the past year, the challenges facing Jewish communities, and the values that hold us together. She considers the deeper questions of identity, resilience, and purpose and what they mean as we enter a new year.Tune in for a thoughtful and heartfelt message about strength, renewal, and hope for the future.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.This year, Jews around the world enter the High Holiday season carrying an extraordinary weight. The tragedies of October 7, the ongoing war, and the alarming surge in antisemitism have left communities grieving, unsettled, and searching for strength.In this episode, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis joins host Aviva Klompas for a conversation that goes to the heart of Jewish resilience. They reflect on how this moment fits within the larger sweep of Jewish history...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders meeting in Doha has upended hostage negotiations, drawn public criticism from President Trump, and intensified scrutiny of Qatar’s dual role as both host to Hamas’s leadership and key partner of Washington.In this episode, Dr. Michael Oren joins host Aviva Klompas to break down what we know about the strike, the message Israel intended to send, and what it means for the hostages and U.S.–Israel r...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.For two years, Israel has been fighting a war that plays out not only on the battlefield but also in the realm of ideas. Beneath the headlines lies a deeper struggle over identity, language, and legitimacy.In global discourse, Palestinians are often treated as an unquestioned national people, while Jews — a community that has existed for millennia as both a faith and a nation — are too often reduced to “Zionists,” as if Jewish identity were not...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.Israel may be holding its own on the battlefield, but it’s losing ground in the court of public opinion. False accusations, distorted statistics, and relentless condemnation in parliaments, human rights groups, the press, and international courts have created a storm that threatens Israel’s very legitimacy.Why is this happening, and what does it mean for Israel’s future? Is the problem rooted in Israel’s own communication missteps—or in a deeper hostility...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.IsraAID — Israel’s leading humanitarian relief group — has quietly worked inside Gaza. What began as behind-the-scenes coordination with international NGOs has grown into direct aid: delivering medicine and medical equipment, running a logistics hub, and supporting water and healthcare projects for thousands of Palestinians.Until recently, this work was kept secret, but as the humanitarian crisis deepens — and the debate over aid grows more toxic — IsraAID has decided to speak openly.In this episo...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.The protests for Israel’s hostages have become one of the largest grassroots movements in the country’s history. Highways are blocked, strikes are called, and ministers’ homes are surrounded by demonstrators demanding one thing: a deal to bring the hostages home.Some see the protests as proof of Israel’s moral resolve. Others warn they hand Hamas leverage by exposing division and desperation. And the government now faces a wrenching dilemma: how to weigh pu...

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists stormed the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. Among those kidnapped was Elkana Bohbot, who was working as a co-producer that morning. Before he was taken, Elkana called his wife, Rebecca, to tell her he was staying behind to help the wounded. He promised he would come home. That was their last conversation.In this powerful conversation, Rebecca speaks about who Elkana is as a husband and father – a man of...