The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table

"I've done thousands of interviews in my life. I've never been talked over quite as much as I have tonight." - Benjamin Moser

Moser came on to defend his new book, Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History. Noam Dworman came with Moser's own sources and a list of what he says the book gets wrong.

Was Herzl an antisemite who wanted the Jews to disappear, or a man flailing for any way out of European antisemitism? Did Iraq's Jews leave because of Zionist bombs or because of official persecution, and what does Avi Shlaim himself say? Who started the Six-Day War: the side that fired first, or the side that closed the Straits of Tiran? Should Balfour be judged the way Frederick Douglass judged Lincoln? One thing neither disputes: Jews had a right to come to Palestine as immigrants. Moser's objection is to coming "as conquerors."

Also: Theodor Herzl, Lord Balfour, Abraham Lincoln, Derek Penslar, Benny Morris, Norman Finkelstein, Anwar Sadat, Nasser, the Kishinev pogrom, the Farhud, the Nakba, Gaza.

Benjamin Moser won the Pulitzer Prize for Sontag: Her Life and Work. Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History is out now from Doubleday.

0:00 Noam: "This interview did not go as I hoped"
2:16 "Moserism": the opening statement on Lincoln and Balfour
14:55 Herzl's "genitals" line: diary or letter?
22:41 Herzl's mass-conversion plan and the Penslar tape
31:01 "Did European Jews have the right to come to Palestine?"
49:56 Why did Iraq's Jews leave? Avi Shlaim and the Baghdad bombs
58:42 Who started the Six-Day War?
1:13:22 After Moser leaves: Dan and Periel weigh in

03:00 – Hamas, October 7 & Moral Responsibility06:45 – The Asymmetry Trap: Hamas's Strategy Against Israel14:40 – Civilian Casualties & Israel's Military Strategy20:25 – Did Michael Walzer Change His Mind About Israel?22:45 – When Should Israel Have Ended the War?28:05 – Netanyahu, Gaza & Israel's Strategic Mistakes32:45 – Iran, Hezbollah & Israel's Security35:00 – Palestinian Self-Determination & Democracy39:45 – The Future of Zionism & a Palestinian State43:40 – Walzer's Final Message: Israel Must Survive48:13 – Did The New Yorker Misrepresent Michael Walzer?51:00 – Why Noam Does This Podcast: Access to Great Minds1:01:00 – Bari Weiss, 60 Minutes & What Makes a Good Interview1:02:00 – Omar Bartov, Hamas & Intellectual Accountability1:05:40 – Do Intellectuals Change Their Beliefs to Be Accepted?1:08:40 – The Psychology of Belonging & Political Conformity1:10:30 – Why Interviewing Anti-Israel Intellectuals Matters1:14:00 – Noam Chomsky, Intellectual Integrity & Controversial Associations1:19:50 – Russell Brand, Sexual Assault & the Question of Consent1:24:20 – Celebrity, Power & Sexual Consent1:28:10 – Final Thoughts: Why the Walzer Interview Matters

Michael Walzer, renowned political philosopher and author of Just and Unjust Wars, joins Noam Dworman and Periel Aschenbrand for a conversation about Israel, Hamas, Gaza, and the morality of modern warfare.

Walzer discusses Hamas's October 7 attack, the asymmetry trap, civilian casualties, Netanyahu's leadership, and the point at which Israel should have shifted from military action to political solutions. He also addresses his New Yorker profile, rejects the claim that he changed his position on Israel, and discusses the future of Zionism, Palestinian self-determination, and Israel's security.

Then, a provocative discussion between Noam and Periel about intellectual dishonesty, antisemitism, media bias, and the willingness of public intellectuals to change their positions to gain approval.

Michael Walzer is an American political philosopher, public intellectual, and professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). He is widely recognized as one of the preeminent thinkers in contemporary political theory. He is the author of multiple books including Just and Unjust Wars and the subject of a recent profile in The New Yorker titled, "A Philosopher of War Changes His Mind."

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/a-philosopher-of-war-changes-his-mind

https://www.instagram.com/dan.schueftan
https://www.tiktok.com/@dan.shiftan

04:20 – Can civilized societies defend themselves?
11:35 – What does Schueftan mean by “barbarism”?
16:45 – Israel, the West Bank and the question of disengagement
29:00 – Settlements, separation and the future of Israel
37:05 – Freedom, Western values and Israel's critics
47:50 – The crocodile and the banana: America's Middle East policy
54:05 – Antisemitism and the future of Jewish life abroad
62:35 – October 7 and Israel's strategic position
68:40 – Hebrew, Jewish identity and connecting young Jews to Israel
77:45 – Noam and Periel reflect on the conversation

Noam Dworman and Periel Aschenbrand are joined by Dr. Dan Schueftan for a wide-ranging conversation about Israel, the Palestinians, Iran, antisemitism and the future of Western civilization. Schueftan argues that the West has fundamentally misunderstood its adversaries, that Israel cannot afford to confuse concessions with security, and that the survival of liberal democracy depends on the willingness to defend it.The conversation covers the future of the West Bank, the dangers of Palestinian statehood under current conditions, America's failures in the Middle East, the rise of antisemitism, and the future of Jewish life outside Israel.

Dr. Dan Schueftan is the Head of the International Graduate Program in National Security at the University of Haifa. He also serves as a senior lecturer at Haifa University's School of Political Sciences. He has taught at the Israel Defense Force's National Security College and the IDF's Command and Staff College. He has been a consultant to every Israeli prime minister since Menachem Begin and has published extensively on national security, strategic thinking and contemporary Middle Eastern history. Dr. Schueftan’s most recent book is Israel’s National Objectives – A Comprehensive Perspective (2021).

Phillips O’Brien is Professor of Strategic Studies at St Andrews. He is the author of The Strategists, How the War Was Won and The Second Most Powerful Man in the World. He has written for The Atlantic, The Spectator and Foreign Affairs.

Substack: https://substack.com/@UCpFYfImma_1URlxsC0t9CPQ
X: https://x.com/PhillipsPOBrien?lang=en

Professor O’Brien joins Noam Dworman, Dan Naturman and Periel Aschenbrand for a conversation about the end of American global dominance and what it means for the future of the United States.They discuss America's military capabilities, the war with Iran, nuclear proliferation, Ukraine, China and Taiwan, and whether American alliances can be restored.

01:15 Is the American Age Over?

03:49 America's Military Strength and the Iran War

10:29 The Bipartisan Roots of American Decline

16:31 Ukraine, Russia and Nuclear Escalation

19:10 America's Economic Strengths and Weaknesses

25:09 Iran's Nuclear Program and the Limits of American Power

45:04 China, Taiwan and the Future of American Alliances

55:12 Iran, Nuclear Deterrence and America's Future

"I just don't feel like the podcast is a vehicle for me to shine, or even lightly glow."

Dan Naturman's resignation email, read on air in the episode where he comes back - which only happened because Periel booked two different Daniels for the same day and neither one showed up.

0:00 Dan does the intro, and Noam's two-screen Asus laptop demo.
5:18 The calendar debacle: Daniel Mendelsohn, Daniel Levy, then nobody
13:06 Dan quit by email: "a vehicle for me to shine, or even lightly glow"
21:30 Periel's Abraham Accords: cruises, MSC and Dan Tries Things
28:48 Comics Unleashed, the Letterman theory and why Dan's jokes aren't "real"
41:00 The new club's 2 a.m. litter summonses, and Noam concedes on congestion pricing
47:30 Raise the minimum wage, lose the fifth day; $25 covers vs. $50
58:59 Movie-ticket pricing, five rooms, "give good, get good" and Yohay at the Beacon

Why did Dan quit, and what would make him stay? Did congestion pricing fail, or is an 11% drop in traffic just invisible from the driver's seat? What actually happened at the Comedy Cellar when wages went up 25%? And why does the Cellar charge $25 when the clubs around it charge $50? Noam and Dan agree on one thing: the Cellar is the cheapest game in town, and Noam isn't going to fix it.

Also: Daniel Mendelsohn's Odyssey, the Asus Zenbook Duo, Comics Unleashed and Byron Allen, the Norm Macdonald documentary, Marc Maron, Gary Gulman, Chris Turner, Philip Roth and The Sopranos' Big Pussy, the new club's 2 a.m. litter summonses, the two-item minimum, Arizona iced tea's 99 cents, and Yohay Sponder at the Beacon.

Dan Naturman performs at the Comedy Cellar whenever he's not on a cruise ship. Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen airs weeknights on CBS.