RIP Ori Goldberg - Our First Interview

I'm deeply saddened by the passing of Ori Goldberg, one of my most thoughtful yet incisive guests on the topic of Israel. Although many knew him just an as Israeli dissident, I considered Ori a friend and always loved talking with him. He always went out of his way to promote my show and spoke so honestly with me both on-air and off-air. The last time we spoke I talked with him a little bit off-air about his illness. I didn't want to believe Ori was going to pass, but I had a bad feeling even before that last time we spoke. Its why I tried to have him on so often. He was just a font of analysis and commentary. He often spoke in an almost poetic way, while also being down-to-earth. And again, so open about both himself and his perceptions of Israel, life, and facing death. I'm not sure I've ever met anyone else like him. He was something special. In his memory I'll be reposting his interview on Parallax Views throughout the week. A bit shook by this passing. Although it was known that Ori was ill, his passing is a great loss. Here's to you Ori. 👉 Pitch in on Patreon and fuel the future of free-thinking conversations. https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Also visit our returning sponsor Mike Swanson's Wall Street Window for the best financial and trading newsletter around: https://wallstreetwindow.com/ On this edition of Parallax Views, Israeli commentator Ori Goldberg, who has become well-known since the Gaza war began for his criticisms of Netanyahu and the state, or mindset, of Israeli society since October 7th. In a previous life he was a Middle East scholar who specialized in studying Iran. We start the conversation off with that as Ori gives his thoughts on the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and comments on the adaptability of the Islamic Republic in face of crisis. From there we shift to a conversation about the state of Israeli society today. Before October 7th much was made about the internal divisions in Israeli political life that has been summed up as a battle between a secular state of Israel vs. a religious state of Judea embodied by the far-right coalition created by Benjamin Netanyahu. Then the Hamas attack of October 7th happened. And in Ori's estimation it has led to a surfacing of something almost mythical in regard to the Israeli identity. In the course of our conversation Ori attempts to articulate the mindset that and structural make-up of Israeli society and the Israeli psyche. This leads us to a discussion of supremacist beliefs in Israeli society and how Israel sees itself in relation to the world. He argues that his country must go through a reckoning and transformation for a viable future. But he does not argue this from the frame of a mundane political analysis. Rather he seeks to offer what he believes is an intimate and intense portrait of Israel at this moment. Ori will also offer his thoughts on the dehumanization of Palestinians in Israel and how the process dehumanization degrades and dehumanizes even the perpetrator of it. Finally he comments on his statement that, in Israel, "Palestinian blood has become cheaper than air." Ori paints a grim picture of where Israel is at as a society, but maintains that he is optimistic about change and transformation.