Espionage in Iran, election manoeuvres in Israel - and unlikely football glory

The US-Iran war is back on. The ceasefire has collapsed, the naval blockade is reimposed, and Israel is asking if a moment is coming when the missiles turn its way. With Yonit away, Jonathan is joined by New Yorker writer Ruth Margalit to make sense of a dizzying week: a jaw-dropping report that the Mossad cultivated Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — yes, that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — as an asset in a failed plot to topple the Iranian regime, and an election campaign in which Gadi Eisenkot is opening up a real lead over Benjamin Netanyahu. Can Mr. Security survive a race where even Likud voters might be drifting away? Plus: a World Cup dilemma for Jewish football fans, a Chutzpah award for a literary institution that forgot its own motto, and a Mensch that takes us to a Jerusalem cafe that refuses to close on Shabbat.

⏱ CHAPTERS:

[00:00] Intro

[01:02] England out — a World Cup dilemma for Jewish fans

[05:00] The US-Iran war is back on

[08:44] Why Netanyahu wants the shadow of war

[10:52] Congress votes on cutting aid to Israel

[15:24] The Mossad's Ahmadinejad plot

[21:30] Election set for October 27 — Eisenkot's rise

[29:39] Mansour Abbas gambles on running alone

[32:52] The Shin Bet investigates Channel 12

[40:16] Chutzpah & Mensch awards

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