Israel is Not Hungary

Israel is Not Hungary

From The Beinart Notebook by Peter Beinart

April 27, 2026 · 9 min

About this episode

Peter Beinart discusses US policy towards Israel with guest Cenk Uygur, addressing concerns about the rhetoric surrounding Israel's supporters.

This week’s Zoom call will be at our regular time, Friday at 1 PM Eastern. Our guest will be Cenk Uygur , co-creator and host of The Young Turks , a popular progressive political show. A month or so ago, Cenk and I were interviewed together by Piers Morgan and while we agreed about the war in Iran and US policy towards Israel, I was uncomfortable with some of the ways he spoke about Israel’s supporters in the US. Some of his subsequent comments have added to my concern. We spoke privately and then agreed to hold a public conversation. I’m struggling these days to find the right way of speaking to, and about, people who rightly demand a change in US policy toward Israel but sometimes express themselves in ways I find troubling. I’m grateful to Cenk for being willing to publicly discuss my concerns— and, of course, I’m open to hearing his critiques of me. Please join us. Cited in Today’s Video Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid join forces to defeat Benjamin Netanyahu, and pledge not to govern with Israel’s Palestinian citizens. Things to Read (Maybe this should be obvious, but I link to articles and videos I find provocative and significant, not necessarily ones I entirely agree…

People in this episode

Host: Peter Beinart

Guest: Cenk Uygur

Topics covered

  • US policy towards Israel
  • public conversation
  • progressive politics
  • Israel's supporters
  • Middle East conflict

Keywords

  • Israel
  • Cenk Uygur
  • Peter Beinart
  • US policy
  • progressive politics
  • Middle East

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Young Turks, Jewish Currents, Foundation for Middle East Peace, Occupied Thoughts

Places: Iran, Israel

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