Mael Time With Daniel Mael

On this episode of The Mael Time Podcast, Daniel Mael sits down with FDD’s Jonathan Schanzer for a clear-eyed conversation about Israel’s hostage war and the deeper question of what victory really means. They unpack Qatar’s pivotal role in hostage negotiations, Iran’s central responsibility for regional instability, and Hamas’s strategy of leveraging civilians and captives, while also exploring how hostage families influenced Israeli decision-making and how U.S. policy uncertainty shapes the battlefield. The discussion extends beyond Gaza to the cultural and narrative war playing out on social media, where Jewish identity in America is increasingly under pressure. This episode confronts a conflict fought on multiple fronts — military, diplomatic, and ideological — and asks the hardest question of all: how does a war like this actually end?

Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement, joined the Mael Time Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on how Zionist institutions actually function and why they still matter to Jews outside Israel. In a moment when the relationship between Israel and the diaspora is often discussed in slogans, Block offered a clear, grounded explanation of the American Zionist Movement as a grassroots umbrella that brings together a broad spectrum of Zionist organizations. He walked through how the Zionist Congress operates, why American Jews have real influence within it, and how budgetary priorities are set, while also addressing common misconceptions around “dual loyalty.” The discussion emphasized unity across ideological lines and underscored the continuing, often overlooked, connection between Zionist decision-making and Israel’s political system.

Understanding the "news" the IDF accepts the figure of 70,000 Gazans dead since 10/7.

Asher Guedalia joins the show to breakdown the latest spat between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Joe Biden.

In this episode of the Mael Time Podcast, Daniel Mael sits down with Dr. Tuvia Book to confront a question few leaders are willing to answer: who took responsibility when IDF soldiers went into Gaza without the basics? Drawing on Dr. Book’s new book Heroes of Palmar, the conversation explores how groundbreaking advances in combat medicine saved lives even as critical equipment was missing, forcing civilians and diaspora communities to step in where the system failed. Together, they examine the dangerous gap between frontline reality and political messaging, the culture of deflection that has replaced accountability, and the urgent need for an independent, neutral inquiry into Israel’s military preparedness. What emerges is a sobering but unifying message: the resilience of the Jewish people filled the void—but leadership must still answer for why that void existed at all.