Recorded live before a New York audience, in this special bonus episode, Ambassador Tom Nides—former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and current Blackstone executive—joins the J100 for a candid, unscripted conversation on Israel’s war with Hamas, the hostages, October 7th, the meaning of Zionism, and the politics of ending a war without abandoning core security goals.
Nides argues Hamas is “150% responsible” for the catastrophe in Gaza, says the war must end and hostages must come home—now, and makes the case for redefining success so October 7th “never happens again.” He shares why he visited bereaved families across Israel as ambassador, how he kept friendships across political divides (from David Friedman to West Bank rabbi and settler Uri Pilichowski), what the world got wrong on the humanitarian narrative, and why bipartisan U.S. support still matters.
Chapters
00:00 – Live Intro
03:26 – Blackstone Tragedy
05:12 – Duluth Roots & Zionism
08:34 – Leaving Post & October 7
21:36 – Talking Across Divides
27:20 – Hamas & Redefining Success
33:11 – Hostages & Humanity
38:10 – Lessons in Leadership
You can find the condensed transcript & summary of this episode and more episodes at
This episode of "The J100 Podcast" was produced by David Taragin.