Being Jew-ish

Episode 30! It's election season. Seth and Dave explore how what's happening in Israel and Gaza might impact elections (and other important life events, like looking at colleges for our kids). How are Israel and Antisemitism present in political positions, and how much should we be considering those elements when making our own votes? Seth and Dave take some time to unpack Senator Chuck Schumer's congressional speech on Israel and Gaza. Finally, they explore the importance of finding levity even in moments like these, since Purim is coming up this week. This is the final show of Being Jew-ish's first season. Seth and Dave will return for season two soon.

This week we share a conversation recorded on Dave's recent trip to Israel with Danny Miran, the father of Israeli hostage Omri Miran, 46-year-old, held in Gaza since October 7, 156 days as of the release date of this podcast. Danny's account is heart-wrenching and yet hopeful. Given the emotional weight of his burden, Danny Miran spoke with us in Hebrew, and Daniel Shek, former Israeli ambassador to France and current head of the diplomatic department at Families of Hostages and the Missing Forum, served as translator. For Omri's story, click here: https://stories.bringthemhomenow.net/bringthemhome/miran-omri For general information on Families of Hostages and the Missing Forum (the "bring them home now” organization), click here: https://stories.bringthemhomenow.net/

Dave is back from leading the synagogue's Solidarity Mission to Israel. It was an emotionally intense and moving trip, where participants volunteered throughout the country (mostly in the food and agriculture sectors) and brought and distributed donations. They met with survivors from the October 7 massacres, grieving and pained family members of people killed and hostages, displaced families from the north, and soldiers currently on duty. Dave learned about the dangers Israelis face every day— while people in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have 1.5 minutes from hearing a rocket siren to seek shelter, in the Gaza envelope, people have no more than a 15-second warning at best. We'll hear a message from Sam, a reservist in an infantry brigade. In future weeks, we'll hear more recordings from the trip. As always, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share it with a friend!

This week we speak with Shemtov Hollinger, a special forces reservist who has been serving in the West Bank since the national alarm went off on October 7. By the time this is released, for the first time since, Hollinger is returning to his regular work as a nurse. Listen for a fascinating conversation of a first-hand account of what's happening on the ground along with his perspective on what the future may hold. We are so grateful to all those putting their lives on the line for the sake of our people and the State of Israel. Please note that we will not be releasing an episode next week, but the following week, we'll be sharing recordings from Dave's solidarity mission to Israel. Please share with a friend and rate on Apple Podcasts.\

This episode is dedicated to Seth's father Lou on his second yahrtzeit. This week, we spoke with Malka Shaw, LCSW. Malka shares with listeners her work at Kesher Shalom, an organization dedicated to supporting mental health professionals with everything connected to the October 7th attacks, the recent rise in Antisemitism, and the general Jewish experience today. Mental health professionals need additional tools for supporting their Jewish clients and Jewish mental health professionals very much need support for their own experiences. Thankfully, Kesher Shalom is there to support them. For more information, go to keshershalom.com.

In episode 25 (a quarter of the way to 100!), Dave and Seth discuss what it means for Israel to have a “moral” military. We explore the issues raised in the Newsweek article, “Israel implemented more measures to limit civilian casualties than any other nation in history.” (link at the end). Is it possible for an army to be moral? They also discuss the current political climate in the United States and what impact it may have on the war in Gaza. https://www.newsweek.com/israel-implemented-more-measures-prevent-civilian-casualties-any-other-nation-history-opinion-1865613

The Israel-Hamas saga continues. The International Court of Justice took South Africa's genocide suit against Israel seriously. Fortunately, in their announcement (interestingly shared the day before International Holocaust Remembrance Day). At the same time, they did not call for a ceasefire, they did call for Israel to take every possible step to limit the afflicting of Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures to punish direct incitement to genocide, and assure humanitarian aid and services. Meanwhile, many countries are calling for Israel to be kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contest. As they say (or not), the best part of waking up is geopolitical conflict in your cup. In good news, we celebrated the trees' birthday with Tu Bishvat.

We ring in 2024 with Episode 23! Seth and Dave discuss the presidential election and the problematic misinformation we anticipate. It's vital that we seek out the truth and that we can hold multiple truths simultaneously. One can criticize Israel while NOT being Antisemitic. How? We'll share with you! Jonathan Kasler's article on the [inadequate] responses to what's happening in Gaza: https://medium.com/@kasler.jon/5-war-journal-e1e19a92d066. Please share this podcast with a friend and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

Episode 21 is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi David Ellenson, Ph.D. David was one of the great rabbis of this generation. Among other roles, he was the head of Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion when Dave studied there and the one who gave him s'michah (ordained him). He was a brilliant scholar and an incredible human being, respected by Jews from all backgrounds. He died at the age of 76 on Thursday, December 7. For more information on Rabbi David Ellenson, PHD., see his obituary in the New York Times— https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/us/david-ellenson-dead.html. In episode 21, Seth and Dave listen to the clip of the congressional hearing of the presidents of U Penn, MIT, and Harvard, and discuss the problems of their unwillingness to state without reservation that calling for an intifada is problematic speech on their campuses. Seth and Dave discuss the difficulty of choosing a college for Jewish students and then explore some lesser-known Hanukkah tidbits.'

WARNING: Episode 22 contains conversation about extreme violence and should be listened to with caution. This week, Seth and Dave are joined by Rabbi Dan Cohen of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (www.tsti.org) for a very difficult conversation. With several clergy, political staffers, and police chiefs, Dan and Dave bore witness to the October 7 atrocities as they watched the 47-minute documentary the Israel Defense Forces put together from the massive amount of video footage collected from the terrorist attacks. The film's official title is “October 7th, 2023: Hamas Massacre Collected Raw Footage.” Dan and Dave share what they saw and offer reflections and reactions. Episode 22 is our final episode for 2023, as Seth and Dave take a couple of weeks of vacation. See you in 2024.