Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploration into one key issue shaping Israel and the Jewish World — right now.

Within days of the murderous October 7 Hamas invasion of Israel, William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, headed a mission of 50 heads of Jewish legacy organizations back to Israel, where he was when the massacre occurred.

In conversation with The Times of Israel this week, he describes how following the brutal slaying of 1,200 mostly citizens and hostage-taking of dozens of others, a second punch in the gut awaited him back in the United States.

"While we were punched in the gut by what you experienced here, we get punched in the gut by what we experienced in America -- an incredible disconnect, a moment of cognitive dissonance where our allies, our neighbors, the people we work with, the people that we have marched with -- seemed to not get it, seemed to not understand the tragedy that had occurred. And continue to not get it.”

We speak about the November 14 March for Israel rally, which brought an unprecedented 290,000 to the Washington, DC, National Mall. And how, at this moment, pernicious TikTok algorithms may dictate how the next generation of American Jewry views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

This week, we ask long-time American Jewish leader William Daroff, where American Jews can go from here and what matters now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on iTunes, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, PlayerFM or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations William Daroff at the site of the October 7 Supernova rave massacre, December 25, 2023. (courtesy)

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