Two Nice Jewish Boys

*This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb What would you do if you woke up one day, and you were told that you’re going to be given 2.5 million dollars. No ifs or ands or buts. Just take the money, and make something good out of it. Unfortunately, us simpletons seldom face these kinds of problems. But today’s guest was recently put to this very test. Prof. Oded Rechavi is one of the youngest, most promising scientists in the Israeli academia today. He’s a Professor of Neurobiology and Genetics in Tel Aviv University, where he researches various subjects, from diseases, to irrationality and even ancient scrolls. Prof. Rechavi is a laureate of many awards, including the Blavetnik award, the Schmidt award and the Polymath award, which recently granted him with 2.5 million dollars, and one goal - make something interesting out of it, whatever you see fit. We are extremely excited to have Prof. Rechavi on the show today!

*This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb Back in 2018, President Trump made a bold move when he exited the Iran Nuclear Deal and levelled crippling sanctions on the Iranians. Iran, in retaliation, cranked up its Uranium enrichment - well, at least they no longer hid it. Last week, in a quiet corner of Vienna, the US began back channel negotiations with Tehran with the aim of reentering what is officially known as The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Talks are set to continue this week. Yesterday, Natanz nuclear facility in Iran experienced a devastating power outage which experts are saying has set back Iran’s nuclear goals by about 9 months! And guess who most are saying is responsible? Dan Schueftan is the head of the National Securities Graduate Program at the University of Haifa. He has taught at the IDF National Security College and Command and Staff College. He was an advisor to Israel’s National Security Council and former Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon. He’s also the author of several books and articles on issues pertaining to Israel’s National Security. He joins us today for the second time to talk about the Iranian Threat. We’re thrilled to welcome Dan Schueftan to the podcast.

*This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb What do you do in your free time? Do you paint? Cycle? Study a foreign language? Well, our guest today climbs mountains. But not just any type of mountain. She climbs the mountains that are almost impossible to climb. Her most recent peak was Ojos Del Salado in Chile, the highest active volcano in the world. And this is what she does in her free time. Daniel Wolfson is a lawyer by trade but in her free time she runs marathons, does triathlons and conquers some of the highest summits in the world. We are super thrilled to have Daniel Wolfson on the podcast tonight to talk about the injury that led her to mountain climbing, the crazy dreams climbers have at high altitudes and the crazy dream she has at ALL altitudes - the dream of being the first Israeli woman to climb Mount Everest.

Naor and Eytan talk about recent events in Israel and the world. *This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb

*This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb On the 1st of March, Prof. Eitan Friedman, the director and founder of the Oncogenetics Unit at the Sheba Medical Center, will end his tenure there. On several occasions over the several months, Professor Eitan Friedman has publicly denounced the government’s policy of lockdowns as an ineffective measure in dealing with the pandemic. Some suspect this might be one of the reasons he will no longer serve as a director at Sheba Medical Center. Professor Friedman has been a professor at Tel Aviv University since 1999. His research is focused on the inherited predisposition to cancer and population genetics. He is also the first Israeli to swim solo across the English Channel. We are thrilled to have Professor Eitan Friedman with us today to discuss Israel’s Corona policies, the current situation of the pandemic and the price he’s paid for speaking his mind.

*This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb In a bit less than 3 weeks, on March 23rd, Eytan Weinstein will turn 32. Oh yeah, and Israel will hold its 4th election round in the past 2 years. If you don’t live here and follow the news obsessively, you might find yourself baffled as to the amount of parties, agendas, boycotts and potential Prime Ministers in our tiny political pool. Don’t you worry though, because today - we got you covered. Who’s ‘we’, you ask? Well, to try and make sense of the chaotic Israeli political map, we are joined today by Yoav Rabinowitz! By day, he’s the chief-editor of the super influential tv show “The Other Side with Guy Zohar”, which deconstructs news items and political speeches, and confronts them with the cold hard facts. By night, Yoav takes off his suit and becomes a stand-up comedian and the wittiest tweeter in the Middle East. Tonight, we have one goal for the show. We’re going to walk you through all the main parties on the ballot (and some not so main ones) and try to find one that doesn’t make us want to vomit. Buckle up!

*This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb There's no better way to introduce our next guest than by telling you about the following tweet. A few days ago Gideon Levy published an op-ed in Haaretz and wrote "There is not and there can't be an Arab who stands silent for the siren on the Memorial Day for fallen IDF soldiers, the soldiers who killed his fellow nationals, who conquered his land, who banished his fathers and who continue to abuse his brothers. An Arab who stands during the siren commits a lie in his soul and betrays his nation. Period." Yoseph Hadad, an Arab Israeli and CEO of the NGO Aravim Ze Le Ze, tweeted a photo of the excerpt and wrote: "Gideon, I am an Arab Israeli and I'm a wounded IDF veteran. I stand during the siren with pride and with sorrow every single year and think about my friends who I lost as they fought for the entire country - Jews and Arabs." Aravim Ze Le Ze is an NGO dedicated to connecting the Arab community to Israeli society. Aravim Ze Le Ze directly translates to "Arabs, one for another '' but is also a play on the old Jewish proverb "All of Israel is responsible one for another. We are super thrilled to be joined by Yoseph Hadad today to talk about just how integrated Arabs are in Israeli society.

*This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb Let’s talk about your underpants. The undies you’re wearing right now, were most likely not manufactured in your home country. Chances are, they were made in China or Malaysia or Taiwan, thousands and thousands of kilometers away, by a kid who’s paid a fraction of what you make in an hour. Then, with the click of a button, dem undies you’re wearing, traveled across the globe and landed on your doorstep. And that’s just undies. Information travels infinitely faster. This, in a nutshell, is the story of globalization. The incredible historic process that has connected our planet in an unprecedented way, and which is now under attack - at least according to Nadav Eyal. Nadav Eyal, is a renowned Israeli journalist. He’s currently a columnist for Yediot Ahronot newspaper. Until recently, he was the head of the Foreign Desk at Channel 13 News and before that, he was on the political beat for various outlets including Maariv and Galey Tzahal. His new book - Revolt: The Worldwide Uprise Against Globalization, depicts the major undercurrents that he believes might threaten modern civilization. We are thrilled to be joined by Nadav Eyal to discuss his new book, as well as a subject he’s been covering thoroughly for over a year - the battle against covid.

*This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb Naor and Eytan talk about everything that happened in Israel during the last month.

*This episode is sponsored by Masa Israel Journey. Check them out at http://masaisrael.org/twonicejewishboys * Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $15: forward.com/2njb Naturally, there are feelings that we don’t enjoy. Feelings we feel we’d be better off without. Hate, sadness, fear. Fear, what a useless emotion. Right? Almost a century ago, at his inaugural address, FDR said those now famous words, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” But hasn’t fear been ensuring our survival since the dawn of our species? Would we really be nature’s apex predator if we didn’t have that cautious, neurotic, loss-averse coward we all do deep down inside? Kfir Itzhaki has been fascinated with fear all his life. He faced fear time and time again, as a professional martial art fighter, as a fauda-style ‘mista’arev’ in Duvdevan unit in the IDF, and as a citizen who stormed an Islamic terrorist during the second intifada. Today, Kfir lectures on fear and the art of dealing with it, and his new book “Unconventional Weapon”, is all about utilizing fear to our advantage. 2NJB is happy to have Kfir Itzhaki on the show.