Two Nice Jewish Boys

He’s been nicknamed “Europe’s Last Dictator” by much of the media. He’s been in power for over 24 years. He’s suppressed and even arrested much of his political opposition and he just prevailed through his 5th consecutive electoral win but many, if not most, question its legitimacy. Can you guess which head of state we’re talking about? Alexander Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994 and today the country seems like it might be on the brink of a revolution. Shalom Boguslavsky organizes study tours in Eastern-Europe. He writes and lectures about both Eastern Europe and Israel with a focus on geopolitics and Jewish history. We’re happy to be joined by Shalom today to talk about the situation in Belarus. (Photo by Serge Serebro, Vitebsk Popular News ) Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $10 — that’s 67% off: forward.com/2njb

No matter where you’re from, it’s hard to ignore what’s going on in the United States as of May. The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer ignited massive protests and widespread riots across the country. Covid and an approaching election did nothing to calm the storm. When something this dramatic happens to Israel’s most powerful ally, it’s especially hard for Israelis to ignore. Unrest usually doesn’t bode well for either Israel or Jews in general. Today we’re with an old guest of the podcast, Ofir Dayan. Ofir studies at Columbia University in New York and she’s the head of SSI, which stands for Students Supporting Israel. She joins us today to talk about the unrest in the United States and about what it all means for the people who will probably end up being blamed for causing it all, the Jews. *** Exclusive subscription offer for podcast listeners: Get 6 months of The Forward for only $10 — that's 67% off: http://forward.com/2njb

What do you have in your fridge right now? Some eggs, a head of wilted lettuce, maybe a loaf of bread? How do you decide when it’s time to move on, when your food is overdue, and destined to be thrown out and replaced by fresh, shiny, new food? According to some estimations, about 30-40% of all food in the United States is being wasted, thrown to the garbage because it wasn't eaten in time. Sometimes, we even throw good food - food that’s still completely edible. And it makes you think - what if we were smarter about how we treat our old, perhaps less enticing, but still very much nutritious, food? Shai Rilov is a social entrepreneur from Haifa. He came up with an ingenious idea - take the food that people don’t want, make delicious dishes out of it, and serve it to those who can’t afford it in restaurants. That’s how Robin Food came to be, a restaurant that Shai opened in Haifa’s historic food market, Talpyiot. Shai joins us today to talk about Robin Food, and his next exciting ventures.

Two months ago, against the backdrop of a global pandemic, a subsequent economic crisis and a prime minister accused of corruption, thousands of Israelis decided to hit the streets. Gathering in Jerusalem, right next to the Prime Minister’s residence, they had one goal in mind. Benjamin Netanyahu must resign. His failure in handling the health and economic crises and his questionable legal standing means one thing - he’s gotta go. These protests continue today both in Jerusalem and across the country. Many Israelis criticize the protests for being unfocused, for exploiting global and national instability to secure political objectives and for being unruly and sometimes even violent. On the other hand, these protesters themselves claim to be the victims of both police and civilian violence. As usual, Israel ain’t a walk in the park. Joining us today is a former guest of the podcast, the journalist and activist Maya Rimer. Maya is a participation specialist and group facilitator who took part in the 2011 protests in Israel and is currently one of the voices that’s calling for change.

Naor and Eytan discuss current events.

A legendary Jewish poet once wrote: “It’s lonely at the top”. And indeed, the higher you climb in politics, the lonelier it gets. And when you’re the Prime Minister of Israel - which some might argue is the most difficult job in the world - and you need to decide whether or not to attack Iran, you can listen to smart people, sure, but no one will be there when you make the final decision. No one but you. And still, even prime ministers can’t do everything by themselves. They must surround themselves with dedicated, smart and excellent people who will help them, say what they think from time to time, and most of all will be there when they are needed. Topaz Luk was only 22 years old when he got a phone call from the Prime Minister of Israel. He was freshly out of Dover Tzahal, the luxurious “IDF Spokesman” unit, where he specialized in social media and helped the IDF revolutionize its online presence. Not long after, he found himself working with Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the most influential, historic - but also controversial - leaders in the history of our young country. More than five years and a gazillion political campaigns later - Topaz is still the Prime Minister’s new media consultant, and one of his most devoted and closest advisors. We’re thrilled to have Topaz on the show today to talk about these turbulent times in Israel, his work with the Prime Minister, his world views and much more.

Most people don’t hang flags above their beds. But Ariel Karlinsky isn’t most people. Above his bed, throughout his childhood and well into high school, Ariel hung the red flag of the Soviet Union - its yellow sickle and hammer watching over him every night. Until one bright day he decided to take it down, fold it up and tuck it away, along with his strong beliefs in the Communist system. Ariel Karlinsky is an Economist at the Kohelet Policy Forum, a conservative think tank dedicated to (quote) “secure Israel's future as the nation-state of the Jewish people, to strengthen representative democracy, and to broaden individual liberty and free-market principles in Israel.” Ariel joins us today to talk about how a communist became a capitalist.

6,744 miles. That’s the distance between Israel and America. Together, the two countries are home for 90% of Jewry around the globe. But while in Israel Jewish identity is obvious to almost everyone, from the moment they are born to the moment they punch their ticket - in America, things are a bit different. As the years progress, some young Jewish Americans feel more and more detached from their Jewish identity. Some are only half Jewish, or quarter Jewish, some don’t even know about their Jewish roots. It is feared, therefore, that within a few generations, not much will be left of the American Jewish, non-haredi community.  To battle this possibility, an initiative named Birthright was established in 1999. The idea was simple - bringing young Jews from all around the world to Israel, so that they can understand their roots, get to know the country, and hopefully, fall in love. Since then, more than 750K people participated in the project, 75% of which are Americans and Canadians. It was a wild success. But now, as Corona emerged in our life, the future of the entire operation is being put to the test. So what does the future hold for Birthright? And did the project achieve any actual results? To answer these questions, we have Gidi Mark on the show today. Gidi is the CEO of Taglit. He started his career as a diplomat, and he served the country of Israel in many embassies, including Istanbul, Bonn and New York. He’s been serving as CEO since 2008, and let is to impressive success. We’re happy to be joined by Gidi Mark to discuss Birthright, American Jewry, and much more.

Naor and Eytan talk about everything that's been going on in Israel lately.

July 1st was a date some Israelis were looking forward to. For the past few months, most Israelis have been speaking about one thing, (well, except for corona) - Annexation. Aka instilling Israeli law in much of the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria. Since the Six Day War in 1967 when Israel conquered the area - Israeli citizens have been living there in settlements under military rule. Annexation would change that permanently, and settlers would cease to be settlers. They would be living, de facto, in the State of Israel. Of course, in Israel, nothing’s ever that simple. This plan split the country in two - those who prayed for annexation, and those who dreaded it. Uri Zaki is a political activist, a member of the Meretz party, one of Israel’s more left-wing parties. He is the founder of “The Front for the Protection of Democracy”, an organisation that strives to be (quote) “the assaultive tool in the struggle for the Israeli democracy”. Uri is also the partner of MK Tamar Zandberg, who we had the please of hosting on the podcast - check out episode 34. We’re happy to be joined by Uri Zaki to discuss the Deal of the Century, democracy in Israel - and much more!