People of the Pod

Can the European Union effectively combat antisemitism? Meet the woman leading the bloc's efforts to do just that: European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism Katharina von Schnurbein. Last month, the EU unveiled its first Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life, a multi-faceted plan that incorporated many recommendations from AJC. Hear from von Schnurbein how that strategy is being implemented and what it means for European Jews and the entire Jewish diaspora. Then, for our closing segment, Shabbat Table Talk, host Manya Brachear Pashman and Shira Loewenberg, Director of AJC's Asia Pacific Institute (API), reflect on Jewish journalist Danny Fenster's release from prison in Myanmar and the dire situation in the country. __ Episode Lineup: (0:40) Katharina von Schnurbein (19:39) Manya Brachear Pashman and Shira Loewenberg __ Show Notes: Tune in on December 2 at 12PM ET for a special live People of the Pod recording, "Action Not Apathy: Shine a Light on Antisemitism." You can register for the program at AJC.org/AdvocacyAnywhere Everything You Need to Know About Antisemitism in Europe: https://www.ajc.org/AntisemitismInEurope EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life (2021-2030): https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/eu-strategy-combating-antisemitism-and-fostering-jewish-life-2021-2030_en Paul Salopek's Out of Eden Walk: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/

Meet two young, innovative, and award-winning U.S. Jews who are confronting a climate of antisemitism and anti-Zionism: Jason Kessler, lead anchor for Jew or False, a satirical news show that fights antisemitism and calls out misinformation, and Eddie Chavez Calderon of Uri L'Tzedek, an Orthodox Jewish social justice organization that tackles antisemitism in progressive spaces. Guest host AJC Chief Advocacy Officer Belle Yoeli sat down with both to hear how antisemitism has impacted their lives and how they developed their antisemitism-fighting models. This week, AJC's Disrupt Antisemitism Incubator awarded $50,000 to Kessler, Chavez Calderon, and three other young American Jews who have developed bold ideas to take on Jew-hatred. ___ Episode Lineup: (0:40) Jason Kessler, Eddie Chavez Calderon (21:13) Manya Brachear Pashman, Belle Yoeli ___ Show Notes: Jew or False, a satirical news show that fights antisemitism and calls out misinformation: https://www.jeworfalse.com/ Uri L'Tzedek, a national Orthodox Jewish social justice organization that tackles antisemitism in progressive spaces : https://utzedek.org/

Ambassador Martin Indyk gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most consequential figures in modern Middle East diplomacy: former United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. In this riveting conversation with guest co-host Jason Isaacson, AJC's chief policy and political affairs officer, Indyk discusses his just-released book about Kissinger, Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy, highlighting the veteran diplomat's lessons for Arab-Israeli stability and the antisemitism that he faced in his career. Indyk himself is no stranger to Middle East diplomacy, having served twice as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel and the Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton Administration, and as America's special Middle East envoy for renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority during the Obama administration. __ Episode Lineup: (0:40) Martin Indyk (18:48) Manya Brachear Pashman and Jason Isaacson __ Show Notes: Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy by Martin Indyk

Receive an in-depth look at the American Jewish Committee's just-released State of Antisemitism in America 2021 report, which includes the largest-ever surveys of American Jews and the United States general public on antisemitism. Listen as Avi Mayer, AJC's Managing Director of Public Affairs and Senior Spokesperson, and Holly Huffnagle, AJC's U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism, break down the report's findings and discuss what Americans should do to confront the normalization of Jew-hatred. Then, we're joined by the winner of our audience survey drawing for a guest spot on our closing segment, Shabbat Table Talk. Listener Jim Ramenofsky speaks with Manya Brachear Pashman about what the findings of the report mean to him, and reflecting on his close friend, Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was murdered in the attack on the Poway Chabad in 2019. ____ Episode Lineup: (0:40) Avi Mayer and Holly Huffnagle (22:45) Manya Brachear Pashman and Jim Ramenofsky ____ Show Notes: Read the results from the 2021 State of Antisemitism in America report: https://www.AJC.org/2021Report Share your encounters with antisemitism on social media with the hashtag #AntisemitismReport

On Wednesday, October 27, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will ask residents to observe a moment of silence and reflection at 9:54 a.m. That was the moment the shooting started at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood in 2018. The antisemitic attack left 11 worshippers dead, and wounded two other congregants and police officers. Listen to Mayor Peduto recount what it was like to comfort and protect not just the city he led, but his neighbors and friends, after America's deadliest antisemitic attack three years ago. Then, for our closing segment, Shabbat Table Talk, Manya Brachear Pashman speaks with Liel Leibovitz of Tablet Magazine's podcast Unorthodox, to discuss how the Pittsburgh community united following the tragedy. ____ Episode Lineup: (0:40): Mayor Bill Peduto (20:46): Manya Brachear Pashman and Liel Leibovitz ____ Show Notes: Crossover with Tablet's Unorthodox: How the Jews Went Right in Britain

This special podcast collaboration with Tablet's Unorthodox unpacks the political shift of British Jews in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn's antisemitic scandal-filled five-year tenure as Labour party leader. This live podcast is hosted by Liel Leibovitz of Tablet's Unorthodox and Manya Brachear Pashman of AJC's People of the Pod, and features comedian and author of Jews Don't Count David Baddiel; Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths University of London and author of Contemporary Left Antisemitism David Hirsh; Man Booker Prize novelist and journalist Howard Jacobson; and Research Fellow at International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and former Union of Jewish Students president Hannah Rose. Did the Corbynization of the Labour party move Jews to the right or leave them politically homeless? Has current party leader Keir Starmer been able to regain the confidence of the country's Jewish population? Listen for answers to these pressing questions and more. Episode Lineup: (0:40) David Baddiel, David Hirsch, Howard Jacobson, and Hannah Rose Show notes: This program is part of a new program series: American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Tablet Magazine are coming together to host a four-part series titled "21st Century Europe and the Jews," which aims to address timely issues related to Jewish life and the protection of democracies in Europe. Throughout these four programs, we'll delve into the most pressing issues in the United Kingdom, Poland, France, and Germany. Don't miss a single program on these critical topics. Head to AJC.org/AdvocacyAnywhere to sign up. This episode featured the following guests: David Baddiel, comedian and author of Jews Don't Count David Hirsh, Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths University of London and author of Contemporary Left Antisemitism Howard Jacobson, Man Booker Prize novelist of The Finkler Question and journalist Hannah Rose, Research Fellow at International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and former Union of Jewish Students president

Dara Horn is angry. And the award-winning author of five novels wants you to know why. This week, she's sitting down with guest co-host Laura Shaw Frank, AJC's Director of William Petschek Contemporary Jewish Life, to discuss why People Love Dead Jews, which is the title of her first work of nonfiction, and what that obsession means for modern-day Jewry, Israel, and efforts to counter rising antisemitism. Episode Lineup: (0:40) Dara Horn (24:09) Manya Brachear Pashman and Laura Shaw Frank Show notes: Head to AJC.org/AdvocacyAnywhere to register for the first in a four-part series by Tablet Magazine and AJC titled "21st Century Europe and the Jews", which aims to address timely issues related to Jewish life and the protection of democracies in Europe. The series will delve into the most pressing issues in the United Kingdom, Poland, France, and Germany. The first program on October 19th, 12-1pm ET, "How the Jews Went Right in Britain," will start with the UK, and will be moderated by Manya Brachear Pashman and Liel Leibovitz of Tablet Magazine's Unorthodox podcast. Go to AJC.org/AdvocacyAnywhere to register, and for more details.

Four years ago hundreds of torch-bearing far-right demonstrators marched through the University of Virginia campus. The Unite the Right rally/antisemitic hatefest in Charlottesville, Virginia featured chants of "Jews will not replace us" and Nazi flags. Self-identified white supremacist James Fields perpetrated the car ramming attack that killed Heather Heyer and injured countless others. While Fields was held accountable for his actions in court, what about those who meticulously organized the rally? Who will hold them accountable? Our guest for this week, Executive Director of Integrity First for America (IFA) Amy Spitalnick, previews the upcoming trial of Sines v. Kessler—IFA's lawsuit against the rally's organizers—and shares how she is working to push far-right extremists back into the shadows where they belong. ___ Episode Lineup: (0:40) Amy Spitalnick (19:51) Manya Brachear Pashman and Melanie Maron Pell ___ Show notes: What All Jews Need to Know About the EU's New Strategy to Combat Antisemitism

Today, a new strategy for combating antisemitism was announced by the European Union. Does it have a chance to help Jews in Europe? What are the plan's implications for diaspora Jewish communities outside of the continent? Two of AJC's leaders in Europe who have worked closely with the EU and member state governments in the effort to counter rising Jew-hatred, Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, Managing Director of AJC Europe, and Daniel Schwammenthal, Director of AJC's Transatlantic Institute, answer these questions and more in this special bonus episode of AJC's People of the Pod. Throughout the month of October, AJC's People of the Pod will focus on the rise of antisemitism around the world and what it means for all diaspora Jewish communities and Israel. ___ Episode Lineup: (0:40) Simone Rodan-Benzaquen and Daniel Schwammenthal ___ Show Notes: To learn more about the antisemitism in Europe that led to this report, go to AJC.org/antisemitismineurope. Tune in on Thursday for our conversation with Amy Spitalnick, Executive Director of Integrity First for America on how to sue a Nazi, a deep dive into the effort to sue white supremacists who marched in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017 .

When the U.S. House of Representatives voted last week 420-9-2 to replenish Israel's Iron Dome defense system, it ended debate about America's short-term support for the program and simultaneously sparked a conversation about the future of bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. Mark Mellman, President and CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, joins us to address that topic and more, including whether Democratic support for Israel is shifting and trends in attitudes towards Israel on both sides of the aisle. Julie Rayman, AJC's Senior Director of Policy and Political Affairs, guest hosts this week's episode. AJC is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. As such, AJC does not endorse or oppose political parties or candidates. ____ Episode Lineup: (0:40) Mark Mellman (20:58) Manya Brachear Pashman and Julie Rayman ____ Show notes: Integrity First for America's "Unite Against Nazis": A Virtual Rally in Support of IFA's Groundbreaking Charlottesville Lawsuit - September 30, 7:30pm ET