People of the Pod

Latest Episodes:

What You Should Know About the Iran Nuclear Talks Apr 29, 2021

Show notes

Earlier this month, six world powers reopened negotiations with Iran over the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which the United States withdrew in 2018. Washington Institute Director of Research Patrick Clawson, a longtime friend of American Jewish Committee, joins us to discuss the implications of those talks and the threat posed by Iran.

Then, AJC Project Interchange Director Nisha Abkarian joins us to share her grandmother's harrowing story of survival during the Armenian Genocide and the significance of President Biden's recognition of the events of 1915.

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Episode Lineup

(0:40) Patrick Clawson

(21:51) Nisha Abkarian

(26:00) Manya Brachear Pashman

(29:06) Seffi Kogen

"I Will Never Forget That Day": Poway's Mayor on the Second Anniversary of the Chabad Shooting Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

On April 27, 2019, in the middle of Passover, a white supremacist burst through the doors of a Chabad synagogue in Poway, California and opened fire, killing congregant Lori Gilbert-Kaye and injuring three others. As we approach the second anniversary of the shooting, we speak to Mayor Steve Vaus, a Grammy-winning country music singer, who was serving his first term as Poway's mayor at the time.

Then we're joined by AJC Paris Director Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bécache to talk about the case of Sarah Halimi, a 65-year old French woman who was murdered in 2017 because she was Jewish. France's highest court has ruled that her killer will not stand trial due to his "delirious state" from smoking marijuana.

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Episode Lineup:

(00:40) Mayor Steve Vaus

(15:32) Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bécache

(19:02) Manya Brachear Pashman

(22:15) Seffi Kogen

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Show Notes:

Episode Transcript

One Candle by Steve Vaus

Yossi Klein Halevi on The Third Era of Jewish History Apr 15, 2021

Show notes

Author and journalist Yossi Klein Halevi joins us to talk about the wisdom of the Israeli calendar in how Israel remembers the fallen on Yom HaZikaron, followed by celebrating its independence on Yom HaAtzma'ut the very next day.

Show Notes:

A Conversation with Yossi Klein Halevi about His New Best Seller

Orthodox Jewish Women Can't Sing In Front of Men. Instagram Is Giving Them a Voice

Music: Hatikvah (National Anthem Of Israel) - Beta Records - United States Navy Band

The Art of Inventing Hope: Elie Wiesel's Masterclass for Humanity Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

Elie Wiesel walked out of Buchenwald, one of the largest concentration camps in Germany, on April 11, 1945, the same day as the late father of journalist Howard Reich, the legendary former jazz critic for The Chicago Tribune. Reich never talked to his father or mother, both survivors, about their Holocaust experiences. But in 2001 Reich's mother began to relive those experiences, and his quest to piece together the stories he never knew about led to his book and subsequent film, Prisoner of Her Past. Nearly a decade later, Reich sat down to interview Elie Wiesel and discovered an instant connection, which he wrote about in The Art of Inventing Hope. Reich joins us to discuss all this, plus how jazz helped him confront his family's past.

Then, in honor of Yom HaShoah, we're joined by Lilli Platt, AJC Senior Development Director and Director of Women's Leadership Board, who was born in a Displaced Persons (DP) camp and is the child of Holocaust survivors.

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Episode Lineup:

(00:40) Howard Reich

(23:01) Lilli Platt

(25:29) Manya Brachear Pashman

(29:05) Seffi Kogen

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Show Notes:

Prisoner of Her Past

The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel

The Four Questions in Irish, and 4 More Great Moments from AJC's 2021 Diplomatic Seders

What We Can All Learn from Rabbi Heschel on Confronting Injustice Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

This week we hear from Martin Doblmeier, the director of Spiritual Audacity: The Abraham Joshua Heschel Story on the history of one of the most inspiring and preeminent scholars of the 20th Century. Doblmeier discusses Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's profound impact on the civil rights movement, the relationship between Jews and the Roman Catholic Church, and the "evil of indifference."

Then, Natalia Mahmud, AJC's Associate Director of U.S. Muslim-Jewish Relations, speaks about the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, ahead of its reintroduction in Congress, and in honor of baseball's Opening Day, we dip into AJC's Oral History Library to hear directly from one of the greatest Jewish baseball players ever, Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, also known as "The Hebrew Hammer." Greenberg recounts what it was like to be a Jewish baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s and the level of antisemitism he had to endure.

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Episode Lineup:

(00:40) Martin Doblmeier

(16:55) Natalia Mahmud

(19:36) Manya Brachear Pashman

(23:00) Seffi Kogen

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Show Notes:

Episode Transcript

AJC's William E. Wiener Oral History Library

Learn more about the Jabara-Heyer NO Hate Act at AJC.org/TakeAction

Music: Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Kevin MacLeod (Link; License)

The Israeli Election: What Just Happened and What Comes Next Mar 26, 2021

Show notes

This week we're joined by Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ha'aretz journalist and panelist for The Promised Podcast, to discuss some of the headliners from the Israeli election: potential kingmaker and Ra'am Party leader Mansour Abbas and Rabbi Gilad Kariv, who will be the first Reform rabbi to serve in the Knesset. Kaplan Sommer also discusses how democracy plays out in Israel and the United States and what it's like to live in Israel, a complex, multicultural society.

Then, AJC CEO David Harris shares a moving Passover message about his first-hand involvement in the Soviet Jewry movement and modern-day exoduses.

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Episode Lineup:

(00:40) Allison Kaplan Sommer

(18:26) David Harris

(20:27) Manya Brachear Pashman

(23:34) Seffi Kogen

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Episode Transcript

This Is Why Israel is Having Its Fourth Election in Two Years Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

Ahead of the March 23rd elections in Israel, we're joined by Haviv Rettig Gur, The Times of Israel's senior political analyst. Gur discusses the highly polarized sentiment around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the conflict within the Haredi community over pandemic restrictions, and the gap between the positions of the political parties that represent Arab Israelis and the concerns of Arab Israelis themselves.

Then, Dina Siegel Vann, Director of AJC's Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs, reflects on the anniversary of the 1992 suicide bombing attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which left 29 dead.

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Episode Lineup:

(00:40) Haviv Rettig Gur

(23:16) Dina Siegel Vann

(26:23) Manya Brachear Pashman

(29:45) Seffi Kogen

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Episode Transcript

The Nazi Hunter: Eli Rosenbaum on Tracking Down the World's Most Wanted Criminals Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

This week, we're in conversation with Eli Rosenbaum, Director of Human Rights Enforcement Strategy and Policy at the Department of Justice. For 40 years, Rosenbaum has helped the department track down former Nazis and hold them accountable for their World War II crimes, a role that has earned him the moniker of "Nazi Hunter".

Then, Shira Loewenberg, Director of AJC's Asia Pacific Institute (API) speaks about the wide-scale democracy protests across Myanmar in the weeks since the local military's February 1 coup d'état.

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Episode Lineup:

(00:40) Eli Rosenbaum

(19:45) Shira Loewenberg

(22:37) Manya Brachear Pashman

(25:31) Seffi Kogen

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Episode Transcript

Non-Orthodox Conversion in Israel: Dividing or Uniting the Jewish World? Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

This week, the Israeli Supreme Court handed down a ruling on conversions conducted by non-Orthodox rabbis. We hear from AJC's Director of Contemporary Jewish Life Laura Shaw Frank, a leading thinker on this important issue, about how this decision will affect the Israel-Diaspora relationship.

Then, in celebration of International Women's Day, Director of AJC's Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights Felice Gaer reflects on what it means to see the world and human rights through women's eyes.

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Episode Lineup:

(00:40) Laura Shaw Frank

(17:10) Felice Gaer

(19:38) Manya Brachear Pashman

(23:34) Seffi Kogen

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Episode Transcription

Soraya Nadia McDonald on Being Black and Jewish; NBC's No Good, Very Bad Week Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

Journalist Soraya Nadia McDonald is the Culture Critic for The Undefeated, ESPN's platform for exploring the intersection of sports, race, and culture. She is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her essays on theater and film, including The Unbearable Whiteness of Oklahoma. Last year, when her fellow Howard University alumnus Nick Cannon made antisemitic remarks, Soraya wrote a more personal essay about being Black and Jewish. Soraya sat down with us for a conversation about confronting antisemitism as a Black Jewish woman.

Then AJC Chief Advocacy Officer Dan Elbaum reflects on his 11 years at AJC, Manya Brachear Pashman discusses Michael Che's antisemitic joke on Saturday Night Live, and Seffi Kogen on criticism of a Jewish storyline on the NBC show "Nurses".

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Episode Lineup:

(00:40) Soraya Nadia McDonald

(19:14) Dan Elbaum

(22:28) Manya Brachear Pashman

(25:40) Seffi Kogen

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Show Notes:

Tell NBC: Antisemitism Isn't Funny - Petition

Episode Transcription