People of the Pod

Latest Episodes:

AJC Passport: Trump's SCOTUS Nominee, Supporting Israel in the Academic World Jul 12, 2018

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A confirmation battle is brewing. This week on AJC Passport, we dive into the world of U.S. Supreme Court nominations. Joining us to discuss this hot-button issue is AJC General Counsel Marc Stern, who has appeared four times before the Supreme Court and is one of the Jewish community's experts on the court, the separation of church and state, and religious liberty. Stern talks to us about Brett Kavanaugh, and what everyone gets wrong about confirmation fights. The segment is followed by a conversation with Eric Kaler, president of the University of Minnesota and esteemed chemical engineer, who recently traveled to Israel with AJC Passport host Seffi Kogen as part of an AJC Project Interchange delegation. Hear his take on what Israeli universities do well and why he openly supports ties with the Jewish state despite the anti-Israel activism among his students.

AJC Passport: Mexico Elects a New President, Poland Amends Controversial Holocaust Law Jul 06, 2018

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A political earthquake just shook Mexico. This week, in a landslide victory, political outsider and left-wing nationalist Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the Mexican presidency with an anti-establishment and anti-corruption campaign. Joining us to discuss this dramatic development is Dina Siegel Vann, Director of the AJC Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs. Our second guest this week is our Warsaw-based Director of AJC Central Europe, Agnieszka Markiewicz, who is joining us to discuss recent changes to Poland's controversial Holocaust law and the recent "No to Hatred" conference AJC Central Europe co-hosted with the city of Warsaw.

AJC Passport: Conversations with Amb. Daniel Shapiro and UN Special Coordinator Nickolay Mladenov Jun 29, 2018

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Last week, we took you front and center at AJC Global Forum in Israel by bringing you the much-anticipated Great Debate. This week, we take you behind the scenes and bring you some exclusive conversations from our biggest event earlier this month. First up, friend of AJC Passport and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro (2011-17) discusses the outcomes of the embassy move to Jerusalem and Israel's endgame in Syria. We also explore the implications of potential U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The Ambassador is followed by UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, who leads the UN efforts related to Israeli-Palestinian peace. We discuss the major challenges of the peace process.

AJC Passport: Special Global Forum Episode - The Great Debate Jun 20, 2018

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For those of you who were unable to join us in Jerusalem for the AJC Global Forum—or for those who want to relive the moment—we're bringing you this year's Great Debate. In the 2018 iteration of this AJC Global Forum staple, Member of Knesset Stav Shaffir of the Labor party faced off against Mayor Oded Revivi of the West Bank settlement of Efrat. Their question: "One State or Two States, Is There a Solution?"

AJC Passport: Live from Jerusalem - Exploring Israel and the Media with Matti Friedman Jun 13, 2018

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AJC Passport hits the road! This week's episode comes to you from Jerusalem. Recorded in front of a live audience for the first time, we sat down with journalist and author Matti Friedman to discuss one of the least reported-on angles of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the press that covers the struggle. Drawing on his years of experience as an AP reporter, Friedman talked with us about how the editorial process shapes coverage and fielded questions from the audience of more than 350 college students who participated in the AJC Global Forum 2018.

AJC Passport: A Conversation with Yossi Klein Halevi about His New Best Seller Jun 06, 2018

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Can the stories Israelis and Palestinians tell about their history help them achieve peace? It's a question that keeps acclaimed author Yossi Klein Halevi up at night. This week's AJC Passport features a special conversation with Klein Halevi. He discusses grappling with this question and how it led him to write his latest book, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor. Hear him explain what he wants Palestinians to know about Israel's national narrative and how this knowledge might help both peoples understand each other. Klein Halevi also contributed an essay titled "The Future of the American Jewish-Israeli Relationship" for the recently-released 2018 AJC publication, Twenty-Five Essays about the Current State of Israeli-American Jewish Relations which you can check out at ajc.org/diasporasymposium.

AJC Passport: Congress Takes on Antisemitism, Anti-Israel Activists Hijack the Presbyterian Church Jun 01, 2018

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Is Congress stepping up its efforts to combat rising anti-Semitism? In recent days, calls have rung out from Capitol Hill to fill the long-vacant position of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism at the U.S. State Department. Also, a new bill was introduced that would help define anti-Semitism to better fight it in schools and on college campuses across the nation. Joining us to share his insights from Washington, D.C., is AJC Associate Executive Director for Policy Jason Isaacson, who has worked closely with members of Congress on both issues. We are also joined by Emily Soloff, AJC National Associate Director for Interreligious and Intergroup Relations, to discuss how the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has become a ritual of anti-Israel demonization and consider what that means for Presbyterian-Jewish relations.

AJC Passport: Pro-Israel Support in the Democratic Party; Anti-Israel Hostility in Chile May 25, 2018

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What does the future of the Democratic party look like? There are competing visions and some cause more anxiety in Jewish voters than others. Joining us this week from South Bend, Indiana is Pete Buttigieg, a young mayor with an impressive list of accomplishments. Mayor Pete, as his constituents call him, is helping to reinvigorate his Midwest city. Hailed by President Obama as a rising star of the Democratic party, Pete talks with us about his recent experience visiting Israel and what the party stands to learn from the Jewish state. We were also joined by Stephanie Guiloff, Deputy Director of AJC's Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs, to talk about an aggressive anti-Israel campaign in Chile, which borders on anti-Semitism.

AJC Passport: What to Make of Violence in Gaza? May 18, 2018

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What's happening in Gaza? Is it a protest? An assault? A cynical media ploy? Some combination of the above? Join us for this week's episode of AJC Passport as we examine the disturbing news of renewed violence out of Gaza. We're joined by New York Times correspondent Isabel Kershner, whose coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the past 28 years gives her a unique vantage point on this week's events.

AJC Passport: America Exits the Iran Deal, Hezbollah Wins Big in Lebanon May 11, 2018

Show notes

The "fix it or nix it" question has been answered. On Tuesday, President Trump announced that the U.S. is withdrawing from the JCPOA and reinstating crippling sanctions against Iran. The reaction in Israel and the Gulf was positive; Europe responded with a mix of disappointment and anger. But the question everyone is asking now is: what comes next? Joining us this week is Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). As an Iran expert who advised the Trump, Obama, and Bush administrations, Mark offers us a unique vantage point on the flaws of the Iran deal and what lies ahead. We also spoke with Dr. Matthew Levitt, author of Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God and Director on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, about the recent elections in Lebanon and the escalating confrontation between Israel and Iran in Syria.

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