13 episodes

“I’m an Australian Jew and I care deeply about Israeli and Palestinian lives. Can I ask you a question about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza right now?”Since 7 October 2023, Ittay Flescher, an Australian Jewish peace educator and journalist has received message after message which have more or less begun like this.  One of them came from Hannah Baker, a family lawyer in Melbourne with a big heart who cares deeply about all the humans who call this place home.After many messages back and forth, they decided to turn their conversations into a podcast. With a clear bias towards promoting voices of tolerance and coexistence, this podcast seeks to be a conversation starter for those who seek to break beyond the binaries and labels of pro-Israel and pro-Palestine that often accompany such conversations. Ultimately, this podcast seeks to comfort the troubled and trouble the comfortable.

From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea Hannah & Ittay

    • News
    • 4.9 • 56 Ratings

“I’m an Australian Jew and I care deeply about Israeli and Palestinian lives. Can I ask you a question about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza right now?”Since 7 October 2023, Ittay Flescher, an Australian Jewish peace educator and journalist has received message after message which have more or less begun like this.  One of them came from Hannah Baker, a family lawyer in Melbourne with a big heart who cares deeply about all the humans who call this place home.After many messages back and forth, they decided to turn their conversations into a podcast. With a clear bias towards promoting voices of tolerance and coexistence, this podcast seeks to be a conversation starter for those who seek to break beyond the binaries and labels of pro-Israel and pro-Palestine that often accompany such conversations. Ultimately, this podcast seeks to comfort the troubled and trouble the comfortable.

    Announcement to our listeners - Be apart of our final episode!

    Announcement to our listeners - Be apart of our final episode!

    Hello listeners,

    For our final episode of From The Yarra to the Mediterranean Sea, we want you to be a part of the conversation. We have created a survey, which will take 3 minutes to complete (we timed it). We will be speaking about the results on our last episode which we plan to record this weekend so have your say and be part of the conversation.

    https://freeonlinesurveys.com/s/148SPRz8

    In peace from Melbourne and Jerusalem

    Hannah and Ittay

    • 2 min
    Episode 10: Conversations over cancelling with Ahmed Fouad Al-khatib

    Episode 10: Conversations over cancelling with Ahmed Fouad Al-khatib

    In our tenth episode, Ittay speaks with Ahmed Fouad Al-khatib, a U.S. citizen from Gaza and a Middle East political analyst.  Ahmed has a master’s degree in intelligence studies from American Military University and has written and contributed extensively to publications on Gaza’s affairs in U.S., Israeli, Jewish, and Arab outlets.
    In this episode, Ahmed speaks to Ittay about his childhood experience attending the UNWRA schools of Gaza, which is a timely discussion as we have been hearing and seeing a lot about UNWRA in the news. ( For those unaware, UNWRA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees).
    Both Ittay and Ahmed touch on the many challenges facing Jewish-Palestinian dialogue groups at this time, and provide some suggestions as to how we can learn to build bridges so that we can move forward together.

    We hope you enjoy the conversation.

    Further reading:
    https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/as-a-gazan-i-still-believe-israelis-and-palestinians-must-talk/
    Comments welcome at fromtheyarra@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram at @fromtheyarra

    • 56 min
    Episode 9: Unapologetically, From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea

    Episode 9: Unapologetically, From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea

    In this episode, we have teamed up with the incredible Ibrahim and Amira, co-hosts of the podcast "Unapologetic - The Third Narrative" to bring you "Unapologetically, From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea".  

    Ibrahim and Amira are Palestinian-Israeli Citizens, who are unapologetic about their views and vision for a better future for all those who live between the river and the sea.

    In this episode we have honest conversations about what the term "resistance" means, the Boycott Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Zionism, Justice and so much more. 

    We are so proud of this episode and extremely grateful for Ibrahim and Amira sharing their thoughtful, kind and empathic views for the future of this land. 

    We know it's a long one but it is SO worth the listen!

    A big thank you to Ben Levitt for his support in editing this episode.

    Feedback is welcome at fromtheyarra@gmail.com

    • 1 hr 22 min
    Episode 8: Strong Opinions, Weakly Held with Elica Le Bon

    Episode 8: Strong Opinions, Weakly Held with Elica Le Bon

    It’s the episode we know many of you have been waiting for. 

    Welcome to episode 8 of From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea: “Strong Opinions, Weakly Held with Elica Le Bon”. 

    Elica is an Iranian attorney, activist and artist who is currently living in LA. She has over 150,000 followers on Instagram which is where we discovered her in the weeks following October 7 sharing content from “both sides”. 

    In this conversation, we explore Elica’s experience of looking through the current war through the eyes of an Iranian who wants justice, freedom and equality for all. We also discuss identity politics, the Truth vs Harmony spectrum and social media activism. 

    We want to acknowledge that Hannah recorded this podcast episode on unceded Wurundjeri land and we pay our deepest respect to elders, past and present. 
     RESOURCES: 

    Dr Emily - Truth Vs Harmony on the Imperfects podcast 
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/7iXjJ8EO9jsDk17biWHV5m?si=-Xrg9Vp7QKGYx79ip33oKg 
     Questions and feedback are welcome via email to fromtheyarra@gmail.com or on Instragram @fromtheyarra 
     Elica can be found on Instagram @elicalebon

    • 54 min
    Episode 7: One State, Two States or a Land For All?

    Episode 7: One State, Two States or a Land For All?

    Following on from our conversation with Moaz Inon in the previous episode, Hannah and Ittay closely examine the various "solutions" that currently exist in the public domain that can help us move from a state of war to a state of peace.
    RECOURCES

    Haaretz Video featuring maps of all solutions explored: "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: One state, two states and other possible solutions"
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBHYkra_qs
    Not Two States, Not One State: A New Way Out of Disaster for Israelis and Palestinians, By Dahlia Scheindlin, Nov 30, 2023
    http://tinyurl.com/5n7vjbss


    Questions and comments are welcome at fromtheyarra@gmail.com
    Follow us on Instagram for episode updates at @fromtheyarra 

    • 51 min
    Episode 6: Creating Hope with Maoz Inon

    Episode 6: Creating Hope with Maoz Inon

    In this episode,  we welcome Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon onto the podcast.

    Maoz lost both his beautiful parents, Bilha and Yakovi Inon on October 7. They were two of the first people killed on that horrific day when a Hamas rocket landed directly on their house in Moshav Nativ Ha’asara. Since suffering the pain of their loss, Maoz has been campaigning against revenge and for reconciliation.

    Maoz speaks about his life before the war as a successful entrepreneur and founder of the Abraham Hostel’s network and shares how he saw his whole life as preparation for what happed on October 7.  Maoz now sees himself as a "naive man with a plan" which is one of the most powerful forces known to humanity.

    Resources:

    Two States, One Homeland
    https://www.alandforall.org/english/?d=ltr

    A Guide for Hosting a Together for Humanity Peace vigil in your city
    https://togetherforhumanity.co.uk/resources/

    • 45 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
56 Ratings

56 Ratings

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