318 episodes

People of the Pod is a weekly podcast analyzing global affairs through a Jewish lens, brought to you by American Jewish Committee. Host Manya Brachear Pashman examines current events, the people driving them, and what it all means for America, Israel, and the Jewish people.

People of the Pod American Jewish Committee (AJC)

    • Religion & Spirituality
    • 4.6 • 155 Ratings

People of the Pod is a weekly podcast analyzing global affairs through a Jewish lens, brought to you by American Jewish Committee. Host Manya Brachear Pashman examines current events, the people driving them, and what it all means for America, Israel, and the Jewish people.

    Unheard, Until Now: How Israeli Women Are Powering Israel’s Resilience

    Unheard, Until Now: How Israeli Women Are Powering Israel’s Resilience

    In the days following October 7, Israeli filmmaker Shifra Soloveichik felt hopeless and hated, but not helpless. Inspired by women around her, she launched a digital initiative called Women of Valor: Women of War, to spotlight unheralded women with extraordinary stories during one of the most difficult moments in modern Jewish history. To mark Women’s History Month, hear from Shifra about how she is giving a voice to Israeli women whose stories have gone unheard.
    *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. 
    Episode Lineup: 
    (0:40) Shifra Soloveichik
     
    Show Notes:
    Learn more:
    Women of Valor on Instagram
    Senai Geudalia’s Story on YouTube
    Sarah Lopez’s Story on Instagram

    Listen – People of the Pod on the Israel-Hamas War:
    152 Days Later: What the Mother of Hostage Edan Alexander Wants the World to Know
    What It’s Like to Be Jewish at Harvard Among Antisemites and Hamas Supporters
    When Antisemites Target Local Businesses: How Communities Are Uniting in Response
    How A 10/7 Survivor is Confronting Anti-Israel Activists on College Campuses
    Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod
    You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org
    If you’ve appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.
    Transcript of Interview with Shifra Soloveichick:
    Senai Geudalia:
    So I'll start from the day before. It was Friday, October 6. That night was really fun. 
    We were dancing in the street from place to place, like you know hakafot here, hakafot there. And he was like being so like himself, times 100. Hugging me and dancing with me and just, at the sea of Yosef, like that was Yosef in a bottle, like celebrating his people, celebrating the Torah and being with his family, like that was the peak of Yosef. 
    You know, they say the neshamah [soul] knows 40 days before. So that to me, like he was like getting all of it in.
    Manya Brachear Pashman:  
    That’s Senai Geudalia, whose husband Yosef was killed on Oct 7.In the uncertain days following the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli filmmaker Shifra Soloveichik felt hopeless and hated, but not helpless. She used her craft to launch a digital initiative called Women of Valor: Women of War, an opportunity to lift up the Jewish women of Israel and share their stories of courage and perseverance. 
    To mark Women's History Month, Shifra is with us now to discuss Women of Valor: Women of War. Shifra, Welcome to People of the Pod.
    Shifra Soloveichik: 
    Hi, thanks for having me. 
    Manya Brachear Pashman:  
    You have shared a little bit about the genesis of this project on your social media. You felt self conscious, scared, like a lot of us did after October 7. Can you share how you channeled that fear?
    Shifra Soloveichik: 
    So on October 7, myself, and like many Israelis, we woke up to sirens. My husband was immediately call for reserve duty that morning. And it was a very scary feeling. Because I had never experienced anything like that before. I grew up in the States. I moved to Israel when I was a young teenager, so my entire relationship, my husband, he was never in the army, so I never had that sort of experience within my relationship. 
    The only word I can describe I could use to describe how I felt was scared. It was a very scary day. I remember being scared to walk to my in-laws house that they live very close by because there were sirens every other minute. And we lived in an area in Israel where there aren't usually a lot of sirens. So we knew things were going on. We also are observant Jews. So if we couldn't check our phones, we were keeping Sabbath. So we weren't able to understand what was going on. We were just hearing from people talking on the streets. 
    We heard that maybe there was a terrorist infiltration, but we didn't quite understand the

    • 17 min
    152 Days Later: What the Mother of Hostage Edan Alexander Wants the World to Know

    152 Days Later: What the Mother of Hostage Edan Alexander Wants the World to Know

    “Listen to me, Edan. I'm here. I'm with you. I love you. Just protect yourself. Just be safe.” These were the last words Yael Alexander spoke to her then-19 year old son, Edan, on the morning of October 7, 2023. Edan, an IDF soldier stationed on the Gaza border, was later taken hostage by Hamas terrorists.
    Yael joins us from her New Jersey home to tell her story of pain, uncertainty, and anguish over the past 152 days. This week, as President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address, she will be among the 17 American families of hostages taken by Hamas into Gaza on October 7 that will be in attendance at the U.S. Capitol. 
    Visit AJC.org/BringThemHome to urge Congress to keep pressing for the release of the hostages.
    *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. 
    Episode Lineup: 
    (0:40) Yael Alexander
    Show Notes:
    Music Credits: Dramatic Piano and Strings by UNIVERSFIELD is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
    More Analysis and Resources:
    Hostage Families Will Attend the State of the Union. Here’s What to Know.
    Listen – People of the Pod on the Israel-Hamas War: 
    What It’s Like to Be Jewish at Harvard Among Antisemites and Hamas Supporters
    When Antisemites Target Local Businesses: How Communities Are Uniting in Response
    How A 10/7 Survivor is Confronting Anti-Israel Activists on College Campuses
    Tal Shimony Survived the Hamas Attack on the Nova Music Festival: Hear Her Story of Courage, Resilience, and Remembrance


    Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod
    You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org
    If you’ve appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.
    Transcript of Interview with Yael Alexander:
    Yael Alexander: I told him at the end of the call: ‘Listen to me, Edan. I'm here. I'm with you. I love you. Just protect yourself. Just be safe.’ And that's it, we hang up. I didn't know I'm not gonna hear from him again.
    Manya Brachear Pashman: That’s Yael Alexander, the mother of Edan Alexander, one of eight Americans still held hostage by Hamas inside Gaza. I recently visited the family’s home in Tenafly, New Jersey, a small suburban town often dubbed Little Tel Aviv for its relatively large Israeli population. 
    Throughout the town, there are reminders of the deep connection between its residents, the Jewish state, and its ongoing war with Hamas. A billboard downtown featuring Edan’s picture. A weekly walk for the hostages not yet home. A moment of silence at the start of every school day. Signs of support staked in front lawns.
    As of this recording on March 7, 2024, it has been 152 days since Yael spoke with her son Edan. Those days have been a constant whirlwind of meetings, trips, tours—all in an effort to bring him home. 
    Most recently, the family went to Israel for a painful look at where Edan was at the time of that last call. At the State of the Union address in Washington D.C., Yael and her husband Adi will join 15 other relatives of Americans murdered or kidnapped by Hamas, as guests of a bipartisan group of members of Congress.
    Yael Alexander: They told us it's gonna’ be a long process, but I didn't imagine you know, I thought after four weeks max, they're gonna bring everyone out. And now we’re four months, it’s, I don't have words.
    Manya Brachear Pashman: Edan Alexander, a 2022 graduate of Tenafly High School, was one of two graduates that year who instead of going straight to college moved to a kibbutz in Israel and volunteered to serve two years defending the nation where his mother and father had been raised and his grandparents still live.
    Yael Alexander: August 2023, Edan came to the U.S. for four weeks. He came to visit us, to spend time with his friends from college. Everyone was here in Tenafly. So, it was like the best oppo

    • 24 min
    What It’s Like to Be Jewish at Harvard Among Antisemites and Hamas Supporters

    What It’s Like to Be Jewish at Harvard Among Antisemites and Hamas Supporters

    What’s it like being a Jewish student at Harvard today? With us to tell their firsthand accounts are Nitsan Machlis, Co-Chair of the Harvard Kennedy School Jewish Caucus, and Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Harvard Divinity school student who is part of a group that sued the university–alleging that they failed to address “severe and pervasive” campus antisemitism. 
    AJC's State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report found that 24% of current or recent college students say they felt uncomfortable or unsafe at a campus event because they're Jewish. Listen in to hear from Machlis and Kestenbaum on how Harvard’s administration has made Jewish students feel unwelcome and unsupported – and what they’re doing to fix it.
    *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. 
    Episode Lineup: 
    (0:40) Nitsan Machlis, Shabbos Kestenbaum
    Show Notes:

    Listen – People of the Pod on the Israel-Hamas War:
    The Fallout from the University Presidents Congressional Hearing: What Does it Mean for Jewish Students?
    When Antisemites Target Local Businesses: How Communities Are Uniting in Response
    How A 10/7 Survivor is Confronting Anti-Israel Activists on College Campuses
    Tal Shimony Survived the Hamas Attack on the Nova Music Festival: Hear Her Story of Courage, Resilience, and Remembrance

    More Analysis and Resources:
     
    What is Students for Justice in Palestine, the Hamas-supporting Anti-Israel Group Being Banned on College Campuses?
    Confronting Campus Antisemitism: An Action Plan for University Students
    AJC Campus Library


    Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod
    You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org
    If you’ve appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.
    Transcript of Interview with Nitsan Machlis and Shabbos Kestenbaum:
    Manya Brachear Pashman:  
    Since the October 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas, it has become increasingly difficult for Jewish students to feel safe on American college campuses. AJC's state of antisemitism and America 2023 report found that 24% of current or recent college students say they felt uncomfortable or unsafe at a campus event because they're Jewish. This is even true at one of the world's top Ivy League schools. Some might even say, especially true at Harvard University. 
    This week, the co-chair of a task force set up by Harvard to combat anti semitism resigned. The second such departure after Rabbi David Wolpe resigned from an anti semitism Advisory Committee. He cited former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s congressional testimony and events on campus, which reinforced the idea that he could not make the sort of difference he had hoped. The latest event on campus: a blatantly antisemitic cartoon circulated on Instagram by pro Palestinian student groups. 
    Here to give us some perspective on the ground are Harvard Divinity student Shabbos Kestenbaum  and head of the Harvard Kennedy School Jewish Caucus, Nitsan Machlis. 
    Shabbos, Nitsan, welcome to People of the Pod.
    Nitsan Machlis:  
    Thank you.
    Shabbos Kestenbaum:  
    Thank you. Good to be here.
    Manya Brachear Pashman:  
    So as I mentioned on Sunday, Professor Raphaela Sadoon resigned from her role on the University Task Force to Combat Antisemitism. Any idea why? 
    Shabbos Kestenbaum:  
    Sure. So when President Garber put out that announcement, it was definitely a surprise to many of us. The official reason was she wanted to focus on her administrative and academic responsibilities as a professor at the business school. But we know that that's not true. The very next day, The Harvard Crimson wrote an article detailing from members on the antisemitism Task Force, that she was incredibly frustrated with the slow pace, with the bureaucracy. And more fundamentally, she had asked Harvard to commit themselves to actually

    • 23 min
    Believe Israeli Women: How to Advocate for Victims of Hamas’ Sexual Violence

    Believe Israeli Women: How to Advocate for Victims of Hamas’ Sexual Violence

    During their murderous rampage across Southern Israel on October 7th, Hamas weaponized sexual violence. Over 138 days later, denial of these crimes runs rampant despite verified evidence and testimony from survivors of the NOVA festival, the attacked kibbutzim, and freed hostages. 
    Hear from Julie Fishman Rayman, AJC’s Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs, on the efforts in Congress to stand in solidarity with Israeli victims of Hamas’ sexual violence, and what you can do to make sure the plight of Israeli women is heard. 
    *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. 
    Episode Lineup: 
    (0:40) Julie Fishman Rayman
    Show Notes:
    Act:
    Urge Congress: Condemn Rape and Sexual Violence by Hamas Terrorists
    Listen – People of the Pod on the Israel-Hamas War:
    When Antisemites Target Local Businesses: How Communities Are Uniting in Response
    How A 10/7 Survivor is Confronting Anti-Israel Activists on College Campuses
    Tal Shimony Survived the Hamas Attack on the Nova Music Festival: Hear Her Story of Courage, Resilience, and Remembrance
    How to Mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day in a Post-October 7th World

    Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod
    You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org
    If you’ve appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.
    Transcript of Interview with Julie Fishman Rayman:
    Manya Brachear Pashman:  
    This week, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel delivered a report to the United Nations detailing the systemic sexual violence committed by the Hamas terror group during and after the October 7 attack on Israel. The horrific report follows a bipartisan resolution adopted by the US House of Representatives last week, condemning the use of rape and sexual violence. Here to discuss that resolution is AJC’s Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs Julie Fishman Rayman. Julie, welcome.
    Julie Fishman Rayman:  
    Thank you so much, Manya.
    Manya Brachear Pashman:  
    So anything bipartisan on Capitol Hill is rare and worth discussing. Can you walk our listeners through the details of the resolution and explain why there was such unity around it?
    Julie Fishman Rayman:  
    Absolutely. So the resolution was introduced in January. And it really came out of a concerted effort on the part of mostly female members of Congress, who were hearing about what had gone on on October 7, and what was continuing to go on in Israel as it related to gender based violence and sexual assault. 
    And they read the tea leaves of the deafening silence on behalf of the global community and said, if people aren't believing Israeli women, we are going to show that Congress, the American Congress, is united in believing Israeli women. So there are two resolutions, in the House and in the Senate, the resolution in the House passed. 
    And they're pretty straightforward, expressing this sense, both of outrage and outlining some next steps. So in addition to condemning rape, and all forms of sexual violence as a weapon of war by Hamas, calling on nations to criminalize rape and sexual assault and hold perpetrators accountable, including by armed groups, which is somewhat of a different take on this. 
    Calling on international bodies to really condemn these atrocities in a way that we have seen too many of them pause or hesitate or simply remain silent. Reaffirming the US government support for an independent, impartial investigation —this is very important— into what happened on October 7th and afterwards, and reaffirming this commitment to supporting survivors, which is, I think, so critical in this moment.
    It’s one of those things you could say, Oh, of course, we support the survivors. But recognizing the reality of what's going on in Israel today, and how this trauma continues

    • 23 min
    When Antisemites Target Local Businesses: How Communities Are Uniting in Response

    When Antisemites Target Local Businesses: How Communities Are Uniting in Response

    One in five U.S. Jews reported that local businesses where they live have been the target of antisemitism in the past five years, revealed AJC's State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report, published this week.
    To dive deeper into this concerning trend, we spoke with Adam Deutsch who, since October 8, has displayed a “We Stand With Israel Sign” in the window of his Scarsdale, NY ice cream shop. In January, his storefront was spray painted with the words “genocide supporters.” Hear from Deutsch on how his local community rallied against this hateful action and why he’s been even more vocal about his support for the Jewish state and prouder to be Jewish.
    *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. 
    Episode Lineup: 
    (0:40) Adam Deutsch
    Show Notes:
    Listen – People of the Pod on the Israel-Hamas War:
    How A 10/7 Survivor is Confronting Anti-Israel Activists on College Campuses
    Tal Shimony Survived the Hamas Attack on the Nova Music Festival: Hear Her Story of Courage, Resilience, and Remembrance
    How to Mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day in a Post-October 7th World

    Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod
    You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org
    If you’ve appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.
    Transcript of Interview with Adam Deutsch:
    Manya Brachear Pashman:  
    The contrast was stark. The words “genocide supporters” scrawled in black spray paint across the windows. On the other side of the glass, giant stuffed animals and pillows embroidered with the abbreviation for I love you so much. This was the scene one morning in January at The Scoop Shop, an ice cream and gift store at a shopping plaza in Scarsdale, New York. The vandals also left their mark on a nearby boutique. Both stores had one thing in common: Jewish owners. 
    This week, AJC released The State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report, which for the first time found that one in five American Jews reported local businesses where they live had been the target of antisemitism in the past five years. 
    With us to talk about the incident in January is the owner of the Scoop Shop, Adam Deutsch. 
    Adam, welcome to People of the Pod.
    Adam Deutsch:  
    Thank you for having me.
    Manya Brachear Pashman:  
    Adam, if you wouldn't mind walking us through that morning when you discovered the graffiti on your storefront.
    Adam Deutsch:  
    Sure. So my brother actually got a call, we're partners, got a call around 7am rrom the people who do the maintenance in the shopping center. They were with the police who actually noticed the graffiti. So we got a call from them saying that something was written on the store window. 
    My brother was in the middle of getting ready to drop his kids off at school so he was planning on coming right after that. He called me. And we met over there and they were already starting to clean it off. But at first I couldn't really read what it said. The handwriting was very mishy mashy. 
    But once we actually saw it, we realized that it was not good. Not like it would have been good anyway, graffiti on the store. But we realized it had something to do with the fact that we supported Israel or that we were Jewish or something along those lines. We weren't positive at first.
    Manya Brachear Pashman:  
    So how did the vandals know to target your business? 
    Adam Deutsch:  
    So we have a sign that says We Support Israel with the Israeli flag in our storefront window. I think it was October 8, someone came to the shopping center and asked if we would put it up. We said absolutely. So we've had it up for a few months. A few shops in the shopping center do as well, the other store that was vandalized did also. 
    So I don't think it had anything to do with the fact that I'm Jewish, necessarily. Because how would

    • 17 min
    How A 10/7 Survivor is Confronting Anti-Israel Activists on College Campuses

    How A 10/7 Survivor is Confronting Anti-Israel Activists on College Campuses

    Yoni Diller, a 28-year-old Israeli filmmaker, arrived at the Supernova Music Festival just hours before Hamas terrorists launched their unprecedented attack on Israel that killed 1200 people, including 401 at the music festival alone. Yoni escaped the festival on foot, walking for hours through southern Israel’s desert to safety. 
    Having survived this harrowing experience, Yoni is now traveling the world to share his story with political leaders, college students, and others, providing firsthand testimony of the horrors he and his fellow festival attendees witnessed on that fateful morning of October 7th.
    *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. 
    Episode Lineup: 
    (0:40) Yoni Diller
    Show Notes:
    Listen – People of the Pod on the Israel-Hamas War:
    Tal Shimony Survived the Hamas Attack on the Nova Music Festival: Hear Her Story of Courage, Resilience, and Remembrance
    How to Mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day in a Post-October 7th World
    A Spider Web of Terror: How Iran’s Axis of Houthis, Hezbollah, and Hamas Threaten Israel and America
    Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod
    You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org
    If you’ve appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.
    Transcript of Interview with Yoni Diller:
    Manya Brachear Pashman:
    During the Grammys this past Sunday, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. remembered the 401 people murdered and 40 kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack on the Nova Music Festival. 
    Yoni Diller is a 28-year-old filmmaker from Ra’anana, a town outside Tel Aviv. Yoni and his friend Nadav arrived at the Supernova Music Festival just a few hours before rockets began flying overhead. At daybreak, he had expected to send up a drone camera to capture the scene of unadulterated song and dance in the desert. But he never got the chance to get his camera ready. Yoni is with us now to describe that harrowing day that started at dawn. Yoni, welcome to People of the Pod.  
    Yoni Diller:
    Thank you for having me. 
    Manya Brachear Pashman:
    Could you please walk us through what you saw that morning? 
    Yoni Diller:  
    So, when the sirens went on at 6:30, we saw hundreds of missiles heading our way. So we rushed back to our campsite. We packed up our stuff, we tried to leave, the parking lot was chaotic. And I suggested going a different way. This decision to head south towards Re’im, which is another village. I didn't think it would change or it will change everything, but it did. On the road, people originally told us to turn around, to do a u-turn. 
    Manya Brachear Pashman:
    You told me earlier that was when a car riddled with bullet holes approached you and you found yourself helping a wounded women. That was 25 year old Shani Gabay whose remains were identified seven weeks later. At that time, when you were helping her, you heard gunfire in the distance and you tried to take cover in a nearby valley. 
    Yoni Diller:  
    Yes. I saw terrorists from a distance and continued to hide. A short moment later, mass shooting started in the Be’eri area, north of us.  I checked my phone to assess our surroundings and our current location. At the same time, my friend's sister called him to check on him to check everything's okay. He promised everything's gonna be alright. And about that time about a dozen others had joined us and we start walking. But the best thing I could do at that moment is to scream for everyone to get down because bullets are flying up on top of our head. 
    So when the gunshots stop for a second, we decided to head towards Patish, it was more than 24 kilometers away. My intuition told me that this will be safer there. 
    Manya Brachear Pashman:
    Did you just say 24 kilometers away? How did you make it through an almost 15-mile walk?

    • 15 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
155 Ratings

155 Ratings

Professor R. Hinkley ,

Great podcast in Jewish issues, antisemitism, Israel and current events

The host’s accent always makes me chuckle (being that I’m a NYer of course…).

This podcast always makes me smile and discusses serious issues related to Jewish issues and antisemitism.

E Shamai ,

Excellent Podcast Series! The Forgotten Exodus

Your new series, The Forgotten Exodus, is so interesting and well done. The stories of Jews that lived in Arab lands are stories that need to be told. They lived in Arab lands since the beginning of time. They were important members of society and made huge contributions to their countries. They were expelled, they are all refugees. Thank you for covering such an important topic and doing it brilliantly. Look forward to listening to the entire series!

MrsBloom21 ,

Highly recommend!

I love this podcast because I always learn something. A good one for us Jews and our allies!

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