Shoulder to Shoulder Doug Reed and Pesach Wolicki

With Pastor Doug unavailable this week, Pesach sits down with Maj Elliot Chodoff for an in-depth update on the progress of Israel’s war for survival. Is Hamas almost gone? How much damage has Israel caused to Hezbollah? What are the implications of the current US political chaos? All this and more on this timely episode.

Pesach and Doug catch up on a busy news cycle as Pesach takes in the Republican Convention in Milwaukee. They begin with a discussion of the terrible assassination attempt on President Trump in Pennsylvania, and then offer their hot takes on Trump's selection for Vice President, Senator J.D. Vance. The conversation concludes with an in depth discussion of the GOP platform changes on Israel and abortion, which are potentially concerning to supporters of Israel and members of the pro-life camp.

Unfortunately, each of us is currently watching a very old story play out again in 2024: the worldwide rise in antisemitic propaganda, antisemitic beliefs, and antisemitic actions. Pesach and Doug sit down with Izabella Tabarovsky to discuss how the current wave has its origins as Soviet-backed antisemitism and Marxist-led antizionism.
It's not enough to protest antisemitism; we also need to recognize its sources for what they are. 

Doug and Pesach sit down with Markus McFolling to hear his Israel journey. Markus speaks to hundreds of thousands of Gen Z'ers every year as he crisscrosses the nation from high schools to camps to conferences. Israel was never a part of his theology or vocabulary until a trip to Israel in 2022 with Eagles Wings. On that trip he was touched deeply at the Western Wall, Shabbat dinner, and the amazing people from across Israel.

Pesach and Doug sit down with Josh Hammer, Senior Editor at Large at Newsweek and host of the Josh Hammer Show to discuss his faith and journey. As the conversation takes shape Josh explains that it was a trip to Israel and his politics that ultimately lead him to be more religiously observant after being raised in a Reform Jewish home. His unique journey towards a deeper faith in God has affected his thinking on everything from parenting to education to separation of church and state, and more. You won't want to miss this fascinating discussion where - perhaps atypically - political beliefs led to faith rather than the other way around.

In this episode, Pesach flies solo and has a conversation  with one of America's leading academic theologians, Professor Gerald McDermott. The topic is the long-held Christian position that the church has replaced the Jewish people as God's covenant people. Prof. McDermott explains how this anti-Jewish theology began, why it is wrong, and how Christian thinking is changing regarding the Land of Israel and the Jewish people. You DON'T want to miss this important conversation. Plus: Pesach explains why Israelis, perhaps more than any other people outside the United States, should consider celebrating Thanskgiving.