In this episode, Rabbi Avi has a profound, hour-long reunion with his dear friend Leah Avuno, joining remotely from Israel. Exactly ten years after Leah arrived in Arizona as an 18-year-old Shinshinit (pre-military Israeli emissary), she and Avi look back at her journey and trace her evolution from a young volunteer into a powerhouse of international educational leadership.

Leah shares her raw experiences as a female IDF commander leading a diverse platoon of Druze, Arab, and Cherkesium soldiers—a journey that was featured globally in the Amazon Prime Video docuseries The Women of the IDF. Today, she serves as the Head of the International Relations Department at Reshet Amit, the largest educational network in Israel, where she actively works to close the socioeconomic gap between central Israel and the periphery.

Together, Avi and Leah tackle the rigid Western racial frameworks and propaganda often projected onto the Middle East, illustrated by a lighter moment with a global traveler's skewed perception of Gaza weather. Crucially, they dive into Leah's vital work on the ground providing immediate psychological, therapeutic, and emotional support to children in Israel's southern districts processing the continuous trauma of October 7th.

• The Periphery and Reshet Amit: Leah explains the "30/70 ratio" framework used by Israel's largest educational network to provide equal educational opportunities and specialized support to lower socioeconomic and immigrant families across 93 schools.

• Reflections on Tucson (2016): Looking back at her gap year in Arizona, her outreach to students on the University of Arizona campus with Avi, and her time building bridges with local communities, including speaking at a Black Baptist church and historical teen coalitions.

• Identity Beyond Labels: How growing up in an incredibly diverse Israel shaped her worldview, why her identity has always been "Jewish first" since her early childhood in Gondar, Ethiopia, and how her authentic presence naturally shatters flat, Western demographic assumptions.

• The Reality of Military Service: Behind the scenes of her leadership as an IDF commander, navigating the intense psychological demands of border defense as a young adult, and why she chose to participate in the Amazon Prime Video series The Women of the IDF to counter global misinformation.

• Dismantling Online Propaganda: A real-world encounter challenging the absolute "black-and-white" narratives found on Western university campuses, emphasizing the danger of algorithm-driven propaganda.

• The Ultimate Anchor: Leah shares her mother's timeless wisdom about centering our energy on the next generation and explains the profound practice of Cheshbon HaNefesh—conducting a dedicated, weekly inner accounting of the soul to bring more light into the world.

• Support Leah's Educational and Therapeutic Work: To learn more about Leah's regional tours or to donate toward the vital psychological and emotional therapy programs for children in Israel's southern periphery, visit the official website at amitchildren.org.

• Support the Show: The Rabbi Avi Show is entirely independent and listener-supported under the Horizontal Media umbrella. To help keep these raw, corporate-free long-form dialogues going, consider becoming a monthly supporter at patreon.com/horizontalmedia.