Chosen People Problems

Uri Berliner was a senior business editor at NPR for 25 years, when he decided to set his tote bag on fire and spill the tea. We talk to him about his bombshell essay, How NPR Lost America, NPR’s coverage of Israel, viewpoint diversity, journalism, podcasts and much more.

It seems like every time we publish an episode, we add a line that says “we recorded this before that terrible thing that happened”. So we recorded this one after the horrific murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in DC, but before the Boulder terrorism attack. The sentiment is always the same, the grief and anger just get even stronger. If you want to talk, our Substack chat and comment sections are open. Askajew.substack.com

Note:

The thing that happens when you know the media is wrong about one thing and believe them on another is apparently called the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect: "Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray's case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the "wet streets cause rain" stories. Paper's full of them.

In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know." – Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

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Chaya Leah Sufrin and Yael Bar tur are two of the most influential Jewish women in America. Known for their compassionate and thoughtful discussions, they discuss topics ranging from antisemitism to The Social Security Act of 1935. Their guests include luminaries such as Barbara Bush, Oprah Winfery, Bill Cosby, and whatever that guy’s name is who was married to Kim Kardashian for like two weeks. Seriously, AI is dead. It was a bubble and always will be. It’s headed to the garbage bin of history with My Space, Ivy League Universities, and democracy. Unfiltered word vomit is the new intelligence. If typos could talk, this is what they would sound like. Please enjoy 1 hour and 2 minutes of it.

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Today is a heartbreaking and terrifying day for Jews in America—and for anyone who cherishes the values of decency, freedom, and civilization itself.The cold-blooded murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim last night in Washington, D.C., has shattered any illusion that the hate-filled rhetoric we’ve been hearing was just talk. It wasn’t. For those of us who have been warning that this kind of incitement would spill into violence, this is our worst nightmare come true. And yet we still hear people whispering, some quite loudly, that the Zionists had it coming.

This was not random. This was the deadly consequence of a climate that has normalized antisemitism under the guise of politics. Some people think violent antisemitism is the result of the the war in Gaza. We know it's the other way around - the war in Gaza is the result of violent antisemitism.

In this episode, which we recorded a few days ago before these horrific events, we sat down with Jonah Platt—actor, podcast host, and passionate Jewish advocate—to talk about Judaism, Israel, generational disconnects, and what it means to be a vocal Jew in today’s climate. Check out his excellent podcast, Being Jewish with Jonah Platt.

We cover the following topics:

* From Hollywood to Jewish Advocacy

* The Role of Family in Jewish Identity

* What’s Going Wrong with Jewish Education?

* Jewish Students and the New Face of Antisemitism

* Chabad, Cheese Plates & Jewish Hospitality

* Why Aren’t More Jews in Hollywood Speaking Up?

* Fighting Disinformation & Misguided “Allies”

In the end, Jonah reminds us: don’t wait for celebrities to save us. We are done staying silent about this, and hope you can join us. Don't worry about being on the right side of your favorite Instagram influencer, worry about being on the right side of humanity.

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We got the top Jew everyone! Eric D. Fingerhut is the President and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), previously the President and CEO of Hillel International, and also a former congressman for the great state of Ohio. Take that resume to your Jewish mother!

In case you don’t know, the Jewish Federations of North America is the umbrella organization for the different Jewish organizations, and they respond to the needs of Jews in the US, Israel and around the world. The Federation raises about 2 billion annually, which is enough for a couple of Air Force Ones I reckon.

Eric was kind enough to sit with us for over an hour to discuss the state of Jews in America today, why 80% of Jews support Israel, and why we can't afford to be divided. He patiently answered all our dumb questions including: do the Jewish organizations bear any responsibility for he outbreak of antisemitism? Should we care what the world thinks? And how should we save the Jews with a million, ok a billion, dollars.

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Happy Mother’s Day! This week, we invited the women who have been listening to us blabber for over 40 years — our biggest fans and fiercest critics: our own moms!

Please enjoy our conversation with Chanie Perelmuter and Liora Bar tur. We talk childhood, community, Holocaust (of course) and bra shopping. And please, call your mother!

Want to help us grow? Rate us 5 starts and review us on Apple or Spotify

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Today is the specialest day in Israel. We just exited Memorial Day for soldiers and victis of terror, the saddest day of the year by far, and went straight — and I mean straight, within minutes — into Independence Day, the happiest. 24 hours of pain and heartbreak, followed by a short ceremony that throws us into a celebration of what we have gained thanks to those we lost. It’s a rollercoaster, like most things here. Here’s a video I took today at the market during the national moment of silence for the fallen. It’s chilling and frankly pretty cool to watch an entire country stop in their tracks to remember. We do this 3 times a year: once on holocaust memorial day (last week) and twice on memorial day. On other days if you hear a deep siren, you should run for shelter.

In this episode, Chaya Leah invites listeners who are her children to complain about her, Yael reviews the cafeteria at the Holocaust museum in Poland, and we debate the merits of uphill battles, as recommended by Douglas Murray.

Special thanks for our genius editor Mickey for removing as many sniffles, coughs and in general as much auditory grossness as he could find from this one. It was a lot worse before he got involved, trust me.

Good for the Jews is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

By the way, you know the show is called Ask A Jew, right?? So send us your questions, big or small, offensive and funny, to: [email protected].

Ready for some visual stimulation? First off, here;s CL’s favorite Tel aviv dogwalker doing his morning roll call:

And released hostage Agam Berger blowing our minds at the Holocaust ceremony in Auschwitz:

Did someone say Poland? here are the photos from my trip of my family’s home, factory and places of burial.

Oh wait, I also traveled all around Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee. Want to see?

Thanks for reading Good for the Jews! This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Happy Good Friday! Shh, we have a serious guest, everyone behave please in the comment section. Today we welcome Jacob Mchangama. Jacob is the author of the breezy beach read “Free Speech – A History from Socrates to Social Media”, research professor at Vanderbilt University where he is also the founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech institute, and a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression theFIREorg.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION ON SUBSTACK!

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Here’s what we cover:

* Anne Frank is from Denmark, right?

* Free Speech in the ancient world

* When is speech actual violence?

* The optimistics and pessimistic case for free speech

* Back when the ACLU was cool

* Immigration and speech

* Can’t we just make antisemitism illegal

* The vibe shift

* Mahmoud Khlalil

* The future of free speech

Here’s your feel-good story for the week: An IDF reservist found this sweet pup in Gaza, who apparently ran over when he heard the soldiers speaking Hebrew. The soldier quickly discovered that this is no other than Billy, a dog that was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. He belonged to Rachel Dancyg, the ex-wife of hostage Alex Dancyg who was murdered in Gaza. Rachel’s brother, Itzik Elgarat, was also abducted from the kibbutz and murdered in Gaza. Some sweetness in the midst of it all.

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This week in honor of Passover, we welcome the coolest Rabbi I know (after Chaya Leah’s father of edJEWcation), Rabbi Gavriel Bellino of NYC’s 6th street shul.

There are tons of photos, videos and musing that go with this episode from my visit to Israel. please check them out on substack at askajew.substack.com and/or on Instagram @askajewpod.

If you live in NYC you should absolutely visit 6th Street Shul (yes, this is Yael!) Its super welcoming and lowkey, and they throw some great parties. They also have the best Instagram account (operated by the Rabbi).

We talk about being a born-and-bred NYC Rabbi, issues facing Judaism today, spirituality, Kosher sushi, gays, women and David Schwimmer.

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This week we welcome returning guest and the youngest person we know, Blake Flayton, to talk about his new book: 10 Things Every Jew Should Know Before They Go to College. We talk to Blake about how to win over Gen Z (with social justice!), whether or not we should we be gatekeeping the the antisemitism discourse, and why we don’t want to see anymore Holocaust movies….for now.

You can follow Blake on Substack, X and Instagram, check him out calling out campus antisemitism in The NY Times before it was cool, and of course buy the book - everyone should read it, not just the kids! Also listen to his excellent podcast with Einat Wilf, We Should All Be Zionists.

Also:

* AI Therapy

* Finally the world is waking up! oh wait nvm

* What Birthrigtht gets wrong

* You say Dual Loyalty like it’s a bad thing

* Fighting Antisemitism from the left - Blake’s latest essay on Substack:

* Keep your friends?

* Enough with the Holocaust movies

* I’d rather be 9 people’s favorite thing than 100 people’s 9th favorite thing

* Are we all just talking to ourselves on Instagram? The problem with social media Zionism.

* The Insta-fada!

* Woke Anne Frank

* Stop what you’re doing and learn Hebrew

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G’day from the Land Down Under! Promise this is our first and last Australia joke in these show notes. Today we welcome the Jewish Hugh Jackman (ok, I lied), Josh Szeps to Ask A Jew! Josh is the host of Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps, and host of Szeps Live on Substack every Tuesday at 9pm (that’s normal time, not whatever they use in Australia). We loved having Josh on, even though he’s a lefty and that makes us feel unsafe. But it’s hard not to love him, and you will too. Also it doesn’t hurt that he’s kind of a hottie.

Aside from a 40 minute standard chit-chat about aviation, we cover:

* Do they even have months in Australia??

* We forgive you, Mel Gibson

* Shabbas Gay

* Why don’t people fall in Australia?

* The moon looks different in Australia

* How much money does Elon Musk have in Australia

* Ok Josh, spill it - what happeend to the Malaysian Airline??

* Aviation Today - with Josh Szeps

* Can you introduce us to the cast of Love on The Spectrum?

* The Princess Bride 2

* Australia replaced its Prime Minister with a paper straw

* 39 minutes in and we’re still talking about planes

* Josh’s grandmoother’s amazing holocaust story (sorry we mocked her for it)

* Antisemitism in Australia

* WHERE’S THE JEWS??

* Oh look a bunch of Jews disagreeing about Israel

* Josh is wrong about Israel and french fries

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