This week on IsraelCast, host Steven Shalowitz sits down with Lt. Col. Oshrat Bachar, the first female combat-battalion commander in the Israel Defense Forces. Lt. Col. Bachar now serves as the commander in charge of gender equality in the IDF, where she has assisted in efforts to integrate women, shape sexual harassment strategy, and change the narrative for LGBTQ soldiers. Tune in to learn about gender in the IDF and what other international armies can learn from Israel.

Did you know that there are 6.8 million job openings in the United States, but that only 20% of people with disabilities are employed? Tune into this week’s episode of IsraelCast – Jewish National Fund’s premier podcast – to hear from Chris Neeley, Chairman of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, on how he is working to expand opportunities and break down barriers for people with special needs. You’ll learn about the Corps of Honor, Neeley’s initiative to bring JNF’s Special in Uniform program from Israel to the United States to integrate people with disabilities into the U.S. military.

This week on IsraelCast, we get ready to celebrate Tu BiShvat, the Jewish New Year for the trees, with Vicki Christiansen, Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service. Did you know? The U.S. Forestry Service has had a long and productive relationship with Israel for over 30 years! Listen in to learn more about that existing relationship, carbon offset tips, and much more.

This week on IsraelCast, host Steven Shalowitz interviews New York Times op-ed columnist and long-time Jewish National Fund contributor, Bret Stephens. Bret reminisces about when he received a handwritten apology from former Israeli Prime Minister, Shimon Peres and its significance. Throughout the discussion, Bret answers the tough questions: Anti-Semitism vs. Anti-Zionism? Social Media vs. Mental Health? Thin Crust vs. Deep Dish?

Israel and the Western press: why the obsession? On this week’s episode of IsraelCast, host Steven Shalowitz sits down with journalist and author Matti Friedman to discuss Israel’s disproportionate representation in the Western media. Hear Matti explain how the intensity of the Israel news story is so much greater than any other international news story, how press is censored in restricted areas such as Gaza, North Korea, and Iran, and how the media can shape a story rather than just report on it. 

This week on IsraelCast, we are visited by Lucy Aharish, one of the most influential journalists in Israel. During this captivating conversation, Lucy speaks about being an Israeli Arab Muslim woman and how she has persevered despite a Molotov Cocktail being thrown in her car and abundant backlash and hatred for marrying an Israeli Jew.

This week on IsraelCast, host Steven Shalowitz is back at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya visiting with Dr. Tsvi Sheleg, the center’s Deputy Director General. Dr. Sheleg discusses evacuating to fully operational underground hospitals in times of crisis and working seven days straight during his time as the Medical Director of the IDF Field Hospital in Haiti and Nepal after devastating earthquakes.

This week on IsraelCast, Steven Shalowitz sits down with Lior Lev Sercarz, Master Spice Blender, and Michael Solomonov, star of Netflix’s “In Search of Israeli Cuisine”, for an exclusive look into the vision behind Jewish National Fund's Galilee Culinary Institute. Lior and Michael explore the history of Israeli cuisine and what makes the Kiryat Shmona region the perfect place to be the next culinary and food tech capital.

This week on IsraelCast, hear from Nadav Tamir, Senior Advisor at the Peres Center for Peace & Innovation who has an illustrious career with the Israeli Foreign Service. Nadav elaborates on his views for Israeli foreign policy and the morals of late President Shimon Peres, the eternal optimist who transformed Israel into a modern economy.

This week on IsraelCast, host Steven Shalowitz visits with Jacob “Yaki” Reuven, an internationally acclaimed mandolin player, to talk everything music. At age seven, Yaki was introduced to the most beautiful sound he had ever heard: the sound of a mandolin. Listen in to hear about his passion for music (and the mandolin) and what has changed for the Israeli music scene over the past decade.