Today on IsraelCast , we speak with Dr. Clive Lipchin, the Director of the Center for Transboundary Water Management at the Arava Institute. Clive joined the faculty of the Arava Institute in 2003, where he teaches a multi-disciplinary course on water management in the Middle-East.  He oversees research projects, workshops and conferences that focus on transboundary water and environmental problems facing  Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Territories.

This week on IsraelCast, we welcome Leah Soibel, the founder and CEO of Fuente Latina, a non-profit, non-governmental organization, that removes geographic, cultural and linguistic barriers for global Spanish language media and influencers covering stories about Israel and the Middle East. Leah joins us on Skype from her office in Miami to talk all about Fuente Latina!

Today’s guest on IsraelCast needs no introduction to anyone who knows their way around the kitchen or for those like host Steven Shalowitz who just love to eat! She is the wildly popular author of the best-selling Kosher By Design cookbook series – Susie Fishbein.

Today on IsraelCast , we honor Veteran’s Day, November 11th, with a salute to all the men and women who have served in the US military. One such distinguished service-member is Sergeant Harrison Manyoma. On July 2nd, 2004, Sergeant Manyoma was severely injured by a suicide car bomber while on duty in West Baghdad.  He received the Purple Heart for his injuries but his wounds would forever be embedded in him. Once on the brink of suicide due to PTSD, Harrison received help from the Heroes to Heroes Foundation, which he now works for. Sergeant Manyoma joins us via Skype from his home in Houston, Texas.

Today on IsraelCast, we are honored to welcome the Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Malcolm Hoenlein! The organization is the coordinating body  of 53 national Jewish organizations. Mr. Hoenlein appears regularly in the media, including 3 weekly nationally syndicated radio broadcasts (so he knows his way around the recording studio!) He has lectured and met with leading officials around the world and is the recipient of some of Israel’s most prestigious awards. He holds 4 honorary doctorates and 2 honorary fellowships  and is associated with and serves on the boards of many communal, educational, and civic organizations.

Today on IsraelCast , we talk water, water and more water! With Jewish National Fund’s Chief Israel Emissary, Talia Tzour Avner. In her role, Tali works closely with Israel’s Water Authority, Israeli water associations, municipalities, and farmers, to help develop new and additional sources of water.

Today on IsraelCast we welcome the one and only, Siggy Flicker! You may know Siggy from her VH1 reality show ‘Why Am I Still Single?’ or from her two seasons on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey. The Israeli-born Flicker has recently returned from a remarkable trip to the Jewish Homeland, and tells of her experience.

On this week’s episode, we’re back at Jewish National Fund House in NYC, and our featured guest is familiar to all in the JNF world and well beyond – JNF CEO Russell Robinson!

Russell was our first guest and now our first repeat guest. He joins us to give an update about what’s going on in the Jewish National Fund world, and speaks about the culmination of an 11-city tour in 14 days. The tour showed the reality of what is really happening on the border of Gaza, an area that faced a wave of extreme terrorism this summer. To learn more about JNF's efforts in this area, visit jnf.org/gaza.

Russell also gives an update to the One Billion Dollar Roadmap for the Next Decade, and Jewish National Fund’s work with water, housing and community development.

This week on IsraelCast, we are joined on the line by Professor Alon Tal, Chair of the Department of Public Policy at Tel Aviv University, founder of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, a prolific author, and chair of This is My Earth and Tzafuf - The Israel Forum for Population, Environment and Society. In this fascinating conversation, Tal shares his views on overpopulation in Israel – the causes, the consequences, the predictions, and a few solutions.

This week on IsraelCast, we are joined on the line by Erez Ben-Yosef, Associate Professor in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University, a Fulbright scholar, and the Head of the Timna Valley Archaeological Expedition. In this fascinating conversation, Ben-Yosef shares his experience working at the Timna mines, where archaeologists have found the remains of a pregnant woman, probably of Egyptian origin, as well as remains from textiles, food and organic matter.