IsraelCast

This week on IsraelCast, we have a 2-for-1, the wife and husband team of Ravit Greenberg and Gabe Axler, both originally from the US. They made Aliyah to Israel in 2010 and have been living extraordinary lives in the Negev. Ravit is the development liaison in the Tamar Center, and organization that works to bridge socioeconomic gaps between Bedouins and Jews in the Negev through education. Gabe is the director of social tourism for Eretz Ir. They speak about the opportunities for social impact in the Negev.

This week on IsraelCast, we met with Chloe Valdary. Chloe is the Director of Partnerships and Shillman Fellow at Jerusalem U, a non-profit organization dedicated to film-based Jewish and Israel education. She’s been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, the Daily Beast and more. In our conversation, Chloe shares her thoughts on Israel engagement, what’s working and what isn’t, her concept of the theory of enchantment, and her thoughts on intersectionality.

This week on IsraelCast, we are joined in the studio with Jon Rathauser, founder and CEO of Keheala, a mobile health company that’s improving healthcare access and treatment outcomes for patients in the developing world. In our conversation, Jon shares background on the company, his passion for playing and sharing Lacrosse in Israel and Kenya, and his take on what makes Israel so unique.

This week on IsraelCast, Steven is joined on the line by Alex Ryvchin from his home in Sydney, Australia. A lawyer by trade, Alex was born in Kiev in the former Soviet Union. As refusniks, he moved to Australia with his family in 1987. Alex is now the Director of Public Affairs for the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. He’s also a member of the Jewish Diplomatic Corps. His writings on the Arab-Israeli conflict and foreign affairs are featured in leading publications. Alex is the Editor of the recently released book: The Anti-Israel Agenda: Inside the Political War on the Jewish State published by Green Publishing House. In the conversation, Alex highlights how institutions of great influence -- including the United Nations, the campus, and the media -- are being turned against Israel to isolate and cripple the Jewish state.

This week on IsraelCast, Steven talks to Paul Nirens, founder of Galileat, which offers culinary adventures in Israel’s Western Galilee, including cooking classes and cooking tours.  Paul shares what makes the Galilee such a unique destination, his love for the region, food, and bringing people together.

This week on IsraelCast, Steven is joined in the studio with Tremayne Smith, a native of Salisbury, North Carolina. Tremayne serves as the special assistant to U.S. Congressman G. K. Butterfield of North Carolina. He’s the Chief Deputy Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives. Just this past winter, 2016-2017, while pursuing his Masters of Political Management at the George Washington University, Tremayne was selected by Caravan for Democracy to participate in one of its missions to Israel. The trip had a life changing impact on Tremayne, who shares that story with us today.

This week on IsraelCast, Steven speaks with Moe Mernick on his recent visit to NYC. Moe runs business development for Hometalk, the world's largest DIY community, with offices in Jerusalem and New York. He has spearheaded social partnerships that drove over 150 million visits to the site! He previously worked as a strategy consultant for Deloitte and was the regional director for the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation. Moe holds an international MBA and Rabbinical ordination. He recently published his first book, "The Gift of Stuttering." Moe lives in Israel with his wife and children, and he frequently travels the globe giving motivational speeches.

This week on IsraelCast, Steven was joined in the studio by Jacob Baime, executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition, which unites and empowers pro-Israel campus organizations, providing strategic coordination and expertise to strengthen support for Israel.  Jacob shares, among other things, the current state of pro-and-anti- Israel activism on college campuses, ICC’s mission, and the work of its coalition partners.

This week on IsraelCast, we sat down with Tel-Aviv based Arsen Ostrovsky while he was travelling in NYC. Arsen wears many hats, he's a leading international lawyer, diplomat, writer and pro-Israel activist. He's also executive director of the Israeli- Jewish Congress, a leading Israeli-based NGO supporting the state of Israel in Europe, and working with Jewish communities around the continent to strength their bond with Israel. Arsen is co-chair of the Zionist education and international affairs committee for JNFuture Israel. Needless to say, he is very active on social media. In fact in March 2016, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency named Arsen Ostrovsky one of their 25 most influential Jewish people on Twitter.

This week on IsraelCast, Steven is joined via Skype with Kenneth Chepkwony, an enterprising Kenyan student studying at AICAT, the Arava International Center for Agricultural Training located on Kibbutz Lotan. He relays his experiences there and the lessons he’s taking back to his home country. Kenneth also talks his love for the Arava Desert, what it’s like biking in Israel and even how to make a cow happy! You can see some of Kenneth’s experience via his Instagram page!