Jewanced

Decisionmaking for the future depends on anticipating change. And anticipating change is becoming increasingly difficult. How does a person make good decisions in the face of mounting uncertainty? What if that person is a CEO, legislator, prime minister, military general, or even the President? 

This week’s guest on the show, Dr. Steven Popper, Ph.D. is a Senior Economist at the RAND Corporation who is an expert in, among many things, the science of decision making under deep uncertainty.

As associate director of the Science and Technology Policy Institute FFRDC (federally funded research & development center), Popper provided analytic support to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and other Executive Branch agencies.

His current work is on decision making under deep uncertainty, science and technology policy, multi-stakeholder strategic decision processes, foresight and future studies, and security planning. He coauthored the flagship study of the RAND Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition, Shaping the Next One Hundred Years: New Methods for Quantitative, Long-Term Policy Analysis (2003), which provides a methodological framework for decision making under deep uncertainty that has been applied to an expanding set of policy issues as Robust Decision Making (RDM). His research also focuses on regional economic development and international economics. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank and OECD, and is a Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI).

Oh, and just like Benny, Steven is a member of the ‘Frozen Chosen’, hailing originally from the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Links:

Steven’s official page at the RAND Corporation

A selection of Steven’s publications and commentary

Steven’s LinkedIn

Buy Shaping the Next One Hundred Years: New Methods for Quantitative, Long-Term Policy Analysis, a flagship study co-authored by Steven Popper on Amazon.com

Visit the website of the DC-based Science and Technology Policy Institute, where Steven is an associate director

Visit the website of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where Steven provided analytic support

Visit the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), where Steven is a Senior Fellow

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube

Ariella Steinreich is a senior vice president at Steinreich Communications overseeing the firm’s global corporate / issues practice and its Middle East division.

On this episode of the show, we talk to Ariella about all things PR, the Arab Gulf, and what makes her (and us) so excited about the opportunities ahead for our region. 

Ariella brings over a decade of experience at major public relations firms where she created and implemented global corporate communications programs for leading companies and organizations. Her experience includes strategic media counseling, media training, communications strategy development, social media strategy, crisis communications/ issues management, financial communications, community relations, and corporate social responsibility.

Prior to joining the firm, she was a senior associate at Burson-Marsteller where she handled global media relations for several of the agency’s key clients. In 2014, she was named a finalist for PR Week’s Young Professional of the Year.

Links:

Visit Steinreich Communications

Ariella on Twitter @ariellas1

Ariella on LinkedIn

Visit the UAE-Israel Business Council

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

For more information, visit us at http://www.jewanced.com

This episode of Jewanced with Chaim Davids was recorded live as a special culinary show at Prohibition Pickle - quite possibly THE BEST deli in Israel – where Chaim is the proprietor and pickle master extraordinaire. 

We tuck into how the Baltimore native has gone from running the Judean Hills greatest bootlegging operation since the 2nd Temple period to leading the country’s delicatessen renaissance …and along the way, learn all about (and eat) the best full sour pickles, smoked herring & whitefish, deli mustard, and real-deal corned beef & pastrami available this side of the Atlantic.

Prohibition Pickle, located in the Kenyon Harim shopping center in Gush Etzion (south of Jerusalem) is a true ‘Ashkenazi soul food revival.’ It prides itself in making pickles, cures, and condiments that have been produced utilizing age-old, fresh pickling techniques in order to enhance and unlock ingredient flavor potential. The delicatessen is Kosher Mehadrin, under the hashgacha of the Gush Etzion Rabbinate. 

***Note that the video version of the podcast features an extended version of the show including an exclusive, behind-the-scenes culinary tour of Prohibition Pickle where we delve into the delicious details of all your deli favorites. We hope you’ll check it out when it becomes available (soon, we promise) on our Youtube channel, Jewanced Podcast.***

Links:

Follow Prohibition Pickle on Instagram & Facebook

Place your deli orders the old-fashioned way, by calling 02-262-2889

Articles about Prohibition Pickle in the Jerusalem Post & Jewish Press

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

For more information, visit us at http://www.jewanced.com

“Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the entire world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it.” – Rambam

To us, it seems that the Rambam might have been a guy who knew how to appreciate nuance!

On this week’s episode of the podcast, we sat down with Dr. Guy Matalon and dived right into the Rambam, the Talmud, the mystifying world of Jewish philosophy, the place of faith and rationality in our world, and much much more.

Dr. Guy Matalon is an expert on medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy, a former professor of Judaic Studies and founding director of the Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and is proficient in the study of both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds and other foundational texts.  He currently directs an immersive Jewish study program at Ohr Somayach seminary in Jerusalem.

Links:

Dr. Matalon at Ohr Somayach seminary in Jerusalem

A selection of Guy’s video’s on YouTube

About the Rambam

The complete works of the Rambam

The Babylonian Talmud

The Jerusalem Talmud

The complete collection of works on Jewish philosophy on Sefaria.org

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

For more information, visit us at http://www.jewanced.com

Wouldn’t you like to predict the future? 

Dan Libenson, gets up each and every day and does just that – for the Jewish world. 

Dan Libenson is founder and president of the Institute for the Next Jewish Future, co-host of the popular Judaism Unbound podcast, and co-creator of jewishLIVE, where he co-hosts the weekly live-streaming video series “The Oral Talmud” with Benay Lappe. He’s also the co-creator of “Text People,” a new project making Jewish texts maximally accessible to a broad audience through short videos and other media.

Dan translated The Orchard by renowned Israeli novelist Yochi Brandes, a novel about the early days of Rabbinic Judaism, and was the translation editor of The Secret Book of Kings by the same author, a radical retelling of the stories of the early kings of Israel.

He spent over a decade working with Jewish students on campus, at Harvard and at the University of Chicago, for which he received numerous awards, including Hillel’s Exemplar of Excellence Award and an AVI CHAI Fellowship. Dan is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and spent five years as a law professor. He lives in Chicago.

Links:

The Institute for the Next Jewish Future. Founded by Dan Libenson, the Institute is a hub for ideas, education, and action dedicated to accelerating bold innovation in Jewish life.

The official Judaism Unbound podcast website. Co-hosted by Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg, Judaism Unbound is a project of the Institute for the Next Jewish Future that catalyzes and supports grassroots efforts by “disaffected but hopeful” American Jews to re-imagine and re-design Jewish life in America for the 21st century. 

Listen to Judaism Unbound on Spotify

Check-out jewishLIVE, a portal to curated, inspiring live (and recorded) Jewish experiences.

Listen to The Oral Talmud, a weekly lie-streaming video series co-hosted by Dan Libenson and Benay Lappe.

Check out Text People, a new project co-created by Dan Libenson which makes Jewish texts accessible to a broad audience through short videos and other media.

Buy The Orchard by Yochi Brandes

Buy The Secret Book of Kings by Yochi Brandes

Dan Libenson on Twitter, @danlibenson

Dan Libenson on Facebook

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube

Ahead of Israeli Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzmaut), we recorded a special episode of Jewanced with superstar tech entrepreneur, acclaimed speaker and author Inbal Arieli.

In it, she talks to us about her unique insights on life, society, the miracle of Israel's thriving tech scene, and the incredible impact it’s having on the world, as well as uncovers the secret behind how Israeli parents are raising generations of entrepreneurs.

These unique insights led her to write the fascinating and successful book "Chutzpah: Why Israel is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship".

Inbal Arieli a serial entrepreneur, business executive, and tech influencer. She is the founder and co-CEO of Synthesis, a global leadership assessment firm to select venture capital and private equity firms, CEO’s and board directors,  a graduate officer of the elite IDF 8200 intelligence unit (Israel’s version of the American NSA), a noted speaker and the author of ‘Chutzpah: Why Israel is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.’

Born in Israel and raised on hummus and chutzpah, Arieli fostered her entrepreneurial skills during her mandatory military service, serving as lieutenant in unit 8200, the Israel Defense Forces’ elite intelligence corps. After completing her military duties, and for the past twenty years, she embraced leading executive roles in the flourishing Israeli tech sector and has founded a series of programs for innovators, where she currently holds board seats. She lectures widely to business and government leaders around the world.

Arieli holds an LL.B. Law, a B.A. in Economics, and an MBA, all from Tel Aviv University. She was featured as one of the 100 most influential people in Israeli tech and as one of the top 100 tech business women speakers in the world.

Links:

Chutzpah Center, Inbal’s official website

Order Inbal’s book, Chutzpah: Why Israel is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship   

Check out the latest articles, podcasts, and shows that Inbal took part in here

Inbal Arieli on LinkedIn

Inbal Arieli on Facebook

Inbal Arieli on Twitter, @InbalArieli

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

For more information, visit us at http://www.jewanced.com

Jewanced commemorates Yom Ha’Shoah – Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day - with the inspirational and shocking true story of John Daly’s incredible tale of Jewish survival - transforming and escaping from life as a closeted Jewish Neo-Nazi commander in the USA to living in Israel. 

Legitimately unlike any other story Dan nor Benny had ever heard before, John Daly’s riveting recounting of the details of the events of his youth spent in Ocala, FL joining an anti-racist skinhead (yes, that’s a thing) group, being kidnapped by Neo-Nazi white supremacists into their movement, hiding his Jewish identity only to be outed – resulting with an attempt to murder him is nothing less than intense, fascinating, and truly chilling. His subsequent tale of survival against all odds and aliya to Israel is truly inspiring. 

Later in the podcast, we also discuss modern day Anti-Semitism, Holocaust memory, understanding extremism, and much more. 

Links:

Visit John’s official webpage, youbeginchange.com

Visit John’s Facebook page, The John Daly Story

Rent or buy ‘Escape from Room 18’ – the award-winning, riveting documentary about John Daly’s shocking story on Vimeo

‘The ‘Jewish Skinhead’ gives back and fights on’ – an article about John Daly and his battle against brain cancer in the Jerusalem Post

The American Jewish Committee’s Translate Hate glossary of antisemitic terms, phrases, conspiracies, cartoons, themes, and memes.

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

For more information, visit us at http://www.jewanced.com

It’s almost inevitable that you've scrolled past a sweaty selfie of a friend, co-worker, or high school classmate bragging about their WOD and professing their love for CrossFit. What is Crossfit exactly? CrossFit is a global exercise phenomenon that started in the US about 20 years ago and has since spread across the world. There are roughly 13,000 affiliated gyms in 120 countries with countless others offering "Functional Fitness" and with many conventional gyms offering similar classes and equipment.  It’s estimated that there are 4 million CrossFitters around the world, and its members are so devoted to the competitive approach to fitness that the community has been described as cult-like.

No doubt if you haven't tried it, you might be confused by what it is or perhaps intimidated, with many associating Crossfit with high risk of injury or training fad. With all this publicity, you may have wondered if Crossfit is for you or if all those Crossfitters (like our very own cohosts) are just plain crazy.

CrossFit is a functional fitness methodology that seeks to achieve comprehensive, measurable and high-level fitness for its "athletes". It is most often performed with a coach and in a group setting, and according to a training program that combines weightlifting, flexibility, body-weight gymnastic movements and a variety of aerobic activities.

 Is Crossfit for advanced or very fit athletes only or is it also accessible for beginners? Is it for men only or also for women? What about kids? Older adults? On this episode of Jewanced, we talk with Mark Samarsky, co-founder and head trainer of Rose Valley CrossFit in Nes Tziona, one of Israel’s premier CrossFit boxes, to talk fitness, the difference between functional fitness vs what most people are doing in conventional gyms, healthy living, longevity, fitness in Israel, and to dispel common myths and misconceptions about Crossfit, weightlifting and fitness in general.  

Links:

Rose Valley CrossFit website (Hebrew)

Rose Valley CrossFit on Facebook

Learn more about CrossFit and visit the official website

Find a local CrossFit box (gym) near you!

Official website of the CrossFit Games: The Open

מזון למחשבהMazon L’Machshava (Food for Thought) – a podcast produced by Mark and wife Lina (a leading nutritionist and trainer) about nutrition, sport, business, relationships, and everything in between (Hebrew).

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

For more information, visit us at http://www.jewanced.com

The NEW ISRAEL FUND and the Israeli Left – Few other NGO’s in Israel conjure up stronger feelings than the NIF. Subversive anti-Israel front or patriotic agent for social change and justice?

What really is the NIF (apart from one of the best examples of ‘Jewance’ that we can think of) and what does the organization truly stand for?

Moreover, as we just had our 4TH ELECTIONS in Israel this week, what happened to the Israeli left and where is it going? We sit down with MICKEY GITZIN, Executive Director of the New Israel Fund in Israel, a leading thinker, voice, and leader of the Israeli political left, to set the record straight.

Mickey Gitzin is Executive Director of the New Israel Fund in Israel. He served as a city council member in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, where he chaired committees for diversity and public housing. He was also the Mayor’s advisor for global development and innovation.

Prior to joining NIF, Mickey was the founding director of “Israel Hofsheet” (Be Free Israel), a leading grassroots organization fighting for separation of religion and state in Israel. Previously, Mickey was the spokesperson for MK Ilan Gilon (Meretz) and the Associate Director of "Festival BeShekel," an organization advancing arts and culture in Israel’s geographic and socioeconomic periphery.

After completing his military service as an intelligence officer, he served as a shaliach (emissary) in South Bend, Indiana for the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Mickey holds a Master’s in Public Policy from University College-London, for which he received a Chevening Scholarship from the British Foreign Office and the British Council.

In 2013, Mickey received NIF UK’s Human Rights Award, and in 2015, NIF’s Gallanter Prize for Emerging Israeli Social Justice Leaders.

Links:

New Israel Fund website (English)

NIF website (Hebrew)

Mickey on Twitter @Mickeygitzin

New Israel Fund on Twitter @NewIsraelFund

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

For more information, visit us at http://www.jewanced.com

WE HOPE YOU’RE HUNGRY!

In today’s episode, we explore a RICH & DIVERSE culinary and cultural Jewish heritage as we take a journey through the heart of Jewish Syria, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, India, Turkey, and beyond with JENNIFER ABADI, a Sephardic & Judeo-Arabic recipe preserver & cookbook author. Together, we explore the diversity of the North American Jewish experience, discuss our feelings about the upcoming Pesach holiday, and along the way, discover some mouthwatering recipes that are simply Too Good to Passover.

Jennifer Abadi lives in New York City and is a researcher, developer, and preserver of Sephardic and Judeo-Arabic recipes and food customs. A culinary expert in the Jewish communities of the Middle East, Mediterranean, Central Asia, and North Africa, she teaches cooking at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), the Jewish Community Center Manhattan (JCC), and Context Conversations at Context Travel. In addition to providing Jewish food and culture tours on Manhattan's Lower East Side, Jennifer works as a personal chef in the New York City area and offers private in-person and virtual cooking lessons.

Her cookbook-memoir, “A Fistful of Lentils: Syrian-Jewish Recipes from Grandma Fritzie's Kitchen” is a collection of recipes and stories from her family. Her second cookbook, “Too Good To Passover: Sephardic & Judeo-Arabic Seder Menus and Memories from Africa, Asia and Europe” provides an anthropological as well as historical context to the ways in which the Jewish communities of North Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean, and Middle East observe and enjoy this beloved ancient festival.

Links:

Jennifer Abadi’s website

Jennifer’s blog, Too Good to Passover where she shares info, insights, and recipes (including some belonging to dishes we discussed on the show)

Jennifer on Instagram

Buy Jennifer’s cookbook memoir, A Fistful of Lentils: Syrian-Jewish Recipes from Grandma Fritzie’s Kitchen, an intimate culinary food album featuring more than 125 Syrian-Jewish recipes, warm family anecdotes, and little-known stories of Syrian-Jewish culture.

Buy Jennifer’s groundbreaking cookbook, Too Good to Passover: Sephardic & Judeo-Arabic Seder Menus and Memories from Africa, Asia and Europe. Too Good to Passover is the first Passover cookbook specializing in traditional Sephardic, Judeo-Arabic, and Central Asian recipes and customs (covering both pre-and post-Passover rituals) appealing to Sephardi, Mizrachi, and Ashkenazi individuals who are interested in incorporating something traditional yet new into their seders.

The New York Women’s Culinary Alliance website

As always, make sure to subscribe to Jewanced on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to our YouTube