This Week I had the pleasure of conversing with Political researcher and writer Samuel Hyde. Sam has been writing articles and research papers in all major Israeli newspapers both left and right and has been on Israeli news channels such as I24 to give his very straightforward take on the current war in Gaza and overall conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. Sam identifies as a left leaning Zionist and I myself sit on the right side politically. Regardless of how we identify on the political spectrum, we both have a very pragmatic lens when looking at the obstacles standing in the way of peace and primarily agree that the Palestinians have to accept that a Jewish state will continue to exist despite their unwillingness to accept that reality. Sam and I peeled back the layers of over 75 years of turmoil and why this conflict seems impossible to solve. When discussing potential solutions, we spoke about popular Jewish activist Rudy Rochman who while being someone we both respect has offered no realistic solutions to the conflict despite being so popular on the pro Israel stage.

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Tal Oran, the YouTube channel creator of the world-renowned travel channel, Thetravelingclatt, is the first of my guests to join me for a 3rd episode. Tal and I haven't yet but we have built a strong online friendship, and we will hopefully meet soon to sit down for a massive button popping Mediterranean meal as we're both shawarma fanatics. This week on the soothing of the semantics, Tal and I discussed another YouTuber named Ido aka The Salukie who has had quite a bit of controversy surrounding drug abuse and the effect it's been having on him and his channel. Additionally, we delved into the current Israel-Gaza war and how it has changed the region permanently for better or worse.

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Divorce in the US and much of the western world is increasing. The stats in the US show the divorce rate to be at approximately 53-57% and a whopping 80% of divorces are initiated by women. Why are these numbers so high and what can people do to stay happily married? This week, I had sex therapist Dr. Batsheva Marcus on the show. Dr Marcus has been a sex therapist for 30 years and gives a very honest, no bullshit explanation on sex in relationships, why monogamy is so challenging and why having these taboo discussions are so important especially in the religious world of all faiths. We delved into whether open marriages are possible and even better options for certain people and how women actually lose interest in their significant others sooner but don't lose their interest in sex. I found this to be an extremely though provoking episode and I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments!

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Bryan Callen is easily one of the most notable guests on the Soothing Semantics podcast to date. He's been friends with Joe Rogan, (the biggest podcast host on the planet who just signed another deal with spotify for $250 million dollars) for 30 years, played in films and shows such as the Hangover 1 & 2, the Joker, MadTV and many others, is a comedian, and hosts 2 podcasts (The Fighter and The Kid and The Off Limites Podcast). Bryan was born in the Philippines and lived in many other countries including Lebanon and Pakistan where his father frequently moved around as an international banker or CIA agent (we still don't know). Bryan and I discussed parenting styles, honing in on one craft to achieve success, and the intricacies that make life interesting.

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Bryan Callen's instagram:  @BryanCallenComedy 

Tickets to Bryan's comedy tours on his website: https://www.bryancallen.com/

The Fighter & The Kid Podcast with Brendon Schaub: https://www.youtube.com/@UC6AbsTfBMQ_dHjtipwh3bZg

The Off Limits Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCQMLxN4gj_PI-USw7eiTKIw

Rafi's Instagram: rafi_the_realtor

Sal Carola is a Real Estate broker at Remax Elite with 5 offices across the 5 NY Borough's. He started Real Estate while he was in the NYPD and eventually hung up his uniform and went into Real Estate full time. Sal and I discussed the key ingredients which make a successful agent, the required boring tasks which most agents refuse to undertake and what's in store for agents after the changes with the NAR lawsuit come into play.

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Follow Sal on Instagram: @salcarola

Follow me on Instagram: @rafi_the_realtor

Sign up for my weekly Real Estate newsletter by going to the link in my bio on instagram or simply reaching out to me if you already have my number or email.

You can support my channel by sending me a zelle to [email protected] or sending a superlike or paid comment on the episode. Thanks for watching!

This week I sat down with The Salukie, a YouTuber who has been making very interesting travel content in different countries and has traveled to some very high risk and dangerous neighborhoods in said countries. In the past few months, Salukie has traveled to some high-risk parts of the Palestinian territories which are completely off limits to Israelis, in order to better understand the viewpoints of the locals. His subscriber base as a result of this risky content has grown nicely, amassing a nice sized following. Recently, He started to post content which seemed very unusual, causing concern from his followers about his mental health. We had a heated discussion about his mental health and disagreed heavily on Israeli politics. Let me know your thoughts in the comments and thanks as always for tuning in!

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Rich Cooper, a highly successful entrepreneur prior to his YouTube success on dating and relationships has been one of the earlier faces in the space helping men understand and navigate the dating world and has written a book called the Unplagged Alpha and has coaching courses for both men and women. This week, Rich and I covered the 21 red flags he put together which are according to him, signs to look out for which should be carefully considered before deciding to date women. Rich discussed how marriage in the west favors women but puts major risks on men and why women want certain male traits but always challenge or contend with the traits they're attracted to.

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You can find Rich's book "The Unplugged Alpha" on amazon

Follow Rich's YouTube channels:

https://www.youtube.com/@UCnyf-M3TjrRmYgiyGv1ngzg (44k subs)

https://www.youtube.com/@UCuKqtwPO5ci5_KoZGbfl33g (700k subs)

https://www.youtube.com/@RichCooperClips (252k subs)

Follow Rich's Instagram @the_unplugged_alpha

Follow me on Instagram @rafi_the_realtor and @soothingsemantics

Hardship and pain are expected when you journey through entrepreneurship. William O'Donnell faced some serious challenges before his business started when he, his 3 siblings and his single mother were evicted from their apartment and had to live in a garage with no heat or AC. William took his humble childhood and became a powerful Real Estate agent and investor on Long Island NY and I had the pleasure to hear his story, learn some of his strategies, and share them with you on this episode. He is now a father, husband and success story and quite an inspiration.

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Follow William on Instagram: @william.odo

Follow me on Instagram: @rafi_the_realtor

Sign up for my weekly Real Estate newsletter by going to the link in my bio on instagram or simply reaching out to me if you already have my number or email.

You can support my channel by sending me a zelle to [email protected] or sending a superlike or paid comment on the episode. Thanks for watching!

This week I had the pleasure of having my first cousin from my father's side, Ryan on the podcast. About 4 years ago, I took a DNA test with My Heritage and shortly after, Ryan took the same test, saw me as a first cousin and reached out to me on Facebook. We covered some interesting points about DNA tests, some family history as well as the fascinating ways DNA can connect us with people, we would never know are related to us

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The 2023 Real Estate market in South Florida was a great market but many buyers were reluctant to buy with rates between 8-9%. Over the last 2 months or so, rates have been slowly decreasing and are now at a current rate of just under 7%. Lucas Faillace, a loan officer with UMortgage, joins me as a guest this week to discuss the decreasing rates, what it means for buyers and how the recent NAR lawsuit will create potential challenges for first time homebuyers but will create a higher quality market with the stronger agents left in the business while many of the part time agents falling behind and leaving the business.

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