What if the history of Israel, 1948 and the Nakba is far more complicated than the version most people encounter online?

In Part One of a special conversation, Don and Jared sit down with the anonymous historian known as Captain Allen.

A lawyer by profession and lifelong student of Jewish and Middle Eastern history, Captain Allen has spent more than two decades building an extraordinary historical archive, now numbering thousands of pages. Online, he uses that research to challenge viral narratives with something increasingly rare: context.

We go back long before 1948.

From the ancient Jewish connection to the land and the meaning of Zion, through Ottoman rule, the British Mandate, Jewish immigration, Arab opposition, partition and the War of Independence, Captain Allen walks us through the history that shaped the modern conflict.

Then we tackle one of the most contested subjects of all: the Nakba.

Who fled? Who was expelled? Why did people leave? What did the term originally mean? And how did the Palestinian national narrative change after 1967?

This isn't an argument that Palestinians didn't suffer. People were displaced. People were killed. Communities were changed forever.

The question is whether we can acknowledge that suffering while also telling the rest of the history.

For Captain Allen, facts matter. Context matters. And intellectual honesty requires both.

This conversation became so expansive that one episode wasn't enough.

Part One takes us from antiquity through 1948 and into the transformative events of 1967.

Part Two is coming.

Follow Captain Allen on X: @CptAllenHistory

Subscribe to The Schmooze for conversations about Jewish life, Israel, history, culture and the issues shaping our community today.

Hosted by Don and Jared.

A SWEET NEW YEAR, A STRONGER JEWISH SELF

As the High Holidays approach, Rabbi Leonard Cohen of Kehilat Shalom joins Don and Jared for a warm conversation about Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Jewish identity, community and growth.

Rabbi Leonard explains why the High Holidays are not simply about fasting, guilt or tradition, but about reflection, reconnection and becoming a little more of who we want to be.

One idea stands out: L+1.

Wherever you are, go one level higher.

One mitzvah. One repaired relationship. One challenge faced. One deeper connection.

The conversation also explores Rabbi Leonard’s journey from Montreal to Calgary, the welcoming philosophy of Kehilat Shalom, the relationship between religious and cultural Jewish identity, community life after October 7, interfaith work and what it means to truly show up for one another.

And, of course, we ask the question that had to be asked:

What is it like being a Jewish man from Montreal named Leonard Cohen?

A thoughtful, funny and uplifting Schmooze for the New Year.

If you’d like to learn more about Rabbi Leonard, Kehilat Shalom or attending High Holiday services, visit:

www.kehilat-shalom.ca

Shana tova umetukah. 🍎🍯

What happens when someone who has actually lived inside war listens to the way we talk about it from thousands of kilometres away?

Tim Isberg spent more than four decades in the Canadian military, serving in Rwanda, the Middle East, Bosnia and Afghanistan. He worked as an unarmed United Nations military observer, investigated atrocities in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, dealt with child soldiers, lived and worked among Israelis, Syrians and Lebanese, and experienced firsthand both the value and the failures of international institutions.

He also lost a friend when four UN military observers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in South Lebanon.

That history makes this conversation difficult to put into an ideological box.

Tim is sharply critical of Israel when he believes Israel deserves criticism. He is no admirer of the settlement movement. He speaks candidly about civilian deaths in Gaza and about decisions he believes Israel got wrong.

And yet, as someone who has actually investigated genocide, he rejects the claim that what is happening in Gaza is genocide.

He talks about Hamas, propaganda, urban warfare, October 7, the difference between UN personnel on the ground and the UN as a political institution, and the danger of reducing complicated conflicts to a meme, a slogan or a single sentence ripped from a much larger story.

His advice may be the simplest and most important line in the episode:Read the whole paragraph.

But this conversation isn't only about war.

Tim also talks about carrying Rwanda home with him, turning those experiences into music, and discovering something remarkable after living among people separated by borders, religions and generations of conflict.

For all their differences, ordinary Israelis, Syrians and Lebanese mostly want the same thing.

A home. A family. A future.

This is not a conversation about choosing a side.

It is a conversation about what happens when experience collides with ideology, when reality refuses to fit inside a slogan, and why intellectual honesty sometimes requires us to hold two uncomfortable truths at the same time.

Tim Isberg joins Don and Jared for one hell of a Schmooze.

What’s the difference between a supporter and a champion?

For former Alberta MLA Richard Gottfried, it comes down to what you’re prepared to do when standing up actually matters.

In Episode 38 of The Schmooze, Don and Jared sit down with Richard for a conversation that begins with an extraordinary family story and ultimately arrives at one of the most urgent questions facing Canada’s Jewish community today:

Where are our champions?

Richard traces his Jewish family history from revolutionary Russia to Shanghai, where his family found refuge and became the only surviving branch of their family line. He shares stories of his father’s remarkable life in Asia, his own upbringing in Calgary and Nigeria, and the experiences that eventually led him into public service.

From there, the conversation turns to Richard’s work in the Alberta Legislature, including his leadership on Motion 504, which called for the adoption and application of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism across publicly funded institutions in Alberta. The motion was debated and passed unanimously by those present in the Legislature.

But that was March 2023.

Then came October 7.

Richard, Don and Jared discuss the explosion of antisemitism that followed, the attempt to separate anti-Zionism from antisemitism simply by changing vocabulary, what has happened on Canadian campuses and in public spaces, and whether governments and institutions are doing enough before rhetoric becomes something far more dangerous.

And ultimately, the conversation comes back to allyship.

It is easy to say you support the Jewish community.

It is something very different to champion it.

Richard’s message is simple:

Stand up. Be counted. And find the courage to be a champion.

🎙️ The Schmooze with Don & Jared
Episode 38: Stand Up and Be Counted

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#TheSchmooze #RichardGottfried #Antisemitism #JewishCommunity #IHRA #Alberta #JewishCanada #Allyship #StandUpAndBeCounted

One of Canada’s foremost military historians, Dr. David Bercuson, joins Don and Jared for a fascinating examination of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights’ Nakba exhibit and the history surrounding Palestinian displacement during the 1947–49 Arab-Israeli War.

📖 Read Dr. David Bercuson’s National Post article discussed in this episode:
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/david-bercuson-human-rights-museum-can-still-admit-nakba-exhibit-distorts-history

Bercuson does not deny Palestinian displacement. Quite the opposite.

He argues that Palestinians were displaced for different reasons in different places: some fled war, some were expelled, some left despite requests that they remain, and many stayed and ultimately became citizens of Israel.

His objection is what happens when those individual experiences are transformed into a single historical narrative while the war itself largely disappears from the story.

We discuss Lod and Ramle, Nazareth, Haifa, the approximately 700,000 Palestinian refugees, Jewish displacement, UNRWA, Arab rejection of partition, Israel’s early refugee crisis, and why Bercuson believes the events commonly called the Nakba are better understood within the history of the 1947–49 war.

Then the conversation turns to the CMHR itself.

Bercuson recounts his own involvement in an earlier controversy at the Canadian War Museum, where criticism of an exhibit ultimately led the museum to revisit its presentation and add important historical context.

Could the CMHR do the same?

Bercuson’s answer is surprisingly constructive: don’t erase the Palestinian stories. Add the rest of the story.

A conversation about history, memory, museums — and the difference between acknowledging suffering and allowing suffering to become a substitute for history.

🎙️ The Schmooze — Calgary’s Jewish Community Podcast

This week, Don sits down with Gail Freiberg of Calgary’s beloved Gruman’s Delicatessen for a conversation about much more than smoked meat and matzo ball soup.

Gail shares her journey from Montreal to Calgary during the Anglophone exodus of the late 1970s, her first encounters with antisemitism as a Jewish teenager in Calgary, a 30-year career in fashion, and the decision to eventually return west and join the family business.

Along the way, we talk about recipes passed from bubbe to mother to daughter, the strange power food has to transport us back in time, and why hearing that your matzo ball soup “tastes like my bubbe’s” may be the greatest compliment a Jewish deli can receive.

Gail also opens up about operating a visibly Jewish business after October 7, protecting her staff, and the remarkable support Gruman’s has received from the Calgary community.

It’s food, family, history and Jewish Calgary — all around one very full table.

Meet Michelle Dor, the new Executive Director of StandWithUs Canada.

Michelle’s path to the role has been anything but conventional: teacher, vice principal in her 20s, partisan politics, Jewish community leadership, and now the helm of an organization focused on fighting antisemitism through Israel education.

In Episode 35 of The Schmooze, Don and Jared sit down with Michelle to talk about what StandWithUs actually does, why education matters so much in the fight against antisemitism, and how students can be equipped not simply to argue, but to think critically, communicate effectively, and know when a conversation is worth having.

Michelle also shares her vision for the next chapter of StandWithUs Canada: strengthening its alumni network, expanding its presence across the country, reaching more students in communities like Calgary, and bringing education and training into workplaces and businesses.

We discuss:

• Michelle’s unexpected journey from education to politics to Jewish advocacy
• What StandWithUs does in Canada
• Why facts and knowledge can be a form of “armor”
• How to speak with people who have absorbed misinformation
• Why human connection matters in fighting antisemitism
• The difference between productive dialogue and walking into a hostile environment
• StandWithUs programs for high school and university students
• Expanding StandWithUs programming in Calgary and across Canada
• Training opportunities for schools, businesses and community organizations

And one thing many people may not realize: StandWithUs’ student programs, school presentations and business training are offered without fees and are supported by donors.

Episode 35: Introducing Michelle Dor, Executive Director of StandWithUs Canada

If you care about Jewish education, Israel advocacy, combating antisemitism, or simply learning how to have better conversations in an increasingly polarized world, this is a Schmooze worth having.

Jared Goes Back to Camp.

In Episode 34, Jared reconnects with his lifelong friend Adin Wener, whom he first met at Jewish summer camp in the 1980s.

Adin is the managing partner of Henderson Brewing Company, the brewery behind its partnership with Rush, the creator of Solly’s craft soda and one of the people bringing Picklefest Canada across the country.

They talk about camp friendships, baseball, music, family entrepreneurship and the emotional experience of watching Adin’s son represent Canada at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.

They also preview Picklefest Calgary, coming to Big Rock Brewery on August 29, with pickle makers, fermented foods, unusual pickle creations and the home-pickling competition known as “Show Us Your Pickle.”

Tickets and vendor details are available at picklefestcanada.com.

What does it mean to represent your country during one of the most challenging periods in its history?

In Episode 33 of The Schmooze, we sit down with Israeli Ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, diplomacy, resilience, and hope.

Ambassador Moed shares his remarkable journey—from serving in the Israel Defense Forces to representing Israel on the world stage. We discuss his family's Holocaust history, Canada's relationship with Israel, the rise of antisemitism, Israel's culture of innovation, and why dialogue remains essential, even in difficult times.

This isn't just a conversation about politics. It's about the values that shape a life of public service.

In this episode:• Ambassador Moed's personal journey
• Growing up with the legacy of the Holocaust
• From military service to diplomacy
• Canada–Israel relations
• Israel's innovation and startup culture
• Rising antisemitism
• Why dialogue and friendship matter
• Hope for Israel's future

Thank you to Ambassador Moed and the Embassy of Israel in Canada for joining us on The Schmooze.

If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, subscribe, and share the episode to help us continue bringing thoughtful discussions to our community.

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#TheSchmooze #IddoMoed #Israel #Canada #Podcast #Leadership #Diplomacy #JewishCommunity #Calgary

Editor's Note: This interview was recorded prior to subsequent public statements relating to one of the topics discussed during the conversation.

In this edition of The Schmooze Between, Don and Jared examine what they see as a growing double standard in the way Israel is covered, criticized and judged.

The conversation begins with reports of dismissals and resignations inside Global Affairs Canada amid concerns about inappropriate contact with a foreign country, and the limited attention the story appeared to receive from major Canadian media outlets.

From there, Don and Jared discuss the controversy surrounding Edmonton Councillor Michael Janz, the difference between supporting Palestinians and defending false or inflammatory claims, and the point at which criticism of Israel can cross into demonization or antisemitism.

They also explore:

• The disparity in scrutiny applied to Israel
• The IHRA definition of antisemitism
• The responsibility of public officials and social-media users
• Whether replacing Benjamin Netanyahu would actually reduce hostility toward Israel
• The role of community leaders navigating difficult political relationships
• Why informed disagreement matters more than ideological loyalty

Criticism of Israel is legitimate. Accountability matters. But when Israel is held to standards applied to no other country, when does scrutiny become obsession?

The Schmooze Between: When Criticism of Israel Becomes Obsession

Let us know where you agree, where you disagree, and where you believe the line should be drawn.

Subscribe to The Schmooze with Don & Jared for conversations about Jewish life, Israel, politics, community and the stories shaping our world.

#TheSchmooze #Israel #Antisemitism #IsraelDoubleStandard #CanadianPolitics #MediaScrutiny #JewishPodcast #MichaelJanz #IHRA #BenjaminNetanyahu