Episode 34

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Published on:

26th Feb 2021

#34 Rabbi Alon Meltzer, Australian Jewish Community Builder & Leader

On this episode of Jewanced, Dan & Benny sit down with Rabbi Alon Meltzer, an amazing Sydney-based Jewish community builder and leader to learn about the Jews of Australia and New Zealand. On the way, they discuss some of the unique challenges and features of life that come with being part of the world's furthest-most’ Jewish community, and wrap up with a fascinating conversation on the origins of Purim.

Alon Meltzer is a community builder. Growing up in Auckland, New Zealand he was involved in most aspects of the community. Now living in Sydney, Australia he is the Rabbi of Or Chadash Synagogue, Director of Programs at Shalom, a cultural education organization, a doctoral student, and most importantly, dad to three daughters. An expert in medieval Jewish history, he is a graduate of both the University of Auckland and Yeshiva University. Rabbi Meltzer is dynamic, outgoing, and driven to create a relevant, engaged, and educated global Jewish community.

 Links:

 Rabbi Alon Meltzer’s website

Or Chadash synagogue’s website

The website of Shalom, one of Australia’s leading Jewish cultural education platforms

Blog posts by Rabbi Meltzer on 929, one of Israel’s leading online portal for Jewish religious commentary

A selection of Rabbi Meltzer’s blogs at the Times of Israel

Follow Rabbi Meltzer on Facebook

A virtual tour of the history of the Australian Jewish community

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About the Podcast

Jewanced
A nuanced exploration of Israel, the Jewish world and beyond
Jewanced is hosted by Dan Feferman and Benny Scholder, two guys who grew up in America and live in Israel.
They're curious. They want to discuss. They want to challenge popular conceptions, they want to think critically, examine independently, and most of all, they crave nuance.

Each episode features a different guest. All interesting and original people who strive to break boundaries. Together with Dan and Benny, take a deep dive into politics, foreign affairs, religion, science, technology, food, the arts, business – you name it. Explore the nuanced crossroads of Israel, the global Jewish experience, and beyond.

What's the goal? To create a daring platform where people share their stories, insights, creations, and visions. Jewanced has no talking points, no script, no agenda...just a deeper nuanced understanding of our existence.

Join them on a journey as they explore, think, debate and discuss …. And most of all, listen.

About your hosts

Benny Scholder

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With over a decade of experience in Israel's tourism industry, Benny has managed sales, marketing, travel content, digital content, and the operations aspects of tour companies and travel agencies. Today, he is the Director of Sales-North America at Kenes Tours, Israel's leading provider of incoming tourism services, where he is proud to deliver transformative, custom-crafted Israel travel experiences designed to exceed expectations.
Originally from Minneapolis, Benny fell in love with Israel as a young adult, moving to the country in 2004. He has an extensive background in everything Israel-travel related, having completed Israel's intensive tour guide course in 2010. His career spans both logistical, content-related, and sales management positions with major and boutique Israeli tour companies alike. Benny lives with his amazing wife Maayan and two incredible children in the charming village of Gedera. In addition to his passion for transformative travel experiences, he's super passionate about food, modern & ancient history, politics, addictive TV, and game-changing podcasts. Contact him at Benny@jewanced.com

Dan Feferman

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Dan Feferman is a Major (res.) in the Israel Defense Forces. For almost a decade, he served as a foreign policy and national security analyst, strategist and adviser in the IDF General Staff; as a special assistant to the Deputy Chief of the General Staff; and a commander in an elite intelligence unit of AMAN's Research and Analysis Division.

He is a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, a think-tank focusing on issues of importance to Israel and the Jewish people, where he researches religious pluralism in Israel, trends in Jewish identity and Israel-Diaspora relations. He is also a political and strategic consultant and publishes and speaks widely on the Middle East and Israeli defense and political matters.

He is the author of Rising Streams: Reform and Conservative Judaism in Israel, and of a soon-to-be-published book on the changing face of American Judaism.

Dan holds a BA in International Politics and Middle East Studies from the American University in Washington DC and an MA in National Security Studies from Tel Aviv University.

Originally from Indiana, Dan moved to Israel in 2005. He is married to Elisheva, has three amazing kids, and lives in Rehovot. When taking a break, Dan stays busy with Crossfit, martial arts and cooking.