Episode 36

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Published on:

12th Mar 2021

#36 Shmuel Rosner, cultural & political commentator, columnist, editor & think-tank senior fellow

Israel’s 4th (yes, 4th!) elections in 2 years are nearly here. 

Like with every election in the world’s only Jewish democracy, Israel’s elections come with tons of questions. What are they about? Who’s running? Why are there always so many new parties running in every election?!  What do polarizing terms like ‘left’ and ‘right’ mean in Israel anyways?!

Are you new to Israeli politics? A veteran observer or participant? Find the situation confusing? (don’t worry, so do we!) Need a primer to Israeli politics circa 2021? 

Worry no more. This episode with the one & only Shmuel Rosner goes a long way in answering all your questions!

Shmuel Rosner is a Tel Aviv-based commentator, columnist, editor, and senior think tank fellow. He is a senior fellow at The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) and the non-fiction Editor for Israel’s largest Publishing House, Kinneret-Zmora-Dvir. Shmuel is Senior Political Editor for the Jewish Journal and writes the popular blog Rosner's Domain as well as a weekly column for The International Herald Tribune/New York Times and Israel’s Maariv daily.

Rosner was previously a columnist for The Jerusalem Post and was Chief U.S. Correspondent, Head of the News Division and Head of the Features Division for the Israeli daily Haaretz. He wrote for many magazines, including Slate, Foreign Policy, Commentary, The New Republic, The Jewish Review of Books, and others. Rosner’s book “Shtetl Bagel Baseball, on the Wonderful Dreadful State of American Jews” became a bestseller and his most recent book (co-authored with Camil Fuchs), “#IsraeliJudaism, Portrait of a Cultural Revolution” proves that Israel’s Jews reinterpret Judaism by mixing tradition and national identity, making questions of continuity obsolete. 

In 2021, Rosner joined Kann-News (Israel TV’s channel 11) as news commentator. He also recently founded and is the editor in chief of a data-research website, Hamadad, that investigates and reports on Israeli politics, society, identity, and culture.

For one year (1995), Rosner took a leave from journalism and has volunteered to work as an educator in the Jewish community of Kitchener, Canada.

An American history buff, in the last twenty years Rosner has written numerous pieces about U.S. policy and politics and traveled across the United States covering all American elections since the year 2000.

He is a frequent guest on Israeli television and radio as an analyst of American policy vis-à-vis Israel and the Middle East. When he lived in the US Rosner has lectured in many Universities and Think Tanks around the country - among them Yale, Berkley, Boston University, The Hudson Institute, The Washington Institute for Middle East Policy, American University, The Army War College - and also in many Jewish gatherings and communities.

He was raised and educated in Jerusalem, and he now lives in Tel Aviv with his wife and their four children.

 

Links:

Rosner’s Domain at the Jewish Journal

Rosner’s Domain Podcast

Shmuel’s articles in the New York Times

Shmuel Rosner’s website

Shmuel on Twitter @rosnersdomain

The Jewish People Policy Institute website

Buy Shmuel’s latest book, #IsraeliJudaism: Portrait of a Cultural Revolution on Amazon

Shmuel’s latest endeavor, the data-research website ‘Hamadad’ (in Hebrew)

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

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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.