Conversations with B’nai B’rith

Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr

In 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act. As anti-Semitism continues to surge around the globe, this legislation sent a clear message that the United States will not tolerate hatred and bigotry. In February 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appointed Elan Carr to fill the post of the special envoy. Prior to this point, the position had not been filled by the White House. Elan Carr appears on this episode as a guest to discuss his vital work as special envoy—his top priorities, his day-to-day work and the role of other countries in addressing anti-Semitism globally. Prior to his appointment as Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism, Carr served in the United States military and in the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office as a deputy district attorney.

Zioness Founder Amanda Berman on Defending Israel in Progressive Spaces

Often in politically progressive spaces, Zionists are asked to leave their pro-Israel politics at the door, or else face exclusion and be branded as racists. Amanda Berman, the founder and executive director of the Zioness Movement, is aiming to address this problem by empowering and activating Zionists on the progressive left to stand proudly in social justice spaces as Jews and Zionists. In this episode, our podcast host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin talks with Berman about the work of the Zioness Movement and the main challenges ahead for her organization.

Until she recently made the transition to focusing exclusively on building the much-needed Zioness community, Berman was also a civil rights attorney fighting anti-Semitism legally, spearheading such groundbreaking initiatives as the international action against Kuwait Airways for its discrimination against Israeli nationals, and the dual cases against San Francisco State University for its constitutional and civil rights violations against Jewish and Israeli students and community members. Berman writes on Jewish and civil rights issues and is a media contributor across various mediums and outlets. She has spoken and presented before diverse audiences including Hadassah, JNF, B'nai Brith, Jewish Federation, AIPAC, JCRC, Hillel and many others. 

Sasson Gabay, Star of The Band's Visit, on the Musical's Enduring Success

The Band’s Visit is the winner of 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, making it one of the most Tony-winning musicals in history. With a Middle Eastern-inspired score and a highly skilled ensemble cast, The Band’s Visit celebrates the way that music brings people together in both poignant and often comedic ways. In this episode, Sasson Gabay, who stars in the national tour of The Band's Visit and who originated the role in the film version, discusses the musical with our host and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin. Gabay also starred in the musical's production on Broadway. For more information about the national tour, please visit TheBandsVisitMusical.com. Aside from his role in The Band’s Visit, Gabay has enjoyed a long and storied career spanning film, television and theater both in Israel and internationally.

"If You Forfeit the Language, You Forfeit Our Heritage and History:" FactsonIsrael.com Co-Founder Lee Bender

We know that the language that we choose is paramount when we talk about Israel and the Middle East. Author and FactsonIsrael.com co-founder Lee Bender emphasizes this point in his book Pressing Israel: Media Bias Exposed from A-Z, which he co-authored with Jerome Verlin. In this podcast episode, Bender and our podcast's host, B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, discuss language and more in regards to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Bender is an attorney by training and now serves on various Jewish and civic-minded committees in the Philadelphia area, where he lives.  

The 25th Anniversary of the AMIA Bombing in Buenos Aires, Argentina

25 years ago this summer, the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina's history occurred when a bomber killed 85 people and injured hundreds of others at the AMIA, the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. The evidence that Iran and Hezbollah were responsible for the attack is extensive. Yet, efforts to prosecute those responsible for the bombing have been unsuccessful. And the murder of Jewish Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman in 2015 added another victim to this horrific case. In this podcast episode, host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin discusses this tragedy--as well as efforts to hold those responsible to account--with B'nai B'rith International's Special Advisor on Latin American Affairs Adriana Camisar.

OAS 2019: What to Expect at This Year's General Assembly

In this episode, host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin talks with Eduardo Kohn, B’nai B’rith’s director of Latin American Affairs, about the upcoming yearly meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Medellin, Colombia. Kohn and Sienna Girgenti, Program Director for Strategic Engagement, will represent B’nai B’rith at the meeting. B’nai B’rith attends the OAS General Assembly each year. Mariaschin and Kohn also discuss the situation that Jews face in Latin America today, including the biggest dangers for Jewish communities in the region and the influence of Iran in the Western Hemisphere.

The Spy Who Played Major League Baseball: Filmmaker Aviva Kempner on Moe Berg

Even today, mysteries circulate about the life of Moe Berg, a major league baseball player during baseball’s Golden Age in the 1920s and 1930s who also spied for the United States in Europe. Award-winning documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner chose to take on Berg's fascinating and jet-setting legacy in her latest film The Spy Behind Home Plate, opening this month. In this episode with Kempner and host B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, they discuss what is known of Berg’s life—his secret mission to discover whether the Nazis had invented an atomic bomb, his storied baseball career, and how he managed to pull off this double life. Kempner is also the creator of films about fellow Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg and the radio and television star Gertrude Berg.

To watch the trailer of The Spy Behind Home Plate, visit this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_rQixY-sQI&feature=youtu.be. 

A Helping Hand in Puerto Rico Plus Housing Experts Address Emergency Preps

In this episode, host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin talks with our guests about our efforts to help Puerto Rico recovery from the devastating 2017 Hurricane Maria. We coordinated a vital  service mission as part of a gathering of our housing experts that included a focus on emergency preps, protecting seniors from financial fraud and aging in place. As the largest national Jewish sponsor of non-sectarian housing for low income seniors, our team had a lot to say!

Author Pamela Nadell on the History of Jewish Women in America

In this episode, host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin sits down with guest Professor Pamela Nadell to discuss her latest book America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today, published this year by W.W. Norton. Nadell is the Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender History at American University’s Department of History. She also directs the Jewish Studies Program at American University and serves as the chair of its Critical Race, Gender & Culture Studies program.

America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today highlights the stories of various important Jewish women in American history including poet Emma Lazarus and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Nadell is also the author of Women Who Would be Rabbis: A History of Women’s Ordination, 1889-1985, which was a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award.

Author Lyn Julius on the Arab Jewish Refugee Crisis in the Middle East

Starting in the in 1940s, governments across the Middle East began expelling their countries’ Jewish populations. As a result, almost one million Jews were forced to flee; these refugees went to Israel and other Western countries. In this episode, guest and author Lyn Julius discusses this often-overlooked tragedy in Middle Eastern history with host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin. Lyn Julius is the author of Uprooted: How 3,000 Years of Jewish Civilization in the Arab World Vanished Overnight. Her journalistic work been published in outlets including the Guardian, Ha’aretz and the Huffington Post. Lyn also blogs at Times of Israel, JNS News and Point of No Return, found at www.jewishrefugees.blogspot.com. Lyn is a co-founder of Harif, the UK Association for Jews from the Middle East and North Africa.