Conversations with B’nai B’rith

B'nai B'rith's 2019 Meetings at UNESCO and the UNHRC

In this episode, our host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin is joined by guest David Michaels, the Director of United Nations and Intercommunal Affairs at B’nai B’rith International. David traveled with a delegation of B'nai B'rith's leaders to Paris and Geneva for B'nai B'rith's annual meetings at UNESCO and the United Nations Human Rights Council, respectively. During these meetings, B’nai B’rith's leaders called attention to the singularly biased treatment of Israel in international bodies. David also addressed the UNHRC directly in the course of the delegation's visit. These annual meetings serve as a critical opportunity for B’nai B’rith to advocate for Israel on the international stage.

 

Biographer Jane Leavy on Babe Ruth and Other Baseball Icons

In this episode, our host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin is joined by sports writer Jane Leavy, an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of biographies of baseball legends Mickey Mantle and Sandy Koufax. Those books are titled The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood and Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy. Leavy also wrote the comic novel Squeeze Play, described by Entertainment Weekly as “the best novel ever written about baseball.”

Leavy's latest book The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created explores Babe Ruth’s life as America’s first modern celebrity. The Big Fella has been awarded the Seymour Medal, presented annually by the Society for American Baseball Research for the best baseball book of the year. The book has also been nominated for the National Book Critics Award in biography as well as the Pen-Faulkner award for literary sports writing. The Big Fella includes details never previously reported about the baseball legend’s life. Leavy and Mariaschin discuss all this and more during the episode.

The Lasting Jewish Legacy of Eddie Cantor

In this episode, host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin is joined by David Weinstein, the Washington, D.C.-based author of two books, including most recently The Eddie Cantor Story: A Jewish Life in Performance and Politics (2017). In this biography, which is included the Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life, Weinstein explores the extensive legacy of Eddie Cantor, an immensely popular Jewish entertainer of the early to mid-20^th century whose reach extended to radio, film, theater and television. Together, Mariaschin and Weinstein discuss several big questions surrounding Eddie Cantor's Jewish legacy. How did Eddie Cantor incorporate Jewish-themed material into his work? What was the relationship between Eddie Cantor’s very vocal opposition to Nazism and anti-Semitism and his persona as a Jewish American entertainer? How did his many philanthropic efforts benefit the Jewish community?

Anti-Semitism on College Campuses

As anti-Semitic incidents continue to occur on college campuses across the United States, how bad is the situation for Jewish students today? What is being done to combat anti-Semitism on campuses? How can we ensure that supporters of the BDS movement do not hijack student government agendas? In this episode, our host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin delves into these questions with guest Andy Borans, the CEO of the Alpha Epsilon Pi foundation and its former executive director.

B'nai B'rith's Work Combating Anti-Semitism in Europe

As we continue to witness a resurgence in anti-Semitism worldwide, it becomes even more critical for B’nai B’rith International to increase its global footprint fighting bigotry against Jews. In this episode, host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin speaks to B'nai B'rith International's Director of European Union Affairs Benjamin Naegele about Naegele's work combating anti-Semitism in Europe in 2018. The discussion includes special emphasis on the Austrian Council Presidency’s recent focus on anti-Semitism and an important survey that was just conducted regarding the rising levels of anti-Semitism in Europe.

Ken Ackerman on B'nai B'rith's Early Days in 1840s New York City

In this episode, host and B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin sits down with guest Ken Ackerman, an attorney and writer based in Washington, D.C. Ken’s published books include Boss Tweed: The Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York and Ken’s most recent one, Trotsky in New York, 1917, A Radical on the Eve of Revolution. Ken has authored a feature story titled “How an Immigrant Saloon of 1840s New York Gave Birth to B’nai B’rith” for B'nai B'rith Magazine's winter 2018 magazine issue. The piece is a deeply researched and detailed exploration of B’nai B’rith’s founding in New York during the mid-19^th century. Ken describes in detail what life was like for the Jews who founded B'nai B'rith during that time.

The White House's Withdrawal from UNRWA Funding

Recently the White House announced that it would be withdrawing funding from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, otherwise known as the UNRWA. In this podcast episode, our host and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin discusses the implications of this decision by the White House with our guest, Dr. Asaf Romirowsky. Dr. Romirowsky is the Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East and a fellow at the Middle East Forum. He has co-authored a book with Alexander Joffe on the issue of Palestinian refugee aid titled Religion, Politics, and the Origins of Palestine Refugee Relief, published in 2013. Dr. Romirowsky is also a Professor at the University of Haifa, and he has published widely on various aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict and Zionist history.

Hate Crimes and Anti-Semitism in the Wake of the Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting

In this episode, B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin is joined by Eric Fusfield, B'nai B'rith's director of legislative affairs and the deputy director of the B’nai B’rith International Center for Human Rights and Public Policy. They discuss the devastating mass shooting on Saturday, October 27, 2018 that killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. As prosecutors press charges against the gunman Robert Bowers, they explore the issues of hate crimes and the rise in anti-Semitism. This shooting was the deadliest attack on American Jews in the history of the United States.

Frank Goldman on His Grandfather's Role As an Advocate for Israel

In this episode, B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin is joined by Frank Goldman, the grandson of former B’nai B’rith International president Frank Goldman. As B’nai B’rith’s president, Goldman spearheaded the first openly pro-Zionist position that the organization had ever taken by publicly calling for the unrestricted immigration of European Jewish refugees into then-British controlled Palestine. This was a highly controversial stance to take at the time. Goldman also organized a succession of meetings that eventually led to the formal recognition of Israel by the U.S.

Bill Benson On Interviewing Holocaust Survivors

In this podcast episode, guest Bill Benson sits down with host and B'nai B'rith International CEO to discuss his work interviewing Holocaust survivors before live audiences at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Benson shares what it is like to hear these poignant and deeply thought-provoking stories.