My Israel Narrative

How does an Iranian refugee take her experience and use it for the greater good? Dr. Nazarian's story is nothing short of a miracle. Her perseverance is reflected not only in her succesfull medical practice, but as an Emmy nominated Netflix star, AND fierce advocate for the Jewish people and Israel. I ask Dr. Nazarian what her experience was like coming to America, what it has been like experiencing “the same smells as Iran” in the once refuge of the US, and why she is investing so much energy in making sure this country doesn’t meet its demise. Follow Dr. Nazarian on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsheilanaz... Check out Dr. Nazarian's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Join me as I sit down with Ester, a good friend and one of the most knowledgeable (and passionate) people I know on all things Israel and Jewish history, as we dig deep on some of the “big” questions. The context of this interview is based on comments from an earlier interview with ​⁠@RabbiYYJacobson Listen in to hear about making Aliyah, our purpose in the diaspora and Israel, how to create a desire to be in Israel, moshiach, and much more. Leave your comments below to tell us your thoughts.

A little bit of a different kind of interview. I finally sat down with my dad to hear about his story as an Iranian immigrant to America during the time of the Iranian Revolution. We break down what it was like leaving a country you love and starting anew in somewhere totally foreign. I also ask him his take on the current happenings in the US and whether he sees any parallels with what he experienced being pushed out of Iran.... Should we do a round 2? Leave your questions and comments below!

Aby Volcovich has spent the past 4 months on the front lines in Israel. Before Octoer 7th, he had just started a job with DiploAct, an organization that works strengthen Israsel's voice on the global stage. While serving in active duty, Aby hasn't taken off his "hasbara hat," sharing content from the field to help fight this tumultuous media war. When speaking, Aby shared how painful it was that he couldn't use his phone for the entire first month in battle; and not because he wanted to be scrolling on social media or calling friends and family. It was painful because he knew how the world was likely reacting to Israel's response and he wanted to be able to shed light on the situation. Aby is originally from Mexico, moving to Canada when he was a child, and later moving to Israel to serve as a lone soldier. Join me as I sit down with Aby to hear about his experience moving to Israel as a lone soldier, what he's seen during this war, the narrative he is trying to tell, and what he thinks we all need to be focusing on in these times. Be sure to follow Aby on insta https://www.instagram.com/abyvolco?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== Check out DiploAct's work: https://www.diploact.com/en

"Here’s some ancient prophecies. Some ancient writings. This is what is said would happen. Here’s a bunch of history, and then here’s some then and now photography based around those prophecies, and then you can decide whether you think this is that. But I’m just telling you nothing like this has ever happened before in history; specifically on this piece of land. And the prophets said this would happen. BUT, you can decide what you think is what.” @doughersheyauthor7771 Whether writing or speaking, Doug Hershey shares from a perspective of historian and storyteller. His accounts of Israel, the Middle East and the awakening of bible prophecy are as intriguing as they are rare. The "Ancient Prophecy Modern Lens" series continues to document these Ancient Prophecies and their tangible fulfillments with a Modern Lens with a brand new online course, soon followed by the much anticipated upcoming photo book "Jerusalem Rising" available in summer of 2021! Doug is the founder of Ezra Adventures (EzraAdventures.com), a boutique travel and education company, specializing in exclusive customized small group travel throughout Israel and the Middle East. To keep up with the latest research or adventure, follow him at Doug Hershey Author on FB and IG: https://doughershey.co/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/doughersheyauthor/?hl=en

“I do believe that we should have our sights set on Eretz Yisrael. 100%. At the same time, I also believe that there are sparks that are still scattered around the world. And I think that some people have a mission to go and elevate those sparks.” Akiva and Chava, aka @houseoflev were an incredible duo to connect with. They just announced - spoiler alert - that they're making Aliyah in the coming months with their whole family, only a few months after completing their conversion process. Oh, and get this, no one in the family has been to Israel before, besides Akiva! Talk about trusting your gut and diving right in. This is a conversation you don't want to miss. Mazal tov @houseoflev and thank you for constantly sharing your authentic journey with all of us.

“I can’t find this connection anywhere else... I’d rather live somewhere connected, that I care about, rather than somewhere where I don’t know who my next door neighbor is.” - Joanna Landau Joanna is a Cambridge-educated lawyer and entrepreneur who is deeply dedicated to positively disrupting the way the world feels about Israel. For over 15 years, she has used place branding techniques, social media, and the sciences of influence and persuasion to highlight Israel’s competitive advantages to strategic global audiences. In 2011, she founded Vibe Israel, a Tel-Aviv based NGO that generated over a billion positive mentions about Israel online. Since October 7, 2023, she has been consulting government offices, Jewish organizations abroad, and Israeli war rooms on how to effectively counter the anti-Israel narrative on social media and offline. Learn more about Joanna's work: https://www.joannalandau.com/ / joannalandau

"No one was going after these people. No one was going to go to Mount Everest to bring him back. People dropped everything, They didn't have to be told or be asked. My home is on fire. My family is in trouble. "Hineni" - I'm here." - @JWRP2010 Lori Palatnik is the Founding Director of Momentum (formerly JWRP). She is a world-renowned Jewish educator, speaker, writer, and media personality, who has lectured all over the world. Lori has authored four books: Friday Night and Beyond, Gossip, Remember My Soul, and Turn Your Husband Into Your Soul Mate. In 2014, Lori was named one of the ten “Women to Watch” by Jewish Women International in recognition of her contribution to Jewish women throughout the world. Hadassah named Lori one of the “Most Outstanding Jewish American Women of Our Time” and Izzy included Lori in its “Global Jewish 100” list for moving Jewish culture forward. In 2020, Lori was selected to light the “Diaspora” torch at the national ceremony for Israel’s 72nd Independence Day.

"Are we a religion? A nation? A people? A family? A culture? A race? An ethnicity? People usually shake their head and go 'we're all of them!' and I respond, 'we're all of them except one." - Rabbi Ken Spiro Rabbi Spiro is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher for Aish HaTorah, Jerusalem. In addition, he is a licensed tour guide from the Israel Ministry of Tourism. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs such as B.B.C. Radio and TV., The National Geographic Channel, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, Channel 4 England and Arutz Sheva-Israel National Radio. He is the author of WorldPerfect – The Jewish Impact on Civilization published by HCI books, Crash Course in Jewish History published by Targum Press and Destiny – Why a tiny nation plays such a huge role in history published by Geffen Publishing House. His writings and seminars can be accessed on www.kenspiro.com and www.aish.com.

"The miracle of the Jewish people is that our tree, wherever it lived around the world, from Russia to Poland, Galicia to Western Europe, South America, North America, Australia, New Zealand, wherever it was, we were in Japan or in Africa, in Europe and Asia. Our roots always remain in the holy land of Israel and the Jewish people fill it." @RabbiYYJacobson Here more from Rabbi Jacobson at: https://www.theyeshiva.net/ =========================== Connect with us! YOUTUBE / myisraelnarrative INSTAGRAM https://instagram.com/myisraelnarrative?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr SPOTIFY https://www.myisraelnarrative.comhttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh... =============================

"Aliyah - I feel like the only way to describe it is you feel unstoppable. Because you're so charged by such a huge mission that you're kind of like yea, I'm doing this." - Raquel Raquel and Frank made Aliyah, building a life and home in Israel. But now they find themselves being tasked with going back to America. The questions are endless. Why don't we stay? Why can't we stay? Are we doing the wrong thing? Isn't Israel HOME? "I fell in love with Israel before I fell in love with Torah or Judaism or anything else. There's just something special about this land." - Frank

When asked: what is home? Rabbi Manis Friedman @manisfriedman exclaims "we have forgotten what it feels like to be home." Together we speak about our current reality as Jews, both in Israel and in the Diaspora, and provides practical advice on what we can do, regardless of where we find ourselves amidst this war. Follow Rabbi Manis Friedman @manisfriedman for incredible life and Torah insights. Follow My Israel Narrative on social media: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/myisraelnarrative/ YouTube www.youtube.com/@myisraelnarrative Spotify https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/myisraelnarrative

Laura E. Adkins is an award-winning writer, editor, and speaker based in New York. She is the Opinion Editor of the Forward. Laura’s writing on antisemitism, Orthodox Judaism, data, and gender has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Glamour, and other outlets. She was previously the Opinion Editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the editor of Jewish Insider, and an assistant blogs editor at The Times of Israel. Laura is a frequently requested speaker and leads hands-on writing workshops for a variety of organizations and nonprofit groups. Get in touch with Laura: https://lauraeadkins.com/

Nissim Baruch Black is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Under the stage name D. Black, he released the albums The Cause & Effect (2006) and Ali'yah (2009) and was featured on producer Jake One's debut album White Van Music (2008). He retired in 2011 to focus on his conversion to Orthodox Judaism. Black and his wife Adina, with whom he has seven children, were initially married in 2008; they participated in an Orthodox Jewish marriage ceremony in 2013 after both had converted. Black and his family continued to live in Seward Park, the Seattle neighborhood where he grew up, until making aliyah to Israel in 2016 and settling in Jerusalem. Black has returned to his musical career under his new legal name Nissim Black and now focuses on Jewish Hip Hop.

Rachie was born and raised in New York City. She has always been surrounded by jewels and watched how her mother ran her own successful jewelry company for twenty years. Rachie was inspired by the 'Warby Parker' approach and decided to create a line of fine jewelry (yes it is all real!) that is gorgeous, fun, timeless, rich, colorful, chic, relatable, sparkly and most of all accessible to everyone! Aside from running a business, Rachie is a fierce Jewish and Israel activist. One of her famed Jewlery collections, the "Mazel Collection" was created in honor of her four grandparents, all Holocaust survivors, as well as her aunt who was murdered in Belzec at six years old. The collection is a testament that after the unimaginable loss of six million holy souls during the Holocaust and the rise of antisemitism in today’s world, we stand together strong and proud! Check out all of Rachie's amazing collections here: https://rachieshnay.com/ Follow Rachie on instagram for incredible inspiration: @rachieshnay

Beatie Deutsch is the Israeli national champion in the marathon and half marathon. As a mother of five young children, she has learned to apply her training to the real marathon of life. More than anything else, her journey has empowered her to dream big and keep pushing, a message Beatie is passionate about sharing with other women. As an advocate for Beit Daniella, she has also made it her mission to help children struggling with mental health and raise awareness for this important cause. Beatie proudly represents Israel on the international stage and she was named one of the 50 most influential Jews of 2019 by Jerusalem Post. She is always sharing the lessons she’s learned on her journey; what it means to represent Israel and how to achieve your dreams.

Rav Shlomo Katz is an internationally-acclaimed author, teacher, and musician who has led thousands of people around the world on transformative journeys into Torah, Jewish music, Chassidut, and Jewish mysticism. His unique style empowers individuals to develop authentic relationships with themselves, those around them, and God. Beyond his active online learning community, Rav Shlomo Katz is the spiritual leader of the Shirat David synagogue in Efrat, Israel, where he lives with his wife and five children.

Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Together with Imam Abdullah Antepli of Duke University, he co-directs the Institute's Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI), which teaches emerging young Muslim American leaders about Judaism, Jewish identity and Israel. Halevi’s 2013 book, Like Dreamers, won the Jewish Book Council's Everett Book of the Year Award. His latest book, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor, is a New York Times bestseller. He writes for leading op-ed pages in the US, including the Times and the Wall Street Journal, and is a former contributing editor to the New Republic. https://www.yossikleinhalevi.com/

Alex Traiman is CEO at the Jerusalem News Syndicator (JNS), the fastest-growing news agency covering Israel and the Jewish world, providing briefs, news, features, opinions and analysis to as many as 100 print newspapers and digital publications on a daily basis. Alex is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker. JNS.org

Michael Dickson is Executive Director of StandWithUs-Israel. Michael leads a dynamic team at StandWithUs in Jerusalem which includes pioneering innovative Israel educational initiatives, running campaigns to counter discriminatory BDS boycotts of Israel, oversight of digital operations and hosting delegations of politicians, diplomats, academics and other people of influence in Israel. Michael is also author of the bestselling book: ISRESILIENCE - What Israelis Can Teach the World. Born in the UK, Michael made Aliyah to Israel in 2006 from London as the Second Lebanon War ended, together with his wife and two young children – they now have five children and live in central Israel. Learn more about StandWithUs and their resources https://www.standwithus.com/ Get your copy of ISResilience today! https://www.isresilience.com/