Incredibly grateful to see such a strong show of live listeners for our second discussion here on SubStack and our first under its new official name, Heard on the Street.
We covered a lot of ground, starting just less than a mile away from where Ilan and I were both sitting in Washington, DC, where a hate-filled gunman took the lives of a promising young couple, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky. We talked about how different segments of the political and Jewish establishment worlds are responding to these horrifying antisemitic, anti-Israel attacks.
After seeing strong condemnations and calls for concrete action, I make the case that the right and even some in the Jewish community falsely slammed progressive politicians for their “lack of response.” At the same time, Ilan rightfully added that some in the progressive activist crowd still disappointingly lack empathy toward the Jewish community around the globe.
We then moved the discussion to Trump and the MAGA movement, which continues to take advantage of our community’s fears and push for, in this case, legislation in the House and international travel bans, that use “fighting antisemitism” as a pretext to push their xenophobic, anti-immigrant agenda.
Ilan, who is just back from Israel and the Palestinian Territories on a J Street delegation, took us to the ground to share about the deadly aid distribution disaster unfolding in Gaza, and we discussed why flooding the zone with life-saving supplies is the best solution to meet the dire needs of starving civilians and disempower Hamas.
We stay in the region a little longer for Ilan to share more on the latest news: a military conscription bill throwing the future of the Israeli government into flux, the UK/Canada/Australia/New Zealand/Norway decision to sanction Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and the prospects (or not) of a nuclear agreement with Iran.
Thank you to everyone who has listened or is yet to tune in. Next time, Ilan and I promise to coordinate different-colored button-ups.
