Ask Haviv Anything

• Episode 53: Telling the Jewish story to the Arab world, with Elhanan Miller

  Rabbi Elhanan Miller has half a million online followers, and almost all of them are Arabs. They tune in to his "People of the Book" project on YouTube and other platforms to learn in Arabic about Jewish ideas, customs and holidays, and to hear the testimonies of Jews from the Arab and Muslim worlds who now live in Israel or the West.Elhanan has appeared hundreds of times on Arabic-language television networks throughout the Gaza war, where is asked to convey the views and experiences of Israelis.He joins the podcast to talk about the unique and remarkable bridge that he's built between Jewish Israel and its Muslim Arab neighbors.We also tackle difficult questions of Islamic radicalism, alternatives to Hamas rule in Gaza, and whether peace is really possible in this deeply religious part of the world -- when religion itself often plays such a radicalizing force in politics and society.This episode was sponsored by Tali Rice as a tribute to her sister who's currently serving in the IDF, and to everyone doing their part to keep Israel safe. This episode is also cosponsored by an anonymous donor who is dedicating it to the lone soldiers from Newton, Massachusetts for their bravery and for their safety. As hard as the situation is for their families here in the US, their service is also a source of deep pride.If you like what we do here, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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• Episode 52: Why do people hate Jews, with Dara Horn

  Dr. Dara Horn, award-winning novelist and scholar of Yiddish and Hebrew literature, joins the podcast to help us dig deep into the Jewish bookshelf, the whirlwind of antisemitism in which so many Jews find themselves, and, unavoidably, into Judaism’s most successful go-to solution for seemingly every problem: Education.We talk about Jewish “anti-literature,” about why people (and museums and politicians) so often seem to love stories about dead Jews but get uncomfortable with living ones, and about how American Jews, the biggest, wealthiest and possibly most Jewishly illiterate diaspora community in the history of Jews, reclaims the richer, deeper Jewish culture it abandoned in generations past.We also discuss Dara’s new nonprofit, the Tell Institute (at https://www.thetellinstitute.org), which aims to enable a new generation of Americans to learn about Jewish life, history and civilization, tackling head-on the ignorance in which antisemitism spreads.This episode is sponsored by the Greenberg family, Freyda, Bob and their daughter Sara Rose. For them this podcast is not only essential in the struggle for the survival and thriving of Israel and Jews everywhere, but it has become their “headspace” where Haviv provides both the enrichment, and the calm reason so needed in the midst of so much chaos.(Thank you to the Greenbergs for this dedication.)The Greenbergs would also like to recognize their cousin, the award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg, who passed away far too young on July 4. Richard represented all that was right and wonderful about being a Jew. His work was filled with insight and the irony and humor of being a Jew in 20th century America. And more important than his work was who he was as a person. He created his own family and community based on the values of listening and doing good to others.This episode is also dedicated to the memory of Tal Movshovitz, a young reserve soldier who fell in Gaza in June of 2025, amid the war with Iran. Tal served as a deputy company commander in the 7086th Combat Engineering Battalion in reserves. He was killed by an explosive device planted in a building in Khan Younis. Tal left behind a wife and two small children. His death was swallowed up in the news cycle and so we wanted to take the time to remember him here.If you like what we do here, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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• Episode 51: Antisemitism and the Black experience

  Coleman Hughes is an American writer, host of the podcast Conversations with Coleman, a visiting professor at the University of Austin, and the author of The End of Race Politics.He joins the podcast to talk about America, the Gaza war and the standing of American Jews in American society. A prominent Black thinker who has written and spoken a great deal about race in America, Coleman also helps guide us through the complicated intellectual and cultural story of Black antisemitism in America.This episode is co-sponsored by Earl and Jordanna Lipson of Toronto in appreciation "for the thoughtful commentary the show has been providing to those in the diaspora who hunger for understanding during these very unsettling times." They asked to dedicate the episode to "non-Jewish allies who have shown strength of character, heartfelt compassion and a willingness to seek out understanding when so many around them have proven unwilling to do so. Sadly, in a world gone crazy, it takes courage to speak up against the tsunami of blood libel and hatred being cast upon us. These courageous souls should know that their righteousness is greatly appreciated and is so very important to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you."And it is cosponsored by Eve and Bobby Lapin, Leslie Gilstrap, and Suzanne and John Landa, known as "Haviv's Houston Herd," who wish dedicate this episode to the courageous soldiers of the IDF and the IAF, and to the families of Israel’s fallen soldiers. As diaspora Jews in a climate of increasing antisemitism, we are deeply grateful for the sacrifices all of you have made to protect Israel as a safe-haven and homeland. Your fortitude inspires us. Our hearts are with you – and with the hostage families - each day."If you like this podcast, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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• Episode 50: Hostage Deal - A new day for Gaza, a bad day for Hamas

  On October 8, President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to his peace and hostage release deal. Israel's tormented hostages will soon be home.The agreement delivers almost everything the pro-Palestinian campaign claimed to want. No Israeli annexation, no Gazans have to leave and any who do can return, and a full rebuilding and rehabilitation under Arab and international auspices - all of it confirmed in an explicit Israeli commitment to the United States.It's the best possible deal for Gaza.And that's exactly why it's the worst possible deal for Hamas. Only Hamas loses here, only Hamas is required to disarm - or pretend to for a while. To relinquish authority - or pretend to for a while. It's no longer possible to pretend that Gaza's interests and Hamas's interests are the same. You can support one or the other, but not both.So will it work? And what does it tell us about the past two years, and about the future of Israelis and Palestinians?This episode was sponsored by the Goldstein family of Monsey, NY for the Refuah Shleimah (full and complete healing) of former hostage Romi Gonen and all the hostages. The Goldstein family writes: “Romi’s name was given to us 'randomly' (though nothing is truly random) by one of the hostage sites that sprang up after 10/7, to connect those who wanted to pray for hostages with an individual name and face. I printed this out, and Romi’s beautiful young face and name was taped to a chair at our dining table. Every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there was Romi. Every Shabbos, there was Romi. We read more about her online, how she loves dance and leopard print clothes, how she had been a Tzofim (Scouts) leader, and I thought how much her troop of girls must miss her. I saw videos and interviews with her amazing mother Meirav as well, a powerful and articulate fellow Jewish mother. When Romi’s name was announced as one of the young women scheduled for release, our prayers were being answered! Seeing her walking out, being embraced by her family! We cheered, and cried. And we continue to cheer for Romi. Through multiple surgeries, through what looks like grueling physical therapy, Romi is prevailing. Romi, and every former and current hostage, continue to be in our prayers. They are extraordinary, every one of them."If you like this podcast, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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• Episode 49: Finding hope in the tunnel of Hamas, with Eli Sharabi

  On October 7, 2023, Eli Sharabi's home was surrounded by Hamas terrorists. As he was dragged into Gaza, he shouted to his wife Leanna and two daughters Noiya and Yahel that "no matter what they do to me, I'll be back."It was only in February 2025, as he arrived back in Israel after enduring 491 days of physical and psychological torture at the hands of his captors, that he learned that his family was murdered that day.Eli's new book, "Hostage," is the first comprehensive account of the experience of an Israeli hostage. It contains unique insights about the experience of captivity, about how hostages supported one another and searched for hope in the dark tunnels, about the world-conquering fantasies and fondness for American movies of their Hamas captors, about near-lynchings by ordinary Gazans, about Hamas's expectation that the war that followed their attack would be a short one and their desperate hope that Trump will force an end to the war.This episode was sponsored by Doug and Fabienne Silverman in memory of the Jewish community of Rhodes, which was all but destroyed in the Holocaust. Fabienne’s mother Maggy’s family came from the ancient Sephardi community on the island, which the family visited in the summer of 2025 to learn about their roots.If you like this podcast, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

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