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Effective and Honest Hasbara: Learning How to Do It Right, with Eylon Levy and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki (185)

Effective and Honest Hasbara: Learning How to Do It Right, with Eylon Levy and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki (185)

FromOrthodox Conundrum


Effective and Honest Hasbara: Learning How to Do It Right, with Eylon Levy and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki (185)

FromOrthodox Conundrum

ratings:
Length:
61 minutes
Released:
Dec 4, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Since Israel’s war against Hamas began following the horrific events of October 7th, one of the singular challenges Israel faces has been explaining its position to the world, or what’s called in Hebrew, hasbara. It’s never easy defending Israel in the media, never mind going on the offensive; with a natural skepticism of everything that Israel does, combined with some obvious latent antisemitism, many often portray Israel as seemingly having nefarious intentions, and regularly violating the rules of war. When that is combined with a common willingness to believe Hamas’s narratives while Israel, as a Western democracy, inevitably checks its facts before reporting them - and accordingly often has to respond to an emerging narrative, rather than writing it in the first place - the challenges Israel faces become even greater. Fortunately, Israel has some individuals who are expert at telling its story and in playing the hasbara game - and Scott speaks to two of them in today's episode. Eylon Levy has emerged as Israel’s most well-known and effective spokesperson over the past two months; his fame skyrocketed about a week and a half ago, when he responded expertly, and with astonishment, when a news presenter asked him whether the fact that three Palestinian prisoners were released for every Israeli hostage somehow indicated that Israel thinks that Israeli lives are more valuable than Palestinian lives. Rabbi Pesach Wolicki has become one of the leading advocates for Israel in the world of Christian media. His appearances have largely been on Christian networks like TBN and CBN, which are watched by millions of viewers. This podcast addresses some very important issues that commonly arise for those who defend Israel in the media. But the most important message applies to every listener: how you, when confronting those who castigate Israel, can become an effective spokesperson on behalf of the State of Israel. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Read the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com
Released:
Dec 4, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

The Orthodox Conundrum is a forum in which we look honestly at the Orthodox Jewish community, identifying what works well and what does not, so that, through an honest accounting, we can find solutions that will be successful. We will examine some of the major issues that affect the Orthodox world, without exaggeration, whitewashing, or pretending that they don’t exist. Our hope is that the Orthodox Conundrum will spark wider discussion that will enable Orthodox Judaism to continue moving forward in the areas at which it excels, and to rectify the areas that need improvement.