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Ordinary Jews. Talking

Ordinary Jews. Talking

Written by: Liora Alschuler
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 This podcast is about us, you and I, talking. To each other. About how we are being Jewish in the world today and our relationship to Israel. Each episode starts with a bit of Jewish Geography – where and how did we grow up Jewish and how has that changed – or not – over time? And then we dig in to how we are feeling in this post October 7 world – how has it affected us and our relationship to Judaism and to Israel?Liora Alschuler Social Sciences
Episodes
  • S2 Episode 4: Fran Miller

    S2 Episode 4: Fran Miller
    Jan 5 2026
    Recorded December 1, 2025 Photo: courtesy Fran MillerFran moved up to Vermont from New York City in the fall of2019 to work at the Vermont Law School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems. Outside her professional work she is active in pro-Palestinian causes including as a member of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). In this interview, she discusses her turnaround from seeing Israel in an ideal light to upholding the social justice ideals of her father who supported Israel yet impressed on her the Jewish value of working on behalf of the underdog. S2 E4 Notes: The Farmland Access Legal Toolkit , is a project of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems housed at Vermont Law and Graduate School. Jewish Voice for Peace in New York City and Jewish Voice for Peace Vermont/New HampshireThe New Alliance Party is no longer active. Fran recommends this C-SPAN piece to hear directly from some of the party's leaders regarding its views.Timing of the First and Second Intifadas: The First started in December, 1987 and lasted six years, roughly until the signingof the Oslo Accords in September, 1993. The Second started in September, 2000 and lasted until February, 2005. Palestinian House of Friendship is a “non-profit, non-governmental, politically independent humanitarian ommunity organization in the West Bank city of Nablus, dedicated to serving the needs of children, adolescents, and their families.”Voices from Palestinian Israel and from Palestinians and Jewish Israelis: GroundWork The Long Answer Unapologetic: The Third NarrativeJ Street on Israel’s Nation-State Law per Google AI Overview: “JStreet strongly opposed Israel's 2018 Nation-State Law, expressing deep sadness, anguish, and concern that it prioritized Jewish identity over democratic equality, downgraded Arabic's status, and promoted Jewish settlement at the expense of minorities, undermining Israel'sfoundations as a democracy for all its citizens.” For another example, see The Two-Way Street: Reflections for Rosh Hashanah.“1948: Creation & Catastrophe”, a 2017 documentary produced by Dr. Ahlam Muhtaseb and Andy Trimlett. Here’s a link to a review by The Jerusalem Fund which praises aspects of the film yet criticizes reliance on still-limited Israeli archives, to the exclusion of direct Palestinian testimony. A more recent film, “1948: Remember, Remember Not” – has not yet aired although it was produced in 2023 by Kan 11 in Israel and has had festival showing. According to Ha’aretz (gift link), this film by Neta Shoshani relies on oral histories from both Jews and Palestinians, addressing the perceived failing of the earlier film. Fran’s other references: Noura Saleh Erekat, Linda Sarsour, MPower Change, Adalah Justice Project Liora’s references: JStreet (above), New Israel Fund, Alliancefor Middle East Peace (AllMEP) – and more across other show notes and the to be published Substack. Peter Beinart, author of Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, 2024, mentioned across several podcasts. Here’s a link to the author’s substack where he talks about the book.
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    44 mins
  • S2 Episode 3: Sandra Gartner

    S2 Episode 3: Sandra Gartner
    Dec 11 2025

    Recorded November 20, 2025 Photo: Sandy withbook, by Liora

    Among her many role, Sandra Gartner has been co-producer of Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre for 20 years, an actor with the company, and is co-producer with filmmaker Nora Jacobson on her latest project. Sandra also writes for RutlandMagazine and other publications. Not surprisingly, she has a wonderful way of telling stories. In this conversation she picks up threads of her life in Vermont and New York City; her life in theatre, journalism, and the Rutland, VT Jewish community.

    • Sandra was a Youth Ambassador to Israel in 1966, at 16 years old, and “came back a changed person”. She maintains great affection for the land and people not withstanding that the current situation “doesn’t sit well” with her. The book she is holding in this photo is To Life: A Celebration of Vermont Jewish Women, based on an oral history project she undertook with Ann Zinn Buffum and which was contributed to the Jewish Women’s Archive. S2 E3 Notes: NFTY (NationalFederation of Temple Youth) is based on the tradition of European youth movements and pursues “tikkun olam [repair of the world], personal growth, youth empowerment, and deep connections, all rooted in Reform Judaism.”
    • AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) is the heavy weight political lobby for Israel maintaining unwavering support for the Israeli government.
    • Peace Now, established in 1978 by 348 Israeli senior reserve army officers is “the largest and oldest movement in Israel that works to promote peace through a two-state solution for two peoples”. Three years later, Americans for Peace Now (APN) was established to support it. With century old ties to labor movements and progressive causes, Ameinu, (Our People) “was founded in 2005 to reimagine the role of a progressive Zionist voice in the American Jewish community.” Ameinu perceived the need to strength ties with their Israeli counterparts via The Third Narrative. While Peace Now remains active in Israel, in 2024, APN and Ameinu merged forming the New Jewish Narrative promoting peace, justice, and a progressive Israel.
    • Jewish Women’s Archive/To Life: A Celebration of Vermont Jewish Women Follow the link to see Sandy’s work.
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    37 mins
  • S2 Episode 2: Irit Librot

    S2 Episode 2: Irit Librot
    Nov 30 2025

    Recorded November 12, 2025 Courtesy Photo: Irit

    Irit Librot takes us through her early years in Haifa immediately following the creation of the State and the subsequent move to the US where “the streets are paved with gold” (spoiler: didn’t turn out that way). We get a strong andinspiring picture of Irit’s mother, Rachel Dziecholska Rotkovitch, who lived, studied, and worked in Poland, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, and the US. You can read aboutRachel in the alumni magazine of the American University in Beirut, photos p.51, write up p.64.

    Irit’s own experience of October 7 and the war is temperedby her time in Israel and the reactions of those in her close community here, where, as you can see from the show notes, her life is infused with music and dance.

    S2 E2 Notes:

    • UVJC Healing Circles, discussed in Season 1 Episode 4: Gene Kadish.
    • Mussar: The book Irit refers to is Everyday Holiness, by Alan Morinis, Trumpeter, 2007, and the course is from the Mussar Institute.
    • Vivian Silver: Here’s a link to the GroundWork episode “Vivian Silver’s Legacy: From Grief to Action”, an interview with her son, Yonatan Zeigen.
    • Holding Liat, the film referenced on the captivity and release of Liat Beinin Atzili.
    • The orchestra referenced is Firqat Alnoor (“Orchestra of Light/Fire”) “an Arabic classical music orchestra composed of Jewish and Arab musicians from diverse social and geographical backgrounds across Israel.” Enjoy.
    • Umm Kulthumm. Can’t say enough. Check her out on Wikipedia and I dare you not to listen to The Voice.
    • The singer Irit references is Ziv Yeheskel and here’s a link to him singing Sawaah with The Jerusalem Orchestra East & West. And the dance is the Dabka. Looks simple enough. And then… (first link is Wikipedia, second one is a lesson)
    • Times of Israel is, indeed, both a publication and a podcast. I’ve heard it critiqued from more than one perspective, so, maybe it is, as Irit, claims, presenting all sides.
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    34 mins
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