1/2 New ideas. Fresh blood. Thinking outside the box. Sometimes this is what's needed to actually make the impossible possible. What if some of the fractures in the Middle East could be improved with business deals? Filmmaker Zach Zorba brings a "soft diplomacy" perspective.

1/2 Former United States Ambassador Marc Sievers provided his expertise, both regarding how eye-opening the hatred against Israel is within universities, and also the need for the Abraham Accords to succeed. Really invaluable having him on, and he continues to do incredible work with the AJC.

1/2 Ksenia Svetlova wears many hats, as an Israeli politician, professor, and runs the organization ROPES. She explains that things with Saudi Arabia never seemed like they were as close as people thought, as they were always hinging normalization on stability with the Palestinians.

Nir Boms paints a fascinating backstory. In 2012 a powerful figure in the Muslim Brotherhood was given power. This was the final straw for more moderate Muslim countries, and helped them realize they needed what ultimately became the Abraham Accords. Fascinating! @telavivuni.bsky.social

1/2 Spotlighting the incredible Yaara Segal. This episode was her vision, born from her expertise on the Abraham Accords. It took months of dedication to bring together these voices of various faiths, and I couldn't be prouder of the result—or the friendship we’ve built along the way.

8 nights of beautiful light. 8 nights of our wonderful & diverse community lighting the candles, & passing the torch to one another. I collaborated w my talented & lovely friend Eliana Jolkovsky in putting this together. Look who joined us! Be a light unto the nations. Be a light unto ourselves!

On the second night I read the names of each of the Jewish Australian terror victims. On the third night, I climbed the ladder and lit the candles, while still needing to answer the phone for my patients. @providencehealth.bsky.social

Chama Mechtaly was an amazing speaker and guest on my episode about the Abraham Accords. She explains the incredibly important context for the motivations behind more moderate Arab and Muslim countries, who want to normalize relations with Israel. @ahmedquraishi.bsky.social @ahmedkhuzaie.bsky.social

1/2 Knowing the context and history of the region is damn important. @ahmedquraishi.bsky.social explains it well, and has been a tremendous addition to the episode. He was interesting and delightful to have as a guest, and has supportively been in touch ever since. A real ally and friend.

The @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social is doing some amazing work, and when I contacted them about doing this episode on the Abraham Accords, they introduced me to Alex Plitsas, who's been truly awesome. Just a tremendously intelligent analysis on the complexities of the Middle East!

This will possibly be the most challenging episode I have ever done. But unbelievably worthwhile. We will have the honor to speak with a whopping 14 Holocaust Survivors, as well as 4 incredible people who help keep the stories alive. @simonwiesenthal.bsky.social @museumoftolerance.bsky.social

1/2 Amjad Taha was incredibly memorable. He was RUNNING to a CNN interview, and then going to meet President Trump. But he STILL honored us with his time, before needing to run. He's extremely positive and optimistic about how successfully the Abraham Accords have worked out.

1/2 This. This is what we need more of from the next generation of Academics. Students who actually learn about the Abraham Accords and coexistence, and bring dialogue back to their campuses. Not empty, vacuous virtue signaling protests. Thank you Ethan Winterstein for joining us!

1/3 Abdullah Antepli helped foster a truly interesting and nuanced dialogue about the Abraham Accords.

Dan Feferman has spent years of his adult life doing what I aspire to do. He builds bridges and fosters healthy and constructive dialogue between people who might not otherwise ever get a chance to meet and speak.

To kick off the individual reels spotlighting the wonderful guests on my Abraham Accords episode, here is @ahmedkhuzaie.bsky.social, who was lovely to correspond with from Day One. Full episode well worth watching, linked here: youtu.be/nOjZW_HfBo8?... @jewishjournal.bsky.social

1/2 The Abraham Accords. They were signed in 2020. What happens next? I gathered 14 experts (Jewish, Muslim, Christian) to discuss what was, what is, and what might happen to further peace or normalization in the Mideast: Follow me/the show on YouTube! youtu.be/nOjZW_HfBo8?...

1/2 I believe the hard conversations are what most NEED to be given a voice. This will be one of them. There are people out there, more than you know, whose spouses refuse to give them a (religious) divorce. This takes the already difficult scenario of divorce & makes it exponentially more awful.

1/2 To finish off my episode about Resilience, I drew in from my years of nursing experience, where we can't allow our empathy for our patients to affect us. I really appreciated being able to host this fascinating and important conversation!

Howard Rosenman has lived quite the life. Produced hit movies including Father of the Bride, but in our topic of Resilience, he tells us about the resilience he needed growing up gay in a tough, unforgiving world.

He's a world renowned Historian, and the way he speaks is just truly inspiring. Gil Troy really is awesome. And watch the full episode here: youtu.be/Mpbhv7Tw6h8

The idea of having a comedian on an episode about PTSD and resilience might seem insane, but it's exactly what the doctor ordered, as Tehran Von Ghasri added insight, empathy, and some much needed comic relief to the experience. Thank you my friend!

1/ Way back in 2009. I created my first cleanup of LA's Pico/Robertson neighborhood. There were a hundred of us, from Camp Boaz (yes that was a thing)!

A young musician tells us his harrowing story of October 7th survival. Thank you for opening up, Or Meir Ooliel. Full episode on my YouTube.

1/2 It was a true honor, a kavod, to have the venerable Rabbi YY Jacobson on my show about PTSD. He brought up the millennia of Jewish trauma, and explains how it has created a sense of self-loathing in many of us. Truly fascinating stuff.

One of the most underreported things about Israel, is how much national pride there is for many of its Israeli Arab citizenry. Maayan Hoffman is one of countless Jewish Israelis to have close friendships across the religious divide. @jewishjournal.bsky.social

1/ It's incredibly cool that they can visualize the brain and see some of the PTSD in real time.

This will not be exploitative. I will not be showing graphic videos. It is entirely to honor the memories of the many who were tragically lost that day, and serve as a giant hug for those left behind. #neverforget #September11 @fdny.bsky.social @nypd.bsky.social @september11.bsky.social

Barbara Heller does such a GREAT job of vocalizing how after decades of intifadas, Israelis really need to talk, scream and listen. A friend for so many years, Barb is going to be such a natural fit adding Marriage and Family Therapy to her large toolbox!

My incredible sisters-in-law Rikki and Karin created Orot Healing, focusing their efforts on PTSD. First for the Nova Survivors who they brought to a retreat a year and a half ago, and now for the soldiers that the show Fauda is based on, as well as their spouses.

10 second favor I'm going to ask of you on Bluesky. Follow me on YouTube. Everyone and their mother keeps telling me I should monetize my show. I don't know if I ever will, but I do know that I need 1,000 subscribers to even potentially monetize. www.youtube.com/@boazhepner

1/2 This is gonna be fun! For years I've watched shows like Survivor and Traitors, And one of my favorite parts is getting to watch the reunion episode when they gather much of the cast, and find out what's happened since then. Now I get to do it myself, for Netflix's "Jewish Matchmaking!"

He's a talented musician. His words are frequently published in the @jewishjournal.bsky.social. And it was a pleasure having Peter Himmelman on the show!

1/ If I was Muslim, I can't even pretend to guess how I would feel about Israel, Jews, Antisemitism, as well as Islamism. What I do know, is that Soraya Deen is a proud Muslim woman, who stands up in the face of hatred from so many, so that she can be a true ally to Jewish and Israeli men and women.

1/2 She lives in Israel. She helps others with their trauma, as a therapist. But she has trauma herself, because everyone does in Israel. Fascinatingly, Micki Lavin-Pell explained how therapeutic it's been for so many in Israel to step up and help each other through their shared traumas. Beautiful.

This is insane. On my Instagram feed, hundreds of thousands of people every day continue to debate whether putting Liam on the ride was irresponsible. This is so funny. Look at those numbers at the bottom, WTF 😂

1/2 Chava Floryn is inspiring. Just a couple of months after the horror show that was October 7th, she was flying to Israel to film her latest documentary. "Resilient" explores how both individuals and an entire nation try to cope with PTSD on both the micro and macro scale.

1/3 I'm excited about every episode I create - why else would I do this (for free!) - but this time I get to talk to some of the greatest poker players in the world, including the guy who literally just won the WSOP Main Event? This is going to be SO. DAMN. FUN.

Apparently putting Little Liam on a Sesame Street ride for all ages stirs controversy. Over 2.5 MILLION views and counting! I get really offensive comments on my show that's frequently pro-Israel themes, so a few hundred ‘child abuse’ comments from rabid parenting trolls? Those legit made me laugh.

1/5 Time to spill a secret. While I was sleeping at UCLA Hospital with Adi for 13 long nights, getting Natalia her diagnosis and treatment for PANS, I was keeping myself sane by pouring myself into my advocacy.

Liam generally has a "resting pout face," but damn if it isn't adorable when he lets that smile shine.

1/2 On 1/3/24, my old friend told me the shocking thing he found on Arabic Wikipedia pages. I helped get a few articles published about it. 18 months later, I'm proud to have created the episode on the topic of Wikipedia. Fittingly, my final reel is me telling the story, and summing things up.

1/2 When someone diminishes the magnitude of the Holocaust, they are called a Holocaust Denier. When someone keeps diminishing the magnitude of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, they are simply called @wikipedia.org

1/2 It was a pleasure to have Yfat Barak Cheney and her esteemed @worldjewishcong.bsky.social represent on the episode about @wikipedia.org!

1/2 I knew we’d speak to investigative journalists about Wikipedia’s bias — but having Jonathan M. Weiss, a veteran Wikipedia editor, give us his insight? Next level. @jewishjournal.bsky.social @worldjewishcong.bsky.social @standwithus.bsky.social

1/2 This is the second time I've had Jordan Cope on my show, because he speaks so darn well. This time, he explains what he's seeing regarding Wikipedia's lack of neutrality. @standwithus.bsky.social is lucky to have him, and so were we.

1/2 Even when they have their Visas revoked, or their management drops them; even if they lose endorsements, it will keep happening. People will say awful things about Israel, Zionists, or just straight up Jews. It has happened in ebbs and flows over the millennia. It's certainly happening right now

1/2 In today's incessantly dramatic news cycle, it's hard to time things to avoid the headlines. But when everyone I know in Israel was hiding in their bomb shelters 3 times a day, plus Shanna Fuld whose home was actually blown up...I sure as heck waited.

Umm.... Houston, we have a problem... I can't stop laughing in horror at this joke that somehow made its way into my 7 year old daughter's joke book that she bores us with every day. WTF... 😱 😂