The Upfront Podcast

My guest today is Matan Peretz, who makes a living as a comedian in Israel, and as an Israeli citizen he also serves in the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, when called up for reserve duty. Matan has been using his platform to advocate for Israel, and against terrorism and will be sharing some important points of his activism and the social media information war. Based on his own experience, Matan will tell us about what life is like in Judea and Samaria, otherwise referred to as “settlements” in the West Bank, and how they have had to experience similar violence to what Hamas perpetrated on October 7th, 2023, long before any antisemites on social media caught wind of it that are now calling for the eradication of the entire Jewish people. 

Matan graciously took time out of his busy schedule between serving in defense of our country and performing comedy to talk about various points in this war between Israel and Hamas. We are touching on the United Nations' countless antisemitic resolutions, history revisionism running rampant online on social media platforms, and how Israel is held to a different standard than any other sovereign country ever that has come under attack by terrorists. Matan and I are also discussing gun ownership in Israel in comparison to the United States, and why there are no school shootings in Israel. We are also talking about how far indoctrination of hate and brainwashing can go, or whether evil could be a basic human trait that just needs to be activated, whether there is a difference between the motivation of the Nazis and the Islamic terrorists of Hamas, and what the aftermath of this war could look like.

Find Matan Peretz online
For his comedy shows https://matanperetz.co.il/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/matanperetz___/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@matanperetz
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@matanperetzstandup
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/matan.peretz.73

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If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Cécile Nebbot is back for a deep dive into history. We are talking about ancient to recent historical events, covering the Jewish people, as well as some important events throughout Christian and Islamic history that would be crucial for people to know to be able to have a fact-based conversation about the war Israel is forced to fight on multiple fronts.

Cécile and I are trying to find a logical reason for antisemitism and the ongoing persecution of one of the smallest minorities on earth and discuss Islamic lobbyism reaching Ivy League universities in the US. Cécile is sharing more about the fate of Jews in the Maghreb, specifically in Algeria, how Germany has learned from actually putting into action what people around the world are chanting for, the genocide of the Jews, and making the security of the Jewish state Germany’s reason of state. We are also covering tokenizing people, as well as inexistent LGBTQ+ rights for Palestinians.

True to the Upfront Podcast’s tradition, we are reckoning with longstanding institutions and divulging important historical information, while talking about religion, politics, humankind’s sometimes questionable choices, and whatever feels uncomfortable.

Find Cécile Nebbot online
On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/n.cecile/
On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cécile-nebbot-0908254/

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If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Cécile Nebbot was born in Marseille, France in 1967 to liberal Jewish parents whose recent ancestors had been expelled from Spain, and then eventually from Tunisia and Algeria.

She is an economist and communication expert with a background in brand content and strategic consulting. For two decades she has worked for leading consulting firms based in London, New York, and Paris. Cécile has a deep expertise in econometrics. In 2020, she cofounded an Institute for Art & Future Design based in Berlin to deal with contemporary art, future foresight, and the epochal shifts we live in. Amongst its expertise and clusters of research are “Cultural Frictions & Democracy”, “Artificial Intelligence & Ethics”, and “Climate Change & Symbiotic Politics”.

We are talking about integration v assimilation of Jews in diaspora countries, the Jewish people’s actual resistance to oppression as a small persecuted minority throughout the centuries and how we can handle the false narratives being spread in the information war we are being forced to fight.

Find Cécile Nebbot online
On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/n.cecile/
On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cécile-nebbot-0908254/

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Have you ever wondered how 6 million Jews could be murdered by the Nazis in cold blood in the Holocaust while the world was silently watching? Let me tell you...

On the morning of October 7, 2023, during the holiday of Simchat Torah, hundreds of Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel by land, sea, and air, to commit the most vile, heinous, vicious, and brutal attacks on innocent Israeli civilians, and murdered over 1300 innocent civilians and taking hundreds of hostages, leading to the highest number of Jews murdered in one day since the holocaust.

In response, Israel declared a state of war. In this episode, I will unpack some misinformation spread online and back up my claims with facts.

Song at the end: Hatikvah (Hope) The National Israeli Anthem by John Williams

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If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

My guest today is Raul Krauthausen. He lives in Berlin, Germany, and is a well-known activist and author who advocates for the inclusion of disabled people, basing his work on his own life and experience because Raul was born with Osteogenesis imperfecta and is therefore using a wheelchair. Raul is a published author of several books about inclusion, disability, and activism, with his latest book being “Whoever wants inclusion, finds a way. Whoever doesn’t want it, will find excuses”. 

Raul and I are talking about his work as an activist, what parents should consider teaching their kids about people with disabilities, and how we as adults can learn to reflect on our own behavior or how we can unlearn prejudicial thinking patterns. Once again, we will be hearing about the issue of people making decisions about a community that they are not part of without including or hearing any people from the community to base these decisions on.

Find Raul on the web:
Website https://raul.de/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/raul.krauthausen
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/raulkrauthausen/
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/raulkrauthausen
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@raul.krauthausen
Subscribe to his newsletter here https://raul.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ff13c518142950e1da3755149&id=c96b003a32

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Ainhoa Martinelli is from Switzerland and is 19 years old. She works in a Montessori school and will begin to study geography in the fall. Ainhoa started her activist work in her early teenage years with Fridays for Future. She is now an active part of various international climate movements such as the Global Climate Strike, Debt4Climate, and the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, making her the perfect person to talk to about the issues we will all have to face.

Ainhoa and I will be talking about activist burnout, the dark side of volunteer tourism, what the climate movement has to do with the exploitation of formerly colonized countries, the climate crisis overall, and how Eurocentrism, privilege, and inequity are often disregarded factors that should be taken into account in environmental discussions. We are also talking about how our consumerist ways are hindering environmental protection efforts and what we can do to decrease the pace at which this planet is dying.

Find Ainhoa on Instagram: @_.ginia.ainhoa._

Mentioned resources
Climate Strike Switzerland: https://climatestrike.ch/
Debt for Climate Movement: https://www.debtforclimate.org/
Global Youth Biodiversity Network: https://www.gybn.org/
Fridays for Future: https://fridaysforfuture.org/
The Outlaw Ocean Podcast: https://www.theoutlawocean.com/the-outlaw-ocean-podcast/
Ted Talk: "The White Savior Complex: The Dark Side of Volunteering"
Ted Talk: "The Problem With Voluntourism"

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If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Stephanie Horwitz from the “What Should I Do With My Life” podcast is joining us today from Tel Aviv, Israel. Steph will tell us how we might have been misled since many people are figuring out that a career might not follow a one-and-done recipe.

Steph and I will be discussing how different people have mastered their careers, what you can do to get recognition on the job, and how you can advocate for your work. We will also talk about the fact that women are often easily overlooked in the workplace, and we’ll get into sharing our opinions on why passion matters, how you find self-definition outside of your job, and we’ll get into what privilege has to do with choosing your own path.

Find the "What Should I Do With My Life" Podcast here:
Website https://www.whatshouldidowithmylife.co/
https://www.facebook.com/stephhorwitzpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/whatshouldidowithmylife_steph/

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If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

My guest today is Alejandro Salas, the head of global movement at the global anti-corruption organization Transparency International. Alejandro is originally from Mexico and has studied political science. He now lives in Berlin, Germany.
Alejandro will tell us about the dangers of corrupt politicians, what makes for an ethical society, and how impunity plays a crucial role. We are also talking about why giving government officials too much power can directly lead to the downfall of a democratic system and where we stand globally on whistleblower protection.

Transparency International Website https://www.transparency.org
For contacting and submitting tips https://www.transparency.org/en/contact
For donations https://transparency.givingpage.org

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If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

My guest today is Jolanda Spiess Hegglin, a journalist and former Swiss politician. One harrowing night, everything changed for her. In the aftermath, her name was extensively used in Swiss tabloid media in attempts to ruin her reputation and to victim blame, while Jolanda was trying to come to terms with what had happened to her and to seek legal accountability. Now, Jolanda is an activist against gender-based violence and has founded an NGO called netzcourage. Jolanda still, to this day, is receiving misogynist hatred, harassment, and threats, while she is working on vindicating her name and taking sole ownership of her story. 

We are talking about the personal story of one incredibly courageous woman who has taken on what feels like an entire nation’s victim blaming rhetoric. We will also talk about how everything that has happened to Jolanda has uncovered a dysfunctional justice system, law enforcement victim blaming and revictimization, and how evidentiary material was being disregarded. Jolanda and I will also discuss the impact of the #Metoo movement on Switzerland, the discrimination of minorities, and the dangerous rise of incels in Switzerland.

Donations to #Netzcourage https://netzcourage.ch/spenden/
Find out more about Jolanda on https://www.jolandaspiess.ch/
Instagram instagram.com/jolandaspiess
Facebook facebook.com/jolandaspiess
Twitter twitter.com/jolandaspiess
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/jolandaspiess/
Mastodon https://mastodon.social/@jolandaspiess@swiss.social

Helpful Links
Netzpigcock.ch https://www.netzpigcock.ch/en/
Netzcourage on the web www.netzcourage.ch
Victim Help Hotlines (US) https://victimconnect.org/resources/national-hotlines/
Hotline & resource directories (international) https://ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html and https://www.rcne.com/links/sources-of-help-for-survivors/

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If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

My guest today is Rabbi Akiva Weingarten, born and raised in the Jewish ultraorthodox “Satmar” community in New York. He decided to leave the community, lived abroad for many years, then studied “Jewish Studies” in Germany and eventually became the Rabbi for two liberal Jewish communities in Switzerland and Germany. His own book by the title “Ultraorthodox,” has recently been published.

We are talking about Judaism specifically, other religions, spirituality, and also what it was like for him to leave his old life behind. How he dealt with the struggles of entering a whole new world, redefining himself, and how his stance on identity, religion, and spirituality has changed. He will also tell us what he thinks of pop culture depictions of ultraorthodox Jews, such as the Unorthodox series on Netflix.

Find more on Rabbi Weingarten at https://rabbiweingarten.com
The Yeshiva https://www.beshtdresden.org
The community in Dresden: https://www.juedische-gemeinde-dresden.de
Migwan community in Basel: http://www.migwan.ch

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

For the final episode of the year, I am saying goodbye for now until we meet again in the new year!

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If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

On February 24th, 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine and launched a full-scale war on the sovereign nation. My guest today is Victoria Vlasenko, who is coming to us directly from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. We will be speaking about her own experience living through the war in Ukraine, with her job still demanding that she regularly works as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening, about her personal opinions on how this could possibly end, and what everyday life in Kyiv looks like.

Find Victoria on:
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@victoriavlasenko
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minimal_victoria/

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Naftali Aklum is a public speaker and lecturer from the Beta Israel, the community of Ethiopian Jews. He tells us of his family’s harrowing journey to Israel and what Ethiopian Jews are facing, the split between forced assimilation and respecting one’s own identity, whilst dealing with systemic discrimination and racism.

Find Naftali at the following links:
Instagram, Facebook or Twitter
The Yerus Project at www.jewsofethiopia.com

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Feminism does have a few different principles, but what they all share is the plea for gender equality. Liz from Episode 3 is back, and we are discussing different stances on feminism and how this comes into play in our dating life when trying to determine people's compatibility and whether we should lower our standards to accommodate others.

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Patrick Jones is a journalist, originally from New York, now living in South Carolina, and host of the "That Gives Me Anxiety Podcast". Patrick and Nina discuss dealing with expectations of hosting a podcast, mental health, conspiracy theories, death, politics, and other fun stuff.

You can find the “That Gives Me Anxiety Podcast” at the following links and wherever you get your podcasts.
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/Thatgivesmeanxietypodcast/
Twitter https://twitter.com/GivesanxietyPod
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thatgivesmeanxietypodcast
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCOITNlRi_K7JP9QxBK-vQ/
Patrick's other podcast, “Death Space: Filling The Void” you can also find on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/deathspacepodcast/
Patrick’s personal page https://www.instagram.com/patrick_e_jones/

Send us your comments, remarks, questions, and opinions in writing or as an audio recording through one of the following channels, and be sure to follow The Upfront Podcast. 
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theupfrontpodcast/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theupfrontpodcast
E-Mail theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Today’s guest Katharina Höftmann was born in Rostock in East Germany. She studied Psychology and German-Jewish History at Humboldt University in Berlin while working as a journalist for various newspapers. Due to receiving a scholarship for Ben Gurion University in Israel, she first stayed in the land that would later become her home base of choice. Katharina converted to Judaism and later wrote about her experiences in the Holy Land in several books and is an accomplished writer and author living in Tel Aviv.

We are talking about her conversion process into Judaism, whether one can learn to believe in God, and how Katharina lost and found her identity whilst attempting to reconcile the Holocaust’s perpetrator-victim relationship for herself.

Find Katharina on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/gutenmorgentelaviv/
Katharina's latest book can be found here (English excerpt available) https://www.new-books-in-german.com/recommendations/alef/
More books by Katharina: https://www.amazon.de/Katharina

Send us your comments, remarks, questions, and opinions in writing or as an audio recording through one of these channels:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theupfrontpodcast/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theupfrontpodcast
E-Mail theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

My guest on this episode is Juliet Taylor, who grew up in a Jewish modern orthodox family in London, England. Juliet moved to Israel 9 years ago and worked as the educational director for a school. In the midst of her daily life, a mental health crisis slowly crept in and altered her life. Juliet was able to change her perspective on life and focus on what she values most, which eventually brought her to express her feelings through art in her spoken poetry. She has just finished her master’s degree in early childhood education.

We are speaking on working towards eliminating the stigma of mental health issues, going through countless lockdowns and war by yourself, and what ultimately matters most.

Find Juliet and her spoken poetry on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/julietmariataylor/

Find helpful resources for mental health support at https://www.helpguide.org/find-help.htm
Global Mental Health Resources https://checkpointorg.com/global/

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Maysa Resende is originally from Brazil, and she moved to Israel in 2016 to do her Ph.D. in Biotechnology Engineering at Ben Gurion University (BGU). She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Tel Aviv University (TAU), and during the pandemic, she founded a brand of natural and sustainable cosmetic bars called "Bars from Mars".
We are talking about consumer behavior, greenwashing, the impact on sales through “clean” claims, and what natural and chemical ingredients in cosmetics mean. Maysa will also share what it took to establish a sustainable brand of her own.

Find Maysa on Instagram or on Facebook.
Find the "Bars from Mars" at https://barsfrommars.com, and on Facebook or Instagram.

Send us your comments, remarks, questions and opinions in writing or as an audio recording through one of these channels:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theupfrontpodcast/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theupfrontpodcast
E-Mail theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Tomer Yair Zemel was born and raised in Jerusalem, Israel. He is a social activist for causes that he is most passionate about. Tomer works in the high-tech industry and has been living close to Tel Aviv in Israel for the past several years.
We are speaking about his coming out, what he would recommend for other people to focus on when coming out themselves, what pride month and the pride parade are really all about and what still needs to change to give everyone equal legal rights. Please join in on the conversation in the comments on our Instagram or Facebook page.

Tomer’s Social Media accounts
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/Tyzworks/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tomer.y.zemel

For support, please reach out to your local helpline or at:
https://www.lgbt-helpline.ch/en/
https://lgbtqia.ucdavis.edu/support/hotlines
https://lgbt.foundation/helpline
LGBT Olim (for Israel) https://lgbtolim.org/lgbt-organizations/

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.

Nina is giving an update on what is happening with The Upfront Podcast, how it will go on, and what the true, important essence of this podcast is.

Send in your comments, remarks, and opinions in writing or as an audio recording through one of these channels and while you're at it, give us a follow.
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theupfrontpodcast/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theupfrontpodcast
E-Mail theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com

Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram or Facebook. Please subscribe and leave a review, which helps the podcast reach even more people.

If you have an essential topic, thought-provoking observation, or experience to share that needs to be amplified with increased awareness, reach us at theupfrontpodcast@gmail.com.