Today I am delighted to share the first-ever episode of the Jerusalem Journal Podcast.
The podcast will be an opportunity to dive deeper into the issues of the day with the people shaping the most important events and conversations in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world.
Our first episode of the Jerusalem Journal Podcast is a conversation with storied Jewish leader and human rights champion Natan Sharansky. I’ve known Natan for many years and, like so many, have been an admirer of his for many more, and I could think of no one more fitting to kick off this exciting new feature.
This is also the first offering available exclusively to paid subscribers of Jerusalem Journal, an option we are launching today.
In addition to receiving privileged access to podcast episodes, paid subscribers will be invited to periodic live conversations and Q&A sessions with contributors, as well as other opportunities.
You can upgrade to a paid subscription at a reduced introductory rate here:
While the full conversation with Natan Sharansky is only accessible to paid subscribers at this time, here are a few notable excerpts:
On discovering his Jewish identity:
“Israel came into my life in 1967. Before that I was an absolutely assimilated Soviet Jew. And suddenly, because of this unbelievable victory, everybody around you — your enemies, your friends, everybody — looks at you and says, ‘How did you Jews do it?’ And you understand suddenly that, whether you want it or not, for these people, you're connected to Israel. And that's when you start learning in the underground about your history, about your people, and about the State of Israel. And that's how you discover your identity.”
On the Soviet and Nazi origins of contemporary anti-Zionism:
“Where did my discovery come from? From knowing very well Soviet antisemitic propaganda and Nazi propaganda and seeing the same cartoons, absolutely the same, which you could see in the Soviet Union — it was so easy to understand that their antisemitism, their anti-Israel and anti-Jewish position, is simply the same. [All you have to do is] look at these cartoons and, of course, Nazi cartoons. And then suddenly you discover the same cartoons in The Guardian or The Independent, and they're [being named] the best cartoons of the year, and it's all Jews who are eating Palestinian kids and so on. Then you understand this deep connection.”
On antisemitism in the progressive moment:
“In the eighties, Professor [Edward] Said — who was like the founder of this modern, progressive antisemitism — he said to Yasser Arafat that it’s a mistake to connect this conflict in the Middle East to the national struggle of Arab countries and Israel, that you have to connect it with the most important ideological streams which are happening in the world. And I don't know if Arafat understood it or accepted it, but no doubt that Said was very successful.”
On anti-Zionist Jews:
“Of course, there are always Jews who think differently. That's the definition of our people. But ideologically, I think today, let's say those who believe that the problem is not the fact that there are antisemitic demonstrations in universities, but vice versa, the problem is that some Jewish provocateurs try to turn the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people into antisemitism — it's simply negligible in numbers.”
On the younger generation in Israel since October 7:
“I have to say, it came as a surprise to many of us, including myself. The TikTok generation, who only planned how to go to Thailand, who were looking for spirituality in India, who were running away from our Jewish tradition — look what kind of generation we have, what Judaism means for them, what Jewish history means for them, what Jewish culture means for them, and what the Jewish state means for them. So I think we have all the reasons to be optimistic.”
About Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky is a former Soviet dissident, human rights activist, Israeli statesman, and Jewish leader.
Born in 1948 in Donetsk, Ukraine, Sharansky was trained as a computer scientist in Moscow. He was denied an exit visa to Israel in 1973, became a prominent figure in the Soviet Jewry and human rights movements, and co-founded the Moscow Helsinki Group. Arrested in 1977 on false charges of collaborating with the CIA, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison, enduring solitary confinement and hard labor before his release in 1986 through international pressure and his wife Avital’s relentless campaign for his freedom.
After emigrating to Israel, he continued advocating for Soviet Jewish emigration, notably organizing the 1987 Washington rally that helped open the USSR’s gates. Sharansky founded the Yisrael B’Aliyah party to aid the absorption of Russian immigrants, served as Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in multiple Israeli governments, and went on to serve as Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel.
A recipient of the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he is also a bestselling author whose works, including Fear No Evil and The Case for Democracy, have influenced global leaders.
Sharansky lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Avital, and is the father of two daughters and grandfather to several grandchildren.
