On Friday, I was pleased to join Lawrence Winnerman and Blue Amp Media for a conversation on A Land for All (ALFA), the Israeli-Palestinian grassroots movement for a two-state confederation. We spoke about ALFA’s vision and how it differs from the conventional two-state solution and the other potential scenarios for Israel-Palestine. Crucially, we also spoke about what those of us who don’t live in the land between the river and the sea can do to assist those working in Israel-Palestine to bring about a future rooted in human rights, equality, security, and peace.
Our discussion followed a recent episode of Ezra Klein’s podcast featuring ALFA’s co-directors, which is worth watching. That said — if you really want the good stuff, I recommend The Debrief’s podcasts with ALFA’s Israeli Co-Director May Pundak and Palestinian Co-Director Rula Hardal:
What are your reactions to Lawrence and my podcast? What are your thoughts on A Land for All? As always, I welcome your comments!
🎉 Exciting update as we celebrate The Debrief’s first birthday this month! 🎉
A generous supporter offered to match the next 10 paid subscriptions. We earned the match in less than a week!
Huge thanks to the 10 new paid subscribers who stepped up and helped The Debrief earn this matching grant! And heartfelt appreciation to this wonderful donor for her generosity and steadfast support!
The Debrief still needs many more folks to pitch in…
Let’s keep the birthday month momentum going!
Please become a paid subscriber now.
Tips/donations in any amount to celebrate The Debrief’s birthday are also appreciated! Thank you.
What’s Coming Up This Week?
Tomorrow (Mon, July 13) at 11am Eastern:
Joshua Leifer on Israeli Elections and Israel-Diaspora Relations
Josh Leifer is a columnist for Israel’s left-leaning newspaper Haaretz, a doctoral candidate in history at Yale University, and author of the award-winning book Tablets Shattered: The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life. His essays and reporting have also appeared in The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, and elsewhere.
Tuesday, July 14, at 11am Eastern:
Andrew Miller on US aid to Israel and Resetting the US-Israel Relationship
Andrew Miller served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs from 2022 to 2024. Prior to that, he served as a senior policy adviser to US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. During the Obama Administration, Andrew served as the director for Egypt and Israel military issues on President Barack Obama’s National Security Council and was involved in deliberations regarding US security assistance to Egypt and Israel and regarding Middle East peace. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.
Thursday, July 16, at 12:30pm Eastern:
Rabbis Amelia Wolf & Andy Kahn on The Next Generation of American Rabbis
For some time, I’ve been wanting to do a podcast on the future of the US rabbinate. The Atra Center for Rabbinic Innovation released a study in late 2025 that included some findings that surprised me — and made me want to learn more. Among them were the demographics of current rabbinical students, only 30% of whom identify as men, while 58% identify as women and 12% as nonbinary. Further, 51% identify as LGBTQ, a huge jump from 15% among rabbis ordained 10-20 years ago. Last but not least, 16% of rabbinical students converted to Judaism and 12% identify as a race other than white.
To discuss that and what implications it might have, as well as the topic of where the next generation of American rabbis stands on Israel-Palestine, I’ll welcome Rabbi Amelia Wolf of Congregation Etz Hayim in Arlington, Virginia and Rabbi Andy Kahn of the American Council for Judaism to The Debrief.
As you can see, we’ve got an exciting week lined up here on the Debrief!
I hope you’ll be able to join us live for one or more of these live conversations. (If you can’t, no worries — the videos will be delivered to your inbox. Podcast recordings are also available in The Debrief’s archive.)
Warm regards,
Debra
