Ethiopian Jewish leader: Israel must learn to unite

Ethiopian Jewish leader: Israel must learn to unite

Dr. Shmuel Legesse, an Ethiopian Jewish writer and activist, described his life’s mission as a call to strengthen Jewish unity, defend Israel’s legitimacy, and give voice to the Ethiopian Jewish experience during a conversation on The Jerusalem Post podcast. Legesse said his sense of purpose began in childhood in Ethiopia, where his father would bless him and tell him he would one day “speak to the whole world” on behalf of his people.

'Blood on their hands': Rabbi Brander on haredi draft refusal

In this conversation with The Jerusalem Post's senior field reporter Sam Halpern, Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, President of Ohr Torah Stone (OTS), opens up about the haredi draft, women in combat, the Jerusalem Day flag march, and the dangerous misuse of the term "Amalek." Anchored by the death of Maj. (res.) Itamar Sapir, the 26th OTS alumnus killed in the war, Brander argues that religious Jews who refuse to enlist are violating Jewish law, rejects the phrase "settler violence" while condemning the "1% of 1%" who cross the line, and says flatly, citing the Talmud, that there is no longer a nation of Amalek. Brander leads a 32-institution Modern Orthodox network whose students and faculty are serving at extraordinary rates. His son has done over 400 days of reserve duty. He speaks not as an outside critic but as someone whose community is bearing the cost.

'Victims of Zionism's success': WZO vice chair on Israel's crisis

Dr. Yizhar Hess, Vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization and a 10th-generation Jerusalemite, argues Israel has created an "unholy connection between state and religion" that pushes Jews away from their own tradition. In this candid Jerusalem Post interview, Hess unpacks the most consequential World Zionist Congress in years: how MERCAZ (the Masorti/Conservative slate) nearly doubled its mandates, why Itamar Ben-Gvir's faction was deliberately frozen out of the coalition, and what the Haredi entry into the Zionist movement really means. He explains why he believes "polite people seldom change the world," why he attended the judicial reform protests as a sitting WZO official, and why a pending Knesset bill criminalizing non-Orthodox prayer at the Kotel — punishable by up to seven years in prison, would be devastating for Israel-Diaspora relations. Hess offers a rare insider's perspective on the political body Theodor Herzl founded as "the parliament of the Jewish people."

'Charisma of a boiled potato': Isfahani on Iran's new supreme leader

Khosro Isfahani, research director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran, said anger is building inside Iran following months of war, internet shutdowns, economic damage, and mass repression. Speaking with The Jerusalem Post, Isfahani said Iranians see the Islamic Republic as unchanged, despite what he described as a regime effort to project normalcy after the recent conflict.

Jerusalem Day: A son's tale of an Ammunition Hill hero

Alon Wald never met his father, a paratrooper killed at Ammunition Hill during the Six-Day War when Alon was just 10 months old. Today, he runs the memorial site where his father fell. In this rare personal interview, Alon traces a life shaped by one absence, and by the extraordinary decision of his father's surviving unit to skip their own victory parade and knock on the doors of every bereaved family instead. Ten of those men became his surrogate fathers. Their promise: "You will never stand alone." Years later, Alon would follow his father into the paratroopers, convincing his widowed mother to sign a military waiver to make it happen. He also shares a little-known story from the battle itself: with no orders, his father's unit buried 17 fallen Jordanian soldiers and carved in English: "Buried here 17 brave Jordanian soldiers, Army of Israel, June 1967." Jordanian officers later came quietly to visit. Now director of Ammunition Hill for nearly 17 years, Alon connects generations: veterans, students, soldiers, and after October 7th, 22,000 displaced civilians who found shelter and strength at the site. His mission: making sure the other 99% of these men's lives, not just the battle, is never forgotten. Alon Wald is director of Ammunition Hill National Memorial Site in Jerusalem. The son of Captain Rami Wald, killed there in 1967 at age 32, he served as a paratrooper and IDF officer before dedicating his career to preserving and teaching his father's generation's legacy.