Jonny Gould's Jewish State

Find all of Jonny's podcasts and writings on my Substack and help me by buying a coffee.

In this conversation, we meet Rawan Osman - a woman of Syrian and Lebanese heritage who grew up in a world where the "Jew" was the ultimate, untouchable enemy.

Rawan’s worldview shattered during an everyday trip to a grocery store in
Strasbourg. What started as a visceral panic attack at the sight of Hebrew turned into a life-altering epiphany. "That gentleman converted me from an enemy to an ally simply by deciding to be kind," she says.

It wasn’t just a change of heart; it was a total identity reset. From the
discovery of her Mizrahi Jewish blood to the "chutzpah" of a tradition that encourages you to argue with God, Rawan deconstructs the patterns of prejudice with unflinching clarity.

But what is the personal cost of choosing conviction over comfort? How do you rebuild an identity when your family and friends remove themselves from your world?

Rawan offers a roadmap for finding truth in a region defined by shadows. This isn’t just a conversion story, it’s a wake up call for the future of the Middle East.

Join us for the story of Rawan Osman!

Find all of Jonny's podcasts and writings on my⁠ Substack⁠ and help me by ⁠buying a coffee⁠.
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Find more from Jonny here.
This is Survivor, an animated film created by puppeteer and cartoonist, Zoom Rockman.
It's the story of Auschwitz and Dachau survivor, Ivor Perl BEM, based upon his Holocaust memoir, Chicken Soup Under The Tree.
The first screening in London took place in November 2024 and you'll hear Ivor and Zoom reflect on the movie and why it's so important.
I’ve had the privilege of having a one-to-one conversation with Ivor at his London home, where he shared his harrowing experiences and reflected on the reawakening of antisemitism today.
This is a Lemon Soul film, in loving memory of Jonny Zucker, an inspirational teacher, fantastic children's author, who celebrated reading among kids and envisioned educational ideas such as this movie.
The stirring title music was composed and performed by Erran Baron Cohen, who produced musical accompaniment on the night. Listen to the story of Survivor.
Find more from Jonny here.
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Find all of Jonny's podcasts, personal appearances and writing on Substack and support him with a coffee here.

Parents, if you're about to send your child to university, how are you preparing them for it?

Western campuses aren't all what they used to be.

In this powerful conversation, I meet the brilliant Izabella Tabarovsky — a leading scholar on Soviet antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and author of Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide.

Izabella grew up under the Soviet system, where 'anti-Zionism' was the official line — and it quickly turned into suspicion of all Jews, Zionist or not.

"Jews who grew up in the Soviet Union know well their copybook is being repeated here", says Izabella.

And Israel hate doesn’t distinguish between the Jewish State or its diaspora or your child, the institutions become anti-Zionist, so all Jews are suspect.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Zionist or not.

They don’t even understand what Zionists are. When they speak about Zionists they mean you and me.

The Iron Curtain hate of the Cold War-era has resurfaced in universities in the UK, US, Europe, and beyond — dressed up in modern language, but delivering the same chilling results: isolation, hostility, and erasure of Jewish identity.

What does this mean for your son or daughter heading off in their first weeks away from home? How can families prepare? What lessons from Soviet refuseniks can help Jewish students thrive — or simply survive — in today's environment?

Izabella breaks it down with unflinching clarity: the patterns, the propaganda echoes, and practical steps parents and students must take now.

This isn't just history repeating — it's a wake-up call for the present.

This is Izabella Tabarovsky.

Jonny Gould's Jewish State is proudly supported by Dangoor Education and UK Toremet, promoting philanthropy.

Find all of Jonny's podcasts, personal appearances and writing on ⁠Substack⁠ and support him with a ⁠coffee here⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help support Jonny by buying him a coffee and find his Substack feed with all his podcasts and articles.

What you’ll hear now in this short interview is a headline masterclass in defining and tackling antisemitism.

If only I had longer, but our guest filled the room with shorthand wisdom of the deepest kind when we met during an antisemitism conference in Vienna where I was presented with a plethora of brilliant and courageous people.

Vienna, the scene of my own family’s escape to Birmingham in 1938 and 1939 from Hitler’s European tyranny.

Join us for a compelling conversation with Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Israel's former Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, ex-Knesset member, and leading voice on the "oldest hatred" in its modern form.

Born in Jerusalem, raised in Canada as stepdaughter to renowned human rights advocate Irwin Cotler, she returned to Israel for military service, law studies, and a career bridging academia, policy, and politics. Her PhD probed free speech limits on campuses—eerily prescient today.

Since the October 7 attacks, Michal has spotlighted the surge in antisemitism, featured in the documentary Tragic Awakening: A New Look at the Oldest Hatred. She dissects how anti-Zionism mutates into mainstream Jew-hatred, the failures of the global response, and why this threat demands urgent action from everyone - and you.

A must-listen on resilience, truth, and defending shared humanity.

Jonny Gould's Jewish State is proudly supported by Dangoor Education and UK Toremet, supporting philanthropy.

Help support Jonny by ⁠buying him a coffee⁠ and find his⁠ Substack⁠ feed with all his podcasts and articles.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s it really like in Iran - for its citizens and the Jews who still live there? 
Iran’s major cities, Tehran and Isfahan still have functioning synagogues, but the communities have declined sharply since the Islamist revolution which shapes the world today. 
Let’s discuss today's Iran with someone who really knows it.
This is an interview conducted in Israel just a matter of weeks before October 7th. 
During the heady late summer days of weekly judicial reform rallies, this is Dr Meir Javedanfar.
He was born in Tehran to a family from the city of Isfahan.
Meir Javedanfar is an Iranian-Israeli lecturer, author, and commentator. He's taught Iranian politics at Reichman University in Israel since 2012. 
He is the coauthor of Ahmadinejad’s biography, “The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran".
He has published many articles on Iran and Iran-related matters for Foreign Affairs, Al-Monitor, The Diplomat, The Guardian and others.
He's guest lectured at more than 20 universities and his Ph.D dealt with Mohammad Reza Shah’s security decision-making in relation to threats posed by Iraq and the Soviet Union.
Eight months after his bar mitzvah in 1987, Meir and his family moved to the U.K as Jewish refugees from Iran. 
He remains a committed Anglophile, he never quite left the English sense of humour behind, so listen out for a Basil Fawlty joke!
Whatever the status of the JCPOA in the wake of Iran’s first ever direct assault on Israel, he told me he supported it - and said Israeli military experts in the know did too… Why? 
And he took part in the Iranian Revolution in 1979 - yes really! - but seven Jews were killed and the Persian Jewish population collapsed from 100,000 under the Shah to where it is today: a paltry and declining 7,000.
So why was there a revolution in 1979 in the first place? 
The mullahs are wary of their own people, scared of American soft power, led by the threat of feminism. 
This really is a fascinating interview which deserves the light of day, its own episode.
This is Dr Meir Javedanfar Ph.D.
Jonny Gould's Jewish State is proudly supported by Dangoor Education.
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