Esoteric Quandary

Yonatan, or as we all know him, Yoni, is one of my better friends in Israel. I first befriended Yoni back in the mid-2010s when I had just finished the military and became more involved in the Jewish Community. Yoni happened to become an Emissary for the Jewish Agency within the city of Denver and worked at promoting relationships with Israelis and Denver Jews. Yoni can be seen as the poster child of what the founders of Israel wanted. Service to the country is paramount and personal accolades and wealth come second. He is an Israeli Defense Force Officer, has worked directly and indirectly for nonprofits and government organizations most of his adult life, and now is slowly building his own consulting business assisting with the organizations he used to work for.  He is also an intellectual at his core and like most Israelis, he constantly evolving his ideas, passionate about politics locally and internationally, and well versed in a myriad of subjects. In the podcast, we talk about growing up in Israel as a kid who lived in a prominent neighborhood of Israel's top brass in society and the opportunities this offered later in life. We talk about family, having a Libyan background, service to the country, geopolitics, and much more. Enjoy the conversation! 

Eyal is a very ambitious guy with a vision for the future of his people and the impact they can have in the Middle East and around the world. After his military service, he was traveling around the world as most IDF soldiers do after their service and met people on vacation. Things were going well until he was asked where he was from, when he said he was Israeli the mood of the conversation changed almost instantly and Eyal wondered why. This is the birth of the idea and nonprofit called Israel-Is, a nonprofit designed to create a dialogue with the outside world of Israelis and what the country stands for. This means initially providing training to all IDF soldiers once they leave the service in techniques on how to talk about the country and create lasting memories with people from around the world. The second part of the initiative is to invite people from all over the world to discover and visit Israel at some point on their own and experience the country and rich history for themselves. This means creating rapport and building common ground through outreach and using the change in government policies like the Abraham Accords to normalize relationships on all levels. I initially heard about Eyal's idea a few years ago and it is impressive to see how far this idea has grown. The nonprofit also has put out a documentary of the work in action called "Finding Abraham". This documentary brings Arabs from neighboring countries to Israel to learn firsthand about the country and its people. Link to Documentary - https://youtu.be/YXM3EmXzEeILink to Israel-Is Website: https://www.israel-is.org/

Julia is probably one of the most thoughtful people I met in a long time. Her vast knowledge of culture, language, and professional experience is the exact kind of person that the founders of Israel wanted to immigrate to the country. As she is known in Israel, Jules has had a relatively more straightforward transition than most with moving and adapting to the local culture. However, she knows that is not common and feels fortunate to have worked for two corporations in Israel because of her expertise in Human Resources and languages. We talk about the process of moving to another place and adapting to your new environment. This conversation led to discussions about what Israel does well and what the country could be doing better in that aspect. We also discuss her time in the US and being there when Trump was elected, and this time in history greatly affected her decisions to move forward and come to Israel. 

I know few people like Aaron, who are extremely well-read, pragmatic, and a believer in his country and the future it will bring. Aaron brings a sensical argument to anything his country faces because that is simply how he grew up. The son of immigrants from the Soviet Union, the family moved to Israel in the 90s as many Russian-speaking Jews did after the iron curtain fell. Aaron's family had to deal with starting from scratch and adapting to the harsh reality of Israel and its hardships as a nation. Aaron was the first in his family to integrate into society, being an avid reader and going to school from eight years old on in the country. Meanwhile, his family busted their butts to keep the family afloat while studying for medical certifications in a completely new language. Some say that the Russian Aliyah is the one that genuinely saved the country because of its sheer intellectual capacity. A total of one million Russian-speaking Jews landed in the country in the 90s, about 1/5 of the total population. Imagine if the US accepted 20% of the people in the country (Roughly 65 million people out of 330 million)? The family blended in within one generation and actually had to learn how to be Jewish through their kids, who were learning their own culture faster than their parents. As Aaron grew older, he became involved in the youth movements of the country and served in a special unit in the IDF.  Afterward, Aaron began looking for opportunities to be in active roles that represented the country outside of Israel. He was a camp instructor in the US, worked at the Knesset as a tour guide while going to school, had an internship with a US congressman, and was an Emissary in the UK for two years at prestige university. As you can tell, quite the underachiever.  Of course, we dive into politics within his own country, what the Abraham accords mean for the region, and even what Binyamin Netanyahu's legacy will be. Stay tuned for a great conversation about life through the prism of Aaron. 

I really love podcasting because I get to hang with friends and people I know but get more depth and nuance into their thought processes. Mai is one of those people I thought I knew, and she really surprised me with her passion and activism in the industry she is a part of. Mai began her career as a fashion designer and was lured into the industry based on the allure of these European fashion houses. However, like most industries, once you learn about the system and how it actually functions from the inside, you begin to question if you want to be genuinely a part of it. The fashion world is the second largest polluter on the planet, behind only the airline industry, specifically fast fashion. H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo are some of the global brands that are contributing to pollution. How do you stop people's addiction to fast fashion and the lure of cheap prices for clothing? Mai and I do a deep dive into the history of fashion and how fabrics were initially distributed through colonialism to aristocratic courts and slowly migrated down to the other parts of society. We also discuss the industrialization and standardization of clothing and the 1900s,  how that produced a mass amount of clothing and the downsides of this mass production. All hope is not lost; Slowly, tech and activism are pushing the industry to rethink their consumers and the lifecycle of garments in a way they never had before.  After two and half hours of talking fashion, my mom would be proud. Enjoy!

Alon is an exceptional person and someone who could feel like life is playing with him. A man whose life changed forever in the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and allied Arab Nations. The war has been studied ad nauseam by historians and how the effective reserve units of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had so much success against Arab Ary regulars. However, this story is different and personal, taking place at Ammunition Hill, a remote outpost in the northwest portion of Jerusalem with a labyrinth of trenches designed to protect British ammo supplies during the British Mandate of Palestine. The site itself is a museum at this point, but the story of the men who fought there changed the trajectory of the war to give the IDF confidence enough to retake the Old City, however at a heavy price. Alon tells the story as a Director and from a personal perspective because this was his own unit that took the hill, and his father was a part of the unit. A family legacy of being generational paratroopers is actually common in Israel; the honor and pride of the unit have stood the test of time as it has been the part of every conflict Israel has been a part of. The world is simply a better place with people like Alon representing his people and his country. Enjoy this incredible story!

Mitch is a character who loves what he does and shows off the country of Israel to the world. We talk about what makes the Negev unique, what is his draw to the Negev, and the history of the desert for the people around the world.

Lion David is a serial entrepreneur from the center of Israel and has been successful in managing startups. Sometime during his marriage, he began to take vacations to the Negev to get away from the hustle of city life. Slowly but surely, the family began to look at options to actually make the move to the Negev permanently. The family initially began to work and live on the local Kibbutz and manage the startups the kibbutz invested in. Then Lion went on to work at the Ramat Negev Regional Council as the Innovations Director for the region. He has met with over 800 local small business owners and assisted them in creating business plans, goals, and formalizing some of their operations. 

Jared is the poster child for Zionism and what is expected for what it takes from making Aliyah (To immigrate to Israel from the outside world). He is a man of conviction and purpose who moved to Israel when he was a teenager. A belief in the country and the peoplehood he wanted to be a part of this and joined the military, becoming a paratrooper where he still serves as an officer today. Jared is a man who walks the walk and leads by example in every aspect of his life. He is living on a kibbutz, a socialist enterprise that became famous even before Israel became a country and is part of the board of directors. He works with the youth in the region and sets up programming that creates a dialogue between various parts of Israel. He also assists the regional council in building relationships with partner cities and regions from around the world to have a connection with the people of the Negev. The candor and authenticity are what people are drawn into with Jared.

Tal became infamous during the pandemic for taking control of her city when the city was ravaged with Covid-19 cases. Originally from the town, she rolled up her sleeves with her city council and got to work. Relatively young for politics she was able to reach out to the locals to get buy-in on the measures she needed to take to get the city back to normal faster than the rest of the country. The city is thinking big and moving forward with urban housing development, a science center for students to learn everything from Hydrology technology, drone hardware and software integration with 3D modeling, and partnerships with the country to become R+D hub drone technology. There is a lot to be proud of in the city and Tal is a big part of this surge. This might not be the last time we hear about what is going on in the city of Yerucham.

Eran is the Ramat Negev Regional Council of Southern Israel. The largest jurisdiction of land in Israel with the smallest population. Eran has been busy in his four years at the helm of the local municipality. The constant struggle of keeping the feel of the desert alive with constantly improving the lives of the citizens who live there. The demographics of the region are interesting in that it is a 50/50 split between Jews and Bedouin Arabs. We talk about why Eran moved to the Negev, the challenges of dealing with Jerusalem, the Israel Defense Force training area, and the integration of the Bedouin population into mainstream Israeli society. This is part of the Negev series within the Israel podcast series on the podcast.

Erik and Ben have known each other since the late 90's while attending High School in Heidelberg, Germany. Their lives have had similar trajectories such as serving in the US military, working in the Oil and Gas industries overseas, and now both active in local politics. This interview was intended to talk with Erik about his upbringing and bring more nuance to some of the positions he is running on. We had an hour with Erik and intend to get him back on the show to discuss other matters. Bio from Erik's Website: https://aadlandforcolorado.com/Erik was born into an Army family as the son of Major General (Ret) Anders and Sandra Aadland.  Moving over 21 times, Erik graduated from High School in Heidelberg, Germany, then went on to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. Graduating in 2002 not long after 9/11, Erik was commissioned an Army officer and went on to serve with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, during which he received two Bronze Stars (one for valor).Aadland left the Army as a Captain in 2011 to pursue a career in the Oil and Natural Gas Industry, which culminated as a Project Manager managing the onshore construction of the Leviathan Project in Dor, Israel. After leaving his company in 2020, Erik finished his Master's degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Depth Psychology and chose to dedicate himself to the political arena.With the country's future imperiled by a corrupt establishment, Aadland once again feels called to honor his oath to defend the Constitution by running for Congress, committed to putting Colorado first.Erik's proudest accomplishment is his marriage of 15 years out of which he has three children (including a newborn).  He currently resides in the lovely front range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and never intends to move again.

I thought it would be important to bring a few people together that I respect to go over the recent events in Israel and the surrounding areas. Yoni Alon, Aaron Benderski, and Kate Davis are well-versed in the region, and we collectively have all lived in the region. We talk about what has made this recent conflict different from the previous attempts and a myriad of other things relating to the region's geopolitics. An authentic and open conversation about our thoughts and the ways ahead for the region. 

Jordan and Ben discuss the Q1 earnings from the market and how the tech sector is still booming, especially, Google and Facebook with their advertising platforms. We talked about how the hardware and App store continue to give Faceboook fits on their business model but Jordan, who runs a small business, mentioned that it is not as bad as Facebook is making it out to be. 

Jordan and I get serious in this episode talking about the change of work forever and the solopreneur might be the future. We also talk about some tech companies entering the space of government contracting and challenging the status quo on the big titans of the military-industrial complex. Finally, Jordan mentions Bitclout as something to keep an eye on, basically, an NFT platform designed to buy and sell personal brands. 

Rarely am I completely 100% immersed in the moment, but Jerry was a humbling moment for me. Jerry is originally from Pittsburgh, and he became an engineer at the University of Pittsburgh. He began his oil and gas career in west Texas and suddenly felt compelled to serve. He was enlisted into the US Army and part of a secret program of bomb disposal teams the US created. This unit was the precursor to what is known today as Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). This 98-year man seemed to leave everything on the table and has no regrets in life.  We talk for a good hour plus on his journey, and I am happy to know him and call him a friend now. People like him are the reason I started to capture these oral histories from my fellow veterans. 

Eddie has been in Denver for a while now and joined the Army back in the 1960s in the draft. After his service, he went back to University in Denver at DU. After college, he began working for his father-in-law in the package delivery service for medical companies. He soon after took over the business and worked for the business up until recently. He is an advocate of being outdoors and volunteers with the Sierra Club, a national movement that takes kids out into nature. He enjoys being a grandfather and volunteers with the VA to drive other veterans to their appointments. 

Alan is originally from NYC and was drafted into the US Air Force. He was assigned to the Air Force Academy and spent four years there. After his time in the service, he migrated back home to NYC but realized that Colorado was for him. Alan then moved back to Colorado and found a job working for the Government Accountability Office (GAO). After thirty-five years of government service, Alan retired in the area and has been enjoying Colorado ever since. 

The consulting world is always filled with folks that have different reasons for being there. I get joy out of meeting folks that see the world differently. Jordan and know each other from a few years ago in the consulting world, and he seemed always to be thinking about things differently than the other folks. He had savvy business acumen, and the more you talked with him, the more you realize he was a macher (mover and shaker). A family man who started his own insurance company talked a little bit about the market and some of the headlines coming out of the world in finance, markets, and life in general with how it all affects us. We even put out some stocks that we like; I mentioned Palantir and Jordan are big on energy and commodity stocks at the moment. 

Unfortunately, Sid Shafner is not with us any longer, but I had the opportunity to interview his kids about their father. Sid was a World War Two veteran, and his unit was one of the first to visit and liberate the Dachau concentration camp outside of Munich. Sid met one of the concentration camp survivors as he was running away from the camp, and since he spoke Yiddish, he was able to tell his command to stop the patrol to Munich. They ended up being the first Americans to see the devastation and genocide of Nazi Germany. I met Sid several times in his 90s and loved always talking with him. It was a great discussion listening about Sid through his children's eyes.  Sid actually became friends with the guy that ran up on the unit patrolling and made him a cook in the unit. Eventually, Marcel Levy moved to Israel and lived a life filled with family and friends. The two kept in touch all their life and at the age of 94, Sid went on an eight-day trip to Poland and Israel to see his friend one last time.  Simply google Sid Shafner and national news will come up about his trip. These are the types of stories I want to be out there. 

Elliot is an educator and friend who has done it all when it comes to education. In Denver, he was teaching kindergarten, and after meeting his future wife, they spent time overseas teaching in Korea. The couple moved back to the US and ended up in Minnesota, where Elliot and his wife are both educators. Elliot has transitioned from teaching to an administrator and, during this podcast, provides honest and constructive thoughts on the industry.  I truly appreciated his candor and transparency within the industry many people hold dear, and hopefully, we can have more open and honest discussions like this. We discuss many topics, such as a push for more educational equity, how our system is not geared towards drop-outs, and so many other tough topics. 

Marvin is a special guy, and you would never think that he is 91 talking with him. He is one reason I became involved with our veteran group in Denver, and I am happy to know these guys with every interview a little more. Marvin, originally from Chicago, dropped out of high school and joined the service on the tail end of World War 2. He enlisted in the Army, and when he left, he separated from service in the Air Force and worked in the admin department. Marvin then attended the University of Denver, where he received his undergrad, graduate, and doctorate in special education. He worked in the Denver public school system and trained other teachers on how to best care for kids with disabilities in the city. He was also involved in several Jewish nonprofit entities such as Bnai Brith,  the local Federation, and many more. Marvin gives his take on the world and is still a staunch believer in the nation and a true mensh. 

Matt is one of the OGs when it comes to the food truck world in Denver. He successfully has run two food trucks simultaneously for a span of eight years, and his partner in crime, Holley, runs the events business. We do a deep dive into the small business world, the down and dirty on the food truck scene in Denver, and the constant struggle of dealing with employees, competition, and general stresses of the business. Originally from Ohio, Matt moved to Chicago after culinary school and worked at some fine dining establishments throughout the city. After working in the scene for a few years, he needed a break and moved to Wisconsin and Minnesota to manage a few restaurants and catering gigs. He finally settled into Denver and got an adult job within IT sales. However, the service industry was calling him back as he was still side hustling with catering gigs and such. He then bought into a food truck and pivoted his career back into the game. Today, he still manages two concept trucks, PB & J and also Meatball. Be sure to check him out when he is in your neck of the woods. 

Steve is a Denver native who grew up near the Hilltop area of town and served in the US Army after being drafted. He is part of the Jewish War Veteran Post, and we had an interesting conversation about growing up in Denver in the 1960s and getting drafted for the service during the Vietnam war. Steve returned from being stationed in Okinawa, began working in Real Estate, and still owns several properties. I really enjoyed our conversation when he began to give perspective on the country's current political climate and how it has differed from the past. He expressed a lot of insight on how to move forward, what was wrong with the GOP and why he switched over. I truly enjoyed talking with him and what he had to say. 

Noushig is a friend and originally from Syria but of Armenian descent. The minority group migrated south to the desert after the establishment of what is modern-day Turkey under Attaturk. In this region, the community began to build their life up in the Arab world, and some like Noushig even assimilated into the culture and speech of the region. In 2011 during the times of the Arab Spring, the world looked on as regimes around the region were toppled. Syria was different in that its leader would do whatever it took to remain in power. Most Syrians, including Noushig, did not believe that the Arab Spring would reach their country.  This podcast is a personal account of grit and determination to get out of a civil war in a country at all costs. Noushig traveled from Aleppo to Damascus and into Lebanon, finally ending up in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous region of Iraq of the Kurdish people. Little did she know that ISIS was now on the move from Syria, where they established themselves and pushed into the city of Mosul in 2014. This story is one of the best I have had on the podcast and a true inspiration to folks feeling down and out on their luck. Good things come to those who wait. 

David Wallack is originally from NY and grew up in the Bronx near Yankees Stadium. He attended Columbia University in NYC and then was drafted as a Doctor for Vietnam under the Barry program.  After going through Officer Basic Course in San Antonio, Texas, David was assigned the Air Cav in Vietnam in 1968. After a year in Vietnam, David was assigned to West Point Military Academy to finish his two years of service. David slowly made his way to Denver, Colorado, in 1971 and has worked in internal medicine ever since. He has three daughters and six grandchildren and enjoying his life with the family. 

Mike and I span a friendship since the late '90s, and we have seen our careers take some very sharp pivots due to many factors. I wanted to talk with Mike because he is at the forefront of many situations living in the Bay area of California. On the one side of the Bay is SF and Silicon Valley, the epicenter of tech and innovation within the US. On the other side of the bay in Oakland and Berkeley is the battleground of inequality. The ever-growing disparity of wealth and opportunity right in front of your doorstep. Policies to hinder the equality gap has begun to affect all parties involved, and people are torn about what to do. We dive into that and move onward to a national level of discussion as well. It was a candid conversation with an old friend that I hope you enjoy. 

Bob is an underachiever if I ever met one. Originally from North Chicago, Bob was accepted to MIT for electrical engineering but, after a few years, opted to switch his career field to medicine and moved back to Chicago to attend Northwestern since MIT at the time didn't have the field of medicine to study. After finishing his medical degree, Bob was drafted into the US Air Force and became a flight surgeon. Meanwhile, he was on active duty and applied for flight school, and was actually accepted. He graduated with honors and was off to Vietnam to work at a military hospital. Bob walks into the hospital, and there is no slot for him, so he walks down to the base's aviation wing and asks if they need an extra pilot. He actually flew two types of planes in Vietnam and was also able to practice medicine when he was not flying. After his service, he became an anesthesiologist and worked as such from 1972 to 1988. Bob began to volunteer over in Israel quite a bit, helped the government's geological survey department, and assisted in installing the system that monitors earthquakes. He contemplated moving to Israel, but his family was starting to grow with grandchildren. He wanted to be around for that part of his life and opted to stay in the US. Bob is still an avid flyer even in his 80s and still involved in the veteran and Jewish communities in the Denver metro area. 

Ben Stein was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Westport, Connecticut as a teenager with his family. He found out he didn't do so well on a boat at the Naval Academy and opted to try out for the Marine Corp and went through Officer Candidate School (OCS). While serving on active duty, he was assigned to Okinawa, Japan, and was an Air Controller and also Maintenance Officer. After the service, he went to UT Austin for a graduate degree and opted to give the Reserves a try since they paid for tuition. After grad school, Ben moved to Denver to assist with a family business but opted to continue the Reserves simultaneously. A stint in Denver had Ben looking for other options, and he ended up in Chicago and assigned to Great Lakes. Eventually, he finished his multiple assignments at Great Lakes and moved back to Denver, CO with his wife, and began working with Mike Coffman, the former Congressman for the Aurora area. Ben has since retired from his military service but is consulting and spending time with his family. 

Jack is Program Director/Professor for DU's Supply Chain Program at the Daniels College of Business and the Denver Transportation Institute. Our focus is the development of the 21st Century Supply Chain that focuses students, companies, and industry on structured problem solving, eliminating waste, and disruptive innovation to solve the greatest challenges in the world.The research is focused on creating future models for distribution, closed-loop systems for plastic waste that achieves high recycling rates, lean healthcare, Smart Cities and Final Last Mile, blockchain in transportation, and market-based community supply chains for disadvantaged US cities and the third world.Jack and the university are partnering with companies, communities, and researchers on the greatest challenges on the planet. My recent book, Peak Plastic is the first end to end supply chain critique of how to address the plastic crisis facing our planet in a market-based solution.During the podcast, Jack goes over 2020 for supply chain as a nation and we cover a myriad of questions from who were the winners and losers regarding supply chain management, vaccination implementation, along with some Q+A from friends of the show. 

Hal is a Korean war veteran from the Navy who had an interesting life in and out of the service. He is originally from the Pittsburgh area and was born in 1932. He played high school football and broke his knee as the starting quarterback but was still able to receive an ROTC scholarship at the University of Rochester. He then came into the Navy as an Ensign and was assigned to the USS Franklin Roosevelt after receiving his mechanical engineering degree. His ship required repair, and he toured the Americas while bringing the ship from Virginia Beach, VA, all the way to Bremerton, Washington. I always love talking with people like Hal to get perspective, and I cherish every moment with this group of people. Don't let time pass you by without listening to folks like this. 

To say the least, Don Price is an interesting guy, and I had a great time getting to know him as a fellow veteran. Don is originally from Savannah, Georgia, and made his way to the Naval Academy in the 1970s with a direct assignment to be a Submariner officer at the height of the Cold War in the 1980s. His early childhood growing up and helping the family business in the South was particularly interesting as he grew up during the civil rights movement. After his military service, he worked throughout various nuclear government agencies before heading back to pursue his graduate degree at Warton. Don met a fellow Navy veteran, and they started a company together, which lasted for the rest of his career. Don's story gets super interesting when he watched the Superbowl at around 50 years old and sees a commercial from Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, who was promoting adoption.  He raced up the steps to his wife and told her that moment he wanted to adopt a child, and the story goes on. Don and his wife adopted two children from Russia, and their story seems like a movie.  Be sure to listen and tell us what you think of the story. 

This episode is with Mike Albrecht, a twenty-five-year veteran and fellow Green Beret who seems to have figured out his happiness and transitioned better than anyone I know from the military. Mike and I talked a little about his childhood, what motivated him to join the military, and why he wanted to be a Green Beret.  Since the military, rather than doing the typical route of government work, Mike took a little break and took off to Europe for the infamous Camino De Santiago. This sacred pilgrimage is located through France's southern portion and the northern portion of Spain through the Pyrenees. Mike loved it so much he actually did it twice and walked from Geneva, Switzerland, all the way to Santiago, Spain. Van life has become extremely popular in the last decade, and Mike opted to sell his house and try to live off the beach on the coast in Pacific Beach near San Diego. It was a great time catching up with a guy I haven't seen in a while but always inspired me just to live your life. 

Bernie Rogoff is a friend and former Commander of the Jewish War Veterans Poss #344 in Denver, Colorado. Originally from Lakewood, NJ, and a Korean war Air Force veteran who was initially part of the Army Air Corps. He served his time and returned to the family garment business that sold clothing throughout the US. A staunch patriot who has lived a full life and continues to help the Veteran and Jewish community.