Podcast appearances and mentions of ken weinstein

Trump weiß, was er erreichen will und spielt gerne damit, dass die Leute ihn für verrückt halten, sagt Ken Weinstein. Der außenpolitische Berater des designierten US-Präsidenten skizziert die künftige US-Strategie im Bezug auf Europa und die Ukraine. Balzer, Vladimir www.deutschlandfunk.de, Interview der Woche

Balzer, Vladimir www.deutschlandfunk.de, Informationen am Mittag

Listen to an in-depth conversation on all the latest in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, from the vice presidential picks –Tim Walz and JD Vance – to Israel and antisemitism. Julie Fishman Rayman, AJC's Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs, speaks with Ron Kampeas, the Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Kampeas also discussed the importance of accuracy and empathy in reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting the need for journalists to avoid biases and misrepresentations. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. Episode Lineup:  (0:40) Ron Kampeas Learn: AJC's Call to Action Against Antisemitism U.S. Party Platforms Must Take a Stand Against Antisemitism Here are 5 Jewish Issues Republicans and Democrats Must Address at their Conventions Listen: What the Unprecedented Assassinations of Terror Leaders Means for Israel and the Middle East Aviva Klompas is Fighting the Normalization of Antisemitism on Social Media On the Ground at the Republican National Convention: What's at Stake for Israel and the Middle East? Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Transcript of Interview with Ron Kampeas: Manya Brachear Pashman:   This week, my colleague Julie Fishman Rayman, AJC Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs, spoke to Ron Kampeas, the Washington DC Bureau Chief of JTA, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. They broke down the latest in the 2024 US presidential election. Julie, the mic is yours. Julie Fishman Rayman: Ron, thank you so much for joining us. I'm so pleased to have this conversation with you, because we get to flip the tables and someone who's really a beloved and renowned journalist in the Jewish space, and finally, I get to ask you questions. So thank you for making this opportunity available to us. Ron Kampeas:  Thank you. Julie Fishman Rayman: I want to start by talking a little bit about the conventions. You were in Milwaukee covering AJC's event, alongside a number of other things. Thank you for being there with us. What were your biggest takeaways from the Republican Convention, particularly as they related to the issues of Israel and antisemitism? Ron Kampeas:  I think Israel was front and center, and they made it front and center because it's an obvious advantage that they have over the Democrats right now. So, you know, I think the representative moment was, in a way, when Matt Brooks, the CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, he was invited for the first time to address the Republican Convention, and the first thing he said was, let's hear it for Israel, or something like that, or let's hear it for the hostages. And there were cheers, and then he says that couldn't happen in a month at the Democratic Convention. He might be right. And so that was a big plus for them. On antisemitism it's a little more opaque, but it's problematic, I think, because after Matt spoke, he called us Jewish media reporters together for a little gaggle, and we asked him, naturally, about the isolationism that the vice presidential or the running mate pick JD Vance represents. And it's interesting, the way that Matt put it. He said, yeah, it is a problem. He was candid. He said, it's a problem in the party, and we plan to fight it. And, you know, nobody prompted him, but he said, we plan to take on the Tucker Carlson wing of the party. The interesting thing about that is that he said, prevent Tucker Carlson wing from getting a foothold. And Tucker Carlson had very much a foothold at the convention. He spoke on the last night, setting up Donald Trump's speech. He was up in the balcony with Donald Trump. And of course, you know, Matt's point is that Tucker Carlson is very much an isolationist, particularly as far as Ukraine goes, but he's given hints as far as Israel goes. But it's more than that. He's platformed antisemites, and he's kind of ventured into that territory himself – antisemites like Candace Owens, Kanye West – and I think that that is something that Jewish Republicans are going to have to grapple with. Julie Fishman Rayman: One of the things that was discussed at AJC's event alongside the Republican National Convention was the policy positions of not just JD Vance, but others who sort of align with that faction of the Republican Party – I guess, the Tucker Carlson faction – and sort of reading the tea leaves on Ukraine and saying, you know, at what point does the hesitancy around support for Ukraine translate into hesitancy for support for Israel? And does it? What would you say to that question? Ron Kampeas:  You know, it's interesting that at least as far as I could track, that played out an explicit sense only at your event, at the AJC event. There were people who were asking hard questions of the panelists, and two of the panelists were very much not stumping for Trump, they were defending Trump and the Trump policies. Kirsten Fontenrose, not so much. She was more critical, and even though she was part of the Trump NSC. And so the defense that they were saying is that simply, you know, whatever you may think of Trump's position, this is Rich Goldberg has particularly said this, but I think Ken Weinstein also said it, whatever you may think of Trump's positions on Ukraine, the strength he will project in the world. And this was right after the assassination, and Rich Goldberg kept on bringing up that Associated Press photo of Trump looking very defiant after being shot, that strength is going to deter the kind of actions that Putin has taken in Ukraine.  But the flip side of that actually came up a couple of weeks later at a Christians United for Israel conference here in DC, where isolationism was very much on the mind, and what they were articulating and what might have been articulated in an AIPAC conference, if AIPAC still had conferences – it doesn't – but what they were articulating is that it's holistic, that you can't just say, like, JD Vance says, ‘Oh, I'm all for assisting Israel, but we don't need to assist Ukraine, because Russia's bad actions in Ukraine are being supported by Iran. Iran is supplying arms to Russia in Ukraine that it then can, you know, see how those arms work in Ukraine, and they can use them theoretically against Israel.'  We're seeing now, as tensions build up in the Middle East, that Russia has Iran's back. And then, you know, there's also China, which is also problematic and is buying Iranian oil and helping to prop up the Iranian economy that way. So it's not simply a matter of whether one side projects strength better than the other side, and this is the argument coming out of the Christians United for Israel thing. It's a matter of constant engagement and awareness of how all these things can interlock. Julie Fishman Rayman: I think that's a really great point, and I'm glad you made that connection. I know one of the other issues that was present or discussed at the Christians United for Israel conference was the issue of the hostages, and what you said before about the sort of rallying result of Matt Brooks' comments about, you know, let's hear it for Israel, let's hear it for the hostage families. And a similar cry might solicit or elicit at the DNC. What do you think we could expect? You know, would you expect that a hostage family will take to the stage as Orna and Ronen Neutra did at the DNC, and if so, what might the result be? Ron Kampeas:  So that's a good question. I know that they've asked. I know that the hostage families have asked to appear at the DNC. I know that there are people who have told me that the DNC, especially like with Kamala Harris, who has spoken out for the hostages. I don't see how Kamala Harris could not have the hostages or some sort of representation of the hostages at the conference. On the other hand, the Democrats are going to have to worry about, I don't think they're going to be booed, but I think that they're not going to get the same sort of enthusiastic reception that maybe that they got at the Republican conference, and simultaneously the uncommitted movement. The movement was founded in Michigan and spread to some other states that when Biden was the nominee, particularly, they were upset that Biden wasn't doing enough to stop the war in Gaza, wasn't doing enough to force Israel into a ceasefire, and they wanted to show that they didn't necessarily have to vote for him in November, so they didn't vote for him in the primaries.  And they had different effects in different states, but certainly in states like Michigan and Minnesota, I think that they had a pretty good turnout as far as that goes. And they want a doctor from Gaza to speak at the DNC. So you know which might be fine. It might be a legitimate enterprise in their part, but you know that the Democrats are going to be accused of “both sides-ing” it, that the Republicans wouldn't have somebody like that. So because of the Democrats of different constituencies, as much as the Republicans are now, at least the Trump campaign is now trying to reach out to Arab Americans. It's much more a constituency for the Democrats, as are the Jews. It's going to be like a tightrope for them to walk. And so I don't know how that's going to be a play out, but it's certainly something we're going to be tracking. Julie Fishman Rayman: Talking about that, that tightrope, and also, because you mentioned Michigan and Minnesota, let's talk for a moment about the selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for the vice presidential nominee. He has both spoken at AIPAC's conferences, stood by Israel after the October 7 attacks, talked about Jewish students on campus dealing with encampments and anti-Israel protests and has really been outspoken about rising antisemitism in this country. On the flip side, he also speaks to the more progressive flank of the Democratic Party, and has urged the party to do more intentional kind of outreach to anti-Israel voters who aren't committed to voting the Harris-Walz ticket. What do you make of him in this moment, as both a campaigner and then presumably, if elected, what would you make of him as a vice president? Ron Kampeas:  It's hard to say right now. Nobody was really aware of Tim Walz a lot outside of Minnesota until last week, but it's so funny because, you know, there was this whole push back against Shapiro from the far left because he was perceived as being – I'm talking about Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania Governor who was a front runner – because he was perceived as being too pro-Israel.  But Yair Rosenberg did a really good job. I also did a little bit of reporting into this about how the other candidates, who other likelies that Kamala Harris were considering, are also pro-Israel, and Tim Walz has a long list of accomplishments, but you know, a measure of how fast this summer has gone, how crazy this political season has been, is this a week and a half ago, when Yair put up his story, he didn't even have Tim Walz in it. He was looking at Roy Cooper, he was looking at Mark Kelly from Arizona, and then, because nobody was even thinking about Tim Walz then, and now, he's the running mate.  But from what you can see about him, and like, we just, JTA just did a big story about his master's thesis on Holocaust education, he's somebody who really wants to listen. His recommendation to the Republican Party, you know, he's coined this whole weird thing. That's actually why the Harris campaign noticed him, because he was the first to call the Republicans weird. I mean, the Republican candidates, but he said don't direct that at the voters, direct that only at the nominees, because we have to listen to the voters. And so I think that you can look at what he says about listening to the protesters on campuses in that context. For somebody who was born in Nebraska and lived most of his life in a town of 400 people in Minnesota, he shows, like, remarkably nuanced understanding of things that are of Jewish concern regarding the Holocaust. He's talked about how, you know, one can look at the Holocaust legitimately as an anomaly in history, but also understand it as something that could be repeated, which is actually Yehuda Bauer, the famous Holocaust historian's point. The way he boiled it down was that the Holocaust happened only to the Jews, but it can happen to anybody. And so that's Waltz's outlook, and it shows somebody who's really sort of read up on this and considered it in depth. Julie Fishman Rayman: Because you mentioned that Josh Shapiro had been very much in the running there, I want to get your take on the sort of social media trends of calling him “Genocide Josh” because of his pro-Israel statements and record. Is that just blatant antisemitism that we need to be mindful of, was it specific? Do you think it's just, you know, savvy opposition researchers? What do you make of that? Ron Kampeas:  You know, we often think of antisemitism as, you know, planning to be antisemitic and putting out a statement. There are people who are consciously antisemitic, but the much greater, the much more vexing problem is that, how, it just seeps into the discourse. We have a polarized society, and it's just very easy when you're opposing somebody to grab whatever is in the toolbox to harm them. And for anybody who's Jewish, I mean, you see this and we talk about it openly, you see it when we talk about women in politics, about how attacks on them can be gendered. And nobody, at least nobody on the left, complains about that. Actually, maybe they did a little bit. You know, the Bernie Bros made gendered attacks on Hillary Clinton, and they didn't denied it.  But anyways, so you can say that attacks can be gendered, but it's hard to explain how attacks can also be antisemitic, because that's a tool in the box. And then a lot of people on the left don't want to acknowledge that. They slip into that. And I think that's what happened with Josh Shapiro. I think that there is for some reason, I mean, I can speculate as to, not even speculate – people have said why, even though he was just as pro-Israel as Tim Walz. He's like he's not less pro-Israel. But Mark Kelly did things that I'm sure Josh Shapiro wouldn't have done. Josh Shapiro doesn't like Benjamin Netanyahu.  Mark Kelly, the senator from Arizona, went to the Netanyahu speech, shook his hand afterwards and applauded, and they didn't get attacked in the same way. And if you look at some of the reasons that Shapiro was attacked, they talked about his upbringing, his going to a Jewish Day School in the Philly area, and the things that he was exposed to, they talked about his going to Israel when he was a teenager. And those are things that are part and parcel of a lot of American Jewish upbringings. And so you can say those things are indicting, but there's a point, because you're an American Jew coming up in American Jewish communities, going to be exposed to a lot of pro-Israel. But at what point does that become antisemitic? Because that's just the natural part of Jewish life. Julie Fishman Rayman: I want to ask you another question related to the media. I want to sort of get your take. Last week, AJC and the Jewish Federations of North America published an open letter to media outlets generally, really identifying how so many of them got the Hezbollah attack on the soccer field in the Golan so, so, so wrong that, after a dozen Druze kids playing soccer were murdered in the middle of the afternoon, Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, others, just totally misrepresented the facts. The Washington Post headlined a story “Hezbollah denies responsibility for the fatal rocket strike.” It wasn't true. Hezbollah celebrated the attack until they learned that children were killed and then walked it back. And then doubling down, a later Washington Post story showed an image of the funeral of one of the children who was killed, but the headline read, “Israel hits target in Lebanon.”  So if you only look at the picture and you only read the headline, you think it's a Lebanese kid that has been killed by a strike in Israel, not that an Israeli Druze kid was killed by a Hezbollah attack. CNN, AP, they all sort of downplayed Hezbollah's role in these really horrific murders. Is this ignorance? Is it bias? Is it both? And regardless, if we're sort of operating under this principle of journalist integrity, is this OK? Ron Kampeas:  No, it's not OK. I don't know what went on at the Washington Post. I was witness, kind of, to one of the most foundational episodes in bad media takes, which happened right after the Second Intifada began, and the AP put out a photo of a policeman helping up a Haredi Jewish kid who had just been knocked down or even beaten by Palestinian writers in Jerusalem. And the AP captioned the photo saying that the policeman was attacking a Palestinian on the Temple Mount, which is so funny because there's a gas station in the back of the picture and there's no gas stations on the Temple Mount. I mean, if you know Jerusalem, you know the Temple Mount, you know how crazy that is. And so, like, what had happened was that I knew the guy who was handling photo editing at the AP that night when he got this picture. And at the time – this is in the early days of the Internet and computers – the picture came across at the AP's, Israeli photo agency affiliate, and Hebrew couldn't work on that machine, so, like, the Hebrew was scrambled. They captioned it in Hebrew. It was scrambled.  So the guy calls up the other guy who's also tired, and he said, was this like some cop beating up a Palestinian on the Temple Mount? He said, yeah, sure, and that's how the thing goes out. So it's just, like, journalists can screw up in ways that speak to a certain underlying bias about the conflict. They expect to see certain things, but it's also can be stupidity and laziness and just screw ups at the last minute. I mean, I imagine that's what happened with the Washington Post front page, but it's awful, and it needs to be remedied, and people need to be more educated, and they need to pay more attention. I think you're right. I think the way that the media has been treating the Hezbollah-Israel conflict in the north, in a way, differently than it treated, at least at the beginning, it treated Israel-Hamas. Hamas is clearly defined as a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is an organization that's holding Lebanon hostage. Historically, people now think it was a big mistake to invade Lebanon in 1982. Hezbollah was partly an outgrowth of resentment of the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon. But Israel withdrew to UN. They went to the UN and they said, you decide where the lines are. We're not going to decide where the lines are.  You decide where the lines are, and we will withdraw that to that point. In 2000 Israel did that. Hezbollah continued to attack. Hezbollah launched a war in 2006 that Israel did not want, and conflict with Israel helps uphold Hezbollah within Lebanon. And so I think that because Hezbollah is a very proficient and weathered militia, they fought a war in Syria. They fought a terrible, genocidal war in Syria. They were on the wrong side of that, but they fought a war in Syria. They're good at what they're doing. So maybe there's a reflex to see this as a conflict between two militaries, but it's not.  It's a conflict between Israel and a terrorist organization that unprovoked launched missiles inside Israel on October the eighth, even before Israel was striking back in Gaza as a means of solidarity with Hamas. And so I think that needs to be front, just as I think a lot of media, obviously JTA, but even a lot of like, you know, non-Jewish media always put out there that Hamas started this war. It needs to be reminded that Hezbollah also started its version of the war, and that Hezbollah, it's not an army that's accountable to any kind of civilian infrastructure, never mind a democratic one, like the Israeli army is accountable to elected officials. It's its own militia with a stranglehold on Lebanon.  So yeah, I think that should be evident in everything that's written about that conflict, and maybe that's what helped distort at least the initial reporting from what happened in Majdal Shams, which is just horrible. Julie Fishman Rayman: One of the things that AJC is always trying to call on media outlets to do is to know who to call. Right, if there is an incident related to Israel that they don't fully understand, if there's an antisemitic attack and they need more context, to understand that there are Jewish individuals and organizations who can help to provide insight and texture and understanding so that their reporting can be more accurate. That's one of the recommendations in our Call to Action Against Antisemitism in America, recommendations for media. I wonder if, you know, journalist to journalist, if folks call you and say, “Ron, this is what we're writing, is this right?” Knowing that you are just such a font of knowledge, they should, this is what I'm saying. They should call you. Ron Kampeas:  My son asks me, I mean, very occasionally, I do get calls more having to do with my alleged knowledge of the American Jewish community and how it works and how it functions. I get calls about that. I think on Israel, less so because everybody's an expert. Everybody considers themselves an expert. Everybody flies in. I think what was an unfortunate standard. 20 years ago, it wasn't just the AP, it was all mainstream media, that you get your best takes from a foreign correspondent between three and six months into the assignment, because it takes them three months to learn it, but it takes them six months to go native, which is to sort of really understand the nuances. I think that's unfortunate, because I think going native, really understanding the nuances, sort of delving into a story, becoming familiar with it, becoming sympathetic in ways, with all sides to the story, actually enriches a story. And I think that that's something that maybe you know, I've been doing JTA for 21 years. I've been in journalism for 35 years. I think it's great to have fresh outlooks. It's good. I think it's also good to sometimes rely on institutional knowledge and to listen to people who have been here before. It was weird at AP. I was in a position at AP when I wasn't allowed to use my institute for bizarre reasons. Institutional knowledge, you know. But it was funny, because at the outset of the Iraq War, the first day, the major Iraq war in 2002, 2003, I knew things that signal that it was going to go wrong, because I'd lived in the Middle East, and I wasn't the only one. By far, by far, there were a lot of people who knew those things institutionally. It means literally saying, like what the Israelis said in 1982, the Shiites are throwing rice and you had actual examples in 1982 of Shiites throwing rice at Israelis, and in 2003 of Shiites throwing rice at Americans. They want this. And it never works out that way. It goes awry.  But nobody was listening, because people were too invested in a particular outcome to listen to the institutionalists. And I think that that's a problem. There's a reflex sometimes to say, oh, the institutionalists got it wrong in the past, because the world is still a mess, but that's not their value. The value of the institutionalists, and a great institutionalist just passed away, Martin Indyk, the value of the institutionalists is that sometimes they can actually say, this is where I went wrong, and this is what we misunderstood, and this is how we misunderstood it, and this is how we were deep in the weeds and we misunderstood it. And that's the kind of knowledge that I think shouldn't go wasted. Julie Fishman Rayman: Thanks so much for that perspective. I was going to ask you as a final question, if there was anything that you wanted to raise that we haven't discussed yet. But I would also add to that question, feel free to answer that question. Or is there something that we're getting wrong now institutionally? Ron Kampeas:  Yeah, I think that, you know, there's a lot that we're getting wrong now institutionally. I think that people are, and every side of the Israel-Hamas conflict are they retreating into sort of easy, reflexive understandings of what could go right and what could go wrong. I think that there is a value in understanding how toxic Hamas ideology is, that was, I think, grasped at the beginning after October the seventh, but has slipped away as this seems to be just a conflict, and people are retreating into Israel's bashing Gaza. We have to get it to stop bashing Gaza, which is fine, it's an outlook. It's a legitimate outlook, but it's one that's not going to register at all with any Israeli, unless you take into account how Hamas is perceived among Israelis as a genocidal organization. If it wasn't before October 7, it is now.  On the other hand, I think that sort of reflexive, we can never have a two state solution. I'm not saying, advocating, for two state solution. We never have a two state solution. We're just going to go on as we've gone with the Palestinians. I think that also reflects this kind of like a reflexive blindness that you have to account for the Palestinians, somehow. Nothing is going to be imposed on them. They have to be agents and actors and whatever happens, and it might not happen in my generation, it might not happen in my lifetime, but that has to be back of mind. And I think for a lot of people, particularly in parts of the Israeli establishment, it is not back of mind.  So those are things that I think that people can maybe, you know, if, if these competing, they're not actually enemies, I'm talking about people who are on the same side. They can be on the same side in Israel, they can be on the same side in America, but they're rivals, and they don't like to listen to each other. But if they did talk to each other and listen to each other, maybe they would find nuances that could get everybody to a better place. Julie Fishman Rayman: If we could do a word cloud of some of the themes that have come out of this conversation, listening is definitely one of the words that would be prominent. And I think it's not only a good aspiration, but I also want to highlight that our listening to you on these really important issues is revelatory, truthfully, and we're grateful for all the work that you're doing with JTA every day, but also for being here on People of the Pod with us and for all the wisdom that you've shared. Thank you. Ron Kampeas:  Thank you. Manya Brachear Pashman:   If you missed last week's episode, tune in for my conversation with AJC Jerusalem Director Avital Leibovich on what the widely reported deaths of two terror leaders last week could mean for Israel and the wider region.

Aviva Klompas has long been a fierce advocate for Israel and is no stranger to the forces that try to delegitimize the Jewish state. Klompas, cofounder of Boundless Israel, a think tank dedicated to strengthening education about Israel while also keeping an eye on the surge of antisemitism in the U.S., joins us to discuss how she's working to combat antisemitism and shape the conversation, both online and off.  Listen to this candid conversation, recorded on the sidelines of AJC Global Forum 2024 in Washington, D.C.  Episode Lineup:  (0:40) Jason Isaacson, Ken Weinstein, Kirsten Fontenrose, Rich Goldberg Show Notes: Watch: Voices of Truth: Advocating for Israel on Social Media with Aviva Klompas and Michael Rapaport Listen – People of the Pod: On the Ground at the Republican National Convention: What's at Stake for Israel and the Middle East? Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Transcript of Interview with Aviva Klompas: Manya Brachear Pashman:   Aviva Klompas has long been a fierce advocate for Israel and is no stranger to the forces that try to delegitimize the Jewish state. After leading Birthright trips, she became the speechwriter for Israel's Mission at the United Nations where she was always looking for ways to give voice to Israel's side of the story, amid a cacophony of anti-Israel sentiments.  After working for Combined Jewish Philanthropies, she co-founded Boundless Israel, a think tank dedicated to strengthening education about Israel while also keeping an eye on the surge of antisemitism in the U.S. Aviva might still write the occasional speech, but on Instagram and X, that's where she's really shaping the conversation and confronting haters.  We sat down with Aviva on the sidelines of AJC Global Forum 2024 in Washington D.C in early June. Aviva, welcome to People of the Pod's pop-up studio here in Washington. Aviva Klompas:   Absolutely. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Together with Rachel Fish, you co-founded a nonprofit called Boundless. can you tell us the purpose of boundless and the origins of its name? Aviva Klompas:   The idea is to look at the larger issues that are plaguing the ecosystem in Israel in North America and to function both both as a think tank that does research to understand what's happening under the surface, but then to not just investigate and study for curiosity sake, but then to turn to action, and really to extract recommendations, and to pull together partners in order to take meaningful action in order to address some of the larger challenges.  So the two areas in which we primarily focus are one, education. How do we reimagine Israel education in North America, for both Jews and for non-Jews? And the area where I spend most of my time has to do with the narrative war? Understanding how did we get here? What's happening below the surface, both in traditional and on social media? Manya Brachear Pashman:   You previously served as the director of speech reading at the Israeli Mission to the United Nations. And at that time, did you find yourself not just talking to a traditional institution but actually trying to persuade or convince, maybe even combat the sentiments of that audience? Aviva Klompas:   Working as a speechwriter for Israel at the United Nations is certainly an experience and an education unto itself. And my former boss, Ambassador Ron Prosor always used to say to us, it's not so much politics and diplomacy as it is theater and a game of chess. And so to some extent, it's about who you can convince in these speeches and in these conversations in the halls, in the corridors of the United Nations, but the meaningful action, the real relationship building, tends to happen behind the scenes where there's no camera, and when there's no public audience. What people tend to see, the speeches that are broadcast, statements that make headlines around the world, that's really theater. Manya Brachear Pashman:   And you mentioned, when you were onstage with Michael Rapaport, at Global Forum yesterday, you mentioned how that job is very limiting compared to your job now and your representation on social media. Can you talk a little bit about why it's important to be on social media to use that as a platform. Aviva Klompas:   Yeah, so I worked both for the Israeli delegation. So that was working for the Israeli government. I also worked as a policy advisor for the Canadian government. And certainly when you're working for a government, there are limitations on what you can say, and what you can do. And one of the great blessings of having co-founded Boundless and working in this nonprofit is that at this moment in time, there's a lot of flexibility and latitude for Rachel and I to really hone in on what we think needs to be done and spend our time and our energy there.  The great education that I got when I was working at the United Nations, was the fact that people would always ask me, Well, why is it that Israel participates in the United Nations? This is an institution that is notorious for its bias against Israel.  So why does Israel participate? Why would it be a member of an institution that notoriously demonizes, delegitimize, vilifies, ostracizes it. No country has to be a member of the United Nations. And more than that, in order to be a member in good standing, you have to pay dues.  So Israel pays its membership dues to endure the sort of abuse that we see day in and day out at the United Nations. That's the number one question that I get asked, but it was never once a conversation that we had inside of the United Nations, because we never for a moment doubted that Israel has every right to participate in and contribute to global affairs. And that mentality is what I've taken with me throughout my career that Israel has, and the Jewish people have every right to participate in and contribute to our communities, our societies, our countries and bettering this planet. Manya Brachear Pashman:   You also, since October 7, you have emphasized that it's very important to tell Israel's story, tell the story of October 7, day to day, hour to hour, which is how I viewed the news cycle of social media. Why? Why is it that it's so important?  Aviva Klompas:   It's a part of that mentality that I was describing, which says, I won't for a moment accept that any of this is either normal or acceptable. I'm not going to tolerate a world that speaks to us and treats us as if we had this coming. As if what happened on October 7 was due to us. As if it is normal to be holding over 100 people hostage. As if it is acceptable that Jewish people have to hide their Jewish identity.  And I'm not interested in people that will speak with great sympathy about dead Jews, but not take any meaningful or consequential action to safeguard living Jews, which is ultimately what's most important.  And at the end of the day, the reason that I'm spending so much time and energy on social media is because I refuse to allow the normalization of what we're seeing day in and day out. And the only way you stop that normalization is two things is one, you have to use your voice, you have to stand up. And we also have to use our Yiddishe kops a bit and try to think about what's happening under the surface. What are the root causes? What are the points of origin for what's taking place? And how can we outthink them? And that's the work we're doing at Boundless. Manya Brachear Pashman:   You have primarily focused your messaging on X, or Twitter. You recently though moved your posts to Instagram as well. Aviva Klompas:   After a lot of people told me that I had to, yeah, a lot.  Manya Brachear Pashman:   Well, can you talk a little bit about your social media choices? In other words, is there a particular audience on X that you were trying to reach? Aviva Klompas:   I joined X when I was actually speechwriter for Israel at the UN. And I was very at the time we're talking, I don't know, 10 or 11 years ago, I was opposed to the notion of joining social media, I thought, I don't think everybody needs to know my thoughts. That's ridiculous.  And then one of my colleagues Israel Nitzan, a good friend, and a diplomat of Israel, he was the one that convinced me said, this is very much in line with Elon Musk, I would say is, it's the town square, this is where conversations are happening. This is where politicians and diplomats and reporters are having conversation. And it's important that you participate. And that is an idea that resonates with me very deeply, is that we need to have a voice in the public square. So that's how I got started on X.  And I left my Facebook, and I did have Instagram, but I really left it for that personal private space. And then early on in the war, had to change the privacy settings because all of a sudden, it was being flooded with with requests, my Instagram, my personal Instagram, when you open it up, it's 1000s and 1000s of people that want to follow me and I'm like, It's my vacation photos and it's family. No. So that's not going to happen.  So instead, after a lot of people said to me, there's obviously a whole other audience of much younger people and different people that are on Instagram, can you just pull your posts over? So I started a second Instagram account, which is just replicating the tweets and it's @AvivaKlompas. Manya Brachear Pashman:   I'm curious if you have developed relationships, either real or virtual with other social media influencers. In other words, did you know Michael Rapaport before October 7, before he became so vocal on social media and is that in particular and are others new and surprising friendships and partnerships? Aviva Klompas:   So I met Michael Rapaport because I got a DM on X from him. That was three words. And they were: who are you? And I wrote back: who are you? And that's where we started chatting. And then we had the opportunity to meet in Israel and he's become a very good friend and a person that I admire enormously.  And that's happened in other instances as well that there's been other influencers that I've met as a result of this that started his online conversation. chanson turned into real world relationships. And ultimately, all of us need to have a community social media is a very lonely place and it's a dystopia. When you pull people in the real world, which is what we do at Boundless, it asked her attitudes and opinions about Israel and anti semitism, you get one set of answers.  When you look on social media you get a different set of answers. The world is much bleaker and darker. And that's because the rule on social media is if it enrages, it engages. So the most vitriolic, hateful, disgusting, vile content is the content that will trend that's most likely to appear in your feed.  I always likened social media to the Coliseum in ancient Rome, where you have people battling it out in the center of the arena. And then you have the throngs of crowds surely, lustily screaming for them for someone's demise. It is not a venue that is conducive to relationships are conversations are chasing or changing minds, if you can sort of visualize that Coliseum analogy.  And at the same time, because social media is this kind of dystopia, bleak place, you need to have a community. And that's what I have found with other pro-Israel pro-Jewish voices is that it makes you feel like you're not alone in this that you're not this like single voice that standing against an enormous tide. So I'm very grateful to the other people that have lent their friendship in this moment. Manya Brachear Pashman:   So I want to pivot a little bit to what you put on social media, mostly the Israel-Hamas war. Why do you think Hamas terrorists are being treated as heroes in so many outlets and venues?   Aviva Klompas:   Yeah, what we're really seeing is new tactics and an old strategy. This strategy of how Israel and the Jewish people is being demonized. It's not new, the only new part of it is is the advent of social media as a way to more quickly and more spread the these lies and disinformation much further, but it really goes back to a Soviet strategy you had after World War Two, you had the Cold War, and you had the United States pitted against the Soviet Union. And you never want to fight a war on your own territory. So to the extent that you can you want to fight it on a different front, and that's really what the Middle East became. Israel as it moved away from its socialist roots and towards a capitalist roots, begins to align itself more with the United States.  That poses a threat, the Soviet Union sees Israel in the Middle East as a forward operating base for the United States. And so it begins to align itself more closely with the Arab nations. And in order to fight this battle, it begins a disinformation campaign that has a number of strategies to it that I think will sound very familiar. The first is to claim that there's no connection between the Jewish people and land of Israel to paint us as colonizers.  The second is to paint us as aggressors. And just to frame it in such a way as it is, isn't the Nakba, not the story of how a number of surrounding Arab armies attacked Israel, not the story of how Israel accepted a two state Partition Plan from the United Nations, but rather the story of the Nakba, and the demise.  And the third is to paint the Palestinians as a people that have no agency, and that all of this is happening to them and that they are victims in this colonialist, racist world. And then what the Soviets did is they begin to use that type of language that says Zionists are Nazis, and Nazis are the epitome of evil. And so all of the worst racist colonialist, etc. Accusations that's not new, we saw that from the infamous Zionism is racism resolution at the United Nations in the 1970s.  So this is a continuation of a very, very old strategy. And as we always see, it starts with the Jews, but it never ends with the Jews. Manya Brachear Pashman:   On the morning that many of us traveled here to Washington for AJC's Global Forum, we woke up to the news of the IDS rescue for hostages. Headlines talked about the four hostages being freed, not rescued. And sadly, many more headlines focused on the hundreds of Palestinians who were killed in that rescue effort. I asked why Hamas terrorists are being treated as heroes and I ask this knowing the IDF has certainly made some tragic errors in this war. But do you get a sense that there is a concerted effort not to treat IDF as heroes? Aviva Klompas:   So first off, I mean, I saw them being the hostages being spoken about as having been released, as if, as if commerce just opened the doors and let them go. And the level of condemnation about us going into rescue or hostages? What did they want us to do? Ask nicely. It's been eight months, we've tried a series of hostage deals in negotiations, and it's gone nowhere. I don't measure the standard of the IDF behavior by what the world says. That's going to be a failing strategy for us. I think it's measured by the values of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. And that's why the army has a code of conduct. The people that are more outraged that Israel went to get its people back than the fact that terrorists took them and held them for eight months. Those people need to check their thinking and their values.  And that's one of the things that we need to call out all the time. And I think that's a question the mainstream media that's been reporting on it, it's been embarrassing to watch people just essentially regurgitate Hamas press releases. How about a little bit of journalistic integrity? How about asking some hard questions like, Do we even know the casualty figure? I saw it grow by 100, since yesterday. I don't think anybody actually knows the number of casualties.  And then, if you had the number, how would you assess how many were actually combatants? If you're counting journalists and doctors that hold hostages in their home as civilians…I don't understand how mainstream media have sort of suspended rational analysis in this war. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Do you also get the impression that the hostages' stories have been downplayed by mainstream media? I mean these are truly ordinary people, ordinary families who now suffer extraordinary uncertainty, which, you know, I would argue, is worse than loss, this uncertainty. Do you feel like that has been lost in mainstream media coverage? Aviva Klompas:   I think that for a while, we saw that the hostage family stories were prominent, and they were certainly getting a lot of attention. And now it's a lot harder. Now it's been eight months, and it's a very visual war. No war in the history of the world has had this level of scrutiny, and certainly not this level of playing out real or disinformation on social media. And people are being bombarded with very difficult and very honestly very, very tragic scenes from Gaza.  And we haven't really seen that many new images emerging about the hostages, because there's so much silence. So in that sense, I can understand why there is a level to which humans can stay interested in a topic without new information. I think that's part of what we're struggling with. And at the same time, we have seen journalists be shockingly callous to the hostage families, and that's absolutely unacceptable. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Can you give an example of what you mean? Aviva Klompas:   Well, we just saw a very prominent reporter from the hill roll her eyes while speaking to the sister of a hostage when she asked her to believe women. Manya Brachear Pashman:   The New York Times broke a big story–I'm putting big and finger quotes–earlier this week that Israel's Ministry of diaspora affairs organized and paid for an influence campaign last year that targeted US lawmakers, American public with pro Israel messaging, but the story never mentioned the barrage of propaganda that pro Palestinian organizations have put out quite effectively. How do you guard against spreading disinformation as a social media influencer? Aviva Klompas:   So I don't agree With what the Israeli government did, I think it was pretty inevitable that that was going to become public. And so I think we could have all seen that this was coming in, and it was not a wise decision to target American lawmakers. I'm not sure that I would call that a disinformation campaign. Disinformation is a deliberate attempt to spread fake information. And I don't think that was the case, but nonetheless, not wise.  The difference is, is that my beloved Jewish people believe in truth and integrity. And we believe that if we just tell the same story one more time and maybe tell it a little bit differently, people will finally listen to us. And I think after trying that for a couple 1000 years, maybe we should adopt a different approach. And we again, have to look at what's happening under the surface.  If we want to do better at social media. You're right, the other side will say anything, do anything and show whatever image, true or not. People say it immediately 6000 people were killed in the bombing, an intentional IDF bombing of a hospital, okay, based on what? It's been 15 minutes, nobody actually knows what happened. Same thing with the rescue mission. Day by day, the count of quote unquote, civilian casualty grows by 100. We don't know the facts on the ground, we're not relying on third party verification in the way that we should, and people are just soaking this up. And the other side has realized as much, and they understand that they have the freedom and latitude to say everything. Understanding that we have to rethink what this picture looks like. In understanding social media, we have to be thinking smarter about the type of information we're putting out and what some of the challenges are.  You have algorithmic manipulation, you have bots and inauthentic activity, you have foreign intervention campaigns, you have the echo chambers that exist, we have the algorithms that even when they're not manipulated, as I said, what engages and engages. We know all of these things. But I don't think we're working hard enough and smart enough to design our campaigns and our messaging, in order to address some of them.  One of the things that we're doing at Boundless is we started with the very simple question that says, Who do we need to be talking to? Any messaging, any communications, begins with understanding who's your audience because you need to tailor your message appropriately. And I'm not sure that we're doing that as much as we should. So at Boundless, we started with that question, we did a major study with a national research firm, and we identified six priority audiences.  And we ask them their opinion, we want to learn from them, we want to understand why do you think what you think? Why do you believe what you believe? Where are you getting your news and information, we're very open about going to them and saying, We want to learn with you, we want to understand what your challenges are. One of the things that we learned is that every minority population in this country believes that they are the victim, they believe that they are one of the most highly targeted people for hate crimes.  And the challenge that we have is that when we come we present them and say no, we're the most hated group, what we're doing is we're minimizing their experience. And we're catalyzing a sort of victim Olympics, it makes them feel defensive, it makes them feel like they're not being seen and heard. And we're not tailoring our messaging with that understanding. So we need to do a little more, a lot more, front work in order to understand who do we want to speak to? What are their values, what are their positions, what's informing how they feel, and think about different issues, before we start to construct messages.  And then we really have to think about the distribution and dissemination techniques that we have. Which are right now, they're too uniform, we need to be doing a lot more and a lot differently. And we're hyper reliant on social media. And social media has a very important role to play. But we all know that if we see social media as sort of this coliseum, this arena in which people are thrashing it out, you're never going to really have a conversation. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Shortly after October 7, you wrote, quote, The State of Israel was supposed to be a living promise that there would always be a place for Jews to be saved for the pogroms in the Holocaust that plague Jewish history. After the October 7, mass terror attacks, that promise is broken. Do you still feel that way? Aviva Klompas:   I've been to Israel seven times in seven months. And I think a lot about when I first went the first time I went was two weeks after October 7 And I was in Jerusalem. And that was deserted. And I wanted to go walk to the Western Wall to the Kotel and I walked through the Old City and it was unbelievable. It was the middle of the week in the middle of the day and everything there was not a person in sight. Everybody was so scared.  And I recall friends saying to me, we're having conversations as if it's the 1940s we're talking, we're whispering husbands to wives about where we would hide our children. Because exactly that sense of security, that sense of comfort had been shattered. The idea was that anybody could jump out and didn't matter where you were in Israel, the sense of safety had dissipated.  And it wasn't that different here in the United States. And I think to some extent, people probably still feel it. Whereas in Israel, it's been more alleviated with the notion that antisemitism, that you're not safe in your places of worship in Jewish day schools and community centers that you have to think twice before you go to a walk for Israel, you have to think twice, about whether you're going to wear a kippa or a magen david. I think really, our sense of security has been shattered.  And that's one of the great tragedies, beyond the enormous tragedy that is October 7, than the living tragedy of the hostages, is the fact that we are all shaken by this. And that it feels scary for a lot of people to be a Jew in the world right now. There's a lot to say about what social media does wrong and how harmful it is and how difficult it is.  But also, the one thing that means the most to me, about being active on social media in the last eight months, is the number of messages I get, and people that come up to me in the real world and say to me, I'm scared. And I feel a little bit less scared because you have a voice in the world, you and other people, that people are feeling very alone, that people are saying I'm in workplaces where I'm the only Jew or I'm in schools where I'm being targeted where I feel like I can't speak up in class where I have to hide my head when I am choosing to stay in my room rather than go out.  And it's a lonely, lonely feeling right now. And if the only thing that my social media is doing is helping people have a voice and to know that there's others who think this is not normal, this is not acceptable. And we're going to spend every single day raging against it. That will have been worth it. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Aviva, thank you so much for joining us on the sidelines of Global Forum. Aviva Klompas:   Thank you for having me.

Israel's right to self-defense and security, governance in Gaza, the Iranian regime and its network of terror, the Jewish state's relationship with Arab countries in the Gulf, and much more were among the topics of discussion at an AJC-convened panel discussion at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Listen to an excerpt of the panel, moderated by AJC's Chief Policy Officer and the head of AJC's Center for a New Middle East, Jason Isaacson, along with policy experts Dr. Ken Weinstein, Kirsten Fontenrose, and Rich Goldberg. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. AJC is a nonpartisan, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. AJC does not endorse or oppose political parties or candidates. Episode Lineup:  (0:40) Jason Isaacson, Ken Weinstein, Kirsten Fontenrose, Rich Goldberg Show Notes: Watch: Israel and the Path to Peace - AJC at the Republican National Convention Listen – People of the Pod: Europe at the Ballot Box: Insights and Impact on Jewish Communities and Beyond Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Transcript of Panel with Jason Isaacson, Ken Weinstein, Kirsten Fontenrose, and Rich Goldberg: Manya Brachear Pashman:  America's political parties are kicking off the 2024 convention season, starting this week with the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. AJC was on the sidelines of the RNC, with a live program titled Israel and the Path to Peace, moderated by AJC's chief policy officer, Jason Isaacson. Jason is also the head of AJC's recently launched Center for A New Middle East.  Joining Jason was Dr. Ken Weinstein, former longtime CEO of the Hudson Institute and the Walter P. Stern Distinguished Fellow at Hudson;  Kirsten Fontenrose, the President of Red Six Solutions and Senior Director of Gulf Affairs in the National Security Council under President Trump; and Rich Goldberg, Senior Adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Director of Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the National Security Council, under President Trump.  Just a reminder: AJC is a 501(c)3 nonpartisan organization and neither supports nor opposes candidates for elective office. A similar program will be offered at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this summer. Now onto today's episode: an excerpt from AJC's convention program. Jason Isaacson:   Let me begin by reading to you a couple of passages from the Republican platform, which was adopted yesterday at the Republican National Convention. This is what it said about Israel. Quote, We will stand with Israel and seek peace in the Middle East, we will rebuild our alliance network in the region to ensure a future of peace, stability and prosperity. And then there was, as you may recall, for the Republican platform, his list of 20 promises. And it's described as 20 promises that we will accomplish very quickly when we win the White House and Republican majorities in the House and Senate.  And number eight, on that list of 20 promises is the following, quote: restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East. So let's drill down with our panelists on those two statements in January 2025. That's more than six months away. It may be that the Israel Hamas war will be won over by them, and perhaps whatever conflict is so close to boiling over between Israel and Hezbollah, that that might not any longer be the case, might have boiled over, might be a thing of the past.  But let's say for the sake of argument, that hostilities are in fact, continuing, and let's assume that the Republican Party is victorious this fall. What are you expecting the Trump administration to do to, quote restore peace in the Middle East and to accomplish that, quote, very quickly. And let me begin Kirsten, with you. Kirsten Fontenrose:   Great, thanks so much for having us. All of us like to nerd out about these kinds of topics all the time when we're just grateful that there are other people who are as interested. What I expect to see in America is a revived peace plan. So you all remember the deal of the century, the vision for peace, we will see that come back. If there's a second Trump administration. Not in isolation, it will be part of a larger context.  That will also include assurances about Israel security and governance for Gaza and the like. Why have we not seen this yet? Because no one's asked the Trump team. But that will come back and you will see that. There's an expectation, whether it's naive or not, which we'll see, that there will be a greater receptiveness among the Palestinian population for an economic plan that offers improvements in livelihood after this conflict.  If there is a marginalized Hamas, there'll be more movement in this space for reviving these kinds of ideas. So we will definitely see a revived peace plan, you won't see less attention on this issue, you'll see very top level attention on the issue. You're also going to see, I think gloves off with the Houthis in the Red Sea. The US military has been very careful to make sure that all of our strikes so far had been from a defensive perspective. But you will see, I believe, because the world has not criticized any of these strikes, I think you're gonna see more latitude there. More room for movement for preemptive striking, for instance, because the perception is that for the whole world, this shipping interception problem is just out of hand. So I think we'll see more latitude there. And we'll see gloves come off a bit there.  And then I think you're gonna see some tough talk, frankly, with Prime Minister Netanyahu. President Trump has watched the US be yanked around a bit by the current Israeli government.  And I think you're going to see less tolerance for that recognition that Israel is a sovereign country, but more of an attempt to say the US is the superpower here, and we will be leading the ideas from hence. If we're expected to play a role, we will be leading in that role. What you will see, however, will be interesting to watch as there is division among Trump advisors about a two state solution. So you'll see that be debated out. Jason Isaacson:   Thank you for that. Ken, let me ask you, restoring peace in the Middle East and Europe and doing it very quickly, you've had a very broad focus on a whole range of foreign policy issues at the Hudson Institute and before and since. Tell me how you see that playing out under a second Trump administration? Ken Weinstein:   I'd say first of all, I think President Trump came to the conclusion early on, in his first term, he came in remember, talking about the deal of the century with you know, this peace agreement, he was booed at the Republican Jewish Committees event when he was a candidate.  And he quickly came into office and understood he could not trust Mahmoud Abbas, because of the incitement to terror by the Palestinian Authority and the tensions that were given out, and the pay for slay efforts that the Palestinian Authority has. Whereby people who kill Jews, kill Americans, were getting Palestinian Authority pensions in prisons, for their families and the like.  And so, Trump quickly came to understand that the challenge in the peace process wasn't bringing Israel and the Palestinians together, it was that the peace process itself was misconstrued. The peace process was being used by Middle Eastern governments, in particular, the Iranians, but also the Palestinians as a means to put leverage on Israel, exercise leverage on Israel, by a bunch of people who wanted to see the end of Israel's existence. And Trump quickly reversed that equation.  He understood that the best way to move forward was to remove items from the table such as moving the embassy to Jerusalem, which didn't have any of the backlash that John Kerry and others predicted would happen. And he quickly understood the best way to move things forward was to put pressure on the Palestinians.  Trump's a real estate guy. And so he understands leverage, he understands how to put pressure forth, and how to deter. I think we're going to see much more of that moving forward. We're not going to have a vice president of the United States who's going to get up and say, the Israelis can't evacuate Rafah, it's going to lead to 10s of 1000s of deaths.  And here I actually disagree slightly, I think Trump will actually give the Israelis the latitude they need to finish the mission, which is to destroy Hamas, and eventually bring about a transformation in Gaza, with the assistance of the Saudis. Who were absolutely critical in de-radicalizing Gaza, they have done it successfully themselves, as has the UAE. And so I think we're going to look much more at a regional approach on these issues. Obviously, Iran is going to be, to borrow a term from Joe Biden, President Biden, in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, as they were before. You're gonna see massive sanctions again, we're gonna get them, we're gonna enforce those sanctions. And Rich can talk to this stuff far more deeply than I ever could.  And you're gonna have the Iranians on the run so that they don't feel that they can work with Hamas or work with Hezbollah, to do more damage to Israel. And already we're seeing a deterrent effect on the Northern Front. And also with regard to Hamas.  Because with regard to Hamas, we see that the fear of a Trump administration is leading to a greater willingness to negotiate with Israel. And on the northern front, I think it's less likely that the Israelis will take dramatic action before the US election, knowing that they will not be reined in by an administration that is somehow searching for a delusion of peace with Hezbollah and with Lebanon. Jason Isaacson:   What about peace in Europe? Is is that something that you see, that you can envision under a Trump administration? Ken Weinstein:   First, let me say something with regard to Europe and the Middle East. I think that the Trump administration, the Trump team has been infuriated by this notion of enforcing this ridiculous ICC policy with regard to Israel and those who threatened to arrest Netanyahu. I think you're going to see in places particularly, I can just think of the kinds of actions they'll take in Germany.  I think you can expect individual sanctions on the people who were behind Nord Stream as a sign to not dare mess with Netanyahu, period. And you'll see other actions like that. I know the Spanish ambassadors here with regard to Spain with that we will be taking numbers, as Nikki Haley did so effectively at the UN, and as the Biden team does not.  So with regard to Europe. Look, I think the situation with regard to Ukraine, as President Trump understands it, I think, Trump, you have to understand he comes to this. He's not a policy person. He thinks that policy people like the three of us, four us up here, we lack creativity, we have a sense the policy options run from the letter L or P to the letter Q or R. And in fact, for Trump, they run from A to Z. And so that meant fire and fury in Pyongyang, but it meant eventually potentially beachfront condominiums in North Korea and an economic vitality to North Korea, if it gave up its nuclear program. With regard to Iran, it was maximum pressure, but it was the new Iran deal that got rid of the nuclear program that got rid of the missile program that got rid of regional activities, and that internally reshaped Iran, and led to a new relationship with Iran, with not only the region but the rest of the world. And with China, it was massive tariffs on China, but a new trade deal in the phase one that was gonna get rid of intellectual property stuff, which was at the core of what President Trump saw correctly as the engine of the Chinese economy, and the engine of the China 2025 program. So I'd say with regard to Ukraine, the President is looking at options that will, as he himself has said, he would tell the, you know, the Ukrainians on day one, you've got to, you know, we've got to end the fighting, you would tell Putin, if you don't end the fighting, we're gonna arm the shit out of Ukraine, pardon my French, as he said something along those lines. And I think what we'll see at the end of the day, is a massive program to guarantee Ukrainian security, that is going to take massive security guarantees. But the Europeans are going to have to step up and step up in a very serious way. And we've seen since the announcement of the JD Vance nomination are ready to reaction in Europe, the Europeans, you know, have to understand they're not gonna be able to backchannel they're not going to be able to figure out some way out of this. They're gonna have to be big providers of security guarantees, we will do the same for the Ukrainians as well, but Europe has to take up a big portion of it. And Trump does not, he is not Joe Biden, he's not going to cut and run, as in Afghanistan, he doesn't want to be humiliated on the stage, he understands deterrence, he's going to send a very clear signal to the Russians, as he did to the Taliban. When they were talking about when they were negotiating with the Taliban, Trump was on a video call once with the Taliban leader, and said, I want to make this very clear, you're not to strike at any of our people. And if you do, and hit the button on Play, and he showed a video of I think, the Taliban leader's kid leaving their house to say we're watching you every moment, and we will take care of you. And  there'll be some kind of a version of that with regard to Putin, that's going to be very clear. He was very blunt with Putin behind closed doors, from the White House in particular. And I think there was a good reason why Putin didn't go into Ukraine during Trump's term. And so I think that there's going to be some kind of a square in the circle solution that's going to have to come together. And I've been telling European foreign and defense ministers for the last few months, think about this now, how to do it, how to implement it.  Jason Isaacson:   Ken, thank you so much. Rich, let me turn to you. We've been talking about Iran, and you are an expert on Iran. It happened for years. I didn't see a reference to Iran and the Republican platform. But of course, we know, former President Trump's record on Iran. And Ken has been talking about that. Should he return to the White House next January, what do you foresee on this front to return to maximum pressure, or something more kinetic? And what is your sense of our regional strategic partners priorities? Are our friends in the Gulf hoping for a decisive showdown with Iran? Or are they sufficiently risk averse that they prefer a less confrontational approach? What do you think? Rich Goldberg:   I think if you look at the top lines, right, and you compare the policy, the recipe, if you will, under the Trump administration: maximum pressure on Iran, maximum support for Israel gets you peace, gets you deterrence. And when you flip the narrative and you go to maximum deference to Iran and pressure on Israel, you get conflict in the Middle East. It's not disconnected from what Ken's just talking about in other regions of the world as well, whether in Europe, whether you're in the Indo-Pacific. This comes down to the ability to restore American deterrence. And then you have options. There are a lot of genies that are out of the bottle due to the last three and a half years. Iran today and its nuclear program is at the one yard line of nuclear weapons thresholds. They were not there four years ago. In fact, after the killing of Soleimani, in early 2020, the rest of the year the Iranians never escalated the nuclear program again. They waited until January of 2021. And that's when they started jumping to 20% high enriched uranium. And then they saw nothing's happening to us. So they went to 60% high enriched uranium. They started installing all the advanced centrifuges, they've advanced, so far accelerated to this incredible capacity to produce a dozen nuclear weapons in just a couple of months if they so chose. Plus Intel now coming in that the administration is trying to downplay work on weaponization. There's a lot of genies out of the bottle here that Donald Trump's going to have to try to put back into the bottle.  And that will not be easy. But the formula remains correct. Restore deterrence, have maximum pressure and isolation on the Iranian regime and provide support to your allies. Now, the Gulf Arabs, by the way, the Saudis, the Emiratis, they've made some strategic decisions due to the policies that they saw, sustained by Joe Biden. They've cut deals with the Iranians and sort of cut their own JCPOA. with Iran with the Houthis. I'm not sure they're going to be on board for what's coming next. And they need to make some preparations for the return of a Trump administration and hawkishness towards Tehran and understand that we also won't tolerate them hedging with the Chinese. Now, that comes from the fact that America is hedging on them.  And so there's going to be a lot of parts that have to come together like a puzzle, to try to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, actual restored turns and regain that peace through strength in the region. This is true in the Middle East. It's true in Europe, and it's true in the Indo Pacific. So what is deterrence? I think that's a major question. What is deterrence? Made up of two big things, capacity and will. Joe Biden and Donald Trump both have capacity. They were the commander in chief at some point of the most powerful military on Earth. Nobody doubts that you have capacity when you are the president of the United States. But our enemies do doubt the will. And they test the will early on.  Every single administration gets tested, whether it's China, whether it's Putin, whether it's Iran, they get tested. At some point, Donald Trump got tested by the Iranians and Soleimani is dead. And that changed a lot of things in the world. And over the course of time, the unpredictability, the some of the craziness of the media went hysterical over the red button with Kim Jong Un did get the attention of people like Vladimir Putin. The Taliban tested Joe Biden, and he failed the test. And Kabul fell. And then Ukraine was invaded. And then now in China, they're expanding and starting to harass and actually attack in some ways, the Philippines and Taiwan.  And what are we seeing? Nothing. So, the minute Donald Trump becomes president, when I hear Trump say, just my election is going to start bringing about a change on the Ukraine front, a change in the world. You might have laughed at that.  I think after Saturday, you're not laughing anymore. A picture that if you're Xi Jinping, the Ayatollah, Putin, Kim Jong Un, looking at that on your desk every day of Donald Trump with his fist in the air blood dripping, right after being shot, saying fight. You're not questioning will. And that will be, I think, the big game changer.  Now, they might still test it. And there's a Chinese proverb, which is, you have to kill the chicken to scare the monkey. And I think President Trump might have to kill a chicken. He'd have to pick the chicken wisely. I think it might be the Houthis. That makes no sense to me. There is a national interest, there's a strategic importance to it. And it will game change how you're trying to get the Gulf Arabs back on side, see that we are committed to the security in the Gulf in the broader Middle East, it will send a major signal to Tehran, and it'll be part of that pivot back to maximum pressure on Iran and maximum support for Israel.  Jason Isaacson:   Rich, thank you. But before I turn back to the Abraham Accords, let me ask you, what's your sense of the Saudi and UAE and Bahraini overtures to Iran? Are they just seeking some kind of stability, some kind of channel, but it doesn't have a whole lot of meaning, or what's your sense and how should the US respond? Rich? Rich Goldberg:   I think there is meaning to it. I think that Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia has changed his strategic calculus over the last three years. I think that there was a game changing moment for him when the Houthis were raining down missiles, next to a Formula One race he was hosting out in Jeddah. And you're talking about major investors, world leaders, important people all driving into a race course already there. And you're seeing a ballistic missile explode within your line of sight. And the United States does nothing.  And then Abu Dhabi comes under attack by the Houthis, and the United States does nothing. And they're saying, Wow, they're just at the table trying to give the Iranians whatever they can, they've taken the Houthis off the terror list. They're not defending us anymore. They've pulled the missile defense augmentation that Trump put in, in 2019-2020. And they're still trying to get this nuclear deal done.  What are we doing here? Why are we just waiting around for Godot? Why are we exposed? We should cut a deal here. And why if the United States can hedge on us, can't we hedge on them, and they start cozying up to the Chinese and doing things that we probably don't like very much I need to put an end to. So I think it's very real. These channels are real. They're in a hedge. I think it's taken a while for others that are far more suspicious of Iran, like Bahrain to get on board this strategy. But everybody sort of signed up to this. There's a normalization process with Assad that I think is partially connected to it as well. All of that's going to have to change. You have Donald Trump is back in office. And I don't know that they appreciate that very much. Jason Isaacson:   There's also a recollection of the Trump administration in this reaction or non reaction to this Iranian attack on Saudi Aramco facilities. So it's been a mixed bag. But But first, let me let me let me turn back to you. And we were talking about the Abraham accords before. That was a great foreign policy access success of the last months of the Trump administration, first of the UAE, then Bahrain and then with different terminology, but Morocco and Sudan. As you know, the Biden administration has been vigorously pursuing an effort to normalize Saudi relations with Israel, and objective that was also very much a part of the Trump administration's vision. What are your perspectives on the likelihood of that kind of a deal being closed in the last months of the current Biden administration, if they do move forward on such a deal with the Republicans getting the Senate joined with Democrats in the Senate to support such a deal before the election? Or perhaps in a lame duck session after the election?   Kirsten Fontenrose:   Well that's the big question. So I think if you have a deal that includes normalization with Israel, Saudi us still includes normalization with Israel, it has a shot of getting through, but the closer we get to the election, the smaller that shot gets, because the more Republicans Congress will want to hold out to grant that foreign policy when to potential Republican administration.  But if you have a deal that is being discussed now, as a Plan B, that is just a US-Saudi deal, without normalization. And this is because of the Israeli government's decision, perhaps not to grant that the Saudis are fully on board, you won't get it through, there's just not enough in it. For the US. There are lots of questions about why we'd be granting Saudi assistance with civilian nuclear technology. And a security guarantee, when we're not really getting much out of it. There's nothing in this deal in terms of concrete asks on the relationship with China. And we can really go quite far in blocking Chinese influence in the Gulf by just improving our own foreign military sales process. We don't need to grant security guarantees, the Israeli Saudi relationship is so close right now. It's normalization and everything but public statement and name and that public statement name is important for the follow on effects you have around the world globally and with other Muslim populations.  But in terms of their coordination, they're in a pretty good place. So we're not in some sort of crisis rush to make sure this happens in the next few months, unless you're the Biden team. And you're desperate for a foreign policy win, because your promises on other foreign policy fronts have not borne out.  So I think you will still see this continue, though we have doubled down on the Saudi discussion, if there is a second Trump administration. But you will not see this granting of a deal to Saudi Arabia, even though they are a phenomenal partner. And we are quite close, without more concrete asks that benefit U.S. goals as well. It's not the opinion that just having Saudi on side with nothing we've actually signed them up to, would they grant overflight rights, if things came down with Iran.  We need to make those more specific before we would do something that would require commitment of troops, large resources, equipment, perhaps to the detriment of other partners, we would be able to send those same troops and equipment. So I don't think we're going to see it in the last months of this administration. Manya Brachear Pashman: To hear the rest of the panel, head to the link in our show notes. Another reminder that AJC is a nonpartisan organization and will be at the DNC next month in Chicago. We hope to see some of you there.  Next week on People of the Pod, tune in for our sit down with two Jewish Olympians before they head to Paris for the Summer Olympic Games.

Peter Rough talks this week with Ken Weinstein, Hudson's Japan Chair and former president and CEO of Hudson. Peter and Ken talk about Hudson's founding and the instrumental role Herman Kahn, Max Singer, and Wally Stern played in making it what it is today. The two also delve into the role Shinzo Abe played in transforming Japan's foreign and security policy.

Hudson Institute Japan Chair Kenneth Weinstein joins the show to discuss why Japan is the United States' key ally in Asia. Ken reviews Japan's political history, influential leaders, and regional realities to explain why the island nation is primed to step up to face the China challenge and to fulfill the vision first articulated by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Ken Weinstein - Big Hassle Media For today's episode, we're once again going off script and chatting with someone who, while not a manager, is someone who is an ally to artists and their quest to find an audience and make meaningful connections.   I was lucky enough to be connected with today's guest, Ken Weinstein, right as he was starting Big Hassle Media with fellow publicist Jim Merlis.  I've always admired Ken's ability to advocate for artists from an authentic and natural place.  His passion for the artists he works with shows through, and it's an impressive list that includes many long-standing relationships, such as with Jack White and Third Man Records, as well as My Morning Jacket, and so many more.  We get into a variety of topics, circling back around to the need for storytelling for artists, and how a publicist can support that narrative. 

"Typically, music heals," says Tim Burgess, the hyperactive multi-talent whose career encompasses three decades as The Charlatans frontman, sixth diverse solo albums, three memoirs, his own O Genesis record label, and more than 1000 installments of the now-beloved Tim's Twitter Listening Party. During the darker, more uncertain days of lockdown, these twitter parties facilitated joyful connections between fans and some of our favorite bands—from Blur's Dave Rowntree to Oasis' Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, Paul McCartney and Susanah Hoffs from The Bangles. As the parties progressed, it took in more diverse albums including Run The Jewels, Iron Maiden and more recently Shania Twain. The wide breadth of music it covered during the pandemic would in time unstuck Tim's own creative impasse and the positivity would spill over to his electic, sixth album Typical Music.Many thanks for making this possible: — Thank you Tim for sharing 'more than we needed,' even as your van waited for you outside. (Insert Heart emoji) Thank you to Mute for use of all songs. To Sony Music for Master Rights for "The Only One I Know." And to Bella Union and O Genesis for all other songs. Finally to Ken Weinstein from Big Hassle for all the added support.Songs Featured: "Here Comes The Weekend,"The Only One I Know," "Years Ago," 'Just One Kiss (One Last Kiss)," "Nik V," "The Mall," "Time That We Call Time," and "The Centre of Me(Is a Symphony of You)."To share your thoughts on this episode, email: celine.teoblockey@undertheradarmag.com Or leave a voice message here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Marshall Kosloff is joined by Senior Fellow and Director of Hudson's new China Center, Miles Yu, and Distinguished Fellow, Ken Weinstein to react to the Biden administration's new China strategy and refreshed comments claiming the US would defend Taiwan. China will use all means necessary to gain and maintain regional power, but what is on the table for the US response, and what should be? Yu and Weinstein analyze what the Biden administration's recent comments mean for our relationship with the CCP, and how Xi Jinping is really looking at Taiwan in light of lessons learned in Ukraine and values established from a long line of communist dogma.

Each month, Cinnaire's Advancing Communities Podcast brings together our Chief Strategy Officer, Jim Peffley, with thought leaders, policy makers and others who are making an impact in the community development and affordable housing industries. Our guests share their experiences and perspective on a range of topics, each supporting the belief that all people deserve the opportunities provided by living in healthy communities.    In this episode, Jim sits down with Ken Weinstein, founder of Jumpstart Germantown, and Dionna Sargent, Vice President of Community Development at Cinnaire who launched Jumpstart Wilmington. The three discuss the purpose and goals of the Jumpstart program which was designed to train and equip aspiring developers with information and resources needed to revitalize their communities. In 2016, Ken Weinstein created the Jumpstart Germantown program and since then, over 1000 aspiring developers have graduated from the program, which has served as a model for other programs throughout and surrounding Philadelphia.  Jumpstart Wilmington, the first program to launch outside of Philadelphia, welcomed its first cohort in October 2020 and has graduated 60 aspiring developers thus far.   Check out the podcast as the three discuss:  The purpose  of the Jumpstart program and why it was created  The components of the program and key development topics  The application and program selection process  The role of mentors and ongoing training for participants  The outcomes of the Jumpstart program       Click here to listen to Episode 24 of Advancing Communities! 

This week we're talking with https://www.emmaswift.com/ (Emma Swift), a Nashville-by-way-of-Australia singer-songwriter who garnered some serious attention last year with her release of https://emmaswift.bandcamp.com/album/blonde-on-the-tracks (Blonde On The Tracks). We were excited to talk to Emma as a follow-up to our recent newsletter piece highlighting an atypical release strategy -- one that does NOT involve releasing songs to streaming platforms on the official release date. Emma breaks down her impetus for doing a "physical or download-only" release, how the plan was formed, and touches on all of the moving parts of her release cycle. She'll also provide some advice to developing artists on how to approach your next release. As promised in the outro of the podcast, here's info on Emma's team that worked this release: UK publicist: Rachel Silver - https://silverpr.co.uk/about/ (https://silverpr.co.uk/about/) US publicist: Ken Weinstein - https://www.bighassle.com/ (https://www.bighassle.com) US radio promo: Brad Paul - http://www.bradpaulmedia.com/ (http://www.bradpaulmedia.com) Distribution: http://www.thinkindie.com/ (ThinkIndie) in the US; https://www.thegroovemerchants.com/ (MGM Planet) in Australia.  Emilee Warner helped manage my campaign for four months. She was particularly good at Nashville related hookups: advertising on Lightning100, a mural at Grimey's, booking Blackbird for a live stream.

Host and KYW Newsradio Community Affairs Reporter Cherri Gregg asks the burning questions about ways government can look at systems to root out racism. Omolara Fatiregun, founder of Thrive! has created an algorithm for governments to use to test their spending. Then, our newsmaker of the week is JumpStart Philly. Founder, Ken Weinstein discusses a new partnership between JumpStart Philly and the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Finally, the Patriot Homecare Changemaker of the week is Gift of Life Donor Program. President and CEO Howard Nathan is guest.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ken is a pillar in the Philadelphia Real Estate community. He has done everything from running banks, to owning restaurants, residential and commercial real estate. He is working on some massive commercial projects. We also talk about his loan program to get new investors started that maybe coming to a city near you!

Ken Weinstein is an active entrepreneur and real estate developer in the Philadelphia area. He serves as President of Philly Office Retail, which has renovated and restored more than 300 vacant and deteriorated commercial and residential units in the Philadelphia region during the past 30 years. Philly Office Retail currently owns and manages more than 800,000 square feet of commercial and residential space in the Philadelphia region.Ken founded and operated Cresheim Cottage Cafe from 1996 until 2004 and now owns Trolley Car Diner, Deli and Ice Cream Shoppe in Mt. Airy since 2000 and Trolley Car Cafe in East Falls since 2010.Ken is also the Founder of the Trolley Car Teacher's Fund, which contributes $25,000/year in small grants to public school teachers, Trolley Car Table Tennis Club, the only full-time table tennis club in the Philadelphia area, and Jumpstart Germantown, which mentors, networks and provides funding to aspiring real estate developers. Ken was an Organizer/Board Member of Valley Green Bank for 8 years until it was sold to Univest Bank in January 2015.

BE SURE TO SEE THE SHOWNOTES AND LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE HERE. Eve Picker: [00:00:10] Hi there. Thanks so much for joining me today for the latest episode of Impact Real Estate Investing.   Eve: [00:00:17] My guest today is Ken Weinstein, the CEO of Philly Office Retail, ordinary by name only. Ken has built his company into one that serves the neighborhood it invests in, always tackling underutilized and blighted properties and turning them back to good use. But that's not quite enough for Ken. He launched a boot camp for wannabe developers in his neighborhood, called Jumpstart Germantown. To date, he has trained 850 of them, and a half a dozen other neighborhoods have started their own program using his open source program information. Still not satisfied, Ken has also launched a loan program and lends to developers that cannot get bank financing. He's a powerhouse. Listen in.   Eve: [00:01:10] Be sure to go to EvePicker.com to find out more about Ken on the show notes page for this episode, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can access information about impact real estate investing and get the latest news about the exciting projects on my crowdfunding platform, Small Change.   Eve: [00:01:35] Welcome to the show, Ken. I'm really eager to talk to you.   Ken Weinstein: [00:01:38] Thank you, Eve.   Eve: [00:01:38] You are a very prolific developer by the sounds of it and also a prolific entrepreneur, I really want to hear about everything you're working on. Maybe we could start with your real estate projects. I'm wondering what led you to tackle the very challenging work of restoring vacant and blighted properties?   Ken: [00:01:57] Yeah, it's been a passion of mine for over 30 years now and I started part time for first 15, 17 years, of my real estate career. And for the first 10 years, I started exclusively in renovating vacant residential properties for the first, you know, mostly single family duplexes, triplexes, and then about 20 years ago switched over to renovating vacant commercial properties, which is what we still do today. But my passion over the years has been blight removal. I grew up in the suburbs of New York City and North Jersey, and we didn't have blight. So, when I moved to Philadelphia, which is a community I very much love, I couldn't understand why and how there was blighted properties and I set out to do something about that.   Eve: [00:02:53] Oh, that's interesting, that's kind of the way I see it. I grew up in a pretty suburban area as well, and we didn't have blight, so moving to Pittsburgh was pretty much the same experience of you moving to Philly, I think.   Ken: [00:03:06] Sounds about right. Yeah, I came here in the late 80s and have not left.   Eve: [00:03:11] You know, what's your key development focus now and what neighborhoods you focus on?   Ken: [00:03:16] Well, over time, like a lot of developers, our projects got larger and larger. So, you know, we used to do train stations and storefronts and small mixed-use projects. Now we've moved on to schools and churches and former factory buildings. We find that we now have the expertise, of course, to get those things done. But it also takes the same amount of time to buy and renovate a storefront, a vacant storefront, as it does a larger, either former office building or factory building. So, we've tended to go towards the larger projects. We focus almost entirely on what I call 'middle neighborhoods,' not your most struggling neighborhoods that are hard to rent at the end of the day after you renovate, and also not the hottest neighborhoods. In Philadelphia that means everything sort of surrounding Center City. Those areas have already been largely gentrified; there's less need for us to come in and try to maintain and improve the community in which we're working. So, we're focusing on those middle neighborhoods, which are probably about 50 percent of Philadelphia.   Eve: [00:04:36] Wow. OK. Tell us about a favorite project that you've worked on and what it looks like.   Ken: [00:04:41] Yeah, there are so many. Hard to pick just one, but a couple of years ago, there's probably been a few years ago now, we took a vacant St. Peter's Church campus in Upper Germantown, which is a neighborhood that I've particularly focused on. And it's about a one and a half acre campus, a total of four buildings, three of them historic, from the late 1800s. Historically designated properties, so there was a lot of requirements on what we could and couldn't do to the property. But it had been sitting vacant for about 10 years. Two of the buildings in particular were very close to coming down on their own. So, it was very tired and risky project. We purchased it for less than $500,000, put about six million construction dollars into the project, saved these four wonderful historic structures, and we did a long term lease with a Waldorf school ...   Eve: [00:05:49] Oh, nice.   Ken: [00:05:50] ... which continues to occupy the property five years later. So, it's a classic win-win-win strategy that we've used over time to save this property that otherwise would have gone under if we hadn't bought the property.   Eve: [00:06:07] Yeah, yeah. So, what's the most important thing you strive to accomplish with every project you do?   Ken: [00:06:14] You know, like I said, my passion is blight removal, so, you know, to me it's relatively easy to buy a vacant piece of land and do new construction. It's more difficult and more needed to renovate and do adaptive reuse on an existing building. So, that's what we try to focus on. But more than anything, we try to do, you know, what's now a common term, PPP - People, Profit, Planet - also sometimes referred to as Triple Bottom Line investing, and try to create, just like the Waldorf example, a win-win-win for the developer, the community and the tenant. And I'm not going to tell you all of our projects benefit all three, but most of them do. And that's what we strive for. The developer should make a reasonable profit and cover overhead. Otherwise, we're not going to get commercial loans to do our projects. The community should see jobs, should see a better quality of life, should see blight removal. The tax base should be increased to pay for services for the city. There should be amenities involved, you know, people in the neighborhood should enjoy whatever tenant is coming into the property. You can't just improve the property, you also have to improve the neighborhood at the same time. And then, lastly, and what a lot of developers, I think, miss, is the tenant also needs to benefit from the project. There needs to be reasonable rent. We are unique in that we offer a 100 percent fit out for a lot of tenants so that startup tenants, in particular, can come into our properties. We help our tenants with initial marketing. And we also help to place them in the right spot, you know. Just because someone comes to us and says, I'm a startup restaurant, can you find me a location? We're going to put them in a location that we think makes sense because we know and understand the community.   Eve: [00:08:20] Great. So, what's the biggest challenge you've had?   Ken: [00:08:24] Over time, that changes sometimes or very often, the biggest challenge is finding tenants in the past that has held us up a lot. Currently, I would say, a challenge is construction. Construction costs are going up ...   Eve: [00:08:40] Yeh.   Ken: [00:08:40] ... Hard to find experienced carpenters, in particular. So, it's held us back. You know, that we have tenants that are waiting for their properties to be fit out and we need to make that happen more quickly. Another challenge right now is, you know, during the pandemic, is financing.   Eve: [00:08:59] Yeh.   Ken: [00:08:59] Financing seems to be fairly easy for multifamily housing, but most of our projects are commercial in nature ...   Eve: [00:09:08] Yeh.   Ken: [00:09:08] ... and financing is not so easy. I am fully confident that will come out of this and financing for commercial will be a lot easier a year from now. But until then, we're going to have to fight and get a little more creative.   Eve: [00:09:22] Yeah, I've been hearing the same thing from many people. That's really interesting. So, now I'd like to dive into the other things you do because all of that doesn't seem to be enough for you, in that ...   Ken: [00:09:35] Never enough (laughter).   Eve: [00:09:35] No, no, I wonder when you sleep (laughter). So, in 2015, you started a really fascinating program called Jumpstart. I'd like you to tell me a little bit about it and why you developed it.   Ken: [00:09:52] They are very excited about this project. And, you know, like a lot of projects, you see a need and you respond to that need and you don't know if it's going to make it or fall on its face. And, so here is a project that we started that just excelled and took off beyond my wildest dream. It's called the Jumpstart Germantown, and now Jumpstart Philly. But what we set out to do is train, network, mentor and loan money to a new group of real estate developers that have had trouble breaking into the industry. We started this, like you said, in 2015, and it really came out of a lot of people knocking on my door and emailing me and calling me, and saying, "Hey, I love what you do. Can you show me how to do it, too?" And of course, we all love to pay it forward, so, we say yes and we sit down with people for an hour at a time, and ... but at the end of the day, I just felt like I was their cheerleader. "Hey, here's how I got started. You can do it, too. Good luck. Stay in touch." I wasn't helping anybody get started in real estate development. So, what we did, I started to say 'no' to those requests and instead put together a 12-hour curriculum that I can take people through, hand them off to a mentor after they graduate from our program, and then loan them money to get started with their first, second, third project. Because we all know that traditional banks don't like to lend to newbie developers without a lot of experience. So, it's just been incredibly successful. We have graduated 850 people so far through our ...   Eve: [00:11:37] Wow.   Ken: [00:11:38] ... Jumpstart Germantown program. We have lent them over twenty million dollars ...   Eve: [00:11:43] Oh wow.   Ken: [00:11:44] ... for 200 projects. And then, it's been so successful, and we've made all of our resources and our workbook and other materials 'open source,' that other neighborhoods have picked up on this model and have run with it. So, there's now six other Jumpstart programs in Philadelphia that other people run and there are Jumpstart programs in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware, that will be starting this fall.   Eve: [00:12:15] Wow.   Ken: [00:12:15] So, we're just really excited that people see the value in this model. And we have changed a lot of lives and removed a lot of blight from the communities in which we serve.   Eve: [00:12:26] So 850 people, who are they and why do they want to become developers?   Ken: [00:12:32] That's a good question. You got to be a little crazy ...   Eve: [00:12:34] Yeh, you really do.   Ken: [00:12:34] ... to become a developer.   Eve: [00:12:37] Yes.   Ken: [00:12:37] And part of what we talk about in the beginning of the training program is what is real estate development and who is best apt to do it? You know, what traits are needed to be a successful real estate developer? And one of the things we talk about, or one of the things we focus on, is risk. Because that's what is true of every real estate developer. If you're not willing to take risk, if you're not willing to take the last 20,0000 dollars you have in your bank account and put it into a project, you probably should not be a real estate developer. And that's OK. No judgment. Real estate development is not made for everybody, but it does attract a certain group of people. And once people get a taste for it, it's addictive. You know, people keep going with projects ...   Eve: [00:13:22] That's for sure.   Ken: [00:13:24] Yeah. Some people have done, gone through Jumpstart and they were intending on doing one project and they liked it so much, they're now going to do one a year. Or we've had dozens of people who have quit their day jobs and gone into real estate full-time.   Eve: [00:13:39] Oh wow.   Ken: [00:13:39] But there's no one group of people for Jumpstart. When I first started it, I thought, oh, you know, it'll be young people, the next generation. Turns out it's everybody. It's contractors who retired who want to benefit from the fruits of their labors. It's realtors who know how to source properties, but don't know the other six steps of real estate development. So, it's just a variety of people. But one thing has been really wonderful is that more than 85 percent of our graduates have been women or people of color who are traditionally left out of the real estate development process.   Eve: [00:14:22] That's fantastic.   Ken: [00:14:23] So, it's great that, just organically, that we've been able to attract that group of people.   Eve: [00:14:29] That's really pretty fabulous. So if you can hammer one thing into new or an old developer's head aside from risk, what would that be?   Ken: [00:14:40] It's knowing what you're doing, willingness to take risk, but a lot of what we also cover ... You know, there's a lot of get rich quick kind of schemes out there, and people that show you how to flip properties quickly. The reason why our Jumpstart program is different, and something that I say to everyone who wants to be a real estate developer, is keep the community in mind when you are developing properties. There's a lot of developers out there, as you know, to get started, they put their head down, and they literally walk to and from their properties as quickly as possible. They park right in front of their property so they don't have to interact with neighbors or talk to people. No. We're teaching you park a block down from your project when you visit your project. You go door-to-door, initially, when you start your project, introduce yourself, tell people what you're doing, why you're doing it. Interact with the community. Don't be like that elected official that waits till it's election time to go door-to-door and ask for people's support and vote. No. Introduce yourself to the community, get to know the community so that when you do go through zoning or you need support from a community member, they already know you, they already trust you. And definitely, as I said earlier, think about the impact that you're having on the community as you develop. Because you can't just do it in order to make a profit. You really need to do it in order to improve the community in which you're investing. And then you'll invest and benefit much more in the future.   Eve: [00:16:29] Yeah, that's a great thought. Great advice.   Ken: [00:16:32] Thank you.   Eve: [00:16:33] So, are there current trends in real estate development that you think are the most important for the future of our cities?   Ken: [00:16:41] Yeah, it's ... interesting, obviously, with the pandemic trend is an interesting topic right now. Because there's trends, I think, that will exist for the next year that will not be long-term trends. There's a lot of people suggesting that everyone needs larger houses and people are going to move to the burbs because of the pandemic. I think that's all short-term. I think, and what I'm hearing is that long-term, the cities are still going to be the place that people want to be, that people will return to public transit, that people will want to live and work within walking distance of a train station. So, those are the things that we're still focusing on. Again, they may not be true for the next year during the pandemic, but they are certainly trends that had started a few years ago that I believe will continue, and developers should pay attention to that.   Eve: [00:17:41] So, stay the course, right.   Ken: [00:17:43] Stay the course. Exactly.   Eve: [00:17:45] Yeah, I feel pretty much the same way. But I think at the moment people are so scared of the unknown that it's difficult to predict the next year.   Ken: [00:17:54] Right.   Eve: [00:17:55] So, your whole life is wrapped up in what really is impact real estate development. Do you think there's a best approach towards impact real estate development and investment? Is there something that we could be doing better? People talk a lot about impact goals, but I really wonder how many people actually follow through.   Ken: [00:18:15] Yeah. And it's hard because banks in particular push you or force you to think about the financial bottom line.   Eve: [00:18:25] Yes.   Ken: [00:18:25] And if you're a caring person, you want to think about something larger than that. So, you really have to buck the trend in order to continue to think about the community. Is there any one way to do impactful real estate? No. I'm the last person to say you got to do exactly what I'm doing if you want to be impactful. No. There's a lot of ways to be impactful. We are all sort of watching each other and learning from each other. And we all know who are the impactful developers within a community. We can learn from each other, but there are lots of different ways of being impactful, and it really depends on what your goals are, what your niche is, and what resources you have. So, some of us have more funding than others. So, I know that you're very involved in crowdfunding, which is awesome. And if you have less dollars, you need to focus more on crowdfunding, which certainly has its benefits.   Eve: [00:19:27] Yeah, I really wonder when we reach a tipping point, because it's really still so many buildings going up that do not benefit communities.   Ken: [00:19:35] Right.   Eve: [00:19:35] I mean, the large majority of them, I think, developers like you are still few and far between. And I'd love to be able to imagine 10 years from now it'll tip the other way, but I'm probably too hopeful.   Ken: [00:19:50] Well, that is, you know, I didn't say it, but that really is one of the goals of the Jumpstart program, is by showing newbie developers how to be impactful, how to care about the community while developing, up front, we're hoping to turn that trend. I would agree. Right now, most developers are not focusing on how to be impactful. But I am hopeful that if we can train newbie developers and aspiring developers in a better way, that will change five or 10 years from now.   Eve: [00:20:26] Yeah, it's almost like you need a Restart program ...   Ken: [00:20:31] Yes.   Eve: [00:20:31] ... for the old developers.   Ken: [00:20:32] Yes. Well, funny you mention that because we are starting up a what we're calling Jumpstart 2.0, which is taking developers that have done 10 or more residential properties and helping them through a 21-hour program, graduate to commercial real estate, which is a specialized niche, as you know.   Eve: [00:20:55] Interesting.   Ken: [00:20:56] So, yes, in some ways it is a reset because we're going to show them how to be impactful in commercial neighbourhoods.   Eve: [00:21:04] Well, that's great. How do you think we can build better cities and neighborhoods for everyone, aside from all the work you're doing? I mean, I think you're pointing towards a way to do it, but is there anything else we're missing?   Ken: [00:21:17] Yeah, there's a multitude of answers to your question, of course. Part of it which we're starting is training, mentoring, networking and funding for women and people of color, in particular, so we can diversify the network of real estate developers. But part of it is that government needs to step in, not in an obstructive way, but in a way that's relatively easy, to help keep tenants in their apartments and  houses so they don't get displaced when neighborhoods become hot. Better loan programs for homeowners, so, again, that they can buy and stay in the neighborhood of their choice. Government needs to help us make sure that neighborhoods don't get gentrified while we're improving neighborhoods. So, it's not just up to the developers to get it done.   Eve: [00:22:15] Yeah, I always think about people on a fixed income, when a neighborhood gentrifies, and they own a property and they're forced out. That really is within government's purview, to change the way that property taxes are implemented.   Ken: [00:22:29] Yeah, that's absolutely right. Although I do focus more on the tenant because tenants are much more quickly and immediately ...   Eve: [00:22:39] Displaced, yeh.   Ken: [00:22:39] ... displaced. Exactly.   Eve: [00:22:41] Yeah. Yeah yeah.   Ken: [00:22:42] Homeowners are much more slowly displaced.   Eve: [00:22:46] Yes. That's a really difficult problem.   Ken: [00:22:49] And then again, it's up to the developers or government. But we should not be encouraging what I call 'urban renewal,' you know, the knocking down of a whole bunch of properties in order to build new. We should be focusing on the reuse of properties, in particular, the adaptive reuse.   Eve: [00:23:09] Right, right. Right. And then, you know, you mentioned crowdfunding. Do you think, you know, I have noticed over the last few months a real uptick in developers reaching out to us. And I've heard them say that banks have basically shut down. And yet we need creative new solutions right now more than ever. I mean, how do we deal with that? Banks are really retreating and we need these projects. Can crowdfunding really play a role?   Ken: [00:23:39] Yeah, absolutely, and I have not used crowdfunding yet, but I am, like I said, the developers watch each other. So, I'm watching Philadelphia projects done by Mosaic Partners ...   Eve: [00:23:53] Oh yeh.   Ken: [00:23:53] ... Leslie Smallwood and Greg Reeves, who speak highly of you, and you know how they've been able to use it. But again, I want to, I do want to make clear that I think the financing issue right now and the lack of banks wanting to finance is short-term. Right. And as soon as we move out of this pandemic, those funds will keep flowing again.   Eve: [00:24:15] It hasn't been short term for projects that make a change, like, let's talk about a first time investment in a neighborhood after 10 or 15 years. That's the sort of project the bank has been veering away from for the last decade, at least, if not longer, because they want to see an appraisal, they want to make sure the project is going to cash flow. If it's something new and innovative, they're not comfortable there.   Ken: [00:24:40] Right.   Eve: [00:24:40] That's been the case for a long time.   Ken: [00:24:44] Yeah, right now, we're in a totally different world, to be honest. It has totally clamped down. So, that's why I'm distinguishing now versus a few years ago. There has absolutely, banks don't want to use the word redlining, but we all know that illegal redlining continues, even though it is officially, on the books, illegal. But we do catch banks and insurance companies that veer away from middle and struggling neighborhoods when they shouldn't be.   Eve: [00:25:17] Yeah.   Ken: [00:25:17] And to me, more of how they do it, and the crime is that they veer away from aspiring developers and newbie developers ...   Eve: [00:25:28] Yeh.   Ken: [00:25:28] ... who are focusing on these middle and struggling neighborhoods. So, they're blaming it on lack of experience when many of us know that the real reason why they're rejecting it is where the property is located. So ...   Eve: [00:25:44] Yeah, yeah.   Ken: [00:25:46] ... it's absolutely a problem. But crowdfunding, as you said, is one way to break through that and to raise equity for projects that are otherwise not being funded.   Eve: [00:25:58] Or maybe your Jumpstart loan program, which sounds amazing.   Ken: [00:26:01] Yeah, it is very much geared towards providing those loans that the banks won't do. If someone can be bankable and can get their own loan, please go out and do it.   Eve: [00:26:13] Yeah, yeah, exactly.   Ken: [00:26:15] We're not looking to do every loan because we have limited resources. But if you are unable to get a loan because you lack experience, or because your credit is not good enough, or you are developing in a neighborhood that's not attractive to banks, then absolutely, we want to fund those projects.   Eve: [00:26:37] Yeah, yeah. So, what's next for you, besides all of this?   Ken: [00:26:42] You never know. I think our projects continue to get larger and larger. We're looking at a 150,000 square foot school building right now that we plan to renovate into multifamily housing. But I think Jumpstart also continues to grow, both in Philadelphia and around the country. We've heard from folks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Milwaukee, Chicago, you know, probably a dozen other cities that are interested in starting a Jumpstart program. So, I think it's a matter of time before this idea goes national and really helps a lot of urban neighborhoods. So, it's sort of, the sky's the limit.   Eve: [00:27:31] Yeah, well, I love it. And you may be hearing from someone in Pittsburgh soon. So ...   Ken: [00:27:35] Awesome! That would be great.   Eve: [00:27:37] Thank you. I've really enjoyed talking to you and thank you very much for sharing all of this with us.   Ken: [00:27:42] Great. Thank you, Eve. It's nice to be on your podcast. Appreciate it.   Eve: [00:27:54] That was Ken Weinstein. He's a developer and he's a teacher, too. He's trained 850 everyday people on how to develop their own properties. They live in his neighborhood and more often than not, they are Black or women. And he's lending them money too. "We can train and mentor aspiring developers all day, says Ken, "but if you can't loan the money, they're not going to get very far." You can find out more about impact real estate investing and access the show notes for today's episode at my website EvePicker.com. While you're there, sign up for my newsletter to find out more about how to make money in real estate while building better cities. Thank you so much for spending your time with me today.   Eve: [00:28:54] And thank you, Ken, for sharing your thoughts. We'll talk again soon. But for now, this is Eve Picker signing off to go make some change.

Fantastic Negrito is the latest incarnation of Xavier Amin Dephrapaulezz. As a child, he was raised in an orthodox Muslim household in New England. His Somali-Caribbean father was an Oxford-educated immigrant who played traditional African music. Just before he hit his teens, his father relocated their family to Oakland. Coming from his conservative childhood, it was at once an intense culture shock and liberating. The street was alive with the new sounds of hip hop, rap and punk. And he was drawn to it. In his youth, he thought that the Blues was the music of his grandmother's generation. When he landed in LA in the Nineties, he had plans to be a star. And it didn't take him long to land a major label deal. As Xavier, he released the album, The X Factor. Things did not go as planned and in 2000, a near-fatal car crash would take him further away from his musical ambitions. Eventually, he sold all his instruments and moved back to the Bay Area.When he won the 2015 Tiny Desk Contest as Fantastic Negrito, it was with a newfound mission—to make music free of the corrupting influence of capitalism where he could discuss freely the societal ills he observed around him. In the course of three albums—The Last Days of Oakland, Please Don't Be Dead and his latest Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?—he's tackled big issues such as racism, capitalism, gentrification, poverty and misogyny. Despite winning 2 Grammys, he's eschewed big label deals and continues to record at Blackball Studios, part of a collective he co-founded with Empire producer and writer Malcolm Spellman. Based in downtown Oakland where he was recorded for our podcast, you'll hear siren and street sounds outside and that's how he likes it. Like most, I became a fan of Fantastic Negrito when he won Tiny Desk Contest. His backstory was captivating. I have often wondered what would have happened if police had found that the person trying to sell those artist-backstage passes was white? Or that the intern was working for a white artist or band member? Would they have been taken away in handcuffs too? It was the first time, I became aware that America had a racism problem. And since then, it has become painfully obvious how deep it goes. Many thanks for making this possible —To the one and only Fantastic Negrito for having these conversations with me over the years. For all the support from Blackball Universe and Ken Weinstein at Big Hassle PR. To Cooking Vinyl and Position Music for permission to use music. Songs Featured: "Chocolate Samurai," "Lost in a Crowd," "Last Days of Oakland," "The Nigga Song," "In The Pines," "Plastic Hamburgers," "I'm So Happy I Cry," "Justice In America," "All Up In My Space," "Searching For Captain Save A Hoe" and "How Long." See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is not a regularly scheduled episode, but with the recent news about the festival selling out, we had to get Ken Weinstein from Big Hassle Media on the phone and talk about it. Please keep in mind, this is not the best audio quality, but we were limited with time and other factors. Regardless, we think you'll enjoy listening and Ken even breaks a little scheduling news as well. Intro Music: "Schism" by Tool

This year, 2020, marks the fifth anniversary of the Jumpstart Germantown program. What originally started in Ken Weinstein's Philly Office Retail location with two participants as a crash course introduction to residential real estate development has blossomed into a citywide movement with Jumpstart affiliates in Kensington, Tioga, Hunting Park, North Philly West, West and Southwest Philadelphia. In less than five years, Jumpstart Germantown has graduated 685 aspiring residential developers, and provided $15.9 Million in loans to finance the acquisition and renovation of 150 abandoned or neglected properties.Now we're expanding the Jumpstart concept again, this time to erase urban blight along Philadelphia's commercial corridors. We're calling it Jumpstart 2.0 CRE. It will continue the spirit of collaboration that Jumpstart is already known for, and will use a framework similar to what we've successfully deployed to spark redevelopment of single family houses.Jumpstart 2.0 will be aimed at helping residential developers make the transition to small scale commercial real estate development in Philadelphia. The program will consist of a 7-week, 21 hour curriculum to be conducted in person at Jumpstart Germantown Co-Working Community (4701 Germantown Avenue). The program will begin March 18. Application deadline is Feb. 9. You can learn more and apply at the Jumpstart Philly website. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On Sunday, Brad & Barry had the honor to host Ken Weinstein from Big Hassle Media at Camp Nutbutter to chat all things Roo....from the early days and how it got started to what made this year a sell out...and Ken even drops a Cardi B-like "OKURR"....a very special moment in broadcast history.

In this episode, Ken Weinstein, the president of PhillyOfficeRetail and the founder of Jumpstart Germantown, talks about the Wayne Junction revitalization project.Wayne Junction Station, located on Windrim Avenue in Philadelphia, is a major transportation hub for SEPTA. The station was opened by the Reading Railroad company in 1881 and the surrounding area includes parts of the Germantown and Nicetown neighborhoods.Today, Wayne Junction is a transfer point between six of SEPTA’s regional rail lines as well as three major transit routes and serves more than 321,000 riders annually.In this episode, Ken talks about PhillyOfficeRetail's $20 million project to turn a collection of 11 rundown properties into a transformative mixed-use development complete with a craft brewery, restaurants, apartments, offices, and retail.In 2018, the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Review Board approved the Philadelphia Historical Commission’s request to create the Wayne Junction National Historical District, a collection of eight large-scale industrial buildings built between the late-19th and mid-20th century surrounding the Wayne Junction Station.The eight properties include:Wayne Junction Train Station at 4481 Wayne Ave.New Glen Echo Mills at 130 W. Berkley St.Brown Instrument Company at 4433 Wayne Ave.Max Levy Autograph at 212-220 Roberts Ave.Arguto Oilless Bearing Company at 149 W. Berkley St.Blaisdell Paper Pencil Company at 137-45 Berkley St.The Keystone Dry Plate & Film Works / Moore Push Pin building at 113-29 Berkley St.200-10 Roberts Ave.Here's what's covered in this episode (with timestamps):Wayne Junction Overview: 2:00The mix of commercial real estate coming to Wayne Junction: 4:05PhillyOfficeRetail's biggest project to date: 12:40Historic District designation: 15:57PhillyOfficeRetail's approach to working with commercial tenants: 19:55Jumpstart Coworking Community: 19:55Jumpstart Germantown's Monday nights' continuing education: 29:12Membership pricing for Jumpstart Coworking: 30:34Jumpstart Germantown wins AIA (American Institute of Architects) / Preservation Alliance Award: 31.44Curbed Philly: Mapping Wayne Junction's Redevelopment Boom See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ken Weinstein, the Godfather of NW Philly Real Estate, is the guest of this episode. Ken is the founder of Jumpstart Germantown and President of Philly Office Retail. Jumpstart is a successful community development program that combines slow, steady growth, scattered site rehab, and a mix of affordable and market-rate housing."Jumpstart was created to reduce blight and increase investment in our communities," says Ken. "By offering opportunities for local entrepreneurs, we can keep wealth local. With Jumpstart everyone wins - aspiring developers, longtime residents, and other community partners all benefit from additional investment in their neighborhood."Website: Jumpstart Germantown See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In episode 130 of the Better Than Success podcast, host Nicole Purvy interviews Ken Weinstein about Building His Residential and Commercial Real Estate Empire.  Ken is an active entrepreneur and real estate developer in the Philadelphia area. He serves as President of Philly Office Retail, which has renovated and restored more than 300 vacant and deteriorated commercial and residential units in the Philadelphia region during the past 30 years. Philly Office Retail currently owns and manages more than 800,000 square feet of commercial and residential space in the Philadelphia region and has received four Preservation Alliance Community Preservation Awards for its adaptive reuse projects. Ken founded and operated Cresheim Cottage Cafe from 1996 until 2004 and now owns Trolley Car Diner, Deli and Ice Cream Shoppe in Mt. Airy since 2000 and Trolley Car Cafe in East Falls since 2010. His third restaurant, Trolley Car Station, in University City, is slated to open July, 2018. Previously, Ken served as Chief of Staff for Philadelphia City Councilwoman Happy Fernandez from 1991-1995 and currently serves as President of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC), as a Mayoral appointee, and Chair of the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District which he co-founded in 2007. Ken is Founder of the Trolley Car Teacher’s Fund , which contributes $25,000/year in grants to public school teachers, Trolley Car Table Tennis Club, the only full time table tennis club in the Philadelphia area and Jumpstart Germantown, which trains, networks and provides funding to aspiring real estate developers. Ken was an Organizer/Board Member of Valley Green Bank for 8 years until it was sold to Univest Bank in January 2015. In 2004, Ken was awarded the Business Leader of the Year Award by West Mt. Airy Neighbors, in 2005 was given the Community Service Award by the Center City Proprietors Association, in 2006 was named one of Philadelphia’s 101 Connectors by Leadership Philadelphia, in 2009 received the Distinguished Leadership Award by Community College of Philadelphia, in 2010 received the My Block, My Business Award by the Empowerment Group, in 2011 was awarded the Edgar Baker Community Service Award by East Mt. Airy Neighbors, the 2012 Retailer of the Year Award by the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and was honored by the Philadelphia Parks Alliance in 2013. In 2015, Ken received honors by the Waldorf School of Philadelphia, the Wissahickon Charter School and the Philadelphia Business Journal as “Do Gooder of the Year.” This year, Ken was honored by Mt. Airy USA and Historic Germantown as a community champion. Ken’s mission is to revitalize neighborhoods by renovating vacant, deteriorated properties along Philadelphia’s commercial corridors. He believes that you can do well by doing good. How to Build Your Residential and Commercial Real Estate Empire? Ken Weinstein starts off explaining how he got started in real estate by seeing problems and situations in the community and trying to find solutions to them. Blight was something Ken was 100% against which is why he started the Jumpstart program. He explains how he wanted to find developers to slow down or stop blight as a whole. “I am willing to take risks to make the world better” Ken says. In this episode Ken shares how he got into real estate. 30 years ago, living in Fishtown, Ken was really inspired by the city of Philadelphia. Watching his landlady at the time renovate 6 properties by herself gave Ken the assurance that he would be able to do the same. Although it took a while to aquire his first property after deciding real estate was an interest. “I saw a lot of opportunity in the Germantown area” Ken explains… “You need good market conditions, you need to see price points”. Ken then moves on to sharing how and why he was able to quit his day job and do real estate full-time. Having enough cash flow that it makes sense and to be able to hire staff is the only way he was able to pursue his real estate career. “It took me about 7 years to get me to the point where i want to leave my day job” - Ken Weinstein. Over the years Ken learned that real estate makes you better at your job and you are a better business owner/employer. One of the biggest points made in this episode is the difference   between residential and commercial real estate in the eyes of one the biggest developers in Philly. “You should ALWAYS start in residential, that should be your ground level… it’s an easier development for anyone to understand and commercial should be long term” - Ken W. Contact Information: Jumpstart Germantown

On this episode of Please Be Advised, we speak with Ken Weinstein and Jim Merlis, co-owners and founders of one of the music industry's leading publicity machines - Big Hassle Media - about business, life, and their adventure through entrepreneurship. As the publiscist for groups, artists and events like Jack White (whose album BOARDING HOUSE REACH reached No.1 on Billboard recently), Robert Plant, Phish, Bonnaroo, and so many more, Ken and Jim have some great insights to share on business, success, and music. Check out Big Hassle here: http://bighassle.com/ Panelists: Gregg Perez, Rebecca Anapol, Jim Merlis, Ken Weinstein https://www.powtoon.com/c/g3dzRGRgI57/1/m

WURD's Charles D. Ellison speaks with Jumpstart Germantown developer Ken Weinstein on his program that trains local residents to be their own community developers. 

Minister Shaked joined Hudson Institute President and CEO Ken Weinstein for an engaging conversation covering the U.S.-Israel relationship since the inauguration of President Trump, current events in Israel and the Middle East, Israel as a �Start-Up Nation,� the role of technology in the future of the Israeli economy, and more.

Minister Shaked joined Hudson Institute President and CEO Ken Weinstein for an engaging conversation covering the U.S.-Israel relationship since the inauguration of President Trump, current events in Israel and the Middle East, Israel as a �Start-Up Nation,� the role of technology in the future of the Israeli economy, and more.

RECORDED AS POP CULTURE CLUB:  Another one of my all-time favorite songwriters joins me for a half hour to talk about his career, accomplishments, and the process between composing hits for projects such as That Thing You Do, Music & Lyrics, Josie and The Pussycats and more!  Of course, Adam Schlesinger is also known as half of the songwriting team behind the indelible pop rock band Fountains of Wayne whose biggest hit "Stacy's Mom" was a riff on The Cars, another one of my favorite bands.  But really, they have so many great songs that it's hard to name or include them all.  During the episode, there are snippets of the following: "Hackensack" "She's Got A Problem" "Hate To See You Like This" "Radiation Vibe" "Red Dragon Tattoo" "Prom Theme" "Settle For Me" (from my favorite show on TV, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) "Getting Bi" (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) "All Kinds Of Time" "That Thing You Do!" "Sink To The Bottom" Huge thanks to both Dan Solomon and publicist Ken Weinstein for getting me in touch with Adam, and be sure to purchase as many songs by this incredible talent as you can!  http://www.fountainsofwayne.com/home/ Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Soundtrack: https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Ex-Girlfriend-Original-Television-Soundtrack/dp/B01BY3HPKE  

Hudson Institute honored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel with its 2016 Herman Kahn Award on Thursday, September 22.

Hudson Institute honored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel with its 2016 Herman Kahn Award on Thursday, September 22.

Chairman Michael McCaul (House Homeland Security Committee) joins Ken Weinstein for a discussion on global terrorism and U.S. security.

Chairman Michael McCaul (House Homeland Security Committee) joins Ken Weinstein for a discussion on global terrorism and U.S. security.

Opening remarks by Ken Weinstein and John O'Sullivan, Report from the Maidan by David Satter, and keynote speeches by György Szpáry and Paula Dobriansky.

Opening remarks by Ken Weinstein and John O'Sullivan, Report from the Maidan by David Satter, and keynote speeches by György Szpáry and Paula Dobriansky.

Happy Memorial Day everyone. At Mt. Airy Day in early May the Northwest Soapbox team asked some attendees what was the biggest challenge to their neighborhood and how their neighborhood could be developed. Some of the respondees were from Germantown and had comments regarding local development. We took the opportunity to ask Ken Weinstein for his take on these comments. Thanks for visiting the Northwest Soapbox. New episodes can be heard every Monday on our podcast page and throughout the week on G-town Radio. Next week the soapbox airs our first profile on St. Catherine Laboure's clinic for the uninsured. Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes and please tell your friends about this project.

Our next guest on the Northwest Soapbox is Ken Weinstein. Ken shares his thoughts on what you can be doing right now to spur revitalization in Germantown. A little later this week we'll post a segment in which Ken responds to comments made by Germantown residents on existing challenges and actions needed to foster economic and cultural development. In this piece Ken shares some of his favorite places to shop Germantown. Listeners are encouraged to include the local businesses they support instead of visiting national chains or spending outside the community in the comments below. Ken Weinstein owns the Trolley Car Diner (Mt. Airy) and Trolley Car Cafe (East Falls). He is also an active real estate developer in the Philadelphia area which includes several properties in Germantown. Ken lives with his family in Mt. Airy.

Ken Weinstein, co-founder of Big Hassle Media, has been handling publicity for Bonnaroo since the very beginning of the festival in 2001. But he's not just a part of the team - he's a super fan of the event.Weinstein joined Brad, Barry, and Lord Taco from The What Podcast on The Farm back in 2019, and again called in to the show in 2020. In this High Five Clip, the longtime publicist explains why being on the Bonnaroo Farm is never not great.If you agree, you can grab your Never Not Great T-shirt here, or snag the “Radiate Positivity” T-shirt on the Consequence Shop. You can also revisit the full episodes featuring Weinstein here.Don't forget to like, review, and subscribe to The What wherever you get your podcasts, and follow the Consequence Podcast Network for updates on all our shows.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy