Hadassah Magazine Presents

What do Barbie, G.I. Joe and Mr. Potato Head have in common? Besides being iconic, much beloved toys, they each have fascinating Jewish figures who drove their creation and success.

Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein speaks with two best-selling writers whose recent books explore the Jewish contributions to the American toy industry. Michael Kimmel, author of Playmakers: The Jewish Entrepreneurs Who Created the Toy Industry in America, and Renée Rosen, whose Let's Call Her Barbie is a fictionalized account of Ruth Handler's creation of the iconic Barbie doll, will discuss the Jewish figures behind leading toy companies like Hasbro and Mattel as well as their classic products, from G.I. Joe and Mr. Potato Head to Hot Wheels and, of course, Barbie herself. 

Further Resources
Purchase a copy of Let’s Call Her Barbie.
Read Renée Rosen’s story on Barbie inventor Ruth Handler in Hadassah Magazine.
Purchase a copy of Playmakers: The Jewish Entrepreneurs Who Created the Toy Industry in America.
Read the Hadassah Magazine review of Michael Kimmel's book Playmakers.

The show is hosted by Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein and produced by Hadassah Magazine with the support of the Engagement and Marketing divisions of Hadassah.
Our podcast editor is Arielle Kaplan.
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Please send any follow-up questions or feedback to engagement@hadassah.org

Sephardic Jews are a minority within a minority in the United States. Too often they have been overshadowed by the majority Ashkenazi community, despite the success of high-profile personalities, including entertainers like Law & Order actor Jerry Orbach and pop singer Paula Abdul, and historical figures such as early 20th-century Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo and 19th-century poet Emma Lazarus. 

Like other American Jews, they arrived as refugees — in fact arrived before their Ashkenazi counterparts — and forced to carve out new lives for themselves and their children by working hard, learning English and becoming “American.” 

Hadassah Magazine Deputy Editor Libby Barnea hosts a discussion with three women shining a light on the Sephardic and Mizrahi experience in the United States.

Syrian Jewish writer Esther Chehebar, author of the best-selling novel Sisters of Fortune and a co-host of the new podcast GOLDA Girls; Sara Levin, executive director of JIMENA, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that advocates for Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, who has Turkish Jewish roots; and Rozeeta Mavashev, North America executive director of Masa Israel, who is of Bukharian Jewish descent, share their Sephardic and Mizrahi perspectives as well as stories of how their experiences have contributed to, and evolved in, America over time. 

Further Resources
Read the story in Hadassah Magazine on the Sephardic and Mizrahi community in America.
Read a companion story about four women from diverse Sephardic and Mizrahi heritages, one of whom is the panelist Esther Chehebar, author of the novel Sisters of Fortune.
JIMENA’s groundbreaking community study: “Sephardic & Mizrahi Jews in the United States: Identities, Experiences and Communities.”
More from leading organizations working in this space: JIMENA, The American Sephardi Federation, SAMi.

The show is hosted by Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein and produced by Hadassah Magazine with the support of the Engagement and Marketing divisions of Hadassah.

Arielle Kaplan is our podcast editor. 

Please send any follow-up questions or feedback to engagement@hadassah.org

One of the most alarming upticks in antisemitism has been in the world of medicine, which impacts doctors and patients, medical students, nurses, mental health practitioners and anyone working in health care today. How do Jewish medical professionals navigate these difficult times, and how can we, as patients, protect ourselves?
Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein speaks with a panel on the front lines of these issues: Michelle Stravitz, former CEO of the American Jewish Medical Association, founded in 2023 as a result of increased antisemitism in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023; Dr. Michelle Elisburg, a Louisville pediatrician and co-chair of Hadassah’s Physicians’ Council who has written about her experiences of anti-Israel bias on the job; and Dr. Uri Hadelsberg, Spine Fellow at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine and a prior Resident of Hadassah Medical Organization in Israel.
This episode is a special co-production with the Hadassah On Call podcast, recorded in front of a live audience in the Detroit area.
Further Resources
Read “Combating the Shocking Rise of Antisemitism in Health Care” in Hadassah Magazine. 
Learn more about Hadassah’s Physicians Council and Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Council.
Learn more about Hadassah's advocacy work and urge Congress to address antisemitism in healthcare.

The show is hosted by Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein and produced by Hadassah Magazine with the support of the Engagement and Marketing divisions of Hadassah.
Our podcast editor is Arielle Kaplan.
Follow Hadassah Magazine Presents wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Help others discover our podcast by writing a review. Liked this episode? Share with a friend! 

Please send any follow-up questions or feedback to engagement@hadassah.org

Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein speaks with food-world luminary Adeena Sussman about her new cookbook, Zariz: 100 Easy, Breezy, Tel Aviv-y Recipes. With its focus on uncomplicated, Israeli-inflected cooking, Sussman, the author of the best-selling Sababa and Shabbat cookbooks and the beloved food columnist at the magazine, developed Zariz in the shadow of the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, when she says she felt both a spiritual and practical need to streamline her time in the kitchen as the world around her seemed to be unraveling.

Further Resources
Purchase Zariz: 100 Easy, Breezy, Tel Aviv-y Recipes on Bookshop.
Read about Zariz and Adeena Sussman in Hadassah Magazine
Follow Adeena Sussman on Instagram
Find a list of Adeena's favorite Israeli kitchen supplies and ingredients on her substack
The show is hosted by Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein and produced by Hadassah Magazine with the support of the Engagement and Marketing divisions of Hadassah.

Arielle Kaplan is our podcast editor.
Please send any follow-up questions or feedback to engagement@hadassah.org

Hadassah Magazine Presents host Lisa Hostein speaks with Matti Friedman about his new book, ⁠Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe⁠, on Hannah Senesh and the mission to rescue Jews during World War II. The renowned journalist and author discusses the enduring relevance of the ill-fated mission that became a Zionist legend as well as the challenges Israel faces today. 
Further Resources
Purchase Out of the Sky on ⁠Bookshop⁠.
Check out the latest from the author on his website, ⁠mattifriedman.com⁠.
Follow the author on ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠X⁠.
Read an ⁠interview with the author⁠ and a ⁠review of his book⁠ in Hadassah Magazine.
The show is hosted by Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein and produced by Hadassah Magazine with the support of the Engagement and Marketing divisions of Hadassah. Our podcast editor is Arielle Kaplan.
Follow Hadassah Magazine Presents wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Help others discover our podcast by writing a review. Liked this episode? Share with a friend! 
Please send any follow-up questions or feedback to ⁠engagement@hadassah.org⁠