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Original Article Published On The JP

Samuel Green, known as DJ Antithesis and “The Zionist Rapper” made aliyah to Tel Aviv and has released two EPs and multiple singles.

Samuel Green has done many crazy things to make it to Israel and continue to survive and even thrive in Israel these past 13 years.

His long, unconventional CV – which puts him in sharp contrast with the young bankers, engineers and start-up professionals who mainly populate his Tel Aviv Modern Orthodox synagogue – includes such jobs as spinning Israeli tunes on Kol Cambridge (the UK’s first and only radio show dedicated to Israeli and Jewish music) and at a club and in Tokyo, as well as rapping in front of 40,000 people in London. Green, also known as “The Zionist Rapper,” has released two EPs and multiple singles in his self-proclaimed “Zionist Hip Hop” style.

Green is also an accomplished writer, husband, father of two young children, and tour guide. His clients include senior business leaders, academics, religious leaders, politicians, journalists and celebrities, including Maroon 5 and their lead singer Adam Levine; Alanis Morissette; One Republic; The Kooks; and actress Amber Heard. In addition, Green was instrumental in helping to bring the famous Swiffer sweeping, mopping, and dusting cleaning system to the Holy Land.

The start of a love for Israel

Green’s love for Israel started in his days in Kingston, Southwest London. “Israel played a big piece growing up,” Green reports, noting a strong Zionist connection. Despite his involvement with FZY (Federation of Zionist Youth) while growing up, he, perhaps ironically, fell in love with all things Japanese after seeing a documentary about Japan and viewing the film Karate Kid. In high school, Green elected to study Japanese when it was offered, as he intended to study it at Cambridge University. Conveniently and perhaps curiously, the faculties of Japanese and Hebrew were both housed within the Oriental Studies Department.

Once at Cambridge, Green missed Israel and continued to look back fondly on his FZY days, thus switching his focus to Hebrew. “A lot of people were puzzled by that decision. That included my parents,” reports Green reflectively and philosophically in the thick English accent which remains after 13 years in Israel. “Some decisions go against the grain. Deep down, I knew what I wanted.”

GREEN’S STRONG connection to Israel includes a lifelong love of Israeli music. He has shared this love with audiences around the world through a series of online programs. He first started playing Israeli music by venturing into the world of rap music. Green was an early user of the online format. “My father worked for the phone company, and we had a DSL line before most others. I hosted a rap show for a year.”

Green hoped to continue the rap show at Cambridge University, but he was too late. “There was already a rap show. I knew a little about Israeli music, and there was no place to get it online.” While Green was excited about the possibility of sharing his love for Israeli music with a wider audience, he knew he might face some resistance to the idea. “It was the middle of the Second Intifada and the station was a bit nervous.” Nonetheless, in 2005 he was given the green light. “In the first week, we had more listeners than for any other show.” When the slot that followed the show opened up, Green asked and was given permission to expand it to two hours.

Green’s charm, passion, advocacy and creativity helped him land “a lot of Israeli big names” as guests on his show. He tracked down contact information and simply picked up the phone and called famous Israelis. “I would sometimes call and pose as my own assistant!” As a result of his creative strategy, Green landed such well-known Israelis as David Broza, Shiri Maimon, Subliminal, Mook E, Mosh Ben-Ari, and Shotei HaNevua

“We were the only Israeli program on iTunes at the time. We had thousands of fans from around the world – from the Amazon jungle to Singapore to Australia and the US!”DJ Antithesis

The program soon found its way to iTunes. “We were the only Israeli program on iTunes at the time. We had thousands of fans from around the world – from the Amazon jungle to Singapore to Australia and the US!” Despite the show’s popularity (the program was nominated in the Best Specialist Music Programming category of the BBC Student Radio Awards) and Green’s passion, it petered out upon his graduation from university as his work shifted to other Zionist pursuits.

Green began working in the mazkirut (directorship) of his Zionist youth movement and thinking more seriously about making aliyah. He realized that living in Israel would require a means of supporting himself, and he hatched a plan. “I would apply for a job with an international company – with offices in Israel – and try to get transferred.” Green applied and was accepted for an internship in the UK with Procter and Gamble (P&G), the American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. He made the difficult decision to turn it down, given his commitment to his mazkirut job.

Green’s chutzpah and drive surfaced when he asked soon after if he could reapply for the internship. This time, he was accepted and worked for the company in Geneva, Switzerland. “I figured it was easier to get to Israel from Geneva.” He moved there in 2008 and started to work. When his manager in Switzerland asked him about his career goals, he replied candidly, “To get to Israel ASAP.”

Green enjoyed his time in Geneva, where he integrated into the Jewish community and helped organize events for expats. “I was having a great time,” he says, although he still hoped to be transferred to Israel once his two-year assignment had ended. However, that was not in the cards. “My manager said it wouldn’t work out to go to Israel for my second assignment. I got on the bus and was miserable. It made me realize how much I wanted to be in Israel!”

A friend in the company offered him some sage yet unconventional advice – to write to the head of the Israel office. This is when “Plan Swiffer” was hatched. When Green heard that some bigwigs from the Israel office were coming to Geneva, he set up a meeting. “I was naive about hierarchy and set up a meeting.” Green informed them of his desire to bring Swiffer to Israel and asked for their help. He also followed his friend’s advice and emailed people at the Israel office. In Israel, he met with the Swiffer team. After what turned out to be an unexpected job interview, he learned that Swiffer would soon be launched in Israel – and he received a call inviting him to come to Israel in 2010 to join the team.

Making aliyah and bringing Swiffer to Israel

Green moved quickly to take care of all necessary paperwork for making aliyah. “I did all the paperwork super-fast at the end of June and made aliyah in August.” He considers himself very fortunate. “I came with a job, with a company I was familiar with. And my new colleagues were friendly and my age.”

After a few years with P&G, it was time for a new challenge. “I thought about other options like hi-tech or government work. A friend did the tour guide course.” Green admits he did have visions of becoming a tour guide but only after he retired as a way of making some additional money. Having thought about it some more, he said, “Why wait?” With that, he enrolled in the Hebrew course, which he completed in 2014. “I had a wonderful time on the course, and it was very good for my Hebrew,” he explains.

“I was fortunate – I jumped in and got slightly better work,” he notes, thanks in large part to the many connections he made through his years at P&G. He began leading tours for business school groups and business executives. “One thing led to another. And then I was guiding bands and people in the entertainment world, business and politics.” Green loves guiding all types of people and groups. “Everyone is interesting and has a story,” he asserts.

Green appears to be a master at juggling the many professional and personal opportunities that simultaneously come his way. He smiles as he reports, “I met my wife, Bat Chen, at a house party in Holon,” though they quickly realized that she had recently been at a Hanukkah party in his home! The two married in December 2012.

While on the tour guiding course, another interesting opportunity came his way. “In 2013, I got a call from people who were setting up a radio station in English. I don’t know how they heard about me, but they wanted to talk to me about doing an Israeli music show. I went in and made a demo. It was so much fun to be doing that. It went well. They said they wanted me to open the whole station, the whole broadcast. So we brought the station back live, then it moved to more of a podcast format,” he says.

GREEN RECOUNTS many exciting developments that took place between becoming a tour guide and (somewhat) settling down to family life:

DJ Antithesis Tokyo show advertisement (credit: SAMUEL GREEN)DJ Antithesis Tokyo show advertisement (credit: SAMUEL GREEN)

“Along the way, I had a kid – a girl [Ella] in 2017. And 2020 was quite a seminal year – I think for a whole load of us. Things happened both in terms of the radio and the guiding [no guiding due to the pandemic]. In January 2020, we were celebrating 15 years of the Kol Cambridge show. I put a lot of work into it and came in to do the show. The station manager, who is a lovely guy, said, ‘I have bad news – we will have to stop doing the show.’ He explained that costs and licensing issues with Spotify contributed to the decision.” Green laments.

Green remained determined to find a way to keep the radio program alive. He suggested renting out the studio when not in use and finding a way to have listeners support the program. “We haven’t had much luck with crowdfunding,” the station manager replied. “How much would it cost? Let me ask around and give it a try.” Green was successful in his search for backers. The show was up and running in April 2020 after only a month-long hiatus. “It was even more special to run the show crowdfunded – it means a lot to the people. It is nice to know it matters to them. We are creating a community of listeners. I correspond with them.” 

Green continues to support his family with a range of jobs. He has a blog (myisraeliguide.com), writes content for various tour companies, and since 2020 has managed a team of writers in his role as copywriting lead at the company Artist in the music space.

“I guide when I can – on evenings and weekends. I still love doing it,” he says. “I had a second kid [Yonaton], and [the fact that I have] a job where I am home most of the time is deeply appreciated by my wife!” His parents made aliyah during the pandemic and live nearby. Green still does a podcast once a week.

Despite his mostly settled lifestyle, Green occasionally gets an idea in his head that he just can’t let go. “I still have a love affair with Japan, and I try to get back there from time to time to keep the language going. I spent two months in Asia on our honeymoon, and I had planned a trip for 2020. It would have been my sixth trip. I had to postpone it due to COVID, which was upsetting.” But Green could not let the idea go. “Things started wearing in my brain – of going to Tokyo and playing for listeners there. The question was how to make it happen?” Green knows himself well. “When I get an idea in my head, I am like a dog with a bone. I just keep going!”

Green wrote to every contact he could think of in Tokyo, including friends, the Israeli Embassy and a rabbi in Tokyo who was friends with a rabbi friend in Tel Aviv. “Eventually, something panned out.” All of that legwork turned out to be unnecessary. “I received an invitation from my patron to perform in Tokyo!” Together, they explored venues, and Green had the opportunity to play at a small club in Tokyo on January 19, 2023. “I hadn’t DJ’d in a bar or club since I was in college. I had to get equipment, a little travel mixing deck, and download the software. A friend came from New York to teach me,” he adds. “Every night for two weeks, I’d DJ every night for myself so I wouldn’t make a fool of myself.” He didn’t. “We had a respectable turnout of 30 or 40. To the best of my knowledge, it is the biggest Israeli music event ever held in Japan, though I can’t confirm that.”

DJ Antithesis, who got his name while in FZY from a friend who said, “You are the antithesis of a rapper,” is doing his part to keep Israeli music alive and well in Tel Aviv, Tokyo, and around the world.

Samuel Green aka DJ Antithesis From London to Geneva to Tel Aviv, 2010

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Original Article Published On The JNS

The day-school-educated son of immigrants from Lviv and Kyiv who now live in the Baltimore area has raised more than $20,000 to bring food to some 1,100 Ukrainian Jews.

Every time 17-year-old Adrian Maydanich passed grocery-store shelves overflowing with kosher-for-Passover food in his Baltimore community, he stopped in his tracks. He could not stop thinking of Jewish people in Ukraine and the difficulties they will face obtaining even basic Passover items again this year as Russia’s onslaught on the country continues.

“I realized that Jews across Ukraine will face many obstacles just to share a Passover seder with their families,” the junior at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School and a resident of Owings Mills, Md., told JNS.

The son of immigrants from Lviv and Kyiv who themselves faced discrimination and persecution in the Former Soviet Union, as well as a difficult journey to America, responded to the call. “As a first-generation American from a Ukrainian Jewish family, I felt compelled to help. After all, that could have been me,” explained the teen. “So I started a project, Jews4Ukraine, to enable specific charitable organizations to purchase and deliver Passover necessities to Jewish congregations across Ukraine.”

Adrian Maydanich. Credit: Courtesy.

To date, Maydanich has raised more than $20,000 to help bring Passover food to some 1,100 Ukrainian Jews. He partnered with the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine, the largest Jewish humanitarian relief organization in Ukraine, supported by a number of agencies worldwide.

That way, he said, he can be assured that 100% of the funds raised will be used to distribute food for the Passover seder to congregations across the beleaguered country.

“My family is proud of our heritage and religion, and we celebrate our triumphs through adversity and the fulfillment of our American Dream,” said Maydanich. “We do not forget our past struggles; to the contrary, we always reflect on them and aspire to offer hope and comfort to people who need it. I feel deeply connected to both my Ukrainian and Jewish roots, admire my family’s triumphs and humanitarian efforts, and want to carry on these ideals through my mission to provide Passover meals to Jews across Ukraine.”

Judi Garrett, COO of Jewish Relief Network Ukraine, said Maydanich’s efforts embrace the essence of the organization.

“On Passover, one of the most important Jewish holidays, we celebrate our liberation from oppression and the beginning of new life. For the Jews of Ukraine, this holiday is particularly bittersweet, as the war continues,” she said. “On behalf of the 50,000 people we support in Ukraine, thank you, Adrian!”

Boxes of kosher-for-Passover food await unpacking at a synagogue in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in March 2023. Credit: Jewish Relief Network Ukraine.

Delivering boxes of kosher-for-Passover food to a synagogue in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in March 2023. Credit: Jewish Relief Network Ukraine.

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Original Article Published on JewishPhilanthropy

In short

“In February, I led 23 participants with intellectual, developmental and sensory disabilities (blindness) on the Tikvah Ramah Birthright trip. Trip participants are affiliated with Tikvah programs at our Ramah camps in the U.S. and Canada where people with disabilities have been included in camp and vocational programs since 1970.”

The Jewish World recently wrapped up JDAIM, Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month, which has been marked each February since 2009 to raise awareness about the need for all Jews to be accepted and included in all aspects of Jewish communal life. Leading two Taglit Birthright Israel trips in two months has provided an interesting window in to just how far we have mostly come in the United States and in Israel in attitudes and policies towards people with disabilities.

First, it is important to note that Birthright has been including people with developmental, intellectual and sensory disabilities and such medical issues as inflammatory bowel disease for over a decade (see.) Our recent December Autism Spectrum Disorder trip (formerly known as the Birthright Asperger’s trip) even included two young Israeli men on the autism spectrum who are currently doing their National Service. Their participation helped fulfil the Birthright requirement of ‘mifgash,’ the integral part of every Birthright trip where Americans get to know Israelis through their full participation in a 10-day period. These young men fit in so well that they asked to participate a second time on a future Birthright trip.

This tech savvy group particularly enjoyed our visit to Mobileye, the Jerusalem-based company developing autonomous driving technologies. Our group interacted with young Israeli adults their age on the spectrum who use their exceptional visual perceptual abilities review, tag and label video clips of traffic signs, animals and other things on the road, which drivers might encounter. Israeli society continues to learn what we are learning in America — that some people with autism provide the “Autism Advantage” to employers and are better at some tasks and are often more reliable employees than non-disabled workers.

I do not think our December group encountered any negative attitudes toward people with disabilities from the moment they gathered in Newark Liberty Airport until they returned home.

In February, I led 23 participants with intellectual, developmental and sensory disabilities (blindness) on the Tikvah Ramah Birthright trip. Trip participants are affiliated with Tikvah programs at our Ramah camps in the U.S. and Canada where people with disabilities have been included in camp and vocational programs since 1970.  

On this trip, we similarly encountered mostly positive, welcoming attitudes toward people with disabilities. For me, the trip started a few days before take-off when I joined a participant, her family and friends to celebrate her aliyah to the torah and a prayer for safe travel to Israel. Debbie M had asked her rabbi for the honor and it was seamless. In fact, Rabbi Woodward at BEKI congregation in New Haven, Ct., spoke of her involvement in the shul and her job at the local JCC; he did not once mention her disability or that February is JDAIM.  BEKI naturally includes everyone everyday — at BEKI, there is no need for a special month devoted to disability inclusion.

As we gathered our participants near the Welcome Center at Newark Liberty Airport, we requested not so well known Sunflower Lanyards for all participants. This colorful lanyard is a subtle, silent way to let airport employees know that a passenger has a hidden (or visible) disability and may need extra support while traveling. It didn’t necessarily expedite things with El Al security or with our pre-boarding, but we were shown kindness, respect and mostly patience throughout. (Caveat: we are still not sure why one participant’s Mr. Potato Head was taken from his knapsack and thoroughly inspected!) On the plane to Israel, as I walked the aisles on several occasions to distribute medication or to assure allergy-sensitive kosher meals were delivered properly, passengers kindly offered to help seatmates. 

Our time in Israel was perhaps the best indicator of how far we have come in terms of attitudes towards people with disabilities. The ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv has been working hard to make the museum more accessible and easier to navigate for people with a wide range of disabilities.  Israel has very progressive laws and policies “mandating” that the elderly and people with disabilities “cut the line” in stores and elsewhere (ptur min hatur — exempt from the line) and companies are required to hire a percentage of workers with disabilities based on the size of the company. The 130 Korean tourists in our Jerusalem hotel were mostly fine with our entering the line in front of them in the crowded dining room.

Our group frequently attracted attention from hotel guests.  Guests peeked in to our Shabbat tefillot (prayers) and to our post dinner oneg featuring singing and dancing. They wanted to know where this spirited singing was coming from! They often engaged us in conversation, told us they did not know Birthright offered such trips, and told us of a grandchild or child — in Israel, France or the United States — with disabilities.  

We also encountered well-meaning comments, which were reminiscent of attitudes toward people with disabilities from an earlier time. “Yasher koach” (“Congratulations” or “good job”) shouted a carload of people as our group slowly crossed Hayarkon Street on the way to pray Shabbat morning under a gazebo at one of many accessible beach access points. “This is a mitzvah gedolah” (a big mitzvah) we heard from well-intentioned people as they left the plane ahead of us when we touched down at Newark. We do not think of our work with people with disabilities as a “mitzvah” — a good deed or religious obligation.

We smiled and thanked them for appreciating our hard work and dedication to making sure people with disabilities have an inclusive, immersive Israel experience.  We didn’t tell them that we were still recovering from the shock of two passengers in different areas of the plane who asked the flight attendant if they could have their seats so they didn’t have to sit next to members of our group with Down Syndrome.  

On second thought, maybe we still need JDAIM for the time being.

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Original Article Published On The JNS

“It is a crazy business,” said the shortstop’s father, Steve. “It is extremely stressful all of the time.”

After 21-year-old Nicaraguan pitcher Duque Hebbert struck out three of the four batters he faced—all-stars Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez and Rafael Devers—at the World Baseball Classic in Miami, a Detroit Tigers scout offered him a Minor League contract on the spot. But for most players, including most of Team Israel’s roster, who may never reach the big leagues, the World Baseball Classic could be the largest crowd before which they will ever play.

When JNS caught up with Michael Wielansky, 26, ahead of Israel’s blowout loss on March 14 and asked what will be next for him after the competition, Team Israel’s shortstop, who lives in St. Louis, allowed that was a good question.

“I hope I’ll get a call from an [MLB] affiliate, or I’ll play independent ball,” he said. The latter refers to a league that is outside the Major League Baseball-run Minor Leagues.

One possibility is finishing up his last year of a bachelor’s degree in business and economics at the College of Wooster in Ohio.

“The whole journey is really crazy,” Steve Wielansky, the player’s father, told JNS.

Michael Wielansky. Photo by Howard Blas.

‘A great hitter and fielder’

Growing up in St. Louis, Wielansky celebrated his bar mitzvah and confirmation at Temple Israel. “My parents did a good job instilling a love of Judaism in me,” he said. “I learned a lot about Judaism.”

Steve and Linda Wielansky reported that their son was a good athlete who played soccer and basketball, as well as baseball. It was difficult to juggle sports and Hebrew school, but the family made it work.

For Wielansky, who stood 4-foot-9 inches at his bar mitzvah, professional sports seemed a remote possibility. He was only 5 feet tall when he entered high school but 6 feet by his graduation—and he did not stop there. Today, Wielansky stands at 6 feet 2 inches.

“He was a great hitter and fielder, but he couldn’t get recruited,” his father said.

After graduating from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, Wielansky attended College of Wooster in Ohio, where he hit .425 and won a gold glove award for his stellar defense at shortstop on the baseball team. The summer after his sophomore year in 2017, he was the most valuable player at the prestigious Valley Baseball League collegiate program, where he topped the league in on-base and slugging percentages, hits, runs and doubles.

In 2018, Wielansky hit .401 and broke Wooster’s career records for assists and triples. He was named a first-team all-American and, in both 2017 and 2018, a Mideast Region position player of the year. In the latter year, scouts started paying attention, including his hometown St. Louis Cardinals.

The Houston Astros drafted Wielansky as the 552nd overall pick, which came in the 18th round in 2018. He was a junior.

When her son was drafted, Linda said their rabbi lost a joke from his repertoire when he nudged students to exert themselves in their studies.

The rabbi told her that Wielansky’s draft really messed things up for him. She asked why. “I always tell the kids, ‘It’s not like you’re going to be a professional athlete or anything,’ ” he said. “Now I can’t say that anymore.”

Steve and Linda Wielansky with their son, Michael Wielansky, at the World Baseball Classic in Miami in March 2023. Credit: Courtesy.

‘My father and grandfather were my role models’

Wielansky’s paternal grandfather, Norman, pitched in the St. Louis Browns and Baltimore Orioles organizations in 1950, 1951 and 1954. Norman Wielansky, a right-hander, was part of a combined no-hitter on May 3, 1950. He was especially proud of his grandson but didn’t get to see Wielansky in his recent performance in Miami. He died at the age 88 in 2019.

“My father and grandfather were my role models,” said Wielansky. “They got me into baseball.”

Norman Wielansky was 6 foot 3 inches and 200 pounds, while his grandson currently weighs in at 190. The Astros wanted him to be 210, said his father, Steve. Wielansky bounced around the Astros organization for several years, playing for the Minor League teams Tri-City Valleycats, Quad Cities River Bandits, Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Corpus Christi Hooks, Sugar Land Skeeters and Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

The Astros elevated Wielansky to triple-A in 2021 but released him on March 27, 2022. “They didn’t have room for him,” said his father, Steve. Wielansky signed with the Long Island Ducks that April. But he didn’t play for that independent league team, and in May, he was traded to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.

In January 2023, Wielansky’s career found him in Panama and as part of the Caribbean World Series. In February, he learned he would play for Israel in the World Baseball Classic. Wielansky found a lot of success in the Panamanian league, which his team won and where he hit .347.

Representing Israel, whose team “instills a culture,” in March was a great experience for Wielansky, who particularly enjoyed playing with other Jewish athletes. The team came together to hear Megillah on Purim, for Shabbat dinners and to learn about the Israeli national anthem—for which players stood, many with kippot under their hats—and had Israel emblazoned on its jerseys.

He played in Israel’s first game, a victory over Nicaragua, and he went 2-4 and raised his World Baseball Classic average to .400, in Israel’s 5-1 loss to Venezuela. (He did not play in the mercy-rule losses to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.)

His parents, sister and girlfriend told JNS that they enjoyed watching him play. “The atmosphere was so electric, with all that screaming,” his father said. “It was really fun.”

The Wielanskys hope a Major League affiliate picks up their son, who has returned to St. Louis. “It is a crazy business,” said Steve. “It is extremely stressful all of the time. It has been a phenomenal journey, and you hope your kid will do well on this great, long journey.”

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