aliyah

Original Article is Posted at Jerusalem Post

The Jerusalem residents, who made aliyah in February, started making a dent in Cincinnati, Ohio. Now they’re trying to do the same in Israel.

When Nellie Neeman-Bochner and Glenn Bochner started dating, they already discussed how they would “make a dent” if they ended up getting married. 

The Jerusalem residents, who made aliyah in February, started doing so together in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they hosted a very welcoming minyan in their home for ten years, which Glenn reports “brought Clal Yisrael together.” 

The couple has increased the ways they are making a dent in Israel and the world since coming on aliyah nine months ago. And they couldn’t be happier – even as Israel faces the toughest times since Nellie’s father fought and was wounded in the 1948 War of Independence. 

Nellie has wanted to realize her dream of aliyah since spending her post-high school gap year in Israel. Her parents were not so crazy about the idea. “I’ve been yearning to come back ever since,” she says. 

“From the start, I was open to it,” she recalls. “We [Glenn and I] were clear that it was our life goal and said we would come in five to eight years. We let the minyan know that we were on track to make aliyah in five years. Baruch Hashem, we did.”

Baka neighborhood in Jerusalem (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

The couple was very thoughtful and intentional in their planning. They knew they wanted to live in Jerusalem and spent between two weeks to five months staying in various apartments to get a sense of certain neighborhoods. “We tried different neighborhoods – Sha’arei Hessed, Talpiot, and we are now in Mekor Haim. We are moving to Baka next week,” Glenn notes. “We hope it will be our last,” Nellie offers. 

Both agree that each neighborhood has been great and it is difficult to choose, noting that it is an honor and a privilege to be in the holiest city in the world.

Making a dent in Israel

THE BOCHNERS started making their own dent during those visits to the country. Glenn describes their love of “hiking, exploring nature, and driving around the country.” On one trip near the Dead Sea, they were walking in a pine grove and discovered “an unbelievable amount of garbage in piles – like a garbage dump.” They began bagging the garbage and have returned four or five times together and with friends to continue the clean-up operation.

Their trips around the country have an additional benefit for Nellie’s work. The Manhattan-born speech and language therapist, turned thriller and romance writer, and Anglo writers’ group leader (Facebook group, Booklovers of Israel) is the author of the Jon Steadman thriller series. She is working on her fifth thriller, Immortal, which follows Spree, Resurrection, Vengeance, and Duplicity. Nellie’s website, nellieneeman.com, provides more information on her thriller books.

Her books often feature Israel as a backdrop, and one of the main characters, Dr. Terry Lavi, is a geneticist at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. “I also have a hidden agenda – it is very important for me to show Israel and Jewish people in a positive light through stories. I hope I am succeeding,” she says. 

Nellie published her fourth romantic comedy, Soaring Hearts, which she wrote under the pen name Ellie Hartwood as she does for her Clean Romance books. In addition, she has published eight novellas.

In her spare time, she works with Glenn as a shadchanit through the SawYouAtSinai matchmaking site. “I have been making shidduchim since I was a kid! The first match I made have been married for 34 years.” She praises Glenn for being “good at mentoring singles and speaking about challenges. We are a good team.” While technically, payment is expected by Jewish law, she notes, “We do it for the mitzvah.”

The Bochners regularly open their homes to various cohorts of singles for Shabbat meals. “We pick a target [age group] – 20s to 60s – and invite numerous people who we think will go well together.” Glenn generally poses a question and facilitates a structured conversation. “We try to keep it relaxed,” he notes.

Glenn, who grew up in Albany, New York, and attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, is a mechanical engineer by training and recently retired after 38 years at Procter & Gamble as an engineering manager and “in-house entrepreneur.” He initially thought it might be possible to continue his Procter & Gamble work full time from Israel, but then realized it was not feasible.

“We both realized that being here and living with these holy people is our priority,” he explains. He is currently developing other businesses.

Glenn often explains to friends that he couldn’t be happier with what he describes as the “rhythm of the day,” which “starts with holiness and purposefulness.” He elaborates, “I go to a beautiful minyan, then daf yomi, have some time with my wife, then by mid-afternoon, after I catch up and relax, I work.” 

He feels fortunate to have made aliyah when he did. The current situation has provided numerous volunteer opportunities. “There is an unbelievable level of volunteerism. People are tripping over each other to help out and say thank you.” He recently has been involved with Grilling for the IDF, which regularly serves barbecue dinners to soldiers. 

In addition, the Bochners joined a small group of volunteers who are managing Am Echad b’Lev Echad – One Nation, One Heart, an organization focused on “celebrating our commonalities and ways to love each other.” The couple says that donations to the organization help secure dri-fit shirts, which contain the inspiring message of pride and unity, for soldiers to wear under their uniforms and provide an opportunity “to unite the Jewish people behind our soldiers.” 

The Bochners feel fortunate that their aliyah has gone smoothly. Nellie is fluent in Hebrew, and Glenn continues to make progress and plans to take ulpan soon. “We anticipated the bureaucracy and we have been here many times, so we had a sense of what to anticipate. There have been no major surprises,” he says.

The biggest challenge? Being far away from their three children – aged 25 to 31, who live in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston – and from Nellie’s mother. They hope their children will come one day, noting that some are very Zionistic and are actively discussing aliyah.

The Bochners’ aliyah and the potential aliyah of their children are a tremendous tribute to Nellie’s father, who came from Romania and fought for Israel’s independence 75 years ago. They hope their story of Aliyah will help inspire others to make the leap as well.■

NELLIE NEEMAN-BOCHNER, 57, AND GLENN BOCHNER, 61 FROM CINCINNATI TO JERUSALEM, FEBRUARY 2023

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Original Article is Published at JPost.com

Rebecca and Ken Milgrim moved to the Gaza Strip in the 1980s. Now, in 2023, they’re back in Israel, this time in Modi’in.

For Rebecca and Ken Milgram, the Gaza Strip has played an important part in their two aliyah stories. Soon after making aliyah in 1982, the Milgrams lived for four years in Moshav Katif. And now, two months after their return to Israel for good in August 2023, they are spending time babysitting grandchildren, as both a son and a son-in-law have been deployed by the IDF to the Gaza border.

The London-born Rebecca and Philadelphia-born Ken met on their 1979-80 post-high school Bnei Akiva hachsharah (training) program in Israel. “We were young and Zionistic,” reports Rebecca, who spent her year on Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, while Ken was at Yavneh. The program included a three-month period in Jerusalem for all participants. “We just clicked!”

When the program ended, both returned home for college – Ken to the US, and Rebecca to England. The distance became insufferable in their year and a half apart. “There were no cellphones, and our once-a-week long-distance calls were expensive,” Ken notes. The two got engaged, joined a garin (a group of people who move to Israel together), got married in February 1982, and made aliyah one month later.

The Milgrams spent six months at an absorption center in Kiryat Yam (12 km. north of Haifa). Ken jokes, “They threw me out of ulpan after one week and sent me to work. My Hebrew wasn’t great, but I could read.” To which Rebecca quips, “Mine was better, and I was kicked out too!”

The Milgrams lived near Rebecca’s grandmother in Haifa and welcomed their first child, a daughter, Tamar (now 41). “It was great up there,” the Milgrams report, “but the goal was to live on kibbutz.”

WELCOMING REBECCA and Ken home. (credit: Courtesy Milgram family)

Ken and Rebecca spent a year and a half on Kibbutz Alumim, where Ken worked in the chicken coop, and Rebecca worked in the kitchen and in childcare. They note that the kibbutz “didn’t click” for them and for most of their garin, so they began exploring other options. They packed up their possessions, hired a truck driver, and relocated to Moshav Katif in what is now the Gaza Strip.

Ken recalls, “The Arab worker drove us in his truck and showed us his house in Gaza City. He told us to reach out if we needed anything.” Ken worked in the plant nursery, and Rebecca in the moshav office.

BOTH REPORT feeling safe on the moshav and in Gaza and recount regularly shopping in the town of Khan Yunis. “It was a very safe neighborhood to be in – for the most part. Then it got a little sketchy. In 1986, the army told us we needed to carry a gun to travel,” Ken adds.

The Milgrams observed the moshav to be in transition, from shared ownership to private. They again began considering their options. “We saw the writing on the wall,” notes Ken. “We didn’t have college degrees or any money and realized we’d have to reach out to our parents for help.”

The Milgrams relocated to the States, where they lived in Philadelphia and Sharon, Massachusetts, for an extended period of time. They had two more children (Jonathan, now 33; and Yardenna, now 30), completed college degrees at night, and worked – Ken as an accountant, and Rebecca in IT.

After 18 years in Philadelphia, the family relocated to the Boston suburb of Sharon for Rebecca’s job. Ken, who soon after found work as an accountant for such places as Camp Ramah in New England, was thrilled that their new city “checked all boxes,” including having an abundance of professional sports teams. “It was a good place for us.”

The Milgrams never lost sight of their dream and plan of returning to Israel. “It was always our end goal.” They note that it “got easier” as family members began moving to Israel. Their son studied on ulpan and became a lone soldier after high school; their daughter spent two years in National Service in Beit Shemesh; and their Israeli-born oldest son, who married a woman from England and spent time living there, returned to Israel in August 2022. Three months later, Ken’s mother, Arlene, made aliyah. “We realized there was nothing for us in Boston but cold weather!”

The Milgrams sold their house, packed up and shipped their possessions to Israel, and moved to Israel the day after Camp Ramah in New England let out for the summer. (Ken proudly posted photos on Facebook when their belongings finally arrived by truck at their new home in Modi’in.)

Somehow winding up living in Modi’in

THE MILGRAMS had never intended to settle in the Anglo-heavy city of Modi’in. Rebecca playfully and honestly notes, “We went for a Shabbat and hated it – it was way too Anglo!” They soon came to realize there were many wonderful things about Modi’in, including proximity to several grandchildren. The Milgrams are currently very happy residents of Modi’in, and all the grandchildren are “no more than 35 minutes away.”

They note that an important mantra that has helped them throughout the aliyah and adjustment process has been “Be all in!” They elaborate, “Don’t come with the idea that you can come for six months and see if it works. If you have one foot in, it won’t work. We sold our house and packed. That’s it. We are coming!”

They acknowledge the frustrations including Israeli bureaucracy and advise people to remember, “It is not the same as the States, it is the Israeli way – just get over it.” They also advise people to stop converting prices from shekels to dollars, as salaries are also different in Israel versus the States. “You just have to commit to it.”

The Milgrams point out that keeping American jobs (she continues to consult for her old company; he still works for Ramah—remotely during the year and in person during the summer), being close to family, and getting comfortable with Hebrew are all very helpful. But, they note, perhaps the most important thing is having a positive attitude. “Attitude is huge! You can’t allow it to get to you. Roll with the punches. There is plenty of good here.”

Forty years after their first attempt at aliyah, Ken admits, “Every so often, we go on Google Earth to see where our house was on the moshav [in Gaza]. Now it is just flat, concrete. It is a little hard. People don’t realize that Gaza City had a water park and hotels. It is not the picture people have in their heads.”

Rebecca offers, “We now live an hour and a half from the massacres.” Ken adds, “There is no place I’d rather be right now. It never once crossed our minds that we should leave.”■

The Milgrams Aliyah 1 From Philadelphia (Ken)  and Finchley, London (Rebecca) to Kiryat Yam, 1982; Aliyah 2 From Sharon, Massachusetts, to Modi’in, 2023

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Original Article Published On The Jerusalem Post

Bronstein’s daily Spanish-language videos – 443 in total to date – have quite a following, with 106,000 subscribers.

Meir Bronstein is not your typical hassid. He is also not your typical YouTuber. 

His sweet demeanor, his grasp of Judaism, literature and secular topics, his sense of humor, and his disarming smile have made him a rock star among Spanish-speaking YouTubers. He clearly, openly and proudly teaches his followers about every aspect of Judaism and Hassidism. His most successful YouTube video, Five Jewish Solutions That Will Change Your Life, has attracted 392,000 views.

Bronstein grew up a secular, somewhat rebellious son of prominent Masorti Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein in Lima, Peru. He lived there for 22 years before moving to Argentina to study literature. When the university fell on hard times and closed during an economic downturn in 2017, Bronstein admits, “I was very lost. I had no place to go.” He called his father for guidance, who advised him to reach out to Rabbi Isaac Sacca, the Sephardi chief rabbi of Buenos Aires, as well as founder and president of Menora, an organization catering to young people and ba’alei teshuva (those looking to become more observant).

“I went to Menora and started to learn Talmud and Jewish things and Halacha [Jewish law] and whatever. The intense studies attracted me, and I realized I wanted to be a frum Yid [religious Jew].” When Bronstein was considering becoming a hassid, he had a flashback to an experience he had more than a dozen years ago in Israel.

“In 2007, I was 10 years old and in Israel for the first time. We were in [the Jerusalem neighborhood of] Bayit Vagan for my sister’s wedding. It was 4 p.m. on Friday and we were on the balcony. I saw hats and long beards – and I listened.” 

WITH THE Spinka Rebbe. (credit: Courtesy Meir Bronstein)WITH THE Spinka Rebbe. (credit: Courtesy Meir Bronstein)

Bronstein smiles and breaks out into a niggun, a melody, which he hums and sings. “I looked up and saw a beautiful family of hassidim wearing spodeks [black fur hats]. I started listening and asked, ‘Who are these people?’ I saw myself in them. I felt my neshama [soul] – it was a very moving experience.” Without missing a beat, Bronstein makes a reference to Rudolph Otto, the German Lutheran theologian and writer who penned dozens of books including some of which have been cited by such Jewish theologians as rabbis Joseph Soloveitchik and Eliezer Berkovits. 

He checks his iPhone for the English name of one of the theologian’s books. “Rudolph explains that you can feel God in a place where people live a life of God. He got there because he entered a shul in Germany at Kol Nidre on Yom Kippur, felt the atmosphere and realized that God is there.” Bronstein connects Rudolph’s experience to his own. “So I felt the same. I felt so attached to them [the hassidim]. That feeling stayed with me my whole life.”

Bronstein recalls realizing just how different he was from others his age. “It was the first years of YouTube. My friends used to watch, I don’t know, the funniest falls, the funniest interviews. I used to watch the Satmar Rebbe dancing with his granddaughter, the Bobover Rebbe making Kiddush… I used to watch the videos of rebbes all day.”

“These hassidic ideas stayed with me my whole life and I said to myself, ‘When I am 70 or 80 years old, I want to be hassidish – not now, because I will need to stop using a smartphone on Shabbes, and many [other] things I don’t want [to give up]…” 

His time frame for becoming religious quickly moved up. “When I went to Argentina, these things started to happen, I started my teshuva process.” And Bronstein immediately began the process of becoming observant.

Coming to Israel and becoming a hassid

Bronstein came to Israel on scholarship in the winter of 2018 at age 23 to study in a yeshiva. He admits he didn’t really come to study. He ate breakfast with the other students, attended one shiur (class) and “escaped to Mea She’arim or Geula [in Jerusalem] to meet hassidim, learn what a rebbe is, etc.” 

Bronstein had a pivotal experience one day at the yeshiva. “One Friday, a guy in the yeshiva, Yoel Moshe, told me he had an uncle who was a Satmar [Hassid] and invited me to come eat with them for Shabbes.” Bronstein went to a Boyaner shul in Geula. “I will never forget the experience. I felt like I traveled back to a previous life in the shtetl – the people, the dress, the shtreimels [fur hats.]” 

The crowning achievement was his unexpected meeting with the Boyaner Rebbe at the conclusion of services. “I wanted to meet the rebbe, but he wasn’t there. We waited, and he came out. He is very humble and never looks up. He said ‘Gut Shabbes’ and shook our hand and continued walking. That was an amazing moment in my life. At that moment, I knew I wanted to be hassidish!”

Bronstein recounts that he didn’t aspire to be a hassid when he was younger. “As a kid, I wanted to be a writer and movie director.” He acknowledges that he published a book when he was 20 but was too embarrassed to elaborate. “Don’t ask what it is about. I am not so proud of it.”

After his experience with the Boyaner Rebbe in Israel and his growing interest in hassidim, Bronstein returned to Peru to consider his next move. He knew that hassidim lived all over the world. His father helped him realize, “When the mashiach [Messiah] comes, we will all need to go to Israel. And all rebbes go there sooner or later.” In Peru, he began the aliyah process. 

A female Jewish Agency representative, hearing that hassidism and rebbes were the motivating factors for his making aliyah, suggested that he not make aliyah straightaway – rather he spend one year in Israel on a MASA program, experience the country, and then decide if aliyah was right for him. 

Bronstein’s Israel plans changed – unbeknownst to him – while he was flying to Israel. When he showed up at the yeshiva where he was expecting to study for the year with all his luggage in tow, he was told by the yeshiva that they “didn’t want a hassid” and he was not actually accepted. What was he to do? He remembered he had a friend in Rehavia, who invited him to come over right away. (Bronstein smiles, saying he stayed there for three months!)

That frustrating first day in Israel quickly turned around, Bronstein says. “I was exhausted and slept from like 10 a.m. until 5:50 p.m. I woke up refreshed. I don’t know why, but I felt I needed to daven Mincha [pray the afternoon service] right away. I asked my friend for the closest shul, and he directed me to one around the corner. The first person I saw was the Boyaner Rebbe! He was at a conference nearby and stopped by to pray. I got to him like that! He said he remembered me, gave me the phone number of his gabbai [assistant)] and encouraged me to come to his shul, visit and reach out if I needed anything.”

Bronstein’s path to becoming a Boyaner Hassid continued. He had been caring for an elderly man through the yeshiva, then COVID hit, and he was no longer able to work. “I had nothing to do. It was a hard time. I got very depressed.” 

Getting into YouTube after reacting to the Netflix show Unorthodox

BRONSTEIN DISCOVERED the Netflix show Unorthodox, a miniseries about a 19-year-old Satmar Hassidic woman who is unhappy living a religious lifestyle in Williamsburg, Brooklyn – and flees. “At the same time, I started getting messages from friends in Peru and Argentina who heard I was becoming a hassid and asked if it was true or not. I decided to make a video – from a person IN hassidut – explaining what is true and what is not in Unorthodox.”

One video led to Bronstein creating many videos. “I didn’t know it would go from two to three to 500 to 1,000 to 2,000, whatever – people viewing the videos!” A Latin friend who was a successful YouTuber went to Bronstein’s house and encouraged him to keep making videos about how a Latin American guy became hassidic. 

There was one problem, however. “This thing clashed with Boyan – they are very regular haredi, ultra-Orthodox who don’t accept technology. People respected me for what I was doing, and the Boyaner Rebbe reluctantly permitted it. He said, ‘This is your parnassah [livelihood], but be aware – this isn’t a good thing and it could create problems. You should try to find other work.” 

Bronstein was in a bind. On one hand, he loved making videos. On the other hand, his rebbe wasn’t exactly supportive. “I didn’t know what to do.” The well-informed Bronstein brings examples of other well-rounded people – from modern times and from the past – who lived in both the religious and secular worlds, such as Rabban Gamliel in the Talmud, Maimonides and Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski. “I was inspired by Rabbi Twerski,” a hassid and psychiatrist specializing in substance abuse.” Bronstein really wants to show the world that it’s possible to be a haredi who uses YouTube and smartphones for good, and that one can learn secular and Jewish topics and not stop being Jewish, and particularly haredi. 

Bronstein was still not sure what to do. He was stuck at home during the quarantines and badly wanted to speak with the Boyaner Rebbe. His gabbai informed him that the rebbe was spending time with his family. “Call a rabbi,” his gabbai said. “I wanted to speak with a rebbe, not a rabbi!” 

Then Bronstein met a hassidic psychologist. “Maybe you can help me,” he said. “I am going crazy!” He was delighted by the psychologist’s suggestion to join a Zoom meeting with the Spinka Rebbe that night. “A Zoom with a rebbe?” Bronstein thought to himself, “I’ve never heard of this – I’ve heard of people recording a rebbe in secret but never this. It was true! A rebbe teaching Rashi, with his computer, on Zoom!” Bronstein approached the rebbe after the September 2020 class. “I got convinced.” 

“THAT WAS the haredi path I should follow, so I left Boyan.”

Bronstein has been happy with his decision, noting that everyone is accepted and that even people from his previous Boyaner hassidic community have been nice. 

And the Spinka Rebbe has been accepting and supportive of his love of YouTube. “When I realized you can show hassidus on YouTube, I asked the rebbe if I could maybe show more private things about hassidim. The Spinka Rebbe said, ‘Come to my house and record what you want!” Bronstein has recorded a halike, a first haircut ceremony held when a Jewish boy turns three, at the rebbe’s house and the Sheva Brachot of his granddaughter.

Bronstein is delighted that he has found a place where he can be accepted and where he can teach people about all aspects of Hassidism. At the same time, he acknowledges that many on YouTube think he is “doing a hilul Hashem [desecrating God’s name].” In any case, “They see that I am not the average hassid!”

His viewers include secular Jews and non-Jewish Bnei Noah – Noahides who see themselves as required to observe the Seven Laws of Noah to be assured of a place in the World to Come. 

Bronstein’s daily Spanish-language videos – 443 in total to date – have quite a following, with 106,000 subscribers. His most popular videos include Five Jewish Solutions That Will Change Your Life (392K); An Orthodox Jew Reacts to Argentine Humor (372K); The Ultra-Orthodox Neighborhood Nobody Has Dared To Enter (195K); and Interview with Ximena Orozco, the Actress Who Left Everything for Torah (and her conversion story). [https://www.youtube.com/@meirbronstein]

Bronstein and his wife of 10 months, Odel (“like the daughter of the Ba’al Shem Tov,” Bronstein adds), are happy living in Israel but admit “It is so expensive and difficult to live here.” He playfully yet seriously observes, “The banks take NIS 20 fees for nothing. There is a fee for this, a fee for that, a fee for breathing!” Bronstein advises olim, “Come with money, keep money in other countries, and come with Hebrew – even if it is from Duolingo!” He acknowledged that he learned Hebrew in ulpan but doesn’t speak fluently.

Bronstein and Odel hope to stay in Israel but are considering short-term teaching and keiruv (outreach) opportunities abroad “if the right opportunity comes.”

Meir Bronstein, 27 From Peru to Argentina to Jerusalem, 2019

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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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