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Jewish Journal

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August 23, 2019

Living A Life Filled With Passion and Abundance With Kathryn Roberts

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If you’re feeling stuck in your 9-5 job and dreaming about living life on your own terms, Kathryn Roberts is here to help. As the founder of Quest for $47, Roberts teaches women how to generate passive income to establish financial freedom and live abundantly without relying on a 9-5 job that may only cover your bare minimum income needs.
We live in a society where aligning passion with career is not considered the practical thing to do. What’s so uplifting about Roberts is her dedication and unwavering belief that women can make money doing whatever it is they love, while also leaving a lasting impact on the audience they choose to serve.
Roberts not only seamlessly offers strategic blogging fundamentals and how-to guides, but also provides tips on creating positive mindset shifts that directly build the foundation for a successful online business.
I interviewed Roberts to learn more about her journey through creating Quest for $47. As an entrepreneur, coach, and novelist, Roberts offers a slew of valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in the interview below.
JJ: Tell us about Quest for $47 for those who may not know? 
Roberts: Through Quest for $47, I teach young women how to build and scale online businesses that allow them to have more financial freedom in their lives through an intentional strategy for creating high-quality, long-form evergreen content that highlights your assets and converts to income.
It’s not just about knowing all of the how-tos, because you can learn all the how-tos you want, and still not find success in online business. So, I also make it part of my mission to teach the mindset necessary to create a successful and sustainable online business. If you don’t have the right mindset, it will take much longer to reach your goals, if you even reach them. The risk for giving up on your goals is so much higher if you don’t have the right mindset.
I specifically focus on teaching young women because it’s so important that they know that they really can do whatever it is they want to do. So often, society tells young women to go to college, get a degree, get a job that pays like crap and makes you toil for a fraction of your actual relevant experience, and then find a husband that can retire them and allow them to stay home with the kids. But, I also know that this lifestyle doesn’t work for everyone. I’m here to teach those women who want something different than that, and how they can actually go from wanting something different, to actually having something different.
JJ: How did the idea of Quest for $47 come about? 
Roberts: Quest for $47 came about during a phone call with a friend of mine. We used to work together at my old office job, and we were talking about ways we could make extra money, because who doesn’t want a little bit more financial flexibility? I had dabbled in online business before, so I knew it’s possible to generate passive income, and I thought, “How much money would I need to make on a daily basis to have my rent and expenses covered outside of my 9-5 salary?”
And that’s where the ‘“$47” part of my business comes in, because it would take just $47 a day to reach that goal.
The principle behind “$47” is to really put into perspective just how much easier it is to think about making extra money on the side when you think about it [in terms of] how much money you want to bring in on a daily basis. You want to make an extra $40,000 in a year outside of your salary? Sounds daunting, right? But what if you break it down, and think about how much you need to bring in each day? It’s only about $109 dollars. Making $100 a day sounds like a much more attainable goal. What do you need to do to make an extra $100 a day?
JJ: What strategic steps did you take to go from your career in sports to working in a 9-5 job in an office to working full time on your online business?
Roberts: I’ll say right off the bat that I was not very strategic when I left my job in sports at the end of 2016, but that’s also an integral part of my story and why I’m so successful now. During my tenure in sports, I wrote a novel, and it was (and still is) very important to me to see that manuscript published. With all the changes in my old sports job, I knew I couldn’t do justice to my love for parts of the career and my passion for writing, so I decided to leave that job, focus on getting an agent, and then get my manuscript published.
Turns out, it’s a lot harder than that. But, what also didn’t help was that I was taking advice about what I should do to both make money now that I was out of my job, and also how to find an agent, from someone who didn’t have the practical experience that I needed in order to implement advice that would actually make me successful. Between that and the serious falling-out my parents had with me and the rest of my family, it led me to think that the best, most responsible thing for me to do would be to take a “traditional” job.
I hadn’t had one of those before, since working in sports was one of the most untraditional careers I could imagine. I had no idea just how rigid and restrictive a traditional office job could be until I was in it. I was far from satisfied with my life while at that job. Taking time off was difficult, and I felt this immense pressure to be in the office more than I needed to be, even though the job was never something that I planned on leveraging to advance into a better career.
I knew I had to get out, and the first thing I did was commit to making Quest for $47 a success. I found my way to a woman named Leah Gervais, an entrepreneur mentor through Urban20Something. She created her own online business, and she had done it well. She had implemented strategies that let her leave her own 9-5 job to work her business full-time.
When she offered me a place in her 6-month mastermind, I knew that investment—a big, scary investment of more time and more money that I had ever invested into something—was the exact thing I needed to do in order to have Quest for $47 be what I want it to be, and to allow me to make the impact that I want to make.
During the first week of the mastermind, I had a discussion with my boss that made me realize that I was not going to be able to grow my business, or keep my commitment to any of my other obligations (including some work I still do for my old boss from my sports career), if I stayed in that office job. The benefits of the office job—the salary, the so-called stability, the benefits—no longer outweighed my desire to go all in on my business and live on my own terms. I left with the knowledge that I have the strategies I need to be successful, and also knowing that I have no plans to take another traditional job ever again.
I’m just not one of those people who is fit to be someone else’s employee.
I know that my story isn’t typical, and that most people aren’t in the position to just up and leave their jobs before they’re making consistent income, but this is what worked for me.
For those who are looking to go all-in on their online business, I’ll say that if you do want to leave before the consistent income is coming in, then trust me, you’re going to figure out how to bridge that gap. But if you want to wait, make sure you know your numbers. Know what it is you need at the minimum to get by, both your living expenses and your business expenses. And make sure you’re reaching your income goals on a consistent basis before you make that jump.
But most of all, do what works for YOU, rather than what society thinks that you should do.
JJ: You are not only the mastermind behind Quest for $47, but you’re also a blogger, content & mindset coach and a novelist! Holy Moly, you’re truly doing it all! Tell us what a day in your life looks like for you?
Roberts: One of my favorite things is that my days are never the same. I start off my week with a call with the mastermind I’m in, which is always a highlight. We had weekly calls for the first six months of the year, which were amazing, but in this half of the year, we do twice-weekly calls, which I love. These calls really help energize me and motivate me to take on my week.
Once I’m off that call, I put together my action plan for the week, and pretty much dive in, whether it’s content creation for my social media platforms, blogging, engaging with my audience and my Facebook community Content That Converts, which is all about allowing online business owners to collaborate, network, and stay accountable, or having 1-1 calls with my clients, who are driven and so in it to win it, it’s not even funny.
I usually spend my afternoons on the “light” things that I enjoy doing and are easy to do, because I’m not as focused on tackling big projects from after lunch to around dinner time. These days, I spend my afternoons writing, with the plan of diving back into that manuscript I wrote that led me out of my sports media career. I’m not going to lie, the family falling-out I went through in 2017 really traumatized me, and unfortunately a lot of that was connected to my willingness and ability to write fiction. Now though, I’m focusing basically on teaching myself to write fiction again, and then ultimately I’ll make some changes to my manuscript before going back out and finding an agent to represent my writing career.
The flexibility of being able to work when I want is one of the biggest perks to my business. I know that I work best in the evenings, so that’s when I do a lot of my work. If I have a big project, I’ll usually end up working on it after the sun goes down. I use my nightly live stream, 10 Minutes Before Dinner—where I hop on Facebook and Instagram live to talk all things business—as the marker in my evenings that I’m about to really get back to work.
And, of course, now that the 2019-2020 college sports season is kicking back into gear, I’m getting ready to go back to working select sporting events and doing stats, which is one of my absolute favorite things to do. I’m so lucky that Arizona State University still allows me to come back and play in their sandbox, even though I don’t work for them full-time anymore.
JJ: What are three mindset shifts you think are absolutely essential to anyone looking to start their own online business? 
Roberts: First and foremost, you need to have the most aggressive success mindset possible. You have to know, in your heart, that no matter what, you are going to be successful. I tell myself all the time that success is my ONLY option, because it is. In fact, I have it written on a piece of paper taped to the wall behind my desk, so I see it every day. It doesn’t matter to me if I’m successful today or a week or a month from today, I KNOW I am going to be successful no matter what.
The second is that you have to stop thinking of yourself as a beginner. Even though you’re doing something new in starting a business, with no followers and no audience and very few leads, you’re not new at what you’re doing. So often, I see new entrepreneurs and online business owners undervalue themselves and their offerings because it’s a “new business” and they don’t think they’re worthy of charging premium prices. If you want to grow and grow quickly, you must know that you have years of experience backing you up, but now, with your online business, you’re actually being paid what you’re worth to do it.
Third, you cannot be afraid to invest in the education and mentorship you need to be successful. And yes, that may mean investing money you do not yet have in order to get to where you want to be. And it’s not about going into debt to start your business, it’s investing in your future, right now. When you are willing to do whatever it takes, including financially, you will be able to go very far, very quickly. I myself have invested a ton of money into education, mentorship, and even 1-1 coaching. It’s been the best and scariest decision I’ve ever made. I would not be where I am right now without those investments.
JJ: A lot of aspiring entrepreneurs are paralyzed by fear in getting started with launching their business idea. What advice would you give them in terms of overcoming the fear and gaining validation with their idea?
Roberts: Market research, market research, market research. Hands down. Determine who your ideal client is—or who you think your ideal client is, because that can and will evolve. Who are they? Where do they live, what do they love, what do they struggle with, what keeps them up at night? Create a clear picture of them in your mind, and then find out what they want.
Find out what your audience wants, because the last thing you want to do is create a business or a product, invest your time and effort into its creation, and find out that no one wants it.
Ask around. Your Facebook friends and family are a great place to start, because you never know which of your own friends is also your ideal client. Are you helping families to incorporate Judaism in their children’s everyday lives? Ask what parents are struggling with—maybe they do not have enough time in the day, or they do not have enough easily accessible resources, or they just don’t know where to start, etc.
Join Facebook communities created for your ideal client. I myself am in a ton of communities filled with my ideal client, and I ask for their advice and input all the time when I’m thinking about new products and services to create for my business.
And once you have an idea, just start. Take action. It’s never going to be perfect the first time around, but if you don’t at least try, you’re never going to be able to refine your offerings, your message, or even determine if your ideal client is exactly who you think it is. Implement your ideas. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but you’ll never know until you try. And if it does work? Then that’s even better. When it works, you get to refine your message even more and scale to find wherever else your ideal client is. But first, you have to try.
JJ: Our culture is obsessed with utilizing social platforms to showcase the hi-lights of our lives. When in reality, we are all dealing with our own struggles. Even the successful influencers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs who appear to lead “perfect” lives  have all experienced failures that ultimately led them to success. What have been some of your failures, and how has it helped propel you towards success? 
Roberts: I’ve had a ton of failures over the last few years, and I’m going to continue to have failures as I grow my business. While I know that taking the office job was what I thought I needed to do at the time, what I really needed to do was figure out what education I needed in order to create my business then. What about my mindset needed to change? What could I have done better after leaving ASU in order to not have to take that job?
I’ve had launches that failed, I’ve had days where I just wasn’t able to get to work because I was too overwhelmed, I’ve had projects that I started because I thought I needed to do them, but ultimately wasn’t aligned with, and I’ve had things that I haven’t done because I thought I had to wait.
All of my failures and missteps allow me to better educate my own audience, so they don’t have to take the same route I did. I’m all about giving my audience the straightest road map possible, so they can accelerate their path toward success. Obviously, no roadmap is without some twists and turns, but it’s my job to take the lessons I’ve learned in my own life and business and show my audience how to better handle them.
JJ; In one of your own Quest for $47 blog posts you talk about how perfection is the number one killer of online businesses or entrepreneurial activity. What are the specific mindset shifts or specific suggestions you have for releasing the idea of perfection? 
Roberts: You have to remember that done is always better than perfect, and nothing is set in stone.
If you’re trying to build a business, you have to get your content out there before you think you’re ready, because you never know what is actually going to work for you and your business if you don’t try. Sure, you want to make sure that things are spelled right and that everything is working—if you’re offering a free PDF, you want to make sure that PDF actually delivers once someone signs up for it.
But above all else, it’s all about being consistent with your content. Consistency is so critical these days due to social media algorithms, which really love fresh content being released on a regular basis. When you’re consistent, it means you’re constantly coming up with new ideas, improving on your old ones, getting better, and growing. You’re reaching more people in your audience, finding out what they want, and then you get to create more based off that information. It’s an awesome growth cycle.
JJ: Let’s talk a bit about the business side of Quest for $47 to help provide insight and inspiration to future entrepreneurs. What tactics have you used to grow your audience and coaching clientele?
Roberts: First of all, growing your email list is the absolute most important thing you can do for your business. In fact, you don’t actually have an online business if you don’t have an email list. You can have thousands upon thousands of followers on social media, but without an email list, you’re really only reaching a fraction of them. Your email list is where you’re going to find most of your clients, make most of your sales and most importantly, find out what your audience needs and then go ahead and create those products and services.
Other than personal outreach and engagement with my audience, one of the best investments I have ever made in my business has been in running Facebook Ads. Sure, you can get some great organic traffic through focusing on SEO and creating high-quality images that lead to your content and email list on Pinterest, but Facebook Ads has really accelerated my growth faster than I have ever imagined.
The other thing I have used to grow my audience and my clientele is live video. Live video is critical. For people who are used to being behind the camera like I used to be, it’s important to get comfortable on camera, and especially in live video. It’s the best way to allow your audience to see who you are as the face of your business, because the age of buying into the faceless corporation is behind us. Live video allows your audience to get to know you better, and interact with you with the opportunity to get an instant response. That’s why I commit to going live every single weekday on my Facebook and Instagram pages in my live stream 10 Minutes Before Dinner.
JJ: A lot of aspiring bloggers are fearful in starting their blog because of the common conception that the space is overly saturated. What are your thoughts on this matter and what ways do you suggest aspiring bloggers can stand out from the crowd?
Roberts: The thing about creating a blog or online business is that it’s so important these days to remember that you have to have a very narrow niche in order to really stand out. Back in the day—and by that I mean the early 2000s—when blogging was new, it was very easy to find success with just a generic “lifestyle” type blog, where you could talk about whatever you want.
Now, it’s all about determining the narrowest niche possible. If you’re a yoga teacher, well, there are hundreds and thousands of yoga teachers out there, so it’s important to specialize your focus, like a prenatal yoga teacher for women in their first trimester. Or if you’re in the food niche, then focus on a type of food, like gluten-friendly recipes, or keto-friendly recipes, etc.
The more narrow you go, especially when you start, the more easily you will stand out, because people are going to start coming to you for that exact thing that they need, and they’re going to be more likely to stay interested in your content than someone who hops from topic to topic like on those really big lifestyle blogs that have been established for more than a decade.
I know that there are people out there who are multi-passionate, and you can be multi-passionate while finding success in the online space, you just have to start narrow, and then go broad once you’re more established. It takes time, but it takes less time when you have a narrower niche and then eventually expand to more related focuses.
JJ: Anything exciting coming up for Quest for $47 that you’d  like to share with readers? 
Roberts: I’ve been focusing a lot on the foundational these days, and through my research from my audience, I’ve know that it’s important for me to focus on creating products and services that allow my audience to start and build the foundation for their business the right way. As someone who did not do the right thing the first time around, I’m very passionate about teaching my audience the exact things that they need to start off and be successful without struggling.
I’m also in the very early stages of some challenges that are aimed at helping my audience get more comfortable in front of the camera, because it’s necessary for success. Going live on a consistent basis is something that has accelerated the growth of my business and cut down on some of those pesky growing pains.
JJ: We would like to leave readers with a little nugget of inspiration. What has been your greatest inspiration? Is there a particular quote, life motto or mentor you look up to that has given you unforgettable advice that you’d like to share?
Roberts: I would not be where I am now without my coach and mentor, Leah Gervais of Urban20Something.
A few months ago, I was struggling with reconciling my business growth with how fast I wanted to be growing, and she told me, “The middle stages of any and all businesses are messy as hell.” I know that, but at the time, I needed the reminder.
Everyone struggles to grow their business. It doesn’t always have to be hard, but you’re going to have moments where you feel like you’re not where you need to be. What she also told me is that I’m further ahead than I thought, and also that the best thing to do is to keep taking action. Keep creating content. Keep engaging with your audience. Keep learning. Keep developing your mindset.
Berenice Famili is the CEO and founder of the Jewish emoji app Shalomoji and a Los Angeles based writer who covers lifestyle, health, and entrepreneurship. 

Living A Life Filled With Passion and Abundance With Kathryn Roberts Read More »

NY Israel Consul General Calls Al Jazeera Host ‘Bigot’

Leave a Comment / Online, United States /

The Consul General to Israel in New York, Dani Dayan, called Al Jazeera host Mehdi Hasan a “bigot” in an Aug. 22 Twitter exchange between the two on anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.

It all started with Hasan saying on CNN earlier in the day that “lots of anti-Semites support Israel and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.

CNN contributor Peter Beinart defended Hasan’s remarks in a tweet that stating that Hasan “has a long and courageous record of calling [anti-Semitism] out even within his own community.”

Dayan then responded to Beinart’s tweet, stating, “I know @mehdirhasan personally. I have no doubt he doesn’t hate Jews per se. He – a self-described Anti-Zionist – ‘only’ denies Jews the right of self-determination in any part of their homeland. A ‘small’ thing. Call it what you like but that’s blatant bigotry.”

Hasan said his claims on anti-Zionism were “false” and tweeted that it was “rich” for Dayan to accuse him of bigotry when he was “the former chair of the West Bank settlers council – settlers being among the biggest bunch of racists around.”

https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1164674346742419456

Dayan shared a photo of one of Hasan’s prior tweets that read, “I consider myself an anti-Zionist and critic of the Israeli settler state and its ongoing ethnic cleansing project” but urges people to be careful with criticizing Zionism given the rise of anti-Semitism.

Hasan then clarified he meant that anti-Zionism isn’t anti-Semitism; Dayan doubled down on calling Hasan a “bigot” and argued that Hasan never denied “my claim that you deny the Jewish People the right of self-determination in ANY part of its homeland” and to “enjoy the ‘likes’ from the anti-Semitic crowd.”

https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1164676656163950593

David Reaboi, vice president of the Security Studies Group think tank, wrote in a May Jewish Journal cover story that Al Jazeera, Hasan’s employer, “pushes a stream of vile, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and attempts to rile up religious and extremist Muslims against attempts at positive, human rights reforms in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states” in their Arabic channel. But in their English AJ+ network, they masquerade as “progressive and left-wing” in order “to obscure the Islamist-run network and to appeal to younger people in the West.”

NY Israel Consul General Calls Al Jazeera Host ‘Bigot’ Read More »

CA Gov. Says Proposed Ethnic Studies Curriculum ‘Will Never See the Light of Day’

Leave a Comment / California, Online /

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) told the Jewish News of Northern California (J.) in an interview published on Aug. 23 that the proposed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) “will never see the light of day.”

Various Jewish groups, as well as the Beverly Hills City Council, have condemned the curriculum for its favorable portrayal of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and not properly addressing the issue of anti-Semitism, among other criticisms.

Newsom told the J, “We are united in our resolve to make sure the advisory committee draft is only that, a draft, that will be substantially amended. And let me also apologize on behalf of the state for the anxiety that this produced. It was offensive in so many ways, particularly to the Jewish community.”

American Jewish Committee Los Angeles thanked Newsom on Facebook.

California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond similarly said in an Aug. 14 press conference that the ESMC needs to be more balanced regarding Israel.

“There should be no reference to the creation of anyone’s homeland as being catastrophic,” Thurmond said. “There’s no place for that in public education.”

He also said that Jews needed to be included in the ESMC because they’re “being attacked at this time in synagogues.”

On Aug. 12, the State Board of Education announced in a statement that the drafted ESMC “needs to be substantially redesigned” and “a new draft will be developed for State Board of Education review and potential approval.”

Beverly Hills City Councilmember Julian Gold called for all 18 members of the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to be recalled at an Aug. 20 city council meeting.

“For them to come up with this sort of divisive, racist propaganda and promote this as curriculum in the state is beyond disgusting,” Gold said. “It’s malpractice. It’s malfeasance. They deserve to go, all of them. And if the governor doesn’t do it, then he deserves to go too.”

CA Gov. Says Proposed Ethnic Studies Curriculum ‘Will Never See the Light of Day’ Read More »

Rep. Nadler Calls Out Trump Over Disloyalty Remarks, Omar and Tlaib Over ‘Vile’ Cartoon

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Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) condemned President Donald Trump’s “disloyalty” remarks as well as Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for sharing a “vile” cartoon.

The Aug. 22 tweet reads, “The growing anti-Semitism in our political dialogue is repugnant. @realdonaldtrump’s comments about disloyalty are a vicious and dangerous anti-Semitic trope. And the Carlos Latuff cartoon forwarded by @RepRashida and @Ilhan can surely be read for its vile underlying message.”

Nadler received praise from both sides of the political aisle:

Trump accused Jews who vote for the Democratic Party of being “disloyal” to Israel on Aug. 20 and 21; Tlaib and Omar both shared a cartoon on their Aug. 16 Instagram stories showing Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu putting their hands over Omar and Tlaib’s mouths, respectively. The author of the cartoon, Carlos Latuff, placed in second in Iran’s 2006 International Holocaust Cartoon Contest. Both have received condemnation from myriad Jewish groups.

Rep. Nadler Calls Out Trump Over Disloyalty Remarks, Omar and Tlaib Over ‘Vile’ Cartoon Read More »

Israeli-American Actor Danny A. Abeckaser on Landing Gig on ‘The Irishman’ 

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A prolific actor, writer, producer and director, Danny A. Abeckaser’s next high-profile role will be as part of Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited “The Irishman.” For “The Irishman,” Abeckaser was among a star-studded cast, including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel, Joe Pesci, Anna Paquin, Bobby Cannavale, Ray Romano, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Action Bronson.

Yet that is not all that Abeckaser has coming out soon, as he is part of “Mob Town” (to be released under his 2bFilms company with Saban Films) and “Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story” (in the midst of production, with co-producer David Arquette). “Mob Town” will also feature the likes of PJ Byrne, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Robert Davi, and Jennifer Esposito.

I had the pleasure of doing Q&A with Abeckaser himself and highlights from the interview are below.  

Jewish Journal: “The Irishman” has been talked about for years. When did you first find out that you were cast in the film?

Danny A. Abeckaser: I found out almost two years ago that I would be in “The Irishman.” I auditioned a few times and then received an email from Ellen Lewis, the casting director. It basically just said: “You are confirmed to play “Louie” (aka ‘deadbeat’),” and was therefore the best day ever. I was ecstatic.

JJ: Had you worked with anyone in “The Irishman” prior to being cast?

DAA:  I worked with the director, Scorsese of course, in “Wolf Of Wall Street,” but in a very small, small scene. It was incredible to be a part of and I was honored to be on the same set as him and thrilled to be included in that movie.

JJ: “The Irishman” aside, do you have a favorite Scorsese film?

DAA: My favorite Scorsese film is “Goodfellas.” But they are ALL amazing. 

JJ: “Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story” is another upcoming project of yours. How would you describe it to someone not yet familiar?

DAA: “Blackjack” is the story of Jackie Ryan, a street basketball legend from Brooklyn. Let’s just say he had a colorful life. I have followed his story for a while and am excited to be bringing it to life.

JJ: What about “Mob Town?”

DAA: “Mob Town” is coming out Dec. 13 with Saban Films and it’s the true story of the famous Apalachin mob meeting of 1957. Another passion project that I really feel people are going to love. I directed and produced it along with many amazing talented crew and cast members, and also play one of the main characters, Joe “The Barber” Barbara.

JJ: You were born in Israel and grew up in Brooklyn. Did you grow up around a lot of other Israelis in New York?

DAA: Indeed. Born in Israel and then we grew up in a very small Israeli community in Brooklyn, NY.

JJ: You co-wrote the film “First We Take Brooklyn” and also directed it. Was the plan to be an actor from day one?

DAA: First and foremost, I’m an actor. Producing and directing came from wanting to create opportunities for myself and tell a story the way I wanted it told. Now I love directing and it has become a true passion that I truly enjoy. 

JJ: Is there something you wish more people knew about Danny A. Abeckaser?

DAA: Something people knew? Hmm. Well that is easy. That I have a great jump-shot.

JJ: When not busy with your career, where does your free time usually go?

DAA: When not working on films, I love to play basketball and enjoy spending time laying out at the beach or pool. I love the sun and take any time to relax, as I am constantly busy working.

JJ: Finally, Danny, any last words for the kids?

DAA: I would say… You can do whatever you want in life. Just make sure you don’t half-ass it. Work for what you want. Your destiny is in your own hands.

More on Danny A. Abeckaser can be found on Instagram.

Israeli-American Actor Danny A. Abeckaser on Landing Gig on ‘The Irishman’  Read More »

Al Jazeera Anchor Promotes Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theory on Twitter

Leave a Comment / Online, United States /

(JTA) — An Al Jazeera anchor promoted an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on Twitter on Thursday.

“This Holy Land belongs to Palestinians Because Palestinians are Semitic unlike the Israeli Khazars who are occupiers !!” tweeted Ghada Oueiss, a Qatar-based news presenter.

The Khazar theory claims that European Jews are the descendants of Khazars, a Turkic people who lived in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, rather than from Jews who originated in the Middle East. The theory has been used by anti-Semites and anti-Zionists to discount Jewish claims to the land of Israel. Scholars have discounted the theory.

Oueiss sparred with critics and defended her comment, sharing a photo of a book that supported the hypothesis.

In May, the Qatari news channel suspended two journalists for making a video in which they said the Holocaust is “different from how the Jews tell it.”

Al Jazeera Anchor Promotes Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theory on Twitter Read More »

Israeli Girl Killed in West Bank Bombing

Leave a Comment / Israel, Online /

Seventeen-year-old Rina Shnerb was killed in a West Bank bombing on Aug. 23; her brother and father were also wounded.

The bombing occurred while Shnerb and her father Eitan and brother Dvir, 19, were visiting the Bubin spring nearby the Dolev settlement and Modin city. Israeli authorities believe that the bomb was detonated through a remote control.

Eitan, a rabbi, attempted to revive his daughter at the scene and used his tzitzit to stop Dvir’s bleeding. Medics eventually arrived at the scene; Eitan and Dvir are currently hospitalized. Eitan is reportedly in moderate condition while Dvir is in serious condition. The search for the terrorists is ongoing.

The Israel Defense Forces noted in a tweet that Shnerb had recently turned 17 and Palestinians have been celebrating her death.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad both issued statements praising the terror attack as a “heroic” act of “resistance,” although neither claimed responsibility for the attack.

United States Middle East Envoy Jason Greenblatt tweeted, “Hamas praised 17 [year-old] Rina Shnerb’s murder by Palestinian terrorists. The PA [Palestinian Authority] must unequivocally condemn this attack & the recent murder of 18yo Dvir Sorek. If they don’t, donor countries should demand the PA answer for why their donor funds continue to be used to reward attacks.”

https://twitter.com/jdgreenblatt45/status/1164894425002237953?s=20

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon wrote a letter to the U.N. Security Council urging the international body to condemn the terror attack.

“The international community must join Israel in our struggle against terrorism; this is the most justified fight,” Danon wrote. “The international community needs to join it and condemn not only the murder but also the [PA’s] culture of incitement and salaries to murderers.”

StandWithUs noted in a Twitter video that the terror attack occurred 90 years after the same weekend as the 1929 Hebron massacre that resulted in 67 Jews dead.

Hundreds attended Shnerb’s funeral on Aug. 23. Eitan said from his hospital bed to funeral attendees, “We are trying to be strong here in the Land of Israel, the people of Israel, Rina believed in that. Our response to the murderers is that we are here and we are strong and we will prevail.”

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Can Tel Aviv Reconcile the Rise of Electric Scooters?

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Tel Aviv is facing increasingly complex transportation challenges and must now consider whether it should act against the rise of e-scooters, or implement better biking infrastructure to help them safely thrive

Aimee Teplitskiy, Jackson Moser  ZAVIT* – Science and Environment News Agency

Watch a video about Electric Scooters and Tel Aviv here: 

 

Anyone who has been to Tel Aviv in the past couple of years has seen the city’s latest growing trend moving about the streets – the electric scooter.

E-scooters have recently become a prominent mode of transportation within the city, potentially putting Tel Avivians at the forefront of an environmentally friendly urban lifestyle. In spite of its prominent biking culture, many members of the Tel Aviv community have found e-scooters to be an added danger in the already crowded city streets.

When “Tel-O-Fun” was established in Tel Aviv as an alternate method of transportation in 2011, Tel Aviv put itself on the map as a promoter of urban biking. With nearly 70 km (43.5 miles) of marked bike paths, the city certainly has become more micro mobility-friendly, meaning the accessibility to provide oneself with transportation via the new technology has skyrocketed. Are these Tel-O-Fun established bike paths enough, though? 

Denmark, a country known for its pro-biking government and lifestyle, has 2,298 km (1,428 miles) of local bike paths alone, and continues to improve and support its biking infrastructure. In fact, compared many other cities around the world, Tel Aviv does not compare to the shared transport efforts and initiatives taking place. That is, unless it decides to take significant steps towards bettering its shared transportation infrastructure.

The benefits and the drawbacks

Yet, a question that has recently arisen is whether it is in Tel Aviv’s best interest to continue developing itself as a biking city. There is no doubt that shared electric transportation is better for the environment. 

According to the mobility startup Lime, traveling with e-scooters reduces carbon emissions by 350 grams per mile, and even erases all emissions of air pollutants inside the city lines (and in some cases when renewable energy is used for charging the batteries also outside the city lines) compared to conventional modes of transportation such as cars or buses with internal combustion engines. 

However, if not properly implemented, the overwhelming presence of electric bikes (e-bikes) and e-scooters on the streets can be a danger to pedestrians, conventional cyclists, and vehicular drivers alike. In the United States alone, there have been 1,545 scooter-related accidents in the last year, and just recently YouTuber Emily Hartridge died as a result of an e-scooter accident. 

In light of a rise in e-scooter and e-bike related accidents, Tel Aviv has decided to place restrictions on electronic transportation use. 

In addition to reducing the number of e-bikes and e-scooters that each company can supply, there will also be restrictions on parking and stricter enforcement of the e-scooter age limit. While these are all useful solutions for a quick and immediate decrease in the dangerous driving and walking conditions created by e-scooters, these regulations may be counterintuitive in helping Tel Aviv become a bike and scooter friendly city. 

What can Tel Aviv do to help safely develop e-scooting and biking culture?

According to Yuval Kerem, an economic and policy consultant specializing in shared transportation, despite the challenges, Tel Aviv could be embracing its potential to be a leading bike-friendly city by taking advantage of the resources it already has, and safely expanding upon resources it lacks. 

“I have to say that overall, the regulations on e-scooters are going in the right direction, and we are setting a good benchmark for micro-mobility regulations. With that being said, the challenge is to successfully develop enough parking spaces for e-scooters and bikes around the city,” says Kerem. 

Increase in parking areas for scooters and bikes, though simple, require urban planning and zoning which can often be bureaucratic and slow-moving. Nonetheless, these changes are vital for the city’s growth considering how popular e-scootering has become.

One of the biggest complaints regarding electric scooters is that they are often left scattered on sidewalks and bike paths, directly in the way of pedestrians and other last mile vehicles. Kerem points out that “in the scope of pedestrian safety, parking spaces are really important and the city needs to establish such spaces, along with the companies who develop the technology.”

By taking a look at the advances of micro-mobility in other cities, Tel Aviv might be able to learn about what other steps it could take to move towards a greener, safer, urban transport system. Amsterdam, for example, is in the process of expanding its bike lanes to more than 8 feet in width. This will allow for more riders and will significantly reduce the risk of accidents due to overcrowded bike paths. 

While Portland, Oregon is not continually expanding its bicycle lane infrastructure, it is upgrading the safety and comfort of both bikers and pedestrians. Thirty-one intersections now include traffic signs designated explicitly for bicycles in order to reduce conflicts and improve safety.

Tel Aviv can also expand upon its cycling infrastructure, promote shared transportation through social and environmental campaigns, and, most importantly, find a balance between the city’s regulation efforts and technological efforts from popular e-scooter brands like Lime and Bird. This government activity would seem new to Tel Aviv, considering the e-scooter and e-bike technology surfaced relatively recently. 

“A few years ago, there was a very dramatic change because there was an advancement in technology and vehicles became cheaper and the companies said to the municipality that they would like to work alone,” says Kerem. This change has caused a big conflict of interest between shared transport companies and the city. As Kerem points out, however, the problems that Tel Aviv faces will not be solved by a continuous struggle of “either-or.” Instead, the municipality needs to work together with shared transport companies to optimize electric transport safety and infrastructure. 

According to the Ministry of Transport, approximately 550,000 people travel by bus throughout Tel Aviv and in the surrounding Gush Dan Metropolitan Area. Since buses do not run on Shabbat, the importance of e-scooters is amplified when traveling significant distances or when biking is not ideal. Moving forward, Kerem is confident that infrastructure will need to continue to evolve towards making the city more scooter and bike accessible.

Lime CEO Brad Bao compared Tel Aviv to Copenhagen and Amsterdam, where 50% of traffic consists of bicycles and scooters. At the start of 2019, Lime began its venture in Tel Aviv with 500 e-scooters; today 20% of Tel Avivians use the 2,000 plus Lime e-scooters. Keeping in mind that Lime is just one e-scooter brand used in Israel, establishing more bike lanes and parking areas is ever more important. Other legislation regarding e-scooters is being proposed, such as enforcing maximum speeds of 25 km/h and enforcing the use of helmets.

Public support for e-scooters has its pros and cons. On the one hand, they provide a convenient means of transportation, which has motivated many people to refrain from driving a car in the city. On the other hand, however, e-scooters have endangered pedestrians and other cyclists and crowded the already scarce bike lanes of Tel Aviv. 

There is no arguing that e-scooter and e-bikes have fundamentally changed the transportation dynamic of Tel Aviv and contributed to a more eco-friendly and modern urban image. However, now, the city needs to implement changes that will not only help restore balance in a changing traffic environment but promote policy as well as infrastructure that will permanently insure the safe use of electric scooters for all road users.   

ZAVIT* – Science and Environment News Agency

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A Moment in Time: I See You

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Dear all,
A few years ago, my friend and colleague, Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz, taught his community about a greeting used by the Zulu tribe in Africa. His message left an impression on me, and I would like to share it with you.
Rather than, “Hello, how are you?” the most common greeting for the Zulu tribe is “Sawubona,” meaning, “I see you.”
I see you. That is to say, I recognize you, I acknowledge you, I value you. It means that we want to look into someone’s eyes rather than pass by them quickly. (How often do we say “How are you” but don’t listen to the response?)
In our fast paced world, we have a real opportunity to run against the current, ground ourselves with one another, and take a moment in time to see the people in our lives.
With love and shalom,
Rabbi Zach Shapiro

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