From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea

In the increasingly fractured landscape of contemporary Jewish life, few subjects trigger as visceral a reaction as the rising tide of anti-Zionism among young Jews. For many in the mainstream community, this shift is viewed with a mixture of bewilderment, betrayal, and deep-seated alarm. Seeking to move beyond the high-decibel rhetoric of social media and op-ed pages, Robbie Gringras and Abi Daub...

This episode was recorded on October 7, 2025. A reflection of words and music, it explores what has been, the opportunities and challenges of the 20-point plan, and what can be.  Feedback is welcome at: fromtheyarra@gmail.com

This episode is a conversation that took place on August 10, 2025 as part of the Torah 2020 series established by Tamra Aviva Wright. Ittay was interviewed by  Dr Lindsay Simmonds, a Research Fellow at the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) where she has lectured, written, and convened courses for over 20 years, focusing on women in Biblical narrative, the Talmud, and Jewish Law.  In 2024, Lin...

Jerusalem Book Launch for The Holy and the Broken Dr. Sari Nusseibeh and Ittay Flescher in conversation at the Albright Institute on the evening of July 7, 2025. Introduction by Lana Ikelan from Kids4Peace, with closing remarks by Mahmoud Muna. The Educational Bookshop and the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research sponsored the event.  Feedback is welcome at: fromtheyarra@gmail.com Fo...

This episode features a Dvar Torah for Parshat Mishpatim shared by Ittay at Kehilat Kolenu in Melbourne on February 21, 2025   It deals with issues of hostage-taking, revenge, justice and peace.

This is a live recording of the Melbourne Book Launch of 'The Holy and the Broken,' hosted by the ACJC and TJI. It features music from Beth Riordan and Or Sagiv followed by a conversation between Sidra Kranz Moshinsky and Ittay Flescher. Thanks to John Circosta for arranging the sound setup at the Malvern Town Hall on February 9, 2025. 'The Holy and the Broken' is now on sale i...

One year on from October 7, Hannah and Ittay reflect on the past year, expressing their fears, hopes and disappointments.  And a very exciting announcement: Ittay has written a book! "The Holy and the Broken: A cry for peace from a land that must be shared" is now available for pre-order at ittay.au  2025 Australian Book Tour Dates: Perth - February 2 Sydney - February 6 Melbourne - Febr...

In our tenth episode, Ittay speaks with Ahmed Fouad Al-khatib, a U.S. citizen from Gaza and a Middle East political analyst.  Ahmed has a master’s degree in intelligence studies from American Military University and has written and contributed extensively to publications on Gaza’s affairs in U.S., Israeli, Jewish, and Arab outlets. In this episode, Ahmed speaks to Ittay about his childhood experie...

In this episode, we have teamed up with the incredible Ibrahim and Amira, co-hosts of the podcast "Unapologetic - The Third Narrative" to bring you "Unapologetically, From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea".   Ibrahim and Amira are Palestinian-Israeli Citizens, who are unapologetic about their views and vision for a better future for all those who live between the river...

It’s the episode we know many of you have been waiting for.  Welcome to episode 8 of From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea: “Strong Opinions, Weakly Held with Elica Le Bon”.  Elica is an Iranian attorney, activist and artist who is currently living in LA. She has over 150,000 followers on Instagram which is where we discovered her in the weeks following October 7 sharing content from “both...

Following on from our conversation with Moaz Inon in the previous episode, Hannah and Ittay closely examine the various "solutions" that currently exist in the public domain that can help us move from a state of war to a state of peace. RECOURCES Haaretz Video featuring maps of all solutions explored: "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: One state, two states and other possible soluti...

In this episode,  we welcome Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon onto the podcast. Maoz lost both his beautiful parents, Bilha and Yakovi Inon on October 7. They were two of the first people killed on that horrific day when a Hamas rocket landed directly on their house in Moshav Nativ Ha’asara. Since suffering the pain of their loss, Maoz has been campaigning against revenge and for reconciliation. M...

Welcome back to From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea  - Episode 5: Building Trust  Lana Ikelan is a Palestinian Journalist and graduate of the Tomorrows Women peace building dialogue program.  In this episode, she speaks about her experiences growing up in Jerusalem, how this war has shaped her relationships with Jewish friends, and her hopes for the future. RECOURCES: For more informatio...

In this episode of "From the Yarra River the Mediterranean Sea", we interview Israeli map designer and peace builder Mushon Zer Aviv.  We first came across Mushon after reading a powerful article he wrote called “Your Empty is Killing us” which explores the importance of holding space for YES AND statements during this war. In the second half of the episode, we have a discussion between...

This episode will likely comfort the troubled and trouble the comfortable, so have a listen to it in a space where you can breathe, process and reflect. In this episode, we discuss: A brief history of the disengagement from Gaza and the seige that has been in place since  Hamas' rise to power Ittay's experience of October 7 in Jerusalem Hannah's experience of October 7 in Melbourne...

Welcome back to From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea. This is the first of a two part episode where we deep dive into the history of Israel/Palestine. In part 1, we discuss: why we were only taught one half of the Israeli/Palestinian narrative at our Jewish day schools and the impact that has had on this current war; who is "indigenous" to the land;  the first wave of Jewish imm...

Welcome to part 2 of Where did this all begin? In this episode we discuss: what the Nakba is; whether Israel is an apartheid State and what that actually means; and previous offers for peace since 1947. For more resources: Letter from Dr. Theodore Hertzl to M. Youssuf Zia Al-Khalidi, Mayor of Jerusalem https://aldeilis.net/english/letter-from-herzl-to-mayor-of-jerusalem-1899/ Maps showing peace of...

Welcome to From the Yarra River to the Mediterranean Sea. In this first episode, we explore what motivated us both to create this podcast. We also discuss where we are getting our news from and how you can differentiate between what is most likely real news and what is most likely fake news. We finish by explaining the reasoning behind the name of this podcast. For those who want to inform themsel...