Episode 111: Leat Corinne is a humanitarian activist dedicated to advocating for human rights, promoting peace, and providing humanitarian relief. She is the cousin of 21-year-old Omer Shem Tov, one of the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Shany Granot is a prominent pro-Democracy activist and the Coordinator for the Hostage and Missing Families Forum in New York
In this episode, they talk about the power of hope, survival and practical, everyday action items everyone can do to help free the hostages.
Modi's special "Know Your Audience" is available on YouTube now!
For all upcoming shows visit www.modilive.com.
Follow Modi on Instagram at @modi_live.
Episode 111: Leat Corinne is a humanitarian activist dedicated to advocating for human rights, promoting peace, and providing humanitarian relief. She is the cousin of 21-year-old Omer Shem Tov, one of the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Shany Granot is a prominent pro-Democracy activist and the Coordinator for the Hostage and Missing Families Forum in New York
In this episode, they talk about the power of hope, survival and practical, everyday action items everyone can do to help free the hostages.
Modi's special "Know Your Audience" is available on YouTube now!
For all upcoming shows visit www.modilive.com.
Follow Modi on Instagram at @modi_live.
Welcome to and here's Modi, and Europe and Israel. And now it's available on YouTube free for everybody. Please make sure that your Saba, your Safda grandmother, grandfather Zaydi Bubi, get to watch it. If they do not tech savvy, make sure you go to their house and sit up on their TV for them, do your pairing or however you do it. I have no idea Leo does all that stuff, but that's it. Just share the special with friends and have a good laugh. And right before the podcast began, these two beautiful women that are sitting here on the sofa were having a little laugh and they said I don't remember the last time I laughed and I want to tell you that it's important to pause for the laughter, which is the name of my new tour. Am I plugging everything right up front? I'm just horribly plugging everything up front.
Speaker 1:No, it's good you have to pause for laughter. You guys are going through hell. In a general I mean we're going to talk about. I'm the worst at introducing everybody. I don't know what's going on right now Okay, first of all, hello. Hello, hi, I'm so excited, I get so excited, right.
Speaker 2:Everybody's very excited to meet you too. You're doing like a mitzvah, not only to spread the work that they're doing, but also to give them smiles.
Speaker 1:Yes, smile. Pause for the laughter. So we have two guests today.
Speaker 2:Yes, liat Corinne and Shani Granot. Shani almost didn't make it. She texted me I'm not going to make it. I have an interview and I called her and I was like, yeah, with us. Because I thought I was going to look at… that's something I would do.
Speaker 4:No, I thought Liat was going to do the interview and I'm just going to sit. And then I said okay, but I have another interview. But then I….
Speaker 1:That's so funny. Okay, everybody, get close to your microphones. We've been getting people DMing. Really, they can't hear the. It's not good, okay.
Speaker 2:So Shani, can you please say state your name and address for the court.
Speaker 1:So, Shanit, those of you Sha like be quiet, Sha and Nit, Keep everything Nit in your room.
Speaker 2:No Ni.
Speaker 1:Shani, shani.
Speaker 4:It's a Bible name, Shani. It means like the red bracelet that they put in the kotel.
Speaker 1:The bendel that's.
Speaker 2:Shani.
Speaker 1:In Y, it's just called the bendel.
Speaker 2:Shani is the red.
Speaker 4:It's the color.
Speaker 2:Wow, okay, yeah, who are you and why are you here? It's actually, can I?
Speaker 1:just tell you we're actually thinking about doing a thing at every segment. What does Periel not know? This one was double. I didn't know that meant red either, but we always throw things at Periel like from the you know religious things, and she's like what the hell is that?
Speaker 4:Yeah, but I'm Israeli so I'm not supposed to know religious things. Usually American Jews know way more than me and that's like embarrassing yes, Like I've never met a rabbi.
Speaker 1:That's where Periel is much more Israeli.
Speaker 2:That's where I really shine In, not knowing Orthodox things. That's where I really shine. You really shine in not knowing Orthodox things. Okay, okay, I met Shani on October 8th. Wow, yeah, we were introduced through a mutual friend. And can you just tell our listeners what you started to do on October 7th?
Speaker 4:Yes, so before October 7th we were running the pro-democracy movement from here and then the pro-democracy Israeli movement from here, and then on October 7th, like everyone else, we've changed our mission because there was so much to do and we founded the Hostages Families Forum here in New York, which was kind of the home for the families that are abroad.
Speaker 4:That are here and also for the families that are coming from Israel in different delegations here to New York City. We scheduled meetings for them diplomatic meetings and media and press and made a lot of community events and demonstrations and rallies and, yeah, installations throughout the city to make people talk about it and know it and so on. And we've fundraised for life gear, life-saving gear for soldiers and for the evacuated people from the south of Israel. So we've we've done different things, but the hostages families forum was kind of the main, the main thing we've been doing in the past a little bit more than seven months now, and yeah, this is how I meet.
Speaker 1:I met Liat as well who is a cousin of one of the hostages, omer Shemtov, and it's just so ironic that his poster was right by our house and it was hanging up there for a while and every time I'd come home from the gym, from the subway, from wherever, I would see his face and it was just like it was a part of my day seeing his face, and it was just like it was a part of my day seeing his face. And then, um, one day, everybody always asks you who's your, your, your dream wish guest, and somebody was texting that to me while I was walking home and I look up and I go, that's who I want. It was literally like that. That's how that happened and that. And then we talked about it in the 100th episode.
Speaker 1:But then the poster was painted over and then it was Hanukkah and I was invited to the mayor's house and you were there, or your family was there, maybe my cousin your cousins were there, yeah, and I remember the family and I didn't go over and speak to them because I was there for a minute, I had to go to a show, but I was like, wow, just like I thought I was done seeing that poster, and you've done such a job making sure people are seeing and all over the place they're seeing the hostages and remembering it.
Speaker 4:It's an amazing story to show people how important it is to put the posters out there and the stickers and to continue to do it, because it makes them, uh, alive for all of us in our minds.
Speaker 1:It makes them alive. And you know, I'll tell you we've been doing this. We did a tour throughout all of america and europe and israel and well, israel was before. But when I'm on stage and there's backlighting, so you see the form of the audience members and you see the little tags, the bring them home tags, and so I'm looking at that the entire show. So I'm always reminded of the like when I see it, it hits you. Luckily, I'm in my mode and thinking through it and you know, and all the signs you put up and all of the tags you wear are so important Because it just takes the regularity of the moment out, even though we're having a conversation. When's the next podcast? Did you schedule it? Did you call them Da-da-da?
Speaker 1:The tag is there. It literally reminds you you. You think your world's falling apart. But there is something bigger than that, and just wearing those little tags and little little pins and the shirts and it really makes a difference.
Speaker 2:I I'm talking way too much no, you're not, but I, I that's right, that's right, that's right.
Speaker 1:I I don't wear it. I also don't. I never wore the Jewish stars. I never wore any of that stuff. First of all, I don't need to. I just opened my mouth and everybody knows it's a big Jew and so I didn't need to wear stars. And I, since the whole war began, had been trying to be someplace where people can go for a pause from it. So I don't wear the tag. So like when they're talking to me and I give them a joke, they don't right away, because your eyes, when you speak to somebody, your eyes eventually go to the tag, the bring them home tag. So it's amazing, everybody wears them. But I try to be in a space where I'm giving a little relief from that. Believe me, I pray for them every morning and I pray for them.
Speaker 1:Every night I go to bed I put my phone down on that, do not disturb thing. I just showed you and I say I'm going to pick this phone up tomorrow and the first thing is going to be hostages released. Ceasefire begins Moshiach Ha'anamji.
Speaker 1:That's literally my last thought of every night when I put the phone down. And so again, I can't thank you enough for making everybody constantly remember that this is happening. And you, this is a family. How does it feel when you have a family member as a hostage? It must be the most I can't imagine.
Speaker 3:I don't know that there's enough words necessarily to sort of, but the best way I can say is 210 days of a nightmare.
Speaker 1:Yeah, does it hit you in waves, sometimes like whoa, and then sometimes you forget about it because you're doing something Correct. And then boom wow, my cousin's in God knows where, hopefully, wow.
Speaker 3:It absolutely hits you in waves. It's a roller coaster. There's days I can speak for myself can't get out of bed, and then there's days where you're like, well, we've got a meeting with this ambassador and this thing, and so it doesn't matter if you can't get out of bed. You're getting out of bed and you're going to show up.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So what you want to tell a little bit of your story, omele's story, and then the other thing that I think is important is to share information of what people can do. Liat and I were talking before the show and we're saying everybody has a responsibility to do something. Not everybody can get up and do what you do, right, but whether you're emailing your representatives or your hand stickers.
Speaker 2:everybody can do whatever they can do, but we can talk about that maybe a little bit after. Will you tell us about Omer and you know I watch Shelley every day his mother and just as the mother of a son also. She's incredible in a way that I'm sure she never wanted to be.
Speaker 3:She was always that incredible. Yeah, now I think the world sees it.
Speaker 2:Talk louder though. Okay, Into the mic, yeah.
Speaker 3:Is that okay yeah, yeah okay, um, so I don't know who to talk to um omer. I'll tell you a little bit about omer before. Okay, so omer is just it's, it's it. Definitely it did something to me when you shared that podcast about you wanting to meet Omer because Omer is hysterical.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think that you guys will hit it off when he comes home.
Speaker 1:I cannot wait, omer looks like when Leo and I go dancing in Brooklyn. At those raves we dance and then all of a sudden some young Jewish kid goes I watch your video so funny. I watch your videos so funny. I watch your videos so funny. Or my mom watches your videos. How does she get them? I send it to her. Literally he looks like all the Jewish kids are like watch your videos. You know, he literally looks like every one of the Jewish kids.
Speaker 3:Whenever I'm at a rave like he's like hi youave he's like hi, but he just looks to make people laugh. He'll be in a car and he'll know where he's going, but he'll roll down the window and just put on a different accent. He's just that guy Makes people laugh, asks for the check in a funny accent, whatever it is. So he's really funny. He loves to dance, he's a really good dancer. He wants to be a music producer.
Speaker 1:Oh so, getting that ready for him when he comes home? Good, good, um, there's no, you haven't heard. There's nothing. There's no news, is there anything?
Speaker 2:since itai was released, itai and maya were kidnapped along with him from the nova music festival okay um, so he went to the festival to go, to the festival to go to the festival after shelly's 51st birthday party Dinner.
Speaker 3:Rather, wow, they celebrated her 51st birthday. He promised to buy her shoes. They didn't have her size. He said that he would buy it for her. On Sunday They'd go to a different location. Sunday looked different. He went to the party. We have videos of him dancing at the sunrise. And then 629 and their attempted escape mission. Yeah, he 629 and their attempted escape mission. Yeah, he was kidnapped with Maya and Itay Regev, who were released on the last ceasefire exchange deal, along with a boy called Ori Danino, who went back to save him only after meeting him a few hours before he met him on the dance floor.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And he called him and said hey, are you guys? Okay? No, share a location. Went back into a terror scene. Even he had escaped the act of terror scene Went back to save them, pick them up and, on their way out of the Re'im towards Kibbutz Re'im, they were surrounded by terrorists who fired live ammunition, disabling the car, severely wounding Maya in her legs, wounding Itay. And then, you know, he was on live location share with his family on WhatsApp and he's spoken to them a few minutes before.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 3:And they saw his location move into Gaza.
Speaker 1:Oh, my God.
Speaker 3:Until 9 am. Uh-huh. And then the signal was lost. I don't know, I think it was that night.
Speaker 1:What did they say when they were released? Did they see when they were captured?
Speaker 3:They were held captive together Together, yeah, at the beginning. At the beginning, itay Well, until they were released, yeah.
Speaker 4:Itay was with him. Maya was taken to hospital because she was severely injured.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 4:And they had a surgery on her leg and they, they made it wrong.
Speaker 1:Um, so she was where was she in israel? No, no, in gaza.
Speaker 4:They took her to a hospital wow and then and she was uh away from them from from itai and omer. Um and she was released first and then, I think, two days after Itay was released, and he gave all the news about Omer because he was with him.
Speaker 1:And what would they say? What was the news? Well, was he injured, was he?
Speaker 3:he wasn't completely Itay, or Omer Omer, omer no, omer just was handcuffed strongly, but he was not injured, he was not wounded. He shared that he was having a hard time breathing because he has asthma and no inhaler.
Speaker 1:Oh my god that he's uh, being fed pita and he's celiacs, so, oh my god, so he's eating something that's ripping his insides apart.
Speaker 3:But yes, and this is mashiach energy, yes, he does kiddush in captivity every week. By rationing his food, he rations the very minimal food that he's given yes scrapes the salt off of the pretzels. I think he was given every week the grape juice and the quarter pita and he makes kiddush wow counting the muslim call to prayers, and one of them was in charge of counting the days, and one of them was in charge of you know. So they know approximately what time it was to know when Shabbat ended.
Speaker 1:Wow that's amazing. That is amazing. That's Moshiach Hanonji, right there in captivity. This is like the stories you hear from the Holocaust how they knew when the holidays were and how they. This is a he's in the Holocaust. He's in a straight-up holocaust so, but there is hope, so you there's a hundred percent that there's hope. I'm saying it, I'm not.
Speaker 3:I'm not saying it in a question no, no I'm saying it, there is hope there's and um, I shared that in his moments of breaking, because you're in captivity with terrorists, murderers, that when he was down and he was ready to give up, oma found a way to make a joke yes, and pause for the.
Speaker 1:You have to pause for the laughter.
Speaker 3:You have to pause for the laughter. I didn't give myself permission until you shared that right now.
Speaker 1:I'm telling you you have to, you have to, you can't. You need that breath, you need that. You know it hit me. I tell this story all the time, but I, when the war began, we were in the Satay Hotel and we saw Bruno Mars being taken out.
Speaker 3:Oh, in Israel.
Speaker 1:In Israel. Yeah, so I said to Leo, I go. Thank God they got Bruno Mars out of the hotel.
Speaker 1:And he goes why? And I said because if the bomb hits this hotel and me and Bruno Mars die, I will get zero press coverage. No one's going to talk about me. And so we laughed, we both laughed. We Talk about me. And so we laughed, we both laughed. We're laughing while we're watching a war on the television. And I said to him that's when we, you know, you have to pause for laughter. It's definitely Leo's quote, it's his and the theme of the new tour, but it's you have to pause for laughter and then go back into it. But you need that moment. It's like a rejuvenation, it's like a breath. You just get some adrenaline into your brains.
Speaker 3:It's hard to stomach it. But you're right, there's a lot of guilt.
Speaker 4:When I'm watching Omar's videos on Instagram and so on, I always find myself smiling.
Speaker 3:Me too.
Speaker 4:Because he's so alive and so funny and he makes all these kind of stupid moves. I mean, I don't know him personally, but I feel like I know everybody. Everyone says so I run videos are so funny, so I run.
Speaker 3:I opened his Instagram account. I had to learn how to become an Instagrammer overnight and, um, bring that over that home right and uh and I and I and I share a lot of content about who he is because I want people to not just his kidnap story. Who was he before? Why? Why are we fighting for this person? He's not a poster.
Speaker 1:I think it's. I'm more impressed. Believe me, I get it. He's the funny guy, he's the one that does the accents, I get it. But the fact that he's making kiddush and and doing all that in captivity so we should?
Speaker 3:people tell me they feel like they know him, they can't wait till he comes home.
Speaker 4:They're asking I'm telling you with him, yes, like let him get home, it's the same for him.
Speaker 1:It was the same for me. You're not. I'm already sold and let me tell you, I see every hostage as the names. The names ring in different bells too. You know the family we did. One of the projects was to post somebody on your Instagram and we did it and it was, and his family got in touch with us and it was just like you feel a connection to them. What you're doing is 100% Moshiach energy. It's you're bringing. I can't even I don't have words for it.
Speaker 1:But, like you said, everybody's doing what they can do.
Speaker 2:Everybody's doing what they can do, and everybody can do something else, and that's a good thing.
Speaker 1:Not everybody should be doing the same thing and it's even small, like, not small, but, like you said, your husband putting on tefillin every day, yeah, he never put on, you never put on tefillin, but it's, it's strong, it's an energy, it's my kids pray for omel every night when they say shema islam now five and three, that's it years old they're babies, but every night bring hashem.
Speaker 3:Bring omar home home, hashem. Bring the Jewish people home, hashem. Protect the soldiers every night.
Speaker 2:You've made some very impactful speeches about unity. Maybe you could talk a little bit about those.
Speaker 3:I think what's happening with Omer, and what I view as 132 of my brothers and sisters, is that it's being politicized. Yes, and I don't think that hostages are a political thing, and it doesn't matter which side of the spectrum you're on in terms of politics, in terms of religious level. Keeping innocent human beings away from their families is wrong and we can all agree on that.
Speaker 1:Can I ask you do?
Speaker 4:you feel that the citizens of Gaza that are not Hamas?
Speaker 1:are also hostages by Hamas, by Hamas, absolutely by Hamas. Yes, they're also hostages.
Speaker 4:We care about Palestinian lives.
Speaker 1:We care about every human being Same.
Speaker 3:Innocents are innocents.
Speaker 1:Innocents, they're also hostages we care about palestinian lives. We care about every human being. I I same innocence or innocence, innocence there's I'm. Somebody reached out to us about this. Um, I should have been brought it up about arab people that are apologizing for what's happening. They want to come on the podcast. Um, it's perfect for you to deal with, but that's I was. It's yeah, there's just innocence, a lot of just it's just children I think that the narrative has been twisted yeah into this very false story of the of hatred and it's not true.
Speaker 4:I mean, it's actually not true that I mean we have Muslims that were taken hostage as well. I mean, it's not a Jewish-Arab fight. This is not what it's all about. It's just not the story. And when people are tearing down today this morning I saw someone tear down one of the posters we live just across Columbia University. Real fun, these days Wow. Yeah, my husband is a student.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, You're just dropping that on us like that's like you got to be kidding me. No, you're just dropping that. Your husband's a student On top of everything, he's a student at Columbia University.
Speaker 4:Yeah, he's doing his master's.
Speaker 1:It's been real fun. What's his master's in?
Speaker 4:He's doing it in public administration is in um. He's doing it in public administration wow, um, wow. So hold on so so you're living that too? Yeah, we, we are actually from all um. My, my husband's cousin was taken hostage with our three children, and they were released on the previous deal, and then Colombia became this crazy place where we live.
Speaker 4:We, we live in Colombia's housing Like this is just across the gate, like literally, and when I see people tear down the posters or when they hear what they're chanting, I'm like you guys, you got it all wrong. Like you're not into peace, you're not into saving lives, you can't explain it and I don't say Arab-Israeli conflict Saving lives.
Speaker 1:You can't explain it and I don't say Arab-Israeli conflict. I always, from the beginning, said barbarians against civilians Civil, they're civil, this is a civil conflict person and that's a barbarian. Taking them and we have to deal and negotiate with barbarians and it's it's, it's painful, and they're under. This thing of god is involved in their head in a in an intense and crazy way. You know I've told this story, I tell all the time. My father was in three wars in israel yom kippur, um uh 57, the Six-Day War right 67.
Speaker 1:67? It was the Six-Day War. Yeah, but there was another war before that.
Speaker 4:In between?
Speaker 1:Yes, Okay, he was in three wars and he was talking about he was in the desert and they were in these like motor vehicle motorcades and coming at. And then they got to the syrians were across from them and my father was driving the truck. There was an officer there, my father was driving the first truck and before the officer even had a chance to give orders or anything, my father just started driving to the left. He started driving away and they drove to the other way. They looked at each other. They were all milwimnikim. They're all reservists. They all had families at home, they all had businesses. They just started, they just took a mortgage on a house, you know, and they're like what are we gonna start shooting each other? So they each went the other way. Now it's not that anymore. Now there's not. It's not too, you know. But there's no moral. When you look at, when I see arab people, I I see a cousin, this is a cousin.
Speaker 4:It's a cousin. I'm married to one. My husband is Moroccan. He's literally Arab. He looks like one too.
Speaker 1:He's not Jewish, no, he's.
Speaker 4:Jewish, but I'm like right yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's why you're going to this far. You can say that we cannot say that.
Speaker 4:I call my husband that, way he's he looks. I mean, yeah People always ask me why do you make fun of?
Speaker 1:Ashkenazi people and, like I, always make the safari so cool. We are, you are, no, you are. But could you imagine if I was making fun of safari people?
Speaker 3:as an Ashkenazi guy. That's why I do it. Your career would be over.
Speaker 4:I would be killed. But my last name is Louboutinboutin, which is the Moroccan name. So I'm like I'm okay. Louis Vuitton Very close. Unfortunately without the shoes, though Without the shoes.
Speaker 1:Oh my god, but not without the sole. That's good. Oh, I like that. Oh my god, Wait. So what the hell is going on in Columbia University? I said this is my joke.
Speaker 3:This powerhouse organized a huge rally Of course she did.
Speaker 1:Of course she did. And probably before I even got out of bed I was saying you could tell these are not Jewish kids, because you don't take over a building like that. That's the kind of building you do a triple net lease on and you bring catering that girl with the catering girl we spoke about.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God, and we need to get food.
Speaker 1:It's a civil. You're killing us. Her last name is Slutsky.
Speaker 2:That's not her last name? Her last name is Slutsky. Is that Jewish? I don't know if she's Jewish.
Speaker 4:It has a Jewish sound to it. It has a very Jewish sound to it.
Speaker 2:She said that it's a humanitarian crisis, humanitarian aid.
Speaker 3:It's like you can order.
Speaker 2:Uber Eats. Like what are you talking about? There's like a great Vietnamese restaurant.
Speaker 1:How do you take over a building and not plan on like the meals Every Jewish guy okay, go in there and bring some sandwiches.
Speaker 3:No, those sandwiches would have been in there before.
Speaker 2:Of every jewish guy. Okay, go in there, bring some sandwiches. No, those sandwiches would have been in there before. Of course, of course. Of course you get the food. Oh, my god. There's lists now from some of them where it's like we need gluten-free this, and we need plan b and we need cigarettes and we need a vape. I mean, these people are delulue, delulue.
Speaker 1:Delulue, delulue.
Speaker 2:A hundred percent Delusional on another level.
Speaker 1:What is wrong with them? You know what it is. It's like every generation has to have the thing that they're protesting about. So there's the Vietnam and this and that, and this is like.
Speaker 3:But people had morals and values back then. Today they're just. They're just a product of their algorithms.
Speaker 1:And it's intensified on steroids, on social media.
Speaker 2:Sure, and also they actually don't know anything, which was the difference between protesting Vietnam War and look, I'm all for protesting. By all means Go protest, but know what you're protesting for. Right and be peaceful.
Speaker 1:And be respectful this is where we stand over here, make our thing. Here's the media.
Speaker 2:Do get our energy out, but you don't calling to burn tel aviv to the ground is inciting violence. Like you should not be allowed to do that yeah so you know, I don't know. I think that these people are not peaceful protesters. I think that they are calling for violent actions and I don't think that that's okay.
Speaker 4:They're very much morally confused.
Speaker 3:Very much morally confused and uneducated. I walked onto the encampment after your rally. I didn't share this with you. I went there and had a three-hour conversation with the students there.
Speaker 1:With the students.
Speaker 3:With the pro-Palestinian students.
Speaker 1:And how did it go?
Speaker 3:So at first they were very hostile towards letting me in the Zionists, the Zionists, the Zionists. So I was like, excuse me, this is a public space. I took a student with me because she was like 19, 20 years old. She was afraid and she's like you're gonna go. She's like you're not scared. I'm just like do you want me to accompany you? I've never been. I'm like I'm not scared, but you're welcome to accompany me. And I went in and they tried to intimidate us and they send someone to supervise and observe me and make sure I'm not here to cause any violence. That's how she said it I'm here to supervise and observe what violence are you causing?
Speaker 3:well, I mean I'm very tall if I stand up, maybe it's a little no, I know like, but your eyebrows and everything with the makeup.
Speaker 1:Now, what violence are you doing?
Speaker 3:and I sat there for three hours and spoke to some students. Um, I listened to them first and that's how we created open dialogue and I think I planted some seeds for them to think about, because they're. They say that they're there to end palestinian suffering, but how does bDS further that cause of like the immediate suffering of Palestinian children? And when I brought up the idea of coming together instead of dividing amongst ourselves? Yeah let's come together and call for the hostage release, so the Palestinian children get to grow up 100.
Speaker 1:So when you're saying hostage release, I'm I also think about the, the gaza citizens, as hostages too. It's like it's not just the israelis and and the omer shemtov's, it's the, it's the it's the innocence of the innocence of the world, kids.
Speaker 3:And but do you know what their answer was? What that's we? We might have the same goal, but we have different means and our means have to be material. If we want columbia university to disclose their investments, I said and how is that going to bring their immediate release of suffering?
Speaker 1:What do you mean to disclose their investments?
Speaker 3:They want to know what Columbia…. They want Columbia to divest from IOF.
Speaker 4:Okay, iof is the way they call IVF, idf?
Speaker 3:I didn't know. I had to ask them.
Speaker 1:Well, columbia is not sending money to Israel. If anything… Jews money to Israel, if anything, jews are sending money to Colombia until now, yeah, but they're working with Dalai Lama University and so on.
Speaker 2:Okay, so then they should stop using these students. One of the places that they were trying to divest from was Domino's, because I think they have big Jewish investors, and then these geniuses who are getting an Ivy League education for $90,000 a year. Order dominoes for all of the protesters.
Speaker 4:And also I'm like, as I'm a protester, like for liberal values, and I do not understand how, in their strategy, I mean taking out liberal money from Israel. How would that do any help? It won't. You want to help? No, put more money. Put more money into Israel in order to make the people who are fighting for peace, who are fighting for liberal values together stronger. How does that help to take out?
Speaker 2:I mean, that's just weird. How do you not recognize the fact that Hamas is terrible for the Palestinian people? The innocent Palestinian people in Gaza are screaming to get rid of Hamas.
Speaker 3:But social media is portraying them as heroes, as resistance fighters. They're not portraying them as what they are, and that's why I say it's a lack of education. They don't know. They've never been there, of course not. They can't even find it on a map. Can I tell you what I the sense that I got and I mean this in the most respectful way? I felt like the students who were sitting around me and having this dialogue with me were just looking for a place to feel like they belong. Yeah, they have been COVID children that didn't get a high school. You know real experience. They're sat behind screens and they didn't have the social capacity and all of a sudden, they're like this is our safe space 100%.
Speaker 1:That is what I felt. It's so funny you're saying this because I was just. You know, I think I think a lot to myself. That's so funny you're saying this because I was just you know, I think I'm a lot to myself. I talk a lot with myself. I talk to myself a lot. I think I'm coming out about that, especially if I have a little weed and I'm at the gym. I have a lot of conversations to myself, to the point where Leo sometimes goes shh being loud.
Speaker 1:I was thinking that these kids that are graduating now. They got in. I had a friend whose daughter got into Columbia. I have a whole batch of friends that were Donnie Moss was on the podcast. He has a whole group of friends of his from Columbia. They're like in shock. And their kids got in right when COVID began. So they began doing school from home and now they're graduating. And now what graduation do you have when there's an encampment on your campus and they're so lost and I was thinking to myself. I remember during covid, when the black lives matter marches began and leo and I were in the same headspace. We need to do that, we have to go march. It was. But it was also a way to get out there and uh and be outside and be in something with unity and people. It's just, and that was black lives matter, which was the most, which was so important at the time and still is um. But they needed something now.
Speaker 3:They needed um and such a cause, a cause and it's it's ma to unite, to like, just to bring them into, bring them together, yes a social interaction.
Speaker 1:They're so used to just being on group chats, correct? All of a sudden, there's a live group and it's on your campus and it's going crazy and it's exciting and hormones and sleeping over and tense, tense yet yeah yes, and it's cool and you can now and they all wear the keffiyeh, the keffiyeh, the keffiyeh, the shmata I'm going to.
Speaker 1:you know, I saw. I don't know do we speak about this? But Mr Wonderful from Shark, Tank said blatantly in his company there are lists now coming about the kids that are on these protests. There's going to be a live list of kids on these protests. Obviously, government positions can't say if you were a protester we're not hiring you. But he said in my company that I own the company I have. I will not be hiring anybody who is on these lists of kids protesting and they're destroying their lives.
Speaker 1:Even though they have the schmat on their head, but then you can see the eyes and there's recognition and we're talking about all the ways they can know who these kids are is this the part of the show where it's something Periel doesn't know, because I have no idea who Mr Wonderful is?
Speaker 1:from Shark Tank, the bald guy. Okay, Shark Tank. You heard of Shark Tank. I have heard of Shark Tank. One of the one of the sharks knows Mr Wonderful and he has his own company. He said in his company I will not be hiring any of these protesters. They're destroying their lives. They're like here you go.
Speaker 3:Well, it's clear they don't have any critical thinking skills and you need someone with critical thinking A and yeah, it's so so sad it's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's so so sad it's yeah, what are people doing that is helpful, Like for all of the hostages, for support, in order to really bridge that gap between something that's happening to other people far away, which one of the things that Shelly said in a video that I watched yesterday is that and Shelly is Omer Shemtov's mother that this could have been any of us. Like that's one of the things that she realized that any single one of us. It could have been 100%, it could have been 100%.
Speaker 1:It could have been Leo and I. Yeah, hey, there's a rave After all your shows. We flew to Paris. We had a flight that Saturday, but that flight for months. We had that Saturday flight but in two minutes the world could have could have been like, hey, stay an extra two days. In israel, there's a nova festival in leonard, let's go to the desert and dance. And we'd have been there we would have been there. It could have been burning man it could have been burning there, yeah it's that simple.
Speaker 3:I told the students at gw. I went to go speak with them yesterday and I told them and they're 20 years old, almost age 20, 21 now he spent his 21st birthday they all look like him.
Speaker 4:That's the thing I'm saying them in Colombia and I'm like you guys, that could have been your brother, like this could have been you like, please we've gone dancing since then.
Speaker 1:We've been to a few parties and and a few uh DJs in Brooklyn. And you know you're dancing and you're like and you're thinking to yourself, could you imagine someone flying in with a machine gun right now? Could you imagine? It's just like it's a thought that goes through your head now that you're at a DJ, at a dance somewhere in Brooklyn or you know, or an outdoor BDM thing, and you know it's just it goes through your head. It really could be anybody.
Speaker 4:I just had a conversation with Omri Miran's brother-in-law. He lives here in New York, moshe Lavi and Omri is a hostage and Moshe was in a party when. I mean he was born and raised in Sderot, so his entire family are in the South, and when the attack started he was born and raised in Sderot, so his entire family are in the south, and when the attack started he was here in New York City in a party. It was like 11.30 at night, friday night, and he got the messages saying like things are and he was like, okay, we're used to it, like if everyone in the shelter, okay, I'll put the phone down and I'll continue to dance and enjoy. And then when he took out the phone again after like an hour, like he realized what was going on.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and it was so crazy that, like his sister said, the terrorists are inside our apartment and like they're and the whole thing that we all heard from from october 7th and since then he feels like he cannot go to a party because it's just so triggering for him. And I'm sure that once Omri will be home safely and will have the F deal I don't know if it's allowed to say it here, but I mean when we'll get the deal. I'm sure he'll be able to party again, and I wish that for him.
Speaker 1:I do. It's important to pause for laughter and to go dancing and you can curse here. She curses like you shouldn't know. I prefer you don't.
Speaker 3:So, the fucking deal. Can we get the fucking deal signed please?
Speaker 2:So why don't you tell us a little bit about the deals and how they work and I know that you talk a lot about Qatar and how important it is that it's and, first of all, that there are hostages from like 30, 25 countries. This is not an American thing, this is not an Israeli thing, this is not a Jewish thing. There are Buddhists and Christians, and Muslims and Hindus.
Speaker 4:Yeah, five different different religions, 25 different countries, from age of 1 to 86. We have a we're in Israel, they're gonna mark Holocaust day next week and it's we have a Holocaust survivor who's a hostage now in Gaza really it's just, you cannot imagine that. I can't it's really, it's so crazy, it's something you cannot imagine, that I can't. It's really. It's so crazy, it's something we cannot grasp. So yeah, I'll say about the deals that the previous deal was negotiated.
Speaker 2:You're talking about the deal for negotiating to get, just in case people, the release of the hostages. Sorry, the release of the hostages. Yes, so there have been two separate releases.
Speaker 4:No, there was only one deal and it took a few days. Okay, so every day we got about 10 hostages, and then Israel sent back terrorists that she took into prison. So Israel is setting free a few terrorists for each hostage. This is the deal, and also there's a ceasefire.
Speaker 1:Which they broke With those rockets.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which Hamas broke.
Speaker 1:I also don't know. Was it somebody individually deciding that they're going to do it, or is it instructions by Hamas? No, it was instructions.
Speaker 4:They declared that the deal was over. Okay, hamas did yeah, yeah, I mean they, they wouldn't stand it's, it's all very complex, but they wouldn't give the, the, the next 10 alive people, and they started to kind of change the deal. That what was, uh, the terms, the terms exactly, and then the deal shocking that they're not trustworthy but were there any um? But there were names that were already about to be released and they didn't they didn't, and um were there dead hostages, bodies that they gave back, or no, uh, there were uh bodies that the IDF managed to find and take out from Gaza, but there were no bodies that were returned in jail.
Speaker 4:And so now, and so now we still have 132 hostages in Gaza, and we believe that there are about half of them that are still alive, we hope. And now they're negotiating in Cairo. Israel said yes. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, said yes to a deal that before he said no to yeah, because it's a very harsh deal on Israel, israel terms. Uh, but now they said yes. Finally, um, and we're waiting for the answer from hamas, from sinua, uh, the head of hamas, and he's been taking his time and all eyes are on him right now, waiting for him to get, uh, hopefully, a positive answer. Um, and basically we've been rallying this morning outside of the qatari embassy because qatar has a lot of power on hamas.
Speaker 4:They give them a lot of money, their leaders are flying all around um qatar enjoying their lives, living as kings, when their people are paying the price, when our people are paying the prices, um, but yeah, so we came there outside of the Qatari embassy to demand and to beg basically from them to put more pressure on Sinoir and on Hamas in order to get this positive answer and to start the deal as soon as possible.
Speaker 4:And what is the deal? So the deal now is talking about 33 hostages. So the deal now is talking about 33 hostages the wounded, the elderly, the women. So this is like the first part of the deal and hopefully, once you're getting into that deal, you can have a second and a third stage to release more hostages. But when you're talking about Omri Miran, who I just spoke of, or on Omer Shemtov, so since they weren't injured and they're men, not elderly men, then they're not on that first kind of part. And this is the hardest part for all of us that we understand that they're trying to keep them there and to use them, and we are pushing for a deal that will include all of them.
Speaker 2:And so one question that I get a lot because I don't know, I'm on social media a lot talking about this is what can we do Like the American people, like what can like a regular person who's watching this show, who is deeply invested in this, who really cares? They don't know what to do, so maybe you guys can speak to that a little bit. Okay.
Speaker 3:The first thing that you should be doing is contacting the White House.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Whitehousegov. The second thing you should be doing is doing oneminuteadayorg. There's also a campaign that a few amazing women have started online. It's actionnetworkorg. There's a certain link. It's on my Instagram profile. I share reminders six times a day. One email a day, no matter where you live in the world. When you put in your zip code, it automatically generates the list of people, of elected representatives, that it should send to.
Speaker 3:So if you need that and why is that important, Because, you're demanding the release of the hostages and for every government to do whatever it needs to do in order for them to leverage.
Speaker 2:Push put pressure and the more emails that those representatives get.
Speaker 3:It's a topic of conversation and it's an action.
Speaker 2:It's an action. That's the call to action that I share with everyone and the more emails that they get, the more on top of the list of what they need to do.
Speaker 4:Um is important for them, and we're also we're living in a political world and and these people wants to be elected again, and once they see the people who are supposed to vote for them care about this topic, then they care about this topic. It's very easy. I mean, they understand that they need to give answers to the people who are voting for them. So if they're getting a lot of emails and phone calls that are just reminding them hi, good morning, it's day 210. We still have 132 hostages in Gaza. Please do everything you can. It takes less than a minute. Just do it. There's a script. Just call your elected officials, send those emails. It's so easy. It's literally one, two minutes every day.
Speaker 3:The email, by the way, is less than 20 seconds. It's just two drop downs and then that's it. It automatically generates it for the first, after the first time.
Speaker 4:And it's very helpful. We get it also on our meetings.
Speaker 1:How do people get this? If I was listening to this now, I would have no idea.
Speaker 3:So follow at bringomarhome and at liatcorin L-I-A-T-C-O-R-I-N-N-E. It's on my bio. I post reminders every single day. You'll hate me, but I don't care.
Speaker 4:And you can also just Google one minute a day, all those things too.
Speaker 1:So so let's now go.
Speaker 4:Okay, so one minute, one minute a day.
Speaker 1:One O-N-E. Yeah, M-I-N-U-T-E.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:A day A-D-A-Y. No, it's one min a day. You see, I'm going to give you guys the links if you want to share them.
Speaker 1:No, but people are driving right now. They stick it in their head. People are walking, walking their dogs. People have this and this is where this podcast is landing. People are just trying to uh, I know some. Why is modi got the hostage situation on? Usually we have laughter here, and and we did have laughs today- all right thank you but let's now focus on making sure they know where to go o-n-e-m-i-n-a-d-a-yorg o-r-g. Okay thatG Okay.
Speaker 3:That's one of them. That's one of them. It's whitehousegov, whitehousegov, whitehousegov.
Speaker 1:And you have a scripted email to send On oneminuteadayorg.
Speaker 3:So contact them, tell them you heard on the podcast.
Speaker 1:Be in touch with them. This is family. This is a part of thechah right now and if you're listening to this, you're a part of the family and contact them and be in touch with them.
Speaker 2:And also go to at bring home now. Bring them home now. Bring them home now. Everything's on that Instagram also. It's very easy.
Speaker 3:That's the other thing that people can do. For me it seems like you're going to spend two minutes a day contacting emails, but if that feels like it's too much for you, I can't judge. Like comment share to your stories. Make sure that you did something to bring about the conversation to bring about the awareness. Every hostage family has created an Instagram.
Speaker 4:And also there's the Instagram of the headquarters of the Bring them Home Now, and it's so amazing that this had to be done.
Speaker 1:This was done not by the government. This was done by… Don't get me started.
Speaker 4:I know, I know.
Speaker 1:My family that lives in Israel. They said this is like amazing that the government… the government's actually preventing you from doing stuff too, they're campaigning against the families.
Speaker 4:It's so amazing that the government the government actually preventing you from doing stuff too they're campaigning against the families.
Speaker 1:It's so sick and insane, but okay.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we won't go into politics now. We're not going to go into politics.
Speaker 1:We're just going to go into Mashiach Energy. It's so funny. I brought you guys hats and you have your own hats. You brought your own the one time I bring merch to give to the guests.
Speaker 3:The one time I bring merch to get to the guests the one time. Okay, I'll take it for me.
Speaker 1:That's my husband take it for everybody you want. I'm so happy that you have it and I'm so how about this?
Speaker 3:yeah, one for omer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, omer is uh, uh, whenever omer's gonna have to come here and get.
Speaker 1:He's gonna know I'm gonna be in israel, in jerusalem, on june 16th he'll be there by then he'll be there by then and he can open up. He can if he's saying it's funny, let's have him open up for us and it'd be amazing. Yeah, so go ahead.
Speaker 4:I'll just add more things that people can do.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes.
Speaker 4:So we said about writing to your elected officials and to put it on social media and to follow and to talk about it and to put a sticker on your computer on or on your the cool things everybody you're drinking from, what's what it's called Stanley cups. Stanley cups. Put a sticker on your Stanley cup. Put a sticker wherever you can.
Speaker 4:We're letting them yeah we're bringing the the stickers of the hostages to all of our rallies and our demonstrations and you can just get them for free. Just take one and put it somewhere. You can print the hostages posters and just glue it all over the city wherever you want and come. Come to our rallies, come to our demonstrations, support the families. We have hostages family members coming from Israel almost every week and, as you said, in Israel, because of the government, it became very political and they're not getting enough support the hostages families.
Speaker 4:It became this weird topic for many people that are like everybody wants the hostages back, but people are not comfortable because it might look like they're criticizing the government if they're coming to support the families on this very, very weird and bad thing. And here it's not like that. Here everyone are coming Republicans, democrats, orthodox Reforms, secular everybody are coming to support the families, to support the families, and they're coming here and they're breaking in tears on our stages every week because they're just so shocked by the amount of support and love the american jewish community gives them. Most of them are israeli, they've never know the american jewish community and they're getting this huge hug. It's.
Speaker 1:It's really amazing to see how I talk about this in my show now I want to just tell you guys not just for the Israelis who come from here.
Speaker 3:It's very hard to live in an alternate universe I was sharing with you, apart from these incredible angels who I don't know how I'd still be functioning without them, because I forget to eat, drink. Seeing people show up week after week Because it's hard 210 days is not a joke they're still there with us and that somehow I can push on amazing.
Speaker 1:Do they really support you too? And it's really amazing.
Speaker 4:American jewish community can do so much for the hostages. I mean, it's so far away and they're so effective for the families and for this fight.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's what it is. And it's not just the Jewish community, doesn't just support the Jewish community the Rebbe always spoke about. Support the entire community, not just the Jewish part of the community. And we're willing to, we want to, we want to help the guys and civilians and all that Okay. So we had a serious moment. We had some laughs. I will be in Jerusalem June 16. We are also live on the shows in West Hampton. We have shows in Atlantic City. What Go ahead? The special is out on YouTube. Know your audience, modi. Everything's available on modilivecom. Go ahead.
Speaker 2:We have the Modi cycle.
Speaker 1:The Modi cycle. Contact Periel regarding the Hatsala motorcycle with Ellie Beer for United Hatsala with the, with ellie beer for uh united hud sala.
Speaker 2:We're raising 36 000 to get a motorcycle with modi space on it.
Speaker 1:Yes, and it sounds like fun it's a moody cycle so if, and the first, uh, three people that give ten thousand dollars get tickets to um, either the jerusalem show or the show in town at the Beacon in December and again, everything's at Modilivecom Be in touch, let us know what you think Hats, everything is in there, everything on Modilivecom. Say hello, be the friend that brings the friends to the comedy show. Get a few tickets, not just for you, get some for your friends, and by the time the show shows up you'll be the guy with the tickets.
Speaker 1:And you'll be happy, and that's Mashiach energy. Thank you both for coming. I'm blessed and honored and I'm so happy that this happened, thank you.
Speaker 4:Thank you, mordy, happy that this happened, thank you. Thank you, maury, thank you for everything you were doing. We're following and in love with everything pause for the laughter.
Speaker 3:Make sure to have a few laughs during your day I'm also going to take a minute and say that I'm going to manifest mashiach energy and I'm going to buy omer a ticket for, for the jews on the guest list.
Speaker 1:How's that?
Speaker 2:you can come to come to yerushalayim. Yes, I'll be, there.
Speaker 1:Okay, be there, yerushalayim uh, june 16th. I'll see you all, bye, bye.