Grace For Impact

A year after our first conversation, I reconnected with Tessa Veksler, the former UCSB student body president who navigated one of the most turbulent periods in recent campus history as a Jewish woman in the wake of October 7, 2023. In this follow-up, Tessa reflects on how far she’s come since graduating and the toll that year of relentless hate and harassment took on her personally. A reel from our interview went viral, but not without consequence, as a subsequent “sitch incoming” reel stripped it of context, distorted her words, and weaponised her message to push a narrative she never espoused. Tessa breaks down the experience through the lens of the Three D’s, a framework for identifying and understanding antisemitism, and explains why incidents like this are exactly why media literacy and honest dialogue matter. Despite facing ongoing hostility, she remains deeply committed to bridge-building, believing that connection, not division, is the only path forward.For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media

As an aerospace engineer, Hilla Haddad builds at the intersection of survival and possibility. She was a member of the Iron Dome development team, working on systems that protect lives in real time. As former Director-General of Israel’s Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, she helped shape national priorities at the highest level. Now, as founding partner and CEO of Moonshot Space, an aerospace start up, she’s focused on what comes next for the future of Space innovation.For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch is the senior Rabbi at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, in New York City, where he leads a reform congregation. In this episode, Rabbi Hirsch and I discuss his Zionism, which embodies liberal values, including the right of the individual to self determination, free speech, open debate and equality for all. He points out the illiberalism of many self proclaimed liberals today in their outspokenness and in their silence. He also discusses the emotional and intellectual connections between Judaism and Israel for Jews living in the diaspora. For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media

MEP Assita Kanko unapologetically describes how she worked her way from the repressive society in which she was raised in Burkina Faso to now being the Belgian Member of European Parliament. She’s not in the political business to be liked. She’s in it to fight for what’s right.For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media

Türkü Avcı is a Turkish writer, commentator, and student of Political Science and Communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Born and raised in Turkey, she developed a deep interest in Middle Eastern affairs from a young age and sought to experience Israel firsthand in order to understand the region beyond the narratives she encountered at home. In 2021, despite warnings that she might face hostility or rejection, she moved to Jerusalem—a decision that shaped her worldview and strengthened her commitment to dialogue and bridge-building.For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media

Gadi Hitman returns to the podcast, nine months later, to discuss the current Iran war - Iran’s major miscalculations, what kind of leader Iran would need for actual progress, Israeli resilience and more. For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media

Tali Aynalem proudly carries many identities, including Jewish, Israeli, Ethiopian & American. We met to discuss the misconceptions and misinformation she is trying to clear up as it relates to people’s stereotypes of her and her heritage. For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media

Dalia Ziada is an Egyptian writer, Middle East geopolitics expert and Washington coordinater and research fellow at ISGAP. With the unprecedented rise of antisemitism in the West, Dalia works to preserve the values of the west.For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media