VOI’s Josh Hasten is joined in-studio by filmmaker Barak Shavit, who talks about his latest movie — “iSyndrome” — which delves into different aspects of human consciousness.
It is about a brain researcher who is losing his mind, and the extremes his family is willing to go to save him. Shavit says he hopes the film will bridge gaps between Israelis and Americans in the film industry, which is especially crucial at a time when the BDS movement is trying to drive a wedge between them. To secure funding to complete the project, he has launched an online Indiegogo campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/isyndrome-short-film#/story

Then, Josh is joined on the phone by Kiva Rabinsky, director of the Counterpoint Israel program, an initiative of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future. For the past decade, the program has brought groups of Yeshiva College and Stern College students to Israel to work with Israeli children in the southern “periphery.” These students teach the kids English, conduct workshops and help them explore their Jewish identity. The highlight of this summer’s program is a “Jewish Heritage Field Trip” and scavenger hunt for children in Jerusalem.