Join the ToI Community to be inspired by Israelis who overcame dire odds

Please join us now for a special Behind the Headlines interview, exclusively for The Times of Israel Community, with the authors of “Isresilience: What Israelis Can Teach the World.”

Written by Michael Dickson and Dr. Naomi L. Baum, the book takes readers on a journey across Israel to profile 14 Israelis who have overcome extreme odds, and continued to “bounce forward” in their lives.

Dickson, the longtime executive director of Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs Israel, said that shortly after he initiated the project, he reached out to interview Baum, an expert in the field of resilience. The pair decided to continue their conversations in a collaborative book, which builds a model for the keys to resilience: empathy, flexibility, and meaning-making.

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As we hear during the conversation with Time of Israel Deputy Editor Amanda Borschel-Dan, these three keys are usually boosted by a stable support network — and good old-fashioned Israeli chutzpa.

Illustrative: Israeli women from the Ethiopian Jewish community pray during the Sigd holiday marking the desire to ‘return to Jerusalem,’ as they celebrate from a hilltop in the holy city overlooking the Temple Mount, on November 16, 2017. (AFP Photo/Gali Tibbon/File)

In honor of this week’s celebrations of the Ethiopian Jewish holiday of Sigd, the conversation begins with an exploration of Shula Mola’s harsh path to Israel, and the quick pivot needed upon her arrival.

Join Dickson and Baum as they discuss three more thought-provoking examples of resilient Israelis — ReWalk founder Amit Goffer, Arab-Israeli anti-BDS activist Yoseph Haddad, and bereaved mother Sherri Mandell — and learn tips to raise resilient children and change the way you view the world, too.

Illustrative: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and former US president Barack Obama look on as disabled IDF veteran Radi Kaiuf demonstrates the ReWalk exoskeleton system. Kaiuf, who was formerly nearly fully paralyzed, completed the Israel Marathon in 2012 using the system (Kobi Gideon / GPO /FLASH90)

The in-depth conversation is available for Community members only through a link that will be shared in the Community newsletter and on the Community members’ page. A recording will be available for Community members after this time, along with past Behind the Headlines conversations.

If you’d like to join the conversation with the “Isresilience” authors — it’s not too late. Become a Times of Israel Community member today and you’ll gain access to this special session, along with all of our upcoming exclusive webinars. You’ll also gain an ad-free experience of the ToI site and apps, and a weekly insider letter from David Horovitz.

If you are already a ToI Community member, you’ll receive a link to this session by email.