Listen The Kibitz

Immigration & Refugees

Season 2 Episode 6

November 21, 2017

When Donald Trump issued his first executive order to curb immigration from majority Muslim countries, it seemed to strike a chord of eerie and disturbing familiarity with Jews everywhere. To put this in perspective, we’ll hear a story about Jewish immigrants fleeing Germany in 1939 trying to come to the US, and we have some stories of Jews on the front lines of our current battle over immigrants and refugees. Last, we’ll make the case that there are ways we can all help, including, perhaps surprisingly, with our stomachs. Featuring Rabbi Susan Goldberg of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, Talia Inlender of Public Counsel and author/journalist David Sax.
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Talia Inlender

Senior Staff Attorney, Public Counsel Los Angeles

Talia Inlender is a Senior Staff Attorney covering Immigrants’ Rights for Public Counsel in Los Angeles, the largest pro bono law firm in the nation. Founded in 1970, Public Counsel is the public interest law firm of the Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills Bar Associations as well as the Southern California affiliate of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Public Counsel’s activities are far-ranging and impact a wide spectrum of people who live at or below the poverty level.  Volunteer attorneys have the opportunity to work on a variety of different projects-large and small, litigation and transactional matters.  Our staff provides training, model pleadings and forms and consultations to volunteers.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti – in his 2017 State of the City address – recognized Talia for her efforts to defend the rights of immigrants and refugees: “For Talia — whose own grandparents fled Poland, and whose father was born in a refugee camp in Austria — it was a heartbreaking, but inspiring, weekend. She talked to so many worried families … worked to get a young woman with a student visa off a plane stuck on the runway … and saw the power in Angelenos unified around a common cause.”

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David Sax

Writer

David is a writer of books, including Save the Deli (about Jewish delis), The Tastemakers (about food trends), The Revenge of Analog (about why record players are cool again…and other stuff) and The Soul of an Entrepreneur (about…well…entrepreneurs). His writing also appears regularly in the New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Saveur, The Grid Toronto, and other publications and has won a James Beard Award for writing and literature. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

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Jessica Chaffin

Actress, comedian, and writer

Jessica Chaffin is a writer/performer, Emmy-Nominated Consulting Producer on HBO’s Hacks, and host of the popular podcast ASK RONNA.

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Dan Crane

Host of The Kibitz

Dan Crane is a journalist, musician, Jew (lax, loves lox) and retired professional air-guitarist. He writes about culture and travel for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, California Sunday, Slate, and numerous other publications. He’s the author of “To Air is Human” and stars in the documentary, Air Guitar Nation.