Remember Israel, Palestine, etc.? For a few weeks in May it led most news cycles, between the end of Bibi's 12-year reign and installation of a new leading coalition, to the renewal of Gaza hostilities and the ultra-disturbing flashpoints of violence between Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. If this all feels a bit fuzzy and distant, to be fair it was like, FIVE WHOLE MONTHS AGO. That's why it was so great to recently catch up with Rabbi Shaul Judelman, our first return guest! As co-founder and director of Roots-Shorashim-Judur, which works at the grassroots level to build community among Israelis and Palestinians, Shaul brings a level of nuance, insight, clear-eyed vision and hard-earned experience to the conversation that is rare and indispensable. That's why I love talking to him -- and that's also why I was surprised, heartened, and surprised to be heartened by what he sees as signs of optimism, of all things, in some of the societal initiatives and dynamics that have developed in the aftermath of the violence and the initiation of a new era in Israeli political leadership.