What Came After traveled to Amsterdam in February to speak with Rabbi Akiva Camissar about his experiences working with the city’s Israeli Jewish community in the wake of two deeply traumatic events: the October 7th attacks in Israel and the violent pogrom against visiting Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam in November 2024.

Rabbi Camissar shares how the events of October 7th created a profound shift in his community. Made up largely of Israeli expats, the community became more tightly knit, with members drawing strength and solidarity from one another. That sense of unity proved crucial a year later, when anti-Israel violence erupted in Amsterdam. With no warning, the community mobilized and improvised rescue systems that helped protect and evacuate scores of Israelis who were in danger.

He speaks movingly about the importance of maintaining a vibrant Jewish presence in Amsterdam and how he believes that the future of the city’s Jewish life lies with its growing Israeli population. Rabbi Camissar also offers a powerful reflection on Simchat Torah 2023, which coincided with the attacks on October 7th. As news of the massacre emerged, he made a deliberate choice: his community would still dance. Even in the face of horror, they would continue the tradition of dancing with the Torah—an act of spiritual defiance and hope. Long before the phrase “We Will Dance Again” became a symbol of resilience after the Nova music festival massacre, Rabbi Camissar had already claimed the powerful sentiment for his community.

This episode offers a poignant look at how faith, community, and identity can become sources of strength in moments of fear and uncertainty—and how, even in the darkest times, Jewish life endures.

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Maya Zanger-Nadis

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "On Our Way" by Elijah Aaron

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In this episode, we travel to Paris to speak with Anna Veronese, a rabbinical student at Maharat—the only institution offering both Orthodox ordination to women and virtual learning, creating a global community she deeply values.

We talk about Veronese's identity as a feminist, left-wing Jew who remains a committed Zionist while being selectively critical of some Israeli policies. She shares how the trauma of October 7 continues to shape her parenting, as her children form their own Jewish and Zionist identities. She also reflects on the tension between wanting to shield her children from tragedy and embracing the solidarity shown at their Jewish school with hostage families and Israeli society at large.

Veronese opens up about her complex sense of belonging—born in Italy, living in France amid rising antisemitism, and not being Israeli. She describes the pain of losing ties to the French feminist community and tells a shocking story of being cast out of a feminist march for being a Zionist. She wrestles with her belief in the importance of a vibrant Jewish future in France, even as she doubts whether the next generation can truly thrive there.

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Maya Zanger-Nadis

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "Mar'ot" by Anat Malamud

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Earlier this year, What Came After traveled to Brussels for a sobering conversation with Rihards Kols, Latvia’s Member of the European Parliament. Recorded inside one of the European Parliament’s media studios, this interview confronts a chilling possibility: that the world may be repeating the darkest chapters of the 20th century.

Kols offers an unflinching look at how his own country has confronted Russian aggression, and how the invasion of Ukraine by a nuclear-armed autocracy has emboldened others—China, North Korea, and Iran among them. He draws a direct line from Russia’s war in Ukraine to Iran’s support of Hamas’s attack on Israel—both sovereign nations under siege.

As the world grapples with rising authoritarianism, Kols warns of the West’s dangerous complacency. He challenges the belief that dialogue alone can deter autocratic threats and criticizes the hesitation of democratic nations to provide meaningful support to those on the front lines—especially Ukraine and, more recently, Israel.

Recorded in January 2025, several months before the outbreak of the Israel-Iran war, this conversation now resonates with eerie urgency. Kols’s words offer one glimpse of hope: history will warn us, rather than repeating itself, if we are willing to listen.

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Maya Zanger-Nadis

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "All We See" by Nuriel

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In this episode, we travel to Rome to speak with Luca Spizzichino and David Fiorentini. Luca is the current president of the Italian Union of Jewish Students and Young Professionals (UGEI) and a freelance journalist. David, a recent medical school graduate, is UGEI’s former president and its current Policy Officer.

Luca discusses the growing challenges of combating antisemitism online and how Holocaust education has become even more central to Italian Jewish advocacy since October 7th. He also shares his efforts to defend university students whose studies were disrupted by anti-Israel protests, and reflects on his own grandparents' survival of the Holocaust without ever leaving Italy.

David talks about the difficulty of presenting Israel—a Middle Eastern country—to Western audiences. As one of just 40 Jews remaining in the Tuscan city of Siena, he reflects on the dual nature of aliyah: how moving to Israel energizes many Italian Jews, while also complicating efforts to preserve the diverse and historic Jewish culture unique to each Italian region.

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Maya Zanger-Nadis

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "Kama Tov" by Shlomo Lipman

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Céline Bardet is an international lawyer who has worked in over 50 countries, specializing in war crimes, international justice, post-conflict security, and the prosecution of sexual violence in conflict. She is the founder of We Are NOT Weapons of War (WWoW), a nonprofit organization that develops innovative legal strategies to combat the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war.

In this episode, recorded in Paris in February 2025, we speak with Céline about the resistance she faced within her own community of legal advocates when she began working with survivors of the sexual violence committed during the October 7th attacks. She shares why she ensures that funding for her work in Israel comes from a diverse range of donors—both within and beyond the Jewish community—and how Jewish burial customs have complicated forensic investigations into these crimes. Céline also reflects on the disturbing reactions she has encountered from fellow members of the international feminist legal community, some of whom have suggested that, in the case of Israeli victims, “there must be a reason.”

Join us for this urgent and deeply important conversation.

Content Warning: This episode discusses topics including war, sexual violence, and crimes against humanity.

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Maya Zanger-Nadis

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "Im Haya Makom" by Anat Malamud

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Dov Sabo, who was raised in Israel and has lived in the Netherlands for over 25 years, discusses his decision to move from Israel to the Netherlands following his service in the IDF. Coming from a religious background, Dov reflects on how life in the Netherlands initially felt more “relaxed”—until October 7th, when he was jolted awake to a reality his Auschwitz-survivor grandmother had known: that the native Dutch people he had considered friends, were not.

Dov speaks about raising his daughters in the Netherlands, why his grandmother believed Holland was a safe and acceptable place for her grandson to build his adult life, and how the October 7th attacks led him to offer “psychological first aid” to Kibbutz survivors who fled to Eilat.

Hear more about why Dov was in Egypt when the October 7th attacks began, and why Dov's response to the pogrom in Amsterdam on November 8th led many in Israel to believe that this real estate mogul might be a Lyft driver in Amsterdam.

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Maya Zanger-Nadis

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "Yesh Mehuma" by Tzlil Dayan

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Raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Rabbi Ari Koretzky (known on campus as “Rabbi K”) made his way to College Park via stops Israel, Ner Israel Rabbinical College and Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a Masters in Creative Nonfiction Writing. Ari brings his passion for Judaism, podcasting (check out “Jews You Should Know“ and "Iyun"!), jetskiing, racquetball, music and more, to his work as Executive Director. Ari lives in Silver Spring, MD with his wife Malka, and their four children – Meir, Rena, Shalom and Ahuva.

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Maya Zanger-Nadis

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "Elokai" by Tani Polansky

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Matthew Schultz is an author and rabbinical student living between Boston and Tel Aviv with his partner Yoav. He is the author of Torat Ha'Aretz, Torah of the Land, a weekly look at the Torah portion through the lens of the Jewish relationship to the land of Israel and the idea of exile.

Torah Ha'Aretz: https://matthewschultz.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthew_a_schultz/

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Maya Zanger-Nadis

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "Kavanot" by Anat Malamud

Listen on ⁠Spotify or ⁠Apple Music