Ask Haviv Anything

Episode 53: Telling the Jewish Story to the Arab World, with Elhanan Miller

Date: October 21, 2025
Host: Haviv Rettig Gur
Guest: Rabbi Elhanan Miller, founder of "People of the Book"

Episode Overview

This episode explores the groundbreaking educational work of Rabbi Elhanan Miller, whose "People of the Book" initiative shares stories of Jewish faith, history, and culture with Muslim audiences across the Arab world, primarily through social media in Arabic. The conversation dives into the origins of his unique project, the challenges and responses to teaching Judaism in the region, and the evolving narratives—both religious and political—that shape Jewish-Arab relations. The episode also examines the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, Palestinian politics, the role of religion in conflict, and prospects for regional change.

1. Elhanan Miller’s Journey: From Arabic Student to Rabbi Educator

[04:52–13:01]

• Beginnings in Arabic:

  • Started learning Arabic at 13 in a religious Jewish school in Jerusalem.
  • “For me, Arabic was kind of love at first sight...I grew up in a city that has almost 40% Arabs, they're all around. There was this immediate sense of, I don't know, affinity, I guess, between the languages.” (B, 05:22)
  • Surprised that nearly all his Arabic and Islamic studies teachers were Jews, highlighting the siloed nature of Jewish-Arab interactions in Israel.

• Military and Journalism:

  • Served as an Arabic linguist in IDF Intelligence (Unit 8200) during the Second Intifada, calling it his “real school in Arabic.”
  • Chose not to join the Israeli security services, instead becoming the Arab Affairs correspondent for Times of Israel. Reported on the Arab Spring and Palestinian politics.

• Religious and Interfaith Work:

  • Ordained as a rabbi; spent time as a community rabbi in Australia.
  • Created "People of the Book" as a hobby, initially to educate Palestinians about Judaism.
  • Noted the lack of basic knowledge about Judaism in the Arab world, which drove the project’s expansion on social media.
  • “I saw huge potential. There was nothing online exposing Arabs and Muslims to Judaism in their own language or in Arabic principally.” (B, 11:20)

2. "People of the Book": Teaching Judaism in Arabic

[13:01–18:41]

• Project Scope:

  • Now reaches millions monthly, with about half a million social media followers, especially in countries with no Jewish presence (Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt).
  • Emphasizes both religious education (explaining kosher, prayer, fasting) and stories of Middle Eastern and North African Jews.

• Impact of Storytelling:

  • Interviews with Jews from regions like Libya, Morocco, Iraq garner viral engagement in the corresponding countries, creating “cognitive dissonance” for viewers.
  • “The overarching kind of goal of my project...is trying to confuse what Arabs typically think about Jews and Israelis...not in a political way, because I felt like if it's perceived immediately as propaganda or as some form of hasbara, then people shut down.” (B, 18:41)

3. Shattering Misconceptions in the Arab World

[18:41–26:49]

• Challenging the Narrative:

  • The myth that Jews always prospered in the Arab world, while suffering only in Europe, is disrupted by firsthand testimonies of expulsion and loss.
  • Miller’s interviews highlight complexity—both nostalgia for the lost Jewish communities and the harsh realities of their exodus.

• Haviv’s Reflection:

  • Relates to the lack of “basic outline of the Jewish 20th century” in both the Arab world and Western academia.
  • “Just to have the sense of the social history of that moment and nobody knows it and nobody says it, nobody talks about it, nobody teaches it.” (A, 13:01)

• Language and Humanization:

  • Miller stresses the power of speaking in Arabic and religious discourse for building empathy and understanding. He’s begun translating videos into Hebrew to show Israelis the connections possible.

4. Explaining Israel on Arabic TV: The Post–October 7 Era

[26:49–33:15]

• Media Role since October 7:
  • Became an in-demand commentator on Arabic-language channels such as France 24, BBC, Sky News, but not Al Jazeera (which stopped inviting Israeli Jewish commentators).
  • Sees this work as a form of national service and an opportunity to show Israeli diversity—especially the ability to criticize the government on live TV:

    “I'm modeling something that for Arab viewers is impossible if they're in the Middle east, which is to sit in their capitals or in their cities and criticize their government without consequence...but if you demonstrate to them that here I am sitting in Jerusalem and I'm saying things about my government...I think that's a much better way of presenting Israel.” (B, 29:55)

5. The Arab World’s Future: Which Way Now?

[33:15–43:10]

• Fragmentation after the Arab Spring:

  • Miller views today’s Arab world as “completely broken”, with dictatorships replaced by chaos or more repression—democratization hopes unrealized.
  • Monarchies (Gulf, Jordan, Morocco) offered stability through different social contracts.

• Rise of Political Islam:

  • Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas narrative still powerful among Palestinians, with no persuasive alternative yet.
  • “I don't think that the Muslim Brotherhood model has succeeded to convince people that that's the right way...with Hamas, it's maybe still open.” (B, 36:05)

• Islam’s Role in the Conflict:

  • Miller emphasizes, unlike many on the left, that religious narratives and anti-Jewish sentiments derived from classical and Muslim Brotherhood Islam are serious barriers to coexistence.
  • “I think it’s impossible to minimize the impact of Islam and Islamic thinking on the conflict...as long as the Muslim Brotherhood thinking exists, it’s probably an insurmountable obstacle to peace.” (B, 41:22)

6. The Religious Paradigm: Israel and Islam

[43:10–49:28]

• Hierarchy and Betrayal:

  • Classical Islamic tradition placed Jews and Christians in a protected but subordinate (dhimmi) status—a model many Islamists want to restore, feeling “betrayed” by Jewish independence:

    “There’s a sense...the Jews betrayed their Muslim patrons. Right. We protected you...here you went and backstabbed us, even though you had it great and formed your own country.” (B, 45:48)

  • There have always been pragmatic Arab leaders, but “in the large scheme of things, they always lost out to the ideologues and...Islamists.” (B, 46:23)

• Internal Palestinian Struggle:

  • Conflict is not just Israel–Palestinian, but also within Palestinian society: “They need this discussion [between pragmatism and maximalism] to be settled because it’s destroying them, it’s destroying their national project.” (B, 46:23)

7. Can Hamas Be Defeated?

[49:28–55:09]

• Is Hamas Undefeatable?:

  • Miller believes Israel can help, just as its policies helped divide the Palestinians, it can help heal:

    “In order for there to be a future, Hamas has to be eliminated and be removed...But where is the alternative ideology and how do we help that alternative ideology come up?” (B, 50:55)

  • Cites post-war Germany and Marshall Plan as a distant analogy; without fostering a credible alternative leadership and narrative, defeat of Hamas alone is insufficient.

• Critique of Israeli Policy:

  • Slams Netanyahu's “divide and conquer” approach and assumption that normalization would sideline the Palestinians:

    “That was immensely, incredibly short sighted, naive and dumb...That was not what Palestinians were going to do.” (B, 53:53)

• Vision for the Future:

  • Advocates for reunification of Gaza and the West Bank under pragmatic Palestinian leadership (not Hamas), supported by Arab states and international community.

8. The Power and Limits of Narrative

[55:09–62:16]

• The Challenge of Counter-Narratives:

  • Haviv expresses pessimism, doubting an effective alternative to the Muslim Brotherhood’s alluring story of resurgent, conquering Islam:

    “What other possible narrative as evocative and powerful and dignifying does a Palestinian who hates Hamas have to latch onto? And I don't. I've never heard of one.” (A, 59:11)

• Miller’s Realism:

  • Admits he can't invent a rival Islamic narrative, and that the religious terrain is unfavorable on both sides (Jewish and Muslim).
  • Argues, however, that pragmatic, nonreligious approaches—offering tangible hope or incremental gains under different leadership—may gradually do the work of shifting the narrative.

    “If we gave the entire territory...to the pragmatic leader who actually helps our security forces crush radicalism, and not to the Islamic Jihad and Hamas like we did in 2005...That could help create a different narrative. Yes, it’s not a religious narrative, it's a pragmatic narrative, but let's start with that and see where that takes us.” (B, 59:11)

• Call for Zionist Initiative:

  • “We have to start being Zionist again and acting and putting forward a plan, which is something that Zionists used to do in the past and have stopped doing.” (B, 61:45)

9. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Social Media Education:

  “Going to places, to paraphrase Star Trek, where no Jewish Israeli has gone before...very mainstream, classic Sunni countries that are quite hostile.” (B, 12:33)

• On the Jewish Exile:

  “It's preservation for us as Jews. But it's also very important for the outside world to see it.” (B, 21:44)

• On Criticism and Democracy:

  “Here I am sitting in Jerusalem and I'm saying things about my government...I'm doing something, I'm modeling something that for Arab viewers is impossible...” (B, 29:55)

• On Israeli Strength and Optimism:

  “We're an incredibly strong people, and it doesn't come from the clever strategizing of one prime minister or another.” (A, 55:09)

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 04:52 | Miller’s biography, Arabic studies, early motivations| | 11:17 | Origins of "People of the Book" | | 13:01 | Response from Arab world and educational gaps | | 18:41 | Cognitive dissonance: stories of Mizrahi Jews | | 26:49 | Role as Israeli analyst in Arabic media post-Oct 7 | | 33:15 | Host’s reflection: propaganda vs. analysis | | 36:05 | State of the Arab world post–Arab Spring | | 41:22 | Islamism, Hamas, and roots of religious animosity | | 45:48 | Islamic hierarchy, revolution, and Israel’s place | | 50:55 | Is Hamas defeatable? Alternative leadership | | 59:11 | Narrative power, pessimism, and possible alternatives| | 61:45 | Call to proactive Zionism and planning | | 62:16 | Conclusion and call to follow Miller’s work |

Conclusion & Takeaway

Rabbi Elhanan Miller’s mission to teach Judaism to the Arab world via Arabic digital media is both groundbreaking and fraught with complexity. His experiences reveal deep gaps in knowledge and narrative, persistent power of religious motifs on both sides, and the urgent need for pragmatic alternatives in political discourse. Though deeply realistic—even pessimistic—about the limits of changing stories, Miller champions the incremental work of education and cross-cultural dialogue as a necessary contribution to any future peace.

To follow Elhanan Miller’s work, search "People of the Book" on YouTube and major social media platforms.