Podcast Episode Summary

Success Story with Scott D. Clary

Episode: Barak Swarttz - YouTuber & Activist | The Truth About Israel They Don't Want You to Know
Date: November 19, 2025
Host: Scott D. Clary
Guest: Barak Swarttz (@otherbarak)

Episode Overview

In this deeply personal and wide-ranging episode, Scott D. Clary sits down with Barak Swarttz, a basketball-player-turned-content creator and activist, to unpack his personal journey from American basketball courts to Israeli advocacy, the lessons of resilience, the role of media and social platforms in shaping conflict perception, and finding hope and empathy amid one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. Barak, who bridges the worlds of sport, storytelling, and advocacy, delves into how his upbringing, his experiences of trauma, and his unique perspective as both a Jew and a non-IDF veteran have shaped his mission to humanize the conversation around Israel and the Middle East.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Barak’s Journey: From Basketball Dreams to Advocacy

• Early Love for Basketball & Injury (03:32–06:27)

  • Barak recounts growing up in Boston, spending formative years in Israel during the Second Intifada, and his early devotion to basketball culture.
  • Despite multiple severe injuries ("Broken back at 16, fractured tibias, torn ACL" [28:21–30:30]), Barak pressed on, eventually pivoting to coaching and then to advocacy after realizing the NBA was out of reach.

• Identity and Belonging in Israel (33:39–38:33)

  • Shares the struggle of not serving in the IDF as an oleh (immigrant) and the social dynamics this created. Barak describes a sense of "survivor's guilt" and his drive to contribute with his own voice and platform:
    • "I was never given a formal reason [for not serving], but... when conflict knocks on your door...felt guilty, like it felt like, that's crazy," (34:07–36:50).

• Intersection of Basketball & Advocacy (01:59, 42:05–43:38)

  • Barak intentionally integrates sports and storytelling to create relatable content and foster difficult conversations:
    • “I use basketball as a tool to open up a safe space to then talk about Israel.” (135:32–136:11)
    • Describes inviting diverse, often non-Jewish groups to clinics, using basketball as a bridge for dialogue (135:32–137:38).

2. Media, Social Media, and the “PR War” over Israel (14:29–21:41, 48:08–51:35)

• Social Media Polarization & Echo Chambers

  • Barak and Scott both highlight that today’s division and animosity are heightened by fear-mongering models in news and digital platforms. The financial incentive is to keep users angry, afraid, and constantly engaging:
    • “The way they make money is by delivering content that will inevitably make you have to see more. And the thing that makes you have to see more is the emotion of being afraid.” (15:42–16:15, Barak Swarttz)

• Slogans vs. Complexity

  • Barak reflects on how the pro-Palestinian message of "Free Palestine" is simple, effective, and uniting, while the pro-Israel side is fragmented, with many slogans and intra-community divisions (49:19–51:35).

• Echo Chambers and the Loud Minority

  • Both express that what seems like mass hate is actually a highly vocal minority magnified by social media. Real-world experiences suggest the majority are not as polarized or hateful as online appearances imply (53:13–57:44).
    • "It's showing you the loud minority. It's not showing you the silent majority. That's what social media does." (53:13–53:38, Barak Swarttz)

3. Empathy, Critical Thinking, and Dialogue

• Effects of Upbringing and Early Exposure to Diversity (09:31–13:47)

  • Barak describes impactful formative experiences: building a medical clinic in a Bedouin village at age 6, learning not to see life as “us versus them,” and growing up with a progressive, socially conscious family.
    • "It should never be about us versus them. Like, I will always love you if you love me too. Period, end of story." (12:41–13:05, Barak Swarttz)

• Critical Thinking Breakdown

  • The hosts lament that even otherwise intelligent people are emotionally fueled and are abandoning critical thinking for tribalism and algorithmic echo chambers.

• Empathy as a Solution

  • Barak advocates for raising personal and collective consciousness to create more empathetic, productive conversations—even in the face of geopolitical violence.
    • “If you understand how to increase your frequency as a human being, it shifts the vibrations that we have.” (120:01–120:56, Barak Swarttz)

• Practical Empathy Lessons via Basketball

  • The approach: use basketball clinics to foster group rapport and only then open up about the realities of Israeli life, demonstrating the power of “boots on the ground” experience over armchair commentary (135:32–137:38).

4. On the Ground Realities: Debunking Narratives & Providing Perspective (77:37–92:02)

• “Genocide” and “Apartheid” Labels

  • Barak confronts the frequent accusations against Israel, highlighting data, on-the-ground nuances, and the ways in which mass-circulated numbers (like Gaza casualty figures) are often uncritically accepted.

• No Genocidal Intent

  • Provides a detailed breakdown of IDF warnings, precautions, and the actual numbers, contending that Israel's actions don’t fit the legal or historical definitions of genocide.
    • “No phone calls are being made, no pamphlets are being dropped...These are not the actions of a group of people whose intention it is, is to slaughter people.” (83:31–84:37, Barak Swarttz)

• Personal Experience: The Rocket Shrapnel (123:32–140:28)

  • Barak brings a piece of rocket shrapnel from Metula, a northern Israeli town, to demonstrate the tangible threat faced by ordinary Israelis—including children. He passes this shrapnel around to audiences as a visceral reminder of the stakes and realities beyond online debate.
    • “This in my hand is supposed to free Palestine...what you’re holding is from the river to the sea, what you’re holding is death to Israel and death to America.” (135:32–136:28, Barak Swarttz)

5. Lessons from Trauma, Healing, and the Role of Consciousness

• Stories of Survival & Energy Healing (100:09–114:58)

  • Shares stories of survivors from the Nova Festival, emphasizing the role of faith, consciousness, and energy transfer—inspired by practices like Reiki and concepts from Kabbalah and astrology.

• Empathy as the Path Forward

  • Laments the current lack of empathy and pushes for widespread teaching of inner work, raising consciousness, and deploying love and understanding:
    • “If you look at them as the human that they are...and don't judge, remove judgment...there’s nothing in the world that's more important than being a good person.” (170:48–171:25, Barak Swarttz)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Social Media’s Role in Division:

  • “The toughest thing...to escape the social media matrix is...you have the smartest, most well funded engineers...whose only job is to keep you attentive and angry and consuming.”
    — Scott Clary [19:04]

• On “PR Battle” and Slogans:

  • “From the pro Palestine perspective, they have a very beautiful story because it's two words...‘Free Palestine’...Pro Israel, you have ‘Bring them home’...‘Am Yisrael Chai’...You have the internal divide between religious and secular...We have sex in sect with a CT inside of their messaging...”
    — Barak Swarttz [49:22–50:40]

• On Boots-on-the-ground Authenticity:

  • "You can't time travel, but you can travel." — Barak Swarttz (paraphrasing Douglas Murray) [123:32–123:52]

• On Mass Perception of Hate:

  • “I actually don't think most people in the world hate Israel...What it does represent, however, is a very, very loud minority.”
    — Barak Swarttz [53:13–54:01]

• On Empathy & Rising Above:

  • “If you understand how to increase your frequency as a human being, it shifts the vibrations that we have.” — Barak Swarttz [120:01–120:56]

• On Story and Survival:

  • “When the lowest level of consciousness possible meets the highest level...love in bliss, empathy...love always wins, empathy always wins.” — Barak Swarttz [104:30–106:10]

• On the Humanizing Power of Shared Culture:

  • “Maybe it’s cooking, maybe it’s art, maybe it’s fashion, maybe it’s music, maybe it’s dancing, maybe it’s travel. The culture itself is where we find commonality with people.” — Barak Swarttz [147:48–148:06]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–03:32] — Barak's childhood, early basketball career, growing up between Boston & Israel
• [06:27–13:47] — Building bridges via basketball, experiences volunteering in Israel
• [14:29–21:41] — Effects of media, echo chambers, rise of online division
• [33:39–43:38] — Guilt and identity navigating life as an American-Israeli who didn't serve in the IDF
• [48:08–51:35] — The “PR war,” effectiveness of two-word slogans, challenges for advocacy
• [53:13–57:44] — The loud minority vs. the silent majority, real-world anti-Semitism
• [77:37–92:02] — Handling accusations of genocide, breaking down numbers and intent
• [100:09–114:58] — Empathy, energy consciousness, healing after trauma
• [135:32–143:18] — The shrapnel: the visceral impact of the conflict and personal storytelling
• [147:33–150:18] — Building dialogue on commonality, not conflict
• [156:58–167:32] — Optimism for the future, “new Earth,” societal evolution after conflict
• [170:48–171:25] — The final lesson: the primacy of judging individuals by their humanity

Conclusion

Barak Swarttz’s story is about turning personal adversity—both in sports and in identity—into a force for connection. Through humility, empathy, and a refusal to accept the narratives handed to him by either side, Barak demonstrates new models for dialogue around Israel and the Middle East. His advocacy leans not on talking points or blind partisanship, but on a belief in meeting people where they are, using sport and culture as bridges, and the need for a global reset of empathy and consciousness.

Connect with Barak

• YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X, Discord: @otherbarak
• Website: otherbarak.com

Closing Takeaway

“Doing the right thing is always the right thing to do...There's nothing in the world that's more important than being a good person.” — Barak Swarttz [170:48–171:25]

Note: For the full episode and more interviews, visit www.successstorypodcast.com.