Sayed Kashua is the creator of the hugely popular Israeli television sitcom Arab Labour and one of the country’s most successful writers. He has a (largely) satirical column in Haaretz and is the author of the novels Dancing Arabs, Let it be Morning, Second Person Singular and Exposure.
Our Voice of the Fortnight is from the Times of Israel's 'Wartime Diaries' podcast. In the immediate aftermath of October 7th, Shai Davidai – an Assistant Professor at Columbia University – became an unlikely public defender of Israel. And truthfully, even he was surprised by this turn of events: As a committed left-wing Israeli, he had spent years criticizing the government, and often took to the streets to demonstrate against its policies. But the atmosphere he witnessed on college campuses (and specifically on his own campus at Columbia), compelled him to speak up and speak out.