Aaron Benderski - Politically active and staunch Israeli by way of the Soviet Union

Esoteric Quandary

I know few people like Aaron, who are extremely well-read, pragmatic, and a believer in his country and the future it will bring. Aaron brings a sensical argument to anything his country faces because that is simply how he grew up. The son of immigrants from the Soviet Union, the family moved to Israel in the 90s as many Russian-speaking Jews did after the iron curtain fell. Aaron's family had to deal with starting from scratch and adapting to the harsh reality of Israel and its hardships as a nation.
Aaron was the first in his family to integrate into society, being an avid reader and going to school from eight years old on in the country. Meanwhile, his family busted their butts to keep the family afloat while studying for medical certifications in a completely new language. Some say that the Russian Aliyah is the one that genuinely saved the country because of its sheer intellectual capacity. A total of one million Russian-speaking Jews landed in the country in the 90s, about 1/5 of the total population. Imagine if the US accepted 20% of the people in the country (Roughly 65 million people out of 330 million)?
The family blended in within one generation and actually had to learn how to be Jewish through their kids, who were learning their own culture faster than their parents. As Aaron grew older, he became involved in the youth movements of the country and served in a special unit in the IDF. Afterward, Aaron began looking for opportunities to be in active roles that represented the country outside of Israel. He was a camp instructor in the US, worked at the Knesset as a tour guide while going to school, had an internship with a US congressman, and was an Emissary in the UK for two years at prestige university. As you can tell, quite the underachiever.
Of course, we dive into politics within his own country, what the Abraham accords mean for the region, and even what Binyamin Netanyahu's legacy will be. Stay tuned for a great conversation about life through the prism of Aaron.