Who the Folk?! Cincinnati is Cincy Jewfolk’s new podcast spotlighting the diverse voices shaping Jewish life in the Queen City. 

Hosted by Cincy Jewfolk’s editor Sam Fisher, the series features conversations with notable and fascinating Cincinnati Jews—from artists and entrepreneurs to community leaders and culture-shapers. 

Each episode dives into personal stories, passions, and perspectives, showing that Jewish life here is anything but one-size-fits-all.The Who the Folk?! Cincinnati podcast is part of the Jewfolk Podcast Network and a product of Jewfolk, Inc. 

If you have suggestions for Who the Folk?! Cincinnati podcast guests, please fill out this form.

Be sure to check out the entire series and follow along as Sam interviews and features notable Cincy Jews & Jews doing interesting things in the Queen City!

Introducing this week’s WTF?! Cincinnati’s guest

Chandler Waite brings extensive experience in diplomacy and governmental affairs to his role as Director of the JCRC, where his passion for building bridges between communities serves the organization’s mission.

A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Chandler most recently served as Director of Governmental Affairs for the Israeli Consulate, where he advised on political and economic issues while fostering communication between the consulate and elected officials. He previously worked at the Israeli Energy and Economic Mission, facilitating dialogue between Israeli and American companies, and served at the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in New York.

Chandler graduated with honors from Webster University, earning dual degrees in International Relations and German. His studies took him to Austria, Thailand, Germany, and Cuba

A dedicated member of the Jewish community, Chandler has served on the board of trustees of his synagogue. 

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A note for you

Below, you’ll find a full transcript of this interview. We provide these so that you can read along, catch anything you might have missed, or revisit your favorite moments. 

We do our best to make sure everything’s accurate, but if you spot a typo or mistake, that’s on us. We hope you’ll enjoy listening — and reading — along!

Show transcript

Sam: Welcome y’all to this week’s episode of Who The Folk Cincy. I’m Sam Fisher, the editor of Cincy Jewfolk, and this week I talk with Chandler Waite. Chandler is the director of the Jewish Community Relations Council and a fairly recent transplant to Cincinnati. Chandler had a career in diplomacy, yes, actual diplomacy, before coming and taking on this new role. We talk about growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, his love of languages and his surprising, well, maybe not so surprising, but his surprising favorite Jewish holiday on this week’s episode of Who The Folk. 

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Chandler Waite, welcome to Who The Folk. On this show, we like to get to know people in Cincinnati, just interesting people within our community. So I always like to start it off with, like, the easiest of easy questions. All right. Chandler Waite, where are you from?

Chandler: Well, first of all, thank you, Sam, for having me. It’s a pleasure to join this podcast. Where am I from? So I’m actually originally born and raised in the Deep South. I’m from Huntsville, Alabama. We call it ‘The Other Space City’, yeah, 

Sam: Outside of Houston? 

Chandler: Yeah, oftentimes it’s either we’re talking about Clearwater Florida, I believe, and then in Texas, so Houston, I think I got the name of that city right in Florida. I don’t know. I’m gonna be ashamed. The point, the important point, is, it’s Huntsville, is the space city, my hometown, that we all claim. So that’s the important one.

Sam: And growing up in Huntsville, I mean, you know, I think there is a bit of a in American Jewish culture… there’s a bit of a… Jews exist on the coasts, and like, Chicago. And Cincinnati is sort of one of those, like, places where people like, oh, there are Jews in Ohio. And I think Alabama in the south very much get like, oh, there are Jews in the south. And that’s kind of a surprise for people, is there, are people always kind of surprised when you tell them that you’re from Huntsville, Alabama, that there’s a Jewish community? 

Chandler: Yeah, well, a lot of people are surprised by that, which is a bit disappointing, because there’s a great, rich history, like Jewish history. And in the south, actually, we have one of the oldest synagogues in the southeast in Huntsville, Temple Shalom, which is beautiful, but if people are familiar with it, they know that there are quite a few Jews in Birmingham, Alabama, even though it’s a smaller city, it’s got a really large, like, Federation and Jewish presence. They actually hosted the Maccabee games there a few years ago, and Matisyahu performed.

Sam: Whoa.

Chandler: Yeah.

Sam: For you growing up, because there are, I mean, there are just, statistically, there’s just less Jews in the South. Was it different for you kind of growing up, did you feel like you were different? Was there, do you feel like there was a difference between you seeing kids growing up in like, the bigger cities that you’ve lived in, like Houston and New York and other places? Is there like, a difference between what you experience and what you kind of see in other cities?

Chandler: Sure, yeah, well, Huntsville is extremely unique because it has, actually, the thing that people always talk about, we’re very proud of, is that, apparently, it has the most PhDs per capita of any other city in the nation. And so you’ll see a lot of, like, aerospace engineers with, like, really heavy southern drawls and people, you know, it’s a unique culture, so it brings a lot of diversity and expertise. Because, you know, NASA is there. There’s a lot of private space industry that’s there as well, like Blue Origin folks that contract with NASA, or those other private space companies are all located there. There’s also a very large military base, like Iron Dome was actually partially developed in Huntsville, Alabama, Redstone Arsenal… So there’s a really big like aerospace and military component. So it brings a lot of transplants from the east and west coast. So growing up, you know, it was a very diverse community comparative to other parts of the state, you know, we there was, you know, synagogues, there’s churches there, you know, there’s mosques. There’s always quite a diversity of different views and faiths. It’s a beautiful place to live, so. 

Sam: And you know, kind of growing up in that kind of mixing pot of cultures with a lot of different kinds of people I know, like your first job, or at least according to the press release I got on you, is that your first, your first full time position was, was working with the Permanent Mission at the United Nations.

Chandler: That’s true, yeah. 

Sam: And what kind of actions will get you there, but growing up and then kind of pursuing your studies and maybe leaving Alabama, sort of what, what sort of things were you interested what things were kind of pulling you when you were a kid, what subjects, what parts of your life were kind of pulling you onto the path that you’re on now. 

Chandler: I was always really interested in how, like, the things were going on in the world. I was always interested in history, but also like different foreign cultures and language. I was always, like, drawn to that growing up. I always wanted to, like, study different languages and learn more about different cultures. And you know, I had a great opportunity to do that in Huntsville, because it was so diverse. It was so diverse. There were so many different types of people. And so it was always something. I was drawn to it. And, like, as I got older and older, you know, I was really interested in, like, what, why there was conflict in the world, what, what’s the history behind that? How does it actually get resolved? Does it really get resolved? All these types of things, and how culture and language all this informs, like, how countries interact with one another.

 So it’s always something I was really passionate about. And, you know, I haven’t been back to Alabama, I think, for a very long time. So, like, as soon as I finished graduating from high school, I went to university. I went to Webster University in St. Louis, and then I started studying abroad, so I could, kind of went from Alabama to St. Louis, and then from there I was, I was in Berlin, I was in Vienna, I was in Thailand, and Hua Hin, I did field research in Havana, did all this kind of bouncing around. And then when I graduated, I was kind of like, I applied for a couple of different international relations positions, and one of them, of course, the thing I always wanted to do was work for the Israeli government and help defend it. What I saw, you know, as an unfair treatment, you know, from the community of nations. I guess you’d call them den of wolves these days. I wanted to be a part of that and defend it. So that was kind of like the pipeline of how I got from growing up being interested in it and setting it in school. So, yeah.

Sam: You kind of, you mentioned, like, languages and all these different languages being around, is that something that also drew you to, kind of, like wanting to study these, I’m assuming you would study, what did you study colleges like, international relations, or?

Chandler: International relations. Yeah, two degrees. So I did international relations, and then I did a second degree in German language and translation. And since I was on scholarship, I actually, what ended up happening is, you know, have to finish in four years, and I ended up having to actually give my undergraduate thesis and International Relations in German,

Sam: German, wow.

Chandler: Yeah, so that I could do it all in time. So I graduated in four years, which was a lot to take on, I’ll be honest, but we got through it. 

Sam: So many languages, how many languages do you speak?

Chandler: I speak a few, yeah, German was, like one of the main ones, of course, and Austrian German in particular, some Hochdeutsch, some Deutsch, also, like other dialects, always very interested in that. Also, like earlier Gothic German, I was really interested in and so, yeah, just languages in general, I’ll get hyperfixation every once in a while, I was looking into Swedish for a while, some Korean, and I just find them all really interesting.

Sam: Yeah, and so that sort of leads you to, as you said, working, working in that Permanent Mission. And was there something that you said you always wanted to work for the Israeli government or advocate for Israel?

Chandler: Yeah.

Sam: What was it growing up that sort of brought you to that, was it something that happened? Was it an experience that you had, or just sort of the culture you were, you were in, the soup you were in?

Chandler: That’s a good question. I think I was kind of unique in that sense, because I was always like reading in the news and just interested in story, and also, like the role Judaism has played in human history and Holocaust, you know, all those like, really powerful, like, topics to study as a kid, you know, when you’re growing up. And so I guess some of the stories just really continue to stick with me and kind of inform the way I viewed contemporary events, you know, post Holocaust, why does the world continue to have these really, seemingly unfair positions with Israel and the Jewish people? 

Why does that echo continue to inform decisions being made today? It kind of stuck with me. And, yeah, so I think that that’s probably part of it. And I’m kind of a unique guy. I think that’s probably it too. You know, these things stuck with me and continue to be interested in them. Yeah, also conflict resolution. Very interested in that too.

Sam: What drew you to, what makes you, what drew you to conflict resolution? Because I feel like that’s not something that everybody is drawn to, it’s like, ‘I want to be involved in conflict resolution’, 

Chandler: It’s a pretty nerdy thing to say.

Sam: That’s not something everyone is drawn to. A lot of people are like ‘I want to avoid conflict as much as possible’. Or at least, that’s a very midwestern thing, I think. What drew you to wanting to be in those spaces? Those conversations? 

Chandler: I think that the question of, like, what drew me to what’s interesting about conflict resolution is, I think that war is such a horrible thing, and just the hatred and misunderstanding of people dominates everything in life. And you see that all the time, and it just it seems so clear there’s solutions to a lot of these things, that we can just get past, like speaking past one another, and like using different language that means different words to different people. I think that’s part of it. 

But also does it looking at history of like, how many conflicts could have been avoided when, like, folks could have spoke together, understood where the conflict was coming from, and address those different kinds of concerns. And when I went to the UN, I saw that firsthand, of like, what conflict resolution really looks like in the, you know, today at the UN. And like, what those spaces entail. And you know how a lot of decisions come from top down, and people that are relaying that. And like, how this, you know, diplomacy works. It’s really interesting and sophisticated. It’s not as easy as it looks in the movies.

Sam: Do you think that maybe top-down sometimes is part of the problem, that it’s not coming from, like ground up, that it’s not individual people being able to communicate, and that it’s sort of being, ideas of being kind of sometimes top-down from either unpopular governments or leaders that maybe don’t have full support. You think? Do you think that’s part of the problem when it comes to, like, conflict resolution? I know that’s a big question.

Chandler: Ha. I would love to get out of this and say, like, ‘Well, I’m not a foreign policy expert, but’, unfortunately, 

Sam: But I mean, we’re here, so we might as well try to solve the world’s problems. 

Chandler: Well, I think each conflict is incredibly specific and has different contexts to it, right? So you have like conflicts that are people arrive at a conflict, or a nation-state gets into a conflict, and it’s because of relations between two people groups. And other situations, it’s between the decisions of people that are in power, and not necessarily the reflection of those people groups. And other conflicts, it’s because of third parties, right, or non-state actors. 

And then also how the media engages with each of these conflicts and how it broadcasts it to those maybe 1000s of miles away and like what they decide to highlight, what they decide not to highlight. You know, that brings condemnation or, you know, more celebratory views of, like, different sides to a conflict. So each one is very different, and that’s why it makes this very hard. I think. 

Sam: Yeah, you know, that’s probably one of the reasons you were drawn to it,  because it’s like a new, a new question, a new a new mystery to unravel, which is probably, not to psychoanalyze you, maybe one of the reasons you’re drawn to different languages, there’s a new mystery to unravel in each one. 

Chandler: I appreciate that.

Sam: So we’re gonna go back to kind of like, we’re gonna probably just swing wildly between deep questions and just like surface questions. But the next question is, you know, how did you end up in Cincinnati? What, how did you end up here?

Chandler: Yeah, so my, so my last role, so I’ve worked in the advocacy space or work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs most of my, basically my entire professional career. And I was actually my last posting was at the Consul General of Israel to the Southwest in Houston, Texas. And in that post, I was the political attache or the Government Affairs Director, and in that role, it was my responsibility to oversee the purview of our other states, which is five. So it was Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico. I feel like I’m leaving one out Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Oh, Texas, of course, and Louisiana. Sorry, guys, all equally important, to be fair, but yeah, so we would oversee that territory of states, and it was my job to build relationships with the elected officials from the local level, so that means like city council and mayors of all the major cities in those states to the upper and lower houses of the state governments, and so the Congress and the Senate, and then also, of course, the governors, and then on the federal level, making sure we had relationships with the Congress folks and the members of Senate for each of those states. Which is interesting, if you count it, it’s quite a lot of people to keep track of constantly. And yeah, on follow their social media and into track you know, what their views were, how we could, you know, assist.

 And so I built relationships with those folks on left, right and center. It was a really exciting and interesting job. And then, as well, you wear two hats when you work for the Israeli government. Of course, you work for Israel and you represent, you know, you try to advocate on behalf of Israelis and their interests. Then also you try to you try to elevate the voices of the Diaspora in each of these communities, to make sure that these Jewish diaspora communities feel that their voices are being heard, and they know that Israel is our shared homeland, and they have an equal stake, you know, in what goes on there, and that their concerns are important.

 So I would sit with community members in all those different states and would hear their concerns and bring them back and make sure Jerusalem understood how important these concerns were, and truly people felt heard, but more importantly, listened to, and there was back and forth. So that’s a kind of community outreach, and working to build partnerships was a big role that I did for many years. 

And I was planning on moving into more grassroots advocacy before October 7, and I was looking about transitioning out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into more local things. And unfortunately, October 7 happened, you know, I’m sure you’re aware there’s like we’re living in a pre-and-post October 7,

Sam: I’m aware, I started this job a few months before October 7th, yeah, a few months before. 

Chandler:  So unfortunately, right? It’s, we’re living in very different times. And so I just didn’t feel comfortable like leaving such an important role at such a difficult time for the Jewish people. And so I continue to be in that role and to advocate on behalf of Israel and try to get the word out for support for Israel, to fight antisemitism, all these currents that were coming together as like a hurricane against world Jewry. And so I stepped away about nine months ago, when I felt like the conflict was hopefully coming to a plateau, and that, you know, somebody could take on that role. 

And then so I took about seven months off. My niece was born, and so I moved from Houston back home to Huntsville, Alabama, and got to be there. And for about seven months, as she got older and so cute. I still get a lot of pictures and baby talk in the voice notes from her. She’s fantastic. Yeah. And so after about seven months, you know, I think, like a lot of us can talk to about how traumatic everything from October 7 was, especially working for the government, checking your car for car bombs, driving different ways to work and not we’re not being able to leave home for security concerns and material, We’re going through, very traumatic, of course, and so but after seven months of like, healing and getting back onto, you know, a schedule, I felt like it was time to get back into advocacy. And I felt like I was ready to continue the fight. And continue to move on and work on these issues. So I decided, you know, JCRC, I  had some friends that also worked in this space, and they were advocating for it. And said, you know, sweet spots where, like, you know, the skills from diplomacy can come over and you can really make change on a local level at JCRC. And so since I went to school in St. Louis, I really loved the Midwest, and I saw there was a position open here in Cincinnati, and I jumped on it. So yeah, here I am. Seeing what happens 9 months later.

Sam: And you know, you’re a transplant here. And how has it been feeling so far? 

Chandler: Love it!

Sam: And, as you’ve kind of, transitioned into becoming a community member in Cincinnati. 

Chandler: It’s fantastic. To be completely transparent with you. Radically transparent. I have not had the skyline chili yet, so don’t worry, that is on the list,

Sam: How could you.

Chandler:  And I get a beat down on this question. No, I love the city. Yeah. People are super friendly and genuine. And I can tell the story like the second or maybe third day I had moved in here in Cincinnati. I was at Target, and, you know, I was pretty busy, got all this stuff going on, and somebody backed into my car in the parking lot, and I ended up becoming incredibly close friends with this person. Her name is Sharon, yeah. And, like, she was so, like, apologetic about it. We became close friends. Like, I’ve been to, like, been to eat together, you know, like, she showed me part of the city,

Sam: What a meet-cute you had with Sharon.

Chandler: Ha. No, I just feel like that’s incredibly emblematic of, like, how kind the people here are, like, in Cincinnati that, yeah, so she’s fantastic, yeah. That’s just really, like, how fantastic the people really are here. And I’m really happy to be a part of this community, truly. Yeah.

Sam: I mean, skyline is still on your list. It’s quite all right. I know it can be very intimidating, but you work in sort of the you’ve worked in an Israel space for a long time, and as you were mentioning before, yeah, two years ago, things changed drastically within that world, not just the space, but like within Israel, within the diaspora, right? And you know, during that time, I think over the past two years, things have really shifted. Things have shifted, like drastically, I feel like, every six months or even less.

Chandler: Within the Jewish community you mean?

Sam: Yeah, within the Jewish community, within the situation internationally at least, things have been shifting a lot recently. And, you know, I know one of the things that’s your goal, and the goal of JCRC in general, and your position in general, is to help build these relationships within Jewish Cincinnati, with our interfaith allies and groups and partnerships within the community. And one of the things that happened in my perspective since October 7th is that a lot of those bridges became damaged. Or they were cut off, right? Particularly in some progressive spaces and even some conservative spaces. And, you know, for you, how are you trying to handle some of those challenges of rebuilding those relationships or repairing the bridges for those relationships?

Chandler: Yeah, no, absolutely. I think there is no question that that is true, not just here in Cincinnati, but throughout the diaspora in North America. We found that before October 7, we felt that we, the Jewish community, had done so much work in interfaith outreach and building with civic engagement and other stakeholders throughout our communities that we protected from unfair characterizations of conflicts happening, let’s say in Israel, or, you know, antisemitism happening in our communities and catching, you know, on fire culturally. 

Unfortunately, you know, after October 7, it’s very clear that those relationships that we thought we had were not nearly as strong as we had hoped they were, which is heartbreaking. I think that’s part of the trauma of October 7 is not only, you know, the largest loss of life since the Holocaust on a single day with October 7, but also relationships with loved ones or even neighbors, people that we would consider close friends, you know, meeting us, with silence or if not worse, like speculation or condemnation to us, or, you know, just completely cutting off communication, which is deeply traumatizing when you have built years of making this a focus in many different Jewish communities, of trying to make sure there’s room at the table always for every member of the community.

 And so I can say that, luckily, you know that my background and community, you know, working with different communities, building partnerships and allyship, I bring that to the table, and that’s one of the reasons that I’m here, is to conquer and to this specific issue, is to see how we can build on relationships and grow our pre existing ones and then look into new ones.

 And so I have a whole strategy with my team about how we’re going to go about this, and it’s critical moving forward with these different communities. And you know, there’s different strategies to do it. I think a lot of, a lot of times, people view success in these spaces as black and white, whether or not we’re going to be able to get consensus on an issue and they’re gonna become an ally for us, speak vocally on certain topics that come up in the news. I think that that, that’s not a realistic expectation. I think my, my metric for success is whether or not when something difficult happens, whether or not I can, like, another member of the community, and they’ll pick up, pick up the phone, and we can have an honest conversation about what’s going on. Be like, oh, what’s happening? You know, in Israel is very difficult. Can we talk about that? You know, hopefully mitigate some of the anger and misinformation from spreading, like we want to stop that from happening, and so, you know, building allyship and partnerships, isn’t you know, this, the terminology, it seems like a very easy, it takes patience and time.

 It means becoming friends in a very real sense, like understanding of the person and showing up when they need you, and also really getting to know them. And understanding that we’re not there’s not going to always be consensus on every issue, and if there was, probably that relationship is probably not one that it’s you’re being honest with yourself about, and we might have a repeat of what happened after October 7. And so my my plan is to, you know, continue to reach out, caretake the relationships, those who have continued to stand by us, and then also have communication with those communities that we’ve seen some have some falling away and then building new bridges with other communities we’ve had less contact with, but share similar histories. 

Sam: You mentioned you have some strategies. Can you talk about some of those strategies? Or is that something that, you know, 

Chandler: The secret sauce? On this podcast?

Sam: Yeah, I would hope so! I mean, you mentioned some of it, which is, like reaching out to people that you know, and just hoping to build a relationship where you can have an honest conversation, to have that phone call. For you, you know, what’s one of those strategies moving forward, kind of like that’s a little bit beyond that, or further than that.

Chandler: And to use the word strategy, I feel like it’s a bit clinical. I don’t even, that’s a bit of a strong term. 

Sam: Or approach, we can say approach.

Chandler: Yeah, approach, because these are people, and like, and I feel like, right now, I think what we’re seeing with a lot of the antisemitism that is taking over a lot of the conversations, if we’re being honest with ourselves, is clearly connected with the conflict that’s been going on in Israel, and the difficult conversations we have internally in the Jewish communities and obviously externally, is rife with a lot of passion. There’s a lot of anger and frustration, bitterness, and I think there’s this desire from some in our community, to pull within and to circle the wagons, which I understand from the trauma. I understand that desire, but at the same time, we need to be aware that we have to continue to work and triage, to build out, and to, well, at same time, try to heal and understand what took place, but reach out to those different communities and you know, and of course, like to triage, like, where we where we find the most goodwill right now, like whose doors are open, who will talk with us and listen.

 Those are the things that are most valuable, like this, actually getting to the table, having difficult conversations, and then being seen as the JCRC is a reflection of the full Jewish community, and be seen as a trusted ally that can meet you and have these conversations and then build out from there, and the word will get out. 

Sam: You mentioned something there that I kind of want to follow up on, which is, you know, sort of speaking about those risks that have happened within the Jewish community since October 7, and as the war has continued and waged on, I think there is a bit of a generational divide at times between what I would call like, the more very traditional, for lack of a better term, kind of like this “Israel, right or wrong” support, right, where we don’t want to have, where some folks maybe are in that circle the wagons mentality, where, like, I don’t want to talk about maybe the things that are negative that are being done by either Israeli government, or something like that, and the people who want to have that conversation, because I feel like a lot of times, the people who are in that ‘circle the wagon’ mindset tend to be the people In charge of a lot of mainstream institutions, Jewishly, and from what I can tell, there’s a lot of people who want to have that conversation but feel like they can’t. 

So sometimes maybe they go a little bit further than maybe they even want to. So what are ways that you try to approach it, or ways that you think those conversations can be had and be fruitful as try to open up those lines of communication more. 

Chandler: I totally agree there are like divisions within our community, that may be true, but I think that the JCRC, like, as you know, the Jewish Community Relations Council, as a reflection of the full Jewish community. We tried to create space for us to have those difficult conversations. And I think, you know, like, whether that be like the different events that we’re doing, like, for example, we have, like the Israel lens, which is like a series of events working on where we have our Israeli Shaliach, you know, give updates on the on the history of, you know, Israel in its Arab neighbors, or just updates on, like, how Israelis are feeling on certain topics. That’s one thing that we’re doing. We have Givat Haviva, what’s happening right now, where we have Israeli teenagers that are Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews that are coming to talk about, like, what it’s like living in Israel, creating a space where people can ask questions within the Jewish community and outside as well, as well as other events. So we also have one that’s coming up in that that’s part of that selection of events where we talk about, you know, for the sake of argument, like, how do you have a good faith argument? How do you have the tools to do that, where it’s constructive and people don’t feel shut down, and those, those feelings bubble up, and so we’re the JCRC understands this, and that there’s always going to be a lot of opinions in Jewish community on any issue, let alone this one. 

Sam: Let alone, let alone one of the most unique and complicated and nuanced conflicts in international history.

Chandler: Yeah, yeah. And I think that there is a lot of truths about Israel that most people would agree on. I think that, I think there’s a lot of spotlight being put on views that are kind of dissenting, which is, I understand, there’s always gonna be dissenting views, but in general, the Jewish community is pretty united on the idea that Israel should exist, like some basic ideas here, generally, is true, and we just want to build on that, but also create a space where people feel comfortable asking questions and going through, you know, Israel’s a country like any other. 

They’re imperfect and are trying to do well in you know, there’s a difference between criticizing the policies of a government and actually calling into question whether Israel should have a right to exist itself. Those are very different conversations, and we find that folks that you know, like we have to clarify. You know, these are the differences. And like, how you approach this in a conversation.

Sam: like I am willing to talk about the wrongs of the Israeli government. You know, things may be happening in the West Bank or Gaza that I disagree with, but I am not going to have an argument about whether Israel has the right to exist.

Chandler: Exactly, yeah, they’re all, you know, we’re a  Zionist institution, we believe Israel should exist, right? Yeah, and but you know, that doesn’t mean that other dissenting voices, although there may be small voices. Of course, my door is always open, and I would love to, you know, talk to them and explain, like, kind of why the JCR has this position and continues to hold it and listen to it. But again, yeah, like, there’s this, there’s a time and a place for everything. And I do think, you know, having the honesty to say that there are, you know, questions being held in the community about policies and things of that nature, and creating a safe space to have those questions, those conversations, and knowing how to have the conversations too. So that’s why you have some of these events lined up, but it’s an important part. 

Sam: Yeah, I’ll be interested to see how those events go and sort of the community reaction, because I do know when, when, at Cincy Jewfolk, we tend to publish things that are maybe, that could be seen as critical or seen as, maybe different from the mainstream, I’d say institutional view. Okay, I think, I think I look at a difference between mainstream, institutional view in a like a mainstream people view personally, and kind of the community reaction can be very loud, but it’s always from a few people.

Chandler: Sure, the institutional view.

Sam: And I think, I think there is a difference for that. And I think, you know, honestly, that is a much longer conversation that we have the time for, 

Chandler: Okay,

Sam: Right now, I think that’s its own interview, right, which I would love to have, but for my time and your time, I’m not trying to keep you here for hours.

Chandler: No, I’m enjoying the conversation, I’m glad to be here.

Sam: So we kind of got to shift back into our Jewfolk questionnaire, as I like to call it, our Who the Folk questionnaire, and we can, I hope, to have you back as a guest so we can have these deeper conversations.

Chandler: Please, yeah, I would love that. Absolutely. 

Sam: We know you’re transplant, and then this kind of moves on to the mood, traditionally Jewish part of our questions. And you know, for you, do you have, are there any Jewish teachings or texts or ideas that ground you, that you come back to again and again?

Chandler: Definitely, I’m a pretty observant person myself, and religion plays an important role in my life. I will definitely say that actually was on the board for my synagogue back in Houston. Yeah, talk about, talk about diplomacy, right? 

Sam: Talk about diplomacy, man.

Chandler: That was a lot of fun. But no, religion plays an important role in my life, and it’s really meaningful to me. I actually still do some Talmud study once a week. I would say there is this Midrash that I have always been drawn to when we talk about when Moshe comes down with the 10 Commandments. And, of course, remember, he shatters the first tablets. And then, you know, of course, there’s the second round of tablets that God creates, and there’s this teaching, or in one of the Midrash, a Midrash that says that in the Ark of the Covenant, they actually, of course, put the new set of commandments, the second set, but they collected all the pieces of the first set, the broken pieces after, you know, most Moshe dropped them in anger, he collected all the broken pieces, knowing how holy and important they were, and put them in the ark of the covenant with the new the second set, the 10 Commandments.

 And I love how beautiful that that is, that, you know, the difficulty and challenges that happen in life were probably always part of the story, and they’re just as important as the things you get right in that you shouldn’t forget the mistakes that you make, and the mistakes are equally holy in their own way, and so that you can put those together in the Ark of the Covenant. And so I find that as a deep reflection also of diplomacy, how to work with people, how to understand conversations and dissenting views, getting to the, you know, the second set of commandments, you know, took some broken ones, but learning lessons from that, I think that that really does, is a Midrash, or at least a religious lesson. I think about often.

Sam: Kind of, it’s a bit like, you know, there is an inherent brokenness to the world, right? There is an inherent brokenness to life. And things end, and you have to take all of it with you to continue being whole. 

Chandler: And repairing the world, right? 

Sam: Of course. You picked up on it. I think that’s a really wonderful teaching to take through life, because it’s, you know, I think it’s even in, you know, I’m not a Rabbi, but for my interpretation, you know, our prayer, Shema, right? Everything is one. So even the brokenness, brokenness is part of the whole, it’s all one.

Chandler: Yeah, there’s also this beautiful, like Kabbalistic belief, maybe it’s a Hasidic belief, where it’s, you know, if you don’t see G-d everywhere, you see him nowhere. And there’s this, like, like, like, this idea of divine light and G-d’s completeness being in everything and being able to find that. And if you can’t find it everywhere, right? The mistake. So truly, yeah. 

Sam: We could spend a whole hour talking about that too. So. I gotta move on to the next question. You said you’re pretty observant, but what’s your favorite way to celebrate Shabbat? This is like your ideal Shabbat. So right? It doesn’t have to be like what you’re doing every week, right now, it can be like this is your pie in the sky, if you could have it like this every time. This is how. Okay?

Chandler: Well, let me think about that. One of the things I really love about Shabbat, at least when I was in Houston, you’d only been here for about two and a half months. So I haven’t found a new shul yet. I’m looking forward to that and visiting shul shopping.

Sam: We have a whole guide on Cincy Jewfolk. Shout out to the guide. Shameless plug. You can check out our guide. 

Chandler: You will hot link it in the bio. Great. Yeah, no, I’m looking forward to that. But I always looked forward, like, after a very long day, you know, I had worked these crazy hours. You know, doing international relations is a full time job, and so being able to shut down at the end of the day and to drive to shul and and to be there with, like, usually Friday nights at my shul was kind of a very small, intimate space where you would see, like, the same handful of families that were there. Everybody knew each other. It was like that kindness of like, everybody can reset, check in on how everything was going, you know, and have that service, and then go back home, and then, like, you know, of course, just kind of like realized that the week has come to a close, and, you know, sometimes I would light the candles, depending if I was making it to  Shabbat or not always, and continue to always enjoy, like lighting the candles,

Sam: Could you kind of unplug, turn your phone off and computer off, or was that something you needed to have on in the world of international relations? 

Chandler: Yeah, of course, unfortunately, there are some emergencies that took place. So my phone was on, definitely. I do like nothing work related during Shabbat, but it was always, a check in case something was happening. Of course, after October 7th,

Sam: Yeah of course, which happened on on Shabbat, right? I remember, yeah, right, waking up,  And just like all these messages from our other editors, I’m like, What are you guys talking about? 

Chandler: Absolutely, and like, importantly, one of the first pieces of misinformation that came out after the conflict was that Israel had, you know, bombed a hospital, and that was, I think, three or four, maybe seven days later. And the fact was that we found out later that that was misinformation, and that it was at a Palestinian Islamic Jihad missile that had not crossed the border, and it happened and like, yeah, the narrative changed. November 2023, absolutely. And that was kind of when we noticed that the empathy and sympathy from what happened on October 7 ended, and the narrative began to shift despite the finding out it was, it actually was Palestinian Islamic Jihad missile that had not made it over the border and had hit actually, a parking lot, not even the hospital itself. And so, you know that happened on one of the off days. And so it showed you how to constantly be on. But yeah, so I tried to abstain from any work related things on Shabbat. But that was something if I was on for a crisis.

Sam: Hopefully, hopefully, now it’ll be a little bit different. Now, fewer big issues to deal with. Yeah, and what’s your favorite Jewish holiday, if you had to pick just one?

Chandler: Ooh, that’s a tough one. So I usually say Sukkot, and it’s okay. I really do like Simchat Torah, and 

Sam: Sukkot, it’s the first time we’ve had that answer.

Chandler: Really!

Sam: Yeah.

Chandler: Okay And I mean, that’s, it’s fantastic. I used to do a lot of interfaith work built around this holiday. The idea of bringing in, you know, your neighbor or the foreigner, into and like creating community and sharing, breaking bread also it’s just beautiful, right to sit out in the sukkah and like to create something each season for this and decorate it, and just that, the warmth of like, meeting new people and just share this traditions, is great. 

Sam: Yeah, and for you that really makes sense, because that’s what your life has been about. It’s been about like, bringing people,

Chandler: And  reaching out, yeah!

Sam: Reaching out, and that is the holiday where you have to invite people to eat inside of your hut. 

Chandler: And the citron, It’s the whole idea of like, you know, like the ritual and the shaking of the lulav and etrog and everything is gorgeous, and I look forward to it every year. And to finish up with Simchat Torah, also a blast. So the whole holiday is fantastic.

Sam: And this year, what do you have big plans for your, for your sukkah? Do you have some…

Chandler: Well, I’m in an apartment right now. 

Sam: Okay, okay. 

Chandler: And so there, I will definitely be crashing others this year. Yeah, yeah.

Sam: And is there anything I haven’t asked about, you want to mention, or you want to talk about?  This is always one of the last questions.

Chandler: I would just like to point out that, you know, like we talked about the JCRC, but also, like, would like to highlight the importance of my team. Like my associate director Jeremy Spiegel, has been an incredible leader, like in the interim for like seven months. You know, between different directors, an incredible leader, continuing to maintain relationships and reach out in such a difficult time post October 7 is an incredible asset and great for the community. And also, like, you know, it’s the full team that I get to work with every day is just a real blessing, and we’re gonna go far, and I’m looking forward to it, for sure.

Sam: Yeah, and I know you’ve only been in Cincinnati for two months, but this is, this is, like, this is a question on the questionnaire so far, what’s your favorite thing to do in Cincinnati, or what’s your ideal day in our in our city? 

Chandler:  So I’m a huge picnic guy. 

Sam: Oh, that works with, like Sukkot. 

Chandler: Yeah, I think that also kind of blends into like, living like, especially now that it’s fall. I love going to like, you guys have like, an abundance of parks. These beautiful parks have, like, all the tree coverage. I actually have a list I’ve been making of all the public parks you can see and doing picnics and like, you know, raking out the blanket and bringing some, playing music. 

Sam: And which ones have you been to so far? 

Chandler: Eden Park. Eden Park, which was incredible the day that I went, there was like, no one there. Couldn’t believe it, with that stunning view over the huge the whole city.

Sam: Yeah, you got to see the new Romulus and Rebus statue. 

Chandler: I don’t know if I didn’t know if I see that. 

Sam: I think it was there, unless they haven’t replaced it yet. I’m pretty sure they did. Really, it’s another episode, but a Romulus and Rebus statue was stolen a couple of years ago. It’s in Eden Park. I believe there’s a new one there. It’s a replacement,

Chandler: Really?

Sam: But, yeah, it was stolen. And when I say it was stolen, I mean somebody just, like, sawed it off from, like, the lakes. And it’s gone.

Chandler: Wow. And do they relocate that, or? 

Sam: No, it’s in the same spot now, they haven’t. As far as I know?

Chandler: What was the motivation?

Sam: As far as I know, no motivation. 

Chandler: Interesting, okay, well, no, I’ve been, I went to  Ziegler downtown, which was fantastic. I love that area. It’s really cool. And, yeah, there’s the two or three parks over here, right by the Federation I got my eye on. 

Sam: So some good parks over here.

Chandler: Since now it’s fall like and now it’s even better for picnics, and 

Sam: Now you get to have seasons change.

Chandler: Yeah, unlike in Houston, we only had about one or two seasons. 

Sam: You had hot, and hotter.

Chandler: Less hot, yeah.

Sam:  There you go. Well, Chandler, thanks so much for taking the time to sit down and talk with us today. And where should people look for you? Do you want to plug, like, JCRC, social media, or any events you want to plug. This will probably come out, probably around November.

Chandler: Okay, great, yeah, so my like, again, like, the thing I would like to the plug is that my doors always open. You know, if you go to our, the Federation website, there is, you know, you can click onto the JCRC link there, and you have our phone number, our email. Would love to schedule a meeting with anybody that has concerns, or feel like they’re not being heard. For sure. Also on Facebook, we have a JCRC Cincinnati page where you post a lot of upcoming events and statements and things that we do. Yeah, we’d love for everybody to be involved, for sure.

Sam: Chandler Waite, his door is always open. Thanks so much. 

Chandler: Thank you for having me.

Sam: For sure. Chandler Waite, his door is always open. Thanks so much. Thank you for having me. Chandler Waite, thank you so much for being on Who The Folk Cincinnati, the Who The Folk podcast is part of the Jewfolk Podcast Network and a product of Jewfolk Inc., Please subscribe, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts. If you know someone who you think would be a great guest on the show, send an email to [email protected] and join us next time for our other shows, check ou