Adiel Cohen channels his Yemini heritage to fight for Israel—on two fronts

Adiel Cohen remembers Oct. 7 like it was yesterday. He was at his sister's house in Northern Israel when he woke up to hear his phone buzzing with rocket alerts and notifications. His first-ever panic attack washed over him as he realized he would quickly be called back into the army—which happened immediately after Shabbat. That night, Cohen filled a backpack with a few essentials and travelled south on the eerily quiet roads.

After his time fighting in the south, he returned to his studies at Tel Aviv University, but didn't stop fighting for his country. Instead of prepping rocket launchers near Gaza, he took to TikTok and Instagram to argue against anti-Zionists describing his home country as a land of colonizing Europeans. For Cohen, this line of attack is particularly egregious, as one of his biggest inspirations is his grandmother, who came to Israel from Yemen decades ago.

Cohen joins Rivkush, The CJN's podcast about Jews of colour, to talk about the history of Yemeni Jews, share his war stories and explain why watermelon is actually a very Israeli fruit.

Credits

• Host: Rivka Campbell
• Producer: Michael Fraiman
• Music: Westside Gravy

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