Rabbi Shmuel Veffer
Author of Dialogue with the Enemy (December 1, 2026)
Torah teacher, entrepreneur and author, splitting his time between Jerusalem and Tiberias. Available for podcasts, radio, print interviews and talks, in person or online.
shmuel@galileegreen.com
Bios
One line (for introductions)
Rabbi Shmuel Veffer is a Torah teacher, entrepreneur and the author of Dialogue with the Enemy: Confronting the Activist Campaign to Eliminate Israel.
Short (about 60 words)
Rabbi Shmuel Veffer has taught Torah for more than thirty years and splits his time between Jerusalem and Tiberias. Born and raised in Canada, he holds a mathematics and computer science degree from the University of Waterloo and rabbinic ordination from Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem. His books include Dialogue with the Enemy, Faith Under Fire and Missiles, Masks and Miracles.
Full
Rabbi Shmuel Veffer brings world events into focus through the lens of Torah. Born and raised in Canada, he earned an honours mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo, majoring in computer science and business, and worked as a management consultant and on a research team designing nuclear medical diagnostic equipment before receiving his rabbinic ordination at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem.
He spent more than twenty years in full-time Jewish education and outreach, including eight years at the Village Shul in Toronto and six years as a senior lecturer in Netanya, and has spoken from Cambridge University to the Old City of Jerusalem and the Knesset. He is the inventor of the KosherLamp, founder of Kosher Innovations, and co-founder of Galilee Green, which sends Israeli olive oil and honey to subscribers around the world. His weekly Dispatches from Jerusalem reach thousands of readers.
His books include Missiles, Masks and Miracles, written during the 1991 Gulf War; Faith Under Fire, a war diary of the October 7 war through the prism of Torah; and Dialogue with the Enemy (2026). As Charles Samuel, he wrote The Jerusalem Conspiracy, a bestseller in Israel. He has been interviewed by National Public Radio and featured in the New York Times, the National Post and Mishpacha. He served in the IDF, and splits his time between Jerusalem and Tiberias.
The new book
Dialogue with the Enemy: Confronting the Activist Campaign to Eliminate Israel
After October 7, an American activist posted that Israel does not have the right to exist. Rabbi Veffer answered with a private message and questions instead of a rebuttal. Their weeks-long conversation put “genocide,” “apartheid” and the rewritten history of Hebron, Oslo and Gaza to the test, and shows readers how to answer with clarity and calm.
| Publication | December 1, 2026 · Galilee Green Press, Jerusalem |
| Editions | Kindle $9.99 (978-965-93422-2-8) · Paperback $17.99 (978-965-93422-0-4) · Hardcover $27.99 (978-965-93422-1-1) |
| Length | 216 pages, 6 × 9 in |
| Links | Book page · Amazon |
Praise
“…a thoughtful, challenging, and highly relevant work. It is. Read it. More importantly, share it.”
Joseph Kerr, Journalist, White House Special Media Press Corps
“Hopefully this will get in the hands of many Angelas and others who just don’t have all the facts.”
Jonathan Feldstein, President, Genesis 123 Foundation
Suggested interview questions
Dialogue with the Enemy
- Someone posts that Israel has no right to exist. Why did you answer with a private message instead of a public reply?
- What happened when you asked her to define “genocide”?
- Which of her claims fell apart fastest, and which was hardest to answer?
- You write about “selective empathy.” What do you mean?
- What does the record actually show about Hebron in 1929, the Oslo years and the 2005 Gaza withdrawal?
- How do Socratic and Talmudic questioning help in a heated conversation?
- Your father survived the Holocaust in hiding in Holland. How did that shape the way you responded?
- What should a student or parent say when these claims come up on campus or at the family table?
- Did the conversation change her mind? Did it change yours about anything?
- Who is “the person watching,” and why do you write for them?
Faith Under Fire
- How did a weekly email to olive oil customers become a book about the October 7 war?
- Tell the story of blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah as the air-raid siren went off.
- In Hebrew, a miracle (nes) is also a “signal flag.” What signals should we be reading today?
- Your father’s family hid from the Nazis in Holland for almost three years. How did the 2024 Amsterdam riots change how you read that history?
- Why should Israel pause a war for Ramadan when Jews fight on Shabbat and Yom Kippur?
In his words
“People outside of Israel were watching history, and we were living it.”
On Inspiration from Zion
“People say, ‘You break Shabbat in order to save lives.’ No. I didn’t break Shabbat. I kept Shabbat. That’s how you keep Shabbat.”
On Inspiration from Zion
“One thing we should learn: when our enemies say something, we should believe them.”
On Inspiration from Zion
“In Hebrew, the word for miracle is nes. It’s a signal flag to say: if you continue in this direction, wake up, pay attention, change direction.”
On Inspiration from Zion
Recent appearances
- Inspiration from Zion (Genesis 123 Foundation), with host Jonathan Feldstein, on Faith Under Fire, 2026. About 77 minutes.“It’s a compelling read… at every point during the book, every chapter, you’re bringing God into the picture.” Jonathan Feldstein
- Rabbi Shmuel Veffer speaks at the Knesset
- More talks: video · audio
Downloads
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Contact: shmuel@galileegreen.com · Fiction: Charles Samuel media kit