Conversations With Naomi: David Appletree # 1

 

The following is my latest interview # 2 with David Appletree, the founder of the JIDF. Full Disclosure: The JIDF has agreed to help me promote and market my book, We Never Lost Hope: A Holocaust Memoir and Love Story. This is great news as I find the JIDF's vision to be in line with my own, and because of their own success in reaching a large audience who share similar interests and concerns.



Naomi: Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed again. I am so proud to have you as a guest at Conversations With Naomi. Often it is said that when one door shuts, another opens. Since your Facebook deactivation, hits and traffic on your website have skyrocketed. What would you like to say on this? Are you surprised?

David: Not particularly. I used to share a lot of stuff on Facebook. Since my deactivation, I share most of it on the JIDF website instead. Traffic to the JIDF site is up about 400%, and we're currently getting about 70,000 hits a month.

Naomi: Why do you want to go back on Facebook?

David: To manage the many groups and pages I created there, have access to over two years of work and content I created there, and to have access to all my personal and professional correspondence which took place there.

Naomi: In my opinion, your presence on Twitter allows your fans and adversaries to get personally closer to you. How do you feel about letting people into your personal space?

David: It's a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, I want to connect with people on a personal level as I feel it has been key to the individualized approach of the JIDF. On the other hand, I value my privacy and space.

Naomi: I noticed that your site has become much more interactive. The comment sharing, music videos, news, education, etc. are really nice. How has this new format strengthened your causes?

David: Thank you. It's just helped our traffic rankings. The more people enjoy the site and share it, the better for the JIDF and for our cause in general.

Naomi: The immense traffic on your site makes it attractive to advertisers. Do you think there is a tasteful way to sell advertising on your site? Do you think your advertisers will need to be vetted?

David: We are open to selling ads on our site and our rates are negotiable. Of course, we try to keep any content on our site as Kosher as possible. We are also looking into ways to help others and consult with them in order to generate revenue for our cause. We built the JIDF from scratch with very little money, and the skills we used and things we have learned along the way could be extremely valuable for other organizations, businesses, or individuals.

Naomi: What is going on with your radio show? Will you succumb to popular demand and bring it back?

David: We'll see. It's draining to have to come up with material to talk about for one to four hours a week and it seems my time might be best served elsewhere. Also, it goes back to that delicate balance I was talking about earlier and how accessible do I really wish to be.

Naomi: Do you plan, at some point, of having a paid staff to assist you? And if so, what type of people would you like to work for you and with you?

David: If the JIDF could raise enough funds to have a staff, absolutely. Unfortunately, it doesn't bring in enough at this point to even consider this. Over the years, I've been honored to work with many people. The qualities I look for in people are honesty, loyalty, trust, unwavering in certain opinions about certain things, etc.

Naomi: I like that you are so real. And I consider you a top Jewish Leader. What sets you apart from all the other Jewish leaders is that they seem so robotic, like talking heads. Can you promise your followers that the JIDF will stay authentic to your ideals?

David: Thank you for the kind words. My approach is personal and individualized and I don't have to worry about a board or boss telling me to do anything differently. I have purposely tried to weed certain people out and alienate them from the cause. I believe if I tried to appeal to everyone (as many organizations do) that the JIDF would have gotten too massive, too quickly. My idea was to build this up with people who have solid morality and ethics and a thirst for knowledge and facts. If people cannot handle the facts, they generally run from them. That's fine. I have very little patience for ignorance, weakness of point of view, and political correctness.

I'll always stay true to my vision.

Naomi: What can we do to promote Israel’s survival in the face of the overwhelming opposition by the left wing and deadly enemies?

David: We should be listening to our enemies. We should never promote the idea of giving our Land to our enemies. We should comprehend that this war does not just involve Israel. Thus, the creation of a "Palestinian" state will not solve all the other deadly conflicts in the world caused by radical Islam. We need to wake up and stop promoting that absurdity. We need to mean what we say, and say what we mean. We need to read the Qu'ran, the Hamas Charter, and the Fatah Constitution. We must not shake hands with Holocaust deniers and terrorists. We must not promote Islamic terrorist organizations as "moderate." We also must try to promote Jewish values and mitzvot, which might actually prove to be our strongest weapons. We must fear Hashem more than our enemies or "what the world will think." We must work to glorify G-d's name. By fighting for truth and justice, and using Judaism as our moral compass, I feel we are doing that.

Naomi: Thank you, David!

Conversations With Naomi: David Appletree #  3

Conversations With Naomi: David Appletree #  4