The Jewish Dawah on Faith, Settlers and Talking to the Other Side

Inon Dan Kehati went from a secular peace advocate to an outspoken online voice for Jewish identity. He told Daniel Rosenberg why conviction, not compromise, gives him hope.

By Two Taps & Friends Newsroom October 23, 2026 2 min read

Online he is known as the Jewish Dawah. Offline he is Inon Dan Kehati, an activist and author whose videos challenge the way the Israeli and Palestinian conflict is usually framed. On Episode 55, he sat down with Daniel Rosenberg to talk about faith, history and what dialogue can and cannot do.

The name itself is a provocation. Dawah is an Arabic word for the call or invitation to Islam, and Kehati plays on it to signal the conversation he wants to have, a confident case for Jewish identity made across the lines that usually divide people.

From peace activist to skeptic

Kehati describes a turn that many Israelis will recognize. He spent years believing in simple solutions to the conflict. Over time he became skeptical of them, not because he stopped wanting peace, but because he came to believe the conflict has religious roots that political formulas ignore.

That view shapes the hardest parts of the conversation. He and Rosenberg discuss whether antisemitism in parts of the Muslim world is rooted in historical power dynamics, what happens when interpretations of the Koran clash with Jewish sovereignty, and whether peace is possible if old solutions are set aside. He also argues that settlers embody a core of Jewish devotion, a position many listeners will push back on, and the episode lets him make the case in full.

Building bridges anyway

What keeps the episode from being only an argument is the other half of his work. Kehati talks about real dialogue between settlers and Palestinians, and a vision of mutual recognition built on honesty about what each side believes. He describes staying calm in heated confrontations, and seeing adversaries as teachers rather than enemies.

The thread running through it all is emunah, the Hebrew word for faith. Kehati argues that holding firmly to your convictions is what makes hope possible in hard times.

Keep listening

The episode ends with a question for viewers about balancing faith and logic when facing adversity. For more conversations on Israel and Jewish identity, hear Rabbi Uriel Romano on why antisemitism mutates like a virus and the panel's visit to the Gaza border three years after October 7.