It was quite an honor to speak to Peter Beinart, not just because he was the first public figure (he's a well known writer, editor, journalist and commentator) I had ever interviewed, but because he is a man of great intellect, integrity, kindness and compassion. I found myself getting quite nervous beforehand but I had to remind myself that he is a human being who is probably flawed like me and the interview went off without a hitch.
One thing that surprised me was that he completely disregarded the notion that his faith had to clash with his leftist political views. He emphasized that the notion of 'Jewish values' was something that was complex and different people interpreted differently. And that he is part of a more new age version of Orthodox Judaism that deviates significantly from tradition.
I decided to loosely follow an interview guide that I prepped and rehearsed and that helped with my nerves, the flow of the interview, and me to articulate and remember all the important questions which broke down into basic sections: life/upbringing, faith, career, antisemitism/jewish experience in America/, and Israel/Palestine. And I did a decent job of transitioning between the topics.
Many of the questions sort of reaffirmed things I already understood, my knowledge of other topics were expanded and enhanced significantly, and some I learned to look at from a whole new perspective. I did the right thing by being considerate of his time and strategically asked a shortened list of questions I really wanted answered.
In the end it was quite touching how intently he listened to my father and I telling him about the tragedy of the genocide our people in Tigray, Ethiopia were experiencing and he subsequently agreed to help us by utilizing his platform through tweeting and such. And he was also very curious about my impending conversion to Judaism and gave me reading ideas to strengthen the transition.
What I'm most proud of is that I was able to get a handle on my Asperger's and mostly never talked over him. He may have viewed this roughly 80 minute interview as a small favor, but after a rough few months talking to someone I admired in this manner filled me up with the most extraordinary sense of hope. I really feel as though my longtime dream of being a journalist may come into fruition.
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