Folio Literary Series with Matti Friedman, July 20, 2026

A Conversation with Author and Journalist Matti Friedman During World War II, a legendary team of Jewish parachutists who flew back into Europe from Palestine on a British mission became some of Israel’s founding heroes—and yet they never saved a single Jew or killed a single Nazi. How did a doomed mission come to shape a nation? Join Award-winning journalist Matti Friedman and executive editor of the JTA and New York Jewish Week, Hilary Krieger, as they unpack the harrowing true story of Hannah Senesh and a group of other idealistic young Jews who escaped the Holocaust only to parachute back behind Nazi lines in 1944. Many died. The mission failed. So why are dozens of streets named for them? Why is there a Hannah Senesh school in Brooklyn and a Broadway play opening this fall? This isn’t just wartime history—it’s a meditation on how stories shape nations and why myths can matter more than facts. About Matti Friedman: Matti Friedman is a Canadian-Israeli journalist, author, and Jerusalem-based columnist for The Free Press. Born in Toronto and based in Jerusalem, he is widely recognized for his writing on Middle Eastern affairs, Israel, and Jewish history.