Josh Wander grew up outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in a suburb called McKeesport. He grew up in a pretty seriously Zionistic home – as Zionism was defined back then – and the more Torah he learned, the more he felt pulled to Israel.

Josh has led a colorful life that even included a run as candidate for Mayor of Pittsburgh – even as he was sure he and his family would soon be returning to Israel to live their lives. It’s a wild story.

These days, Josh lives with his family in an town called Maale Zeitim, right next to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and that’s where we sat recently to talk about his story.

If you want to follow Josh, you can find him at Facebook.com/jwander or @votewander on X.