Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Meet Mike Hanopol, the Filipino Jewish Rock Star

Drew Goldberg, who uses his childhood nickname Binsky when he travels, is close to achieving his goal of visiting each of the 193 countries recognized by the United Nations. In just a few months, the 28-year-old will have done it. 

It started when he spent part of his college junior year in Prague after a Birthright trip to Israel. Then he got hooked on travel and never stopped.

As Josefin Dolsten wrote in The Times of Israel, 

Goldberg grew up in a Jewish family in Scottsdale, Arizona. He attended Temple Chai, a Reform congregation, where he had his bar mitzvah.

After graduating with an economics degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Goldberg took a job teaching English in South Korea. He created a travel blog to document his experience traveling throughout Asia over the next 18 months.

Goldberg makes a point of visiting Jewish communities in the countries he visits, and he says traveling has helped him connect with his Jewish identity. He has visited Jewish communities in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Ethiopia and the Philippines.

“I feel more connected with the religion from a global perspective because I’ve really gone in the houses of Jews around the world,” he said.

We'll share some of his videos in the next few weeks, starting today with his video report about meeting Mike Hanopol, the Filipino Jewish rock star. 

Enjoy!

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