At age 9, Simon Deng was kidnapped from his village in South Sudan, brought to North Sudan and given away as a gift. He was held as a slave for the next three and a half years. His journey including how he obtained freedom is remarkable.

In this unforgettable episode of The One Way Ticket Show Simon shares the story of how he survived, how he found freedom, and why he now uses his voice to fight modern slavery, defend religious liberties, and confront global hypocrisy.

Simon discusses Iran's role in Sudan, arguing that Iranian-backed weapons and influence helped fuel mass violence in Sudan -- and warning that Iran's reach is often underestimated.

The conversation also explores Simon's advocacy, his critique of international institutions, and why he stands with Israel -- drawing parallels between the October 7th massacre and what he witnessed in Sudan. Among his many roles, he's a co-founder and board member of the African Jewish Alliance.

As for Simon's one way ticket destination of choice, it isn't a place, but a mission — to search for freedom, speak for victims, and tell anyone trapped in suffering "you are not alone".

LINKS:

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o127iYosbU

Simon Deng on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simon.deng.3990

Simon Deng on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simon.deng.3990/?hl=en

African Jewish Alliance: https://africanjewishalliance.org/

On August 24, 1929, 3000 Muslim men armed with swords, axes and daggers, marched through the ancient Jewish quarter of Hebron (the second holiest city in Judaism), and massacred every Jew they could find. In just a few hours, 67 unarmed Jewish men, women and children were dead. Families were burnt alive. Infants were slaughtered in their mother's arms. Children watched as their parents were butchered by their neighbors. Women and teenage girls were raped. Men were castrated.

This horrific pogrom was incited by a disinformation campaign spearheaded by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini. Years later, he fled Palestine as a wanted man by the British and moved to Berlin where he lived from 1941 – 1945, met with Hitler and other SS officials, and became Head of the Arab Bureau of the Nazi's Ministry of Propaganda. For that, and his other activities, after the war, he was placed on the UN's List of Nazi War Criminals. He fled to Cairo then Beirut where he lived an open life. Haj Amin al-Husseini was never brought to trial. His cousin was Yasser Arafat whom he took on as his protégé.

In her important book, Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict, award-winning journalist and author, Yardena Schwartz points out that we can't understand the Arab-Israeli conflict today without understanding what happened during that massacre in Hebron, two decades before the establishment of the State of Israel.

Yardena is our latest guest on The One Way Ticket Show where we focus on the book, highlighting a number of inconvenient truths many academics and journalists avoid. Yardena weaves the thread that runs from 1929 through to the present time, including Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. She points out how the West has difficulty understanding how religion in the Middle East continues to fuel violence.

As for Yardena's one way ticket destination of choice? She selected British Mandate Palestine where she would work as a journalist, bringing stories of the region to the world.

This episode fills in many historical gaps and offers insights which may surprise you. I hope you tune in and share. I also hope you add the book to your reading list.

Yardena is an award-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated producer who was based in Israel for a decade until 2023. Her reporting from four continents has appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Review of Books, The Economist, TIME, National Geographic, and Foreign Policy. Yardena previously worked at NBC News and MSNBC.

Yardena graduated with honors from Columbia Journalism School in 2011, received an Emmy nomination for her work at MSNBC in 2013, and the RNA award for excellence in magazine reporting in 2016.

She now lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her husband and children.

For more on Yardena, visit: https://www.yardenaschwartz.com/

On this episode, we welcome Ory Slonim back to the program.

Ory is one of Israel's most distinguished lawyers. This year, 2026, he's marking 40 years since Israeli President Chaim Herzog tasked him with the role as Consultant to the Minister of Defense for Captives and MIAs -- a position he referred to as "The Knocker on Doors".

Ory's book about his work is title "A Knock at the Door" and is available wherever you like to buy your books.

He was our guest on episode 293 on September 26, 2023 where he shared his one way ticket destination which was: "To a future in a place where all soldiers, POWs & MIAs will be back home and where children in need will be okay".

In this conversation, Ory offers: How he came to be the knocker on the door; how he approached negotiating with terrorists; his role in working with the families of hostages held in Gaza after Hamas' October 7th, 2023 attack on Israel; the role "uncertainty" plays in the lives of those held captive and their loved ones; the important life lesson his grandfather taught him about who wins a match between a prize fighter or a boy with a broken bottle; the significance of giving back, and more.

For Ory's full bio, click here.