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Proud Jews ‘have gone into their shells’ since Oct. 7, Shopify president says

Harley Finkelstein spoke with JNS after an anti-Israel protester accused a guest of genocide during a live taping of his podcast at an event in Montreal.

Heather Reisman, founder and CEO Indigo Books and Music, interviews with Shopify president Harley Finkelstein and David Segal, an entrepreneur, during a live-taping of their podcast Big Shot on July 12, 2024 at Startupfest in Montreal. Photo by Izzy Salant.
Heather Reisman, founder and CEO Indigo Books and Music, interviews with Shopify president Harley Finkelstein and David Segal, an entrepreneur, during a live-taping of their podcast Big Shot on July 12, 2024 at Startupfest in Montreal. Photo by Izzy Salant.

An anti-Israel protester protested a podcast hosted by the Jewish president of Shopify, to accuse a Jewish guest, who wasn’t talking about Israel, of supporting genocide.

Harley Finkelstein—of the $81.86 billion Ottawa-based e-commerce company Shopify—and his Big Shot co-host David Segal, a Jewish entrepreneur, were conducting a live taping of the podcast on July 12 in Montreal at Startupfest, a gathering of hundreds of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Their guest was Heather Reisman, founder and CEO of Indigo Books and Music, who told the story of her nearly 30-year-old book chain to about 400 people at the conference.

Some 20 minutes into the taping, a man screamed at her, accused her of “funding a genocide” against Palestinians and tried to rush the stage. A security officer tackled the man, who claimed that he was being assaulted.

As some audience members appeared uncomfortable, Reisman held her composure and invited dialogue with him. “Do you want to know the truth?” she asked. The man screamed back that he did, as he was escorted out of the room. 

“The truth is we fund education for kids without parents,” she told the audience to applause.

“Can we do more live tapings?” Finkelstein quipped, after the dust had settled. The audience laughed.

After the show concluded, Reisman spoke with JNS as she left the convention center. She said that invited the protester to engage, because he was “spouting something that wasn’t true.”

“I’d rather engage with people,” she said. “Maybe you bring a few people around.”

Celebrating Jewish entrepreneurs

The Big Shot podcast, per its website, is “an archive and celebration of Jewish entrepreneurs who took risks, overcame the odds and created legendary businesses that changed the game.”

“If the walls of kosher delis could speak, they would (schm)ooze invaluable wisdom and endless laughs,” the podcast site adds.

The podcast’s about page makes no mention of Israel.

“We’re proud Jews, who want to celebrate our culture and show the world how much they can gain from our experiences,” Segal told JNS. “That’s what Big Shot is all about.”

Finkelstein told JNS that the episode that was live-taped at the conference “was a celebration of someone that started from humble beginnings in Montreal and created one of the most iconic companies in Canada.” 

That setting “wasn’t the right venue” for a protest, he told JNS.

“It also had nothing to do with Israel,” Segal said.

After Oct. 7, the podcast has felt “more important than ever,” according to Finkelstein.

“A lot of proud Jews have gone into their shells a little bit and are not necessarily as proud and as vocal. That’s not who we are,” Finkelstein told JNS. “We are proud of who we are. We are proud of what we built. And I think Big Shot is a celebration of these stories now more than ever before.”

“Big shot is about reminding people of all that they can learn from Jewish culture, just like we can learn from all cultures,” Segal added. “This happens to be our culture, and we want to share it with everyone.”

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