84: Len Khodorkovsky: from Ukrainian refugee to the US State Department, an American story

Len Khodorkovsky is an American story. The same one repeated throughout generations of Jewish history. And his comes from today’s Ukraine where in 1981, young Len and his refusenik parents and grandparents fled the Soviet Union for the USA. Because by 2017, Len took an oath of office in the US State Department. “That’s quite a trajectory”, he says with considerable understatement. The poignancy is there’s bound to be another Len, barely a teenager trying to escape Ukraine (and even Russia) as we listen - destination unknown - just heading west. Len served at the US State Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs. He was also a Senior Advisor to the US Special Representative for Iran and the Chief Marketing Officer of America’s economic diplomacy. It was his two decades as an advertising executive which led to this extraordinary period. And it’s this creative approach which he says gave the Trump administration a greater dynamic to problem-solve than the more conservative, risk averse diplomatic column. Len holds up the Abraham Accords as a prime example of that dynamism. Our conversation is rich in life experience, anecdotes and takeaways. LISTEN to how he’s returning to media to produce a lasting legacy for the Accords with a new TV channel called Yalla. Help support Jonny Gould’s Jewish State (including Gift Aid) at https://www.donorbox.org/jgpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices