Rabbi Sandra Lawson, Reconstructing Judaism’s first director of racial diversity, equity and inclusion, joins us to talk about how you can support Jews of color. The social media influencer uses her platform both online and off as a queer Jew of color to drive hard conversations around racism, homophobia, and antisemitism. Rabbi Lawson, who feels a deep responsibility to serve American Jews, is full of Jewish pride amid a rise in anti-Jewish hate. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do n...
Feb 28, 2023•34 min
One year after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Vladislav Davidzon, European culture correspondent for Tablet Magazine, shares what he’s witnessed as a war correspondent on the frontlines, and predicts the future for his beloved country and the Jewish community he's proud to call home. We last spoke to Davidzon hours before the Russia-Ukraine war began, when he was on the ground in Kyiv – listen now to his dispatch a year on, as he joins us live from our New York studio. *The views and opin...
Feb 23, 2023•30 min
Unpack the findings from AJC's State of Antisemitism in America 2022 report on young U.S. Jews, including those on college campuses, with the Senior Director of AJC’s Alexander Young Leadership Department, Meggie Wyschogrod Fredman. We also hear from Northwestern University student Lily Cohen, whose efforts to encourage constructive dialogue following a disturbing antisemitic encounter on her college campus has sparked hostility, friendship, and above all, a renewed sense of Jewish pride. *The v...
Feb 13, 2023•33 min
France just released its latest national plan for combating antisemitism. AJC Paris Director Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bécache joins us to break down this new initiative, share how French Jews are impacted by rising antisemitism, and give us a behind-the-scenes look at the role AJC played in helping craft the plan. In April 2015, AJC praised the French government for launching its first comprehensive plan to fight antisemitism and racism, and a year earlier for establishing the position of Inter-minist...
Feb 08, 2023•19 min
The Jerusalem Post’s Lahav Harkov joins us this week to help us understand all of the big news from Israel, from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit, to rocket attacks from Gaza, terror attacks in Jerusalem, ultimatums from Russia, massive protests, and proposed changes to Israel’s Law of Return. Harkov is the senior contributing editor and diplomatic correspondent for The Jerusalem Post . *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of ...
Feb 02, 2023•21 min
In this powerful episode, we sit down with Sam Harris, who is one of the youngest survivors of the Holocaust. As a young child, Sam watched in horror as his family was taken to Treblinka and murdered, but he and his two older sisters were able to beat the odds. Listen as Sam recounts the unimaginable struggles he faced during one of the darkest periods in human history and how his experience motivated him to play a central role in the founding of the Illinois Holocaust Museum. *The views and opi...
Jan 26, 2023•39 min
Since its Broadway opening last fall, Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt,” a play about a multigenerational Jewish family in Vienna, based on Stoppard’s own family history, has been met with critical acclaim. Hear from celebrated actor David Krumholtz, who plays the patriarch of the family, on how his Jewish identity has been transformed by the role, why he speaks to his young children about antisemitism, and the importance of Holocaust education today. _ Episode Lineup: (0:40) David Krumholtz __ Show...
Jan 19, 2023•28 min
One year ago, Jeff Cohen was taken hostage during Shabbat services by an antisemitic attacker. Hear from Cohen, who is now the president of Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, about all that has transpired since that traumatic day and how the attack has impacted him and the Colleyville Jewish community. Bradley Orsini, the Secure Community Network’s senior national security advisor, also joined the conversation to share what steps American Jews can take to protect and empower thei...
Jan 12, 2023•29 min
This Hanukkah, we hear from Rabbi Yael Buechler, a writer, educator, entrepreneur, and Hanukkah merch maven. She’s also a Hanukkah historian who has tracked how the festival of lights helped reinvent Jewish culture in America and how it became a gift-giving occasion alongside Christmas. Rabbi Beuchler joins us to discuss how American Jews can take advantage of the marketplace to express their Jewish pride authentically during the Hanukkah season, despite increasing antisemitism–with inflatable m...
Dec 22, 2022•23 min
Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams insisted on the end of plea bargains for the perpetrators of antisemitic attacks and called out all forms of hate. To discuss New York City’s efforts to combat the alarming rise in Jew hatred, Hassan Naveed, executive director of New York City’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), joins to explain how his office coordinates agencies across the city to curb the rise of antisemitic hate crimes, the importance of tracking these crimes a...
Dec 15, 2022•35 min
This week marks the second anniversary of the normalization of relations between Israel and Morocco as part of the Abraham Accords. Building on this peace, three young adults hailing from Israel, Morocco, and the U.S. join us to discuss their visit earlier this year to Israel and Morocco. The first-of-its-kind tour was part of the Michael Sachs Emerging Leaders Fellowship, sponsored by AJC and the Mimouna Association, a Muslim nonprofit in Morocco devoted to preserving Jewish-Moroccan heritage. ...
Dec 08, 2022•23 min
Before, during, and after the Holocaust, antisemitism spread throughout American society. AJC’s innovative multimedia campaign to counter this rising hatred is the subject of “Confronting Hate: 1937-1952,” an exhibit at the New York Historical Society. With posters, comic books, newspaper advertisements, radio spots, and television cartoons, that, since 1952, have not been seen by the public, join Charlotte Bonelli, Director of AJC's Archives and Records Center, and Debra Schmidt Bach, Curator o...
Dec 01, 2022•37 min
Too few people know that parts of the Arab world and Iran were once home to large Jewish communities. This Mizrahi Heritage Month, let’s change the story, with the final episode of the first season of The Forgotten Exodus , the first-ever narrative podcast series devoted exclusively to the rich, fascinating, and often-overlooked history of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewry. Thank you for lifting up these stories to celebrate Mizrahi Heritage Month. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to listen to the r...
Nov 30, 2022•38 min
Jewish chef and content creator Eitan Bernath joins us this week to explain why he wears a Star of David necklace in public and how he uses his platform of seven million followers to fight anti-Israel bias and antisemitism. Named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and the author of the cookbook " Eitan Eats The World ," the 20-year-old also discusses attending last year’s White House Hanukkah Party, interviewing Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, the Jew-hatred normalized by celebrities like Kanye West, and why ...
Nov 17, 2022•26 min
This week’s episode focuses on the Israeli and U.S. elections, their implications, and what impact they could have on U.S.-Israel ties, the spread of antisemitism, and advancing democratic values. We start in the U.S., where razor-thin margins left control of Congress still up in the air at the time of recording. But as the votes continued to be counted, Marc Rod, Capitol Hill correspondent for Jewish Insider , joined us to discuss some of the unexpected results and those that are still pending,...
Nov 10, 2022•32 min
Basketball coach Bruce Pearl is on a mission both on and off the court. This summer, Coach Pearl, who is Jewish, took his Auburn University men’s basketball team to Israel on a first-of-its-kind “Birthright for College Basketball” trip to play against Israeli national teams, and visit sites across the country, from the Mount of Olives to the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As the college basketball season gears up, Dov Wilker, Regional Director of AJC Atlanta, sat down with Co...
Nov 03, 2022•20 min
Today marks four years since America’s deadliest antisemitic attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, which left 11 dead and wounded six others. Over the last few weeks, the appalling antisemitic conspiracy theories and threats from rapper Kanye West serve as a reminder of the normalization of antisemitism in America and how hate can be translated into action or violence. Listen to former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto on what it was like to witness the pain inflicted on a community, a ...
Oct 27, 2022•23 min
Controversy erupted at the UC Berkeley Law school this fall over the decision by a handful of student groups to adopt bylaws that would ban Zionist speakers. In response, American Jewish Committee (AJC) united with 35 other Jewish organizations to condemn the ban as a “vicious attempt to marginalize and stigmatize the Jewish, Israeli, and pro-Israel community… This is unabashed antisemitism.” This week, Dr. Ethan Katz, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Berkeley, and co-founder...
Oct 21, 2022•25 min
Rapper Kanye West’s recent antisemitic outbursts during a primetime Fox News interview and on social media to his over 31 million followers have provided another example of the normalization of Jew-hatred in the American public sphere. While his comments elevating antisemitic conspiracy theories, Jewish stereotypes, and threats of violence have been met with outrage and condemnation, they demonstrate the continuing challenge of combating the world’s oldest hatred in the media and online. AJC’s U...
Oct 14, 2022•23 min
After more than 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ted Deutch recently stepped down to become the CEO of American Jewish Committee (AJC), the leading global Jewish advocacy organization. In this special episode, learn about the Jewish values instilled in Ted by his parents, growing up in the working-class town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where he was one of only three Jewish students in his high school. From his summers at Camp Ramah in the Poconos to his Jewish leadership as a studen...
Oct 06, 2022•27 min
Did you know that Jewish communities outside the U.S. have long viewed security as a communal responsibility and do not solely rely on law enforcement? Is a shift toward this viewpoint emerging in America? This week, amid the High Holiday season, we spoke to Evan Bernstein, CEO and national director of The Community Security Service, a volunteer-led national organization that trains community members to protect their synagogues and events. We discuss the manifestations of antisemitism and hate c...
Sep 29, 2022•18 min
Filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, in conversation with AJC’s Director of Contemporary Jewish Life Dr. Laura Shaw Frank, join us this week to discuss their groundbreaking historical documentary, “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” This latest installment from the acclaimed filmmaker, which debuted this past Sunday on PBS, explores America’s reaction – or lack thereof – to the Nazi genocide as it was unfolding in Europe as part of a critical addition to our understanding of the past. ___ Episode Lin...
Sep 22, 2022•24 min
Israeli-American actress Noa Tishby didn’t set out to be Israel’s first special envoy for combating antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel. But since being appointed by then-Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in April 2022, Tishby has been a powerful voice when it comes to combating hatred against Jews and misinformation about Israel. Amid the paperback release of her book " Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth," Tishby joins us to discuss the impact of the...
Sep 15, 2022•22 min
It is no secret that antisemitism is on the rise in the United States. American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) 2021 State of Antisemitism in America report revealed that 90% of Jewish respondents believe antisemitism is a problem. Until now, there has not been a single resource for American society to tackle the world’s oldest hatred. In a just-released mobilization tool, AJC’s Call to Action Against Antisemitism in America highlights a path forward for all sectors of society, including government, co...
Sep 07, 2022•26 min
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has voiced sharp criticism of reports claiming that the final text of a restored Iranian nuclear deal will soon be accepted by Tehran and Washington, reigniting debate about key components of the nuclear deal - sanctions against Iran’s energy exports, IAEA monitoring, unfreezing blocked Iranian assets, among others - and whether the United States should even be negotiating with Iran in the first place. Fresh off a recent escalation with the Iranian-backed Palest...
Sep 01, 2022•22 min
Natalie Kahn, a Jewish student at Harvard University and editor at The Harvard Crimson , was stunned late last spring when the editorial board of the campus newspaper that had been so central to her college experience had endorsed the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Jeffrey Greenberg, AJC’s Assistant Director of Campus Affairs, said that Natalie’s feelings of betrayal are an increasingly common experience for pro-Israel college students. While BDS has had numerous ...
Aug 25, 2022•24 min
Today, Israel is one of America’s top global allies. How did this relationship develop? Why does this alliance have such widespread support in America? To answer these questions and more, Walter Russell Mead, Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at the Hudson Institute and columnist for The Wall Street Journal , joins guest host, Melanie Maron Pell, AJC’s chief field operations officer, to discuss his latest book, “The Arc of a Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish Peop...
Aug 18, 2022•25 min
One of the top Jewish podcasts in the U.S., American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) The Forgotten Exodus , is the first-ever narrative podcast to focus exclusively on Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews. In this week’s episode, we feature Jews from Egypt. In the first half of the 20th century, Egypt went through profound social and political upheavals culminating in the rise of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and his campaign of Arabization, creating an oppressive atmosphere for the country’s Jews, and leading al...
Aug 17, 2022•34 min
On Friday, August 5, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Breaking Dawn in response to days of threats from the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) that it would attack Israel. The conflict, which lasted nearly three days, saw over 1,100 rockets launched towards Israel by PIJ. The IDF killed several high-ranking PIJ operatives and destroyed much of the terror group’s military capabilities. Listen to AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson, in conver...
Aug 11, 2022•21 min
Hear behind-the-scenes details about AJC’s new podcast series The Forgotten Exodus, featuring its host Manya Brachear Pashman and cartoonist and musician Carol Isaacs, who shares more about her family’s flight from rising antisemitism in Iraq, as depicted in her graphic memoir and animated film, The Wolf of Baghdad . The Forgotten Exodus , which has ranked number one on Apple’s Jewish podcast chart since it was launched on August 1, is the first-ever podcast series focused exclusively on the ric...
Aug 04, 2022•14 min
