Identity/Crisis

Latest Episodes:

#56: American Zionism is at a Crossroads May 24, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, Ethan Tucker (Hadar Institute) joins host Yehuda Kurtzer to reflect on American Zionism’s long-term development and generational differences in the response to this moment of crisis. What are they grounded in? What has changed? And, what is the way forward for the American Jewish community?

#55: The Scandals and the Journalist May 05, 2021

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Hannah Dreyfus is a freelance reporter with an unusual but essential beat: reporting allegations of sexual misconduct in Jewish organizations. In this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Dreyfus about her recent story on a former senior rabbi at Central Synagogue and the process of reporting out allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior in Jewish communal settings.

#54: White Supremacy, Policing, and the Jews Apr 27, 2021

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In the wake of the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, Hartman Research Fellows Ginna Green (political strategist and writer) and Rivka Press Schwartz (SAR) join host Yehuda Kurtzer to reflect on the impact of the moment and to take a broader view at the American Jewish community's relationship to white supremacy and policing.

#53: The Archvillain of the American Jewish Experience Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

Bernie Madoff died in prison last week. In this week’s episode, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Felix Salmon (Axios, Slate Money) and Ben Sales (JTA) about his crimes and victims, and with Alicia Jo Rabins about her recent film, A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff.

#52: The Israeli Jewish Music Episode Apr 15, 2021

Show notes

Shayna Weiss (Brandeis University) and Joe Schwartz (Asif) join Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss Israeli music for this special Yom Ha'atzmaut episode, charting the 20th century greats, the journey of Mizrahi artists from margins to mainstream, and the great piyyut revival in popular music.

#51: Genocide, Antisemitism, and the Nomenclature of Hatred Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

James Loeffler joins host Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the development of the term "genocide," and the nuances of three newly-articulated, potentially competing, definitions of antisemitism.

IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism: https://www.state.gov/defining-anti-semitism/

The Nexus Document: https://israelandantisemitism.com/the-nexus-document/

The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism: https://jerusalemdeclaration.org/

#50: The American Jewish Music Episode Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

Host Yehuda Kurtzer convenes a panel of guests to discuss the past and present of American Jewish religious music, from Mordechai Ben David to Nissim Black to Debbie Friedman. Featuring Dovid Bashevkin (1840 Podcast), Yardaena Osband (Talking Talmud Podcast), Miri Miller (SHI NA), and Shira Hanau (JTA).

Episode playlist: https://spoti.fi/3vLFbMQ

Other Songs Discussed:
Im Hashem Lo Yivneh Bayis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckVYO9oI8vc
Lmaancha with Ben Shapiro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ-Km7RfBEs

#49: PJ Library: Children's Books, Grown-up Opinions Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

Guest host David Zvi Kalman asks Meredith Lewis (PJ Library) about how PJ Library works, how the organization is responding to criticism, and what the future of Jewish children's literature might look like.

#48: Why Wasn't There a Jewish Institutional Apocalypse? Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

Felicia Herman (Natan Fund, Jewish Commmunity Response and Impact Fund), Hindy Poupko (UJA Federation of New York), and Andres Spokoiny (Jewish Funders Network) join Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the lessons of 2008, the role of Jewish philanthropy in the pandemic, and why we haven't seen the dire institutional turbulence many predicted one year ago.

#47: Our Pandemic Year: The Inner Life of Jewish Spaces Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

Yehuda Kurtzer gathers Rabbi Barry Dov Katz (Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale), Tilly Shemer (Hillel at University of Michigan), and Stephanie Ives (Beit Rabban Day School) to look back at one year of the pandemic: how COVID has impacted their institutions and changed their leadership in ways both temporary and permanent.

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