Identity/Crisis

Latest Episodes:

The Sound and the Fury Jun 19, 2025

Show notes

After a week of turning our attention to the skies above Israel and Iran, Identity/Crisis is turning to our colleagues on the ground and asking: what is it like to be living in Israel right now – as a parent, as a Palestinian citizen of Israel, as an activist, as an American overseas?

On this week’s special episode, we invite you to cut through the noise as Yehuda Kurtzer elevates the voices of seven staff and faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem: Jordanna Amsel, Shraga Bar-On, Ronit Heyd, Elana Stein Hain, Elhanan Miller, Rana Fahoum, and Shiri Winter-Mersel.

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Hartman Summer, Interrupted Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

How can we maintain the spirit of care and learning, even if we can’t gather in person?

In the wake of this new stage of Israel’s war with Iran, Hartman’s plans for a summer of leadership and learning in Jerusalem have been evolving, day by day, hour by hour. Later this week on Identity/Crisis, we'll share an episode elevating voices of Israelis living amidst this crisis; today, Yehuda Kurtzer reflects on the days since the war began, expresses concern for Jewish leaders navigating this war moment with all its layers, and shares his hope that we will be together again in Jerusalem soon.

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.

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Hate Crimes in the Name of Resistance — with Amy Spitalnick Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

"At the end of the day, when Jews are being targeted, that's antisemitism."

Amy Spitalnick, Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) CEO

This week, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Amy to discuss why the response from Jewish communities, the general public, and the U.S. government to attacks in Washington, DC and Boulder, CO has varied widely—and how we can address the rise in antisemitism without encroaching on civil liberties.

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Is the War Still Worth it?– with Tal Becker May 29, 2025

Show notes

After 600 days, is the appetite for continuing the war with Hamas waning among its supporters? This week on Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Tal Becker, Shalom Hartman Institute Vice President and former Legal Adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss war strategy, moral obligation, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

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When Do We Speak Up? – with Abe Foxman May 20, 2025

Show notes

What does moral courage look like in an age of rising antisemitism and political polarization? In this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer is joined by longtime ADL leader and Holocaust survivor Abe Foxman for a raw, intergenerational conversation about fear, leadership, and the dangers of silence.

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You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.
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Jewish in the Heartland May 13, 2025

Show notes

What can a small Jewish community in Omaha, Nebraska teach us about power, memory, and belonging? In this special monologue episode of Identity/Crisis recorded on the road in the American heartland, Yehuda Kurtzer reflects, in four acts, on his Midwest travels and what he learned about the quiet strength — and quiet fears — shaping Jewish life today.

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A Jewish Paradigm for Caring for the Sick – with Sara Labaton May 06, 2025

Show notes

What does it mean to care for the sick—not just medically, but morally and spiritually?

In this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer invites Sara Labaton, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, to share her essay, Permission and Obligation: A Jewish Paradigm for Care, from the Spring issue of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. Drawing from personal experience and Jewish texts, Sara explores the complexities of caregiving and examines the role of doctors, patients, and the community in the healing process.

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Naomi Shemer’s Soundtrack of Israel at 77 - with Moti Zeira Apr 29, 2025

Show notes

What does it mean to keep singing when the world is broken? In this special Yom Ha’atzmaut episode of Identity/Crisis, host Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Moti Zeira — biographer of legendary Israeli musician Naomi Shemer and a leading voice in Israeli cultural renewal — to explore how music carries the weight of memory, protest, and hope.

You can listen to our playlist of songs by Naomi Shemer HERE

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The Politics of Holocaust Memory in Israel – with Dani Dayan Apr 22, 2025

Show notes

Who gets to tell the stories of the past, and what influence do they have on the story of the present and the future? This week marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust. In advance of Yom HaShoah, host Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Dani Dayan, Chairman ofYad Vashem, to discuss the ways in which memory is political, how reflections of the past implicate the present, and the future of holocaust remembrance when there are no more living survivors to share their stories.

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How is this Seder Different from Other Seders?—with Dara Horn Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

Take a great story from the past, add an obligation to live that story as though you’re in it, multiply by the complexities of your closest relationships, add wine, subtract food, and you have a seder – good luck.

This week on Identity/Crisis, host Yehuda Kurtzer and Dara Horn, author of One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe, get us ready for Passover with a robust conversation on monotheism as a stand against tyranny, scapegoats, and what Horn sees as the overriding and abiding message of the holiday: hope.

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. 

JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS 