Think Twice with Jonathan Tobin

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Ep. 85: Karol Markowicz & Bethany Mandel: Start fighting the woke indoctrination of children Feb 23, 2023

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In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with authors Bethany Mandel and Karol Markowicz about their new book, Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation. The two, who are both journalists and mothers, discussed how the coronavirus pandemic weaponized the woke left’s efforts to use tactics to silence dissent.
Both point out that the easiest victims for those seeking to impose essential racist ideas like those of critical race theory and other leftist doctrines on the country are its children who are being discouraged from the independent thinking that is essential for a healthy democracy. They each say that developing a will to resist this assault on Western values and a culture of conformity is essential. As Markowicz says, “We all need to put up a fight and we need to start now.”
Check out their new book:
https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Youth-Progressives-Replacing-Radicalism/dp/1956007083

Ep. 84: David Bernstein: It’s time to separate government from race Feb 16, 2023

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In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with law professor and author David Bernstein about his new book, Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America.
According to Berstein, the hope that America might transcend its past history of racial division is being prevented by the efforts of critical race theorists and the vast number of people who benefit from efforts to make racial divisions permanent.
They discuss

The racist roots of US race classifications

The need to separate government from race

The permission slip race ideology gives to anti-Semitism

Check out Prof. Bernstein’s book - Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America https://www.amazon.com/Classified-Untold-Racial-Classification-America/dp/1637581734

Ep. 83: Tom Gross: ‘The Anti-Bibi hysteria is not working’ Feb 09, 2023

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In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with journalist Tom Gross about the biased coverage of Israel as well as the debate about the Netanyahu government’s proposals for judicial reform.

Ep. 82: Daniel Pipes: Violence is not the biggest threat to Israel Feb 02, 2023

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JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Middle East Forum President Daniel Pipes who believes that the failure of Israel and its supporters to insist that the Palestinians concede defeat in their efforts to destroy the Jewish is the reason why the conflict continues. Pipes also argues that the main challenge to Israel is not Palestinian terrorism, terrible though it may be. Palestinian ability to generate “toxic hostility among leftists who accept the “Palestinian narrative at the UN and other international forums that have as their goal making it a pariah state,” is a much greater strategic threat.
The acceptance of the “Palestinian narrative” among left-wing elites and those who wish to do harm to the Jewish state is a problem to which Israelis are not paying enough attention.

Ep. 81: Bernie Marcus: 'Jews who give money to Harvard are dumb' Jan 26, 2023

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In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with entrepreneur and philanthropist Bernie Marcus, the founder of the Home Depot chain of stores, to his new book, Kick Up Some Dust: Lessons on Thinking Big, Giving Back, and Doing It Yourself. Marcus believes that Americans need to rediscover capitalism and hard work and reject woke socialist myths.
He’s just as angry about what he considers self-destructive behavior on the part of American Jews, who continue to support institutions and universities that promote woke antisemitism. “Jews are not the brightest people in the world,” asserts Marcus. Just as dangerous is the fact that groups that are supposed to be defending Jewish interests, like the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, are, he says, “not pulling their weight,” when it comes to fighting antisemitism. He is equally outraged by anti-Israel organizations like J Street. Jews, he said, need to wake up and begin to defend their interests just as Americans need to reject the left’s toxic ideas.

Ep. 80: Jerome Marcus: A 'democratic revolution' against a court with unlimited power? | Jan 19, 2023

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In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with legal expert Jerome Marcus about the controversy over plans to reform Israel’s judiciary. The two take a deep dive into the almost unlimited power that the Israeli Supreme Court has seized.
They also talk about the need for legislation that would restore some checks and balances to a system where the justices have given themselves the right to interfere in virtually every aspect of Israeli life on the basis of nothing more than their own idea about what is “reasonable.”
In Marcus’ view the impetus for this judicial power grab is the belief by secular liberal elites that they have the right to impose their supposedly more “enlightened” beliefs on the country’s right-wing and religious majority. “The secular left thinks Israel is illegitimate if they’re not running things,” says Marcus.

Ep. 79: Gil Troy: The sky isn’t falling on Israeli democracy Jan 12, 2023

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In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with historian Gil Troy about the legacy of Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement and critiques how understanding his journey can help inform our view of Israel today.
Tobin and Troy discuss Herzl’s relevance to contemporary Jewish life as well as the way it should influence our view of Jewish nationalism, which is not only justified but a positive force in the world. Troy also dismisses the “chicken little” hysteria from some of the new Israeli government’s critics who are wrongly claiming that the sky is falling on Israeli democracy, a stand that isn’t justified by the facts.

Ep. 77: Malcolm Hoenlein: ‘I’m tired of memorials to dead Jews’ Jan 05, 2023

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JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, about the uproar over Israel’s new government and the surge in antisemitism. Tobin argues that there are three reasons why the predictions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition will cause permanent damage to the U.S.-Israel alliance and the relationship between the Jewish state and American Jewry are overblown.
Hoenlein points out that successful efforts to achieve Jewish unity shouldn’t be underestimated. He also pointed out that a lot of the rhetoric about antisemitism is misplaced, declaring, “I’m tired of memorials for dead Jews. I'm tired of how good the world is at expressing regret. I want it to stand up for living Jews and living Jewish state.”
Check out the full story: jns.org/im-tired-of-memorials-for-dead-jews/

Ep. 77: Fiamma Nirenstein: United Nations is a factory producing antisemitism Dec 29, 2022

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JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with author and JNS columnist Fiamma Nirenstein about antisemitism in Europe. Nirenstein says that accusations about new Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni being an antisemite or fascist are untrue. She argues that the left now constitutes a greater threat to Jews than the right.
In her view, the United Nations is a factory for antisemitism and the so-called “human rights” organizations are spewing lies about Israel and the Palestinians. The writer says the future of Jews in Europe is problematic. “I’m always pessimistic about the future of Jews outside of Israel.” Nirenstein also believes that the left’s control of popular culture outlets as well as much of the media accounts for the growth of anti-Zionism among the general populations in Europe as well as undermining Jewish support for Israel.

Ep. 76: Abe Greenwald: Trump is the only person who could re-elect Biden Dec 22, 2022

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JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Commentary magazine executive editor Abe Greenwald about the future of conservatism. They discuss the need for Republicans to get to the post-Trump era as soon as possible while holding on to his populist spirit and not reverting to the policies of the failed establishment the former president displaced. Both think that Trump was the only person who could re-elect Biden in 2024.
Going into the Trump-Kanye West controversy, Greenwald says he was particularly troubled by Dave Chapelle’s Saturday Night Live monologue on the subject in part because of the way it ignored African-American violence against Jews. But more than that, Chapelle said Jews shouldn’t blame blacks for their problems. That was, Greenwald says, “preposterous,” because it was West who blamed the Jews for his problems.

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