Identity/Crisis

What happens when Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus” is no longer read as a civic creed, but as a provocation about who belongs—and what a democracy owes the vulnerable? In this episode, Yehuda Kurtzer reflects
on the normalization of cruelty toward immigrants in America, the present state violence being carried out in Minneapolis, and the uneasy silence of Jewish institutions when civil rights are clearly under assault. He then turns the lens toward Israel—asking what it means for Jews in both democracies to draw the line not between “us” and “them,” but between cruelty and compassion.

 

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Antizionism has become a badge of belonging—and a tool of exclusion. On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Shaul Kelner, professor of Jewish Studies and Sociology at Vanderbilt University, about how anti-Zionism operates not only as an argument but as a movement culture—shaping who belongs on the American left and what counts as “moral.” Together, they explore what it would mean to respond with clarity without collapsing every critique of Israel into the same category.

 

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Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Read Shaul Kelner’s article “American Antizionism” and subscribe to Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas.

Learn more about Rabbanut North America, our three-year rabbinic ordination program, and the newest cohort!

Did Yiddish ever really die?

On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Rukhl Schaechter, editor of the Yiddish Forverts, to explore the surprising renaissance of the Yiddish language—from new dictionaries and online media to Duolingo learners and Hasidic vernacular. Together they discuss what is drawing people back to the language, how Yiddish carries culture across generations, and why so many Jews are using it to seek connections to their roots in a moment of renewed searching.

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

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What does it mean to defend liberal democracy in a world shaped by power, domination, and moral compromise? In this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Washington Post columnist and author of The Case for American Power, Shadi Hamid, about whether liberal societies can wield power without betraying their own ideals. From Trump’s approach to Venezuela to the war in Gaza, their conversation asks whether restraint, morality, and democratic purpose can guide power in a fractured political moment.

You can find Shadi's book, The Case for American Power, HERE

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

JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS 

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Listen to young Israeli changemakers from our Hazon program on
the Canadian Jewish News's North Star podcast.

Who pays the price for identifying antisemitism?

In this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with journalist and Canadaland host Jesse Brown about his recent series What Is Happening Here and his decision to investigate the rise of anti-Zionism and antisemitism in Canada. Together, they examine why media and political institutions have struggled to respond and what it costs to name these realities publicly.

We're grateful to the Charles H. Revson Foundation for supporting the Shalom Hartman Institute's digital work, including Identity/Crisis.

 

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

JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS 

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

If you read our journal Sources, complete our reader survey by January 15.

Learn more about the Kogod Research Center, whose scholars develop the ideas of the Hartman Institute.