Meet David Bernstein, the founder and CEO of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values (JILV). JILV helps Jewish organizations and individuals hold constructive conversations about critical social justice. David is the past President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and former executive director of the David Project. David is also the author of the book “Woke Antisemitism: How a Progressive Ideology Harms Jews.”

As many listeners know, since 2014 I have been concerned about progressive thought and the negative impact it is having on our sense making institutions. Pointing out flaws of this school of thought pre 10/7 was difficult. Criticism of social justice theory, diversity equity and inclusion and indigenous land recognition was oftentimes met with accusations of racism and hate. However, since 10/7 it has become easier. The reaction progressives had to the horrors Hamas unleashed on the Jewish people have awoken American liberals. As a result, many liberals are starting to understand the negative implications of progressive ideology.

As you will soon hear, David is a liberal who has been thinking about this ideology for way longer than I have...and he has the scars to prove it. I respect David for the decades he has spent attempting to educate the liberal world of the harms progressive ideology presents. When I look at David's career, I think of the quote from John Ruskin: “The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion, all in one.”

In this episode we cover...

• The difference between liberals and progressives
• The reasons why liberals went along with progressive thought for so long
• Why the current social justice movement isn't an extension of Martin Luther King's civil rights movement
• What is the best path forward with regards to DEI
• Why the Jewish people returning to their ancestral homeland doesn't meet the criteria of progressives who promote indigenous groups reclaiming their land.
• David's views on Israel's war against Hamas and the concept just war theory
• The difference between antisemitism on the left and right and which form David believes is the greatest threat
• And finally, how best to speak to liberals about why progressive thought is a threat to the American Jewish community