In the season premiere of Jewish Crossroads, journalist Tamar Ish-Shalom sits down with opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid for a candid conversation about the shifting landscape of Israel–U.S. relations. Lapid voices concern over the election of New York City’s new mayor, Zohrahn Mamdani, whom he accuses of applying double standards toward Israel and the Jewish people. The episode also revisits the impact of October 7 on American Jewry and sets the stage for the season’s wider exploration of political change, identity, and the evolving ties between Israel and the United States.

Join us for a conversation that will make you stop, think, and maybe even rethink.

If you’d like to be in touch with us, contact: [email protected]

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In this episode, Tamar Ish Shalom sits down with journalist and commentator Batya Ungar-Sargon, whose journey from progressive to outspoken critic of “woke” culture has made her one of the most provocative voices in American political discourse.

Batya is the author of two books (a third on Jews and the left is in the works) – Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy and Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women. She calls herself a “MAGA leftist” and an enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump, while at the same time insisting that the voices of ordinary Americans be part of the national conversation.

Agree or disagree with her, Batya challenges assumptions about media, politics, and democracy itself. Tamar and Batya discuss her unlikely trajectory, the blind spots of American elites, and why talking about class is so often avoided.

Join us for a conversation that will make you stop, think, and maybe even rethink.

If you’d like to be in touch with us, contact: [email protected]

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In this episode of Jewish Crossroads, Tamar is joined by Ilan Goldenberg, Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at J Street. Goldenberg served in both the Obama and Biden administrations and has a profound understanding of Israel, the Middle East, and the American Jewish community. His perspective is shaped not just by his years in policy, but by a personal biography that bridges worlds.

Born in Jerusalem to American parents, Ilan moved to New Jersey at the age of eight. He grew up straddling identities — fluent in Hebrew, versed in Arabic, and deeply rooted in both American and Israeli life.

In the Obama administration, Ilan advised on Middle East policy from the Pentagon to the State Department, working on issues ranging from Iran’s nuclear program to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. He served as chief of staff to the U.S. Special Envoy under Secretary Kerry. In the Biden era, he continued shaping U.S. policy as special advise Biden, Harris, and the Middle East: Behind the Scenes with Ilan Goldenbergr to Vice President Kamala Harris on Middle East defense and technology, and later as national director for Jewish Outreach in Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign.

With his unique background and wealth of experience, he offers insight into some of the most urgent debates shaping U.S.-Israel relations, the future of American diplomacy in the region, and the evolving role of the Jewish community in American politics.

If you’d like to be in touch with us, contact: [email protected]

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In this episode of Jewish Crossroads, Tamar sits down with Rabbi Sara Hurwitz — trailblazer, teacher, and one of the most courageous voices reshaping the boundaries of modern Orthodoxy. From a young age, Rabbi Hurwitz felt called to public service in the world of Torah, but there was no roadmap for a woman to walk this path. In 2009, her ordination by Rabbi Avi Weiss and Rabbi Daniel Sperber marked a historic and controversial turning point, igniting debate across the Orthodox world. Yet Rabbi Hurwitz’s story is not one of confrontation, but of transformation.

As the co-founder and president of Yeshivat Maharat — the first Orthodox institution to ordain women as rabbis, she has been named one of the 50 most influential Jews by The Forward and one of Newsweek’s 50 most influential rabbis. Rabbi Hurwitz speaks with Tamar about breaking barriers, leading with conviction, what it’s been like for visibly Orthodox Jews post-October 7, and building a future where every voice in the Torah world can be heard.

If you’d like to be in touch with us, contact: [email protected]

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In this episode of Jewish Crossroads, Tamar speaks with Dr. Mijal Bitton — scholar, spiritual leader, and one of the clearest voices to cut through the fog of antisemitism after October 7. In the wake of atrocity, as places that once stood for justice went silent, Dr. Bitton stood up. Her words — fierce, unsparing, heartbroken — echoed across a shaken Jewish world. This conversation explores what it means to fight for Jewish dignity in an era of erasure — to call out hatred without flinching. It is a discussion of faith, identity, memory, and what it means to lead when the cost of silence is too high. But Dr. Bitton’s power doesn’t spring only from moral courage. It comes from depth. As a Latina Sephardic Orthodox woman, as a scholar of American Jewish life, and as a leader rooted in both tradition and the city streets of contemporary America, she offers a lens unlike any other.

If you’d like to be in touch with us, contact: [email protected]

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In this episode of Jewish Crossroads, Tamar speaks with Roya Hakakian, the acclaimed Jewish Iranian-American writer, journalist, and poet. While the headlines say "ceasefire," nothing truly feels at rest. Tensions between Israel and the Iranian regime remain thick in the air, and the deeper currents shaping the region are still in motion. That’s why Roya is the perfect guest. With the insight of someone who lived through Iran’s revolution and exile, she offers a perspective that goes beyond geopolitics. Roya doesn’t just analyze events, she gives voice to the people living through them – to questions of identity, memory, and truth. This conversation is essential if you want to understand not just the facts on the ground in Iran, but the soul of a society.

If you’d like to be in touch with us, contact: [email protected]

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In the latest episode of Jewish Crossroads, Tamar sits down with acclaimed writer Adam Kirsch to unpack the most important concept you've probably never fully understood: settler colonialism. From campus encampments to the terror attack on embassy staff in D.C., and even the shocking celebration of October 7th by some academics — this is the lens that explains it all. Kirsch offers one of the clearest, most incisive explanations of the ideology fueling today’s most alarming movements. If you want to make sense of this moment, don’t miss this essential conversation.

If you’d like to be in touch with us, contact: [email protected]

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In this episode, Tamar reflects on a Friday night dinner that took an unexpected turn — a conversation about how one podcast has become a lifeline for American Jews navigating an era of upheaval. Call Me Back, hosted by Dan Senor, is no longer just a podcast. It’s a ritual, a cultural touchstone, and for many, a new pillar of Jewish identity.

Dan Senor joins Tamar to unpack how Call Me Back rose to prominence in the American Jewish world, and why its impact goes far beyond politics or news. It’s about belonging, about searching for clarity in chaos, and about the dialogue between Israel and the Diaspora that now feels more urgent than ever.

If you’d like to be in touch with us, contact: [email protected]

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In this episode, Tamar sits down with Guri Alfi and Moshe Samuels – the creative minds behind The New Jew, a groundbreaking Israeli documentary series exploring Jewish life in America. Guri, one of Israel’s most beloved comedians, and Moshe, an acclaimed director and producer, aren’t American Jews themselves. But over the last few years, they’ve immersed themselves in the hopes, challenges, and transformations of American Jewry.

Their journey began with a mission: to bridge the growing gap between Israeli and American Jews. That mission took shape in The New Jew, a humorous, heartfelt exploration of Jewish identity across the ocean. Now, after October 7, they’ve returned to the U.S. to ask deeper, harder questions – filming a new season in a very different world.

Tamar speaks with them about what’s changed since their first trip, what surprised them most in Jewish America after October 7, and what Israelis still don’t understand about their American cousins. With insight and candor, they reflect on the shifting relationship between the two largest Jewish communities in the world – and what it means to be part of a global Jewish story in a time of crisis and reconnection.

This episode was recorded in March 2025, and reflects events and sentiments from that time.*

If you’d like to be in touch with us, contact: [email protected]

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In this episode of Jewish Crossroads, Tamar sits down with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl – Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York and one of the most influential spiritual leaders in America today. Rabbi Buchdahl leads one of the largest and most vibrant congregations in the country, but what truly sets her apart is her ability to connect across lines of age, identity, and ideology. 

With honesty and grace, she tackles some of the most pressing questions facing Jews today: What does it mean to lead in a moment of profound crisis? How do we maintain Jewish unity in a time of growing fragmentation? And what role does faith play in coping with a world that can feel increasingly chaotic – and, at times, hostile?

In this wide-ranging conversation, Rabbi Buchdahl opens up about the responsibilities of leadership, the shifting terrain of American Jewish life, and how we can meet this moment with courage, compassion, and clarity.

* The episode was recorded in February 2025, and therefore any recent events, such as attacks, align with that timeline. 

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