Economic vulnerability affects 1 in 4 American Jews, but it doesn’t affect all of them equally, writes Tulane University sociologist Ilana Horwitz in her recent SAPIR article, “Poverty and Jewish Community.” The difference between a life of temporary hardship and one of permanent poverty may, in some circumstances, boil down to whether a person or family is embedded deeply in Jewish life. Why is that the case? What does this finding reveal about the invisible safety net of Jewish belonging? And what are the practical interventions at our disposal to help alleviate financial strain?

Horwitz joined Managing Editor Phil Getz for an in-depth discussion about poverty and the American Jewish community.

Read Ilana Horwitz’s essay: https://sapirjournal.org/money/2025/poverty-and-jewish-community/

Watch the virtual discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ueBdD9TltQ

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove