As we prepare to celebrate our freedom from slavery, has the promised land lived up to the promise of Zionism? After October 7, can Israel’s internal differences be an asset rather than a liability? Moving forward, can the Israel-Diaspora relationship weather the range of emotions? Yes to all, argues Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel, in his recent essay in SAPIR. On March 31 we held a special conversation between SAPIR editor-in-chief Bret Stephens and the 11th President of the State of Israel, Isaac Herzog to discuss all this and more.

In her recent SAPIR essay, Mijal Bitton wrote that she does not identify as a Jew of color, despite being a non-white Jew, because the “term often feels more focused on “white” Jews than on people like me.” How is that the case? And what does it say about the political movement that accompanied the rise of the term? On Wednesday, March 26, Bitton joined Associate Editor Felicia Herman for a conversation on her essay, “Why I Am Not a Jew of Color.”

In the latest issue of SAPIR, Dana W. White observes that historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), once places that honored and taught the historical alliance between black and Jewish Americans, have now become spaces where antisemitism and anti-Zionism are actively encouraged.

How can our communities reinvigorate the long-neglected black and Jewish alliance, address misunderstandings, and rebuild trust? How do we celebrate our past accomplishments and pursue future objectives together? On Monday, January 27 former assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs under Secretary James Mattis, Dana W. White, joined SAPIR editor-in-chief Bret Stephens for a conversation on her recent SAPIR essay.

In the latest issue of SAPIR, Dana W. White observes that historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), once places that honored and taught the historical alliance between black and Jewish Americans, have now become spaces where antisemitism and anti-Zionism are actively encouraged.

How can our communities reinvigorate the long-neglected black and Jewish alliance, address misunderstandings, and rebuild trust? How do we celebrate our past accomplishments and pursue future objectives together? On Monday, January 27 former assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs under Secretary James Mattis, Dana W. White, joined SAPIR editor-in-chief Bret Stephens for a conversation on her recent SAPIR essay.

Critical theory – the study of the ways “oppression gets produced and reproduced within and across societies” – is the dominant method of inquiry in many areas of higher education, especially in the humanities and social sciences. Yet many scholars resist applying it honestly to the study of the Jewish people and Zionism. Were they to do so, argues Vanderbilt professor Shaul Kelner, they might find they had entirely misunderstood these categories and the place of Jews in the oppressor/oppressed dynamic.

On Tuesday, January 7, Professor Kelner joined SAPIR Associate Editor Felicia Herman to unpack his essay, “Turning Critical Theory on Its Head,” and discuss whether and how this might be changed.

This SAPIR Conversation was recorded live in New York City on December 16, 2024.

Since October 7, Israeli researchers and faculty have felt the chilling effects of a flourishing global boycott movement. In a shift that’s taken hold at high levels of American academia, Israeli scholars and universities have been barred from conferences, squeezed out of research grants, and cut out of collaboration with colleagues around the world.

On November 27th, 2023, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren laid out his vision for Israel’s endgame in Gaza. Now, more than ten months after its publication, how should we understand the realistic potential for “a day after”? Will this proverbial day ever arrive? And how does last fall’s vision hold up? As the final event in SAPIR's 'One Year Later' series, former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren joined SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman for a discussion on what’s changed and what comes next.

Following Hamas’ October 7 attack, many in the Jewish community were profoundly distressed by those on the Left who celebrated the attack or immediately cast blame at the victims of the massacre. To grapple with these reactions, National Council of Jewish Women CEO Sheila Katz and Joel Rubin joined SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman for a virtual conversation last fall.