Why does American policy in the Middle East look the way it does? Has it always been this way? How is it intertwined with religious life and literacy in America? And how does the Jewish story—from the Bible to today—help us understand something important about the American story?

To unpack all of this, Ari spoke to Walter Russel Mead—Global View columnist at the Wall Street Journal, Professor of Foreign Affairs at Bard College, and author of the fantastic new book “The Arc Of A Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish People”.

They spoke about John Adams’s proto-Zionism; the English Reformation; Erastianism and religious toleration; the two sides of nationalism; Balaji Srinavasan and Theodor Herzl; Cyrus the Great in both Iranian and American politics; Russian Middle East policy from Stalin to Putin; what rising antisemitism teaches about the health of the American republic; and how the American story properly understood relates to the fate of the Jewish people.

You can find Walter’s latest book here: https://www.amazon.com/Arc-Covenant-United-States-Israel-ebook/dp/B01EQ2S3RY

Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.