On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Hebrew calendar, Israeli Jews in Tel Aviv clashed about what it means for Judaism to manifest in the public square, tensions that relate directly to recent political battles over the character of the Jewish State. Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Yossi Klein Halevi and Masua Sagiv to process these events and interrogate their emotional reactions to the protests, the integrity of Jewish prayer, the perils of partisanship, and what it means to be consistent in one's commitment to democracy. 
Street fights over prayer offer liberal Israelis a chance to define a Judaism they can believe in by Masua Sagiv
The state of our brokenness by Yossi Klein Halevi

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Yom Kippur in Dizengoff Square

In a frenzied media cycle, Identity/Crisis delves into the big ideas behind the news from a uniquely Jewish perspective. From the Shalom Hartman Institute, host Yehuda Kurtzer invites leading thinkers to unpack current events effecting Jewish communities in North America, Israel, and around the world, revealing the core Jewish values underlying the issues that matter to you.
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As university life becomes increasingly volatile for Jewish students, Jewish leaders and institutions on campus are faced with the challenge of supporting and empowering students in navigating tumultuous times. This week, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Jason Rubenstein, chaplain at Yale University and future executive director of Harvard Hillel, about the dynamics of Jewish student life and role of Hillels in creating spaces for Jewish students to learn, lead, and live in diverse and pluralistic communities.

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The Role of Hillel on Campus

Celebrating Jewish redemption on Passover this year feels nearly impossible, while the Israel-Hamas war rages on and so many hostages remain in captivity. Can the Exodus story and the raw pain of the current moment exist together at the seder table? In this episode, Yehuda Kurtzer turns to president of Hebrew College, Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, to share her thinking on intergenerational disagreements, communal boundaries, prayer, and freedom as we approach the holiday.

In Every Generation Haggadah Supplements

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Enacting Redemption

As we mark 6 months since October 7 and approach the holiday of Passover, questions of communal memory feel more critical than ever. This week, guest host Sara Labaton speaks with Raquel Ukeles, Head of Collections at the National Library of Israel, about how the library is grappling with preservation, ownership, stewardship, and accessibility while creating a physical and cultural gathering place that represents all the communities whose heritage it houses. 
 
 
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Echoes of History at the National Library of Israel

The organizations that constitute the Jewish world—schools, synagogues, social service agencies, philanthropic institutions, and more—keep Judaism alive, yet not everyone who works in that world is Jewish. In this episode, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Darin McKeever, CEO of the William Davidson Foundation, about his experience leading a Jewish organization as a non-Jew, navigating Jewish culture, Israeli politics, and questions of identity and belonging. 
 
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Alone, Adjacent, and Among

Jewish organizations are finding it increasingly challenging to represent the wide diversity of North American perspectives on Zionism. On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with David Matlow about his lawsuit against the Toronto Zionist Council and the responsibilities of Zionist organizations in their representation of the voices of the Jewish people.

This episode of Identity/Crisis is sponsored by the Howard and Irene Levine Family Foundation

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Yom Kippur in Dizengoff Square

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