Identity/Crisis

What does the rise in settler violence in the West Bank reveal about the future of Israel?

In this episode, the first of our mini-series Israel/Today, Yehuda
Kurtzer and political scientist and public opinion expert Dahlia Scheindlin, author of The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel, explore why this violence is escalating and whether it can truly be separated from the broader settlement project. They discuss the role of the Israeli government and military, shifting Israeli public opinion, and the limits of condemning violence without confronting the deeper realities of occupation and annexation. Together, they consider whether Israeli political leaders can chart a different path forward.



Stay tuned for the rest of Israel/Today: a mini-series from Identity/Crisis on the high stakes of Israel’s historic election, the choices facing Israel’s citizens, and the potential consequences for the Jewish diaspora.



You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.

JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Register here for the Hartman Leadership Conference in San Francisco.

Are religious liberty and liberal democracy a natural match or are they destined to be in conflict?

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments about religious liberty, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with legal scholar Michael Avi Helfand to discuss current cases affecting Jewish religious freedoms. In Grand v. University Heights the Court will consider whether local officials can stop an Orthodox Jew from hosting a minyan in his home. And, in a case from Colorado, religious schools contend that accepting public funds for universal Pre-K should not require them to surrender their religious autonomy. Together, they explore the growing tension between freedom of religion and fears of
religious dominance and how that’s testing the constitutional
limits of state power.

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.
JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS



Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

High school seniors: learn more about and apply to our Hevruta
Gap-Year Program!

What does it mean to plant seeds for a future you may never see?

Following the death of Gloria Steinem, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Judith Rosenbaum, educator, historian, and CEO of the Jewish Women's Archive, to reflect on Steinem’s legacy, the power of feminism, and the long arc of social change. Together, they explore how Jewish women helped shape the feminist movement, how feminism transformed Jewish life, and why movements must balance urgency with patience. As a new generation inherits this work, they talk about what it takes to sustain
change, resist backlash, and build a future beyond one's own lifetime.



You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.

JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS



Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Learn about the scholars and the work of our Kogod Research Center.

What might happen if, instead of demanding certainty, we allowed ourselves to "pretend" belief and see where the journey leads?

Ahead of the High Holidays, Yehuda Kurtzer welcomes Rabbi Noa Kushner, founder of The Kitchen, a synagogue and institute in San Francisco, and the author of Pretend That You Believe: How To Enter Religion, to explore what faith means in a skeptical age. Through a conversation about holiness, awe, humility, and religious imagination, they challenge the consumer mindset that often influences contemporary
spirituality.

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.
JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS

In the face of rising antisemitism, what does courage look like?

Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with author Dara Horn about her new book, The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story for the Living, and the intense experiences that led her to write it. Together, they examine antisemitism on college campuses, the limits of Holocaust education, the meaning of Jewish peoplehood, and the challenge of distinguishing legitimate criticism of Israel from hate movements that seek to exclude Jews from public life. At the heart of their conversation is a question about what this moment demands: more knowledge, or the courage to speak out and act.

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. 

JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS 



Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Register for The Road to the Israeli Elections on September 8.