Identity/Crisis

How should North American Jewish communities balance security, vibrant communal life, and moral purpose?

Recorded live in Jerusalem during the Shalom Hartman Institute's Community Leadership Program, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Barry Finestone, President and CEO of the Jim Joseph Foundation, to explore the future of North American Jewish life. Together, they examine the challenges of antisemitism, Jewish education, philanthropy, leadership, and the future of Jewish thriving, and ask what it means not only to survive but also excel as a community.



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Learn here how Siach helps young Jews grapple with big questions.

Can Music Heal a Divided Society?

Recorded live at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Yehuda
Kurtzer sits down with Israeli artist, activist, and Hadag Nahash frontman
Shaanan Streett for a wide-ranging conversation about hip-hop, dissent,
patriotism, and the role of artists in times of crisis. Through songs and
stories, Streett reflects on the judicial reform protests, October 7, Israeli-Palestinian relations, and the power of music to build empathy across divides.

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Can Zionism survive a crisis of its own making?

In this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Zachary Truboff, director of the Institute for Agunah Research and Education at the International Beit Din, to discuss the moral and political questions facing Israel after October 7. As Israelis grapple with war, trauma, and the responsibilities of power, they explore whether Zionism has adequately reckoned with its own vulnerabilities, assumptions, and failures. Their conversation examines the tension between victimhood and agency, the demands of collective responsibility, and what it would mean for Zionism to undergo a process of teshuvah of its own.

 

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Money shapes who can access Jewish life—and who gets left out. In this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with sociologist Ilana Horwitz about the overlooked reality of a quarter of American Jews living in economic vulnerability, challenging the persistent myth of universal Jewish affluence. Drawing on Horwitz’s research, they explore how class and financial instability intersect with Jewish education, communal participation, and belonging.

 

This episode is sponsored in honor of Robert Kogod’s 95th birthday by his loving family.

 

Read Ilana Horwitz’s article on affordability and Jewish education in Sources.

 

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This episode of Identity/Crisis was originally released on Tuesday, March 10, 2026

What does it mean to tell Jewish stories in a moment of political polarization and distortion?

On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer is joined by historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela to examine the role of the historian in public life: not to offer talking points or easy analogies, but to deepen public understanding in a time of simplification and certainty. Through a conversation about education, Jewish identity, and the place of Jews in American history, they consider why richer storytelling matters—and what it can offer to students, Jews, and the broader public.

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