Kikar

As Summer turns to Fall, Jewish students are arriving on college campuses across the United States. On this week’s Kikar, Elliot Kaufman of the Wall Street Journal joins Jonathan Silver to discuss the student politics at the most prominent colleges and universities, where a strategy of political organizing known as “intersectionality” puts Jewish students on the defensive.   Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

"The conflict in the north is a matter of when, not if.” That’s what Federation for Defense of Democracies Senior Vice President Jonathan Schanzer says about the Iranian military threat to Israel. Over the last several years, Iran has built up sophisticated missile and drone bases throughout Syria, and the threat of war with the Jewish State remains on of their key points of leverage in Iran’s dealings with the West and the Sunni powers. In this episode of Kikar, Dr. Schanzer joins Jonathan Silver to explore FDD’s new report, “Controlled Chaos: The Escalation of Conflict between Israel and Iran in War-Torn Syria.   Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

This week, we look at the intellectual foundations of Jewish social justice. Where did Tikkun Olam come from and how did this obscure Kabbalistic precept take over American Judaism? This week’s guest, Jonathan Neumann, is the author of To Heal the World?: How the Jewish Left Corrupts Judaism and Endangers Israel. He joins Jonathan Silver for a discussion about the history, interpretative strategy, political judgements, and religious implications of a religious tradition coopted by progressive politics. Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

On July 19, 2018, the Knesset amended the Basic Laws, Israel’s fundamental law that serves as its de facto constitution. This addition strengthens Israel’s Jewish identity and legally codifies long-standing Israeli customs. Shabbat is to be a national day of rest. Hebrew is to be Israel’s official language. Jerusalem, Israel’s capital. So obviously consistent with Israel’s civic practices for many years, many people who learned about the Nation-State Law were surprised that these amendments were not already legally protected. And yet, the Nation-State Law has provoked criticism from the Diaspora. What does it really say, and what is behind the fuss? Professor Eugene Kontorovich joins Jonathan Silver to explain the rationale behind the Nation-State Law, discuss how it relates to fundamental Zionist purposes, and whether the its loudest critics are looking for an excuse to “break-up” with Israel. Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

There is no more dangerous military threat to the State of Israel than Iran, whose government regularly issues calls for Israel’s destruction, funds terrorist activity against Israel, and supports militant organizations throughout the region. Israeli intelligence has recently uncovered a trove of evidence documenting that Iran’s nuclear program had been designed for weaponization from the very beginning. That is why understanding Iran, not only its policies and strategic concept, but also its people, is necessary for Israeli security. And it would seem that changes may be afoot there. Not only among wealthy, idealistic Iranians, but among the country’s vast working class. Sensing an opportunity to speak through social media directly to the Iranian people, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently offered gestures of friendship to Iranians. What is behind this diplomatic strategy? How have these gestures been received? What is provoking the popular Iranian protests, and what political changes might they foreshadow? Commentary senior writer Sohrab Ahmari joins Jonathan Silver on this week’s Kikar to take a tour of the Iranian political landscape, peering below the rhetoric of government officials to try and understand Iranian national sentiment. Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

On Monday, July 9, 2018, President Trump announced his selection of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Judge Kavanaugh is known as a constitutional originalist, and many Jewish American institutions soon expressed their skepticism, and even alarm. That alarm has brought to light a significant cleavage in the way that the Jewish community thinks about the role of the Supreme Court.  On this week’s episode of Kikar, Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin, president of the Jewish Coalition for Reigious Liberty, joins Jonathan Silver to discuss the most pressing legal issues of consequence to the American Jewish community, and how we should evaluate a prospective Supreme Court justice with Judge Kavanaugh’s jurisprudential approach. Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

The statistics are simply staggering. Numbering roughly 1 million citizens, the haredi—or ultra-Orthodox—population of Israel is the country's fastest-growing demographic group. Today, close to a third of Israeli first-graders are enrolled in haredi schools. The future of the Jewish state is thus closely tied to the future of this sector. In this episode of Kikar, Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer, editor of the groundbreaking journal of haredi thought Tzarich Iyun, joins Jonathan Silver for a discussion about this unique community and what it can gain from an engagement with the conservative tradition. Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

In 1940, the Zionist movement's three most prominent leaders each made independent journeys to America in the hopes of raising a Jewish army to fight Hitler. All of them failed. In his new book, Racing Against History, Rich Richman recounts this incredible episode in modern Jewish history. He joins Kikar to discuss his book and what the failure of these Zionist leaders can teach us about American Jewry today. Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

Dennis Prager is one of the most prominent and influential Jewish conservatives in the world. In this episode, he joins Kikar to discuss his newest book, The Rational Bible: Exodus—an original commentary on one of the Torah's most engrossing books—as well as what Jewish wisdom has to offer American patriots. Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

On Monday, June 5, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a case that seemed to pit the principles of religious freedom and free expression against the anti-discrimination claims of the LGBT community. In this episode of Kikar, Yuval Levin, one of America's leading conservative intellectuals, joins Jonathan Silver to discuss the case, the majority opinion, and the Jewish divide on religious liberty. Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.

As rockets again fly from Gaza into Israel, Jonathan Silver sits with Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Elliott Abrams to discuss the media strategy of Hamas, Israeli security and alliance management, and whether there is a deeper moral argument for the use of Jewish power to defend Jewish lives. Kikar is brought to you by the Jewish Leadership Conference (JLC). To learn more about the JLC, visit www.jewishleadershipconference.org.