#343: The Weaponization of Antisemitism - with Rabbi Jill Jacobs and Kevin Rachlin
PeaceCast
This is a recording of a New Jewish Narrative webinar from June 5th, 2025. We are living through a moment in the United States when we see both that antisemitism is rising and that the Trump administration is weaponizing antisemitism to silence its critics and to attack academia. For years, NJN has been a leader in making sure that efforts to counter antisemitism are not exploited to violate civil liberties. For this conversation, NJN's President and CEO Hadar Susskind was joined by two leaders who we frequently partner with for a discussion on antisemitism and its weaponization. Rabbi...
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#342: The Perimeter- Breaking the Silence's Gaza Report
PeaceCast
This is a recording of a New Jewish Narrative webinar from June 4th, 2025. "The perimeter" is the term used to describe the ever-expanding buffer zone on the Gaza side of the entire Israel-Gaza border from which Palestinians have been forcibly removed since the beginning of the war. As Breaking the Silence's recent report demonstrates, the area has over time been completely decimated and razed to the ground, at the expense of Palestinian residential homes and neighbourhoods, industrial areas, greenhouses, agricultural land and much more. To discuss this report and recent stories from...
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#341: No Way But Forward - Book Talk with Brian Barber
PeaceCast
Brian K Barber's new book, No Way But Forward: Life Stories of Three Families in the Gaza Strip, is a heart-wrenching piece of nonfiction. Barber, a psychologist and researcher, has cultivated real relationships with three families in Gaza since 1995, allowing him to tell their stories with rare depth and authenticity. Read the book: Learn more:
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#340: Critical Issues- Trump, Gaza, and Censorship with Dr. Shibley Telhami
PeaceCast
This is a recording of an NJN webinar on April 24th, 2025 Drs. Shibley Telhami and Marc Lynch, co-chairs of the Middle East Scholar Barometer, say that they have seen a “chilling effect" on the working atmosphere for Middle East scholars. Many US-based academics and scholars already felt an increasing need to self-censor when addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue professionally. The Trump administration has put unprecedented pressure on higher education. Now, scholars face an environment in which the intensity and pace of campus protests have subsided, but the overall environment has...
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#339: A Briefing with Yair Golan
PeaceCast
Recording of a NJN webinar on April 16, 2025 Yair Golan is the leader of The Democrats, a political party formed last year when the Labor and Meretz parties merged. Before entering politics, he had a distinguished military career, retiring as a Major General and serving as Deputy Chief of Staff of the IDF. His actions on the morning of October 7th – in which he rushed on his own accord to the area around Gaza and rescued people from Hamas attacks – have earned him a special status in Israel. This conversation, hosted by NJN President and CEO Hadar Susskind and NJN Co-Chair Nomi...
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#338: Update from Peace Now- with Lior Amihai and Hagit Ofran
PeaceCast
Recording of an NJN webinar on April 3, 2025. The conversation, anchored by NJN President & CEO Hadar Susskind, features Hagit Ofran and Lior Amihai from Peace Now. Our guests are on the ground, leading the push against settlements and the fight for for peace. Lior Amihai is the current Executive Director of Peace Now as well as a previous Executive Director of Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group. He also previously served as co-director of Settlement Watch. Hagit Ofran is the co-director of Peace Now’s Settlement Watch program. With two decades of experience tracking...
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#337: Habonim Dror and the Progressive Zionist Future
PeaceCast
In this episode of PeaceCast, Maxxe Albert-Deitch is joined by NJN Board members and Habonim Dror leaders Shaina Wasserman and Judah Altman. The conversation delves into the details of how Habonim Dror and New Jewish Narrative are connected, as well as how dialogue, discussion, and youth involvement help shape our broader community. This episode also includes some details about the World Zionist Congress elections and the shifting nature of progressive Zionism across generational lines. More info about Habonim Dror North America- Learn more about the Hatikvah Slate- Vote in the 2025 WZC...
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#336: Playing Zone Defense
PeaceCast
In this episode of PeaceCast, Maxxe Albert-Deitch is joined by NJN's Director of Government Relations, Madeleine Cereghino, for a discussion of President Trump's "flood the zone" tactics, and staying sane in the age of information overload. This episode also covers recent events at USAID and other federal agencies as well as at Columbia University.
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#335: Book Talk- In My Jewish State with Dr. Elana Sztokman
PeaceCast
NJN Deputy Communications Director Maxxe Albert-Deitch and Director of Development Karen Paul spoke with Dr. Elana Sztokman about her new book, In My Jewish State. In this book, Dr. Sztokman uses her professional skills of rhetorical analysis cultivated from years of anthropological research, and unpacks the language and ideas that drive the pro-Israel advocacy movement and are used to justify cruel actions and attitudes. In the process, she makes some drastic personal changes, shifts her own Jewish identity, and advocates for a different vision of what it means to live in a Jewish...
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#334: The World Zionist Congress Elections- What You Need to Know
PeaceCast
Between March 10 and May 4, 2025, American Jews will vote for their delegates to the 39th World Zionist Congress, the “parliament of the Jewish people,” which will convene in Jerusalem in October 2025. Every vote determines how money is spent, how resources are allocated, and contributes to policies in Israeli society and in Jewish communities around the globe. New Jewish Narrative proudly co-leads the Hatikvah Slate, working towards progressive change within the Jewish community here in the U.S. This discussion answered questions ranging from "what is the World Zionist Congress in the...
info_outlineNJN Deputy Communications Director Maxxe Albert-Deitch and Director of Development Karen Paul spoke with Dr. Elana Sztokman about her new book, In My Jewish State. In this book, Dr. Sztokman uses her professional skills of rhetorical analysis cultivated from years of anthropological research, and unpacks the language and ideas that drive the pro-Israel advocacy movement and are used to justify cruel actions and attitudes. In the process, she makes some drastic personal changes, shifts her own Jewish identity, and advocates for a different vision of what it means to live in a Jewish state.
Dr. Elana Sztokman is an anthropologist, educator, feminist, peace activist, speaker, consultant, podcaster, and two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Council Award. She has spent 25 years writing about issues of gender, language, power, politics, education, and society, especially around Israel and Jewish culture. Her previous book, When Rabbis Abuse, won the Best Jewish Non-Fiction of the Year from Hey Alma.