Boundless Insights - with Aviva Klompas

Four years after Israel's last election, Israelis have returned to the polls in a country transformed by war, political upheaval, and profound changes across the Middle East. But what have voters decided, and who will lead the country next?

Dr. Michael Oren, historian, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, joins Boundless Insights to unpack the election results, the winners and losers, and the complicated process of forming Israel's next government.

They discuss what the results reveal about Israeli society, what they mean for Benjamin Netanyahu's political future, and how the election could reshape Israel's relationships with Washington and its neighbors across the Middle East.

With the U.S. midterm elections just days away, the stakes extend well beyond Israel's borders.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Michael Oren served in the IDF as a Lone Soldier in the paratroopers. He was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and later served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Diplomacy.

He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Six Days of War, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israel Divide, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Ambassador Oren published 2048: The Rejuvenated State in 2023 and is the founder of Israel Advocacy Group.

Mentioned in this Episode

Israel’s Tragic Choice by Micah Goodman

From Micah Goodman - "Do Israelis really not care what the world thinks about them? No. They care a lot. But what concerns them even more is what their enemies think. Israel’s problem is that it must cultivate two reputations, one for the West and one for the Middle East. These two reputations clash. Israelis want the Western world to love them, but their enemies in the Middle East to fear them."

We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org

What happens when antisemitic ideas begin to shape how people understand American power, Israel, and the country’s interests abroad?

Recorded live at the University of Texas at Austin, Aviva is joined by historian, bestselling author, and former Israeli ambassador to the United States Dr. Michael Oren for a conversation about antisemitism through the lens of national security.

They examine how America’s understanding of terrorism and military power has changed in the years since 9/11, why the Palestinian cause has become intertwined with broader ideological battles over colonialism and the West, and the growing debate over whether Israel remains a strategic asset to the United States. They also grapple with where legitimate criticism of the U.S.-Israel alliance ends and older antisemitic ideas about Jewish power and influence begin.

Our thanks to the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin, the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission, and Texas Hillel for hosting this live conversation at the Topfer Center for Jewish Life.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Michael Oren served in the IDF as a Lone Soldier in the paratroopers. He was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and later served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Diplomacy.

He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Six Days of War, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israel Divide, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Ambassador Oren published 2048: The Rejuvenated State in 2023 and is the founder of Israel Advocacy Group.

We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org.

Canada has long presented itself as a model of multiculturalism, tolerance, and minority inclusion. But for many Canadian Jews, that image is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile with their lived reality.

Jews make up roughly one percent of Canada’s population, yet they have become the target of a vastly disproportionate share of religious hate crimes. So what happened to Canada?

Warren Kinsella joins Aviva to examine how antisemitism became so pervasive in a country that prides itself on protecting minorities. And they confront the question many Canadian Jews are increasingly asking: Is there still a future for Jews in Canada?

Guest Bio:

Warren Kinsella is a lawyer, political strategist, and bestselling author with decades of experience at the highest levels of Canadian politics. A former chief of staff in the Chrétien government and veteran of multiple federal and provincial election campaigns, he has also worked as a journalist, communications consultant, and legal expert. He is the author of ten books, including his latest, The Hidden Hand, which examines the global propaganda campaign against Israel and the West

More from Warren Kinsella
The Hidden Hand The Information War and the Rise of Antisemitic Propaganda

The Campaign Documentary Trailer

Jew-haters push vile propaganda in wake of Flydubai hijacking

We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org.

Three years after being taken hostage on October 7, Dr. Shoshan Haran recounts the fifty days she spent as a hostage in Gaza with her daughter and young grandchildren.

Abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri after her husband and sister were murdered, Shoshan found herself responsible for helping her family survive captivity while protecting children too young to comprehend what was happening around them. She gave herself a mission: bring everyone home alive.

Drawing on her memoir, Mission in Captivity: One Woman’s Struggle to Survive and Save Her Family in Gaza, Shoshan joins Aviva to share her story of survival and reflect on whether, three years later, she can still imagine a future of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Shoshan Haran is a Fulbright scholar and the founder and president of Fair Planet, a global nonprofit that helps smallholder farmers in Africa improve food security and escape poverty.

On October 7, 2023, Shoshan was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri and held hostage in Gaza for 50 days along with members of her family. Her husband, Avshalom, was murdered in the attack.

Since her release, Shoshan has become an advocate for international action to prevent civilian abduction from being used as a weapon of war. She is the author of the bestselling memoir Mission in Captivity: One Woman’s Struggle to Survive and Save Her Family in Gaza, which received the 2026 Bernstein Prize for Non-Fiction Literature.

We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org.

What allows a person to survive the seemingly unendurable?

Glenn Cohen has spent much of his career trying to understand how human beings respond under extreme pressure. A former Israeli Air Force helicopter pilot and chief psychologist of the Mossad, he helped select and prepare elite personnel for high-risk missions, including the possibility of capture.

After October 7, that expertise was suddenly needed on an unprecedented scale. Cohen was called back into service, helped develop Israel’s protocols for receiving returning hostages, and led the team responsible for debriefing the 168 hostages who came home alive.

In this conversation, Cohen takes Aviva inside the psychology of captivity and survival. He explains what happens when people are stripped of control, how individuals can preserve agency under extreme conditions, and why enduring terrible trauma does not necessarily mean being permanently broken by it. He also reflects on the delicate process of bringing hostages home, the lessons Israel learned from earlier generations of returning POWs, and what the hostages themselves taught him about the limits — and surprising strength — of human resilience. As Cohen puts it: “We are capable of going to hell and coming back.”

Guest Bio:

Glenn Cohen is a former Mossad Chief Operational Psychologist, Israeli Air Force pilot, and IDF hostage negotiator. Following October 7, he returned to emergency reserve duty and was appointed the first mental-health professional to meet freed hostages upon their return to Israel. He helped develop Israel’s protocol for receiving returning hostages and led the team of psychologists that debriefed the 168 hostages released by October 2025. Today, he coaches executives and trains organizations on resilience and peak performance. His upcoming book on Post Traumatic Growth has been acquired by Simon and Schuster and Glenn is a sought-after international speaker. More information is available on his site Glenn-cohen.com.

We want to hear from you. Have a question, comment, or idea for the show? Email us at podcast@boundlessisrael.org.

On October 27, Israelis will head to the polls for the first national election since the October 7 attacks, after three years that have profoundly reshaped the country.

Three years of war have altered the country’s sense of security, tested its institutions, and forced Israelis to confront fundamental questions about the leadership and policies that brought them to this moment.

Yet the political system Israelis are returning to remains remarkably familiar. Benjamin Netanyahu is still at its center. His opponents are still struggling to assemble a coalition capable of replacing him. And a deeply divided electorate must now decide what comes after one of the most consequential periods in Israel’s history.

Dr. Michael Oren, historian, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, and former member of the Knesset, joins Aviva to look beyond the campaign and consider what this election reveals about Israel three years after October 7 — how the country has changed, what hasn’t, and what Israelis are choosing when they cast their ballots.

Guest Bio:

Michael Oren served in the IDF as a Lone Soldier in the paratroopers. He was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and later served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Diplomacy.

He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Six Days of War, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israel Divide, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Ambassador Oren published 2048: The Rejuvenated State in 2023 and is the founder of Israel Advocacy Group.

As world leaders gather in New York for a new session of the United Nations General Assembly, Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, joins host Aviva Klompas to examine the power and politics of an institution he has spent more than two decades scrutinizing.

They discuss the influence authoritarian regimes wield within the UN, the disproportionate attention directed at Israel, and the political forces that help explain that focus. The conversation also tackles a larger dilemma: if democracies retreat from international institutions they believe have become deeply politicized, do they simply surrender those institutions to authoritarian regimes?

Guest Bio

International lawyer, writer and activist, Hillel Neuer is the Executive Director of UN Watch, a human rights organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Neuer’s speeches at the United Nations have been seen by millions around the world. He has appeared in debates on CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera. McGill University awarded Neuer an honorary doctorate for his work to advance human rights and for being “a voice for those without one.” In 2016, the City of Chicago declared “Hillel Neuer Day,” citing his role “as one of the world’s foremost human rights advocates.” The Tribune de Genève said Neuer is “feared and dreaded” by the world’s dictatorships. The Journal de Montréal wrote that Neuer “makes the U.N. tremble.” The Jerusalem Post, Ynet, and Ma’ariv have listed Neuer as one the most influential Jewish people in the world

Learn more at UNWatch.org

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis joins host Aviva Klompas for a wide-ranging conversation about the meaning of the Jewish New Year and the questions it asks us to confront.

As Jews around the world prepare to welcome 5787, Chief Rabbi Mirvis reflects on what we might learn from Rosh Hashanah about the lives we are living, the choices we make, and the possibility of a different year ahead. He also shares the question he would put to every Jewish family around the Rosh Hashanah table and his blessing for the Jewish people in the year to come.

Guest Bio:

Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis is only the 11th Chief Rabbi of Great Britain since the office was introduced in 1704. He is the religious figurehead for Jewish communities right across the Commonwealth, from Hull to Hong Kong and from Cardiff to Cochin. He was installed on 1st September 2013 in an historic ceremony attended by His Majesty King Charles III, then The Prince of Wales.

Born in South Africa, he previously served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and Rabbi of the Western Marble Arch and Finchley (Kinloss) Synagogues in London, making him one of the UK’s most respected community Rabbis. As Chief Rabbi, he is a primary representative of the Jewish community to government, other faiths and civil society as well as being responsible for oversight of crucial parts of the UK Jewish community’s religious infrastructure.

Chief Rabbi Mirvis is known as a principled leader who has broken new ground in the fields of interfaith and social responsibility as well as tackling a number of particularly complex or controversial issues including the welfare of LGBT+ students in Orthodox Jewish Schools and antisemitism in the British Labour Party. Chief Rabbi Mirvis serves as Associate President of the Conference of European Rabbis, President of the London School of Jewish Studies and was made a Knight Commander of the British Empire, by His Majesty The King in 2023.

SAPIR is a journal exploring the future of the American Jewish community and its intersection with cultural, social, and political issues. It is published by Maimonides Fund with Bret Stephens serving as Editor-in-Chief. Subscribe at http://www.sapirjournal.org/subscribe.

Since October 7, American universities have become the center of a fierce debate over antisemitism, free speech, civil rights, and the proper role of government.

In this special live debate, recorded at the Israel on Campus Coalition's National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., host Aviva Klompas moderates a discussion on the resolution: "The campus crackdown is good for America."

Noah Pollak and Jonathan Rauch debate whether federal intervention has made campuses safer for Jewish students, where the line between oversight and overreach should be drawn, and how universities should balance civil rights, free expression, and institutional independence.

This debate is part of the SAPIR Debates, a forum for thoughtful disagreement on some of the most consequential issues facing the American Jewish community today.

Guest Bios

Noah Pollak is a political appointee in the Trump administration. He is Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Education, where he works on higher education policy and civil rights enforcement, and he’s a Senior Advisor in the Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, and a board member of Heterodox Academy. He is the author of The Constitution of Knowledge and has written extensively on free speech, liberal democracy, and the institutions that sustain them.

In the days after October 7, anti-Israel slogans, protests, and narratives appeared across the globe with extraordinary speed. To many, the movement looked spontaneous. But was it?

Host Aviva Klompas speaks with political strategist and bestselling author Warren Kinsella about his new book, The Hidden Hand: The Information War and the Rise of Antisemitic Propaganda. Drawing on decades of experience running political campaigns and combating extremist movements, Kinsella argues that the anti-Israel movement that emerged after October 7 bears the hallmarks of a sophisticated information campaign designed to shape public opinion, influence policymakers, and redefine how Israel, Jews, and the West are perceived.

Their conversation explores what distinguishes a grassroots movement from an organized influence operation, why anti-Israel narratives have found such fertile ground in Western democracies, and why extraordinary claims about Jews and Israel increasingly receive little skepticism.

Guest Bio:

Warren Kinsella is a lawyer, political strategist, and bestselling author with decades of experience at the highest levels of Canadian politics. A former chief of staff in the Chrétien government and veteran of multiple federal and provincial election campaigns, he has also worked as a journalist, communications consultant, and legal expert. He is the author of ten books, including his latest, The Hidden Hand, which examines the global propaganda campaign against Israel and the West.

Mentioned in the Episode:

The Hidden Hand The Information War and the Rise of Antisemitic Propaganda

The Campaign Documentary Trailer

Christian support for Israel has been a significant force in American politics for decades. But the evangelical community is changing, and younger Christians are not necessarily adopting the same attitudes toward Israel as previous generations.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee joins host Aviva Klompas to discuss what has historically driven Christian support for Israel and why that support may be changing. They explore the role of faith, shared values, and strategic interests; generational divides among evangelicals; and the growing influence of isolationism on the American right.

As a new generation of Christians forms its own views of Israel, Ambassador Huckabee reflects on what is changing, what has endured, and what will determine the future of one of Israel's most important sources of support in the United States.

Guest Bio

Mike Huckabee is the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Before his appointment, he served as Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, and hosted nationally syndicated television and radio programs. A longtime evangelical Christian leader and outspoken supporter of Israel, Huckabee has spent decades engaging with Israeli politics, society, and history through his extensive travel and advocacy.

For years, Israel's international standing has been measured by military strength, diplomatic alliances, and peace agreements. Today, a different challenge has come to the forefront: a growing crisis of legitimacy.

Host Aviva Klompas sits down with diplomat, legal scholar, and former Israeli Foreign Ministry Legal Adviser Tal Becker to explore why support for Israel has eroded in many parts of the world, and whether the roots of that shift lie in Israeli policy, broader cultural and political changes in the West, or something deeper still.

Drawing on decades of experience representing Israel on the world stage—including before the International Court of Justice and during the negotiations that led to the Abraham Accords—Tal Becker offers a framework for understanding the current moment. He discusses the difference between Israel's critics and its enemies, why not all criticism should be dismissed as hostility, and how Israel can engage those acting in good faith while confronting those seeking to undermine its legitimacy.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Tal Becker is a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, a Counsel at Honigman LLP, and as a leading consultant and public intellectual on geo-politics, the Middle East and peace and security policy. Until recently, Dr. Becker served as the Legal Adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has been a senior member of the Israeli peace negotiation team in successive rounds of peace negotiations. Tal has represented Israel before the International Court of Justice, played an instrumental role in negotiating and drafting the “Abraham Accords”, and served as a key behind the scenes player in many complex bilateral and multilateral processes in which Israel was involved.

For decades, the U.S.-Israel relationship has been one of the defining features of American foreign policy. But as both political parties undergo change, many of the assumptions that have sustained the alliance for generations are being tested.

Host Aviva Klompas is joined by journalist and political commentator Eli Lake to examine the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship in an era of political realignment.

They discuss whether support for Israel is undergoing a temporary backlash or a more fundamental transformation, the forces driving changing attitudes toward Israel within the Democratic Party, and whether a return to bipartisan consensus is still possible. They also explore the rise of the America First movement, the implications of a potential J.D. Vance presidency, generational shifts in foreign policy thinking, and what the next decade could mean for one of America's most important alliances.

Speaker Bio

Eli Lake is a journalist and geopolitical analyst, currently a contributing editor and columnist at The Free Press and host of the excellent Breaking History podcast. He was previously a columnist for Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, and Newsweek, where he covered national security, foreign policy, and global affairs. Known for his sharp analysis and independent voice, Eli brings a nuanced and thought-provoking perspective to some of the most pressing issues in international politics.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org

Israel will head to the polls on October 27 in what promises to be one of the most consequential elections in its history. It will be the first Israeli government to complete a full term in more than five decades.

Host Aviva Klompas is joined by former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Dr. Michael Oren to examine what this election is really about. While much of the international media will frame the vote as a referendum on Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israelis are weighing far broader questions about security, leadership, national priorities, and the country's future nearly three years after October 7.

Together, they discuss how the war has reshaped Israeli politics, whether the government's wartime record will help or hurt Netanyahu at the ballot box, how Israelis are balancing military achievements with unresolved challenges, and what coalition scenarios are most likely to emerge after the vote. They also explore whether international opinion will influence Israeli voters and what this election could mean for Israel's direction in the years ahead.

Guest Bio:

Michael Oren served in the IDF as a Lone Soldier in the paratroopers. He was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and later served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Diplomacy.

He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Six Days of War, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israel Divide, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Ambassador Oren published 2048: The Rejuvenated State in 2023 and is the founder of Israel Advocacy Group.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org

The rise of democratic socialism is no longer confined to a handful of high-profile politicians. Across the country, insurgent candidates are defeating establishment Democrats, building sophisticated political organizations, and reshaping the future of the Democratic Party.

Host Aviva Klompas is joined by political strategist and former congressional candidate Brianna Wu to examine what is driving this movement and why its influence extends far beyond a few headline-grabbing elections.

They discuss the growing divide between traditional Democrats, progressives, and democratic socialists; why opposition to Israel has become a defining feature of the movement; the role of activist networks and political infrastructure; and what recent primary victories reveal about the Democratic Party's future.

The conversation also explores the upcoming Michigan Senate race, the rise and fall of insurgent candidates like Graham Platner, and whether the party is undergoing a temporary shift or a more lasting political realignment.

Guest Bio:

Brianna Wu rose to national prominence during Gamergate, a flashpoint in the video game industry that pioneered many of the toxic tactics now common in online political discourse. She ran for Congress in 2018 as a progressive Democrat, but experienced a sharp break with her party following the October 7th Hamas attacks. Today, she is a prominent advocate for U.S./ Israel national security cooperation and a leading voice in the evolving debate over liberalism, extremism, and the future of the trans movement.

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org

Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel used a major speech in Israel to lay out what many see as the foreign policy vision of a potential 2028 presidential campaign and his message was blunt: the U.S.-Israel relationship is at a crossroads.

In this episode, host Aviva Klompas is joined by Dr. Michael Oren to examine Emanuel's diagnosis of Israel's strategic position and the future of the alliance between Jerusalem and Washington.

They discuss Emanuel's claim that Israel has become too reliant on military power and his argument that decades of unconditional American support enabled some of Israel's worst decisions.

Guest Bio:

Michael Oren served in the IDF as a Lone Soldier in the paratroopers. He was Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and later served as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Minister of Diplomacy.

He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Six Days of War, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israel Divide, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Ambassador Oren published 2048: The Rejuvenated State in 2023 and is the founder of Israel Advocacy Group.

Mentioned in This Episode:
Rahm Emanuel’s Speech

We want to hear from you. Send questions and comments to podcast@boundlessisrael.org or message Aviva on X at @avivaklompas.

Just when it seemed the conflict between the United States and Iran might be settling into an uneasy stalemate, the region lurched back toward escalation.

In this episode, host Aviva Klompas is joined by Ambassador Dan Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, to make sense of a fast-moving and often contradictory situation.

They discuss the latest military exchanges between the United States and Iran, the uncertain future of the MOU, the status of Iran's nuclear program, and whether diplomacy is gaining ground—or simply delaying another round of conflict.

Guest Bio:

Ambassador Daniel Shapiro is a distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East from 2024 to 2025, Senior Adviser on Regional Integration in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and US Ambassador to Israel from 2011 to 2017.

For generations, American Jews were among the Democratic Party's most loyal supporters, seeing liberal politics as a natural extension of Jewish values. Today, that relationship is under increasing strain.

Host Aviva Klompas sits down with columnist, television host, and author Batya Ungar-Sargon to discuss her new book, The Jews and the Left. Together, they examine how a century-long political alliance evolved—and why so many Jews now feel politically and culturally homeless.

They explore why Jews became Democrats in the first place, the ideological transformation of the modern Left, and how opposition to Israel became a defining issue within progressive politics. Batya explains why she believes October 7 exposed deep fault lines for many progressive Jews, addresses the debate over anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and discusses whether similar political shifts could emerge on the Republican right.

Whether you agree with Batya's conclusions or not, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at one of the most consequential political and cultural questions facing American Jews today.

Guest Bio

Batya Ungar-Sargon is the host of Batya! on NewsNation, where she is a weekend anchor. She is a frequent contributor to the New Yok Post and a columnist for the Free Press. An Orthodox Jew, she earned her PhD in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Empathy is usually considered one of humanity's greatest virtues. But what happens when empathy becomes untethered from reality?

In this episode, host Aviva Klompas sits down with Dr. Gad Saad to discuss his new book, Suicidal Empathy. Drawing on evolutionary psychology, cultural analysis, and his own experiences growing up Jewish in Lebanon before fleeing civil war, Saad argues that many Western societies have become reluctant to judge ideas, behaviors, and ideologies on their merits—even when doing so undermines their own values and interests.

The conversation explores why intelligent people often embrace narratives that conflict with observable reality, the role social media plays in spreading misinformation, and whether concepts like tolerance, compassion, and empathy can become self-destructive when taken to an extreme.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Gad Saad is an evolutionary behavioral scientist, professor, and bestselling author whose work explores the intersection of psychology, culture, and human behavior. A visiting scholar at the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), he pioneered the application of evolutionary psychology to consumer behavior and marketing. He is the author of several books, including The Parasitic Mind, The Saad Truth About Happiness, and his newest book, Suicidal Empathy. Through his writing, media appearances, and popular podcast The Saad Truth, he has become one of the most prominent public intellectuals examining the impact of ideology on modern society.

What does a 14th-century stained glass window in a Brussels cathedral have to do with a "Jew hunt" in the streets of Amsterdam in 2024 or the slogans appearing on American campuses after October 7? Professor Flora Cassen joins Dr. Rachel Fish to discuss her new book, Stained Glass: A Reflective History of Antisemitism, and to explore how antisemitism has taken shape across different places and historical periods.

Drawing on both her scholarly work on European Jewish history and her personal experience, Cassen explains that contemporary antisemitism cannot be understood apart from the deep cultural layers it draws on, even when its newest expressions appear secular, political, or imported from elsewhere. The conversation examines how anti-Jewish ideas have been constructed, adapted, and sustained over time, from early religious frameworks to later economic, racial, and political forms. The discussion highlights the importance of approaching antisemitism with historical precision, avoiding overly simplistic narratives while still recognizing its persistence and adaptability.

Further Reading:

Stained Glass: A Reflective History of Antisemitism by Flora Cassen

Guest Bio:

Flora Cassen is the Lavine Family Director of the Brandeis Center for Jewish Studies and the Director of the Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness at Brandeis University. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Originally from Antwerp, Belgium, Cassen earned her B.A. in History and Law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, her M.A. in Comparative History from Brandeis, and her PhD in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from New York University. She has published widely in both academic and public venues such as Haaretz, The Forward, Slate, Aeon, Sources, and Smithsonian Magazine.