IF NOT US with David Zalik

For thousands of years, Jews have placed education at the center of Jewish life. So why do so many American Jews know so little about their own history, Zionism, and the extraordinary story of the Jewish people?

In this episode of If Not Us, David Zalik sits down with Dr. Noam Weissman, executive vice president of OpenDor Media, the organization behind Unpacked, to explore what Jewish education has gotten wrong—and what it will take to get it right.

Weissman challenges a fundamental assumption: that preparing young Jews to defend Israel is the same as teaching them to understand it. His alternative is what he calls “goosebumps with complexity”—an approach that embraces difficult history and honest debate without sacrificing Jewish pride, joy, or belonging.

The conversation explores why we stopped telling our own story, how Jewish identity is transmitted across generations, and why young Jews need more than arguments about antisemitism and Israel. They need something worth being proud of—and a sense of responsibility for what comes next.

At its heart is a hopeful proposition: Jewish education should empower us not simply to inherit our history, but to help write its next chapter.

Stay Connected with If Not Us

📝 Substack: https://substack.com/@ifnotuswithdavidzalik

📸 Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/ifnotuspod

▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ifnotuspod

In this episode of If Not Us, Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz joins David Zalik for a candid conversation about one of the most consequential questions facing American Jews today: Can the Democratic Party remain a political home for pro-Israel Jews?

The discussion goes well beyond familiar talking points. Zalik presses Wasserman Schultz on the growing divide inside the Democratic Party over Israel, accusations of genocide and violations of international law, the rhetoric and influence of the party’s progressive wing, and what Jewish Democrats should make of party leaders embracing candidates whose positions on Israel many Jews find deeply troubling.

But the conversation is also bigger than partisan politics. It explores how American Jews should think about political loyalty, Jewish identity, antisemitism, support for Israel, and what happens when principles that once seemed comfortably aligned begin to collide.

Wasserman Schultz is both a senior Democratic leader and one of Congress’s most prominent Jewish voices. That makes this an unusually revealing conversation—not simply about where she stands, but about where the Democratic Party is heading and what that may mean for American Jews.

Whether you agree with her or strongly disagree, this is a conversation worth hearing.

Stay Connected with If Not Us

📝 Substack: https://substack.com/@ifnotuswithdavidzalik

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifnotuspod

▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ifnotuspod