SAPIR Conversations

The rapid ascent of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and other technologies requires Jewish leaders to understand the dramatic effects these innovations will have on Jewish life and faith. Are we ready for this technological Jewish future? SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman hosted a conversation with Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter of Yeshiva University and Dr. David Zvi Kalman of the Sha...

SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman hosted a conversation about the future of synagogue life in a time of disruption with Rabbi Elliot J. Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City and Rabbi Rachel Isaacs of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life in Maine. They explored the shock of the October 7 attacks, the long-term structural changes brought on by the Covid pandemic, and their visi...

SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman is joined by Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler , senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, and  Zvika Krieger , former director of responsible innovation at Meta discuss their recent essays in SAPIR’s Technology issue and explore how the virality of unsubstantiated information on social media is impacting perspectives on the Israel-Hamas war.

SAPIR Institute Director  Chanan Weissman  hosted a conversation about the conflict over free speech on college campuses with  Nadine Strossen , a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), and  Ilya Shapiro , the director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute. Strossen and Kenneth S. Stern co-authored “ SJP Still Deserves Freedom of Speech ” in Sapir...

SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman was joined by Einat Wilf, former member of the Israeli Knesset for the Labor Party, and Michael Koplow, chief policy officer of the Israel Policy Forum (IPF). They discussed the short- and long-term impacts and implications of the October 7 attacks on Israeli and American conceptions of Zionism.

SAPIR Institute Director  Chanan Weissman  is joined by  Rabbi David Wolpe , visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School and the Max Webb Emeritus Rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, and  Dr. Mijal Bitton , a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and  rosh kehillah  at the Downtown Minyan in New York City. They discuss their recent SAPIR essays — Wolpe’s “ Wisdom in the Face of Destruc...

SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman interviewed Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, and Joel Rubin, a longtime leader in progressive foreign policy and Jewish communities about "The Israel–Hamas War and the Future of American Progressive Coalitions." They discussed the challenges and complexities of navigating progressive communities and coalitions in the after...

Chanan Weissman, director of the SAPIR Institute, and Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, discuss Yehuda’s recent trip to Israel, the deep trauma facing Israelis and Jews in the Diaspora, and the ethical considerations of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas.

Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue, and Rachel Fish, co-founder of the nonprofit Boundless, discuss the geopolitical impact of the war in Israel, the implications for the American Jewish community, and our collective responsibilities during this crisis and beyond. This Conversation is presented in partnership with Park Avenue Synagogue.

As the war in Israel continues, Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens is joined by SAPIR author Reuel Marc Gerecht , senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, to discuss and contextualize Hamas' attacks with developments in the broader region, offering a perspective on the consequences of Iran's aggression and sponsorship of terrorism. They discuss what to expect as the conflict...

SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens interviews Jonathan Greenblatt and James Kirchick, authors of “Complicit: Big Tech and Antisemitism"  and "Censorship Is Not a Jewish Value"

SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens interviews Dahlia Lithwick and Avi Schick, authors of " Between Charlottesville and Jerusalem" and "New York’s New Untouchables"

Director of the SAPIR Institute Chanan Weissman interviews Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens about SAPIR's Antisemitism issue, including his article, “ Three Falsehoods About Antisemitism – and One Truth .”

Professor Avi Bell and the Israel Democracy Institute's Jesse Ferris discuss the complexities of judicial reform in Israel. Moderated by SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens.

Director of The SAPIR Institute Chanan Weissman interviews Rabbi Deborah Waxman, author of “Israel Is in Danger of Losing American Jewry”.

SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens interviews Daniel Gordis, author of "Israel Is Less Fragile Than We Feared, More Fragile Than We Imagine"

Daniella Greenbaum interviews SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens about the newest issue, Israel at 75 and his contribution on  Israel as a world power.

SAPIR Associate Editor Felicia Herman interviews Rokhl Kafrissen, author of “ The Jewish Future Needs Yiddish ”

SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens interviews Allegra Goodman, author of “Judaism Without Borders, Diaspora Without Tears”

SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens interviews John Podhoretz, author of “‘A Swinging Bunch of People’ No Longer”

In this episode, SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens interviews Rabbi David Wolpe, one of the contributors to SAPIR's new Ethics column, Shivim Panim, and author of "To Err is Human; To Disagree, Jewish" in our newest issue.

In this episode, SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens talks with Prof. Joshua Katz about his recent SAPIR article, The Culture of the Canceled

In this episode, SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens talks with commentator and novelist Lionel Shriver about her recent SAPIR article, Are the Good Guys Winning the Culture War?

In this episode of SAPIR: Journal of Jewish Conversations, Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens invites Michael Sandel to discuss his article on the  Limits of Meritocracy

In this episode of SAPIR: Journal of Jewish Conversations, Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens invites Anshel Pfeffer to discuss his article on Jewish Life in Wartime Ukraine.