Vision Magazine Podcasts

Now that the 'US-Israel relationship' is falling apart, will Jews allow themselves to explore what our prophets and sages teach about its deeper nature? Yehuda HaKohen airs a conversation with Rav Mike Feuer about the deeper essence of Israel's relationship with the United States particularly and Western civilization more generally. The two also discuss US President Donald Trump and the need to un...

How have the wars of the last couple years changed the Jewish people - both at home & in the Diaspora? How does the Jewish future look to someone who's been on an intellectual journey from bourgeois American suburbs to Israel's Ḥaredi community to the halls of academia and the Diaspora Jewish left? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Professor Shaul Magid of Harvard University for a special double length...

If Diaspora Jewish educational institutions have failed to connect young Jews to their people's story, how could anyone see increasing communal investment in these institutions as the solution? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Masha Merkulova of Club Z to discuss her recent opinion piece on the failures of Jewish educational institutions and why it would be a mistake to redirect communal resources from...

Can the intellectual tools that have been weaponized against Israel be applied to the Jewish people in a way that actually advances Jewish liberation? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by doctoral candidate Adam Louis-Klein for a broad discussion covering several topics surrounding Jewish identity, colonialism, indigeneity, liberation, and Israel's place in the modern world.  The two also discuss systemic...

What's actually driving the Israeli protest movement - in all of its many incarnations - against Prime Minister Netanyahu and his governing coalition? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Paul Gross, who’s been an organizer in the various incarnations of the "anti-Bibi" protest movement, to discuss the narratives and fears driving opposition to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud) and his government....

The desire by powerful Hebronite clans for a local emirates model to replace the failed 'two-state solution' paradigm could be a game changer. But is Israeli society psychologically ready for such a plan?

Could direct US involvement in Israel's war against Iran change the historic significance of the conflict or prevent Jerusalem from taking a post-war leadership role in the Semitic region? Yehuda HaKohen  is joined by Jacob Siegel of Tablet Magazine to discuss Israel's current war against Iran and its historic ramifications.  The two also discuss how President Donald Trump's administration operate...

The Betar movement appears to have sprung back to life in recent months. But why is this so threatening to the official World Zionist Organization? Yehuda HaKohen  is joined by Ronn Torossian - a key figure in reviving Z'ev Jabotinsky's Betar movement that appears to be experiencing a major come back as a result of the nationalist awakening that's taken place within Diaspora Jewish communities sin...

How did Israel education in the Jewish Diaspora fail as abysmally as it did? Can it still be corrected? In a special double episode, Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Joe Schwartz to discuss the state of Israel education for Diaspora Jews and his work in the field through the Makom organization. In the course of their rich conversation, the two also reminisce about life in late 20th Century New York Cit...

What's it like to grow up as the son of a man who dedicates his entire being to his people and country? Prime Minister Yitzḥak Shamir was a Jewish national hero. When the British ruled Palestine, he served as a leading figure in the anti-colonial struggle to free the country. After the State of Israel was established, he was recruited into the Mossad. Later he entered politics and became Israel's...

Could passing responsibility for peace to the Jews most deeply rooted in our collective story help Israel to create better relationships with our neighbors? Member of Knesset Ohad Tal (Religious Zionism) joins Yehuda HaKohen to discuss his efforts towards regional peace and how he represents Israel to the Islamic world. The two also discuss how the larger process of the Jewish return to the stage...

While most Israelis now reject the notion of ceding land, our further advancement requires the construction of a new ideological paradigm. Following nearly a year of war since the Hamas attacks on Simḥat Torah of last year, Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Rav Gavriel Reiss to discuss how Israeli society has changed during the war and what limitation still block Israel's further development. Rav Gavrie...

What are the values pushing some Jewish students to call for an end to Israel's current war? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Columbia University student organizer Aharon Dardik, who spent his formative years in a Judean/West Bank Jewish community but now calls for a ceasefire as Israel fights on multiple fronts.

Could students of postcolonial studies benefit from examining the Zionist movement as an example of both settler-colonialism & national liberation? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Professor Derek Penslar for a conversation about the unique relationship between Ashkenazi Jews, Orientalism, anti-Semitism, Zionism, colonialism & postcolonialism. The two also discuss aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian con...

Is there a uniquely Jewish balance one can strike between tribal rootedness & universalism? After hosting Rav Gavriel Reiss in Phoenix, Rav Shmuely Yanklowitz of the Valley Beit Midrash joins Rav Yehuda HaKohen for a follow up conversation on the need to create a critical mass of young Jewish organizers able to show up for other oppressed and marginalized groups as their full "Israelite" selves. T...

The most pressing challenges of our time demand a deeper embrace of our unique identities & a principled rejection of shallow political thinking. Rav Gavriel Reiss addresses the Valley Beit Midrash in Arizona & discusses the need to move away from the "two-state" paradigm in favor of an approach based more on the very real identities & realities on the ground.

Rav Gavriel Reiss shares his personal journey from life as an assimilated Jew growing up on the outskirts of Los Angeles to creating facts on the ground in southern Judea.

Can Israel truly receive a fair trial according to the moral standards of the West if Western civilization is fundamentally rooted in a Christian worldview? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Professor Jeremy England to discuss his recent piece, Live by the Law or Die on the Cross, and the extent to which Israel could hope to survive and thrive as a Jewish state in a Western-led global order inherently b...

After years of branding Israel as a 'Western nation' closely allied to the United States, the campus-based pro-Israel advocacy organizations shouldn't be surprised when Israel is perceived by many students as a settler-colony. Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Vision student organizer Sharon Levy to analyze why the mainstream pro-Israel advocacy organizations have failed so miserably on North American u...

Why do the children of Israel celebrate the seventh night of Pesaḥ (referred to by Rav Sa’adya Gaon as "Ḥag HaShmada" – the “Festival of Destruction”)? Yehuda HaKohen teaches that in addition to commemorating the smashing of Egypt’s military at the Sea of Reeds, the 21st of Nisan also marks something more significant to Israel’s development – the climax of our miraculous national birth and the att...

What was the ancient Egyptian worldview that humanity required liberation from? Ahead of the festival of Israel's freedom, Yehuda HaKohen shares his thoughts on the Egyptian ideology & true educational purpose of the ten plagues.

Did the US intelligence community intentionally deceive Israel's leadership regarding the likelihood of being attacked on Yom Kippur of 5734 (1973)? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by former NSA Mideast intelligence analyst Bruce Brill to discuss his new book Deceit of an Ally: A Memoir of Military Anti-Semitism, NSA's Secret Jew Room and Yom Kippur Treachery.

As the Biden administration schemes to remove Netanyahu from office, the prime minister's domestic political needs have aligned with exposing the toxicity of the US-Israel relationship. Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Vision organizer Aryeh Shapiro for a discussion on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's defiant wartime posture towards the United States.

If different societies have different concepts of freedom, what does freedom mean to Israel? Ahead of the anniversary of Leḥi (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel) leader Natan Yellin-Mor's passing, Yehuda HaKohen is joined by a Vision affiliated "Anonymous Soldier" to discuss the need for political education within Israel's national-religious camp.

What does it mean to engage Yishmael from a place of power? Can a stronger Jewish identity help Israel to better communicate with the Islamic world? Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen are joined by Inon Kehati of the Home movement to discuss his new book aimed at communicating Israel's story to the Muslim world. The three also discuss the importance of defining the Jewish people's historic mission and r...