Vision Magazine Podcasts

What can Tu B'Shvat teach us about formulating a new vision for Jewish liberation & the reborn nation of Israel's critical role on the international stage? Yehuda HaKohen shares a recording of a Tu B'Shvat seder he led in Phoenix Arizona at the Valley Beit Midrash.

'Prisoner of Zion' Jonathan Pollard discusses the state of the Jewish people's subjugation to the US and the steps Israel must take in order to attain freedom. Yehuda HaKohen and Pollard discuss his personal story, the US-Israel relationship, American anti-Semitism, Israeli judicial reforms, the Iranian nuclear threat, the inferiority complexes of Israeli and Diaspora Jewish leaders and the import...

Is the formation of Israel's new 'extremist' government a revolutionary moment with potential for positive change or does it signal Zionism's demise (or both)? Rabbis Yehuda HaKohen and Mike Feuer debate the pros and cons of Israel's new "extremist" governing coalition under Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud).

The tension between Israel's 'Jewish' & 'democratic' features should force us to become more of both. Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen record a special Ḥanukah episode to address some inaccurate positions attributed to Yehuda by neo-Zionist journalist Samuel Hyde. The two also clarify some misconceptions surrounding the Vision movement and discuss what makes a society truly democratic. Maoz Tzur outro...

How can non-Ḥaredi feminists best show up for women in Ḥaredi Jewish communities? Lizzy Oziel & Yehuda HaKohen are joined by Postcolonial Hebrew Feminist theorist Sharona eshet-Kohen to discuss a recent Haaretz op-ed by Yehudis Fletcher on issues confront women in Ḥaredi Jewish communities. Lizzy & Yehuda also discuss the potential political ramifications that an upsurge in Israeli-Palestinian vio...

Do Jewish crusaders against anti-Semitism unwittingly contribute to systemic anti-Semitism in ways they aren't aware of? Yehuda is joined by Vision organizer Lizzy Oziel to discuss her recent piece on how the "anti-anti-Semitism" crowd often falls into the trap of strengthening anti-Semitism as a system of oppression.

What can the Jewish people learn about our own liberation movement and current state policies by examining violence and its various manifestations. Rabbis Mike Feuer and Yehuda HaKohen discuss the healing role that violence played in Zionist thought and the structural violence that manifests today in various Israeli policies.

How is Israel's current election cycle antagonizing contradictions within the national-religious sector? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Jerusalem educator Shammai Siskind for a discussion on what Israel's upcoming elections mean within the context of broader societal shifts.

Can Ayelet Shaked convince voters to see past her involvement in the plutocratic Bennett-Lapid coalition? Jeremy Sultan - director of the Yamina Knesset faction & candidate on the Bayit Yehudi list for Knesset - joins Yehuda HaKohen to defend the outgoing coalition & discuss what sectors of Israeli society could potentially vote for Shaked in the upcoming elections. The two also discuss the potent...

Can Jewish women be empowered in such a way that originates from a Hebrew worldview, preserves the Jewish people's value system and seeks solutions through Israel's unique cultural/historical lens? Yehuda HaKohen shares a class taught by Sharona eshet-Kohen on the ATID online leadership program introducing her approach to postcolonial Hebrew Feminism.

Can social media be a forum for high level conversations around Jewish identity & liberation? Yirmiyahu Danzig joins Yehuda HaKohen to discuss the difficulties of using social media to teach Jews about the need for decolonization without sacrificing intellectual depth (can we avoid reducing the conversation to a caricaturish form of Israel advocacy?) The two also debate the merits of using the ter...

Is Tu B'Av merely the Jewish 'Valentines Day' or is that understanding part of our people's deep colonization? Rina bat Eliyahu asks Yehuda HaKohen for a deep dive into the six actual reasons that the people of Israel historically celebrate the 15th day of Av.

Who were the major Zealot personalities leading Israel's Great Revolt against the Roman Empire? Ahead of Tisha b’Av – Israel’s national day of mourning for the destruction of the Jewish people’s national framework nearly 2,000 years ago – Yehuda HaKohen shares a 2019 class he taught at Machon Meir on various leaders of the anti-Roman Judean freedom movement.

Do the people of Israel have something meaningful to contribute to the contemporary discourse surrounding masculinity? How can an 'Aleph Male' differ from an 'Alpha Male'? Rina bat Eliyahu & Yehuda HaKohen are joined by Eitan ben Avraham to discuss his Aleph Male beard products, Hebrew masculinity & Jewish beard culture.

What does 'Religious Zionism' mean to Diaspora Jews who identify with that label today & how do those Jews look at Israel's national-religious youth? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Ben Greenfield, rabbi of the Greenpoint Shul, to discuss what being a “Zionist” means to a self-defined “Religious Zionist” living comfortably in the Diaspora. The two also address the liberal International Rabbinic Fellow...

As the Bennett-Lapid plutocracy collapses, we should examine whether Israelis experience the term 'Israeli' as referring to a civic national or ethnic national (children of Israel) identity. Yehuda HaKohen  is joined by Jerusalem educator Shammai Siskind for a discussion on both the imminent collapse of Israel's current government and the meaning behind a recent poll claiming that 60% of Israeli J...

How easy is it to shift the paradigm through which Diaspora Jewish leaders understand Israeli issues? Yehuda HaKohen is invited onto The Wildescast, hosted by Rabbi Mark Wildes of the Manhattan Jewish Experience, to discuss Jewish liberation and his vision for Jewish-Palestinian reconciliation in a single state between the river and the sea.

The Vision movement often references the notion of "Hebrew Universalism" - but what does that actually mean? Rina bat Eliyahu interviews Yehuda HaKohen for a deep dive into the concept as a stage of Jewish liberation that comes after Zionism.

When makes Yom HaZikaron l’Shoah v’l’Gvura (a day for remembering the Holocaust & the Heroism) different from other days on the Hebrew calendar that commemorate the Holocaust? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Rina bat Eliyahu to discuss the Christian roots of European Jew hatred, different ways for understanding Yom HaShoah and the lessons of the Holocaust for the Jewish people today.

How did the young fighters executed during Israel's struggle to free Palestine from British rule cure the Jewish people of its curse of fear? In commemoration of the date (8 Nisan) that Eliyahu Bet-Zuri and Eliyahu Ḥakim were executed in Cairo, Yehuda HaKohen shares a 2012 class he taught on the 'Olei HaGardom' (those who mounted the gallows) and the deeper spiritual value of martyrdom in Torah th...

Since accomplishing its revolutionary historic role, has Zionism slid back towards an assimilationist impulse aimed at transforming the State of Israel into a "normal" state on the international stage? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Israel Advocacy professional and journalist Samuel Hyde to discuss Zionism, the future status of the West Bank, the need for a national postcolonial conversation and riva...

Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Ryerson University student Rina bat Eliyahu to discuss systemic anti-Semitism, the Jewish relationship to whiteness and the exclusion of Jews from conversations about oppression.

Ysabella Elisheva Hazan joins Yehuda HaKohen to talk about her https://decolonizedjudean.com/ movement and the application of postcolonial tools to Jewish identity issues. The two also discuss Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation and how 'Sternism' differed from Zionism during the pre-state era.

As Oslo architect Yossi Beilin attempts to repackage his "two-state solution" as a "confederation" plan, Yoel Oz of the Abrahamic movement joins Yehuda HaKohen to discuss alternative models for Jewish-Palestinian reconciliation and potential opportunities for Israel and the Islamic world to partner in advancing the mission(s) of Avraham.

The concluding episode of Robert Goodman's series on the first Book of Maccabees. Illustration by Moshe Katz @art_ofthe_covenant_