Can American Jews define themselves through love of both Israel and America?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi unpack a parade transformed by October 7, Mamdani's boycott, and how a historically innocuous parade has transformed into a profound act of defiance and vulnerability. They explore America as a "nation of nationalities" and its special place in Jewish identity, and Israel's obligation to celebrate world Jewry rather than simply demand its support.

Ultimately, they challenge the Jewish community to reclaim an unmediated sense of pride, refusing to let enemies dictate the terms of their joy and connection.

Watch the video version of our podcast on our Youtube channel.

Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST.

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Join the Hartman Beit Midrash for America at 250.

Learn more about and register for Hartman's summer programs in Jerusalem.

Can a country recover its sense of agency when every front — external and internal — refuses to stay resolved?

In this episode, recorded just as Prime Minister Netanyahu issued another emergency call-up of exhausted reservists, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi wrestle with the deepening Israeli loss of control. They dissect the gap between the Prime Minister's promise of "absolute victory" and the reality of an enemy that has emerged stronger since its recent conflicts, and trace how the trauma of October 7 still haunts a society that thought it had moved past helplessness.

Looking ahead to the coming election, they explore why "who's in charge?" may once again become the defining slogan — and why the answer this time will determine far more than a coalition.

Watch the video version of our podcast on our Youtube channel.

Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST.

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Learn more about and register for Hartman's summer programs in Jerusalem.

Is it possible to win every battle and still lose where it matters?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi confront what may be the most dangerous front Israel faces today — the narrative. They lay bare the forces converging against Israel’s legitimacy: the collapse of Western institutions and the global spread of antisemitism amplified by social media and a systematic anti-Zionist campaign decades in the making. They reflect on the way this has reframed every chapter of Israel's story — from founding to present — as settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide — and the psychological toll of this multi-front narrative war.

Watch the video version of our podcast on our Youtube channel.

Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST.

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Watch the full Guidelines for Jewish-Democratic Policy Conference featuring Yair Lapid, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Golan.

Learn more about the Hartman Institute’s Center for Shared Society.