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I’m not a philosopher so I can’t use philosophical discourse of any kind with certainty. However. When you are commanded to “Love God with all your heart…” how can even a disposition be commanded? Doesn’t “disposition” rely upon choice? And if it does, what if I choose not to be disposed? Some marriages are merely for convenience or for benefit of a beard if you are gay. In those cases am I disposed to loving my wife.

Why is the sound "volume" Reduced?!??-Because the (current powers) are trying to hold onto to what they've got.

I wish you the very best 🕎 blessings and protection to you at Harvard

Saya daftarkan : Meliana Febriani Tamba Fransisca Febriana Sidjaja

Wonderful talk - thank you, Rebbe.

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Thank you for your effort to strengthen Jewish community at Harvard. I think however, that the objectives, as stated, are too timid. Hillel’s mission is to advocate vigorously for Jewish culture, values, and the amazing achievements of the State of Israel. You don’t have to adhere to “neutrality”, you are not speaking for Harvard at large. You have to have a clearly stated position that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, you can engage in any kind of debate by advocating your pro-Jewish and pro-Israel point of view. You can organize an invited speaker series, write articles in Crimson, you have to foster alliances with other organizations that stand for the values of the Western civilization (in a broad sense). You can have an inclusive tent, but those who are allowed inside should adhere to your fundamental position while debating the nuances of Israeli politics or various interpretations of what it means to be Jewish, etc., but they can’t question the legitimacy of Israel or her right to exist. You can’t have a mind so open that your brain falls out, as the saying goes. The parable told by Rabbi Greenberg in 2007 illustrates that quite possibly, the leaders of the American Jewish community have been asleep at the wheel while the anti-Jewish forces have been gaining strength. The surge of anti-Semitism that we have seen since October 7 did not happen overnight, the American Jewish community has not been paying attention or, regretfully, in many respects allied themselves with illiberal forces that eventually turned on the Jews. You are facing an uphill battle against many anti-Zionist Jewish students and faculty at Harvard who joined islamists and leftists.

Its amazing how bad these Elite schools are regarding anti-semitism. Its even the Professors.

one of the best takes i have heard on the anti-zionism/antisemitism of the left it's not new it's just that the jewish community, in order to get along, kept it's head buried deep in the sand

We did not take land from any Palestinian and please stop repeating that name there are no Palestinians They are Arabs, who came from other countries What do you learn in your schools? Oh I forgot you have only progressive Jewish schools if at all. Please educate yourself because you are harming me, my family, my friend, my people, and the state of Israel

I am an Israeli and I was wondering a very long time. Why do Americans think that I have to live with a terrorist state at the border? Why is it that American Jews who live in America think that they know better than we Israelis? We are not another star on the American flag. We are Israelis and we live in Israel. And not in America You call my people settlers this shows that you have no idea about anything. What is going on in Israel? Please stop reading the New York Times and taking for granted what is written there We are not occupying our own land And our people are not settlers and if you think that they are settlers, you have to call all of Israel settlers for an example. We are settlers in Tel Aviv, and everywhere else in those Arabs eyes Please do not interfere in Israel. We take our own decisions. We are a sovereign country, and nobody else will take decisions for us. Forget it this will never happen

It’s very annoying when anti-Zionist try to prove they can’t be antisemitic by dragging out the Netarai Karta.

There is the ritual of going to a Holcaust museum to “education” if they say or write antisemitic but it doesn’t work.

Anti-Zionism doesn’t absolutely have to be antisemitic but 95% of the time it is.

it's ok to be an antisemite

One of the most notorious attacks on the Israel people is the claim that most of them have dual citizenship with one foot out the door. The arab enemies of Israel rationalize this as a way of deligitimizing the jewish people's connection with Israel. But more problematic is leftists in the West, both Jewish and non Jewish, who maintain that native born Israelis are not truly committed to perserving the Jewish state. That the Jews can be driven out of Israel through wars of attrition. These people call Israel a settler project that can broken through internationally pressure like South Africa. For example the evil anti-Israel Irish Woman Clare Daly and her ilk fervently believe this. These people are all over youtube proclaiming the end of the Zionist state because of Israel's present difficuties. I think Professor Feldman speaks to this effectively.

Bret is very smart and articulate. Love listening to him

The culpable professors aren't just neglecting their duty to "complexify" .... they are often the ones encouraging extreme anti-Zionist and antisemitic (and anti-West) "thinking" - sometimes punishing those who don't comply.

The Palestinians don't want a state; they want it all minus the jews.

If I could ask a question, I'd ask Noah Feldman: What sort of Jewish education did you give your children? Without much Jewish education other than little remembered Hebrew School, my mother read Ethics of the Fathers in English and realized, Judaism is the most moral religion. And my mother decided to marry a Shomer Shabbat (Sabbath observant) man and keep an observant Jewish home. My father had a great deal of Jewish education, attended yeshiva, but my father grew up living with his grandparents. I never asked my father about his relationship with his grandfather and I sorely regret it. In the 1940s, however, most people grew up with religious parents or grandparents who were an influence. My mother's father was European and observant. Now that is not the case. We have intellectual parents, Harvard professors, who know so little it is very sad.

What an admission by this professor! That his children could just "walk away" from being Jewish without a backward glance! It means he gave no Jewish education to his children as is available today. When I attended Hebrew University as an American student 50 years ago, it was filled with American Jewish students who hadn't' any Jewish education other than the minimal Hebrew School. Now all is different; every city has a full time Jewish day school. That Noah Feldman didn't give his children such an education - it is an admission of neglect. Not everyone is spiritual as NF expects. But everyone can learn the mitzvot and study the Tanach - if that person has sufficient education.

If we chase away the Jewish community and at the same time have porous borders we will lose many of our most stable and functioning citizens to those who are seeking refuge.

Feculent Jew

Israel is dropping bombs defensively whereas Russia initiated an attack

Stephens collapses toward the end; Lapid? Bennett? Gallant? the first is an empty, little man who was flattered & duped by hochstein to surrender sovereign assets in exchange for NOTHING. Bennett knew it was wrong & went along with it. Gallant has been an inadequate war leader & has at various times encouraged blinken to think that he, Gallant, can fracture the govt in wartime so that Israel would accept defeat & the survival of hamas.

Stephens right on formulation: "yes to pln state like UAE; no to pln state like yemen." Stephens wrong on likelihood that egypt can be induced by debt relief to a more salutary modus vivendi w Israel; egypt has calculated the econ & other benefits of its recently revealed support for hamas. Stephens horribly wrong in supporting biden's 2020 presidential bid.

What an enlightening interview! Thanks for giving me some peace of mind that I am not insane when I think that the left and so called “ progressive “ has gone so off rail! 👏👏👍👍

Very interesting interview, however I do think that prof. Stephens confuses some of his own positions with the position of an Israeli and a Gazan citizen. For example, the so called hated of the Gazans towards Hamas, isn’t bared by the polls. If anything, according to the latest reports, the support for Hamas among the Palestinians has risen quite notably. Also, most of Israelis I talked to, do understand that returning the hostages and eliminating Hamas, most likely are contradictory aims. However, almost everyone I hod this discussion with, had a clear priority among the two. In my limited field of reference, most regarded the elimination of Hamas, as the more strategically important goal.

The answer given, or not given to the question of NYT’s problematic coverage of Israel was itself problematic. The NYT’s has a decades old history of hostility not only to Israel, but to Jews and authentic Judaism. His answer demonstrates that he is more concerned about his well paying, comfortable position and the accompanying prestige than he is speaking truth to power and confronting Times management. If he had real integrity he would follow in the footsteps of Bari Weiss and walk away from what has clearly become an antisemitic rag.

Excellent

Great interview with a sensible and grounded person

There is so much here that indeed gives language to what many of us are feeling. Excellent interview. Thanks for your voice at this challenging time Bret. I was in Israel and the West Bank last month and came away inspired by the peoples who still want to heal into something better. As to potential Palestinian leaders: check out the people who are involved with Roots/Shorashim. Several true Mandelas there.

@Minimmal Re “One point… Israel-Palestinian conflict…Hamas” Even if true - which you cite no evidence for - are you justifying the 10/7 Hamas slaughter of 1,200 innocent civilians because of past alleged misbehavior by Jews against Hamas ancestors? If not, what’s your point? I find it curious you have nothing positive to say about Israel or Jews on a video produced by a Jewish organization (Hillel) for the benefit of Jewish/Israeli students at Harvard who’ve been subjected to harassment, intimidation and antisemitism.

As the late William Buckley Jr. once said, he'd rather be governed by the first five hundred people in the phone book than the Harvard faculty.

Muhammad was a "perfect" man? A killer, a plunderer, a pedophile? I would hardly put Muhammad on a list with Jesus or Buddha.

The NYT is a radical Zionist publication. Should be registered foreign agent They have promoted the Ukraine war with lies and are responsible for the deaths of over 500000 Ukrainians.

Bret, make up your mind. If we live in the democratic society you espouse, is there some reason you can't say anything else about the NYT than it's the most wonderful newspaper in the world (heaven help the world!) ? They aren't going to fire you the way NPR fired that reporter. I've followed you from the Journal (which is to me a far better paper) to the Times as I watched the Times lose its way. There was too much double talk in your responses to the host and the questions from the audience. I just don't know what to make of you lately. And that is based on a number of podcasts I've heard you on since 10/07.

Pan Arab police force is a terrible idea- 1. Do you expect this force to maintain control using physically against extremist Palestinians? That’s a big ask that’s likely cause more problems that help. I don’t see any sensible Arab country agreeing to this. 2. When security threats are identified and the Arab forces don’t want to immediately act on them, how will isreal respond ? I don’t see them risking another Oct 7th. This will do far more damage to diplomatic and security relationships with these countries than anything positive that could come from it.

This is the condensed thinking of Zionism.

To paraphrase Jefferson with my additions: REBELLION to (Zionist) TYRANNY is OBEDIENCE to (ALLAH) GOD. Israel, the last neo-colonial power, is increasingly isolated in the world community, especially in the UN, the Security Council, Nato, the ICC and ICJ---witness the many UN General Assembly votes opposite the USA and Israel and a few island nations, et al. The rest of the world community and its many Pro-Palestinian protests around the globe--even the call for statehood by Brazil, Spain, Ireland, and Norway, et al.--express the virulent condemnation and OVERWHELMING opposition to the horrors of what is going on in GAZA. Americans themselves are sick and tired of being dragged into every one of Israel's endless squabbles with its neighbors! They are NEVER grateful to us--even insulting to many presidents (Bibi denouncing Obama's Iran policy in the House was outrageous to most of us and an excess of chutzpah!) Israeli news should be on page 23--not on the front page every day! They're West Asians; we're North Americans. We have so little in common. TMI for ALL of US!

Bret gets it wrong---again! There is FAR MORE anti-Islamism in Zionist-dominated Israel than there is anti-Semitism in Christian-led America.(That's my experience while on a kibbutz for a summer in 1980 and on another trip in 1976, too.) The problem is irate youth taking the genocidal crimes of Zionist Israel out on innocent mainly secular Jews in America--many of whom support JVP and all the other groups I support--while I listen to Chomsky, Finkelstein, Amy Goodman, et al. Long Live Palestine and BDS, an American birthright that can NEVER be taken away by any legislature. End Apartheid in GAZA.

Bret is marginally better than the glib Ross Douthat.

Bret is intelligent,articulate and worried and rightly so. His kind of speech is becoming more rare and will never hold off the mob.

Thank you for a brilliant interview. I've gained great insights from it, especially the part that "Zionism in 1948 was about Jews wanting to govern themselves, and not to be governed by others, but by the same token, not to govern over others who did not want to be governed by them, that is the Jews..." Just brilliant! 👌🏼💪🏼✌🏼

He should register as a foreign agent.

‘Biden doesnt seem to have a concept of victory…’ that is a very accurate diagnosis of the problem with current US foreign policy

Making an analogy between the Israel/Hamas war and the Russia/Ukraine war is seriously sloppy thinking. The only similarity is state sovereignty was violated by an aggressor. The nature of the aggressor and the attacked are different as well as the surrounding geostrategic environment.

Queers for Hamas actually makes sense politically. Without Hamas, the US Empire wouldn’t have a good frontier right now. And without a frontier, the behavioral sink would become too destabilizing, and the government would push a homophobic agenda, like Stalin in the 30s.

Hertzel witnessed the Dreyfus affair during the big French behavioral sink, Kahan witnessed what happened on the West Coast during the 60s and started Kahanism. Jews should certainly adjust their policies based on feedback from the current moment. Feedback and growth and change are important for any institution to survive, Judaism included.

Very valuable presentation. Thank you, Harvard Hillel, for this marvelous series!