SAPIR Conversations

Economic vulnerability affects 1 in 4 American Jews, but it doesn’t affect all of them equally, writes Tulane University sociologist Ilana Horwitz in her recent SAPIR article, “Poverty and Jewish Community.” The difference between a life of temporary hardship and one of permanent poverty may, in some circumstances, boil down to whether a person or family is embedded deeply in Jewish life. Why is that the case? What does this finding reveal about the invisible safety net of Jewish belonging? And what are the practical interventions at our disposal to help alleviate financial strain? Horwitz joined Managing Editor Phil Getz for an in-depth discussion about poverty and the American Jewish community. Read Ilana Horwitz’s essay: https://sapirjournal.org/money/2025/poverty-and-jewish-community/ Watch the virtual discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ueBdD9TltQ Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove

American Jewry has long thrived in a society built on institutions. But today, we live in an anti-establishment age, where subtlety fuels suspicion and open displays of power are seemingly valued for their authenticity. In this environment, should America’s Jews think and act like a state, as Jordan Chandler Hirsch argues in his essay “The Need for a Jewish Sovereign Wealth Fund”? Or is this proposed cure an abandonment of the features that have long defined American exceptionalism — and the Jewish experience within it, as Roger Zakheim argues in response.On December 8, SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens moderated a conversation on the future of the American Jewish community in an anti-institutional era with Jordan Chandler Hirsch, senior counselor to the CEO of Palantir Technologies, and Roger Zakheim, director of the Ronald Reagan Institute Roger Zakheim.Read Jordan Chandler Hirsch’s essay: https://sapirjournal.org/money/2025/the-need-for-a-jewish-sovereign-wealth-fund/Read Roger Zakheim’s rebuttal: https://sapirjournal.org/letters/against-a-jewish-sovereign-wealth-fund-renewing-americas-covenantal-promise/Watch the virtual discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g51WmzVsNwMusic from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove

The assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin 30 years ago, in November 1995, marked a major turning point in the prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Now, three decades later, the likelihood of a safe and secure Israel coexisting alongside an independent Palestinian state appears increasingly more remote.Despite growing international pressure, Israeli support for a two state-solution continues to drop while skepticism that peace is achievable continues to grow. In the shadow of the October 7th attacks and a two-year long war in Gaza, is lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians possible? Is There a Realistic Future for the Two-State Solution?On November 17, SAPIR hosted a debate on this question on the plenary stage of the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly in Washington, D.C.Speakers:Tamar Ish-Shalom, Israeli journalist & host of Jewish CrossroadsDr. Michael Koplow, Chief Policy Officer, Israel Policy ForumJohn Podhoretz, Editor, Commentary MagazineMusic from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/track/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove

Of Israel’s many achievements since October 7, none perhaps was as unforeseen as the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange reaching an all-time high two years since the start of the war. While this reflected the resilience and dynamism of the start-up nation, there are troubling signs ahead for Israel’s economy: the high cost of war; stagnant economic sectors; bureaucratic malaise; high population growth; and more. Can Israel make the adjustments and double its GDP over ten years? Can Jews in the Diaspora help it get there?Israeli venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg joined SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens for a conversation about what it will take for Israel to become a trillion-dollar economy.Watch this SAPIR Conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S4BQEQynhM Read Michael Eisenberg’s essay: https://sapirjournal.org/money/2025/building-israels-trillion-dollar-economy/ Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove

Why does the stereotype about Jews and money endure? Is Judaism a contractual or covenantal religion? Is Jewish life today too expensive? Should the cost of Jewish education be offset by philanthropic giving or public funding?  Join Bret and Rabbi Wolpe for a wide-ranging SAPIR Conversation on these questions and more, which are featured in the newly released issue of the journal on Money. Dive into the issue at sapirjournal.org/issues/money.Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): ⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove