SAPIR Conversations

Following the release of its issue on The University, SAPIR brought together leaders and experts from academia, philanthropy, and Jewish organizational life for a convening focused on identifying practical solutions to the serious challenges facing higher education. That gathering began with a discussion between Harvard University professor Danielle Allen, social psychologist and author, Jonathan Haidt and Maimonides Fund Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi David Wolpe, exploring why trust has diminished in institutions of higher education and what could be done to restore their values and faith in them. SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman delivered opening remarks, a condensed version of which you will hear in this recording. This SAPIR Conversation was recorded live in New York City on December 16, 2024.

The modern university is at a crossroads. Is it still defined by its foundational mission to cultivate curiosity and advance knowledge, or is it defined by advocacy and activism centered around certain moral absolutes? And where do Jewish students, faculty, and ideas fit in? Listen as SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens interviews Yeshiva University President Ari Berman and former Brandeis University President Ron Liebowitz to discuss the purpose of the modern university and the role for Jews and Jewish ideas on campus.

Since October 7, Israeli researchers and faculty have felt the chilling effects of a flourishing global boycott movement. In a shift that’s taken hold at high levels of American academia, Israeli scholars and universities have been barred from conferences, squeezed out of research grants, and cut out of collaboration with colleagues around the world. Is there a way out of this mess? On Thursday, December 5, SAPIR editor-in-chief Bret Stephens interviewed Netta Barak-Corren, the Haim H. Cohn Chair in Human Rights Law at the Hebrew University’s School of Law and Ronald R. Krebs, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and a professor of political science at the University of Minnesota to discuss the dangerous normalization of academic boycotts and which forces in the American university are fighting back.

On November 27th, 2023, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren laid out his vision for Israel’s endgame in Gaza. Now, more than ten months after its publication, how should we understand the realistic potential for “a day after”? Will this proverbial day ever arrive? And how does last fall’s vision hold up? As the final event in SAPIR's 'One Year Later' series, former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren joined SAPIR Institute Director Chanan Weissman for a discussion on what’s changed and what comes next.