SAPIR Conversations

For many Jewish and Zionist students, faculty, and administrators, the tumultuous year following October 7 meant navigating campus life amid protests, encampments, lockdowns, and boycotts. What was once a familiar academic environment had become a place of sustained tension and, at times, outright hostility.
 
Over the last 20 months, federal authorities have taken increasingly assertive action to address this collegiate climate, citing concerns about a rise in campus antisemitism. Lawsuits, congressional subpoenas, threats of funding cuts, and the detention of foreign students have been welcomed by some in the Jewish community as long overdue demonstrations of resolve. Others, however, warn that these measures risk undermining the pluralistic norms that have long sustained Jewish life in higher education – and, worse, might even breed resentment against Jews in the long-term.
 
American Jews and friends of the community face a consequential question: do government crackdowns ultimately safeguard, or undermine, the interests of Jewish and Zionist students, faculty, and the broader academic community?

This SAPIR Debate took place live at the Israel on Campus Coalition National Leadership Summit on August 4, 2026 in Washington D.C. It featured Noah Pollak and Jonathan Rauch, and was moderated by Aviva Klompas.

Johns Hopkins political scientist Yascha Mounk joined Bret Stephens to discuss his new essay, “Censorship Won't Help the Jews,” in the (Fixing) America issue of SAPIR.
Read Yascha’s essay here: https://sapirjournal.org/fixing-america/2026/censorship-wont-help-the-jews/
Questions or comments? Send us a note at ⁠info@sapirjournal.org⁠
Music from #Uppbeat: ⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove

Literary scholar Ruth Wisse and publisher Adam Bellow join Rabbi David Wolpe for a lively discussion on American Jewish literature, 50 years on from the year Saul Bellow was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Questions or comments? Send us a note at ⁠info@sapirjournal.org⁠
Music from #Uppbeat: ⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove

Manhattan Institute president Reihan Salam joined Bret Stephens to discuss his new essay, “Islam in America,” in the (Fixing) America issue of SAPIR.
Read Reihan’s essay here: https://sapirjournal.org/fixing-america/2026/islam-in-america/
Questions or comments? Send us a note at ⁠info@sapirjournal.org⁠
Music from #Uppbeat: ⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove

Anne Neuberger joined Bret Stephens to discuss her new essay, “The Jewish Case for Public Service,” in the (Fixing) America issue of SAPIR.Read Neuberger’s essay here: https://sapirjournal.org/fixing-america/2026/the-jewish-case-for-public-service/
Questions or comments? Send us a note at ⁠info@sapirjournal.org⁠
Music from #Uppbeat: ⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove