Shema Session: Why We Don't Define Antisemitism

Vlad is an internationally-recognized expert on antisemitism, extremism, and disinformation. He is the Executive Vice President at the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Vlad has shaped strategies to confront hate and strengthen democratic resilience. As a refugee from state-sponsored antisemitism in the former Soviet Union, Vlad brings a deeply personal perspective to this work. His optimism is refreshingly unique in a moment of real, rising challenges. Chapter Breakdown::00 - Introducing Vlad1:18 - The role that translation plays in Vlad’s experience and identity as a Jew from the Soviet Union12:59 - Why antisemitism became important for Vlad to address22:03 - Building fully inclusive progressive spaces28:58 - Anti-Zionism in the Soviet Union33:50 - Evaluating ideologies like anti-Zionism based on the material conditions they create 44:15 - What inclusion requires of us47:50 - Celebrating the rich tapestry of JewishnessResources:Ethan Katz, When Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitic? Getting Beyond the Polemics: https://www.sourcesjournal.org/articles/when-is-anti-zionism-antisemitic-getting-beyond-the-polemicsDavid Hirsch, Essay: “Anti-Zionism” and “Antizionism”: https://aijac.org.au/australia-israel-review/essay-anti-zionism-and-antizionism/. Please be sure to subscribe, rate, and reviewVisit our website: www.projectshema.orgTranslations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations

Recorded October 8, 2026, historian David Fishman joins Translations to trace the history of anti-Zionism in the Soviet Union from 1917 to the late 1980s. He charts five distinct periods including, early Soviet anti-Zionism, wartime thaw, Stalin’s final years and a post-Stalin era, and the years after 1967. Along the way, the conversation examines why those in power conflate Israel, Zionism, and Jews, how Cold War politics turned Soviet Jews into a convenient “enemy within," and why this rhetoric continues to resonate today.0:35 - Chameleon-like nature of anti-Zionist movement in the Soviet Union in Twentieth Century06:04 - How do categories of Israel, Zionism, and Jew, function for those in power? 09:42 - Changes in Soviet leadership internationally shaped the different responses to anti-Zionism within the country12:26 - The Cold War Period13:40 - Diversity in Soviet Union and its Implications for Soviet Jews as “Rootless Cosmopolitans”17:10 - Was Connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism present in the Soviet Union?20:55 - In a one party state, how did the Jews navigate life?23:36 - Origin of Language on Zionism as “evil Jew” Propaganda26:49 - UN Resolution of 1975 Originated from Soviet Union30:38 - ConclusionResources Referenced: Arash Azizi, “Iran’s State-led Anti-Zionism: A Brief History,” TAPSJ 1/1 (2026): 46-54. COMING SOON!Protocols of the Elders of ZionSubscribe wherever you get podcasts, and please be sure to rate & review: visit our website: www.projectshema.org.Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations

...Our first-ever Translations podcast Shema Session, a behind-the-scenes conversation series featuring Project Shema colleagues as we navigate the complex issues at the heart of our work. In this inaugural episode, we sit down with our CEO, Oren Jacobson, to explore why, as an antisemitism education organization, Project Shema does not adopt any formal definition of antisemitism. Together, we explore why, in most cases, a formal definition isn't necessary to understand the concerns of the community, including in educational environments and, at times, with policymakers. We also dive into the question on many people's minds: is anti-Zionism antisemitism?00 - :35 – Introduction:35 - 2:25 – Setting up the conversation, giving shape to words, being wrong is part of the process of work and learning. Disagreement is necessary and makes for diversity and representation. 2:54 - 3:42 – Why Project Shema does not define antisemitism 3:43 - 5:14 – Jewish Harm and Trauma can happen even if something is not antisemitism5:15 - 7:57 – Antisemitism and micro-invalidations7:58 - 9:28 – Defining the harm does not address the harm9:29 - 12:45 – International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Definition, Intergovernmental vs Jerusalem Declaration definition, and PS’s position as educators12:46 - 14:38 – Guidelines14:39 - 18:24 – What is the role of defining antisemitism in promoting Jewish Inclusion?18:25 - 23:41 – Antisemitism and anti-Zionism23:42 - 26:20 – Caring, curiosity, empathy and listening are what PS advocates for26:21- 27:01 – ConclusionResource Referenced: Yael Silverstein, Caryn Block, “Making the invisible visible: A taxonomy of contemporary antisemitic experiences on college campuses,” Journal of Jewish Education (2025): 1-26. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and please be sure to rate & review:   Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations

Recorded 08/13/2026What does "free speech" actually mean, and where are its limits, especially on a college campus? In this episode of Translations, we talk with Tom Ginsburg, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School and faculty director of the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, to break down how free speech really works. We talk about the difference between public and private universities, why the classroom, the quad, and the dorm room all operate under different rules, and how Title VI comes into play when speech crosses into harassment.We dig into real campus cases, including an incident where a Jewish student was targeted in their own dorm room, and talk through a practical way to think about the difference between protected political speech and targeted harassment. Along the way, Tom shares a simple idea he believes could fix a lot of what's broken on campus discourse: we might be wrong.This episode is released alongside a new Project Shema resource on free speech and anti-Semitism in the campus environment. Download available here. 0-0:39 - Introduction0:40 - What is Freedom Speech? 05:26 - How is Free Speech a Value vs a Law?07:11 - Is Free Speech understood better in its absence?11:46 - Free Speech on College/University Campuses is Different17:01 - Free Speech in Private Vs Public College/University?20:43 - Title VI and Jewish Harm on Campus35:01 - Campus as Democratic Spaces of Co-Existence38:35 - Words “Academic Freedom” is most dangerous to Jews?40:29 - Targeted vs Non-targeted Speech44:42 - Hate Speech Laws Limit Free Speech47:21 - Conclusion Subscribe wherever you get podcasts, and please be sure to rate and review. Visit our website: www.projectshema.org.Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations

On today’s episode, we are joined by Netanya Cranford. Netanya is a Jewish activist in San Diego. She is a founder and member of the group of “Change Begins With Me,” a San Diego Indivisible chapter started on the eve of Trump’s first inauguration. We explore her insights on building coalition spaces and her activism as a progressive Jew. Netanya’s politics are rooted in her ability to talk about her “story of self,” building coalitional politics, and local small “p” politics that allow her to make change in a variety of ways and across various communities.Chapter Breakdown::00 - Introducing and welcoming Netanya1:38 - The tensions and challenges of being a Jew in progressive spaces7:32 - Balancing identities15:42 - What being progressive means to Netanya20:53 - Building trust and the need to have courageous conversations25:51 - What progressives need to better understand about Jews, and vice versa36:03 - Advice for creating more inclusive local communitiesResources:“Change Begins With Me” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethechangesd/ Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It MattersPlease be sure to subscribe, rate, and review!Visit our website: www.projectshema.org.Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations

Today we are joined by Hélène Jawhara Piñer to discuss her research at the intersection of food and history and how what we eat—and what we’re not allowed to eat—can actually tell a deeper story about the world. Hélène’s work helps us understand how Jewish dietary practices were used to target and isolate Jews, and how in the present day we can still see echoes of that historical exclusion through attacks on Jewish, Israeli, and kosher spaces.Chapter Breakdown::00 - Introduction and welcome1:00 - Who Spanish Jews are2:52 - What the Spanish Inquisition was9:48 - Food as a centerpiece of culture, identity, and politics12:00 - What role food played for Converso and Crypto- Jews19:14 - Persecuting Jews through food27:34 - The targeting of Jewish, Israeli, and kosher spaces today Resources:https://helenejawharapiner.com/ Please subscribe, rate, and review!Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations

This episode comes from a special webinar we hosted on March 26,2026, “Dialogue as a Tool of Safety: An Iranian Jew and a Palestinian in Conversation.” Kara and Eli facilitated a courageous and deeply human conversation between Iranian Jewish peace activist and writer, Daniel Bral, and Palestinian peace activist and conflict resolution expert, Hamze Awade. Together, they explored what it means to engage in difficult dialogue across divides. Through personal stories, shared communication principles, and real-time modeling of tough conversations, this gathering highlights how empathy, respect, and curiosity can create spaces of safety and understanding, without erasing pain or identity. This session marked the launch of the Translations podcast.Chapter Breakdown::00 - Introduction and welcome4:39 - The worlds Daniel and Hamze come from10:40 - How Daniel and Hamze came together and built a relationship14:19 - Could this relationship have worked before October 7?17:10 - Co-creating a Substack20:19 - Examples of disagreement between Daniel and Hamze29:08 - How to stay in dialogue with someone who says something harmful34:31 - How to engage with people who view the conflict in a binary way40:00 - The responsibility to translate our community to others and to itself48:08 - Where the name of their Substack came from49:34 - The line between criticism and dehumanization52:51 - Navigating debates about the future configuration of Israel and Palestine57:25 - Reflecting on the Iran war and the media’s relationship with Palestinians1:04:27 - Lessons they’ve learned doing dialogue workResources:The Higher Ground, Substack: https://thehighergroundstack.substack.com/.Daniel Bral and Hamze Awawde, “Israel and Palestine Conversation Quicksand,” The Higher Ground, https://substack.com/home/post/p-170403852. Hamze Awawde, “Liberal Zionism’s PR Machine: How ‘Nuance’ Became a Language for Violence,” The Higher Ground, https://thehighergroundstack.substack.com/p/liberal-zionisms-pr-machine-how-nuance. Hamze Awawde, “The Performance Must End,” The Higher Ground, https://thehighergroundstack.substack.com/p/the-performance-must-end. Please be sure to subscribe, rate, and reviewVisit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations

Today’s guest is Whitney Weathers, who brings a rare combination of scholarship, strategy, and spirit to every space she enters. A consultant, educator, and thought leader in Black theology, urban education, and organizational culture, Whitney is the founder of Whitney Weathers Consulting, and a doctoral candidate at Nazarene Theological Seminary. Whitney brings a very unique combination of both academic research and lived experience to challenge institutions toward deeper inclusion. She defines the term “thrivival,” (moving past survival into thriving) and what that means specifically for Black women, which can then be applied for all of us to build more inclusive spaces. Listen for Whitney’s truly unique leadership style that centers vulnerability.Chapter Breakdown:0:00 - Introducing Whitney2:25 - Whitney’s research on the experiences of Black women seminarian students4:52 - Distinguishing between representation and inclusion6:00 - Whitney’s dissertation, "Resurrecting Resilience”9:21 - Alice Walker’s concept of “womanism”12:46 - The assumption of common experiences19:11 - Identity mapping25:15 - The intricacies of inclusion work34:11 - Professionalism and the concept of “hidden curriculum”38:22 - Inclusion versus assimilation43:23 - Advice for creating more inclusive spacesResources:Dr. Willie Jennings, After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging. adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing WorldsPlease be sure to subscribe, rate, and review.Visit our website: www.projectshema.org. Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations

In this episode, Kara and Eli explore how our inability to translate our language, and ourselves, undermines meaningful dialogue. How can we challenge complex norms and ideas if we remain more committed to binary frameworks than to understanding one another’s lived experiences? The antidote, they argue, is storytelling. By illuminating how our experiences shape our perspectives, storytelling has the power to depolarize conversation. It’s an approach at the heart of Project Shema’s work.Chapter Breakdown:0:00: The role of translating2:51: The idea of “binary rage”3:58: How we change complex social norms4:58: How do we start to translate from a place of stories? 8:11: How Kara translates herself in her experiences as a Black Jewish woman9:51: How Eli translates himself as a white member of a Black Jewish family12:00: The impact of ideological insularity13:00: Project Shema’s mission to translate and “wrestle”19:34: The notion of harmful speech21:50: Going beyond translating just antisemitism24:01: Previewing future episodesResources:Matt Boxer, What is Zionism? Assessing the Diversity of Discourse in a Charged Environment, Brandeis University: https://scholarworks.brandeis.edu/esploro/outputs/report/What-is-Zionism-Assessing-the-Diversity/9924331186501921?institution=01BRAND_INST. Damon Centola, Change: How to Make Big Things Happen: https://www.amazon.com/Change-How-Make-Things-Happen/dp/0316457337. Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion: https://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/0307455777 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and please be sure to rate & review.Visit our website: www.projectshema.org.Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations

Kara and Eli are joined by Andrew Mbuvi, distinguished scholar of biblical studies whose work bridges theology, race, and social justice. A leading voice in antiracist pedagogy, his scholarship examines how the histories of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament intersect with the realities of race, violence, and power. This conversation is a powerful foundation for understanding why Project Shema is so interested in translation in the first place—how the words we use shape our understanding of both text and one another.Chapter Breakdown::54 - What does “inclusion” mean to Andrew?2:21 - How we think about the problem of division4:39 - How to expand our understanding of one another’s humanity6:17 - The idea of “superficial differences” between people9:44 - How Andrew’s background informs his inclusion practice16:00 - How coming to America changed his self-understanding18:50 - Language and the need to translate different aspects of yourself and one another31:54 - Translation and true inclusion41:21 - The importance of maintaining curiositySubscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and please be sure to rate & review: Visit our website: www.projectshema.org.Translations is a new initiative from Project Shema exploring how we can approach complex issues with nuance and empathy. Through conversations with leading academics, practitioners, and community voices, this podcast invites listeners to learn alongside us as we translate big questions into deeper understanding. http://projectshema.org/translations