Yehuda Kurtzer is president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, a research and education center based in Jerusalem and New York.
Yehuda Kurtzer
By Yehuda Kurtzer
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Opinion We must continue to support Israel’s war — and honestly grapple with tough questions from critics
The challenge for liberals in this moment is to support Israel's war — and hope it is fought justly and speedily
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Opinion How Oct. 7 is reshaping the Zionist — and anti-Zionist — left in the US
The Zionist left is reengaging to broaden the establishment’s big tent — and the anti-Zionist left is staying far outside
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Opinion This war is just even though it’s brutal. Jewish leaders need to be ready to defend it
Sermons and speeches calling for ‘ceasefire’ distort Jewish values
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Life The loneliness of Jewish theology
For several months, I’ve been interviewing clergy and other Jewish thinkers about God for a series in the Forward called Still Small Voice. Last week, one of those scholars, Dr. Yehudah Kurtzer, turned the tables and interviewed me for his podcast “Identity/Crisis.” Kurtzer, president of Shalom Hartman North America, was one of the 18 scholars…
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Opinion The Biggest Threat To The Jews? The Partisan Divide.
The central existential threat to Jews in America today is the toxic nature of partisanship in American political culture. I believe we are at a critical juncture for a new American Jewish conversation on this issue that asks us to consider how our political choices as Jews implicate our collective identity as Jews in America….
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Life Why You Should Sneak-Read In Shul This Yom Kippur
My journey, both personally and professionally, in Orthodox and non-Orthodox circles alike, has introduced me to a surprising divide, one that does not map neatly onto the denominational divide but evokes diverging passions that grow more animated as one moves from right to left. Namely: The practice of reading in shul. Every year I try…
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Opinion 3 Types of Shimon Peres Haters — and Why They’re Wrong
The Shimon Peres haters — and they are many — are coming out in full force already, preying on his would-be memory while his life hangs in the balance. Even as his family grows optimistic that he will recover following a massive stroke, these haters are trying to undermine the inevitable hagiography that looms and…
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Opinion Yitzhak Rabin Has an Urgent Message for Israelis — But They Can’t Hear It Now
It has been 20 years since the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The assassination was easily one of the most significant moments in Israel’s brief history, and arguably in Jewish history altogether. Why has there been so little talk of it — and so limited a commemoration — in the Jewish public square?…
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