Think Twice with Jonathan Tobin

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin and JNS columnist/author Ruthie Blum discuss the Israeli election results and what they mean for the future of Israel.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, author of a new book on media bias about how a partisan and untrustworthy press is not only destroying journalism but driving Americans further apart. Tobin and Fleischer discuss how a biased mainstream legacy media is dominated by liberals who think alike and have lost interest in objective reporting. Instead, they engage in political activism, causing them to fail to understand the rest of the country. This trend has also enabled anti-Semitism since the left-wing acceptance of critical race theory and intersectionality has both undermined faith in the media and prioritized identity politics. Fleischer also makes predictions about the midterms and the 2024 presidential election.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks about the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism on both ends of the political spectrum. He singled out the way popular podcaster Joe Rogan gave a platform to BDS advocate Roger Waters and Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson gave an hour of his program to Kanye West, an open anti-Semite as examples of how tropes of Jew-hatred are being showcased as legitimate discourse on popular sites.He’s then joined by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs’ Yossi Kuperwasser. The two discussed how the recent Israeli maritime deal with Lebanon is a case of the Jewish state “paying protection” to terrorists rather than making peace as well as the conflict with the Palestinians and nuclear negotiations with Iran.

In this week’s episode of “Top Story,” JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior fellow Behnam Ben Taleblu about the fallout from the protests against the Iranian theocratic government’s despotic rule and the ongoing efforts of the Biden administration to reach a nuclear deal with the regime.Tobin and Taleblu both discuss how the lip service being paid to the demonstrations by women and others against the regime’s “morality police” by President Joe Biden is contradicted by American nuclear diplomacy that is aimed at empowering and enriching the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

JNS Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Zionist Rabbinic Coalition Founder Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt. The two speak about the troubling shift in the American rabbinate. Weinblatt warns that there are rabbis who are afraid to speak out in favor of Israel. He then explains that just as rabbinical seminaries would not admit a racist, a homophobe or a misogynist, they should not accept anyone who doesn’t believe in Jewish peoplehood and the importance of Israel.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with LegalInsurrecution.com’s William Jacobson about the Anti-Defamation League’s betrayal of its mission by including critical race theory teachings in the curricula it distributes in schools as part of its anti-hate programs. These toxic ideas are linked to anti-Semitism and hatred for Israel. They discussed how the ADL has changed into a functional arm of the Democratic Party in recent years and become more focused on demonizing conservatives and staying in sync with liberal political fashion than in fighting anti-Semitism.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, who served in the Trump administration helping to bring about the Abraham Accords and the author of a new memoir about his experiences.They discussed the fate of the Abraham Accords under a disinterested Biden administration and the threat of a new Iran nuclear deal. “My concern isn't whether or not the Biden administration wants to support the Abraham accords, but do they want to give $250 billion to Iran?" Furthermore, he asserts that the US is in fact the only country really pushing Iran to join the deal and provide a path to a nuclear missile.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with columnist and author David Harsanyi about unjust Biden administration policies that hurt the working class and help the well-off and the rise of anti-Semitism on the left.Harsanyi called President Joe Biden’s student loan bailout “Robin Hood in reverse.” He also said that Jewish groups' embrace of such unjust policies showed that they are “the same as the Democratic Party” and laments the rise of anti-Semitism on the left.

In this week’s episode, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with veteran Supreme Court litigator Nathan Lewin about the court’s recent decisions defending religious freedom. According to Tobin, liberal Jewish groups are opposing the court’s stand due to partisan politics and their fear of allowing faith in the public square. Lewin decried the willingness of Jewish groups to prioritize liberal social issues like abortion over the interests of the community, such as support for day schools and Israel as “degrading Judaism.” He also said that acceptance of woke ideas like critical race theory that oppose the principle of equal opportunity is dangerous for society as well as the Jews.

In this week’s episode of “Top Story,” JNS Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Matthew Continetti, author of “The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism.”The two discuss the history of conservatism, as well as the way the rise of former President Donald Trump and his populist approach to politics can be traced to trends that were part of the debate between the various strands of the movement.While the Left takes it as a given that the Right, especially under the leadership of Trump, embraces extremism, conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism, he said that these traits exist on both ends of the political spectrum. Continetti argued that “the biggest threat to American support for Israel, to Israel's legitimacy and I think to the success of the American Jewish community does come from the Left today and not from the Right.”

The notion that Jews are manipulating U.S. foreign policy against American interests is false but also the product of ignorance, explains Walter Russell Mead, the author of The Arc of a Covenant: The United Israel and the Fate of the Jewish People. He joins JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin this week to discuss how misperceptions of Jewish power are both an anti-Semitic trope and a misplaced belief in the centrality of Israel or Zionism. In fact, other nations and leaders are almost always pursuing their own interests.Even many Jews believe that supporters of Israel influence events when the decisions of each president, including the search for the “holy grail” of Middle East peace. are motivated by domestic concerns and not either a conspiracy or an exercise in Jewish power.

In this week’s episode, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks with Batya Ungar-Sargon, author of “ad News: How Woke Media is Undermining Democracy.” The two discuss how the shift away from objectivity to open left-wing bias on the part of the mainstream media is motivated not just by ideology but also by a desire for profit.Ungar-Sargon explained that the embrace of toxic leftist theories about race by young journalists dovetails with the desire of leading outlets like The New York Times to market itself to elites. This has led to the near-total erasure of working-class Americans and their concerns from the news pages. But it has also done the same for Jews, who are falsely classified as White oppressors.

In this week’s episode JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses how former President Donald Trump’s firing of the foreign policy establishment and disdain for the failed policies of his predecessors was the factor that made the breakthrough to the Abraham Accords possible. According to Tobin, though those experts disdained Trump, his achievements were too important for President Biden to overturn them.He’s joined by Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and the author of a new memoir about his experiences that set the stage for the Abraham Accords.Greenblatt explained the success of the Trump administration’s Middle East efforts by pointing to the way the experts “blamed Israel for just about everything” and treated the Palestinians “like children.” Trump’s amateurs discovered that the Arab states “felt abandoned by Obama” and found Trump to be “a breath of fresh air.”

In this week’s episode of “Top Story,” guest host Melanie Phillips discusses the challenges of the Reform movement with guest Rabbi Cary Kozberg. According to the rabbi, the Reform movement hijacks words like God and Torah to push its political progressive agenda with little traditional or contextual backing. “Words like God, Torah, Israel, commandment may be used,” he says. “But as far as I'm concerned, those are equivocal terms. And they're used in service of this agenda of political progressivism.”

In this week's "Top Story," guest host Melanie Phillips meets with former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman to discuss U.S. President Joe Biden’s arrival in the Middle East. During the discussion, Friedman offers his own version of what Biden should have told Israel and Saudi Arabia and what needs to be done to attain further peace in the region. Other topics of discussion include:- Economic incentives for America in the region,- Israeli relations with Saudi Arabia and- U.S. support of the Palestinian government.

In this week’s episode, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses both recent Supreme Court cases defending religious liberty and the need to “separate the state from the new secular woke religion on race, sex and gender.” According to Tobin, this set of beliefs that is rooted in Marxism and being brought into the schools is nothing less than a secular state religion that seeks to silence dissent.He’s joined by Lori Lowenthal Marcus, the legal director of the Deborah Project, which is suing to halt the teaching of an anti-Semitic ethnic studies curriculum in California. Marcus warns that the course is marinating kids in hatred and provides the same rationale that led to violence against Jews in the streets of Los Angeles.

In this week’s episode, JNS editor-in-chief discusses the debate among conservatives over how to respond to woke Marxist cultural indoctrination and whether Yoram Hazony’s new book on Conservatism provides the answer needed to defend both liberty and Western civilization.He’s joined by Hazony who warns that “woke Neo-Marxism” is carrying out a ”perpetual revolution indefinitely until it simply destroys everything.” He extols the virtues of personally leading “a conservative life” in which faith plays a central role and explains how his template for tradition and religion-based politics gives an answer to the left that liberalism has failed to provide.

In this week’s episode, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses how to cancel culture is spreading from college campuses to the rest of society, including journalism and even football. He’s joined by University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax who discusses efforts to cancel her for her statements supporting Western bourgeois values and opposing multiculturalism and affirmative action. She points out that affirmative action is being used as a club to silence dissent against toxic woke ideas.

In this week’s episode, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses how a “mapping project” undertaken by BDS supporters in Boston targets Jewish institutions throughout the state of Massachusetts, including synagogues and schools. He explains that this illustrates how the movement to boycott Israel is motivated by “pure unadulterated hate.”He is joined by Lana Melman, CEO of Liberate Inc. and author of a new book, Artists Under Fire, about the way the BDS works in Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Melman discusses how the movement attacks artists who go to Israel and intimidates others to avoid the topic.

In this week's episode, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses how progressive Democrats are seeking to undermine the U.S.-Israel alliance and what the Democratic primaries mean for Israel. Furthermore, he explains that the war being waged on AIPAC by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) may end up dooming any hopes for bipartisanship in Israel. He’s joined by Maurice Hirsch of Palestinian Media Watch who points out that the hate being fomented by the Palestinian Authority and its refusal to recognize Israel’s legitimacy effectively means there is “no difference” between the P.A. and Hamas.

In this episode JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses why the effort to tie mainstream Republicans and conservatives to the Buffalo mass shooting isn’t just wrong; it’s a smear that does more to undermine democracy and to break American society than anything done by an extremist. He’s joined by Fox News contributor Ben Domenech who says the problem behind mass shootings is “evil”, not politics. Domenech also analyzes the need for a stronger foreign and defense policy in the wake of the war in Ukraine and the need for Big Tech to uphold free speech.

In this episode, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses how despite the UN's lack of legitimacy and clear anti-Israel bias, it pays for Israel not to ignore it. The growing support for intersectional ideology and critical race theory on the American left fueled in part by the UN's 'Apartheid State' lie, will eat away at U.S. support for Israel if not combated.He is joined by Former Israel Ambassador to the UN Danny Dannon who discusses his first-hand experiences being in the lion's den, his new book and what can be done to defend Israel in and outside the UN.

Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin argues that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a consequence of President Joe Biden’s disastrous retreat from Afghanistan and attempts to appease Iran. He’s joined by Commentary magazine editor John Podhoretz who discusses how recent events had “vindicated neo-conservatism” by reminding us of the dangers of American weakness abroad. He and Tobin also discuss what enabled former President Donald Trump to choose to pursue a historic pro-Israel policy shift and how the left’s turn against parental rights and in favor of silencing the view of opponents has led them to “stop gaslighting” and “pull back the curtain” on their anti-democratic objectives.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin says the greatest threat to free speech is intolerant woke progressives who are determined to silence anyone who disagrees with them. But he points out that the left’s hijacking of the word “liberal” on behalf of illiberal causes isn’t just destroying open public discourse. He’s then joined by guest Karen Lehrman Bloch, the editor of White Rose Magazine, who explained that she founded the new journal to defend the principles of “classical liberalism,” after they came under renewed assault from leftists during the Black Lives Matter riots in the summer of 2020. She says her goal is to just promote free discourse but also to uphold the basic principles of the Western canon and aesthetics about the importance of beauty against those trying to destroy them.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the plague of media disinformation and hypocrisy that is eroding democracy and fueling anti-Semitism. He’s then joined by KeepJerusalem.org’s Chaim Silverstein who discusses his efforts to reclaim Jewish property in the Shimon Hatzidik and Nahalat Shimon neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses how outrage about the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to confusion about Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán and whether his “illiberal” nationalism is really antithetical to democracy or the defense of the Jewish community.He’s then joined by JNS columnist Ruthie Blum to break down the latest news about Palestinian terrorism, the American hijacking of the Israeli-Arab states summit, the dangers from a new Iran nuclear deal and attitudes toward the war in Ukraine and the Hungarian election.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the impact of American weakness and appeasement of Iran and how even the alliance of Israel and Arab nations who gathered in a historic summit this week can’t make up for this betrayal. He’s then joined by journalist Ben Weingarten to break down the latest about Ukraine, the administration’s inability to define American national interests and how this is leading to certain disaster with Iran as well as the collapse of media integrity and the way the far left is taking over the Democratic Party.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the new respect given to nationalism amid the wave of sympathy for Ukraine and why Zionism is just as deserving of support. He also analyzes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech to the Knesset and says his attempt to pressure Israel to intervene in the war and falsification of the history of the Holocaust were unpersuasive.He’s then joined by columnist Melanie Phillips who breaks down the latest about Israel and Ukraine, the hostile attitude of the Biden administration and the latter’s determination to push ahead with a new round of appeasement of Iran even if it means giving Russia a means to evade the sanctions meant to halt its aggression.

Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin analyzes how concern for Ukraine is sweeping aside other considerations that should be determining policy for the United States and is also being used to justify selling out Israel with another Iran nuclear deal. He’s then joined by Newsweek opinion editor and legal scholar Josh Hammer to discuss the meaning of the virtue-signaling about Ukraine, what’s really going on in Hungary with the Orban government, the dangers posed by critical race theory indoctrination, and the need to reboot American conservatism to become one more rooted in promoting the common good and the national interests of the United States.

Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses why Americans should care about Ukraine and the new axis of evil it has formed with China and Iran. He’s joined by columnist Karol Markowicz to discuss the conflict from the perspective of a child of Russian and Ukrainian Jewish parents, whether Americans have the bandwidth to care about this or any other foreign affairs issue for long. She then discusses her reporting and an upcoming book about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as well as wokeness on children and education.

Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses why the mainstream media can’t be trusted to tell the truth about the Biden administration’s appeasement of Iran. He’s then joined by journalist Eli Lake who analyzes the reasons why Russian President Vladimir Putin is escalating the crisis with Ukraine, the decline of support for a strong American foreign policy and the Biden foreign policy team’s belief in the nuclear deal with Iran is nothing less than a cult and why that’s so dangerous for the United States, Israel and the Arab states.

Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the Ukraine crisis and the decline of American influence as well as the connection to appeasement of Iran. He’s then joined by journalist Caroline Glick who discusses the failures of the Biden administration and the current Israeli government and the way she believes they are endangering the West and the Jewish state.

JNS Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin explains how the Jews and other people of moral decency have failed to protest the "genocide" Olympics in Beijing while human rights organizations concentrate their fire on democratic Israel. Elisha Wiesel joins the show to discuss his activism on issues like China and anti-Semitism, the failure to generate Jewish unity on these issues and in support of Israel as well as honoring the legacy of his Nobel Peace Prize laureate father Elie.

On today's show, editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the banning of Maus and the importance of not confusing censoring books with the need to fight critical race theory indoctrination.He’s also joined by veteran Jewish communal leader Barry Shrage to discuss the backlash against woke politics and the future of American Jewry. The two talk about the changing demographics of the community, what measures help promote Jewish peoplehood and support for Israel and whether we should be more optimistic or pessimistic about the future.

Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the lie that Jews are stealing land from the Palestinians in Israel and then is joined by the City of David’s Doron Spielman to discuss archeology, Jewish history and telling the truth about the past.The two talk about the development of the historic site, why some oppose efforts to uncover the treasures of Jewish history and how the finds at the City of David bring the Bible to life as well as the challenges of acting as a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces in times of crisis.

Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the Texas synagogue attack and whether it’s okay to discuss who is inciting anti-Semitism among Muslims. He’s also joined by author and legal expert Alan Dershowitz to discuss getting canceled for representing controversial clients including Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein and how this has impacted his ability to speak up for Israel.The two talk about the decline of pro-Israel sentiment in the Democratic Party, the future of Zionist advocacy, the way Jewish groups and colleges are silencing pro-Israel voices to avoid controversy and the impact of critical race theory on American politics and culture.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin talks about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Deborah Lipstadt, Harry Potter and anti-Semitism and the legacy of Sheldon Adelson.Also, former Pentagon official and author Doug Feith joins the show to discuss the Iranian nuclear threat, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S.-Israel relations.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin delves into the claim that goblins in Harry Potter represent Jews and posits that by being focused on dubious claims of Jew-hatred we are missing the real incidents of anti-Semitism.

JNS editor-in-chief discusses the Senate confirmation hold up of Dr. Deborah Lipstadt to the position of Special Envoy to combat anti-Semitism.

JNS Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin talks about the legacy of one of the Jewish world's biggest philanthropists and donor Sheldon Adelson.

JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin gives his hot take on what really is behind the commemoration of the January 6th riot.

Former Pentagon Official and author Doug Feith joins JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin to discuss the Iranian nuclear threat, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S.-Israel relations.The two discuss the future of American foreign policy, the impact of the Biden administration’s disaster in Afghanistan and appeasement of Iran as well as the judgment of history on American efforts in the war on terror and in the Middle East.

Author Yossi Klein Halevi joins JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin to discuss relations between Arabs and Jews, the current Israeli government, the peace process and anti-Semitism.The two talk about the potential for conflict between Israel and the Biden administration, the future of interfaith dialogue in both Israel and the United States, relations between the ultra-Orthodox and other Israelis and how to talk about Israel to young American Jews.

Legal scholar Eugene Kontorovich joins JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin to discuss the way international law is used to delegitimize Israel and Jewish rights in Jerusalem and the land of Israel. The two talk about recent controversies over the Biden administration’s efforts to reopen a consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem, the legal status of settlements and why the international community is determined to invalidate Jewish property rights in Jerusalem.

Historian and author Andrew Roberts joins JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin to discuss revisionist history and what’s behind the increasingly strident anti-Semitism in Great Britain. The two talk about Roberts’ latest book on George III, about Winston Churchill and the way debates about history can shape America’s vision of itself, as well as who is thwarting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s efforts to bring the U.K. closer to Israel.

Law professor and "Legal Insurrection" author William Jacobson joins JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin to discuss how intersectionality and critical race theory are destroying academic freedom and enabling anti-Semitism.The two discuss the way cancel culture, fueled by leftist ideology, is distorting the educational system, creating an atmosphere in which both liberals and conservatives are afraid to speak up.

Author and Middle East analyst Jonathan Schanzer joins JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin to discuss his new book "Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War."The two discuss how the myths about the conflict spread by Palestinian terror groups and picked up by the media have impacted opinion about Israel and how the conflict between Fatah and Hamas and their opposition to peace with the Jewish state is ignored by the Jewish state’s critics.

Composer and educator Daniel Asia joins JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin to discuss the way wokeness is undermining and ultimately destroying the arts. The two discuss how the obsessive and misguided focus on race, the suppression of free speech and cancel culture is undermining the foundations of Western civilization as well as giving a permission slip to anti-Semitism.

Veteran journalist and Foundation for the Defense of Democracies founder Clifford May joins JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin to discuss the threat from Iran and China as well as the collapse of journalism. The two talk about the impact of the Afghanistan debacle, the Iran nuclear talks, whether climate change is a security problem and the way partisanship has infected the mainstream media.