When a word carries history, burden, and identity all at once, can the Jewish people afford to let it go?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the internal Jewish debate over the term Zionism, examining its classical promises of empowerment, the push to abandon it in the face of progressive critique, and why the term means something different in Israel and the Diaspora. Ultimately, they ask what it would take for Zionism to become not only defensible but inspiring again for world Jewry.

Read Nadine Epstein's article cited in the show, “The Word Zionism Is Dead” here.

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Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

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How do you celebrate the holiday of liberation when the reality of war, grief, and political division feels heavier than ever?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi confront the growing exhaustion in Israel with the conflicts in Iran and Lebanon, the profound grief interrupting daily life, and the internal fractures exposed by new government legislation. As they navigate these challenges, they reflect on what liberation means today, and grapple with the moral and spiritual questions of how to hold onto hope when the Jewish state is tested from both within and without.

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Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

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Is Israel destined to have its wars stopped by its closest ally just before the finish line?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine the rumors of a potential negotiation to end the current conflict with Iran and ask whether this moment reflects a recurring pattern in the U.S.-Israel relationship. They explore America’s role in pressing for de-escalation at pivotal moments in Israeli military campaigns and what that pressure means for Israel’s long-term security.

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Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

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Register for our summer programs for lay leaders, rabbis, and educators!

What is the hidden cost of Israeli resilience?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi move beyond strategic analysis to examine how the war is reshaping daily life in Israel, why the polls haven't budged despite a popular and militarily successful war, and what the Lebanon ground operation reveals about Israel's most stubborn patterns. They also confront the growing divide in American Jewry over Israel's place in Jewish identity — a rift that goes far deeper than policy disagreement.

You can watch the remarks by Israel's Consul General to the Midwest Elad Stromhayer to Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan here.

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Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

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Register for our summer programs for lay leaders, rabbis, and educators!

Secure your spot at the Florida Leadership Conference this Sunday!

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If this war with Iran is self-evident to Israelis, why does it feel so different to North American Jews?

Starting with that blunt question, in this special live episode of For Heaven’s Sake, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi assess endgames, regime change, public legitimacy, and the possibility that military success could come with growing political isolation -- the deep fear that Israel could win this war with Iran and still lose something essential in its relationship with North American Jewry.

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Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

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Learn more about our Giving Society and Wellspring Family Circle.

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Why do 93% of Israelis support a war that much of the West condemns as a violation of international law?

In this special episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the profound disconnect between Israeli moral instincts and Western liberal sensibilities. They analyze the "unconscious pacifism" of the West, the reality of a 45-year ongoing conflict with the Iranian regime, and the challenge of separating leadership motives from national survival.

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Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

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Watch Donniel Hartman and Abby Pogrebin’s conversation on the war with Iran.

Apply or refer a teen you know to the Hartman Teen Fellowship.

Register for our virtual day of learning,In the Face of Cruelty: Jewish Responsibilities to Neighbors and Strangers on March 12.

Join Donniel for the Florida Leadership Conference, a meaningful day of learning and conversation to process the fear and confusion of this moment and think together about what lies ahead for Israel and the Middle East.

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Why does this experience of war with Iran feel entirely new and eerily familiar in the arc of Israeli life? In this emergency episode of For Heaven’s Sake, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi reflect on the strange, exhausting routines of life spent rushing in and out of shelters and the realization that these rituals have become a recurring feature of Israeli life.

Together, they explore what this moment reveals about Israeli vulnerability and resilience: the way decades of conflict have blurred the boundary between home front and front line, the existential anxiety stirred by Iran’s ideology, and the moral and spiritual questions that surface when war unfolds during the week of Purim.

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Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

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How do you go about daily life — bar mitzvahs, trips, work — when every two hours the news cycle shifts, every Israeli with a cousin in the Air Force has a take, and even seasoned analysts can't say what comes next?

In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi take us inside the strange collective experience of Israeli life: suspended in waiting, saturated with rumors, and bracing for a military confrontation that could reshape the entire Middle East — before anything has happened yet.

Watch the video version of our podcast on our Youtube channel.

Past episodes of this show, and other podcasts from Ark Media can be found at arkmedia.org.

For more ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, visit shalomhartman.org, or JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST.

Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more.

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week:

Register for this summer’s Community Leadership Program or Rabbinic Torah Seminar.

Educators, apply now to the Wellspring Summit for Educators!