Earlier this week, Israel signed a controversial ceasefire deal with Lebanon, brokered by the Biden administration. Tablet’s news editor Tony Badran joins Liel to explain why the deal is the culmination of Barack Obama’s anti-Israeli vision for the region, how it might complicate the Trump administration’s foreign policy, and what reasons, if any, …

In 2017, Liel, back then no fan of Donald Trump, wrote a piece defending one of the president’s advisors, Sebastian Gorka, who was outrageously accused of being an actual Nazi. The reaction it generated sent Liel on a journey of political transformation, one that many Americans have recently shared, away from intimidation and lies and towards freed…

Once upon a time, American publishing houses were paragons of excellence, championing writers like Cytnhia Ozick or Saul Bellow and helping create a robust culture. These days, however, the industry has been hijacked by inflamed activists who are more interested in banning books than publishing them, and who are especially keen to target Jewish wri…

With Donald Trump slated to return to the White House after a truly historic upset, many Americans are feeling joyful and many others bereft. Both may be missing the point, which is that change, in America, often comes by precisely in a string of revolutions, tearing down old and crumbling institutions and replacing them with ones better geared to …

With just a few days to go before the 2024 presidential elections, we hear a lot of chatter about American democracy, usually from partisan hacks who are more interested in touting self-serving lies than honing up to inconvenient truths. But the actual hurdles we face as we try to heal our ailing system are much more complicated, and overcoming the…

On this episode of Tablet Radio Hour, our Minyans are casting their vote. Tablet executive editor Wayne Hoffman, Jamie Betesh Carter and author and journalist Abigail Pogrebin assembled not one, but TWO minyans, one of which was made up of of Harris/Walls supporters and a second made up of of Trump/Vance supporters. They discuss their methods and w…

These days, a lot of people are feeling anxious about America, Israel, and the precarious state of the world. But Jews have always had a superpower—hope, not the facile and silly sort but the kind that motivates people to change the world. Liel is joined by singer, songwriter and author Peter Himmelman, who explains why giving up is never an option…

On this episode of Re-Form: Examining the Challenges and Choices of America’s Largest Jewish Movement, we use our final episode to look at the current state of Zionism in the Reform movement. We’re joined by Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, whose recent, viral Yom Kippur sermon emphasized his stance that Zionism is an imperative for Jews today. You can watch or …

Ta-Nehisi Coates’s latest book, The Message, details his travels from Dakar, to South Carolina, to the West Bank and Jerusalem. Liel is joined by NY Post and Fox News contributor Karol Markowicz to discuss Coates’s problematic approach to “research,” in which he chose not to speak to Israelis directly.…

On this episode of Re-Form: Examining the Challenges and Choices of America’s Largest Jewish Movement, we look at the Reform movement’s approaches to dealing with members who are increasingly marrying people of other faiths.We are joined by Rabbi Beau Shapiro from the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and Rabbi Dr. Lisa D. Grant, who serves a…

This is an October 7th story, but one that begins not in 2023, but in October of 1894 with the arrest of French military officer Alfred Dreyfus, who also happened to be a Jew. The implications of his framing, arrest, incarceration and the fallout of his eventual exoneration reverberate today. Over this five-episode series, we examine how these even…

An ambitious soldier with a fraudulent smoking gun sets off a chain of events that leads to the embarrassment and punishment of an innocent Jew.Av Tablet Magazine

As Dreyfus wastes away on Devil’s Island, his wife and brother back in France fight for his freedom and exoneration. Dreyfus struggles to survive. We speak to Dreyfus's great-great granddaughter about his legacy.Av Tablet Magazine

France's most influential writer of its time, Emile Zola , becomes the champion of the victim, even at his own, perhaps fatal expense. We’re joined by his great granddaughter, who speaks of the cost Zola paid in fighting for freedom.Av Tablet Magazine

But what about France today, and the world for jews? French activist Carloline Fourest connects the affair to antisemitism today.Av Tablet Magazine

The conflict in the Middle East isn’t about religion, or national aspirations, or any of the wonderfully abstract things us westerners like to dream about: Tony Badran, Tablet’s news editor, joins Liel to explain the logic that has governed the Levant since at least the Bronze Age, and argue that Israel now has a historic opportunity to change hist…

This week on Re-Form, we’re taking a break from the interviews to look at some of the feedback we’ve been getting from you, our listeners. We find praise, questions, and even a reform rabbi who disagrees with … a lot. If you want to send more feedback reach out at podcasts@tabletmag.comAv Tablet Magazine

On the first episode of our new flagship series, Liel Leibovitz puts the current wars in Israel in context. He is then joined by Amiad Cohen, Founder and CEO of Herut, a leading Israeli think tank, to discuss a novel argument for a path to lasting peace on Israel’s borders.Av Tablet Magazine

On this episode of Re-Form: Examining the Challenges and Choices of America’s Largest Jewish Movement, we look at the positive impacts of the Reform movement’s focus on inclusivity. We’re joined by Rabbi Karen R. Perolman of Congregation B’Nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, NJ.Av Tablet Magazine

On this episode of Beautifully Jewish, we’re preparing for 5785 with a focus on the holiday table. Rethinking the table just might ground you and bring some clarity as you get ready for these days of awe. Tanya begins the episode with her reflections on the spiritual significance of the table before she and guest host Shannon Sarna share three inte…

This week we talk to Erin Foster, the creator and writer of new Netflix comedy Nobody Wants This, starring Adam Brody, Kristen Bell, and Unorthodox alum Tovah Feldshuh. Then we visit the special collections of Hebrew University. Learn more about becoming a Tablet Member at tabletm.ag/uomember Podcast Audio Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, o…

On this episode of Re-Form: Examining the Challenges and Choices of America’s Largest Jewish Movement, we look at the Reform movement’s focus on Social Justice, and how the emphasis on it can impact Jewish practice. We spoke with Rabbi Sari Laufer, Chief Engagement Officer at Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles and a veteran of the Religious Action …

Executive Producer Courtney Hazlett sits down with Tanya Singer and Talia Elkin to discuss the Simchat Torah Challenge, a new project aimed at getting 10,000 Jews to read the Torah portion every week. Learn more and join the challenge at www.simchattorahchallenge.org. Then, Courtney brings us back to Israel with a visit to the Shura military base t…

On this episode of Re-Form: Examining the Challenges and Choices of America’s Largest Jewish Movement, we look at the Reform movement’s decision about patrilineal descent, and how it re-defined who is a Jew. Rabbi Mark Washofsky joins us to discuss a pivotal 1983 responsa.Av Tablet Magazine

Introducing, Re-Form: Examining the Challenges and Choices of America’s Largest Jewish Movement. Hosts Josh Kross and Rabbi Diana Fersko walk us through the big decisions — from patrilineal descent to Zionism to intermarriage — that brought the movement to the crossroads it is at today.Av Tablet Magazine