Ten days into a brutal new reality, much of Israeli society has picked itself up from the shock of the initial attacks and quickly mobilized toward helping the war effort, from donating medical supplies to housing refugees whose homes were destroyed. In this week’s episode Yehuda Kurtzer speaks to Effie Shoham, professor of Medieval Jewish History at Ben Gurion University and leader of the recent protest movement in Jerusalem, Shomrim Al Habayit Hamishutaf.

Since the start of the war, Shomrim Al Habayit’s communication platform for organizing mass protests against the judicial reform instantly pivoted to support the Israeli people, exemplifying civic resilience and ingenuity. Yehuda and Effie discuss the political strategy of civil organizing, how NGO’s and the government are working to meet the needs of the public, and how North American Jews can best support Israel in this moment.

A transcript of this episode is available here.

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In a frenzied media cycle, Identity/Crisis delves into the big ideas behind the news from a uniquely Jewish perspective. Host Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, talks with leading thinkers to unpack current events effecting Jewish communities in North America, Israel, and around the world, revealing the core Jewish values underlying the issues that matter to you.