Does Zionism Have a Future on the American Left?

The answer isn’t obvious.

In the shadow of the war in Gaza, shifting ideological fault lines and coalitions are redefining the boundaries of progressive politics nationwide. The normalization of rhetoric on the Left that questions Israel’s legitimacy has become a source of growing discomfort, if not concern, for Zionists across the political spectrum. Likewise, actions of the Israeli government – before and since the recent war – have prompted those on the Left to reevaluate their association with and support for Israel. Nowhere is this phenomenon more pressing than in New York City, home to more Jews than any city in the world. On both a local and national level, many are asking: can one be both proudly Zionist and firmly on the Left, or has the divide grown too wide to bridge?

Moderated by SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens, this second of the SAPIR Debates will feature four distinguished voices.

Arguing YES:

• Kathy E. Manning, board chair of the Democratic Majority for Israel, a former two-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the first woman to ever chair the board of the Jewish Federations of North America
• Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, co-editor of The New Jewish Canon and host of the Identity/Crisis podcast

Arguing NO:

• James Kirchick, contributing opinion writer to the New York Times and best-selling author of Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington and The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues, and the Coming Dark Age
• Batya Ungar-Sargon is the author of three books, including the forthcoming The Left and the Jews from Broadside at Harper Collins, and is host of BATYA on NewsNation

The SAPIR Debates is a new series that features a spirited but civil exchange of views on the most consequential issues facing the American Jewish community.