Repairing the Divide: Jews, Progressives, and the Fight Against Jihadism

About Lecture: 

This lecture explores how Jews are facing a “perfect storm” of political and, at times, physical assaults from the left, right, and Islamist movements. It calls on us to set aside our political “priors” — left versus right — long enough to confront antisemitism from every direction, regardless of our political frameworks. There is a path for Jewish left and Jewish right to come together around shared strategies, bridging our divisions and combining our too-often contentious forces.

About Scholar:

Charles Jacobs, named by The Forward as one of America’s Top 50 Jewish Leaders in 2007, is a journalist and longtime social activist who, over nearly four decades, has founded, co-founded, and helped launch numerous human rights and pro-Israel organizations addressing critical unmet challenges.

His work spans the United States and internationally, including the Boston branch of CAMERA, the American Anti-Slavery Group, The David Project, Americans for Peace and Tolerance, the Jewish Leadership Project, the African Jewish Alliance, and the International Freedom Coalition. 

Charles has been widely published, including in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal,

Jerusalem Post, JNS, and the Encyclopedia Britannica. He has appeared on local and national television and radio, including CNN, CBS, Fox News, NPR, and PBS. Along with Avi Goldwasser, he edited and published the book Betrayal: The Failure of American Jewish Leadership.