Joshua Leifer on the Autumn of American Jewish Life, the Most Serious Test of the Jewish Left, and Much More

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy, Joshua Leifer – author of the new book Tablets Shattered. The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life – analyzes the unravelling of the postwar American Jewish consensus and the reemergence of oppositional Jewish politics; discusses what he sees as the four main political-religious tendencies in our times and how his own relationship to them has evolved over the years; explores the radical potential of traditional Judaism; and reflects on how the diasporic double bind may be navigated today.

Joshua Leifer is a journalist, editor, and translator whose essays and reporting have appeared widely in international publications, including The New York Review of Books, The New Statesman, and The Nation. Joshua is a member of the Dissent editorial board and is currently pursuing a PhD at Yale University which focuses on the history of modern moral and social thought. Tablets Shattered is Joshua Leifer’s first book.

Tablets Shattered. The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life will be released in August. It is published by Dutton.

The conversation was conducted by Ferenc Laczó. The recording has been edited by Lilit Hakobyan.