Boycotts and 'red lines': A famed NY Jewish institution grapples with tough post-Oct. 7 questions

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Dec 23, 2025

Susan Engel, the longtime executive director of the 92nd Street Y, shares her insights on navigating cultural conversations post-October 7. She discusses the Y's journey of self-reflection regarding Jewish identity and the importance of civil discourse, even when opinions clash. Engel emphasizes the necessity of setting 'red lines' against hate speech while remaining open to diverse viewpoints. She also recounts the challenges and triumphs of expanding the Y's online presence and fostering intimate, meaningful dialogues on contentious issues.

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ANECDOTE

From Local Roots To A Global Stage

Susan Engel recounts building nonfiction author programs and expanding the Y's cultural offerings since 1982.
She emphasizes growing from local Jewish roots into a major cultural center with 200 talks a year.

ANECDOTE

Friendship Creates Intimate Interviews

Susan describes hosting Rob Reiner with longtime friend Alan Zweibel and how friendship created intimacy on stage.
She highlights that friend-interviewers who research deeply produce uniquely special conversations.

INSIGHT

Crisis Prompted Institutional Soul-Searching

Engel says October 7 forced the Y into soul-searching about its Jewish identity and mission.
She argues institutions must double down on values while continuing to present differing views civilly.

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Before October 7th, Trump’s second term and the election of Zohran Mamdani rocked New York’s Jewish community, Manhattan’s famed 92nd Street Y – like most mainstream Jewish institutions – played it relatively safe when it came to programs about Israel.

Susan Engel, executive producer of the 92nd St. Y Talks, tells the Haaretz Podcast that the famed Manhattan cultural center has undergone “a soul-searching since October 7 around our own Jewish identity and around who we are as a Jewish institution. And I think we've had to double down on our values and what it means to present different views, sometimes critical of Israel – because it's important to hear what someone else who thinks differently” has to say.

Her audiences – in-person and the millions who watch her events online – she believes, greatly “appreciate” the fact that she can bring together people who “really disagree strongly” yet can “have a conversation and be civil.”

At the same time, she said, the Y – founded as a center for Jewish life and culture in 1874 – experienced a boycott and staff walkouts after October 7 – maintains “red lines.” They will not platform those who have expressed “homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic” views or “if we feel that someone believes that Israel should be destroyed.”

On the podcast, Engel also discusses the big-name cultural, political and Hollywood figures who have taken to the 92nd St. Y stage, including a recent appearance by Rob Reiner, who died tragically earlier this month, the art of creating an intimate space for interviews when millions are watching, and her experience as a judge at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.

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