

Committing High Reason
Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro
Join scholar, international speaker, and author Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro for cutting-edge discourse on important issues such as morals, free will, religion, politics, mathematics, critical thinking, and science. Learn to recognize propaganda, and make more logical and better-informed decisions.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 2, 2022 • 30min
Ben Gurion's Betrayal of American Jewry: The Jacob Blaustein Story
At this week's gala WZO 125th Anniversary soiree in Basel, Switzerland, Israel's "Minister of Diaspora Affairs" made mentioned a "deal" between Ben Gurion and Jacob Blaustein regarding the relationship between American Jewry and Israel. He called for a renewed such "agreement" to be made today. But the way the story was described is fiction. American Jews complained to Ben Gurion that Israel was putting American Jews in danger. Ben Gurion promised to change Israel's presentation of itself as the Jewish state, but he betrayed his promise, as did Zionist leaders, repeatedly. In this podcast, the real story of Israel's betrayal of American Jewry.The Times of Israel articleBen Gurion's letter to the AJCPhoto: Jospeh Proskauer. Bain, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Jul 29, 2022 • 52min
Why Israel Has So Many Elections
SInce 1996, Israel has had elections more often than any democratic country in the world, according to a report by the Israel Democracy Institute. What is ti about the state of Israel that makes its government so unstable?Episode Photo by Laliv g - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77887884

May 20, 2022 • 38min
Amb. Chas Freeman Talks About Hasbara and Zionist Propaganda

May 10, 2022 • 53min
Terror Attack in Israel: What the Zionists Need to Do
Why the terrorists will not win, and how Zionism prevents Israelis from stopping it.Links:Officials expect terror wave to last all yearKilling Sinwar is not a solution

Apr 27, 2022 • 43min
Ambassador Chas Freeman Discusses The Disinformation Wars
"It's worse than the McCarthy era".Veteran Ambassador Chas Freeman discusses the astounding and unprecedented level of disinformation and propaganda produced today by our politicians and the media, especially as it relates to what he learned in his many years as a US diplomat.

Mar 25, 2022 • 55min
Jewish USAF Airman is asked: "Why Aren't You in the IDF?"
Boruch Mordechai was an Orthodox Jewish USAF airman who was constantly asked why he is serving in his own country's military and not Israel's. That is, until he served in Qatar.

Feb 16, 2022 • 28min
Is Israel a Pseudo-Theocracy?
Journalist Lee Stranahan posted this on Twitter: Dear @yaakov_shapiro Do you think it's fair to call the state of Israel a "Psuedo theocracy?"It seems to use The APPEARANCE of being a religious government, but in reality it only has all the authoritarian bigotry and none of the actual reverence of religion.Great question, Lee. The answer is no. Here's why.

Jan 9, 2022 • 25min
How Herzl Lied About The Dreyfus Affair
The podcast explores how the Dreyfus Affair influenced Theodore Herzl and the Zionist movement. It questions Herzl's motivations and analyzes his involvement in Zionism. The Panama Scandal and antisemitism's role in the Dreyfus Trial are also discussed. Additionally, the unrealistic nature of Zionism as a solution to antisemitism is examined.

Sep 9, 2021 • 37min
The Bias in Academic Judaic Studies
Many Judaic Studies instructors have been found to harbor a disdain for ultra-Orthodox Jews, which skews their academic portrayals of them and their ideology. Prof. Norton Mezvinsky explains.Episode photo: In the 18th century, as interest in the "curiosities" of the Jewish religion rose, some non-Jews had models of synagogues erected, furnished with a full array of Jewish books and ceremonial objects, and accessible to a broad public, constituting the world's first "Jewish museums." This title page is from a book by Moritz Wilhelm Christiani, which describes such a replica, owned by Georg Serpilius, a Christian Hebraist. (Picture and text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_studies ).

Sep 3, 2021 • 30min
Samuel Heilman’s “Who Will Lead Us” is Fake News (I Should Know, It Was My Wedding)
In denigrating the Rebitzen of the ultra-Orthodox Satmar chasidim, a professor writes of a story involving a wedding that took place 40 years ago. That was Rabbi Shapiro's wedding. In this podcast, he sets the record straight.https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-time-seem-to-speed-up-with-age/


