Don't Know Much About with Naya Lekht

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Naya speaks with Israeli-American writer and award-winning journalist Benjamin Kerstein about his new book, Self Defense: A Jewish Manifesto. The thesis of the book can be summed up in a single declaration: “This far, no further.” It is a call for Jews to stop accepting abuse, to draw firm boundaries, and to look evil directly in the eye, without shame in naming it.This message is especially urgent because, for decades, Jews have been forced into the position of explaining themselves. And it’s no surprise because we are not merely a religious community, nor simply an ethnicity. The world struggles to categorize us. But those who wish to vilify Jews? They are not confused at all. Abusers always know exactly what they are doing.Meanwhile, Jews continue to assume good intentions and show up to the accusation armed with facts and reason. Alfred Dreyfus arrived at his trial with proof of his innocence; yet the verdict was predetermined. The trial was never about truth.Kerstein’s book confronts this dynamic head-on. By diagnosing the American Jewish community’s historically lackadaisical response to Jew-hatred, he gives voice to a shift already unfolding: a refusal to remain passive, a rejection of the old instinct to explain, apologize, or justify. Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht sits down with philosopher, professor, and author Andrew Pessin, one of the earliest Jewish academics to warn about the rise of antizionism within higher education. Pessin reflects on his own “Herzl moment,” the point at which he recognized that antizionism is not a political critique but a modern guise of Jew-hatred. Drawing from personal experience, including being targeted by students and colleagues for his Zionist identity, he reveals what it means to be a Jewish professor navigating academia’s moral inversions.Dr. Lekht brings her own history to the discussion, recalling her early encounters with campus antizionism and her shock at how many Jewish academics refused to name it for what it was. The conversation unfolds as both a diagnosis and a reckoning: how did higher education, once a bastion of free inquiry, become a breeding ground for ideological intolerance? And what hope remains for reclaiming intellectual honesty in the wake of October 7?tcClarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht asks, Why have so many Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy groups failed to counter the antizionist narrative? While antizionism evolved into a sophisticated campaign of disinformation, Jewish advocacy often treated it as mere misinformation, a problem of mistaken facts rather than deliberate deception.Naya breaks down how this misunderstanding gave rise to “inward advocacy,”  three self-defeating modes of response: “looking at the self” (“This is what a Zionist looks like”), “innovation nation” (branding Israel through progress or diversity), and “setting the record straight” (countering libels with data). Each keeps Jews trapped in a cycle of self-defense, playing right into the abuser’s hands.Instead, Naya calls for “outward advocacy,” a strategy that names and exposes the structure of hate itself. Through historical parallels from the Doctor’s Plot libel to today’s genocide and apartheid libels, Naya shows how antizionism revives ancient tropes in modern form.This episode challenges listeners to rethink what it means to “advocate,” to recognize libels for what they are, and to stop debating a movement whose end goal is not peace, but the erasure of Israel itself.Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht sits down with Adam L. Fuller, Professor of Political Science at Youngstown State University, to discuss his new book, "The Armed Jew: The Case for Jewish Gun Ownership." While the title might sound like a call for Jews to take up arms, the book is, in fact, a compelling exploration of how a people long defined as “the people of the book” may also need to see themselves as “the people of the sword.”Naya opens the conversation with a challenge: “How exactly will Jews 'shoot' their way out of the problem of antizionism that now dominates the Ivy Leagues, the United Nations, and the media? Surely gun ownership alone won’t solve the problem of a narrative war, one fueled by a masterful disinformation campaign designed to push Jews out of spaces that matter.Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht is joined by James Lindsay, a leading voice on the rise of the “woke right.” Together, they unpack the origins of this movement, examine who may be driving it, and, most alarmingly, discuss why young American patriots are embracing Marxist frameworks rooted in grievance narratives, leaving them vulnerable to dangerous antisemitic and antizionist ideas.Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

On this special episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht is joined by two of her former students, Shaya and Misha Keyvanfar. Shaya is a junior at UC Berkeley, majoring in Global Studies, while Misha is a senior in high school. Naya sits down with them to get a sense of how college and high school students today think about power, capitalism, Israel, and why traditional Jewish advocacy strategies, known as Hasbara, have largely failed.Why doesn’t “rah-rah” Zionism work? Why does focusing on proving Israel’s legitimacy fall flat? Could it be that knowing all the facts about Israel’s history actually traps us in a kind of perpetual trial? These are just some of the questions explored as Naya takes the pulse of Generation Z on all things Jewish.Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

On this episode of Don’t Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht speaks with Daniel Levine, Rabbi of Orange County Hillel, Lecturer in Jewish Studies at UC Irvine, and host of the Rabbi Daniel Levine YouTube podcast. Drawing on his knowledge of Jewish history, texts, and working with Jewish college students, Daniel examines the trend within the non-Orthodox Jewish community of centering Israel and Zionism as core to Jewish identity, and why this may be problematic. Moving across the arc of American Jewish history, Naya and Daniel conclude by asking whether Jews, in advocating for themselves, should hold themselves to a higher standard, and if doing so inadvertently gives the non-Jewish world permission to expect that same standard from them.Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

Hillel Fuld, a blogger, marketer, and journalist, passionately promotes a positive narrative around Israel and the Jewish people. He discusses the current surge in antisemitism, urging solidarity and awareness within the Jewish community. Delving into the ties between diaspora and Israeli Jews, Fuld emphasizes the need for unity and resilience amidst adversity. He confronts the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, advocating for a proactive approach to education and understanding. Through his insights, he highlights the essential contributions of Jewish identity to humanity.

On this episode of Don't Know Much About, Dr. Naya Lekht speaks with Dillon Hosier, Chief Executive Officer of the Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN), about how California lawmakers, legislators, and advocacy groups have been unprepared to address the challenges of Ethnic Studies. Their conversation explores how activist groups have weaponized “diversity” to advance hidden agendas, while also shedding light on the strategies advocacy organizations are using to respond.Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.

On this episode, Dr. Naya Lekht sits down with Freedom Foundation litigator, Shella Alcabes, to discuss the case for being a proud, unapologetic neoconservative in an era where ‘America First’ too often turns into Jews last. We unpack the rise of antisemitism on the right, the dangers of retreating from global leadership, and why confronting Jew-hatred requires moral clarity, not isolationism.Clarifying the complex. Step into my classroom.