The Official ISCA Podcast

October 29, 2025.Yael Silverstein (Columbia University) - "Ambient Antisemitism and the Struggle for Belonging: Insights into University Environments"This talk presents findings from a multi-university study examining how different forms of antisemitism affect Jewish students, faculty, and staff. It shows that belonging is most strongly undermined by ambient antisemitism— institutionalized and environmental cues of exclusion—more so than by direct interpersonal incidents (e.g., overt harassment or subtle insults), and argues that belonging must be treated as central, not peripheral, to understanding Jewish experiences on campus.Yael Silverstein is a doctoral student in Social-Organizational Psychology and an MS candidate in Applied Statistics at Columbia University. Her research explores how stereotypes and organizational cues influence perception, belonging, and well-being in minority populations. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and dual BAs from Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary.“Antisemitism and Jewish Day School Enrollment in Europe” - Nadia BeiderThis study examines whether rising antisemitism affects Jewish parents’ decisions to enroll their children in Jewish vs. mainstream schools. Using data from the EU FRA survey and European enrollment figures, Dr. Beider compares expressed and revealed preferences to understand how prejudice, passing, and community solidarity shape school choice.Dr. Nadia Beider is a lecturer at the Melton Center for Jewish Education and leads the Jewish Day School Census at the JPPI. She was previously a Rothschild postdoc at UCL and a Martin Buber Fellow. Her research focuses on educational sociology, Jewish identity, and the intersection of religion and discrimination.Music: "Pleasant Porridge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

October 16, 2025.Lev Topor (Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo / ISGAP) - "Artificially Amplified: Challenges and Complexities of Dealing with Online and AI-Enhanced Antisemitism" This lecture examines the emerging threat posed by AI-generated content in fueling antisemitism across digital platforms. Focusing on synthetic media such as deepfakes, forged images, and auto-generated texts, Dr. Topor analyzes how technological manipulation shapes public perception and reinforces extremist ideologies. Attention is given to radicalized audiences, bystanders, and the mechanisms of algorithmic amplification. The session will explore detection methods and suggest strategic responses to mitigate this evolving challenge.Dr. Lev Topor is a policy-oriented researcher specializing in antisemitism, cybersecurity, and intelligence. He is the author of multiple books, including Phishing for Nazis (Routledge, 2023) and Cyber Sovereignty (Springer Nature, 2024). He has held fellowships at Cambridge and Yad Vashem, and advised governmental and intergovernmental bodies on cyber policy and hate speech.Daniel Miehling (Indiana University) - "Affect Mobilization on YouTube: Emotional Toning in State-Funded News Outlets Covering the Israel-Hamas War"Dr. Daniel Miehling's research studies the intersections of anti-Zionism and antisemitism in digital discourse. His current work focuses on political communication in social media, analyzing narratives following the attacks on Israel after October 7. Using methods of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Computational Social Science (CSS), he examines how news coverage by state-funded media influences online discussions about Israel, Jews, Palestinians, and Islamist groups. By analyzing large-scale datasets, his research provides insights into the dissemination of contemporary manifestations of antisemitism, the emotional toning within User-Generated Content (UGC), and the challenges of detecting harmful content in digital spaces. Abstract: How do users emotionally and ideologically respond to state-funded media coverage of the Israel–Hamas War on YouTube? This talk presents findings from two recently published studies analyzing millions of comments using aspect-based sentiment analysis. The approach reveals patterns of affective alignment, polarization, and coded language in user-generated discourse. I show how this method yields scalable insights and provides robust tools for analyzing online antisemitism and political discourse in digital environments.Music: "Pleasant Porridge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

In this engaging discussion, historian Pamela Nadell delves into her impactful book, exploring the long history of antisemitism in America. She traces early colonial anti-Jewish sentiments and reveals how concepts like assimilationism emerged as misguided remedies. Nadell connects past injustices, like the Leo Frank case and Henry Ford's anti-Jewish propaganda, to contemporary issues, including the rise of white nationalism and campus debates around anti-Zionism. Her insights challenge listeners to reassess the historical roots of this persistent hatred.

September 10, 2025.Matheus Alexandré (Federal University of Ceará)  - “Contemporary Left-Wing Antisemitism in Brazil: Discourses and Representations in the Portal Brasil 247”This talk analyzes rhetorical strategies and ideological tropes in Brazilian leftist media following October 7. Focusing on Brasil 247, it explores how Critical Discourse Analysis can uncover patterns linking antisemitism and anti-Zionism in progressive narratives.Matheus Alexandré is a Brazilian sociologist and PhD candidate whose research examines antisemitism and anti-Zionism in left-wing political discourse. He lectures at StandWithUs Brazil and was trained at Yad Vashem and the University of Oxford. His work appears in both academic journals and public platforms like Le Monde Diplomatique Brasil.Maor Shani (Osnabrück University / Ariel University) - “'Unfortunately, Given the Current Climate…': Antisemitism Accommodation as Indirect Discrimination Post-October 7”This talk introduces the concept of antisemitism accommodation—the indirect exclusion of Jews or Israelis from public and institutional spaces due to appeasement of perceived antisemitic pressure. Dr. Shani analyzes how institutions use neutrality or safety language to justify discriminatory decisions, drawing on psychological theories of conflict avoidance. Preliminary data from an experimental study in academic settings will be presented.Maor Shani holds a Ph.D. in psychology and researches intergroup conflict, antisemitism, and adolescent polarization. His doctoral work addressed Jewish-Arab reconciliation, and his current projects explore group-based emotions, discrimination coping strategies, and social network interventions. He is affiliated with Osnabrück University and Ariel University.Music: "Pleasant Porridge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

September 3, 2025.Batsheva Neuer (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) - "Framing Israel: Antisemitism and the Postcolonial Imaginary at the Durban Conference"This talk examines how postcolonial discourse was repurposed at the 2001 Durban Conference to frame Israel as a racialized colonial oppressor. Through analysis of official records and NGO statements, Neuer explores how anti-colonial language was used to legitimize antisemitic narratives within international institutions, revealing how the postcolonial framework can mask the resurgence of hostility toward Jewish political identity. Batsheva Neuer is a PhD candidate and fellow at the Avraham Harman Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her dissertation, awarded the 2024 Bernard Lewis Prize, investigates Israel and the global politics of racism in the lead-up to the Durban Conference. She has held fellowships at SICSA and the Cherrick Center and recently published in Israel Studies on the revocation of the “Zionism is Racism” UN resolution.Tami Peterson (Gratz College) - "Mobilization for Murder: Considering Antisemitism as a Causal Factor of the Deadly 1941 Pogroms"This talk examines the 1941 pogroms in Eastern Poland and Western Ukraine to explore how antisemitic attitudes—rather than just state ideology—can serve as catalysts for mass violence. By applying theories of symbolic political mobilization, Peterson investigates how threat perceptions among civilians transformed antisemitism into deadly action in the absence of state control.Tami Peterson is a PhD candidate at Gratz College and currently serves as the inaugural Visiting Student Scholar at NYU’s Center for the Study of Antisemitism. She is also a Research Fellow at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism. She holds an MRes in Social & Political Theory from Birkbeck, University of London.Music: "Pleasant Porridge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

August 31, 2025. In this episode, Nathalie Japkowicz, Yfat Barak-Cheney, and Julie Ancis discuss, "Antisemitism in the Age of AI: Trends, Challenges, and Research Frontiers," for the 2025 Datathon and Machine Learning Competition on Antisemitism Detection.Nathalie Japkowicz is a professor in the Computer Science Department at American University, which she chaired from July 2018 to June 2024. Prior to that, she directed the Laboratory for Research on Machine Learning applied to Defense and Security at the University of Ottawa in Canada. She is a Professor and AI/Machine Learning researcher particularly interested in lifelong machine learning, anomaly detection, hate speech monitoring, machine learning evaluation, and the handling of uncharacteristic data including datasets plagued by class imbalances. Her publications include Evaluating Learning Algorithms: A Classification Perspective at Cambridge University Press (2011), an edited book in the Springer Series on Big Data (2016), and her recent co-authored book entitled Machine Learning Evaluation: Towards Reliable and Responsible AI at Cambridge University Press, which appeared in November 2024. Yfat Barak-Cheney is the Director of International Affairs and the Executive Director of WJC's Technology and Human Rights Institute. Yfat earned an LL.M in International Legal Studies from New York University where she was a Transitional Justice Scholar and an International Law and Human Rights Fellow. She also holds an LL.M (with honors) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she also received her L.L.B and a B.A in International Relations, receiving an award for outstanding international law student. She previously worked with the Ministry of Justice Unit for Combating Human Trafficking and in several NGO’s. Yfat is a co-founder of ALMA – Association for the Promotion of International Humanitarian Law in Israel. She is a member of the New York Bar and the Israeli Bar Association. Julie Ancis is a Distinguished Professor and former Interim Chair in the Department of Informatics and Founding Director of the Cyberpsychology Program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Dr. Ancis’ extensive scholarly publications include 4 books, over 80 journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports, and over 200 professional presentations focused on diversity, multicultural competence, the legal system, and human-computer interaction. Her extensive literature review, "Cyberpsychological Investigations of Social Media and Online Antisemitism: The Scholarly Landscape," has just been published in the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism.Music: "Pleasant Porridge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Sunday, April 27, 2025. In this episode, Cary Nelson discusses, "Still on the Cliff's Edge: The Continuing Campus Aftereffects of 10/7."Cary Nelson is Jubilee Professor Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is an affiliated faculty member at the University of Haifa and the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is 2024 co-recipient of the Campus Faculty Heroes Award from StandWithUs and Mothers Against Campus Antisemitism. His most recent book is Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles (2024). He is presently completing Zionism Confronts the Abyss: The Impact of the October 7 Massacre in the Diaspora. Cary has most recently published "Mindless: What Happened to Universities?" in The Jewish Quarterly (Issue 259, March 2025).Music: "Pleasant Porridge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Monday, March 31, 2025. In this episode, Ilan Troen discusses, "The October 7th Massacre and Its Aftermath: A Personal Account."Beginning with the personal losses of family who lived on a kibbutz in the Gaza "envelope," Professor Troen will share issues involved in remembrance and recovery in the midst of an ongoing war whose character and terms for conclusion divide Israelis amongst themselves as well as Israelis from many observers well beyond the zones of combat. Ilan Troen is professor emeritus of both the Stoll Family Chair in Israel Studies (Brandeis, 2017), and the Lopin Chair of Modern History (Ben-Gurion University, 2007. He has served as founding director of the Israel Studies centers at both institutions and dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Ben-Gurion University. He is past president of the Association for Israel Studies and received in 2023 its "Lifetime Achievement Award." In 2024,  Professor Troen was a recipient of the Bernard Lewis Prize for his book, "Israel/Palestine in World Religions: Whose Promised Land?" Music: "Pleasant Porridge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Sunday, March 30, 2025. In this episode, Ilan Troen discusses, "The Religious Dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.""In 1922, the League of Nations endorsed Britain’s Balfour Declaration (1917) that proposed the establishment of “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. This proposal challenged a reality that had been in force since the Muslim conquest in the seventh century and the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine to Christianity three centuries earlier.  It forced reconsiderations by all three main monotheisms and has shaped the politics of the Arab/Israeli conflict for more than a century.  After considering the adjustments made by Jews and Christians to the revolution in the common Holy Land, this lecture will focus on Islam and challenges it faced in resetting its relationship to Jews from their theologically assigned status as dhimmis (a non-Muslim subject in an Islamic state) to potential equals and to a Jewish state as a legitimate possibility.  This analysis will describe the historic Muslim relationship to both Jews and Christians and assess to what extent change has taken place and how it can be accomplished." Ilan Troen is professor emeritus of both the Stoll Family Chair in Israel Studies (Brandeis, 2017), and the Lopin Chair of Modern History (Ben-Gurion University, 2007. He has served as founding director of the Israel Studies centers at both institutions and dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Ben-Gurion University. He is past president of the Association for Israel Studies and received in 2023 its "Lifetime Achievement Award." In 2024, Professor Troen was a recipient of the Bernard Lewis Prize for his book, "Israel/Palestine in World Religions: Whose Promised Land?" Music: "Pleasant Porridge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Wednesday, March 12, 2025. In this episode, PhD student Daniel Freitag discusses, "Christian Antisemitism on Social Media: Russian-Orthodox, Lutheran, and Catholic Narratives on Jews and Israel."Through a detailed content analysis of Facebook posts and comments (2012-2021) on prominent Roman Catholic, Lutheran World Federation, and Russian Orthodox Church pages, Daniel Freitag examines how these confessional online spaces — encompassing both official media and private commentary — discuss Judaism, Jews, and Israel. His research reveals both anticipated and surprising antisemitic themes.One of the more surprising findings comes from the social media account of the Russian Orthodox Church. Not only does it revive the conspiracy theory of Jewish Bolshevism as a threat to Russia's Christian identity, but also spreads narratives depicting Israel and the United States — alongside the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople — as secret puppet masters responsible for the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Meanwhile, in the discourse space of the Lutheran World Federation, some reductive and one-sided interpretations of the Middle East conflict emerge, with post-colonial thought patterns being theologized in ways that are hostile to Israel.This research contributes to the broader study of theological antisemitism, which grapples with the persistent legacy of Christian anti-Judaism and its influence on contemporary antisemitic discourse. While acknowledging the historical roots of Christian antisemitism, this talk explores how traditional tropes are being reconfigured and disseminated in digital spaces today. Daniel C. Freitag (Mag. theol.) is a PhD student and research assistant at the Institute for Ethics and Related Social Sciences at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Münster (Germany). He studied Protestant Theology in Münster, Jerusalem, and Heidelberg. He was also a member of the Graduate School of the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster and worked for the interdisciplinary “Centre for Religion and Modernity”. Currently, he is a visiting affiliate of IU’s Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism. His dissertation project explores contemporary manifestations of Christian antisemitism on the social media platform Facebook. For more information and contact details, please click here.Music: "Pleasant Porridge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/