Why Meir Kahane Matters: A Conversation Between Shaul Magid and Aryeh Cohen

Why Meir Kahane Matters: A Conversation Between Shaul Magid and Aryeh Cohen

9am PDT

Many Jews today would like to forget Meir Kahane. But we can’t seem to do so, not because of him but because of us. His legacy continues in contemporary Israel and, less known, in America. This is not because there are many Kahanists, but because his critique of Jews and Judaism in America and Israel still resonates a half century later. Aryeh Cohen and Shaul Magid will discuss Kahane, past and present, his life and after-life, in lieu of Magid’s forthcoming book Meir Kahane: An American Jewish Radical.

Aryeh Cohen is Professor of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University, Kogod Senior Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, Rabbi in Residence at Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Southern California, and co-chair of the Board of Directors of CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice). His latest book is Justice in the City: An Argument from the Sources of Rabbinic Judaism (Academic Studies Press).

Shaul Magid is Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, Kogod Senior Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, Contributing Editor to Tablet Magazine, and rabbi of the Fire Island Synagogue. His recent publications include The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament: Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik's Commentary to the Gospel, and Piety and Rebellion: Essays in Hasidism, both published in 2019.