Value in Stuff That Has Endured with Mark Oppenheimer

In this episode, Eli is joined by Bruchim’s Director of Education Max DuBoff and Jewish journalist Mark Oppenheimer. This episode was recorded two days after Hamas’s October 7th attack  against Israel so the conversation starts with reactions to the news. The discussion then moves to the role of antisemitism in Jewish-American identity, the importance or lack thereof of denominations, and the right of a community to set its own identity boundaries. Mark shares his process for deciding to circumcise his son and talks about his impressions of Jews who have chosen to forgo circumcision.

Show Notes:

Mark’s book Squirrel Hill:

https://a.co/d/9mUk3cs

Pew Research Center's 2013 and 2020 reports on Jewish Americans:

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey/

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/jewish-americans-in-2020

Medicalization and the Mainstreaming of Circumcision in Mid-twentieth-century
America by Elizabeth Reis

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/840015/pdf