Boundless Insights - with Aviva Klompas

As world leaders gather in New York for a new session of the United Nations General Assembly, Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, joins host Aviva Klompas to examine the power and politics of an institution he has spent more than two decades scrutinizing.

They discuss the influence authoritarian regimes wield within the UN, the disproportionate attention directed at Israel, and the political forces that help explain that focus. The conversation also tackles a larger dilemma: if democracies retreat from international institutions they believe have become deeply politicized, do they simply surrender those institutions to authoritarian regimes?

Guest Bio

International lawyer, writer and activist, Hillel Neuer is the Executive Director of UN Watch, a human rights organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Neuer’s speeches at the United Nations have been seen by millions around the world. He has appeared in debates on CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera. McGill University awarded Neuer an honorary doctorate for his work to advance human rights and for being “a voice for those without one.” In 2016, the City of Chicago declared “Hillel Neuer Day,” citing his role “as one of the world’s foremost human rights advocates.” The Tribune de Genève said Neuer is “feared and dreaded” by the world’s dictatorships. The Journal de Montréal wrote that Neuer “makes the U.N. tremble.” The Jerusalem Post, Ynet, and Ma’ariv have listed Neuer as one the most influential Jewish people in the world 

Learn more at UNWatch.org

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis joins host Aviva Klompas for a wide-ranging conversation about the meaning of the Jewish New Year and the questions it asks us to confront.

As Jews around the world prepare to welcome 5787, Chief Rabbi Mirvis reflects on what we might learn from Rosh Hashanah about the lives we are living, the choices we make, and the possibility of a different year ahead. He also shares the question he would put to every Jewish family around the Rosh Hashanah table and his blessing for the Jewish people in the year to come.

Guest Bio:

Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis is only the 11th Chief Rabbi of Great Britain since the office was introduced in 1704. He is the religious figurehead for Jewish communities right across the Commonwealth, from Hull to Hong Kong and from Cardiff to Cochin. He was installed on 1st September 2013 in an historic ceremony attended by His Majesty King Charles III, then The Prince of Wales.

Born in South Africa, he previously served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and Rabbi of the Western Marble Arch and Finchley (Kinloss) Synagogues in London, making him one of the UK’s most respected community Rabbis. As Chief Rabbi, he is a primary representative of the Jewish community to government, other faiths and civil society as well as being responsible for oversight of crucial parts of the UK Jewish community’s religious infrastructure.

Chief Rabbi Mirvis is known as a principled leader who has broken new ground in the fields of interfaith and social responsibility as well as tackling a number of particularly complex or controversial issues including the welfare of LGBT+ students in Orthodox Jewish Schools and antisemitism in the British Labour Party. Chief Rabbi Mirvis serves as Associate President of the Conference of European Rabbis, President of the London School of Jewish Studies and was made a Knight Commander of the British Empire, by His Majesty The King in 2023.

SAPIR is a journal exploring the future of the American Jewish community and its intersection with cultural, social, and political issues. It is published by Maimonides Fund with Bret Stephens serving as Editor-in-Chief. Subscribe at www.sapirjournal.org/subscribe.

Since October 7, American universities have become the center of a fierce debate over antisemitism, free speech, civil rights, and the proper role of government.

In this special live debate, recorded at the Israel on Campus Coalition's National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., host Aviva Klompas moderates a discussion on the resolution: "The campus crackdown is good for America."

Noah Pollak and Jonathan Rauch debate whether federal intervention has made campuses safer for Jewish students, where the line between oversight and overreach should be drawn, and how universities should balance civil rights, free expression, and institutional independence.

This debate is part of the SAPIR Debates, a forum for thoughtful disagreement on some of the most consequential issues facing the American Jewish community today.

Guest Bios

Noah Pollak is a political appointee in the Trump administration. He is Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Education, where he works on higher education policy and civil rights enforcement, and he’s a Senior Advisor in the Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, and a board member of Heterodox Academy. He is the author of The Constitution of Knowledge and has written extensively on free speech, liberal democracy, and the institutions that sustain them.

In the days after October 7, anti-Israel slogans, protests, and narratives appeared across the globe with extraordinary speed. To many, the movement looked spontaneous. But was it?

Host Aviva Klompas speaks with political strategist and bestselling author Warren Kinsella about his new book, The Hidden Hand: The Information War and the Rise of Antisemitic Propaganda. Drawing on decades of experience running political campaigns and combating extremist movements, Kinsella argues that the anti-Israel movement that emerged after October 7 bears the hallmarks of a sophisticated information campaign designed to shape public opinion, influence policymakers, and redefine how Israel, Jews, and the West are perceived.

Their conversation explores what distinguishes a grassroots movement from an organized influence operation, why anti-Israel narratives have found such fertile ground in Western democracies, and why extraordinary claims about Jews and Israel increasingly receive little skepticism.

Guest Bio:

Warren Kinsella is a lawyer, political strategist, and bestselling author with decades of experience at the highest levels of Canadian politics. A former chief of staff in the Chrétien government and veteran of multiple federal and provincial election campaigns, he has also worked as a journalist, communications consultant, and legal expert. He is the author of ten books, including his latest, The Hidden Hand, which examines the global propaganda campaign against Israel and the West.

Mentioned in the Episode:

The Hidden Hand The Information War and the Rise of Antisemitic Propaganda

The Campaign Documentary Trailer

Christian support for Israel has been a significant force in American politics for decades. But the evangelical community is changing, and younger Christians are not necessarily adopting the same attitudes toward Israel as previous generations.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee joins host Aviva Klompas to discuss what has historically driven Christian support for Israel and why that support may be changing. They explore the role of faith, shared values, and strategic interests; generational divides among evangelicals; and the growing influence of isolationism on the American right.

As a new generation of Christians forms its own views of Israel, Ambassador Huckabee reflects on what is changing, what has endured, and what will determine the future of one of Israel's most important sources of support in the United States.

Guest Bio

Mike Huckabee is the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Before his appointment, he served as Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, and hosted nationally syndicated television and radio programs. A longtime evangelical Christian leader and outspoken supporter of Israel, Huckabee has spent decades engaging with Israeli politics, society, and history through his extensive travel and advocacy.