Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/IfWm5mlQRwg When Jewish worshippers were attacked in the UK during Yom Kippur, it struck a nerve far beyond the synagogue walls. In this wide-ranging conversation, Izzy Posen and I explore the roots and realities of antisemitism in Britain today. Is immigration really to blame? How does Zionism complicate public attitudes toward Jews? And how has British antisemitism evolved—from old Christian tropes to new political ones? We also get deeply personal. Izzy, now two months away from his wedding, reflects on his own transformation—from a Hasidic yeshiva student to a secular thinker and translator. He shares a haunting poem he wrote after being reunited with his estranged family at his mother’s funeral, where he met his youngest sibling for the first time: It could’ve been at a picnic in the park. It was at the funeral. It could’ve been at a festive family dinner. It was in the house of mourning. It could’ve been at a family celebration. It was in the cemetery. It could’ve been with her at our head. It was at her coffin. It could’ve been sooner. It was too late. We talk politics, identity, affirmative action, the different faces of antisemitism experienced by religious and secular Jews, and how one man continues to seek meaning through language and love. Watch my previous interviews with Izzy: On his Hasidic upbringing and education: https://youtu.be/SeZL920Eae8 Our live conversation: https://youtu.be/JpFVZj83wCw Follow Izzy’s work: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@izzyposen2092 Blog: https://journeyerblog.wordpress.com/2023/09/05/the-family-reunion/ Twitter: https://x.com/PosenIzzy Izzy also does beautiful Yiddish translation—he’s available for hire. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-frieda-vizel-podcast--5824414/support .
