America Betrays the Stranger
Tue Feb 03 2026
What happens when Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus” is no longer read as a civic creed, but as a provocation about who belongs—and what a democracy owes the vulnerable? In this episode, Yehuda Kurtzer reflects
on the normalization of cruelty toward immigrants in America, the present state violence being carried out in Minneapolis, and the uneasy silence of Jewish institutions when civil rights are clearly under assault. He then turns the lens toward Israel—asking what it means for Jews in both democracies to draw the line not between “us” and “them,” but between cruelty and compassion.
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What happens when Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus” is no longer read as a civic creed, but as a provocation about who belongs—and what a democracy owes the vulnerable? In this episode, Yehuda Kurtzer reflects on the normalization of cruelty toward immigrants in America, the present state violence being carried out in Minneapolis, and the uneasy silence of Jewish institutions when civil rights are clearly under assault. He then turns the lens toward Israel—asking what it means for Jews in both democracies to draw the line not between “us” and “them,” but between cruelty and compassion. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS