Podcast Summary

Podcast: Call Me Back – with Dan Senor
Episode: Live with Bari Weiss, Ben Shapiro & Dan Senor
Date: November 24, 2025
Host/Moderator: Tikvah’s Jonathan Silver
Guests: Dan Senor, Bari Weiss, Ben Shapiro
Theme: The dilemmas facing Israelis, the resurgence of antisemitism, ideological polarization in the U.S., and Jewish leadership in challenging times.

Episode Overview

This special live episode explores the converging crises of antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and American political polarization. Awarded the 2025 Herzl Prize, Dan Senor, Bari Weiss, and Ben Shapiro reflect on the Jewish condition in the modern West, contemporary threats to Jewish life and Israel, and what renewing American and Jewish values looks like today. Moderated by Jonathan Silver, the conversation dives into generational shifts on left and right, the cultural forces shaping young minds, the defense of Israel, and the obligations of Jewish continuity and philanthropy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Politics of Resentment and Antisemitism

• Bari Weiss (00:09 & 12:25): The central choice is not “right versus left” but “politics of resentment versus individual responsibility.” Both ends of the spectrum can harbor the politics of resentment, which is a frequent precursor to antisemitism.
  • “It’s not a choice between right and left. The bad people are everywhere… It’s a choice between the politics of resentment, which gets you to antisemitism almost as the next step. And that’s what you’re seeing right now.” (00:09)
• Economic and social pathologies (housing, addiction, deindustrialization) often lead to scapegoating Jews.

2. The American Right: Nihilism or Renewal?

• Ben Shapiro (08:34): Distinguishes a “classical conservatism” rooted in virtue, meritocracy, and biblical values from a newer, reactionary, and nihilistic strain.
  • Young white Christian men feel attacked by cultural elites, fueling a seductive resentment narrative: “It’s not your fault and you have no responsibility to fix it.”
  • “The Andrew Tate thing is a great computer for what’s happening with [Nick] Fuentes. This is the political version of Andrew Tate—just burn it all down.” (11:12)
• Online Radicalization:
  • The meme culture of figures like Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes deeply impacts young men (21:56).
  • Shapiro: Online anger is amplified when young people are told all their problems are external and unsolvable without someone else’s intervention.

3. Antisemitism as a Market

• Dan Senor (14:41): Antisemitism circulates as viral media, with figures like Tucker Carlson gaining larger audiences when spreading anti-Jewish conspiracies.

  • Highlights importance of not letting extreme ideas cross from online culture (where they're popular) to policy and electoral mainstream.

• Contrast with the Left:

  • Senor argues antisemitism is now mainstreamed on the left, and while present on the right, the mainstream is still resisting it.
  • “I think we are at the beginning of ‘Mamdani-ism’ as a national project… The Democratic Party is looking to Mamdani now as the next… Not that he can run, but just the idea that what he represents is where the Democratic Party is going.” (16:08)

4. The Dilemma for Young Men & the Role of Jewish Ideas

• Persistent sense of grievance among young men is being exploited by extremist figures (Andrew Tate, Nick Fuentes) and is not adequately countered by conventional conservative figures or Jewish leaders.
  • “The right is actually weirdly feminizing young men by giving them a victimology to buy into.” (18:25 — Ben Shapiro)
• Jewish values offer an alternative: responsibility, duty, agency. Shapiro urges declaring unapologetically that those who follow nihilism will live worse lives—“Don’t be a basement-dweller.” (25:11)

5. Israel’s Strength and American Interests

• Dan Senor (30:10): Makes the case that Israel’s real message to the world and defense of its interests is best communicated through strength, innovation, and military prowess—not apologetics.

  • Israel’s “Start-Up Nation” achievements and battlefield victories command the world’s respect.
  • “The world will be rallying to Israeli strength and success. We need to get out of the business of trying to explain to ourselves and beg for allies.” (32:50)

• Ben Shapiro (38:06): Advocates Israel’s gradual independence from U.S. aid, arguing current arrangements often serve American, not Israeli, interests. He points out this focus on Israel’s aid is hypocritical, noting the U.S. supports other nations far more without similar political backlash—implying antisemitic double standards.

• Bari Weiss (40:45): Adds that accusations of double loyalty are themselves plainly antisemitic:

  • “Nobody that advocates for those things (US bases in Germany, Japan, etc.) would be accused of being Germany First or South Korea [First]. The whole thing is just fundamentally antisemitic.”

6. Media, Trust, & Jewish Voice

• Bari Weiss (41:49, 45:42): Explains leaving the Free Press for CBS News with the aim to reach mainstream audiences with honest, “old-school” journalism and a focus on robust, value-oriented debate rather than sterile centrism.

  • Stresses the danger of media echo chambers and “spinach” (dull, forced centrist news), aiming instead for vibrant, good-faith disagreement that builds trust.
  • “The reason isn’t because I particularly, you know, came into the world thinking I’m going to be a great television executive. It’s because … we are at a very precarious moment in this country, in the West more generally.”

• Ben Shapiro (49:31): On Daily Wire’s content for kids and expanding into non-news media to influence culture directly from a values perspective.

7. Jewish Continuity: Philanthropy and Education

• Dan Senor (52:28): Advocates shifting Jewish philanthropic focus toward day schools, summer camps, and immersive Jewish experiences, arguing that continuity is best secured by “raising Jewish kids in Jewish bubbles.”

  • “The challenge is that it’s uninteresting … but the one thing that has worked—it sounds so provincial—is to raise Jewish kids.”

• Bari Weiss, Dan Senor (55:57; 56:19): Express frustration at the prohibitive cost of Jewish education and urge the community to emulate the Catholic school model, making day school accessible to all.

• Warning: Senor cautions against political attempts to decouple Zionism from Jewish identity. He predicts institutions may increasingly support Jewishness, so long as it’s stripped of Zionism.

  • “Now is the moment to be really, really discerning. And we shouldn’t be funding anything [that divides Jewish life from Zionism].”

• Bari Weiss (58:48):

  • "Judaism is a peoplehood and a civilization. We do not adhere to modern categories because we’re more ancient than all those categories.”
  • Asserts that the connection to Israel is inherent—denying it is denying the essence of Judaism.

8. American and Jewish Identity Formation

• Ben Shapiro (60:11): Argues that American and Jewish identity is not instilled by reading a book at 14 but by formative life experience from earliest childhood.

  • “People live through their experiences … what Judaism really is, is a way of life. And that’s Americanism too… you don’t pick that up from reading a book.”

• Bari Weiss (61:32): Shares the formative role of family experiences, travel to Israel, and living both American and Jewish rituals, illustrated by the fusion of Jewish and American stories in her home.

• Dan Senor (64:01): Champions the necessity of emphasizing the joy and positive community aspects of Judaism, not just the woes or challenges, as the key to ensuring purposeful next generations.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bari Weiss (00:09):

  “It is not a choice between right and left. The bad people are everywhere. It’s a choice between the politics of resentment, which gets you to antisemitism almost as the next step.”

• Ben Shapiro (11:12):

  “The Andrew Tate thing is a great computer for what's happening with Fuentes. This is the political version of Andrew Tate: just burn it all down, right?”

• Dan Senor (16:08):

  “I think we are at the beginning of Mamdani-ism as a national project … what he represents is where the Democratic Party is going.”

• Ben Shapiro (25:11):

  “If you listen to Nick Fuentes, you are likely to be a loser. He is a loser … and if we don’t make that aggressive case on behalf of our own values, and yes, against those values, not in a shy way, then we deserve to lose.”

• Dan Senor (32:50):

  “The world will be rallying to Israeli strength and success. And we need to get out of the business of trying to explain to ourselves and beg for allies.”

• Bari Weiss (40:45):

  “Nobody that advocates for those things (US bases in Germany, Japan, etc.) would be accused of being Germany First or South Korea First. The whole thing is just fundamentally antisemitic, and we have to call that out and reject it.”

• Barry Weiss (45:56):

  “Centrist news is choosing the midpoint between every single topic. It’s felt like an absence of charisma and identity.”

• Dan Senor (55:24):

  “Alumni of Jewish day schools are two times more likely than their peers to be very proud and very public about their Jewish identity. They're four times as likely to proudly identify and support the state of Israel.”

• Ben Shapiro (60:11):

  “You become pro America because you went to a 4th of July parade with your parents and had a hot dog when you were three years old. Or … you watched 1776, the musical ...”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Addressing the “Politics of Resentment” and Antisemitism: 00:09, 12:25
• The New Rift on the American Right: 08:34–12:08
• Online Men’s Movements & Nihilism: 18:25–23:51
• Antisemitism as a Media Business: 14:12–17:22
• Lessons from Jewish and Biblical Values: 24:41–27:32
• Israel’s Case to America and Foreign Policy: 34:22–40:45
• Media & New Journalism Strategies: 41:49–45:56
• Children’s Media & Value Transmission: 49:31–51:41
• Philanthropy & Jewish Day Schools: 52:28–56:33
• Zionism and Jewish Identity: 56:33–58:48
• How to Form Strong Jewish & American Identities: 60:11–65:30

Conclusion

The episode weaves a narrative of imminent challenge—political, cultural, and existential—for Jews and pro-Israel Americans in the U.S. The panel agrees that agency, pride, and education (not defensive apologetics) are the keys to resilience. Media (both new and legacy) is a battlefield, but the only lasting answer is living joyful, communal, values-driven Jewish lives—rooted in action, not just theory. The urgency is both American and Jewish, and the future depends on what is built for, and taught to, the next generation.