Israel vs. Diaspora - Can We Survive the Divide? Yael Leibowitz
From Behind the Bima by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg
April 14, 2026 · 1h 0m · Episode 208
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges faced by Jewish communities in Israel and the Diaspora, featuring insights from educator Yael Leibowitz.
In this episode of Behind the Bima, the Rabbis sit down with educator and author Yael Leibowitz to explore a question that is becoming harder to ignore: what happens when the Jewish people around the world are living in fundamentally different realities? Drawing on both her personal experience making aliyah and her deep engagement with Tanach, Yael examines how Ezra-Nehemiah grapples with a partial return to Israel, and what that model might suggest for today.
People in this episode
Host: Rabbi Efrem Goldberg
Guest: Yael Leibowitz
Topics covered
- Israel
- Diaspora
- Jewish identity
- aliyah
- Tanach
- community
Keywords
- Israel
- Diaspora
- Jewish people
- aliyah
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Tanach
- community divide
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Tanach, Ezra-Nehemiah
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