As Violet Barron goes silent, Romy Neumark turns to Professors Derek Penslar and Yael Sternhell to ask why Israel provokes such strong reactions in America. Sternhell places today’s campus protests in the broader history of American social movements, while Penslar traces shifting perceptions of Zionism - from a source of pride to a contested ideology. Together, they reveal how the emotional weight of Israel has evolved across generations of American Jews and continues to shape their views today.

Further readings

• Yael Sternhell, American Campus Protests Following the October 7 War: Historical and Contemporary Connections (2025), Israeli Sociology 26(1): 93–103. Situates the protests after October 7 within the longer history of American student movements.

• Derek J. Penslar, Zionism: An Emotional State (Key Words in Jewish Studies series; Rutgers University Press, 2023). Explores the emotional forces—pride, fear, solidarity—that have sustained and challenged Zionism over time.

• Harvard University, Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias (final report published April 2025). Harvard’s official review of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias on campus, with policy recommendations for change.

• Pew Research Center, Views of the U.S. Role in the Israel–Hamas War (March 21, 2024)

• Jewish Electorate Institute, National survey: U.S. Jewish voters—views on Israel, apartheid, genocide, and right to exist (July 13, 2021)

• Columbia University Office of the President, Our Release of the Summer 2024 Campus Climate Survey from the Task Force on Antisemitism (18 June 2025)

Learn more about the show and share your thoughts at our website.

My Home Fronts is hosted and recorded by Romy Neumark.

Editing by Noa Amiel Lavie.

Sound design by Tina Tobey Mack.

Art work by Zoya Cherkassky-Nnadi, courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort Gallery, NYC.

Our podcast theme is 24inst from mobygratis. Additional tracks are from Epidemic Sound.