Join the conversation! Click here to text Aviva.

In recent weeks, U.S. foreign policy decisions have raised alarms in Israel. A ceasefire with the Houthis came with no demand they stop attacking Israel. Four rounds of nuclear talks with Iran have excluded Jerusalem entirely. The release of Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage, caught even his family off guard. And now, the U.S. has dropped its demand that Saudi Arabia normalize ties with Israel as part of a nuclear deal.

Each move on its own might be explained. But taken together, they paint a troubling picture—one that suggests Israel is being bypassed, sidelined, or used as leverage.

Aviva Klompas speaks with Dr. Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to Washington, about what these changes signal for the U.S.-Israel alliance.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others.

Learn more about Boundless: https://boundlessisrael.org/

Host Aviva Klompas sits down with Izabella Tabarovsky to unpack how foreign funding and Soviet-era propaganda have shaped the crisis unfolding on American campuses.

Universities once seen as bastions of free thought are now flooded with billions of dollars from authoritarian regimes like Qatar and China — and the effects are plain to see. Students rally in support of terrorist groups. Jewish students are harassed without consequence.

Izabella explains how Soviet disinformation campaigns against Zionism laid the ideological groundwork for today’s anti-Israel narratives, why Jewish identity has been systematically distorted in academic discourse, and how foreign money buys influence over what students are taught and believe.

We also explore the broader impact of this infiltration beyond the university gates — on American democracy, civic culture, and the future of Jewish life — and ask what can be done to push back against it.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others.

Learn more about Boundless: https://boundlessisrael.org/

Referenced in this episode:
Qatar and China Are Pouring Billions Into Elite American Universities in The Free Press

Guest Bio:

Izabella Tabarovsky is a scholar of Soviet antizionism and contemporary antisemitism. She is a Senior Fellow with the Z3 Institute for Jewish Priorities in Palo Alto, CA and a Fellow with several prominent academic and policy centers, including the Comper Center for Contemporary Antisemitism at Haifa University; the London Center for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and ISGAP. She is a contributing writer at Tablet magazine. Her writings have appeared in Newsweek, Sapir, Quillette, The National Interest, Fathom, Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, as well as several essay collections, including The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21stCentury: From the Academic Boycott Campaign into the Mainstream;Mapping the New Left Antisemitism: The Fathom Essays; and Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People.

Dr. Rachel Fish sits down with two leading voices in higher education - Dr. Jessica Liebowitz and Dr. Ron Liebowitz - to discuss the big questions facing the academy today.

How can universities reclaim their commitment to truth-seeking, intellectual integrity, and academic rigor—especially in a time of rising antisemitism and growing public distrust?

Jessica introduces an innovative AI-driven project designed to evaluate the quality of peer-reviewed scholarship in highly politicized fields, helping distinguish serious research from ideological activism.

Ron takes a broader view, examining the headwinds facing higher ed: declining enrollment, politicized classrooms, and the erosion of public confidence—and reflects on what real leadership and accountability should look like.

From academic publishing and AI to university governance, campus culture, and the role of trustees, this wide-ranging conversation offers insights and ideas for the future of higher education.

Guest Bios:

Dr. Jessica Liebowitz is a Research Scientist in Computer Science at Brandeis University, where she is co-founder and co-director of the Data Science Internal Internship (DSII) lab. Dr. Liebowitz also serves as the Chair of the Advisory Council of the Brandeis Hebrew Consortium, is a member of the Board of Directors of Fulbright Israel, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Following her role as lead telecommunications policy staffer for U.S. Senator Pete v Domenici, Liebowitz served as Adjunct Professor and Fellow at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information of the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University. She holds a PhD from Harvard University, BA from Yale University, and Honorary Doctorate from Middlebury College.

Ron Liebowitz is president emeritus of Brandeis University and president emeritus of Middlebury College. He earned a BA from Bucknell University and a doctorate from Columbia University. As President of Brandeis University, Ron launched in the spring of 2023 an initiative to focus on antisemitism in higher ed, and also an initiative to deepen academic ties with institutions of higher ed in Israel as a response to growing BDS in the American academy. His scholarship has focused on the nationality question in the former Soviet Union and issues in higher education. During his career, he has served as a department chair, dean of the faculty, provost, and president and was a trustee of a leading liberal arts college.