Why Dual Loyalty is Good for the Jews, with Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz

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🗓️ 13 March 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

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Summary

The charge of dual loyalty has long been a key weapon in the arsenal of anti-Semites everywhere. But in his new book, The Case for Dual Loyalty: Healing the Divided Soul of American Jews, Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz of Los Angeles’ Valley Beth Shalom argues that it’s time to embrace the idea. He joins Liel to talk about why American Jews should be loyal to Israel and the United States alike, why that is a complimentary rather than contradictory idea, and why it’s time, in the aftermath of October 7th, for Jews to reconsider the way they view their identities

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there and welcome to Rootless. I am Leah Liebowitzowitz and I am delighted to be back today with one of my favorite human beings,
0:25.9	one of my favorite rabbis, one of my favorite thinkers, Rabbi Nolan Lieberwitz.
0:31.0	He is by far the smarter and the more handsome Lieberwitz of the two of us you will hear today.
0:36.9	And he wrote an incredible book
0:38.5	with an incredible title, The Case for Dual Loyalty. Hello, Rabbi Leibowitz. Good morning,
0:44.9	Leo. You're coming to us straight from Los Angeles. We could tell by that divine light
0:49.2	that is shining upon your countenance. Explain, what do you mean by the case for dual loyalty?
0:56.0	Well, first of all, I should just acknowledge that the title itself brings with it a kind of,
1:01.3	you know, provocative feeling inside of Jewish people, which I think is precisely the point.
1:06.5	People have considered dual loyalty. Jews have considered dual loyalty a charge that was dangerous for more than 2,000 years, especially in modernity.
1:16.8	And I discussed the history of that charge, that accusation in the book through the light of the modern lens.
1:24.2	But I really think that this moment, this post-October 7th moment, this new chapter of
1:29.3	Jewish history that we're living through and that I think important thinkers are stepping
1:34.1	forward to help craft. I think that this moment calls for a pivot from fear to pride and that
1:41.6	pivot has to come in all kinds of different forms. And language is actually a
1:44.8	really important part of that pivot and learning and most of all Jewish identity. And so what I call for
1:52.7	in terms of dual loyalty isn't necessarily just a loyalty to the nation of our birthplace, the United States of America, I consider to be the most gracious, generous diaspora experience that Jewish people have ever known.
2:10.9	I actually think that it's not only a loyalty to America and to Israel.
2:15.6	I think there's something higher than loyalty to the state of
2:18.7	Israel, and that's loyalty to Jewish peoplehood. And so if you begin there, if you begin
2:24.2	prioritizing Jewish peoplehood as the highest level of our Jewish identity, of our Jewish
2:30.3	existence, with an acknowledgement that what happens to our Jewish brothers and sisters
	...

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