Allyship in the Face of Rising Anti-Semitism Ft. Rabbi Lisa Grushcow w/Anita Nowak - Purposeful Empathy

In this special series devoted to widening our circle of empathy for people who often feel marginalized or misunderstood, watch this deeply thoughtful conversation with Rabbi Lisa Grushcow—a scholar, spiritual leader, and bridge-builder—at a time when Jewish communities are facing not only a rise in antisemitism and hate crimes.In the aftermath of the Bondi beach terrorist attack on Jewish Australians, Rabbi Grushcow reflects on Jewish identity today and makes a compelling case for why empathy for Jewish fear, grief, and vulnerability is essential to building safer, more compassionate communities.Together, we discuss:Why Jewish identity includes history, culture, belonging and faithThe history of anti-semitism and how it’s being expressed todayThe importance of extending empathy to communities whose pain you don’t shareThis conversation is about bridge-building through purposeful empathy and discovering why moral courage is needed now, from all of us, every single day. 00:00 Preview01:04 Introduction 02:58 About Rabbi Lisa Grushcow05:39 Being a Rabbi 08:06 Judaism as peoplehood, covenant, and practice13:11 What does it mean to be Jewish in today’s world?17:57 Service and purpose: A Rabbi’s approach to wellbeing20:27 What is the significance of Shabbat?28:26 The difference between anti-zionism and anti-semitism32:15 Why does dehumanization lead to hate crimes?36:38 Meaningful allyship against anti-semitism42:31 Rabbi Grushcow’s Op-Ed46:29 Demonstrating genuine solidarity with Jewish communities51:12 Rabbi Lisa Grushcow’s Purposeful Empathy storyCONNECT WITH RABBI✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-grushcow-809215282/✩ Temple Emanu El-Beth Sholom https://templemontreal.ca/CONNECT WITH ANITA✩ Email [email protected] ✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.socialSHOW NOTES✩ Op-Ed https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-this-is-what-a-zionist-looks-likeVideo edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio