To Senor, with Love

A story of biblical proportions.

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On today’s Remnant, Jonah welcomes Dan Senor, a prolific pundit, political adviser, and author of the new book, The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World. As tragic as the unfolding situation in Israel may be, Dan joins the program to bring a welcome degree of optimism to our discourse on the subject. Israel, it turns out, has become one of the happiest societies in the world in recent years. But simultaneously, levels of fulfillment have plummeted in the United States. Dan’s book explores why this is the case, and what lessons Americans should take from Israel to strengthen our social fabric and build communities that emphasize the importance of each individual. Tune in for all of the uplifting details.

Show Notes:

-Watch this episode on YouTube

–Dan’s new book, The Genius of Israel

–Sebastian Junger’s Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging

–The Remnant with Russ Roberts

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Comments (32)
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  1. Randall Briggs

    Dan Senor's comments about how Israelis are practicing the same religion with the same rituals that they practiced 3,000 years ago are incorrect. The Rabbinic Judaism of today is very different than the First-Temple Judaism of three millennia ago. Very obviously, Jewish worship today does not involve being present at the one-and-only temple and it does not involve animal sacrifice. Also, there is no high priest in Judaism today.

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  2. Payette

    Informative discussion! Thank you very much!

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    Ben Connelly

    Oh man, Dan is so right about the solo Remnant!

    Very solid episode. Makes me want to listen to Commentary more.

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    Dan

    As a Jewish IP lawyer that listens to The Remnant (can we be counted on one hand?) I'm glad to finally have a book targeted at me, almost individually.

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  5. Mirabeau

    As long as the Jews are successful and are a small minority, a fair number people will hate them, because envy is a widespread human emotion and because kicking a small minority is a low-cost way of expressing one's envy.

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      Ben Connelly

      Yeah Jonah alluded to this in a G-File. I think it’s the same impulse as the one that causes some people to attack successful black intellectuals like Clarence Thomas or Thomas Sowell. People don’t like it when the person or group who is supposed to be a victim ends up successful and isn’t resentful but instead focuses on hard work and personal responsibility. The Jews have suffered a tremendous amount in history and every time they do what they have to do to give themselves the best chance they can.

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    Anne W (Raw5254)

    This was so good, Jonah. I definitely want to read his book.

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  7. Kbirkett

    Just hitting pause for a moment to say--"a little country with a big story" is such a phrase, and its connection to hope and purpose is moving. And, thought-provoking. So here is the thought provoked . . . I've often thought about how the church community I'm part of weathered the winds of the pandemic, which seem to have brought disorientation and loss and hazard to so many young people, in particular, across the country. Not without difficulty but overall-- we had and have a reason for being that the pandemic could not and did not change, and the despair and purposelessness affecting especially young people post-pandemic just are not in evidence where I am, at all. And just now it hit me that "a little country with a big story" is a fantastic description also of a certain kind of church community. We sure do have a big story--it's literally called "good news" in the New Testament. " "You can touch history. You know you have a purpose." Yes, that's it exactly. Everyone we know is made in God's image and will exist eternally. We believe we have good news that can change someone's eternity. Yes, a little community can have a very big story--a story of *biblical proportions*--and a sense of purpose and hope as a result, no matter what comes. Forget the pandemic--this is what enables persecuted churches around the world to endure in hope as well.

    Not to take away at all from the points that are being made here about Israel itself! A remarkable and essential country enduring tidal waves of history, grievous wrongs. But to appreciate Mr. Senor's point about big stories, being needed, and common purpose. Thank you both for appreciating that the city of David has a special significance for Christians as well, and please accept my thanks for this meditation on Israel's sense of purpose, and the need for people to know why they are here.

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      Anne W (Raw5254)

      Lovely thoughts. Thank you.

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    Medhistprof

    Jonah asks why 20% of Democrats (and too many Republicans) believe Isreal is wrong -- goes to a fundamental social belief that citizens are not responsible for their failed government. Vietnamese, Syrians, Iraquis, Afghans, etc. were all absolved of responsibility for their governments and society so by extension, the Palestinians have no liability for the Hamas conduct. In Europe, this is an article of faith for the French since resistance and Eastern Europe to explain the Soviet era. At its worst in US, we are absolving ourselves for the failures of the American dream in the past generations. I think it differs from traditional antisemitism in important ways. As to settler colonialism, we only blame the people we help. But I cannot exclude antisemitism entirely.

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  9. Wap3pcomm

    One of my favorites and that says a lot, thx

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    Silvertide

    It's possible I missed it, but I didn't hear anything about the non-Jewish Israelis and how they are doing. In covering how Israel is different from the US this would have been a nice addition.

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