This Week’s Guest: Nicholas Gallagher

At the heart of America’s immigration debate is a distinction between “refugees” fleeing persecution, and “migrants” seeking new opportunities in the United States. In Mosaic’s March 2019 essay, Nicholas Gallagher argues that Jewish history can help explain why these categories no longer serve our policy debate—if, indeed, they ever did. Viewing America’s current predicament through the lens of the Jewish immigrant experience, Gallagher’s essay illuminates the messy realities of human migration and helps clarify the difficult questions before America’s leaders.

In this podcast, Gallagher elaborates on his essay in conversation with Jonathan Silver. The two explore the varied causes of historical Jewish migration, the difficulty inherent in applying legal categories to complex human realities, and how a fuller understanding of the Jewish immigrant experience can point the way toward clarity in confronting America’s immigration mess.

Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble, as well as “Great Feeling” by Alex Kizenkov.

Listen via iTunes Podcasts | Google Play | Stitcher | Spotify

Background

Every Thursday, the Tikvah Podcast at Mosaic will bring to to your car/earbuds/home stereo/Alexa the latest in our efforts to advance Jewish thought. For more on the new podcast, check out our inaugural post here and listen to our background episode here:

A final note: If you would like to share your thoughts on the podcast, ideas for future guests and topics, or any other form of feedback, just send us an email at [email protected]. We’re grateful for your support, and we look forward to a new year of great conversations on Jewish essays and ideas.