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MEET OUR GUESTS
ANDREW MBUVI
EPISODE 2
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
An academic (biblical studies) whose primary focus has been on social justice issues, especially as relates to African and African American communities. Developer of antiracist pedagogies whose multiple publications engage liberationist and postcolonial readings, analyzing the history of religion (Hebrew BIble and New Testament), race, and violence. A trained scholar of Second Temple Judaism as the crucible of the emergence of the divergence between the Jesus Movement and Rabbinic Judaism.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR RESEARCH
My current research is a book tentatively titled "Anti-Black Violence and Rereading of Jesus' Stories." The violence in the stories of, and about Jesus, often are theologised, allegorized, or altogether ignored in the history of interpretation. However, setting these stories within the history of the racially driven violence against Black bodies, which has characterized Africans' enslavement in the Americas and African colonization, offers alternative views of the disconcerting nature of such violence.
WHITNEY WEATHERS
EPISODE 3
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Whitney Weathers, M. Ed., is a consultant, educator, and thought leader specializing in Black theology, urban education, and organizational culture. As the founder of Whitney Weathers Consulting, she partners with leaders and institutions to foster equity, cultural competency, and sustainable growth. Her work empowers communities through strategic coaching, curriculum development, and advocacy for underrepresented voices in theological and academic spaces. She is also a doctoral candidate at Nazarene Theological Seminary.
WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT
I'm thrilled to partner with Project Shema on their curriculum because I am passionate about interfaith work; working with the Jewish community brings me joy and speaks to my purpose as an ally. Specifically, this work excites me because it bridges scholarship and lived experience, creating space for honest conversations, deeper understanding, and pathways toward healing and justice. Personally, I am in the final phase of writing my dissertation, which focuses on Black women seminarians on predominantly white seminary campuses.
VLAD KHAYKIM
EPISODE 4
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Over the course of nearly two decades in leadership roles with major Jewish advocacy organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and most recently as Executive Vice President with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Vlad Khaykin has emerged as an internationally recognized authority on antisemitism, extremism, and disinformation. He has advised senior policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and global institutions, shaping policy and producing strategies to confront hate and strengthen democratic resilience. A refugee from state-sponsored antisemitism in the former Soviet Union, Vlad brings both personal conviction and professional expertise to one of the most urgent struggles of our time.
WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT
I am working on Soviet Anti-Zionist active measures. This project is exciting because it promises to illuminate the less-than-reputable source of the most common anti-Zionist claims.
NETANYA CRANFORD
EPISODE 5
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
After raising her children at Congregation Beth Israel, a reform synagogue in San Diego, Netanya stayed active in the synagogue, continuing in the Outreach Committee & Social Action Network & became a member of the Board in 2023. When she saw the activist world of the political left in which she had spent years changing in 2021, she dove head first into learning how to address antisemitism and the relationship between Israeli Jews and American Jews, including learning at the CLP 2024 organized by the Shalom Hartman Institute. Also, Netanya participated in an 8-month program with Project Shema in 2023 and the Pauline Foster Women's Leadership Institute in 2024-5. Still active in political left spaces, she now holds her head up higher and demands her space.
WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT
Although raised by two professors, I am a lifelong learner, but not an academic. My lifelong learning may be considered my way of researching, of learning, of trying to make sense of this world. When, after years of political left activism, I encountered antisemitism that I may have just been blind to before, I knew I could not sit in my ignorance. That was not my way. So I started learning and reading and even following some influencers on Jinsta. Then 10/7 happened and then Trump happened. I am still at the table, working with my Indivisible group, and the issues surrounding antisemitism have morphed yet again. Now if you don't like Jews, there are words to hide behind. Now if you believe in peace at all costs, there are words to hide behind. As I learned from Kiyomi and the other amazing instructors at Project Shema, the common understanding of words and what they mean is vital in having productive and courageous conversations. I am not skilled at social media activism. I am on the ground and at the table and in the Signal chat. So that was my longwinded way of saying that although I don't have a project per se, I am excited to work within the Translations framework--collaborating and learning together--so that I can continue to be at the table well armed with knowledge and understanding.
ARASH AZIZI
EPISODE 6
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Arash Azizi is a historian of modern Middle East and global history of the 20th century with a focus on social and political movements and a PhD from NYU. He is the author of Shadow Commander: US, Soleimani and Iran's Global Ambitions and What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom. His upcoming Counterweights: Iran, Israel and the Battle for the Middle East will be published by Public Affairs. His peer-reviewed articles have been published in Middle Eastern Studies and International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies and he has previously taught at NYU, Clemson University and Boston University.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR RESEARCH
I am writing a book about Iran and Israel throughout their history. I am also going to teach a course on antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the Muslim world next spring at Yale. I also have two talks at Yale next November and April. Quite excited about it all!
