Fox News Radio political analyst and Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar joins The Karol Markowicz Show for an in-depth conversation about journalism, American politics, the rise of antisemitism, and why he remains optimistic about the country's future.
Josh reflects on his career covering presidential campaigns and elections, explains how the media landscape has changed over the past three decades, and shares why understanding voters—not political elites—is the key to making sense of American politics.
The conversation also explores the alarming rise of antisemitism following October 7, the changing relationship between American Jews and the Democratic Party, the role social media has played in fueling division, and why Josh believes history shows America has the resilience to recover from its current challenges.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hi, and welcome back to the Carol Markowitz Show on iHeartRadio.
My guest today is Josh Krasshower, editor in chief of
Jewish Insider, Fox News Radio, political analyst. So nice to
have you on, Josh.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
It's great to be on with you, Carol. Longtime listener,
first time callers, so it's great, great.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
To be I'm a long I'm a longtime fan of
yours as well, but I was like, I want to
know more. How did you get your start in this
thing of ours?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
This thing of ours?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Yeah, no, it is a long Everything is a blur
when you think back at your career. But I knew
very early on in my life that I wanted to
both be a journalist and cover politics. So that was
sort of I was a political junkie from a very
young age, so I was very fortunate and then I
(00:56):
knew what I wanted to do. I started my career
a publication called The National Journal, which was owned by
the Atlantic Magazine, and I researched biographies and profiles of
members of Congress candidates for Congress, and I became sort
of a researcher.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
And then I worked for the publication called.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
The Hotline, which covered every election from house races to
the presidential campaign. And it was at the time, in
its heyday, was sort of the political junkies publication of choice.
Chuck Todd, who was of a moderator I meet the press,
was the editor at the time.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
He was my boss.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
And then you know, once you get more experience I have,
you know, in mainstream media, so to speak, that I
guess that's the MSM.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
I was in the MBS for long, right, I.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Mean Jewish insiders pretty mainstream.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Well we try.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I mean, look, I think it's I and we've had
this conversation I think before, and it's a it's a
really interesting conversation in the media. You have other people, well,
I think we were on a panel about like sort
of some of these crazy the idea is kind of
coming out on elements of the right, and you see
this on the left as well.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
And look, I'm a big believer that there needs to
be a.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Good institutional fact generating mainstream media. So I think that's
a really important thing to have in our society.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Now.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I'm very, very disillusioned about the standards and the collapse
in many ways of some of these institutions. But I
would you ask me about Jwish Insider, Like, I think
we have a readership of both Democrats and Republicans that
come to us to get the facts that matter to
the Jewish.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Community, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
So, how did you know you wanted to be in
journalism politics? What was the early start?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, look, I'm a big sports fan, Carol. I just
like stats and competition. I think there are a lot
of people that are in the political world that are
just kind of baseball nerds and football very closely together.
I mean, so I was a big baseball I was
a big baseball geek, and I watched tons ofs and
like bought every encyclopedia of baseball when I was when
(03:04):
I was, you know.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
In middle school and whatnot.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And then politics kind of was that was like a
gateway direct to politics I learned. I remember following the
nineteen ninety two presidential election between George H. W. Bush
and Bill Clinton and Ross Perrot, and I was like
twelve years old, but I was just sucked into the
whole political game and I watched that the news. I
remember reading watching the news and reading newspapers about that
(03:28):
election very closely, and I Actually I told this to
one of my first bosses when I when I got
a job at the Almanac of American Politics early in
my career. But I when I was twelve years old,
I actually wanted to get a copy of this two
thousand page book, which actually I have a cop. I'll
show you this is This is the book I I
wanted to get for my birthday. It's a two thousand page,
(03:51):
you know, guide of everything politics that still is out
and it's still a pretty good resource, but most twelve
year olds don't.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, that makes me really popular with the year old girls.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
It was yeah, yeah, it was yeah, exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
So I also that was my first job as an
I was an intern for that book, and that was
when I got my started.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So that's like a full circle kind of moment. So
what would you have done if this hadn't worked out?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Well?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
The other option that when I was in high school
was like being a general manager of a baseball team,
which you know that would or being on I was
a big sports fan and actually one of my first
one of my early jobs was actually covering sports for
the local uh newspaper, the community newspaper in the Washington area.
So I that was sort of you know, I kind
of quickly realized that people take politics more seriously than
(04:44):
they and I thought there might be a little more
of a long term play and and and look, I
I it's it's crazy how much the media world has
changed in all regardens from from thirty years ago.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
But but yeah, it was it was.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Sort of getting My dream was probably to be a
general manager of the of the Washington Nationals. That then
they're only thirty of those jobs, so I figured that
wasn't really a great bet. And then I kind of
had to pick do I want to be a sports
journalist or a political journalist?
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And I went with the with the ladder, at.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Least you had like realistic goals general manager. Most you know,
most young boys want to be shortstop or second base.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Well I wasn't good, and I well, you know, I
kind of peaked at Little league, so you know, I
didn't have the athletic talent. So I think a lot
of people in yeah, you could work in the front
office and actually manage the players.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Do you feel like you have a beat, like anything
specific that you kind of turned to again and again
and want to write about.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Well, it's a great question, Carol. And look, my beat
for many many years before Jewish Insider, before being editor
of Jewish Insider.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Was elections and campaigns.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
There are a lot of people in Washington that have
no problem going to covering the Pentagon, to covering the
White House, to covering con To me, I could. I
felt my secret sauce was understanding and reporting on what
happens across the country. They kind of they we're heading
into the two fifty, you know, the two fifty, two
hundred and fifty of the anniversary of the founding of
(06:14):
the country. And I am one of those smallt sea
you know.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
He really true all the way.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, it's good to.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Be patriotic, it's good to like kind of you know,
enjoy the Americana. And I just always loved traveling. Early
in my career I got to really travel across the country,
spend time reporting on big Senate and House races.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
I didn't care.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I didn't care what kind of race it was. I
just wanted to hear the issues that were at play,
the arguments, how people were fighting.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
You know. Now it's got political.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Like exchange, like you like the I guess it is
the stats and the figures similar to baseball.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
And look it's people can kind of I mean a
lot of people dismiss it as the horse.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Race that that year that was.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
You know, in politics are important, Understanding public opinion is important,
Like that's part of the problem. How did we get
tru I mean, we're not going to kind of get
to the big political questions, but like, how do we
how do we get Trump? Because a lot of candidates
and politicians didn't listen to voters, They didn't actually look
at what was going on across the country. So I
always tried to immerse myself and what voters were thinking,
(07:15):
what the what they're saying, listening to candidates and listening
to you know, the polling, and what the zeitgeist was
throughout the country.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So being editor in chief of Jewish Insider, it's kind
of an interesting moment for Jews. I mean interesting, I
guess has one way to put it in America and
obviously across the world. But is it like, do you
feel like you're covering kind of the subject of the
you know moment. I feel like every conversation I have
is about the place of Jews in the United States,
(07:46):
and you're editor in chief of an outlet that represents
Jews in the United States. So do you feel like
that's you're sort of right where you need to be
right now?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Well, I'm very I mean, it was surely coincidence. I
started as editor of Jewish Cider in March of twenty
twenty three. I could see a lot of the You've
been writing about this, Carol for a long time, but
a lot of people in the mainstream media weren't paying
attention to the rising anti Semitism, to the divisions within
the parties about Israel and anti Semitism, about the kind
(08:17):
of Democratic Party's turn on Israel, which.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Has become you know, full, full and full fourth.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
This was before October seventh, and I wanted to I
want I feel I felt like there was a real
opportunity to offer insight to people who were kind of looking.
The political coverage in many major publications was missing a
big part of the story, and there was a lot
of a lot of the story had to do with
issues that the Jewish community is uniquely concerned about. So
(08:42):
I just thought this was a really once in a
lifetime opportunity, And little did I know, October seventh happens.
You know, months in to my tenure and we're now,
you know, a twenty four to seven publication covering the
crises really that are affecting the Jewish community across the world.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
How do you stay in like good mental place? I
mean it's really hard. I mean even again, I'm not
I don't feel like my beat is Jewish, just obviously
I write a lot and talk a lot about being Jewish,
and I have I'm very open about it, and anti
Semitism is something I've been covering for you know, a
decade plus, but it's very hard to be mired in it,
like you know, when you were. I could think of
(09:20):
two conversations I had this weekend where one was like,
I don't think Jews are gonna be able to get
jobs soon in America, and the other one was like,
you know, basically buy all the guns like it's coming.
I mean, how do you stay sane, like you know,
American patriots. I guess that's the thing for a lot
of people. It's like, well, we need to leave for Israel,
(09:41):
and I feel like you and I are like, no,
We're gonna be American and stay here.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Yeah, those are really good points and questions. Look, I
number one is it is easy to get PTSD covering
everything that's going on, and then I actually think it's
important to kind of stay stay, stay in the perspective,
likecognize the historical scope of what's going on and how
while things are bad, you know, we've dealt with in
(10:06):
this country. We've we've been a very resilient people, and we've.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Dealt with worse.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
I always like to say historically that you know, people
a lot make a lot of people the Jewish community
I talk to who are very pessimistic are comparing this
moment to like nineteen thirty three Berlin or something.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Along those lines.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
You know, I think realistically it's more like nineteen fifties
America where Jews were not allowed to work in law
firms and and and and some you know, big big
elite media companies and you know there weren't.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Allowed to countries at all.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
That Yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
She's hid their names, right, I mean, you know, to
this day you see celebrities and famous people that to
hide their Jewish identity. So you still you know that
there's still some traces of that, but that you know,
I grew up with my parents kind of telling you
know that that was antimism. Anti Semitism has always been
a small part and not a big part of American life.
It thankfully, for many decades in my life coincided with
(10:55):
my lifetime. It was very low, it was very I've
experienced very little, frankly and Semitism. So the rise, the
sudden rise in the last five years or so has
been very unerving. And the fact that it's coming from
the left, it's coming from the Democratic Party, I think
has also been a real wake up call to a
lot of American Jews in a way that it may
not have been before.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
That it's people I can't tell you.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I mean, you've you've document a lot of these episodes,
but these are liberal institutions, progressive institutions, where people are
not able to work anymore because they identify with the
State of Israel or that they're openly Jewish. These are
things that we thought were behind us from like the
nineteen forties, nineteen fifties, and yet they're reoccurring, and it's
often from the left, not from the right. So I
(11:37):
think it's important to name and be very clear about
where you know where the sources of anti Semitism are
coming from. They are definitely issues on both left and right,
but in terms of the Jewish community, most Jews identifi
as Democrats, and that's they're feeling it, even more so
because a lot of it's a lot of their jobs.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
We have been saying for a long time they should
stop that. But you know, this is not a political show,
so well, I won't get into what I think of that. Yeah,
I think that, you know, you said about in the
nineteen fifties, somebody says me, oh, we're going to have to, like,
you know, have our own social clubs and our own
hospitals and our own universities. I'm like, we had that,
(12:15):
We did that, We've already built that. I feel like,
you know, people forgot that that was a thing for
a long time. And we belonged to a beach club
in Atlantic Beach in New York, and a lot of
the beach clubs there still too. They did not accept
Jews at the beach clubs, and there are you know,
Jews then built their own beach clubs and that's it.
But yeah, it existed, it exists, and you know that's it.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I mean, look, people talk about colleges and all the
problems and other Ivy League universities. But there are a
lot of good colleges that that that actually are trying
to reach out to the really talented students. I am
not a pessimist by the way.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
I see that. I like it. You know, I'm going
to like sleep better after New York.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I mean, look, and I also follow me on social media.
I mean like, I'm also a bit you know, I
think you need to get off your screens and you
know what is the saying touch some grass, like get
out there. I am a big believer in persuasion, having conversations.
I think a lot of people are just ignorant. They
just they're not informed. And I think having face to
face conversations, having podcast conversations like this.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Matter a whole lot.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
But look, I do think that there is something uniquely
insidious with the online world, where people do things and
act in a way that they never would publicly. I
think getting people out of there, I'm very anti you know,
Zuckerberg and TikTok, and I think their algorithm is actually
creating a lot of these problems. And I think, you know,
getting out there and just experiencing face to face.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marcowitch Show. We're recording this, you know,
right around two fifty. Do you feel like we're heading
in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I don't think we're heading in the right direction. But
I also think it's it's never darkest before the dawn.
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before things get
you know, get get get get positive.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Look, you can't, you can't.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
You can be an optimist, but you know you can't
deny the trends that are happening. And it goes beyond
the Jewish community. There's a lot i liberalism, uh that
put it broadly in our society, and I think Jews
don't thriveit large when when you see these upsurges of
tolerance and illiberalism that take place. But I but I
(14:33):
also look, I also think that our country compared to
look at look at the World Cup that's going on
right now, and all the Europeans and Japanese and then
coming to America and they are amazed at the bounty
of economic goodness about the people. I mean, you see
these tice. This is where going online may be helpful.
If Twitter, like you know, highlight a lot of these
(14:57):
videos that people who are amazed air conditioning.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
We have air condition in the United States.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Apparently the Europeans don't have so much air conditioning right now, right,
and and the fact that they are just really amazed
at just the bounty of our country. So I do
think it's worth putting that into perspective that we have
a lot of issues politically and societally, but but I
think real large, compared to other countries, we're we're doing
pretty well.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
What are you most proud of in your life?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Josh, Well, I'm most proud of my family. You know.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
That's that That's like, you got to start at home,
and uh, we have two little you know, two kids,
and uh they're you know, growing and active members in
their community, and uh, you know that's that it all starts.
I mean, it takes a real you know, it all
starts at home. And it really religion begins at home,
(15:46):
right and and a lot of those smaller institutions, frankly,
those are the ones that you you have people think
about like posting on social media and changing you know,
the national conversation. It really starts in your community and
your family, your community and those you know, that's the
basic blocking and tackling of living a good life.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I love that. Give us a five year out prediction
and it could be about anything, our music, politics, whatever
you want.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Well, I hope my Washington Nationals may be serious again. Yeah,
but you know, look, I think here I'll give you
a political somewhat political without getting too political. I do
think that a lot of crazy trends in every in
every every aspect of life, they burn out, right. I
mean we saw this with like the wokeness revolution of
(16:34):
twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
We see this now the antisemitism rising.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
But usually there's a point where people just go crazy
and then you realize the cost of the craziness and
things go back to normal. We saw this in like
the seventies were like the kind of fads and the
kind of you know, kind of things that were being
talked about in the in the in the seventies as
a crime, the crime and all the you know, at
a certain point that they it burned out and you
(17:00):
got Ronald Reagan right in nineteen eighty. So you know,
it's I am optimistic that things are cyclical. History is cyclical,
and we're experiencing a kind of a downcycle. But I
do think that we're a pretty resilient society and we'll
be back.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
I sort of think it's all the same. Like I
think what we're going through right now within Semitism is
just continuation of the woke nonsense. It was like, it's
still the you have to say the words in the
exact right way, and Palestine has always been, you know,
kind of the leader of the omni cause protests. So
I just think of it as sort of one thing.
I think we're still in it. Maybe where the tail end,
(17:37):
I don't know. I get optimistic sometimes that it's over
and then other times less so. But you know, I
heard it referred to as woke too, like that was
woke one. Itys woke too, and I sort of think
it's all woke one.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I mean that's a very I think, a helpful way
of thinking about it. And there's a lot of overlap
when you think about the oppress or oppressed you know
framework that drove a lot of the woke you know,
radical ideology that is very much you know, reflective, you know,
Drew Jews are caught up in that in a negative way.
So I mean that's the part that while a lot
(18:14):
of the worst accesses have been rolled back because the
public said this is disgusting. The one thing that's left
has been you know, attacking back at Jews and is relatedly.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
So you know, I feel like we're.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
On maybe a delayed timetable or took a few years
for kind of the some of the other ideologies to
burn out of quokeenness, and maybe this this will pass
as well. But you look, I I you also are
right that this is something that's been a factor throughout
American history for a world history, so you know, uh,
this is it's both it's both part of the woke
(18:48):
revolution and radicalism, but it's also something that's been omnipresent
throughout world history. So it's it's it's hard to say
how this is gonna end.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Josh. I love this conversation, not only because you're like
the most optimistic person I've spoken to in a while.
Leave us here with your best tip from my listeners
on how they can improve their lives.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Just this is what I tell my kids. Show gratitude,
not attitude. You know, like there are so many things
to be thankful for. I mean, in my life, I'm
I you know, I'm a I'm a you know, prayerful
you go to synagogue and we we are, you know,
we really you know, believe strongly in faith and that
there's a higher God and that there are a lot
(19:31):
of things that worth are very much worth being thankful for.
I mean you and you also understand history and you
see how most people live throughout humans, a throughout society,
and you look at the blessings that you have. I
can't help but be thankful even though there's a lot
of darkness.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
How old are the kids?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
So we have a twelve year old who's about to
be bot Minzvood and the winner, and we have a
nine year old. So this is like what do they
say about the between that we're right before the teens?
Speaker 3 (19:57):
But we're we are you know, and my nine years old.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
So yeah, all right, be like Josh's twelve and nine
year old, be thankful for what you have. Thank you
so much for coming on. Check out Josh's work at
Jewish Insider and on Fox News Radio. Josh Crosshower, thanks
so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Thanks Carol,
Hi, and welcome back to the Carol Markowitz Show on iHeartRadio.
My guest today is Josh Krasshower, editor in chief of
Jewish Insider, Fox News Radio, political analyst. So nice to
have you on, Josh.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
It's great to be on with you, Carol. Longtime listener,
first time callers, so it's great, great.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
To be I'm a long I'm a longtime fan of
yours as well, but I was like, I want to
know more. How did you get your start in this
thing of ours?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
This thing of ours?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Yeah, no, it is a long Everything is a blur
when you think back at your career. But I knew
very early on in my life that I wanted to
both be a journalist and cover politics. So that was
sort of I was a political junkie from a very
young age, so I was very fortunate and then I
(00:56):
knew what I wanted to do. I started my career
a publication called The National Journal, which was owned by
the Atlantic Magazine, and I researched biographies and profiles of
members of Congress candidates for Congress, and I became sort
of a researcher.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
And then I worked for the publication called.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
The Hotline, which covered every election from house races to
the presidential campaign. And it was at the time, in
its heyday, was sort of the political junkies publication of choice.
Chuck Todd, who was of a moderator I meet the press,
was the editor at the time.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
He was my boss.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
And then you know, once you get more experience I have,
you know, in mainstream media, so to speak, that I
guess that's the MSM.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
I was in the MBS for long, right, I.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Mean Jewish insiders pretty mainstream.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Well we try.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I mean, look, I think it's I and we've had
this conversation I think before, and it's a it's a
really interesting conversation in the media. You have other people, well,
I think we were on a panel about like sort
of some of these crazy the idea is kind of
coming out on elements of the right, and you see
this on the left as well.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
And look, I'm a big believer that there needs to
be a.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Good institutional fact generating mainstream media. So I think that's
a really important thing to have in our society.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Now.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I'm very, very disillusioned about the standards and the collapse
in many ways of some of these institutions. But I
would you ask me about Jwish Insider, Like, I think
we have a readership of both Democrats and Republicans that
come to us to get the facts that matter to
the Jewish.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Community, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
So, how did you know you wanted to be in
journalism politics? What was the early start?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, look, I'm a big sports fan, Carol. I just
like stats and competition. I think there are a lot
of people that are in the political world that are
just kind of baseball nerds and football very closely together.
I mean, so I was a big baseball I was
a big baseball geek, and I watched tons ofs and
like bought every encyclopedia of baseball when I was when
(03:04):
I was, you know.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
In middle school and whatnot.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And then politics kind of was that was like a
gateway direct to politics I learned. I remember following the
nineteen ninety two presidential election between George H. W. Bush
and Bill Clinton and Ross Perrot, and I was like
twelve years old, but I was just sucked into the
whole political game and I watched that the news. I
remember reading watching the news and reading newspapers about that
(03:28):
election very closely, and I Actually I told this to
one of my first bosses when I when I got
a job at the Almanac of American Politics early in
my career. But I when I was twelve years old,
I actually wanted to get a copy of this two
thousand page book, which actually I have a cop. I'll
show you this is This is the book I I
wanted to get for my birthday. It's a two thousand page,
(03:51):
you know, guide of everything politics that still is out
and it's still a pretty good resource, but most twelve
year olds don't.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, that makes me really popular with the year old girls.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
It was yeah, yeah, it was yeah, exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
So I also that was my first job as an
I was an intern for that book, and that was
when I got my started.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So that's like a full circle kind of moment. So
what would you have done if this hadn't worked out?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Well?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
The other option that when I was in high school
was like being a general manager of a baseball team,
which you know that would or being on I was
a big sports fan and actually one of my first
one of my early jobs was actually covering sports for
the local uh newspaper, the community newspaper in the Washington area.
So I that was sort of you know, I kind
of quickly realized that people take politics more seriously than
(04:44):
they and I thought there might be a little more
of a long term play and and and look, I
I it's it's crazy how much the media world has
changed in all regardens from from thirty years ago.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
But but yeah, it was it was.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Sort of getting My dream was probably to be a
general manager of the of the Washington Nationals. That then
they're only thirty of those jobs, so I figured that
wasn't really a great bet. And then I kind of
had to pick do I want to be a sports
journalist or a political journalist?
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And I went with the with the ladder, at.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Least you had like realistic goals general manager. Most you know,
most young boys want to be shortstop or second base.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Well I wasn't good, and I well, you know, I
kind of peaked at Little league, so you know, I
didn't have the athletic talent. So I think a lot
of people in yeah, you could work in the front
office and actually manage the players.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Do you feel like you have a beat, like anything
specific that you kind of turned to again and again
and want to write about.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Well, it's a great question, Carol. And look, my beat
for many many years before Jewish Insider, before being editor
of Jewish Insider.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Was elections and campaigns.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
There are a lot of people in Washington that have
no problem going to covering the Pentagon, to covering the
White House, to covering con To me, I could. I
felt my secret sauce was understanding and reporting on what
happens across the country. They kind of they we're heading
into the two fifty, you know, the two fifty, two
hundred and fifty of the anniversary of the founding of
(06:14):
the country. And I am one of those smallt sea
you know.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
He really true all the way.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, it's good to.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Be patriotic, it's good to like kind of you know,
enjoy the Americana. And I just always loved traveling. Early
in my career I got to really travel across the country,
spend time reporting on big Senate and House races.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
I didn't care.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I didn't care what kind of race it was. I
just wanted to hear the issues that were at play,
the arguments, how people were fighting.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
You know. Now it's got political.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Like exchange, like you like the I guess it is
the stats and the figures similar to baseball.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
And look it's people can kind of I mean a
lot of people dismiss it as the horse.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Race that that year that was.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
You know, in politics are important, Understanding public opinion is important,
Like that's part of the problem. How did we get
tru I mean, we're not going to kind of get
to the big political questions, but like, how do we
how do we get Trump? Because a lot of candidates
and politicians didn't listen to voters, They didn't actually look
at what was going on across the country. So I
always tried to immerse myself and what voters were thinking,
(07:15):
what the what they're saying, listening to candidates and listening
to you know, the polling, and what the zeitgeist was
throughout the country.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So being editor in chief of Jewish Insider, it's kind
of an interesting moment for Jews. I mean interesting, I
guess has one way to put it in America and
obviously across the world. But is it like, do you
feel like you're covering kind of the subject of the
you know moment. I feel like every conversation I have
is about the place of Jews in the United States,
(07:46):
and you're editor in chief of an outlet that represents
Jews in the United States. So do you feel like
that's you're sort of right where you need to be
right now?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Well, I'm very I mean, it was surely coincidence. I
started as editor of Jewish Cider in March of twenty
twenty three. I could see a lot of the You've
been writing about this, Carol for a long time, but
a lot of people in the mainstream media weren't paying
attention to the rising anti Semitism, to the divisions within
the parties about Israel and anti Semitism, about the kind
(08:17):
of Democratic Party's turn on Israel, which.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Has become you know, full, full and full fourth.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
This was before October seventh, and I wanted to I
want I feel I felt like there was a real
opportunity to offer insight to people who were kind of looking.
The political coverage in many major publications was missing a
big part of the story, and there was a lot
of a lot of the story had to do with
issues that the Jewish community is uniquely concerned about. So
(08:42):
I just thought this was a really once in a
lifetime opportunity, And little did I know, October seventh happens.
You know, months in to my tenure and we're now,
you know, a twenty four to seven publication covering the
crises really that are affecting the Jewish community across the world.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
How do you stay in like good mental place? I
mean it's really hard. I mean even again, I'm not
I don't feel like my beat is Jewish, just obviously
I write a lot and talk a lot about being Jewish,
and I have I'm very open about it, and anti
Semitism is something I've been covering for you know, a
decade plus, but it's very hard to be mired in it,
like you know, when you were. I could think of
(09:20):
two conversations I had this weekend where one was like,
I don't think Jews are gonna be able to get
jobs soon in America, and the other one was like,
you know, basically buy all the guns like it's coming.
I mean, how do you stay sane, like you know,
American patriots. I guess that's the thing for a lot
of people. It's like, well, we need to leave for Israel,
(09:41):
and I feel like you and I are like, no,
We're gonna be American and stay here.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Yeah, those are really good points and questions. Look, I
number one is it is easy to get PTSD covering
everything that's going on, and then I actually think it's
important to kind of stay stay, stay in the perspective,
likecognize the historical scope of what's going on and how
while things are bad, you know, we've dealt with in
(10:06):
this country. We've we've been a very resilient people, and we've.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Dealt with worse.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
I always like to say historically that you know, people
a lot make a lot of people the Jewish community
I talk to who are very pessimistic are comparing this
moment to like nineteen thirty three Berlin or something.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Along those lines.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
You know, I think realistically it's more like nineteen fifties
America where Jews were not allowed to work in law
firms and and and and some you know, big big
elite media companies and you know there weren't.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Allowed to countries at all.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
That Yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
She's hid their names, right, I mean, you know, to
this day you see celebrities and famous people that to
hide their Jewish identity. So you still you know that
there's still some traces of that, but that you know,
I grew up with my parents kind of telling you
know that that was antimism. Anti Semitism has always been
a small part and not a big part of American life.
It thankfully, for many decades in my life coincided with
(10:55):
my lifetime. It was very low, it was very I've
experienced very little, frankly and Semitism. So the rise, the
sudden rise in the last five years or so has
been very unerving. And the fact that it's coming from
the left, it's coming from the Democratic Party, I think
has also been a real wake up call to a
lot of American Jews in a way that it may
not have been before.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
That it's people I can't tell you.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I mean, you've you've document a lot of these episodes,
but these are liberal institutions, progressive institutions, where people are
not able to work anymore because they identify with the
State of Israel or that they're openly Jewish. These are
things that we thought were behind us from like the
nineteen forties, nineteen fifties, and yet they're reoccurring, and it's
often from the left, not from the right. So I
(11:37):
think it's important to name and be very clear about
where you know where the sources of anti Semitism are
coming from. They are definitely issues on both left and right,
but in terms of the Jewish community, most Jews identifi
as Democrats, and that's they're feeling it, even more so
because a lot of it's a lot of their jobs.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
We have been saying for a long time they should
stop that. But you know, this is not a political show,
so well, I won't get into what I think of that. Yeah,
I think that, you know, you said about in the
nineteen fifties, somebody says me, oh, we're going to have to, like,
you know, have our own social clubs and our own
hospitals and our own universities. I'm like, we had that,
(12:15):
We did that, We've already built that. I feel like,
you know, people forgot that that was a thing for
a long time. And we belonged to a beach club
in Atlantic Beach in New York, and a lot of
the beach clubs there still too. They did not accept
Jews at the beach clubs, and there are you know,
Jews then built their own beach clubs and that's it.
But yeah, it existed, it exists, and you know that's it.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I mean, look, people talk about colleges and all the
problems and other Ivy League universities. But there are a
lot of good colleges that that that actually are trying
to reach out to the really talented students. I am
not a pessimist by the way.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
I see that. I like it. You know, I'm going
to like sleep better after New York.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I mean, look, and I also follow me on social media.
I mean like, I'm also a bit you know, I
think you need to get off your screens and you
know what is the saying touch some grass, like get
out there. I am a big believer in persuasion, having conversations.
I think a lot of people are just ignorant. They
just they're not informed. And I think having face to
face conversations, having podcast conversations like this.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Matter a whole lot.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
But look, I do think that there is something uniquely
insidious with the online world, where people do things and
act in a way that they never would publicly. I
think getting people out of there, I'm very anti you know,
Zuckerberg and TikTok, and I think their algorithm is actually
creating a lot of these problems. And I think, you know,
getting out there and just experiencing face to face.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marcowitch Show. We're recording this, you know,
right around two fifty. Do you feel like we're heading
in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I don't think we're heading in the right direction. But
I also think it's it's never darkest before the dawn.
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before things get
you know, get get get get positive.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Look, you can't, you can't.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
You can be an optimist, but you know you can't
deny the trends that are happening. And it goes beyond
the Jewish community. There's a lot i liberalism, uh that
put it broadly in our society, and I think Jews
don't thriveit large when when you see these upsurges of
tolerance and illiberalism that take place. But I but I
(14:33):
also look, I also think that our country compared to
look at look at the World Cup that's going on
right now, and all the Europeans and Japanese and then
coming to America and they are amazed at the bounty
of economic goodness about the people. I mean, you see
these tice. This is where going online may be helpful.
If Twitter, like you know, highlight a lot of these
(14:57):
videos that people who are amazed air conditioning.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
We have air condition in the United States.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Apparently the Europeans don't have so much air conditioning right now, right,
and and the fact that they are just really amazed
at just the bounty of our country. So I do
think it's worth putting that into perspective that we have
a lot of issues politically and societally, but but I
think real large, compared to other countries, we're we're doing
pretty well.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
What are you most proud of in your life?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Josh, Well, I'm most proud of my family. You know.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
That's that That's like, you got to start at home,
and uh, we have two little you know, two kids,
and uh they're you know, growing and active members in
their community, and uh, you know that's that it all starts.
I mean, it takes a real you know, it all
starts at home. And it really religion begins at home,
(15:46):
right and and a lot of those smaller institutions, frankly,
those are the ones that you you have people think
about like posting on social media and changing you know,
the national conversation. It really starts in your community and
your family, your community and those you know, that's the
basic blocking and tackling of living a good life.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I love that. Give us a five year out prediction
and it could be about anything, our music, politics, whatever
you want.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Well, I hope my Washington Nationals may be serious again. Yeah,
but you know, look, I think here I'll give you
a political somewhat political without getting too political. I do
think that a lot of crazy trends in every in
every every aspect of life, they burn out, right. I
mean we saw this with like the wokeness revolution of
(16:34):
twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
We see this now the antisemitism rising.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
But usually there's a point where people just go crazy
and then you realize the cost of the craziness and
things go back to normal. We saw this in like
the seventies were like the kind of fads and the
kind of you know, kind of things that were being
talked about in the in the in the seventies as
a crime, the crime and all the you know, at
a certain point that they it burned out and you
(17:00):
got Ronald Reagan right in nineteen eighty. So you know,
it's I am optimistic that things are cyclical. History is cyclical,
and we're experiencing a kind of a downcycle. But I
do think that we're a pretty resilient society and we'll
be back.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
I sort of think it's all the same. Like I
think what we're going through right now within Semitism is
just continuation of the woke nonsense. It was like, it's
still the you have to say the words in the
exact right way, and Palestine has always been, you know,
kind of the leader of the omni cause protests. So
I just think of it as sort of one thing.
I think we're still in it. Maybe where the tail end,
(17:37):
I don't know. I get optimistic sometimes that it's over
and then other times less so. But you know, I
heard it referred to as woke too, like that was
woke one. Itys woke too, and I sort of think
it's all woke one.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I mean that's a very I think, a helpful way
of thinking about it. And there's a lot of overlap
when you think about the oppress or oppressed you know
framework that drove a lot of the woke you know,
radical ideology that is very much you know, reflective, you know,
Drew Jews are caught up in that in a negative way.
So I mean that's the part that while a lot
(18:14):
of the worst accesses have been rolled back because the
public said this is disgusting. The one thing that's left
has been you know, attacking back at Jews and is relatedly.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
So you know, I feel like we're.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
On maybe a delayed timetable or took a few years
for kind of the some of the other ideologies to
burn out of quokeenness, and maybe this this will pass
as well. But you look, I I you also are
right that this is something that's been a factor throughout
American history for a world history, so you know, uh,
this is it's both it's both part of the woke
(18:48):
revolution and radicalism, but it's also something that's been omnipresent
throughout world history. So it's it's it's hard to say
how this is gonna end.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Josh. I love this conversation, not only because you're like
the most optimistic person I've spoken to in a while.
Leave us here with your best tip from my listeners
on how they can improve their lives.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Just this is what I tell my kids. Show gratitude,
not attitude. You know, like there are so many things
to be thankful for. I mean, in my life, I'm
I you know, I'm a I'm a you know, prayerful
you go to synagogue and we we are, you know,
we really you know, believe strongly in faith and that
there's a higher God and that there are a lot
(19:31):
of things that worth are very much worth being thankful for.
I mean you and you also understand history and you
see how most people live throughout humans, a throughout society,
and you look at the blessings that you have. I
can't help but be thankful even though there's a lot
of darkness.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
How old are the kids?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
So we have a twelve year old who's about to
be bot Minzvood and the winner, and we have a
nine year old. So this is like what do they
say about the between that we're right before the teens?
Speaker 3 (19:57):
But we're we are you know, and my nine years old.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
So yeah, all right, be like Josh's twelve and nine
year old, be thankful for what you have. Thank you
so much for coming on. Check out Josh's work at
Jewish Insider and on Fox News Radio. Josh Crosshower, thanks
so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Thanks Carol,
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Clay Travis
Buck Sexton
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