In today’s episode, our speakers discuss this challenging question: What does it mean to love your enemies?
You’ll hear from Michah Gottlieb, a professor of Judaic studies at NYU, and Daryl Davis, an author, speaker, and activist. Daryl has spent years talking to and de-radicalizing members of the KKK, and although he doesn’t share this story in today’s episode, you can watch it here. In this conversation, they explore the importance of having conversations across differences and what it looks like to love others even when it’s hard.
This forum was held at NYU in March 2025. Thank you to the student planning team for making this event possible.
When two enemies are talking, they're not fighting. If you speak with your adversary for five minutes, you will find something in common and that gap will narrow.
The greatest weapon or tool known to man to resolve conflict is the least expensive. It's not billions of dollars of bombs and guns. It's called conversation. It's free. Yet it remains the most underused.
Hate is reciprocated by hate—and it can only be overcome by love.
We spend a lot of time talking about the other person, or talking at the other person, or talking past the other person. We need to spend a little bit of time talking with the other person.
For every action, there's an equal reaction. Let love be that equal reaction to hatred. Don't respond to hate with hate.
People think that if you love your enemy, it means you tolerate injustice. And that is not true at all. If someone is doing something unjust and harming people, you have to put a stop to that. But you don't need to hate.
There's a cure for ignorance. That cure is called education.
When we feel truly connected to other people, that's enlarging for us. It's enlarging to feel connected. When you feel isolated and separate, and think people are your enemies, there's something constricting to that.
