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Putting aside fears of anti-Semitism to reclaim an old label First published on jew-ish.com It was a pretty normal Wednesday evening in early December. I had picked up copy of The Stranger right by Fuel on 19th — a coffee shop conveniently located near my overpriced two-room Capitol Hill apartment. After lighting candles with friends [...]

whenever i start to get bored with the idea of staying vocal as one of the surprisingly few non-closeted secularists in most of the electronic jewish spaces i frequent, something like this comes up. ruth messinger, former manhattan borough president, american jewish world service president, and makher-in-chief of the current (and problematic as well as [...]

one. i’ve been meaning to write something about the destruction of temples, and whether it’s something to mourn. partly because i have a soft spot for some aspects of tisha b’av despite my secularism, and partly inspired by a friend’s experience being told by a progressive jewish organization that a drash she wrote for them [...]

In just under two months I’ll be winging my way across the ocean (and a sea) to take up residence in Jerusalem for my first year of cantorial school. It’s exciting both to be traveling and to be a student again, as I haven’t done either in several years, and I’m lucky to be getting [...]

From the introduction:

Two Jews, a crumbling empire, and a struggling resistance movement walk into a bar…

For people who have committed themselves to fundamental social change, the situation we’re stuck in with antisemitism is like a bad joke.

From one side, progressive and radical activists and scholars are being attacked by organized campaigns to brand us antisemites. In particular, it’s virtually impossible to speak out critically about Israel without being charged with antisemitism.

At the same time, we face real currents of unchallenged anti-Jewish oppression in our movements and the world. This endangers Jews, corrupts our political integrity, and sabotages our ability to create the effective resistance our times demand. …

Among the contents:

-Antisemitism is still a world problem
-How could Jews be oppressed?
-But Arabs are Semites!
-Meet the amazing, disappearing oppression
-Let’s look at an example of how antisemitism works.
-If you liked COINTELPRO, you’ll LOVE the Protocols of the Elders of Zion
-The Revolution, the Jews and the “Generous Offer”
-Time Out! (A Word to Jews)
-Innoculate your Palestine work against antisemitism
-Tips for every activist

…and more.

My latest article in Jewish Currents Magazine: I am already late with this article, and if I am to keep up with developments relevant to my topic, I will never finish. Anti-Semitism is on the rise — and progressive Jews are to blame, according to a recent essay published by the American Jewish Committee (“‘Progressive’ [...]