On the Nose

Dan Sinykin, an Emory professor who studies publishing, and Josh Lambert, a Wellesley scholar of Jewish literature, investigate claims of antisemitism in the book world. They scrutinize PEN America, ADL, and Meg Keene’s evidence, examine Hebrew translation markets and event cancellations, and explore the difference between political backlash and censorship. Opaque publishing data, ideological ventures, and shifting cultural politics round out the conversation.

Rami Younis, a Palestinian journalist and filmmaker, and Joshua Oppenheimer, director of The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, discuss Naza’s disturbing testimony from Israeli intelligence officers. They explore perpetrator cinema, the psychology of mass violence, and whether humanizing killers risks excusing them. The conversation also examines whose testimony the world believes, backlash in Israel, Jewish responsibility, and cinema’s power to confront denial.

Theater critic and scholar Alisa Solomon joins Russian-American journalist and author Masha Gessen to dissect Slam Frank, a provocative Anne Frank parody steeped in identity politics and Jewish grievance. They debate what the satire targets, whether its Gaza climax and Holocaust humor punch up or down, how Zionism shapes the drama, and whether its slippery interpretations signal artistic success or political evasion.

Xava De Cordova, a rabbi and queer Jewish educator, joins writers and organizers Shelby Handler and Maia Brown, an artist and liturgy translator. Together, they explore Kol Nidre’s tangled history, melodies, and contested meanings. The conversation moves through prison, forced conversion, communal accountability, queer interpretation, and the tension between promises, change, and forgiveness.

Ryvka Barnard, deputy director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign; Emily Hilton, Diaspora Alliance policy director; and Maya Rosen, Jewish Currents editor and West Bank reporter, examine the UK’s unprecedented sanctions on Israeli settlements. They explore loopholes, arms cooperation, the contradictions of a two-state framework, backlash from British Jewish institutions, repression of Palestine activism, and whether wider European pressure could curb annexation.

Yotam Marom, a writer, organizer, and movement strategist shaped by Occupy Wall Street and IfNotNow, examines why progressive movements turn on themselves. He explores leadership, accountability, horizontalism, despair, belonging, and the challenge of building organizations that can actually win. Marom also discusses political isolation after October 7th, identity, solidarity, and the role of love and strategic boundaries in collective struggle.

This episode of On the Nose is for subscribers and members only. Subscribe for $4/month here. If you’re already a subscriber, check your email for instructions on accessing this episode.A recent article in Haaretz announced that a left-wing youth group called Hamahanot Haolim, part of the socialist Zionist movement, is planning a kibbutz-style settlement in the Jordan Valley, in the occupied West Bank. According to the article, organization director Ilan Gazit said that “he is aware of the damage West Bank settlements do to Palestinian rights, but argued that since new settlements will be built in the Jordan Valley in any case, it’s preferable to have as many of them as possible populated by leftists.” Gazit elaborated: “We aren’t ashamed of this and we aren’t hiding it. This is in line with our worldview: A strong security border is needed in the east that will be defensible and create a necessary condition for peace. We are leftists who believe in equality between people and are guided by a humanistic, socialist, democratic worldview.”On this premium episode of On the Nose, Israeli American social worker and co-founder of the Unsettled podcast Asaf Calderon talks to Arielle Angel about the fallacy of the “good guy at the checkpoint,” and what this announcement says about the shifting relationship between Israel’s so-called left and the settlement enterprise.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“Israeli Left-wing Youth Group Plans Kibbutz-style Settlement in West Bank,” Yair Foldes, Haaretz“What the Soldiers Did in Gaza,” On the Nose, Jewish Currents“The Anti-Politics of Disengagement,” Elisheva Goldberg, Jewish Currents“Revising the Dream,” Mari Cohen, Jewish CurrentsTranscript forthcoming.

After a few years of seeing Jewish plays “debating” Israel/Palestine, Jewish Currents editor-at-large Arielle Angel and theater critic Alisa Solomon explored the phenomenon through an exchange of letters, which were published this week. On this episode of On the Nose, they discuss the plays that fall into this category: most recently, the critically acclaimed Birthright by Jonathan Spector, but also including The Zionists by S. Asher Gelman, Giant by Mark Rosenblatt, The Ally by Itamar Moses, and Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon. They detail the compulsive repetition of these plays and they explore why Jewish hand-wringing is being consistently elevated during a moment of genocide, and why it appears so popular with critics and liberal audiences alike.Thanks to Jules Natt for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“Birthright Stages a Tired Debate,” Arielle Angel and Alisa Solomon, Jewish CurrentsBirthright by Jonathan SpectorGiant by Mark RosenblattThe Zionists by S. Asher GelmanThe Ally by Itamar MosesPrayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon“Campus Politics Takes the Stage in The Ally,” On the Nose, Jewish Currents“Who Is Tom Stoppard’s ‘Jewish Play’ For?” On the Nose, Jewish Currents“Giant Gave the People What They Want,” Jessica Goldschmidt, Jewish Currents“‘Birthright’ and ‘Giant’ Tackle Jewish Identity,” Emily Nussbaum, The New Yorker“‘Birthright’ Stages a Thrillingly Complex Conversation on Conversation Itself,” Helen Shaw, The New York Times“Taking the Long View, Brilliantly: Birthright and Camping,” Sarah Holdren, Vulture“Most US kids of intermarriage raised Jewish; parents want institutions to notice,” Ben Sales, The Times of Israel“Shari Redstone’s Next Act: Mogul Named Chair of ‘We Will Dance Again’ and ‘Bad Boy’ Studio Sipur,” Alex Weprin, The Hollywood ReporterMiami New Drama’s announcement of the Y6K Project“‘A Silent Moratorium,’” Lisa Tolin, Geraldine Baum, Malka Margolies, PEN America“Feeling excluded in the literary world, Jews are launching their own publishing houses,” Philissa Cramer, JTA“Birthright Israel and #MeToo,” Sarah M. Seltzer, Jewish Currents“Michael Steinhardt, a Leader in Jewish Philanthropy, Is Accused of a Pattern of Sexual Harassment,” Sharon Otterman and Hannah Dreyfus, The New York Times“Nadav Lapid Faces ‘No,’” On the Nose, Jewish Currents“Kaddish for an Unborn Avant-Garde” by Maia IppSarah Hurwitz on how phones are making it hard to speak to Jewish young people about Gaza“Van Jones and the moral vacancy of American commentary on Gaza,” Ziyad Motala, Al JazeeraTheater Workers for a Ceasefire Birthright BoycottTranscript forthcoming.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Princeton professor of African American studies and author, explores how the figure of the Black voter is being weaponized in current Democratic fights. She examines AIPAC’s influence, generational shifts in Black attitudes toward Palestine, tensions between electoral strategy and movement independence, and debates over policing, DSA demographics, and coalition-building.

In early June 2024, the Holocaust historian Raz Segal was offered a job directing the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota after roundly impressing an academic search committee. But as soon as the offer was extended, donors, politicians, and Jewish advocacy groups mobilized against his hire due to his public advocacy against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which included his Jewish Currents article “A Textbook Case of Genocide” from October 13th, 2023. Within a week, the university’s interim president intervened to rescind Segal’s offer. Now, two years later, Segal, an associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies and the endowed professor in the study of modern genocide at Stockton University, has reached a $250,000 settlement with the University of Minnesota.On this episode of On the Nose, senior editor Mari Cohen guest hosts to interview Segal about the lessons from his struggle at Minnesota and recent developments in the field of genocide studies, which Cohen reported on extensively in a 2024 Jewish Currents feature. In their conversation, Segal traces the history of genocide studies and the political contexts that have made it difficult for scholars in the field to adequately address Israeli violence, and reflects on “A Textbook Case of Genocide” nearly three years after its publication. Is genocide studies finally evolving to meet the moment? And what should we make of the fact that many liberal commentators are only now willing to accept the argument Segal made six days after October 7th?Thanks to Jesse Brennemen for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“A Textbook Case of Genocide,” Raz Segal, Jewish Currents “Can Genocide Studies Survive a Genocide in Gaza?,” Mari Cohen, Jewish Currents“An Israeli professor lost a prestigious US job offer after speaking out on Gaza. Now the university is paying him $250,000,” Alice Speri, The Guardian“A Holocaust Scholar Called Israel’s Actions in Gaza ‘Genocide.’ It Cost Him a Job Offer,” Maggie Hicks, Chronicle of Higher Education “Many American Jews sharply critical of Israel on Gaza, Post poll finds,” The Washington Post “Bad Memory,” Jewish Currents “Israel Must Stop Weaponizing the Holocaust,” Raz Segal, The Guardian“Tenured California Professor Fired Over Gaza Protest Wins Job Back,” Alice Speri, The Guardian The Problems of Genocide by Dirk MosesIAGS Resolution on the Situation in GazaConvention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide“Museum Statement on the Attack on Israel,” US Holocaust Memorial Museum“No, Israel is Not Committing Genocide in Gaza,” Bret Stephens, The New York Times“US Universities Are Seeing an Influx of ‘Antisemitism Centers.’ Some Jewish Scholars Are Worried,” Alice Speri, The Guardian“Disputed Gaza Language No Longer on Stockton Holocaust Studies Page,” Buzz Keough, The Press of Atlantic City Transcript forthcoming.