On the Nose

It’s been a rough few weeks for the “pro-Israel” establishment, from a pitiful showing at the “No Fear” rally against antisemitism (whose “big tent” excluded non-Zionists), to the release of a Jewish Electorate Institute survey of American Jewish voters showing surprisingly prevelant left-wing attitudes about Israel, to last week’s announcement that Ben & Jerry’s will stop selling ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territories. Editor-in-chief Arielle Angel, culture editor Ari M. Brostoff, assistant editor Mari Cohen, and contributing editor Joshua Leifer discuss these developments, what they suggest about evolving public opinion among American Jews, and what questions they raise about Jewish institutional engagement and political education.Articles Mentioned:Jewish Electorate Institute’s “July 2021 National Survey of Jewish Voters”“I helped organize the Washington rally against antisemitism. It wasn’t perfect, but it was necessary” by Elisha Wiesel“How Zionism complicated a Capitol rally against antisemitism” by Arno Rosenfeld“No More Slogans” by Bruce Abramson and Jeff Ballabon “Are 95% of Jews Really Zionists?” by Caroline Morganti“The Genocide of the Palestinian People: An International and Human Rights Perspective”“The question of genocide in Palestine, 1948: an exchange between Martin Shaw and Omer Bartov”“What Happened to IfNotNow?” by Aaron Freedman“Avodah Considers Stepping Out on Israel/Palestine” by Mari Cohen“Ben & Jerry’s Tests Anti-BDS Laws” by Mari CohenBooks Mentioned:Politicide: The Real Legacy of Ariel Sharon by Baruch KimmerlingThanks to Santiago Helou Quintero for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

The recent Jewish Currents staff roundtable on “intermarriage,” “Jewish continuity,” and the fraught institutional discourse on these topics occasioned a wide variety of responses, including the question: How might the conversation look different if it included non-Jewish partners of Jews? So we decided to find out! In the second episode of our new podcast, On the Nose, editor-in-chief Arielle Angel and her husband Michael M., managing editor Nathan Goldman and his wife Bridget Bergin, web editor Nora Caplan-Bricker and her husband Tom Stackpole, and culture editor Ari M. Brostoff and their roommate Daniel Drake reflect on the intermarriage roundtable and the questions it raised for them about what Jewishness means.Articles and TV Episodes Mentioned:“What We Talk About When We Talk About ‘Intermarriage’” by Jewish Currents editors“The Yada Yada,” SeinfeldBooks Mentioned:The Myth of the Shiksa and Other Essays by Edwin H. FriedmanThanks to Santiago Helou Quintero for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

Welcome to the first official episode of the Jewish Currents podcast, On the Nose. After a brief conversation about the show’s title, editor-in-chief Arielle Angel, publisher Jacob Plitman, managing editor Nathan Goldman, and assistant editor Mari Cohen discuss the Anti-Defamation League’s recent survey of American Jews about their perceptions and understanding of antisemitism, in the wake of a reported “uptick in antisemitic incidents.” We discuss what it means that the survey suggests American Jews widely conflate anti-Zionism and certain criticisms of Israel with antisemitism. What’s the relationship between claims of antisemitism and feelings of discomfort? How does this misunderstanding relate to the left’s thinking about the authority of subjective experience and the politics of feelings? What can Jewish identity politics teach us about the power and limits of identity politics writ large?Articles and Podcasts Mentioned:“Survey of American Jews since Recent Violence in Israel” by the Anti-Defamation League“Preliminary ADL Data Reveals Uptick in Antisemitic Incidents Linked to Recent Mideast Violence” by the Anti-Defamation League“A Closer Look at the ‘Uptick’ in Antisemitism” by Mari Cohen“Jewish Americans in 2020” (Pew study)“The Collective Work of Abolition” by Claire Schwartz“How Not to Fight Antisemitism” by Jewish Currents editors“How not to think like a cop, with Naomi Murakawa” from Time To Say Goodbye“Fears of Government Surveillance Complicate Muslim Groups’ Access to Federal Security Funding” by Mari CohenBooks Mentioned:We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame KabaMeir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical by Shaul MagidBlack Power, Jewish Politics by Marc DollingerSexual Justice by Alexandra BrodskyPolicing the Crisis by Stuart Hall, Chas Critcher, Tony Jefferson, John Clarke, and Brian RobertsThanks to Santiago Helou Quintero for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

Is it worthwhile to focus our organizing on moving Jewish American public opinion on Israel/Palestine? How effective is it really in shifting the dynamics on the ground? Jewish Currents staff members discuss these questions.Then, starting at 33:58, we discuss one of the main questions we’ve received in the last week: How do I talk to my family about what’s happening? We recount personal victories and failures, and explore how people actually change their mind.Reading & Resources Mentioned in "In This Moment & Tough Conversations"Are 95% of Jews Really Zionists? by Caroline MorgantiJewish Americans in 2020 (Pew Study)Teshuvah: A Jewish Case for Palestinian Refugee Return by Peter BeinartUS media talks a lot about Palestinians — just without Palestinians by Maha NassarResponsa - How Not to Fight Antisemitism by Jewish Currents editorsA Guide to the Current Crisis in Israel/Palestine by Mari Cohen, Joshua Leifer, Alex KaneThe Palestinian Cause at a Moment of Transition, a conversation between Inès Abdel Razek, Salem Barahmeh, Dana El Kurd, and Fadi Quran Books Mentioned in "In This Moment & Tough Conversations"Jewish Power by JJ GoldbergWhere the Jews Aren't by Masha GessenThanks to Santiago Helou Quintero for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song "VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed)." Transcript will be available soon.

The cover of the Spring 2021 issue of Jewish Currents features a photograph that has proven controversial, eliciting a wide array of reactions, from disgust to accusations of antisemitism to schnoz pride. Editor-in-Chief Arielle Angel, Publisher Jacob Plitman, and Managing Editor Nathan Goldman sat down with Rachel Stern, the artist behind the photograph, to discuss the image, the response, and what it all might mean.Thanks to Santiago Helou Quintero for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song "VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed)."