Jewish Currents

Newsletter

Building Jewish Life Behind Bars

A new organization called Matir Asurim provides Jewish resources in prisons and resists the policing of Jewish identity.

Aviva Stahl February 23, 2023

Newsletter

Israel’s Class War Conservatives

The divide over the Netanyahu government’s “judicial overhaul” plan is defined less by ideological differences than a populist politics of resentment.

Joshua Leifer February 22, 2023

Illustrated Essay

The Fight for the Sabbath

The partnership between rabbis and labor that delivered the two-day weekend.

Avi Garelick February 21, 2023

Analysis

Empty Gestures

Even unprecedented criticism of Israel by American Jewish leaders rings hollow without action.

Joshua Leifer February 16, 2023

Art

Do Less

nibia pastrana santiago confronts the politics of movement by making dances that refuse to dance.

nibia pastrana santiago February 15, 2023

Newsletter

Civil Rights Complaint Details an Anti-Palestinian Climate at GW

Palestinian students ask the Department of Education to crack down on discrimination at George Washington University.

Alex Kane February 14, 2023

Essay

The Trap of Palestinian Participation

An open letter considers the impossible choice facing Palestinians: Participate as a token in conversations premised on their oppression, or be branded rejectionists.

Tareq Baconi February 10, 2023

Report

New Report Could Hamstring Palestine Advocacy in Britain’s Largest Student Organization

Long a platform for anti-Zionist politics in the UK, the National Union of Students has agreed to limit speech about Israel/Palestine.

Dahlia Krutkovich February 8, 2023

Newsletter

Israeli Right Plans to Erode Palestinians’ Residency Rights

The right-wing security cabinet announced intentions to revoke fundamental benefits from families of those convicted of terrorism.

Elisheva Goldberg February 7, 2023

Review

Who Will Power the Climate Revolution?

Two new books exemplify divergent approaches to the climate crisis. But who are the revolutionary subjects positioned to enact them?

Dylan Saba February 6, 2023

Poetry

The Store

“the floors we cleaned, / the money we made to pay off / ownable things”

Mario Chard February 3, 2023

Newsletter

“My Body Lives in History”

The author Aleksandar Hemon on writing the body at war and his Sarajevan Jewish protagonist.

Sasha Senderovich February 2, 2023

Report

J Street’s Balancing Act Comes Under Pressure

The liberal Zionist organization is proving too critical of Israel for the mainstream Democratic establishment it courts—and not critical enough for its own constituency.

Alex Kane February 1, 2023

Newsletter

Planting a Palestinian Flag at Israel’s Anti-Government Protests

A group of activists are pushing weekly pro-democracy protesters to stop ignoring the occupation.

Alex Kane January 31, 2023

Dispatch

Shmita Means Total Destroy

A manifesto from the threatened Atlanta forest

Fayer Collective January 30, 2023

Newsletter

The Harvard Kennedy School’s Anti-Palestinian Bias

The elite institution reversed course on refusing a fellowship to a prominent Israel critic, but for students, its suppression of Palestine speech is ongoing.

Joseph Leone January 26, 2023

Report

How a Giant of Responsible Investing Agreed to an Israel Exception

After a multi-year campaign by Jewish groups, Morningstar—a major firm known for socially responsible investing—is softening its approach to Israeli human rights abuses.

Mari Cohen January 25, 2023

Newsletter

Biden’s Education Department Delays Defining Campus Antisemitism

To the relief of Palestinian-rights advocates, the department’s Office for Civil Rights did not adopt the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism this past December.

Alex Kane January 24, 2023