Jewish Currents https://jewishcurrents.org/ Breaking news, analysis, art, and culture from a progressive Jewish perspective. Sign up for our newsletter! en-us Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:03:12 -0400 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:03:12 -0400 Jewish Leaders Blame Mamdani’s Criticism of Netanyahu for a Manhattan Stabbing - The establishment wants to paint anti-genocide politics as anti-Jewish. https://jewishcurrents.org/jewish-leaders-blame-mamdanis-criticism-of-netanyahu-for-a-manhattan-stabbing Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:16:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/jewish-leaders-blame-mamdanis-criticism-of-netanyahu-for-a-manhattan-stabbing Josh Nathan-Kazis The Absent Angel - A reflection on the Jewish Museum’s Paul Klee exhibit https://jewishcurrents.org/the-absent-angel Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-absent-angel Raphael Magarik Unbuild the Cages - Silky Shah maps the vulnerabilities of the deportation machine. https://jewishcurrents.org/unbuild-the-cages Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:30:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/unbuild-the-cages Amna A. Akbar MAGA Firebrand Curt Mills Will Speak at a Jewish Left Conference. Does He Belong? - One speaker plans to drop out of the conference over Mills’s participation. https://jewishcurrents.org/curt-mills-a-maga-firebrand-will-speak-at-a-jewish-left-conference-some-say-he-doesnt-belong Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:21:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/curt-mills-a-maga-firebrand-will-speak-at-a-jewish-left-conference-some-say-he-doesnt-belong Will Alden Insurgent Democrats Face Their Toughest Test Yet in Michigan - Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is looking to extend the left’s winning streak. It won’t be easy. https://jewishcurrents.org/insurgent-democrats-face-their-toughest-test-yet-in-michigan Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:17:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/insurgent-democrats-face-their-toughest-test-yet-in-michigan Alex Kane Beirut Fragments - An account of Israel’s 1982 bombing campaign echoes through the decades. https://jewishcurrents.org/beirut-fragments Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:53:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/beirut-fragments Jean Said Makdisi The Ecology of Dispossession - Israel's nature reserves in the West Bank use the language of conservation to restrict Palestinian life while facilitating settlement expansion. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-ecology-of-dispossession Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-ecology-of-dispossession Diana Kruzman The War on Palestinian Schools - Schools across the West Bank have slashed instruction as Israel withholds billions in Palestinian tax revenues. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-war-on-palestinian-schools Tue, 07 Jul 2026 10:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-war-on-palestinian-schools Charlotte Ritz-Jack The Healthcare System Is Collapsing in the West Bank - As Israel chokes the Palestinian Authority, patients can’t get basic medical services in the West Bank. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-healthcare-system-is-collapsing-in-the-west-bank Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:22:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-healthcare-system-is-collapsing-in-the-west-bank Charlotte Ritz-Jack Mamdani is Showing the Way - If Democrats want to beat the populist right, they should follow the New York City mayor on Israel. https://jewishcurrents.org/mamdani-is-showing-the-way Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:23:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/mamdani-is-showing-the-way Peter Beinart Supporters of Palestine Are Winning Inside the Democratic Party - Four years ago, unconditional support of Israel was the safest position for Democrats. Not anymore. https://jewishcurrents.org/supporters-of-palestine-are-winning-inside-the-democratic-party Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:53:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/supporters-of-palestine-are-winning-inside-the-democratic-party Peter Beinart An Earthquake Just Hit New York Politics - Our political reporter explains the left’s near-sweep in the city’s Democratic primaries. https://jewishcurrents.org/our-political-reporter-explains-what-the-hell-just-happened-in-new-york-politics Wed, 24 Jun 2026 16:09:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/our-political-reporter-explains-what-the-hell-just-happened-in-new-york-politics Josh Nathan-Kazis and Alex Kane Five Stories We’re Watching on Election Night in New York - The first big political test for Zohran Mamdani has arrived. https://jewishcurrents.org/five-stories-were-watching-on-election-night-in-new-york Tue, 23 Jun 2026 14:08:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/five-stories-were-watching-on-election-night-in-new-york Alex Kane The End of Aid to Israel Isn’t a Win For the Pro-Palestine Left - As the US and Israel trade military aid for military integration, the pro-Palestine left loses one of its most potent political weapons. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-end-of-aid-to-israel-isnt-a-win-for-the-pro-palestine-left Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:37:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-end-of-aid-to-israel-isnt-a-win-for-the-pro-palestine-left Josh Nathan-Kazis “The War to Bring Democracy to Iran” - The American press has long covered the US’s wars not as criminal invasions but as well-intentioned, if reckless, efforts to spread freedom—a pattern that continues with Iran. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-war-to-bring-democracy-to-iran Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:19:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-war-to-bring-democracy-to-iran Zachary Jablow The Phantom Boycott - The Anti-Defamation League says BDS would cost New Yorkers billions. It’s overstating the demands of divestment campaigners. https://jewishcurrents.org/phantom-boycott Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/phantom-boycott Josh Nathan-Kazis An Anti-AIPAC Insurgent Tests Her Message in a Working-Class Stronghold - Darializa Avila Chevalier is in an uphill battle to expand the field for the pro-Palestine left. https://jewishcurrents.org/an-anti-aipac-insurgent-tests-her-message-in-a-working-class-stronghold Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:30:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/an-anti-aipac-insurgent-tests-her-message-in-a-working-class-stronghold Alex Kane Scenes from an Anti-Anti-Zionist Symposium - The biggest names in pro-Israel apologetics gathered last month to attack immigrants and the left. https://jewishcurrents.org/scenes-from-an-anti-anti-zionist-symposium Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/scenes-from-an-anti-anti-zionist-symposium Josh Nathan-Kazis A Baffling Congressional Report Threatens the Jewish Establishment - A House Republican attack on mainstream Jewish funders reads like a political favor to Netanyahu. https://jewishcurrents.org/a-baffling-congressional-report-threatens-the-liberal-zionists Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/a-baffling-congressional-report-threatens-the-liberal-zionists Josh Nathan-Kazis A Litmus Test Backfires - The pro-Israel parade down Fifth Avenue on Sunday was a political disaster for the Jewish establishment. https://jewishcurrents.org/a-pro-israel-litmus-test-backfires Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/a-pro-israel-litmus-test-backfires Josh Nathan-Kazis With “Fighting Factions,” IfNotNow Zeroes in on Mainstream Synagogues - As the left gives up on conventional Jewish institutions, IfNotNow still sees members to mobilize. https://jewishcurrents.org/with-fighting-factions-ifnotnow-zeroes-in-on-mainstream-synagogues Tue, 26 May 2026 16:18:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/with-fighting-factions-ifnotnow-zeroes-in-on-mainstream-synagogues Josh Nathan-Kazis Despite Anti-AIPAC Rhetoric, Congressional Progressives Rally Behind AIPAC-Backed Incumbent - In endorsing Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the Congressional Progressive Caucus protects its own. https://jewishcurrents.org/despite-anti-aipac-rhetoric-congressional-progressives-rally-behind-aipac-backed-incumbent Thu, 21 May 2026 15:02:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/despite-anti-aipac-rhetoric-congressional-progressives-rally-behind-aipac-backed-incumbent Alex Kane Wallace Shawn’s Moral Cliffs - While his latest show, <i>What We Did Before Our Moth Days</i>, trades political violence for marital strife, it is still an exercise in audience complicity. https://jewishcurrents.org/wallace-shawns-moral-cliffs Wed, 20 May 2026 15:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/wallace-shawns-moral-cliffs Alisa Solomon Criminal Governance - Political scientist As’ad Ghanem argues that the rise of crime in Palestinian communities inside Israel is not a policy failure, but the result of decades of state efforts to weaken Palestinian collective life. https://jewishcurrents.org/criminal-governance Fri, 15 May 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/criminal-governance Eliyahu Freedman A Test Run for the Anti-AIPAC Super PAC - In New Jersey, a pro-Palestine group is trying out the AIPAC playbook. https://jewishcurrents.org/a-test-run-for-the-anti-aipac-super-pac Thu, 14 May 2026 15:05:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/a-test-run-for-the-anti-aipac-super-pac Alex Kane Abe Foxman Made Jewish Politics Worse - The former ADL leader outlived the relevance of his politics—but helped cement the crisis that followed. https://jewishcurrents.org/abe-foxman-made-jewish-politics-worse Tue, 12 May 2026 13:42:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/abe-foxman-made-jewish-politics-worse Mari Cohen Synagogue Protesters Would Get Jail Time Under California Bill - The proposal is yet another effort by legislatures and Jewish establishment groups to crack down on protests at US synagogue events marketing land in West Bank settlements. https://jewishcurrents.org/synagogue-protesters-would-get-jail-time-under-california-bill Thu, 07 May 2026 15:14:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/synagogue-protesters-would-get-jail-time-under-california-bill Alex Kane A Liberal Zionist Lobby Faces an Anti-Israel Moment - As the Democratic base turns on Israel, J Street struggles to find its footing. https://jewishcurrents.org/a-liberal-zionist-lobby-faces-an-anti-israel-moment Tue, 05 May 2026 15:50:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/a-liberal-zionist-lobby-faces-an-anti-israel-moment Josh Nathan-Kazis Israel and Lebanon’s Bloody Ceasefire - Middle East expert Thanassis Cambanis says that excluding Hezbollah from negotiations to end fighting in Lebanon is a mistake. https://jewishcurrents.org/israel-and-lebanons-bloody-ceasefire Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:56:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/israel-and-lebanons-bloody-ceasefire Alex Kane Isaac Herzog, Accused by UN Panel of Inciting Genocide, to Deliver JTS Commencement Address - New York's Jewish Theological Seminary will honor Herzog and pro-Israel advocate Debra Messing next month. https://jewishcurrents.org/isaac-herzog-accused-by-un-panel-of-inciting-genocide-to-deliver-jts-commencement-address Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:33:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/isaac-herzog-accused-by-un-panel-of-inciting-genocide-to-deliver-jts-commencement-address Josh Nathan-Kazis No School in Umm al-Khair - In a Palestinian village cut off from its schoolhouse, children ask for education. https://jewishcurrents.org/no-school-in-umm-al-khair Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:44:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/no-school-in-umm-al-khair Maya Rosen The Land Registration Campaign Remaking East Jerusalem - Using a revived colonial-era legal process, the Jewish National Fund is quietly transferring long-inhabited Palestinian property into Israeli hands. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-land-registration-campaign-remaking-east-jerusalem Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-land-registration-campaign-remaking-east-jerusalem Charlotte Ritz-Jack Jewish Leaders Who Benefited from Les Wexner's Munificence Donate to Jeffrey Epstein’s Victims - A new fund solicits donations from Wexner Foundation alumni for sexual violence survivors. https://jewishcurrents.org/jewish-leaders-who-benefited-from-les-wexners-munificence-raise-money-for-jeffrey-epsteins-victims Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:47:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/jewish-leaders-who-benefited-from-les-wexners-munificence-raise-money-for-jeffrey-epsteins-victims Josh Nathan-Kazis How Israel Smothered a Palestinian Watchdog - Khaled Quzmar, former head of Defense for Children International-Palestine, discusses his organization’s decision to close after a five-year harassment campaign by the Israeli government. https://jewishcurrents.org/how-israel-smothered-a-palestinian-watchdog Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:43:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/how-israel-smothered-a-palestinian-watchdog Josh Nathan-Kazis In Democratic Primaries, Leading Candidates Oppose Selling Iron Dome Interceptors to Israel - Weeks after Ocasio-Cortez’s dramatic turnabout, the politics of the US-Israel military relationship are transforming. https://jewishcurrents.org/in-democratic-primaries-leading-candidates-oppose-selling-iron-dome-interceptors-to-israel Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:47:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/in-democratic-primaries-leading-candidates-oppose-selling-iron-dome-interceptors-to-israel Alex Kane Do You Know . . . - “does she belong to the wind or the wind to her, / and are the greedy wolves / waiting to tear her apart?” https://jewishcurrents.org/do-you-know Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/do-you-know Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger Does the Jewish Body Keep the Score? - Parts of the Jewish left believe trauma explains attachment to Zionism. But what they call “trauma” is more likely a collective story than a biological fact. https://jewishcurrents.org/does-the-jewish-body-keep-the-score Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/does-the-jewish-body-keep-the-score Jon Danforth-Appell A stone with wings - “The letter, Sara, is only / a waiting that has learned to walk” https://jewishcurrents.org/a-stone-with-wings Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/a-stone-with-wings Ghassan Zaqtan The Anti-Politics of Disengagement - Ariel Sharon’s 2005 settlement withdrawal solidified a consistent policy toward Gaza: Act alone, and make negotiation impossible. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-anti-politics-of-disengagement Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-anti-politics-of-disengagement Elisheva Goldberg Stay In - A letter from the outgoing editor-in-chief https://jewishcurrents.org/stay-in Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/stay-in Arielle Angel Late - "There are no enemies. There’s no one left." https://jewishcurrents.org/late Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/late Omar Khalifah Claude Cahun’s Disavowals - The early 20th-century artist left a legacy of aesthetic and political autonomy in the face of fascism. https://jewishcurrents.org/claude-cahuns-disavowals Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/claude-cahuns-disavowals Tausif Noor The Limits of Diasporism - Despite effectively displacing Israel as the center of left Jewish identity, diasporism might sap substance from our anti-Zionism. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-limits-of-diasporism Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-limits-of-diasporism J.A. Cohen The Many Equivocations of Curt Mills - The MAGA journalist wants to bring respectability to “America First” opposition to Israel. Just don’t ask him about the Groypers at his heels. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-many-equivocations-of-curt-mills Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-many-equivocations-of-curt-mills Will Alden Dispatches From Catastrophe - Twenty-three Palestinians reflect on the lives they have lost and the political futures that have been foreclosed in the wake of genocide. https://jewishcurrents.org/dispatches-from-catastrophe Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/dispatches-from-catastrophe Maya Rosen and Jonathan Shamir The Death of Asylum - How centuries of efforts to deny refuge to persecuted people paved way for authoritarianism https://jewishcurrents.org/the-death-of-asylum Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-death-of-asylum Tanvi Misra The Rhythm of Revolution - A new edition of a landmark anthology of Palestinian poetry testifies to both a steadfast lineage of anti-colonial resistance and an increasingly under-resourced leftist internationalism. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-rhythm-of-revolution Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/the-rhythm-of-revolution Zaina Alsous Laurie Melrood - “The people who came through the border brought the real news with them. Social change was able to happen because of this type of communication.” https://jewishcurrents.org/laurie-melrood Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/laurie-melrood Max Greenberg A Body That Outlived Its Heart - The grief that at first flowed with my tears now has calcified in my chest with no release. https://jewishcurrents.org/a-body-that-outlived-its-heart Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:30:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/a-body-that-outlived-its-heart Abdullah Hany Daher Support for Settlement of Lebanon Goes Mainstream in Israel - What was once a fringe curiosity is now an organized movement with broad governmental and public support. https://jewishcurrents.org/support-for-settlement-of-lebanon-goes-mainstream-in-israel Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:53:00 -0400 https://jewishcurrents.org/support-for-settlement-of-lebanon-goes-mainstream-in-israel Maya Rosen