Podcast / On the Nose
On the Nose is our biweekly podcast. The editorial staff discusses the politics, culture, and questions that animate today’s Jewish left.
Representation and Exclusion at Israel’s Anti-Government Protests
Duration
0:00 / 33:27
Published
February 23, 2023

Since early January, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have participated in weekly protests against the right-wing Israeli government’s proposals to weaken the power of Israel’s Supreme Court. The protesters have framed their efforts as a bid to save “Israeli democracy”—rhetoric that has alienated Palestinian citizens of Israel, who say Israel was never a democracy to begin with due to its repressive system of control over Palestinians. Senior reporter Alex Kane hosts a discussion with Palestinian activist Sally Abed of Standing Together and Iranian Israeli activist Orly Noy of B’Tselem and the newly formed Mizrahi Civic Collective about who is participating in these protests—and who is sitting them out.

Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

Articles Mentioned:

A Mizrahi Democratic Vision: No to the Constitutional Revolution and No to the Old Order,” Mizrahi Civic Collective (Hebrew)


Transcript forthcoming.

Jul 23 2026
Here Where We Live Is Our Country (52:14)
Molly Crabapple reflects on what the story of the Jewish Labor Bund can teach us about solidarity and its failures.
Jul 9 2026
The Event (01:16:54)
A strange fire has consumed the land between the river and the sea.
Jul 3 2026
TEASER: The Hazing of Scott Wiener (04:17)
Jewish Currents parses two viral videos of constituents confronting the state senator, and discusses how the left should relate to even the most opportunistic reversals on Palestine.
Jul 2 2026
“Democracy and Asylum Rise and Fall Together” (40:30)
Immigration journalists Tanvi Misra and John Washington discuss the long death of asylum.
Jun 25 2026
Nadav Lapid Faces “No” (39:23)
The Israeli director of Yes discusses the cultural boycott of Israel following his withdrawal from a Marseille film festival in response to protests.
Jun 18 2026
Politics and the Jewish Body (52:39)
Wendy Elisheva Somerson responds to a recent critique in Jewish Currents, explaining why somatic healing is a useful tool for strengthening our anti-Zionist movements.
Jun 4 2026
The Israel Day Parade Debacle (43:06)
Jewish Currents discusses the shameful New York City pageant.
May 28 2026
Sally Rooney in Hebrew (45:43)
Discussing the Irish author’s decision to offer a BDS-compliant translation of her last book
May 21 2026
Hasan Piker’s Politics of Appeal (40:50)
The streamer and political commentator discusses how electoral politics can be used to spread class consciousness and why he keeps talking about antisemitism.
May 14 2026
The Wrong Way to Fight Antisemitism in Britain (48:49)
Brendan McGeever and Em Hilton discuss recent attacks on Jewish life in London and how the state response fuels the fire.
May 7 2026
The Hill (01:02:02)
Harriet Clark discusses her debut novel, what comes after failure in radical movements, and the heroism of trying to keep families affected by incarceration together.
Apr 30 2026
Exit Interview (45:59)
Outgoing editor-in-chief Arielle Angel speaks with outgoing rabbi of Tzedek Chicago, Brant Rosen, about what has changed in the building of anti-Zionist institutions over the last decade.
Apr 16 2026
Mailbag #3 — Live! (46:56)
Jewish Currents answers listener questions about what accountability looks like for US rabbinic leadership, how American Zionists will respond to Israel’s plummeting popularity, and more at a special live taping.
Apr 9 2026
The Right Is Capturing the Online Palestine Conversation (43:26)
JVP’s Stefanie Fox and Adalah Justice Project’s Izz al-Din Mustafa discuss how the popularity of right-wing anti-Israel voices presents challenges and opportunities for a left hoping to redirect the conversation.
Mar 24 2026
The Fault Lines Shattering the Iranian Diaspora (36:26)
Narges Bajoghli and Manijeh Moradian discuss the nuances of the anti-war position in a polarized Iranian discourse.
Mar 19 2026
On the Michigan Synagogue Attack (35:42)
Jewish Currents discusses how an anti-antisemitism strategy focused primarily on protecting Israel has endangered diaspora Jews.
Mar 12 2026
MAGA Catholics in Revolt (43:58)
Many prominent “America First” Israel skeptics root their critiques in their Catholic faith. Matthew Cressler and Julie Schumacher Cohen explore the theology behind the politics.
Mar 5 2026
America’s Threat to the World (58:46)
Peter Beinart speaks with Aslı Bâli about whether the war on Iran represents rupture or continuity in the history of US imperialism.
Feb 26 2026
Who’s Afraid of the Z-Word? (01:01:16)
New polling suggests American Jews don’t know what the word “Zionism” means. Should it change the way the Jewish left organizes?
Feb 12 2026
Epstein and the Capitalist Conspiracy (41:11)
Naomi Klein discusses what to do with a narrative that mirrors the worst anti-Jewish theories and the importance of holding our depraved elites accountable.
Jan 29 2026
Fighting the ICE Occupation of Minnesota (01:06:50)
Three Minneapolis organizers talk about the terror and resolve of this moment.
Jan 15 2026
What Makes Marty Run? (54:17)
Jewish Currents discusses Josh Safdie’s new film, Marty Supreme, and its vision of mid-century American Jewishness.
Jan 9 2026
The Imperial History Behind the Raid on Venezuela (40:58)
Peter Beinart interviews scholar Greg Grandin on the history of US intervention in Latin America and what Trump’s new “doctrine” may portend.
Dec 17 2025
Processing the Attack at Bondi Beach (54:54)
Jewish Currents speaks with Sarah Schwartz of the Jewish Council of Australia about the Jewish left response to the deadly Hanukkah shooting.
SubscribeSNAILMAIL30