Jewish Currents
prologue for now - Gaza - "I’ve taken this inventory before for all the 'human animals'"
27 Oct 2023
The text describes the devastating situation in Gaza, with references to the casualties, loss of hearing, and human suffering. It criticizes the media for se...
27 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
An Anti-Palestinian Crackdown Across Europe - European leaders are responding to growing pro-Palestine protests with an unprecedented wave of repression.
26 Oct 2023
Pro-Palestine protests across Europe have faced severe repression from governments and authorities in recent weeks. The wave of repression includes bans on d...
26 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
“The Settlers Can Do Whatever They Want With Us” - An employee of the Palestinian Authority testifies to a brutal attack at the hands of Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
25 Oct 2023
The text describes a brutal attack on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. The violence has intensified since the recent conflict between Hamas...
25 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
Naturalized - "Here’s your math. Here’s your hot take. / That number isn’t a number. / That number is a first word, a nickname, a birthday song in June."
20 Oct 2023
In the poem "Naturalized" by Hala Alyan, the speaker grapples with the complex and contradictory nature of their identity as a diaspora Palestinian. They que...
20 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
Dispatches from the West Bank - In the West Bank, violence and dispossession intensify as the line between settler and soldier is fast disappearing.
20 Oct 2023
In the West Bank, the violence and dispossession of Palestinian farmers by settlers and soldiers are intensifying. The director of a land and farming coopera...
20 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
A “McCarthyite Backlash” Against Pro-Palestine Speech - From university disciplinary hearings to death threats, supporters of Palestinian rights are facing a wave of reprisals.
20 Oct 2023
Supporters of Palestinian rights in the United States are facing a significant backlash for speaking out against the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. They have e...
20 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
Gazan Workers Stuck in Purgatory After Israel Revokes Permits - In what human rights groups call “a prohibited act of vengeance,” Israel has stripped Gazan workers of their legal status, detaining many without trial.
19 Oct 2023
Israel has revoked the work permits of thousands of Gazan workers, leaving them in a state of limbo. The revocations came without explanation or instruction,...
19 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
The Wisdom of the Shiva - A letter from the publisher of <em>Jewish Currents</em>.
19 Oct 2023
The publisher of Jewish Currents reflects on the wisdom of the shiva, the seven-day mourning period after a family member's death. The shiva teaches that dur...
19 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
Major News Networks Sideline Palestinian Analysts - Leading Palestinian commentators describe canceled appearances and segments pulled from CBS and CNN shows.
19 Oct 2023
Palestinian analysts and commentators have reported being marginalized and sidelined by major news networks, including CBS and CNN. Palestinian American lega...
19 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
Dispatches from Gaza - Three Palestinians describe life under constant Israeli bombardment—and lay out their visions for liberation.
17 Oct 2023
In this interview, Mohammed Zraiy, a Palestinian living in Gaza, describes the dire situation on the ground, with no electricity, internet, medicine, or basi...
17 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
A Textbook Case of Genocide - Israel has been explicit about what it’s carrying out in Gaza. Why isn’t the world listening?
13 Oct 2023
The article argues that Israel's assault on Gaza can be seen as a textbook case of genocide, as defined by international law. The author claims that Israel h...
13 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
“We Cannot Cross Until We Carry Each Other” - The editor-in-chief of <em>Jewish Currents </em> on recommitting to our movements in this moment.
12 Oct 2023
In this article, the editor-in-chief of Jewish Currents reflects on the emotional and political challenges faced by Jewish activists in the current Israeli-P...
12 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
The Hamas Attacks and Israeli Response: An Explainer - An explainer answering readers’ questions about the situation in Israel/Palestine after October 7th.
11 Oct 2023
Since October 7th, there have been unverified claims circulated on social media regarding Hamas atrocities in Israel, including allegations of babies being b...
11 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
Recognizing the Roma Holocaust - In his recent book <em>Rain of Ash</em>, historian Ari Joskowicz examines the evolving relationships between Jews and Roma in the struggle for justice.
5 Oct 2023
In his book "Rain of Ash," historian Ari Joskowicz explores the relationship between Jews and Roma in the struggle for justice. The Roma Holocaust, where as ...
5 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
Gluttony - In an excerpt from her new essay collection <em>Naked</em>, a burlesque performer considers the complications of desire.
5 Oct 2023
In this excerpt from a collection of essays, a burlesque performer reflects on her experience at a sin-themed party. She describes feeling uncomfortable and ...
5 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
A Visa Program Exception for Israel - The US has admitted Israel into the Visa Waiver Program even though the country continues to discriminate against Palestinian American travelers.
3 Oct 2023
The US has admitted Israel into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows Israeli citizens to travel to the US without visas. While this is seen as enhanci...
3 Oct 2023
Jewish Currents
Archives of Israeli Oppression - Akevot Institute founder Lior Yavne on how unearthing government records can illuminate ongoing injustices.
29 Sep 2023
The Akevot Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research is an organization that aims to uncover evidence of Israeli injustices against Palestinians th...
29 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Meditations on Cixous - Four writers reflect on the feminist theorist’s work.
28 Sep 2023
In this text, the writer reflects on Hélène Cixous, a feminist theorist, and her profound impact on their understanding of writing and identity. They highlig...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Porzellan Manufaktur Allach - Robert Russell's recent exhibition exposes idyllic trinkets as sites of Nazi domination and imagination.
28 Sep 2023
Artist Robert Russell stumbled upon images of delicate porcelain teacups on eBay and created large paintings depicting them against dark backgrounds. As he r...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Jenin -
28 Sep 2023
In this article, the author discusses three comics published in a more provocative feminist anthology called Tits & Clits. The comics, created by Jillian Ste...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
A Strangeness Inside Your Self - Hélène Cixous discusses writing as a woman, the meaning of Jewishness, and the impossibility of understanding.
28 Sep 2023
In this interview, Hélène Cixous, a writer, discusses the fluidity of identities and the importance of writing as a woman. She explains how her understanding...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
After the Hit-and-Run - Can restorative justice offer crash victims like me—and the drivers who harmed us—the healing we need?
28 Sep 2023
The article discusses the possibility of restorative justice offering healing for both crash victims and the drivers who caused harm. The author explores the...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Two Paths for Diasporism - Daniel Boyarin's <em>The No-State Solution</em> seeks to revive the idea of Jews as a "diaspora nation," but reduces a powerful repository of political templates to a dissident subculture.
28 Sep 2023
In his book "The No-State Solution," Talmudic scholar Daniel Boyarin, known for his work in gender studies and queer theory, unexpectedly embraces Jewish nat...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Light Among The Nations - For Yoram Hazony, the founder of the National Conservative movement, Israel is an illiberal model for the international nationalist brigade.
28 Sep 2023
Yoram Hazony, founder of the National Conservative movement and the Edmund Burke Foundation (EBF), believes that Israel serves as a model for global national...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Dream I Tell You - "It writes itself unanalyzed / The dream commands my hand"
28 Sep 2023
The article discusses the band DAYS, which consists of Ethan Philbrick and Ned Riseley. Philbrick is a cellist and writer who has a PhD in performance studie...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Reading Baldwin After Kanye - A conversation about James Baldwin’s 1967 essay, “Negroes are Anti-Semitic Because They are Anti-White.”
28 Sep 2023
This conversation discusses James Baldwin's 1967 essay, "Negroes are Anti-Semitic Because They are Anti-White." The participants explore how the essay has be...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Staging Resistance - In Isabella Hammad's <em>Enter Ghost</em>, art prepares the ground of the self for the demands of collectivity.
28 Sep 2023
Isabella Hammad's novel "Enter Ghost" explores the intersection of art and politics, showcasing how an individual's politicization can actually enhance their...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Kathy Ottersten - “You take the risk to save lives. Maybe that’s how you love people.”
28 Sep 2023
Kathy Ottersten reflects on her experiences as a trans activist in ACT UP during the AIDS crisis. She discusses facing transphobia within the organization an...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Excerpt from <em>Manhattan</em> - "Who cared about the rest of the world? I had reading for all time."
28 Sep 2023
The protagonist of the excerpt, a lover of literature, reflects on their devotion to books and their avoidance of anything that is not literature since the d...
28 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
An Anti-Migrant Offensive In Israel - Recent police violence against Israel’s Eritrean minority is a window into the government’s escalating hostility towards non-Jewish immigrants.
12 Sep 2023
The Israeli government's escalating hostility towards non-Jewish immigrants, particularly Eritrean migrants, is evident in recent police violence and crackdo...
12 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
Chile’s Documentarian of Dashed Dreams - Fifty years after a coup ended Chile’s socialist experiment, the films of Patricio Guzmán—now on view in a New York retrospective—offer a guide to the era and its long shadow.
7 Sep 2023
Patricio Guzmán's films provide a guide to the era of Chile's socialist experiment and its aftermath. The films chronicle the rise and fall of Salvador Allen...
7 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
The End of Widady - Settler attacks are rapidly depopulating Palestinian communities in Area C of the West Bank.
6 Sep 2023
The article discusses the forced depopulation of Palestinian communities in Area C of the West Bank due to settler attacks. It focuses on the case of the Abu...
6 Sep 2023
Jewish Currents
“To Hell with This Depressing Atmosphere” - Three comics from <em>Tits & Clits</em>, the most risqué of the second wave’s underground women’s anthologies
24 Aug 2023
During the countercultural movement of the 1960s, underground comix provided a platform for free expression, but primarily for male artists who often depicte...
24 Aug 2023
Jewish Currents
Israel’s TikTok Extremists - Far-right content has taken Israeli TikTok by storm, rallying the country’s youth in support of Jewish supremacy.
22 Aug 2023
Israeli TikTok has become a platform for far-right content, with politicians like Itamar Ben-Gvir using it to promote Jewish supremacy and extremist settler ...
22 Aug 2023
Jewish Currents
Portraits of Encounter - In paintings of Queens’s blue-collar workers and immigrant communities, Aliza Nisenbaum explores the small-scale politics of interpersonal relationships.
16 Aug 2023
Aliza Nisenbaum, a painter, explores the politics of interpersonal relationships in her artwork, focusing on blue-collar workers and immigrant communities. H...
16 Aug 2023
Jewish Currents
Israel’s Anti-Miscegenation Law - A new law classifies some sexual crimes as “terrorism,” signaling an intent to target Arabs—and a goal of preventing racial mixing.
15 Aug 2023
Israel's Knesset recently passed a law that imposes harsher punishments for sexual harassment, assault, and rape committed with nationalistic motivations. Ho...
15 Aug 2023
Jewish Currents
The New Debate Over Aid to Israel - Once a consensus position, US funding of Israel now has new detractors from the heart of the political establishment.
8 Aug 2023
There is a growing debate over US aid to Israel, which was previously a consensus position. The discussion has gained attention recently, with articles by Ta...
8 Aug 2023
Jewish Currents
To Grieve the World Like a Dying Friend - What does it mean to build toward a future on a planet in the midst of collapse?
3 Aug 2023
This article explores the author's personal reflections on the state of the world, considering the environmental crisis and its impact on their own mental he...
3 Aug 2023
Jewish Currents
Abolishing Israel’s Reasonableness Standard: An Explainer - The Knesset just passed the first step in the controversial judicial overhaul plan. What does it mean and what happens next?
1 Aug 2023
The article discusses the passing of a law in the Israeli Knesset that amends a crucial paragraph in Israel's Basic Laws, removing the reasonableness standar...
1 Aug 2023
Jewish Currents
Two Poems - "Eager for big words the woman whispered / Do you still love me / Do you see the death squads of tradition"
28 Jul 2023
This article discusses the life and poetry of Joyce Mansour, a Jewish poet of Syrian descent. Mansour turned to poetry as a way to cope with the tragedies of...
28 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
Can Tourism Be Liberatory? - In <em>Invited to Witness</em>, scholar Jennifer Lynn Kelly discusses the political possibilities of Palestinian solidarity tourism.
27 Jul 2023
Scholar Jennifer Lynn Kelly explores the political potential of Palestinian solidarity tourism in her book, "Invited to Witness." She emphasizes the role of ...
27 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
Herzog’s Lullaby - The Biden administration indulges the Israeli President’s nostalgia act even as the promise of a true democracy slips away in Israel/Palestine.
25 Jul 2023
The article discusses Israeli President Isaac Herzog's address to Congress, comparing it to a nostalgia act. The author argues that Herzog's speech is detach...
25 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
A Century of Disappointment - In her new book <em>Political Disappointment</em>, Sara Marcus excavates historical responses to political loss that might help us hold on to our radical aspirations.
21 Jul 2023
Sara Marcus explores the concept of political disappointment in her book, "Political Disappointment." She argues that disappointment, which she defines as a ...
21 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
Must We Have Children? - An investigation of the biblical injunction to “be fruitful and multiply.”
19 Jul 2023
The discussion revolves around the biblical commandment to be fruitful and multiply. The participants explore the tension between fulfilling this commandment...
19 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
The PA’s Slow-Motion Collapse - In the aftermath of Israel’s attack on Jenin, the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to regain legitimacy risk hastening its potentially terminal decline.
18 Jul 2023
This article discusses the declining legitimacy and potential collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the aftermath of Israel's attack on the Jenin ref...
18 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
Looking for a Lineage in the Lusk Archive - The records of a New York surveillance committee from the time of the First Red Scare document a radical world—and its demise.
18 Jul 2023
The Lusk Committee Archive, preserved by the State of New York, contains tens of thousands of documents documenting a critical period in American radical his...
18 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
Family Ties - For novelist Rona Jaffe, the drive for independence was inculcated in the intimate sphere of the family, where care could look an awful lot like coercion.
18 Jul 2023
The article discusses the theme of family ties and the impact they can have on one's sense of identity and freedom. It focuses on the novel "Family Secrets" ...
18 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
Shatzi Weisberger - “Dying is a very mysterious thing, and I want to experience it.”
18 Jul 2023
This article highlights the life and activism of Shatzi Weisberger, a 92-year-old Jewish activist who became an online sensation during the protests against ...
18 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
The Theologian of the Abyss - "He claimed that God did not exist, and if He did exist, must be an idiot."
18 Jul 2023
This text tells the story of a theologian who works as a shoemaker but has unconventional views on theology. He believes in simplicity and criticizes the ext...
18 Jul 2023
Jewish Currents
The Strange Logic of Germany’s Antisemitism Bureaucrats - An army of antisemitism commissioners was supposed to help Germany atone for its past. Critics say it is evidence of a memory effort gone haywire.
18 Jul 2023
The article discusses the role of Germany's antisemitism commissioners and the controversy surrounding their actions. The appointment of these commissioners ...
18 Jul 2023