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 “https://www.jewishelectorateinstitute.org/july-2021-national-survey-of-jewish-voters/ (July 2021 National Survey of Jewish Voters)”
“https://www.jta.org/2021/07/19/opinion/i-helped-organize-the-washington-rally-against-antisemitism-it-wasnt-perfect-but-it-was-necessary (I helped organize the Washington rally against antisemitism. It wasn’t perfect, but it was necessary)” by Elisha Wiesel
“https://forward.com/news/472664/capitol-rally-antisemitism-wiesel/ (How Zionism complicated a Capitol rally against antisemitism)” by Arno Rosenfeld
“https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/antisemitism-rally-jeff-ballabon-bruce-abramson (No More Slogans)” by Bruce Abramson and Jeff Ballabon
“https://jewishcurrents.org/are-95-of-jews-really-zionists/ (Are 95% of Jews Really Zionists?)” by Caroline Morganti
“https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/08/Background%20on%20the%20term%20genocide%20in%20Israel%20Palestine%20Context.pdf (The Genocide of the Palestinian People: An International and Human Rights Perspective)”
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14623528.2010.529698 (“The question of genocide in Palestine, 1948: an exchange between Martin Shaw and Omer Bartov”)
“https://jewishcurrents.org/what-happened-to-ifnotnow/ (What Happened to IfNotNow?)” by Aaron Freedman
“https://jewishcurrents.org/avodah-considers-stepping-out-on-israel-palestine/ (Avodah Considers Stepping Out on Israel/Palestine)” by Mari Cohen
“https://jewishcurrents.org/ben-jerrys-tests-anti-bds-laws/ (Ben & Jerry’s Tests Anti-BDS Laws)” by Mari Cohen
Books Mentioned:
Politicide: The Real Legacy of Ariel Sharon by Baruch Kimmerling
Thanks to Santiago Helou Quintero for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”