Jewish Currents

For the @JewishCurrents news desk, Maya Rosen draws out an organizing principle behind much of the recent West Bank violence: An Israeli military project called Crimson Thread.

"Under the cover of war, and as missiles fall on Palestinian communities granted no protection, violence has exploded in the northern Jordan Valley, and across the West Bank." jewishcurrents.org/under-cover-of…

On this episode of On the Nose, editor-in-chief @ArielleLAngel, publisher Daniel May, news director @joshnathankazis, and advisory board member @simonerzim parse the Michigan synagogue attack—and the missed opportunity for American Jewish reckoning. jewishcurrents.org/on-the-michiga…

Israeli courts had halted a military plan to wall off an area of the Jordan Valley. Since the war, it’s back on. jewishcurrents.org/under-cover-of…

"As they worked to rebuild the landscape of literature and culture, Nicola and his comrades remained committed to an ethos of communist internationalism grounded in the possibilities of a shared struggle against capitalism and empire." jewishcurrents.org/writing-amid-c…

On the new episode of our podcast, On the Nose, Jewish Currents discusses the Michigan synagogue attack and examines how an anti-antisemitism strategy focused primarily on protecting Israel has endangered diaspora Jews. jewishcurrents.org/on-the-michiga…

In the wake of the Nakba, Jabra Nicola and his cohort of Arab communists created a vibrant anti-Zionist literary landscape. The scholar Hana Morgenstern engages this rich history in a new essay. jewishcurrents.org/writing-amid-c…

Our winter gift for subscribers—now online for all readers—includes six selections from a 1919 Ladino Socialist Songbook, two of which have been brought to life with new recordings by Daniel Elias, Simone Salmon, and Lu Coy. Read and listen here: jewishcurrents.org/ladinoleftsongs

"The recuperation of the figure of the Ladino-speaking Jew also offers an additional possibility of bridge-building in the American context, particularly to Spanish-speaking immigrant communities currently under attack by the federal government." jewishcurrents.org/reclaiming-the…

"Despite their radical politics, certain leftist songs seamlessly entered the canon of Ladino popular music." Selections from a 1919 Ladino Socialist songbook: jewishcurrents.org/ladinoleftsongs

The forgotten history of the Ladino Left unveils an alternate legacy of Jewish radicalism. Overlooked by Ashkenazi-Yiddish narratives, this movement fought for socialism and solidarity with marginalized communities. By Devin E. Naar in @JewishCurrents buff.ly/c8q2YmT

"We can look to the profound hybridity of Ladino—long met with suspicion or confusion—as a generative resource for articulating a Jewish horizon beyond political Zionism." jewishcurrents.org/reclaiming-the…

"To insist that Sephardic and Mizrahi histories should be understood as reflecting any single worldview or ideology is to flatten once-dynamic Jewish communities animated by a range of political perspectives, including vibrant left-wing movements." jewishcurrents.org/reclaiming-the…

Also, it was so much fun learning to sing the International in Ladino. You can listen to that, and a reimagining of "El Imno Socialista" by Lu Coy, here:

Everything is terrible, but working on this history—the first to discuss Ladino-speaking leftism as a discrete movement—gave me life. I hope you'll spend some time with it.

The winter gift also includes six selections from a 1919 Ladino Socialist Songbook, two of which have been brought to life with new recordings by Daniel Elias, Simone Salmon, and Lu Coy. Read and listen here: jewishcurrents.org/ladinoleftsongs

The early 20th century saw a flurry of left activism by Sephardic Jews in the US. Our winter gift for subscribers—a deep dive into that history by contributing writer Devin E. Naar—is now online for all readers. jewishcurrents.org/reclaiming-the…

"the rich keep telling us this is the best possible world. they kill and we die” Read this new poem by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera: jewishcurrents.org/about-the-rich…

Read an excerpt from Hannah Lillith Assadi's novel Paradiso 17—and listen to an excerpt from the audiobook, read by Noor Hamdi: jewishcurrents.org/siamo-rovinati

Many prominent “America First” Israel skeptics are rooting their critiques in their Catholic faith. In this episode of On the Nose, experts Matthew Cressler and Julie Schumacher Cohen explore the theology behind the politics. jewishcurrents.org/maga-catholics…