by Jewish Currents
On the Nose is a biweekly podcast by Jewish Currents, a magazine of the Jewish left founded in 1946. The editorial staff discusses the politics, culture, and questions that animate today’s Jewish left.
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4/9/2021
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June 20, 2024
<p>In May 2021, Palestinian American poet, physician, translator, and essayist Fady Joudah wrote two poems engaged with the violence of Israeli apartheid. Reflecting on the conundrum of where and how to publish them, he <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/my-palestinian-poem-that-the-new-yorker-wouldnt-publish/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">explained</a>: “I’ve long been aware of the crushing weight that reduces Palestine in English to a product with limited features . . . This sickening delimitation mimics physical entrapment. The silken compassion toward Palestinians in mainstream English thinks the language of the oppressed is brilliant mostly when it teaches us about surviving massacres and enduring the degradation of checkpoints.” His sixth collection of poetry, <a href="https://milkweed.org/product/2922" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>[...]</em></a><em>—</em>written in the first three months of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and published in March—indicts precisely such forms of entrapment. In these lucid yet idiosyncratic poems, Joudah turns his attention to that which exceeds the narrow place of the Western gaze, spurning the market forces that reward the performance of perpetual Palestinian victimhood.</p><p>On this episode of <em>On the Nose</em>, culture editor Claire Schwartz speaks with Joudah about publishing <em>[...] </em>in this long moment of anti-Palestinian racism, the dangerous desires of denying our own not-knowing, and the generative capacities of silence.</p><p>Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”</p><p><strong>Texts Mentioned, and Further Reading and Listening: </strong></p><p>“<a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/my-palestinian-poem-that-the-new-yorker-wouldnt-publish/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">My Palestinian Poem that ‘The New Yorker’ Wouldn’t Publish</a>,” Fady Joudah, <em>Los Angeles Review of Books</em></p><p>“<a href="https://lithub.com/a-palestinian-meditation-in-a-time-of-annihilation/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Palestinian Meditation in a Time of Annihilation</a>,” Fady Joudah, <em>Lit Hub </em></p><p>“<a href="https://yalereview.org/article/fady-joudah-interview" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fady Joudah: The poet on how the war in Gaza changed his work</a>,” Aria Aber, <em>The Yale Review</em></p><p>“<a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2023/11/9/fady_joudah_family_killed_by_israel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">‘Unspeakable’: Dr. Fady Joudah Grieves 50+ Family Members Killed in Gaza & Slams U.S. Media Coverage</a>,” <em>Democracy Now!</em></p><p>“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-mR-sjCpwg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aesthetics of Return: Palestinian Poetry with Fady Joudah</a>,” <em>Jadaliyya</em></p><p>“<a href="https://proteanmag.com/2024/04/03/habibi-yamma/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Habibi Yamma</a>,” Fady Joudah, <em>Protean </em></p><p>“<a href="https://prairieschooner.unl.edu/fusion/dear/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dear [...]</a>,” Fady Joudah, <em>Prairie Schooner</em></p><p>“<a href="https://lithub.com/if-you-read-this-and-can-hear-me-new-poetry-by-fady-joudah/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[...]</a>,” Fady Joudah, <em>Lit Hub</em></p><p>“<a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/joudah" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[...]</a>,” Fady Joudah, <em>Jewish Currents</em></p><p>“<a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/maqam-for-a-green-silence" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Maqam for a Green Silence</a>,” Fady Joudah, <em>Jewish Currents</em></p>
June 13, 2024
<p>Since October 7th, American Jews have been sharply divided over Israel’s war on Gaza—a fracture that has been manifest within all manner of institutions, including synagogues. Many leftist Jews do not participate in synagogue life at all, in part because most congregations are explicitly or tacitly Zionist. But for those who are affiliated with a synagogue community that doesn’t completely align with their politics, this moment has raised or reasserted pressing and difficult questions: Should we do political work within these institutions, and if so, how? What is gained and lost by organizing in these spaces, or by withdrawing from them? What kinds of communities can we ethically be part of? On this episode of <em>On the Nose</em>, managing editor Nathan Goldman, managing director Cynthia Friedman, contributing writer Raphael Magarik, and contributor Devin E. Naar discuss their varying approaches to synagogue life in this moment.</p><p>Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).” </p><p><strong>Texts Mentioned and Further Reading:</strong></p><p>“<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/jewish-americans-in-2020/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jewish Americans in 2020</a>,” Pew Research Center</p><p>“<a href="https://israelpalestinejs.weebly.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Statement on Israel/Palestine by Scholars of Jewish Studies and Israel Studies” from 2021</a></p><p>“<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/ihra-definition-antisemitism/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How a Leading Definition of Antisemitism Has Been Weaponized Against Israel’s Critics</a>,” Jonathan Hafetz and Sahar Aziz, <em>The Nation</em></p><p><a href="https://www.makingmensches.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Making Mensches</a></p><p>“<a href="https://yiddishsongs.org/ale-brider/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ale Brider</a>,” Yiddish folk song</p><p>“<a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/hayim-katsmans-vision-of-struggle" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hayim Katsman’s Vision of Struggle</a>,” Hayim Katsman, <em>Jewish Currents</em></p><p><a href="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=17157" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Ottoman Brothers: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Early 20th Century Palestine</em></a> by Michelle U. Campos</p><p><a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/O/bo43634269.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Oriental Neighbors: Middle Eastern Jews and Arabs in Mandatory Palestine</em></a> by Abigail Jacobson and Moshe Naor</p><p>“<a href="https://mizrahinationlaw.com/a-democratic-mizrahi-vision/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Democratic Mizrahi Vision</a>,” the Mizrahi Civic Collective</p>
June 6, 2024
<p>On March 29th, <em>Jewish Currents</em> began publishing a short commentary on the parshah—the portion of the Torah that Jews traditionally read each week—in the <a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/shabbat-reading-list" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shabbat Reading List</a> newsletter. A <a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/shabbat-reading-list/march-29-2024" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">note</a> introducing this new feature situated it in the context of mainstream Jewish communal support for Israel’s war on Gaza: “While it might seem strange for a historically secular magazine to embark on such a project . . . we are trying this now because many in our community have expressed an unprecedented alienation from most Jewish institutions, alongside an urgent need for spiritual fortification.” While many readers have written in to express their gratitude and enthusiasm for the series, some people with long histories of close involvement with <em>Jewish Currents </em>have been upset by the inclusion of religious content. The range of reactions highlights an enduring dispute over the place of religion at <em>Jewish Currents</em>. The magazine was founded by a stridently secularist American Jewish left, which was forged in opposition to the reactionary constraints of religion and in alignment with the Communist Party. But this has given way to a movement that’s more interested in religious texts and ritual as generative elements of Jewish identity, and as politically meaningful tools. </p><p>On this episode of <em>On the Nose</em>, editor-in-chief Arielle Angel, managing editor Nathan Goldman, JC councilmember Judee Rosenbaum, and contributing writer Mitch Abidor argue about the parshah commentaries, the meaning of secularism at <em>Jewish Currents</em>, and the evolving role of religion on the Jewish left. </p><p>Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).” </p><p><strong>Articles Mentioned and Further Reading:</strong></p><p>“<a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/complex-inheritances" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Complex Inheritances</a>,” Joy Ladin, <em>Jewish Currents</em></p><p>“<a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/yiddish-anarchists-break-over-palestine-1929" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yiddish Anarchists’ Break Over Palestine</a>,” introduced and translated by Eyshe Beirich, <em>Jewish Currents</em></p><p>“<a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/camp-kinderland-at-100" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Camp Kinderland at 100</a>,” <em>On the Nose</em>, <em>Jewish Currents</em></p><p>“<a href="https://www.csjo.org/resources/essays/zhitlovsky-philosopher-of-jewish-secularism-by-max-rosenfeld" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Zhitlovsky: Philosopher of Jewish Secularism</a>,” Max Rosenfeld, Cultural and Secular Jewish Organization (previously in <em>Jewish Currents</em>)</p><p>“<a href="https://www.sourcesjournal.org/articles/secularism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Secularism,</a>” Daniel May, <em>Sources</em></p><p><a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/letters/on-the-sanitizing-of-conservative-judaism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Letter to the editor on religious coverage at <em>Jewish Currents</em>, with editors’ response</a></p><p>“<a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/bennett-muraskin-secular-jewish-education-a-critique" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Secular Jewish Education, A Critique</a>,” Bennett Muraskin, <em>Jewish Currents</em></p><p>“<a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/why-im-not-a-jewish-secularist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Why I’m Not a Jewish Secularist</a>,” Mitch Abidor, <em>Jewish Currents</em></p><p>“<a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/why-im-not-a-secular-jew-a-response-to-responses" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Why I’m Not a Jewish Secularist: A Response to the Responses</a>,”
Daniel Denvir
Jacobin
Matthew Sitman
The Intercept
Politics Theory Other
Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson
Patrick & Abby
Death Panel
Matt Lieb
The Nation Magazine
Haaretz
New York Times Opinion
Doug Henwood
Time To Say Goodbye
Millennials Are Killing Capitalism
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