Podcasts about Beinart

Few analysts are more familiar with the politics of both contemporary Turkey and the United States than my old friend , the distinguished Turkish political scientist Soli Ozel. Drawing on his decades of experience in both countries, Ozel, currently a senior fellow at the Institut Montaigne, explains how democratic institutions are similarly being challenged in Trump's America and Erdogan's Turkey. He discusses the imprisonment of Istanbul's popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, restrictive speech in American universities, and how economic decline eventually undermines authoritarian regimes. Ozel emphasizes that effective opposition requires both public discontent and compelling leadership alternatives, which Turkey has developed but America currently sorely lacks. Most intriguingly, he suggests that Harvard's legal battle against Trump could be as significant as the 1925 Scopes trial which marked the end of another bout of anti-scientific hysteria in America. 5 Key Takeaways* Populist authoritarianism follows a similar pattern regardless of left/right ideology - controlling judiciary, media, and institutions while claiming to represent "the people" against elites.* Academic freedom in America has declined significantly, with Ozel noting he experienced more classroom freedom in Turkey than at Yale in 2019.* Economic pain combined with a crisis of legitimacy is crucial for challenging authoritarian regimes, but requires credible opposition leadership to succeed.* Istanbul mayor Imamoglu has emerged as a powerful opposition figure in Turkey by appealing across political divides and demonstrating practical governance skills.* Turkey's strategic importance has increased due to its position between war zones (Syria and Ukraine) and Europe's growing need for security partners as American support becomes less certain. Full TranscriptAndrew Keen: Hello, everybody. It's not great news these days that the U.S. Brand has been, so to speak, tarnished as a headline today on CNN. I'm quoting them. CNN, of course, is not Donald Trump's biggest fan. Trump tarnishes the U S brand as a rock of stability in the global economy. I'm not sure if the US was ever really a rock of stability for anything except itself. But we on the show as. As loyal viewers and listeners know, we've been going around the world, taking stock of the US brand, how it's viewed around the word. We did a show last week with Simon Cooper, the Dutch-based Paris writer of the Financial Times, who believes it's time for all Americans to come and live in Europe. And then with Jemima Kelly, another London-based correspondent. And I thought we would broaden. I asked european perspective by visiting my old friend very old friend Soli Ozel. iVve known him for almost forty years he's a. Senior fellow of international relations and turkey at the montane institute he's talking to us from vienna but he is a man who is born and spends a lot of his time thinking about. Turkey, he has an interesting new piece out in the Institute Montaigne. Turkey, a crisis of legitimacy and massive social mobilization in a regional power. I want to talk to Soli later in this conversation about his take on what's happening in Turkey. But first of all, Soli, before we went live, you noted that you first came to America in September 1977. You were educated here, undergraduate, graduate, both at uh, sized in Washington DC and then at UC Berkeley, where you and I studied together at the graduate program. Um, how do you feel almost 50 years, sorry, we're dating ourselves, but how did you feel taking off your political science cap, your analyst cap, how did you feel about what's happening in America as, as a man who invested your life in some ways in the promise of America, and particularly American education universities.Soli Ozel: Yeah, I mean, I, yes, I came to the States or I went to the States in September of 1977. It was a very different America, post Vietnam. And I went through an avant garde college liberal arts college.Andrew Keen: Bennington wasn'tSoli Ozel: Bennington College, and I've spent about 11 years there. And you and I met in 1983 in Berkeley. And then I also taught at American universities. I taught at UC Santa Cruz, Northwestern, SAIS itself, University of Washington, Yale, and had fellowships in different parts. Now, of course, in those years, a lot has changed in the US. The US has changed. In fact, I'm writing a piece now on Christopher Lash. And reading Christopher Lasch work from the 60s and the 1970s, in a way, you wonder why Trumpism has not really emerged a bit earlier than when it did. So, a lot of the... Dynamics that have brought Donald Trump to power, not once, but twice, and in spite of the fact that, you know, he was tried and found guilty and all that. Many of those elements have been there definitely since the 1980s, but Lascch identified especially this divergence between educated people and less educated people between brainies and or the managerial class and the working class in the United States. So, in a way, it looks like the Trumpism's triumph came even a bit late, although there were a couple of attempts perhaps in the early 1990s. One was Pat Buchanan and the other one, Ross Perot, which we forget that Ross Perot got 19% of the vote against in the contest when Bill Clinton. Won the election against George H.W. Bush. So underground, if you will, a lot was happening in the United States.Andrew Keen: All right. And it's interesting you bring up Lash, there's that sort of whole school Lasch Daniel Bell, of course, we had Daniel Bell's son, David Bell, on the show recently. And there's a lot of discussion, as I'm sure you know, about the nativism of Trump, whether it's uniquely American, whether it was somehow inevitable. We've done last week, we did a show about comparing what's happening now in America to what happened after the First World War. Being less analytical, Solé, my question was more an emotional one to you as someone who has built their life around freedom of expression in American universities. You were at Bennington, you were at SICE, you're at UC Berkeley, as you know, you taught at UC Santa Cruz and Yale and many other places. You come in and out of this country giving lectures. How do you personally feel about what's happening?Soli Ozel: Yeah, okay. I mean, in that sense, again, the United States, by the way, I mean the United States has been changing independently of Mr. Trump's presidency. It was much more difficult to be, I mean when I went to college in Bennington College, you really did not bite your tongue when you were going to speak either as a student or a professor. And increasingly, and especially in my last bout at Yale in 2019, I felt that, you know, there were a lot of constraints on what you could say or how you could say it, whether you would call it walkism, political correctness, whatever it was. It was a much, the atmosphere at the university was much more constrained in terms of what transpired in the classroom and that I mean, in Turkey, I had more freedom in terms of how we debated things in class that I felt that...Andrew Keen: That is astonishing. So you had more freedom in...Soli Ozel: As well, you did in Yale in 1990. I'm talking about not the political aspect of things, but how you debate something, okay, whether or not, I mean, there would be lots of views and you could you could present them without insulting anyone, however you presented them was fine, and this is how what the dynamics of the classroom had been when I was a student. So, in that sense, I guess it wasn't just the right that constrained speech, but also the left that constrained the speech, because new values were added or new norms were invented to define what can and cannot be said. And of course, that goes against the grain of what a university education ought to be. I mean, I had colleagues. In major universities who told me that they really were biting their tongue when they were giving their lectures. And that is not my understanding of education or college education and that certainly has not been my experience when I came to the States and for my long education here for 11 years.Andrew Keen: Solit, you and I have a long history of thinking about the Middle East, where back in the early 80s, we TA'd a class on the Arab-Israeli conflict with Yaya Sadowski, who at that time was a very independent thinker. I know he was a close friend of yours. I was always very influenced by his thinking. You're from Izmir, from a Jewish family in Turkey. So you're all too familiar with the complexity of anti-Semitism, Israel, the Middle East, Turkey. What do you personally make of this hysteria now on campus about anti-semitism and throwing out anyone, it seems, at least from the Trump point of view, who are pro-Palestinian? Is this again, I mean, you went back to Christopher Lasch and his thinking on populism and the dangers of populism in America. Or is this something that... Comes out of the peculiarities of American history. We have predicted this 40 years ago when you and I were TAing Sadowski's class on Arab-Israeli conflict at Berkeley.Soli Ozel: The Arab-Israeli conflict always raises passions, if you will. And it's no different. To put it mildly, Salvador, I think. Yeah, it is a bit different now. I mean, of course, my hunch is that anti-Semitism is always present. There is no doubt. And although I followed the developments very closely after October 7. I was not in there physically present. I had some friends, daughters and sons who were students who have reported to me because I'm supposed to know something about those matters. So yeah, antisemitism is there. On the other hand, there is also some exaggeration. We know that a lot of the protesters, for instance, were Jews themselves. But my hunch is that the Trump administration, especially in their attack against elite universities, are using this for political purposes. I'm sure there were other ways of handling this. I don't find it very sincere. And a real problem is being dealt with in a very manipulative political way, I think. Other and moreover So long as there was no violence and I know there were instances of violence that should be punished that I don't have any complaints about, but partially if this is only related to what you say, I'm not sure that this is how a university or relations between students at the university ought to be conducted. If you're not going to be able to say what you think at the university, then what else are you going to say? Are you going be able say it? So this is a much more complicated matter than it is being presented. And as I said, my view or based on what I follow that is happening at colleges, this is being used as an excuse. As somebody I think Peter Beinhart wrote today in the New York Times. He says, No, no, no. It is not really about protecting Jewish students, but it is protecting a certain... Type of Jewish students, and that means it's a political decision, the complaints, legitimate complaints, perhaps, of some students to use those against university administrations or universities themselves that the Trump administration seems to be targeting.Andrew Keen: Yeah, it's interesting you bring up Beinart. He was on the show a year or two ago. I think he notes that, I mean, I don't want to put words into his mouth, but he seems to be suggesting that Jews now have a responsibility almost to speak out, not just obviously about what's happening in the U.S., but certainly about what is happening in Gaza. I'm not sure what you think on.Soli Ozel: He just published a book, he just published the book being Jewish in the US after Gaza or something along those lines. He represents a certain way of thinking about what had happened in Gaza, I mean what had happened to Israel with the attack of Hamas and what had happened afterwards, whether or not he represents the majority. Do you agree with him? I happen to be. I happen to be sympathetic to his views. And especially when you read the book at the beginning, it says, look, he's a believer. Believer meaning he is a practicing Jew. So this is not really a question about his own Jewishness, but how he understands what being a Jew actually means. And from that perspective, putting a lot of accent to the moral aspects of Jewish history and Jewish theological and secular thinking, He is rebelling, if you will, against this way of manipulative use. On the part of some Jewish organizations as well of what had gone on and this is this he sees as a along with others actually he also sees this as a threat to Jewish presence in the United States. You know there is a simultaneous increase in in anti-semitism. And some people argue that this has begun even before October 7. Let us not forget Charlottesville when the crowds that were deemed to be nice people were chanting, Jews will not replace us, and those people are still around. Yeah, a lot of them went to jail.Andrew Keen: Yeah, I mean Trump seemed to have pardoned some of them. And Solly, what do you make of quote-unquote the resistance to Trump in the U.S.? You're a longtime observer of authoritarianism, both personally and in political science terms. One of the headlines the last few days is about the elite universities forming a private collective to resist the Trump administration. Is this for real and is it new? Should we admire the universities or have they been forced into this position?Soli Ozel: Well, I mean, look, you started your talk with the CNN title. Yeah, about the brand, the tarnishing of the U.S. Whatever the CNN stands for. The thing is, there is no question that what is happening today and what has been happening in my judgment over the last two years, particularly on the issue of Gaza, I would not... Exonerate the Biden administration and the way it actually managed its policy vis-a-vis that conflict. There is, of course, a reflection on American policy vis a vis that particular problem and with the Trump administration and 100 days of storm, if you will, around the world, there is a shift in the way people look at the United States. I think it is not a very favorable shift in terms of how people view and understand the United States. Now, that particular thing, the colleges coming together, institutions in the United States where the Americans are very proud of their Madisonian institutions, they believe that that was there. Uh, if you will, insurance policy against an authoritarian drift in their system. Those institutions, both public institutions and private institutions actually proved to be paper tigers. I mean, look at corporations that caved in, look at law firms that arcade that have caved in, Look at Columbia university being, if you will the most egregious example of caving in and plus still not getting the money or not actually stopping the demands that are made on it. So Harvard after equivocating on this finally came up with a response and decided to take the risk of losing massive sums of grants from the federal government. And in fact, it's even suing. The Trump administration for withholding the money that was supposed to go to them. And I guess there is an awakening and the other colleges in order to protect freedom of expression, in order, to protect the independence of higher education in this country, which has been sacrosanct, which is why a lot of people from all around the world, students... Including you and I, right? I mean, that's why we... Yeah, exactly. By the way, it's anywhere between $44 and $50 billion worth of business as well. Then it is there finally coming together, because if you don't hang together, you'll hang separately, is a good American expression that I like. And then trying to defend themselves. And I think this Harvard slope suit, the case of Harvard, is going to be like the Stokes trial of the 1920s on evolution. It's going to be a very similar case, I believe, and it may determine how American democracy goes from now.Andrew Keen: Interesting. You introduced me to Ece Temelkuren, another of your friends from someone who no longer lives in Turkey. She's a very influential Turkish columnist, polemicist. She wrote a famous book, How to Lose a Country. She and you have often compared Turkey. With the rest of the world suggesting that what you're going through in Turkey is the kind of canary in the coal mine for the rest the world. You just came out with a piece, Turkey, a crisis of legitimacy, a massive social mobilization and regional power. I want to get to the details of what's happening in Turkey first. But like Ece, do you see Turkey as the kind of canary and the coalmine that you got into this first? You're kind of leading the narrative of how to address authoritarianism in the 25th century.Soli Ozel: I don't think Turkey was the first one. I think the first one was Hugo Chavez. And then others followed. Turkey certainly is a prominent one. But you know, you and I did other programs and in an earlier era, about 15 years ago. Turkey was actually doing fine. I mean, it was a candidate for membership, still presumably, formally, a candidate for membership in the European Union, but at the time when that thing was alive. Turkey did, I mean, the AKP government or Erdogan as prime minister did a lot of things that were going in the right direction. They certainly demilitarized Turkish politics, but increasingly as they consolidated themselves in power, they moved in a more authoritarian path. And of course, after the coup attempt in 2016 on the 15th of July, that trend towards authoritarianism had been exacerbated and but with the help of a very sui generis if you will unaccountable presidential system we are we find ourselves where we are but The thing is what has been missed out by many abroad was that there was also a very strong resistance that had remained actually unbowing for a long time. And Istanbul, which is, of course, almost a fifth of Turkey's population, 32 percent of its economy, and that's where the pulse of the country actually beats, since 2017 did not vote for Mr Erdogan. I mean, referendum, general election, municipal election. It hasn't, it hasn't. And that is that really, it really represents the future. And today, the disenchantment or discontent has now become much broader, much more broadly based because conservative Anatolia is also now feeling the biting of the economy. And this sense of justice in the country has been severely damaged. And That's what I think explains. The kinds of reaction we had throughout the country to the first arrest and then incarceration of the very popular mayor of Istanbul who is a national figure and who was seen as the main contender for the presidency in the elections that are scheduled to take place in.Andrew Keen: Yeah, and I want to talk more about Turkey's opposition and an interesting New York Times editorial. But before we get there, Soli, you mentioned that the original model was Chavez in Venezuela, of course, who's always considered a leftist populist, whereas Erdogan, Trump, etc., and maybe Netanyahu are considered populists of the right. Is that a useful? Bifurcation in ideological terms or a populist populism that the idea of Chavez being different from Trump because one's on the left and right is really a 20th century mistake or a way of thinking about the 21st century using 20th-century terms.Soli Ozel: Okay, I mean the ideological proclivities do make a difference perhaps, but at the end of the day, what all these populist movements represent is the coming of age or is the coming to power of country elites. Suggests claiming to represent the popular classes whom they say and who are deprived of. Uh, benefits of holding power economically or politically, but once they get established in power and with the authoritarian tilt doesn't really make a distinction in terms of right or wrong. I mean, is Maduro the successor to Chavez a rightist or a leftist? I mean does it really make a difference whether he calls himself a leftists or a rightists? I is unaccountable, is authoritarian. He loses elections and then he claims that he wins these elections and so the ideology that purportedly brought them to power becomes a fig leaf, if you will, justification and maybe the language that they use in order to justify the existing authoritarianism. In that sense, I don't think it makes a difference. Maybe initially it could have made a difference, We have seen populist leaders. Different type of populism perhaps in Latin America. For instance, the Peruvian military was supposed to be very leftist, whereas the Chilean or the Brazilian or the Argentinian or the Uruguayan militaries were very right-wing supported by the church itself. Nicaragua was supposed to be very Leftist, right? They had a revolution, the Sandinista revolution. And look at Daniel Ortega today, does it really matter that he claims himself to be a man of the left? I mean, He runs a family business in Nicaragua. And so all those people who were so very excited about the Nicaraguan Revolution some 45 years ago must be extraordinarily disappointed. I mean, of course, I was also there as a student and wondering what was going to happen in Nicaragua, feeling good about it and all that. And that turned out to be an awful dictatorship itself.Andrew Keen: Yeah, and on this sense, I think you're on the same page as our mutual friend, Moises Naim, who wrote a very influential book a couple of years ago. He's been on the show many times about learning all this from the Latin American playbook because of his experience in Venezuela. He has a front row on this. Solly, is there one? On this, I mean, as I said, you just come out with a piece on the current situation in Turkey and talk a little bit more detail, but is America a few stops behind Turkey? I mean you mentioned that in Turkey now everyone, not just the urban elites in Istanbul, but everyone in the country is beginning to experience the economic decline and consequences of failed policies. A lot of people are predicting the same of Trump's America in the next year or two. Is there just one route in this journey? Is there's just one rail line?Soli Ozel: Like by what the root of established wow a root in the sense of youAndrew Keen: Erdogan or Trump, they come in, they tell lots of lies, they promise a lot of stuff, and then ultimately they can't deliver. Whatever they're promising, the reverse often happens. The people they're supposed to be representing are actually victims of their policies. We're seeing it in America with the consequences of the tariff stuff, of inflation and rise of unemployment and the consequences higher prices. It has something similar. I think of it as the Liz Truss effect, in the sense that the markets ultimately are the truth. And Erdogan, I know, fought the markets and lost a few years ago in Turkey too.Soli Ozel: There was an article last week in Financial Times Weekend Edition, Mr. Trump versus Mr. Market. Trump versus, Mr. Market. Look, first of all, I mean, in establishing a system, the Orban's or Modi's, they all follow, and it's all in Ece's book, of course. You have to control the judiciary, you have to control the media, and then all the institutions. Gradually become under your thumb. And then the way out of it is for first of all, of course, economic problems, economic pain, obviously makes people uncomfortable, but it will have to be combined with the lack of legitimacy, if you will. And that is, I don't think it's right, it's there for in the United States as of yet, but the shock has been so. Robust, if you will, that the reaction to Trump is also rising in a very short period, in a lot shorter period of time than it did in other parts of the world. But economic conditions, the fact that they worsen, is an important matter. But there are other conditions that need to be fulfilled. One of those I would think is absolutely the presence of a political leader that defies the ones in power. And I think when I look at the American scene today, one of the problems that may, one of problems that the political system seems to have, which of course, no matter how economically damaging the Trump administration may be, may not lead to an objection to it. To a loss of power in the midterms to begin with, is lack of leadership in the Democratic Party and lack of a clear perspective that they can share or program that they present to the public at large. Without that, the ones that are in power hold a lot of cards. I mean, it took Turkey about... 18 years after the AKP came to power to finally have potential leaders, and only in 2024 did it become very apparent that now Turkey had more than one leader that could actually challenge Erdogan, and that they also had, if not to support the belief in the public, that they could also run the country. Because if the public does not believe that you are competent enough to manage the affairs of the state or to run the country, they will not vote for you. And leadership truly is an extraordinarily important factor in having democratic change in such systems, what we call electoral authoritarian.Andrew Keen: So what's happened in Turkey in terms of the opposition? The mayor of Istanbul has emerged as a leader. There's an attempt to put him in jail. You talk about the need for an opposition. Is he an ideological figure or just simply younger, more charismatic? More attractive on the media. What do you need and what is missing in the US and what do you have in Turkey? Why are you a couple of chapters ahead on this?Soli Ozel: Well, it was a couple of chapters ahead because we have had the same government or the same ruler for 22 years now.Andrew Keen: And Imamo, I wanted you to pronounce it, Sali, because my Turkish is dreadful. It's worse than most of the other.Soli Ozel: He is the mayor of Istanbul who is now in jail and whose diploma was annulled by the university which actually gave him the diploma and the reason why that is important is if you want to run for president in Turkey, you've got to have a college degree. So that's how it all started. And then he was charged with corruption and terrorism. And he's put in zero. Oh, it's terrorism. There was.Andrew Keen: It's terrorism, they always throw the terrorist bit in, don't they, Simon?Soli Ozel: Yeah, but that dossier is, for the moment, pending. It has not been closed, but it is pending. Anyway, he is young, but his major power is that he can touch all segments of society, conservative, nationalist, leftist. And that's what makes people compare him also with Erdogan who also had a touch of appealing to different segments of the population. But of course, he's secular. He's not ideological, he's a practical man. And Istanbul's population is about anywhere between 16 and 18 million people. It's larger than many countries in Europe. And to manage a city like Istanbul requires really good managerial skills. And Imamoglu managed this in spite of the fact that central government cut its resources, made sure that there was obstruction in every step that he wanted to take, and did not help him a bit. And that still was continuing. Still, he won once. Then there was a repeat election. He won again. And this time around, he one with a landslide, 54% against 44% of his opponent, which had all theAndrew Keen: So the way you're presenting him, is he running as a technocrat or is he running as a celebrity?Soli Ozel: No, he's running as a politician. He's running a politician, he is a popular politician. Maybe you can see tinges of populism in him as well, but... He is what, again, what I think his incarceration having prompted such a wide ranging segments of population really kind of rebelling against this incarceration has to do with the fact that he has resonance in Anatolia. Because he does not scare conservative people. He aspires the youth because he speaks to them directly and he actually made promises to them in Istanbul that he kept, he made their lives easier. And he's been very creative in helping the poorer segments of Istanbul with a variety of programs. And he has done this without really being terribly pushing. So, I mean, I think I sense that the country sees him as its next ruler. And so to attack him was basically tampering with the verdict of the ballot box. That's, I, think how the Turkish public interpreted it. And for good historical reasons, the ballot box is really pretty sacred in Turkey. We usually have upwards of 80% of participation in the election.Andrew Keen: And they're relatively, I mean, not just free, but the results are relatively honest. Yeah, there was an interesting New York Times editorial a couple of days ago. I sent it over. I'm sure you'd read it anyway. Turkey's people are resisting autocracy. They deserve more than silence. I mean from Trump, who has very peculiar relations, he has peculiar relations with everyone, but particularly it seems with Turkey does, in your view, does Turkey needs or the resistance or the mayor of Istanbul this issue, need more support from the US? Would it make any difference?Soli Ozel: Well, first of all, the current American administration didn't seem to particularly care that the arrest and incarceration of the mayor of Istanbul was a bit, to say the least, was awkward and certainly not very legal. I mean, Mario Rubio said, Marco Rubio said that he had concerns. But Mr. Witkoff, in the middle of demonstrations that were shaking the country, Mr. Witkof said it to Tucker Carlson's show that there were very wonderful news coming out of Turkey. And of course, President Trump praised Erdogan several times. They've been on the phone, I think, five times. And he praised Erdogan in front of Bibi Netanyahu, which obviously Bibi Netanyah did not particularly appreciate either. So obviously the American administration likes Mr. Erdogans and will support him. And whatever the Turkish public may or may not want, I don't think is of great interest toAndrew Keen: What about the international dimension, sorry, Putin, the Ukrainian war? How does that play out in terms of the narrative unfolding in Turkey?Soli Ozel: Well, first of all, of course, when the Assad regime fell,Andrew Keen: Right, and as that of course. And Syria of course as well posts that.Soli Ozel: Yeah, I mean, look, Turkey is in the middle of two. War zones, no? Syria was one and the Ukraine is the other. And so when the regime fell and it was brought down by groups that were protected by Turkey in Idlib province of Syria. Everybody argued, and I think not wrongly, that Turkey would have a lot of say over the future of Syria. And I think it will. First of all, Turkey has about 600 miles or 911 kilometer border with Syria and the historical relations.Andrew Keen: And lots of Syrian refugees, of course.Soli Ozel: At the peak, there were about 4 million, I think it's now going down. President Erdogan said that about 200,000 already went back since the overthrow of the regime. And then of course, to the north, there is Ukraine, Russia. And of course this elevates Turkey's strategic importance or geopolitical importance. Another issue that raises Turkish geopolitical importance is, of course, the gradual withdrawal of the United States from providing security to Europe under the umbrella of NATO, North Atlantic Alliance. And as the Europeans are being forced to fetch for themselves for their security, non-EU members of NATO such as Britain, Norway, Turkey, their importance becomes more accentuated as well. And so Turkey and the European Union were in the process of at least somewhat normalizing their relations and their dialog. So what happened domestically, therefore, did not get much of a reaction from the EU, which is supposed to be this paragon of rights and liberties and all that. But But it also left Turkey in a game in an awkward situation, I would think, because things could have gone much, much better. The rapprochement with the European Union could have moved a lot more rapidly, I will think. But geopolitical advantages are there. Obviously, the Americans care a lot for it. And whatever it is that they're negotiating with the Turkish government, we will soon find out. It is a... It is a country that would help stabilize Syria. And that's what President Trump also said, that he would adjudicate between Israel and Turkey over Syria, because these two countries which have been politically at odds, but strategically usually in very good terms. Whether or not the, so to avoid a clash between the two in Syria was important for him. So Turkey's international situation will continue to be important, but I think without the developments domestically, Turkey's position and profile would have been much more solid.Andrew Keen: Comparing US and Turkey, the US military has never participated, at least overtly, in politics, whereas the Turkish military, of course, has historically. Where's the Turkish Military on this? What are they thinking about these imprisonments and the increasing unpopularity of the current regime?Soli Ozel: I think the demilitarization of the Turkish political system was accomplished by the end of the 2000s, so I don't think anybody knows what the military thinks and I'm not sure that anybody really wonders what the army thinks. I think Erdogan has certainly on the top echelons of the military, it has full control. Whether or not the cadets in the Turkish military are lower echelons. Do have political views at odds with that of the government that is not visible. And I don't think the Turkish military should be designing or defining our political system. We have an electorate. We do have a fairly, how shall I say, a public that is fairly attuned to its own rights. And believes certainly in the sanctity of the ballot box, it's been resisting for quite some time and it is defying the authorities and we should let that take its course. I don't think we need the military to do it.Andrew Keen: Finally, Soli, you've been very generous with your time from Vienna. It's late afternoon there. Let's end where we began with this supposed tarnishing of the U.S. Brand. As we noted earlier, you and I have invested our lives, if for better or worse, in the U S brand. We've always been critical, but we've also been believers in this. It's also important in this brand.Soli Ozel: It is an important grant.Andrew Keen: So how do we, and I don't like this term, maybe there is a better term, brands suggest marketing, something not real, but there is something real about the US. How do we re-establish, or I don't know what the word is, a polish rather than tarnish the US brand? What needs to happen in the U.S.Soli Ozel: Well, I think we will first have to see the reinvigoration of institutions in the United States that have been assaulted. That's why I think the Harvard case... Yeah, and I love you.Andrew Keen: Yeah, and I love your idea of comparing it to the Scopes trial of 1926. We probably should do a whole show on that, it's fascinating idea.Soli Ozel: Okay, and then the Democratic Party will have to get its act together. I don't know how long it will take for them to get their act together, they have not been very...Andrew Keen: Clever. But some Democrats will say, well, there's more than one party. The Sanders AOC wing has done its job. People like Gavin Newsom are trying to do their job. I mean, you can't have an official party. There's gonna be a debate. There already is a debate within the party between the left and the right.Soli Ozel: The thing is, debates can be endless, and I don't think there is time for that. First of all, I think the decentralized nature of American governance is also an advantage. And I think that the assault has been so forceful that everybody has woken up to it. It could have been the frog method, you know, that is... Yeah, the boiling in the hot water. So, already people have begun to jump and that is good, that's a sign of vitality. And therefore, I think in due time, things will be evolving in a different direction. But, for populist or authoritarian inclined populist regimes, control of the institutions is very important, so you've got to be alert. And what I discovered, studying these things and looking at the practice. Executive power is a lot of power. So separation of powers is fine and good, but the thing is executive power is really very... Prominent and the legislature, especially in this particular case with the Republican party that has become the instrument of President Trump, and the judiciary which resists but its power is limited. I mean, what do you do when a court decision is not abided by the administration? You cannot send the police to the White House.Andrew Keen: Well, you might have to, that's why I asked the military question.Soli Ozel: Well, it's not up to the military to do this, somehow it will have to be resolved within the civilian democratic system, no matter where. Yes, the decks are stacked against the opposition in most of these cases, but then you'll have to fight. And I think a lot hinges on how corporations are going to react from now on. They have bet on Trump, and I suppose that many of them are regretting because of the tariffs. I just was at a conference, and there was a German business person who said that he has a factory in Germany and a factory in Ohio. And he told me that within three months there would not be any of the goods that he produces on the shelves because of tariffs. Once this begins to hit, then you may see a different dynamic in the country as well, unless the administration takes a U-turn. But if it does take a U turn, it will also have weakened itself, both domestically and internationally.Andrew Keen: Yeah, certainly, to put it mildly. Well, as we noted, Soli, what's real is economics. The rest is perhaps froth or lies or propaganda. Soli Ozel: It's a necessary condition. Without that deteriorating, you really cannot get things on values done.Andrew Keen: In other words, Marx was right, but perhaps in a slightly different context. We're not going to get into Marx today, Soli, we're going to get you back on the show. Cause I love that comparison with the current, the Harvard Trump legal thing, comparing it to Scopes. I think I hadn't thought of that. It's a very interesting idea. Keep well, keep safe, keep telling the truth from Central Europe and Turkey. As always, Solia, it's an honor to have you on the show. Thank you so much.Soli Ozel: Thank you, Andrew, for having me.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Hvad fortæller amerikanske jøder sig selv for at kunne ignorere palæstinensernes skrig? Og hvad vil det sige at være jødisk efter Israels ødelæggelse af Gaza? Det taler Rune Lykkeberg med den amerikanske forfatter, podcastvært og professor i journalistik, Peter Beinart, om i denne uges udgave af Langsomme samtaler --- Peter Beinart er en af de store jødiske stemmer i den amerikanske offentlighed, og han har været stærkt engageret i debatten om israelernes besættelse af Vestbredden, angrebet d. 7. oktober 2023, og den efterfølgende krig i Gaza. Hans nye bog hedder Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza (2025), og alene titlen har vakt vrede og forargelse blandt mange amerikanske jøder, fordi fokus ikke er på Hamas' terrorangreb, men på Israels gengældelseskrig. I bogen tager Peter Beinart et personligt udgangspunkt. Han beskriver blandt andet, hvordan han, når han kommer i synagogen, ikke længere ved, hvem der vil kigge væk, og hvem der vil række hånden frem. Han er selv en troende, praktiserende jøde, som følger jødiske ritualer og kan sin Tora, men i sine politiske synspunkter støder han mange amerikanske trosfæller fra sig, fordi de mener, at hans forsvar for den palæstinensiske sag og hans modstand mod krigen placerer ham på den forkerte side i konflikten. Beinart afdækker i sin bog de forsvarsmekanismer, som han mener eksisterer blandt amerikanske jøder, der fortsat støtter Israels krig i Gaza. Han giver et indblik i de historier, som gør det muligt for dem at ignorere palæstinensernes lidelser. Og de fortællinger, som tillader dem at fastholde støtten til en krig, der underminerer alt det, liberale og progressive mennesker står for. I løbet af samtalen med Rune Lykkeberg kommer Peter Beinart ind på betydningen af den jødiske offerfortælling, Israels oprindelsesmyte og den stærke jødiske lobby, som fortsat spiller en afgørende rolle i amerikansk politik. Men han tillader sig også at tænde et lille lys i mørket. For selv om der lige nu ikke er grund til at være optimistisk på det palæstinensiske folks vegne, så spirer der alligevel et lille håb i de ungdommelige folkelige bevægelser, som – muligvis, med tiden – kan ændre samtalen i amerikansk politik og bringe forandring til Palæstina og Israel.

New York (VINnews)— Alan Skorski sat down with Jeff Lax, a professor at CUNY Law and board member, to discuss allegations of antisemitism within the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Lax, who is also the founder of SAFE Campus, has been vocal in exposing what he describes as deep-rooted antisemitism at the university's highest levels, including the controversial hiring of Saly Abd Alla, a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), to oversee antisemitism allegations. The interview escalated when Skorski questioned Lax about his recent appearance on Peter Beinart's social platform to debate antisemitism on college campuses. Beinart, a well-known critic of Israel, has often spoken to Jewish student groups across the U.S., drawing criticism from pro-Israel advocates. During their discussion, Beinart questioned why Lax had protested a Hunter College job posting seeking instructors to teach about Israel as a “settler-colonial state,” engaging in “apartheid” and “genocide.” Lax discredited Hunter College's stance and challenged Beinart on these allegations, forcing a tense exchange. The debate reached a pivotal moment when Lax pressed Beinart to label Hamas as a terrorist organization, which Beinart refused to do, claiming such a designation was racist and unfairly applied to Palestinians. Lax pointed out the inaccuracy of this claim, ultimately boxing Beinart into a rhetorical corner. Alan Skorski Reports 25MAR2025 - PODCAST

Ralph welcomes Peter Beinart, to discuss his book Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza. An observant Jew, Beinart argues “We are not history's permanent virtuous victims. We are not hardwired to forever endure evil but never commit it.” Plus, premier global trade expert, Lori Wallach, joins to help sort out the on again, off again tariffs Donald Trump is assessing U.S. trade partners. What kind of a tool is a tariff? When should it be used? Who should it be used against? And are the current tariff threats on Canada really about stopping fentanyl?Peter Beinart is Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York. He is also Editor-at-Large of Jewish Currents, an MSNBC political commentator, a frequent contributor to The New York Times, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. His latest book is entitled “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza” and his recent op-ed in the New York Times is “States Don't Have a Right To Exist. People Do.”We are not history's permanent virtuous victims. We are not hardwired to forever endure evil but never commit it. That false innocence, which pervades contemporary Jewish life, camouflages domination as self-defense. It exempts Jews from external judgment. It offers infinite license to fallible human beings.Excerpt from Being Jewish After The Destruction of Gaza by Peter BeinartIsrael can't destroy Hamas. Israel has totally laid waste to Gaza, and yet Hamas is still there. And Hamas will have new recruits from all of these people whose family members were killed by Israel. And Hamas will reconstitute its weapons, because I think actually a lot of the Hamas weapons now are coming from assembling Israeli weapons that were dropped on Gaza, just like the Viet Cong did in Vietnam. They reassemble to make their own weapons. So Hamas will still be there as a force for Israel to continue to fight. And I think Netanyahu will continue this war for as long as he can.Peter BeinartSo what I think Israel is trying to do, to various degrees of self-consciousness, is to try to reduce the population in Gaza and the West Bank. And that's why the Trump plan was so popular in Israel, not just among Netanyahu, but even among his centrist opponents, like Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, who embraced the idea. Because for them, it solves the problem. Israel doesn't have a way of solving the Palestinian problem. So if you have fewer Palestinians, then they're less of a problem. This is, after all, how the United States solved its problem with Native Americans in the 19th century.Peter BeinartLori Wallach is a 30-year veteran of international and U.S. congressional trade battles starting with the 1990s fights over NAFTA and WTO where she founded the Global Trade Watch group at Public Citizen. She is now the director of the Rethink Trade program at American Economic Liberties Project and is also Senior Advisor to the Citizens Trade Campaign, the U.S. national trade justice coalition of unions and environmental, consumer, faith, family farm and other groups.He (Trump) also closed a thing called the de minimis loophole. That is this lunatic trade loophole that allows in uninspected (under $800 value) imports to every American every day… And then four days later, Trump met with the Federal Express CEO, who apparently was not happy because they deliver a bunch of those de minimis packages… This has become a superhighway for fentanyl… He (Trump) basically reversed the ability to stop fentanyl coming from China and to enforce his own China tariffs at the behest of the CEO of Federal Express.Lori WallachSo the difference between whether tariffs raise the consumer price has a lot to do with the same corporate price gouging that we've been seeing over the last couple of years. And we can see right now, for instance, on eggs. The actual supply of egg laying chickens and the actual supply of eggs is not a greatly reduced sector. That sector is now so concentrated at every level that the handful of companies can basically control the markup between what the farmers paid and what the consumer pays.Lori Wallach Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveWith the Gaza ceasefire possibly collapsing any minute, we return to the topic of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks and the ensuing war in the Holy Land. Specifically, Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic discuss the tension between a belief in universal human rights, on the one hand, and allegiance to one's ethnic and religious roots, on the other. Joining Shadi and Damir is friend of the pod Peter Beinart, contributing writer for the New York Times and editor-at-large of the magazine, Jewish Currents. In recent years, Beinart has emerged as a leading Jewish voice wrestling with the moral questions surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict. His new book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, describes the different ways that Jews have wrestled with the morality of the war in Gaza. Peter is an observant Orthodox Jew, and this book documents how his criticism of the war has affected (and even broken) several of his friendships in his community.Peter affirms a belief in the universality of human rights and obligations to all human beings. But, he confesses, “there's another voice inside my head: don't be naive, this is a world of power in which people either look out for their own, or nobody looks out for you.” Is it possible to reconcile these two thoughts? Shadi argues for the universalist point of view: given the high number of civilian deaths in the Gaza war, shouldn't it be obvious that our allegiance to universal values should take priority over everything else? Shouldn't we have more “sensitivity for civilian deaths”? Damir presses from the opposite, particularist perspective. He's been reading the Bible. There is, Damir says, a biblical sense for “the destiny of the Israelites to the land” of Israel. Moreover, Damir argues, even if Israel is powerful today, and even if Israel did not need to wage war on the scale that it did in Gaza, not too long ago, Israel actually was existentially threatened by its neighbors. Moreover, Iran is still a real threat today. This is a heart-wrenching, wide-ranging episode that covers several controversial topics: the parallels between the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza; whether Israel can be called an Apartheid state; how to interpret the historical books of the Bible, in particular the Book of Joshua; and much more. In our bonus section for paid subscribers, Peter and our hosts discuss why the Israeli Left is dead and why Yair Lapid supports Trump's Gaza mass expulsion plan; how liberal Americans internalize the ethnic framing of the Israel-Palestine debate; Israel's right to exist; ethnonationalism on the rise around the world; what Steve Bannon really thinks about American Jews; and how to maintain friends with whom you might have deep disagreements. Required Reading* Peter Beinart, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Amazon).* Peter Beinart, The Beinart Notebook (Substack).* Peter Beinart, “Teshuvah: A Jewish Case for Palestinian Refugee Return” (Jewish Currents).* October 2023 podcast episode with Peter: “Peter Beinart on Israel, Hamas, and Why Nonviolence Failed” (WoC).* July 2020 podcast episode with Peter: “Arguing the One-State Solution” (WoC).* “Lapid presents Gaza ‘day after' plan in DC, urges extended Egyptian takeover” (Times of Israel). * The Book of Joshua (Bible Hub).* David Ben-Gurion (Jewish Virtual Library).* Yeshayahu Leibowitz (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).* Micah Goodman, Catch-67: The Left, the Right, and the Legacy of the Six-Day War (Amazon).* Amoz Oz, In the Land of Israel (Amazon).* Simone Weil, The Iliad, or the Poem of Force (Amazon).This post is part of our collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Governance and Markets.Free preview video:Full video for paid subscribers below:

Peter Beinart’s new book, “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning” confronts his “horror” - even as a long-time harsh critic of Israeli policies - at the devastation that has taken place over the past 15 months. “In 2023, I wrote about my concerns about the possibility of ethnic cleansing on a large scale, as opposed to the small scale ethnic cleansing that has been going on for years,” Beinart said, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. “But I really could not imagine what we've seen in Gaza - which is basically the destruction of an entire society, most of the buildings destroyed, most of the hospitals, schools, universities, agriculture, the necessities of life.” But even worse, he explained, was the “widespread embrace of mass expulsion, not just by people on the Israeli and American right, but by people who were considered moderate, centrist, reasonable, and thoughtful. That's the catastrophe, the horror - and I would even say the evil - that I could not imagine.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter Beinart, once a defender of the Israeli state, has become one of its sharpest critics. His new book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, was born out of Beinart's personal struggle within the Jewish community in the wake of the war. In the book, Beinart makes an urgent appeal, asking his peers to imagine a world in which Palestinians and Israeli Jews share equal rights. In today's episode, Beinart joins NPR's Leila Fadel for a discussion that touches on the intertwined relationship between Israeli and Palestinian safety and how a reimagined Israeli state could lead to a better future for all people.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Political anthropologists Ajantha Subramanian and Lori Allen are back to continue RTB's Violent Majorities series with a set of three episodes on long-distance ethno-nationalism. Today, they speak with Peter Beinart (an editor at Jewish Currents and Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York) about his just-released book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, 2025). It aims to mobilize Jewish religious ethics and teachings to reach a Jewish-American audience shaped by Zionism. Beinart seeks to debunk myths that prevent many from realizing that the moral abominations committed against Palestinians are part of the Israeli settler-colonial-nation-state project. Peter is haunted by the fact that some of the most ardent opposition to apartheid in his parents' country of South Africa came from secular Jewish people, and is troubled by the nationalistic tendency of religiously observant Jews there in the apartheid era. The three also discuss questions of solidarity against and among authoritarians, Israel's threat to international law, the dangers of minority alliances with majoritarian politics, campus politics, and the importance of seeing Gaza and Palestine as connected to us all. Peter's Recallable Book is Accepting the Yoke of Heaven: Commentary on the Weekly Torah Portion, by Orthodox scientist, philosopher, and Judaica scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), who emphasized the idolatry of investing the state with anything more than a supportive role in Jewish life. Mentioned in the Episode: 119 Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 2: Natasha Roth-Rowland with Ajantha and Lori Aparna Gopalan, "The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook," Jewish Currents. Isabella Hammad, Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative. Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message. The Beinart Notebook podcast Listen and Read Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Political anthropologists Ajantha Subramanian and Lori Allen are back to continue RTB's Violent Majorities series with a set of three episodes on long-distance ethno-nationalism. Today, they speak with Peter Beinart (an editor at Jewish Currents and Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York) about his just-released book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, 2025). It aims to mobilize Jewish religious ethics and teachings to reach a Jewish-American audience shaped by Zionism. Beinart seeks to debunk myths that prevent many from realizing that the moral abominations committed against Palestinians are part of the Israeli settler-colonial-nation-state project. Peter is haunted by the fact that some of the most ardent opposition to apartheid in his parents' country of South Africa came from secular Jewish people, and is troubled by the nationalistic tendency of religiously observant Jews there in the apartheid era. The three also discuss questions of solidarity against and among authoritarians, Israel's threat to international law, the dangers of minority alliances with majoritarian politics, campus politics, and the importance of seeing Gaza and Palestine as connected to us all. Peter's Recallable Book is Accepting the Yoke of Heaven: Commentary on the Weekly Torah Portion, by Orthodox scientist, philosopher, and Judaica scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), who emphasized the idolatry of investing the state with anything more than a supportive role in Jewish life. Mentioned in the Episode: 119 Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 2: Natasha Roth-Rowland with Ajantha and Lori Aparna Gopalan, "The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook," Jewish Currents. Isabella Hammad, Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative. Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message. The Beinart Notebook podcast Listen and Read Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political anthropologists Ajantha Subramanian and Lori Allen are back to continue RTB's Violent Majorities series with a set of three episodes on long-distance ethno-nationalism. Today, they speak with Peter Beinart (an editor at Jewish Currents and Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York) about his just-released book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, 2025). It aims to mobilize Jewish religious ethics and teachings to reach a Jewish-American audience shaped by Zionism. Beinart seeks to debunk myths that prevent many from realizing that the moral abominations committed against Palestinians are part of the Israeli settler-colonial-nation-state project. Peter is haunted by the fact that some of the most ardent opposition to apartheid in his parents' country of South Africa came from secular Jewish people, and is troubled by the nationalistic tendency of religiously observant Jews there in the apartheid era. The three also discuss questions of solidarity against and among authoritarians, Israel's threat to international law, the dangers of minority alliances with majoritarian politics, campus politics, and the importance of seeing Gaza and Palestine as connected to us all. Peter's Recallable Book is Accepting the Yoke of Heaven: Commentary on the Weekly Torah Portion, by Orthodox scientist, philosopher, and Judaica scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), who emphasized the idolatry of investing the state with anything more than a supportive role in Jewish life. Mentioned in the Episode: 119 Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 2: Natasha Roth-Rowland with Ajantha and Lori Aparna Gopalan, "The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook," Jewish Currents. Isabella Hammad, Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative. Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message. The Beinart Notebook podcast Listen and Read Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Political anthropologists Ajantha Subramanian and Lori Allen are back to continue RTB's Violent Majorities series with a set of three episodes on long-distance ethno-nationalism. Today, they speak with Peter Beinart (an editor at Jewish Currents and Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York) about his just-released book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, 2025). It aims to mobilize Jewish religious ethics and teachings to reach a Jewish-American audience shaped by Zionism. Beinart seeks to debunk myths that prevent many from realizing that the moral abominations committed against Palestinians are part of the Israeli settler-colonial-nation-state project. Peter is haunted by the fact that some of the most ardent opposition to apartheid in his parents' country of South Africa came from secular Jewish people, and is troubled by the nationalistic tendency of religiously observant Jews there in the apartheid era. The three also discuss questions of solidarity against and among authoritarians, Israel's threat to international law, the dangers of minority alliances with majoritarian politics, campus politics, and the importance of seeing Gaza and Palestine as connected to us all. Peter's Recallable Book is Accepting the Yoke of Heaven: Commentary on the Weekly Torah Portion, by Orthodox scientist, philosopher, and Judaica scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), who emphasized the idolatry of investing the state with anything more than a supportive role in Jewish life. Mentioned in the Episode: 119 Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 2: Natasha Roth-Rowland with Ajantha and Lori Aparna Gopalan, "The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook," Jewish Currents. Isabella Hammad, Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative. Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message. The Beinart Notebook podcast Listen and Read Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

Political anthropologists Ajantha Subramanian and Lori Allen are back to continue RTB's Violent Majorities series with a set of three episodes on long-distance ethno-nationalism. Today, they speak with Peter Beinart (an editor at Jewish Currents and Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York) about his just-released book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, 2025). It aims to mobilize Jewish religious ethics and teachings to reach a Jewish-American audience shaped by Zionism. Beinart seeks to debunk myths that prevent many from realizing that the moral abominations committed against Palestinians are part of the Israeli settler-colonial-nation-state project. Peter is haunted by the fact that some of the most ardent opposition to apartheid in his parents' country of South Africa came from secular Jewish people, and is troubled by the nationalistic tendency of religiously observant Jews there in the apartheid era. The three also discuss questions of solidarity against and among authoritarians, Israel's threat to international law, the dangers of minority alliances with majoritarian politics, campus politics, and the importance of seeing Gaza and Palestine as connected to us all. Peter's Recallable Book is Accepting the Yoke of Heaven: Commentary on the Weekly Torah Portion, by Orthodox scientist, philosopher, and Judaica scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), who emphasized the idolatry of investing the state with anything more than a supportive role in Jewish life. Mentioned in the Episode: 119 Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 2: Natasha Roth-Rowland with Ajantha and Lori Aparna Gopalan, "The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook," Jewish Currents. Isabella Hammad, Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative. Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message. The Beinart Notebook podcast Listen and Read Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

Political anthropologists Ajantha Subramanian and Lori Allen are back to continue RTB's Violent Majorities series with a set of three episodes on long-distance ethno-nationalism. Today, they speak with Peter Beinart (an editor at Jewish Currents and Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York) about his just-released book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, 2025). It aims to mobilize Jewish religious ethics and teachings to reach a Jewish-American audience shaped by Zionism. Beinart seeks to debunk myths that prevent many from realizing that the moral abominations committed against Palestinians are part of the Israeli settler-colonial-nation-state project. Peter is haunted by the fact that some of the most ardent opposition to apartheid in his parents' country of South Africa came from secular Jewish people, and is troubled by the nationalistic tendency of religiously observant Jews there in the apartheid era. The three also discuss questions of solidarity against and among authoritarians, Israel's threat to international law, the dangers of minority alliances with majoritarian politics, campus politics, and the importance of seeing Gaza and Palestine as connected to us all. Peter's Recallable Book is Accepting the Yoke of Heaven: Commentary on the Weekly Torah Portion, by Orthodox scientist, philosopher, and Judaica scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), who emphasized the idolatry of investing the state with anything more than a supportive role in Jewish life. Mentioned in the Episode: 119 Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 2: Natasha Roth-Rowland with Ajantha and Lori Aparna Gopalan, "The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook," Jewish Currents. Isabella Hammad, Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative. Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message. The Beinart Notebook podcast Listen and Read Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Political anthropologists Ajantha Subramanian and Lori Allen are back to continue RTB's Violent Majorities series with a set of three episodes on long-distance ethno-nationalism. Today, they speak with Peter Beinart (an editor at Jewish Currents and Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York) about his just-released book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, 2025). It aims to mobilize Jewish religious ethics and teachings to reach a Jewish-American audience shaped by Zionism. Beinart seeks to debunk myths that prevent many from realizing that the moral abominations committed against Palestinians are part of the Israeli settler-colonial-nation-state project. Peter is haunted by the fact that some of the most ardent opposition to apartheid in his parents' country of South Africa came from secular Jewish people, and is troubled by the nationalistic tendency of religiously observant Jews there in the apartheid era. The three also discuss questions of solidarity against and among authoritarians, Israel's threat to international law, the dangers of minority alliances with majoritarian politics, campus politics, and the importance of seeing Gaza and Palestine as connected to us all. Peter's Recallable Book is Accepting the Yoke of Heaven: Commentary on the Weekly Torah Portion, by Orthodox scientist, philosopher, and Judaica scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), who emphasized the idolatry of investing the state with anything more than a supportive role in Jewish life. Mentioned in the Episode: 119 Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 2: Natasha Roth-Rowland with Ajantha and Lori Aparna Gopalan, "The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook," Jewish Currents. Isabella Hammad, Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative. Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message. The Beinart Notebook podcast Listen and Read Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Political anthropologists Ajantha Subramanian and Lori Allen are back to continue RTB's Violent Majorities series with a set of three episodes on long-distance ethno-nationalism. Today, they speak with Peter Beinart (an editor at Jewish Currents and Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York) about his just-released book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, 2025). It aims to mobilize Jewish religious ethics and teachings to reach a Jewish-American audience shaped by Zionism. Beinart seeks to debunk myths that prevent many from realizing that the moral abominations committed against Palestinians are part of the Israeli settler-colonial-nation-state project. Peter is haunted by the fact that some of the most ardent opposition to apartheid in his parents' country of South Africa came from secular Jewish people, and is troubled by the nationalistic tendency of religiously observant Jews there in the apartheid era. The three also discuss questions of solidarity against and among authoritarians, Israel's threat to international law, the dangers of minority alliances with majoritarian politics, campus politics, and the importance of seeing Gaza and Palestine as connected to us all. Peter's Recallable Book is Accepting the Yoke of Heaven: Commentary on the Weekly Torah Portion, by Orthodox scientist, philosopher, and Judaica scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), who emphasized the idolatry of investing the state with anything more than a supportive role in Jewish life. Mentioned in the Episode: 119 Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 2: Natasha Roth-Rowland with Ajantha and Lori Aparna Gopalan, "The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook," Jewish Currents. Isabella Hammad, Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative. Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message. The Beinart Notebook podcast Listen and Read Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/israel-studies

Political anthropologists Ajantha Subramanian and Lori Allen are back to continue RTB's Violent Majorities series with a set of three episodes on long-distance ethno-nationalism. Today, they speak with Peter Beinart (an editor at Jewish Currents and Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York) about his just-released book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, 2025). It aims to mobilize Jewish religious ethics and teachings to reach a Jewish-American audience shaped by Zionism. Beinart seeks to debunk myths that prevent many from realizing that the moral abominations committed against Palestinians are part of the Israeli settler-colonial-nation-state project. Peter is haunted by the fact that some of the most ardent opposition to apartheid in his parents' country of South Africa came from secular Jewish people, and is troubled by the nationalistic tendency of religiously observant Jews there in the apartheid era. The three also discuss questions of solidarity against and among authoritarians, Israel's threat to international law, the dangers of minority alliances with majoritarian politics, campus politics, and the importance of seeing Gaza and Palestine as connected to us all. Peter's Recallable Book is Accepting the Yoke of Heaven: Commentary on the Weekly Torah Portion, by Orthodox scientist, philosopher, and Judaica scholar Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), who emphasized the idolatry of investing the state with anything more than a supportive role in Jewish life. Mentioned in the Episode: 119 Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 2: Natasha Roth-Rowland with Ajantha and Lori Aparna Gopalan, "The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook," Jewish Currents. Isabella Hammad, Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative. Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message. The Beinart Notebook podcast Listen and Read Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

With a confusing ceasefire deal underway in Gaza, we take a look at the path forward with Peter Beinart. Beinart serves as editor-at-large for Jewish Currents, is a frequent analyst on MSNBC, and has authored a new book, "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning." The book examines the history of Israel and how Jews have responded to the events of October 7th and its horrifying aftermath. Beinart discusses Israeli power and his hopes for its "moral reconstruction." We also discuss both Joe Biden's role in the conflict and how the region moves forward with the questionable leadership of Donald Trump. Learn more about Peter's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775348/being-jewish-after-the-destruction-of-gaza-by-peter-beinart/Check out Peter's work in Jewish Currents: https://jewishcurrents.org/author/peter-beinartSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After 15 months, the Israel-Hamas war has reached a ceasefire deal. Israeli troops have pulled back to the edges of Gaza and some hostages have been released by their Hamas captors. Many Palestinians are returning to what remains of their homes with humanitarian aid flowing into the region. As Palestinians begin rebuilding, Peter Beinart is exploring the defense of Israel by some of his fellow Jews in a new book, "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning." Beinart, a professor at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York, joined NY1's Errol Louis to discuss the war, as well as his childhood in South Africa and anti-Semitism on college campuses. Join the conversation, weigh in on Twitter using the hashtag #NY1YouDecide or give us a call at 212-379-3440 and leave a message. Or send an email to YourStoryNY1@charter.com.

In this episode on Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with Peter Beinart to discuss his new book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza. We ask what led him to write this intense and intensely provocative book, which declares that Jews “need a new story” other than the current one. Beinart argues, Jews see themselves as innocent with regard to the genocide in Gaza. I ask Peter to fully unpack this claim, among others: “Many Jews treat a Jewish state the way the Bible feared Jewish monarchs would treat themselves: as a higher power, beholden to no external standard. Again and again, we are ordered to accept a Jewish state's ‘right to exist.' But the language is perverse. In Jewish tradition, states have no inherent value. States are not created in the image of God; human beings are. States are mere instruments… The legitimacy of a Jewish state—like the holiness of the Jewish people—is conditional on how it behaves. It is subject to law, not a law in and of itself.”www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_place

Today on Speaking Out of Place we sit down with Peter Beinart to discuss his new book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza. We ask what led him to write this intense, and intensely provocative book, which declares that Jews “need a new story” other than the current one, in which, Beinart argues, Jews see themselves as innocent with regard to the genocide in Gaza.  I ask Peter to fully unpack this claim, among others:  “Many Jews treat a Jewish state the way the Bible feared Jewish monarchs would treat themselves: as a higher power, beholden to no external standard. Again and again, we are ordered to accept a Jewish state's ‘right to exist.' But the language is perverse. In Jewish tradition, states have no inherent value. States are not created in the image of God; human beings are. States are mere instruments… The legitimacy of a Jewish state—like the holiness of the Jewish people—is conditional on how it behaves. It is subject to law, not a law in and of itself.”PETER BEINART is professor of journalism and political science at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. He is also editor at large of Jewish Currents, a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times, an MSNBC political commentator, and a nonresident fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is the author of Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, and writes the Beinart Notebook newsletter on Substack.com. He lives in New York with his family.

Peter Beinart is a prominent journalist, political commentator, and professor known for his incisive analysis of American politics and foreign policy. He is the editor-at-large of Jewish Currents and writes a regular column for The New York Times, focusing on topics such as U.S. foreign relations, Israel-Palestine issues, and progressive Jewish perspectives. Beinart is also a professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and the author of several influential books, including The Crisis of Zionism and The Icarus Syndrome.For the Sake of Argument podcast: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakenewfield Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4k9DDGJz02ibpUpervM5EY Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-sake-of-argument/id1567749546 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeNewfield

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Professor Yael Berda about Israel's de facto annexation of the West Bank. A few days ago, the Guardian reported that “[t]he Israeli military has quietly handed over significant legal powers in the occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants working for the far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich" ("IDF transfers powers in occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants," 6/20/24) and the New York Times reported Smotrich's declaration that he succeeded in changing the "DNA" of the occupation (“Israeli Official Describes Secret Government Bid to Cement Control of West Bank, 6/21/22). Looking at the ongoing annexation efforts, Beinart and Berda discuss the ways in which - and the reasons why - Israeli settlers want to control the Israeli military; how Smotrich's "decisive plan" is well underway; and the potential that international opposition may stop Israel's annexation of the West Bank. Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNBC Political Commentator. Yael Berda is associate professor at the department of sociology and anthropology at Hebrew University and a fellow at the Middle East initiative at Harvard Kennedy school. Yael is an activist and former human rights lawyer. She has written three books, two about  Israeli rule in the occupied Palestinian territory, specifically about the bureaucracy that prevents freedom of movement and creates tools of control and dispossession. She also writes about emergency laws and how they shape political life. Yael is a board member of the group A Land for All. Read her recent co-authored articles on annexation: "Israel is Annexing the West Bank. Don't be Misled by its Gaslighting" (with Tamar Megiddo and Ronit Levine-Schnur, published in Just Security) and "Israel's Annexation of the West Bank Has Already Begun" (with Dalia Scheindlin, published in Foreign Affairs).   Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

On this edition of Parallax Views, recorded in May, a lengthy, almost 3 hour conversation with Yakov Hirsch. You can Yakov's writings at his new Substack here. Although Hirsch is perhaps best-known as professional poker player, he has in recent years began commenting on the psychology of what he calls "Hasbara Culture". Hasbara, for those unfamiliar, is more or less a term that means propaganda and apologia for the state of Israel. Hirsch's concept of hasbara culture, however goes far beyond that. He argues that prominent commentators in the U.S. like Bari Weiss, Eve Barlow, Brett Stephens, and The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg have come to internalize hasabara so much that it has become a culture, a mindset, an identity in and of itself that distorts reality in ways that are harmful to not only Palestinians but also Jews, both in Israel and abroad. Hirsch's thinking on these matters first came to prominence through and article he wrote for Tablet Magazine entitled "Hasbara Culture and the Curse of Bibi-ism". Although Tablet is a generally understood as a right-wing and adamantly pro-Israel publication, it nonetheless viewed 's commentary and thoughts on the concept of hasbara culture relevant and important. Hirsch argues that his examination of this hasbara culture is not about left-wing vs. right-wing or even pro-Israel vs. anti-Israel but instead an attempt to look at a phenomenon that is denying ground-level realities in favor of an alternate reality that exists only in the minds of its proponents. Among the topics discussed in this conversation are Benjamin Netanyahu as the embodiment of hasbara culture; sacred macho victimhood and victimhood discourses; Anti-Antisemitism; the Daniel Goldhagen vs. Christopher Browning debates on the Holocaust (Goldhagen's Hitler's Willing Executioners vs. Browning's Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland); Hannah Arendt and the trial of Adolf Eichmann; cognitive empathy and how it is shut down by hasbara culture; the ideology of hasbara culture; the Gaza War and Israel/Palestine; "Never Again" journalists; the "real world" vs. the "separate reality" of hasbara culture; the concept of betrayal in hasbara culture discourse; the Iran nuclear deal and Bibi-ist ideology; John Kerry's warning to Israel about needing to understand the perception of Palestinians; Peter Beinart's The Crisis of Zionism and the significance of Beinart's witnessing the tears of a Palestinian child in the West Bank crying out for his father; the pro-Palestinian protests happening across college campuses; hasbara culture's cultivation of narratives and tactics of agitation; Bill Maher vs. Bill Burr on Hamas, the Gaza War, and the youth;  serious people vs. unserious people; the significance of Israeli politician Yair Golan; Ehud Barak's comments on Palestinians and how he'd probably have been a terrorist if he'd grown up as a young Palestinian; Netanyahu's holy war and the coming Jewish schism; pro-Netanyahu demonization of Barack Obama; "us vs. them" mentalities and narratives; the October 7th Hamas attack; the ADL's response to the BDS movement; the question of irrational hatreds vs. legitimate grievances; the "Whataboutism" arguments of hasbara culture discourse; the attacks on Jewish studies culture Derek Penslar, the embattled co-chair of the Harvard's antisemitism task force; the Israel lobby; the IHRA working definition of antisemitism; ethnocentricity and ethnocentrism;

Jon Beinart is the owner and director of Beinart Gallery in Melbourne. With a huge international following Beinart Gallery has built its reputation for exhibiting highly skilled figurative artists with a shared fascination for surreal and imaginative themes. Jon is also an artist in his own right, producing surreal technically advanced paintings as well as his toddler-pillar sculptures which he is best known for. https://beinart.org/ Instagram: @beinartgallery @jonbeinart

On this edition of Paralalx Views, Peter Beinart, the Editor-at-Large for Jewish Current and author of The Beinart Notebook Substack, joins the show to discuss his views on Israel/Palestine amidst the war in Gaza. In his 2020 Jewish Currents article "Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine", Beinart definitively moved on from his two-state solution position on Israel/Palestine by declaring, "The two-state solution is dead. It's time for liberal Zionists to abandon Jewish–Palestinian separation and embrace equality." In other words, he became a proponent of a One Democratic State solution for Israel/Palestine that advocates equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis alike. Beinart's positions sent shockwaves through the Israel/Palestine discourse due to his high-profile as a journalist and commentator. He joined me on this edition of the show to discuss why he sees the fates and futures of Palestinians and Israeli Jews as being intertwined. We'll discuss how he came to his positions and his own intellectual evolution as well as his writings addressing subjects like the American Jewish Establishment (no, he's not talking about an antisemitic conspiracy theory, but rather the institutions that make up the American Jewish community), the dual loyalty trope, antisemitism, anti-Palestinian bigotry, and much, much more. And, of course, amidst this discussion the issue of the war in Gaza and Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has claimed an estimated 25k+ Palestinian lives, after the October 7th Hamas attack will be part of the conversation. Peter will also offer his thoughts on pushes for a ceasefire, the beliefs of Rep. Rashida Tlaib, what he believes needs to change about U.S. policy on Israel/Palestine, and a potpourri of other topics as well.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Jewish Currents Editor-at-Large & Professor of Journalism and Political Science at CUNY Peter Beinart joins Bad Faith to discuss his latest piece in which he takes on the media frenzy around allegations of Ivy League antisemitism, and asks why none of Harvard's Israel experts have been invited to join the group convened to investigate said claims. Is it because none of them would cosign overly expansive definitions of antisemitism? The pair also examines Beinart's own journey away from Zionism toward what he describes as “cultural Zionism” and how the siege on Gaza is rapidly changing how Israel is perceived within the Jewish community. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

It's News Day Tuesday! But first, Sam and Emma speak with Peter Beinart, editor-at-large at Jewish Currents, author of the Beinart Notebook on SubStack, and professor at the CUNY School of Journalism, to discuss his recent piece entitled "Harvard Is Ignoring Its Own Antisemitism Experts." First, Sam and Emma run through updates on an upcoming UN Security Council ceasefire vote, the Huthis' attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes, Biden's record (low) polling numbers, Google's monopolies, Rudy's big mouth, Medicaid, Texan fascism, and the EU's take-on of Twitter, also touching on the – uh – ‘diverse' representations of Trump's agenda between members of the GOP and the actual Donald Trump himself. Peter Beinart then joins, first tackling the evolution of the discourse around Israel's apartheid state over the last two months, before assessing the particular impact of Hamas' October 7th attacks in changing that conversation. Continuing, Beinart walks Sam and Emma through the consistent stifling of any non-violence Palestinian resistance movements and how that contrasts with the success of Hamas' and Hezbollah's militant actions to affirm the necessity of violence in the resistance, also touching on how this violence alongside the constant violence of the Israeli occupation gives little to no room for “legitimate” political movements to flourish. Next, they step back to look at the US in particular, exploring how, particularly among more conservative and traditional Americans (including Joe Biden), the direct parallels between the founding myths of the US and Israel bring out a passionate defense of settler-colonialism, and how the recentering of colonization and imperialism in a modern-day setting brings into question narratives of the moral arc of progress. After briefly touching on the ongoing divide in the “University” discourse, Beinart, Sam, and Emma look to the statist zionist project in general, exploring the absolute failure of Israel in creating any semblance of a safe space for Jewish people and why the only way to stop a violent anti-apartheid movement is ending apartheid, before they wrap up with an assessment of the Israeli polis, and what the “left” and “right” actually mean in Israel. And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma run through some highlights from this weekend's TPUSA “America Fest,” plus John from San Antonio parses through AIPAC-DMFI's mass investment against Democratic candidates of color and the future of Biden's candidacy. They also parse through updates on the joint planning of January 6th between Trump's administration and conservative organizers, Kaitlan Collins continues her evisceration of Ron Johnson, Israeli politicians show off their dearth of knowledge about their own political situation, and Malcolm at Harvard calls in to discuss his perspective on Harvard's campus ongoings. They wrap up the fun half with some uplifting content courtesy of America's Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Eric Adams, plus, your calls and IMs! Check out Peter's work at Jewish Currents here: https://jewishcurrents.org/author/peter-beinart Check out the Beinart Notebook here: https://peterbeinart.substack.com/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today's sponsors: Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://shopify.com/majority. Go to https://shopify.com/majority now to grow your business–no matter what stage you're in. Rhone: The Commuter Collection can get you through any work day and straight into whatever comes next. Head to https://rhone.com/MAJORITYREPORT and use promo code MAJORITYREPORT to save 20% off your entire order. Blueland Cleaning Products: Blueland has a special offer for listeners. Right now, get 15% off your first order by going tohttps://blueland.com/majority. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast    Jewish Currents Editor-at-Large & Professor of Journalism and Political Science at CUNY Peter Beinart joins Bad Faith to discuss his latest piece in which he takes on the media frenzy around allegations of Ivy League antisemitism, and asks why none of Harvard's Israel experts have been invited to join the group convened to investigate said claims. Is it because none of them would cosign overly expansive definitions of antisemitism? The pair also examines Beinart's own journey away from Zionism toward what he describes as “cultural Zionism” and how the siege on Gaza is rapidly changing how Israel is perceived within the Jewish community.  Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube to access our full video library. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram.   Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands)    

(Content warning for discussion of violence in a war zone, including against children). For this month's bonus episode, Jonathan and Sy are talking about the conflict in Israel and Palestine. They discuss how they both approach thinking about the occupation as people leaving colonized faith, the difference between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, how to engage media and advocacy on this subject in an emotionally healthy way, and a lot more. Please write in to shakethedust@ktfpress.com to let us know what you think about the episode, or to ask us any questions you have!Mentioned in the episode:* Adam Serwer's piece on not equating anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism* Peter Beinart's Substack, The Beinart Notebook* The YouTube clip of President Biden speaking about Israel as a senator* The New York Times' reporting from its interviews with leaders of Hamas.* The event about Palestine featuring a discussion with Michelle Alexander, Ta-Nihisi Coates, and Dr. Rashid Khalidi [the discussion begins at 26:40 in the linked video]Correction: in the episode, Sy said that dozens of babies died at a hospital in Gaza when the NICU lost power. In fact, the hospital could not provide incubators for about 36 premature babies after the bombing. Five died as a direct consequence. A third of all babies at the hospital were critically ill when the hospital was finally evacuated, and all had serious infections. We at KTF do not know Their ultimate fate at the moment. We apologize for the inaccuracy.Shake the Dust is a podcast of KTF Press. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Transcripts of every episode are available at KTFPress.com/s/transcripts.HostsJonathan Walton – follow him on Facebook and Instagram.Sy Hoekstra – follow him on Mastodon.Our theme song is “Citizens” by Jon Guerra – listen to the whole song on Spotify.Our podcast art is by Robyn Burgess – follow her and see her other work on Instagram.Production and editing by Sy Hoekstra.Transcript by Joyce Ambale and Sy Hoekstra.Questions about anything you heard on the show? Write to shakethedust@ktfpress.com and we may answer your question on a future episode.Transcript[An acoustic guitar softly plays six notes, the first three ascending and the last three descending — F#, B, F#, E, D#, B — with a keyboard pad playing the note B in the background. Both fade out as Jonathan Walton says “This is a KTF Press podcast.”]Sy Hoekstra: Why is Israel such an appealing idea? It's because Jewish people have faced so many thousands of years of oppression, everywhere they've gone. The dream of having a place where your oppressed people can be free and flourish, it's not hard to sympathize with that at all, right? It's one of the most natural human instincts. The problem is like Jonathan said before, the way this world is ordered, the easiest way to accomplish that is to trample other people.[The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra fades in. Lyrics: I need to know there is justice/ That it will roll in abundance/ And that you're building a city/ Where we arrive as immigrants/ And you call us citizens/ And you welcome us as children home.” The song fades out.]Jonathan Walton: Welcome to Shake the Dust, leaving colonized faith for the kingdom of God. I'm Jonathan Walton.Sy Hoekstra: And I'm Sy Hoekstra, welcome to this bonus episode. We haven't done one of these in a long time, Jonathan. But we are going to be talking today about Israel and Palestine and everything that's been going on over there. And we're going to introduce a new segment a little bit. Not a little bit—we're introducing a new segment today. We're going to be trying something out that we might then try on the regular show in the future, where we're going to be talking about one of our recommendations from our newsletter, just like in a little bit more detail before we jump into the topic of the show. Sometimes they will have to do with the topic of the show, sometimes they won't, the recommendations we talk about. Today it does.We're going to talk about the great piece that Adam Serwer wrote in The Atlantic that Jonathan highlighted last week. If you're listening to this the day it comes out, last week. But before we get into all that, one quick thing, Jonathan.Jonathan Walton: Yep, we have one favor to ask of you and that is to go to Apple or Spotify and give this show a five-star rating. If it's four, you can keep it to yourself [Sy laughs], but five stars, that'll be great. It's a quick and easy way, and a free way to support us. And it makes us look really, really great when other people look us up. So please go to Apple or Spotify and give us that five star rating. And if you're on Apple, please do leave us a quick review. We'd really appreciate it. Thank you so much.Sy Hoekstra: We would. Jonathan, don't make jokes just after I've taken a sip of tea, I almost spat that on my microphone.[laughter]One quick note up top, we know how hard this conversation is for people in so many different ways, and there are a lot of different angles. If you just listen to the first couple minutes, you'll only hear our thoughts on a couple different angles of this. So we would ask you to listen with us all the way through to hear whole perspectives, because there's a lot to talk about and a lot to take in. And also just take care of yourself, any specific trigger warnings will be in the show notes.Alright, let's get started. We'll get into this. So Adam Serwer wrote this piece in The Atlantic about not conflating anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. And Jonathan, why don't you tell us what he wrote?Jonathan Walton: Yeah. So Serwer defines Zionism as, quote, the belief that the Jews should have a Jewish state in their ancestral homeland.” And that argument then goes on that if you're against that idea, you're denying Jews a right that everyone else has in the world which is inherently discriminatory. So Serwer writes, “There's nothing anti-Semitic about anti-Zionists who believe that the existence of a religious or ethnically defined state is inherently racist, and that the only real solution to the conflict is, as Palestinian-American advocate, Yousef Munayyer writes, ‘equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians is a single shared state, end quote, with a constitution that would ‘that the country would be home to both peoples and that despite national narratives and voices on either side that claim otherwise, both people have historical ties to the land,' end quote. Perhaps you think this idea is naive or unrealistic; that is not an expression of prejudice towards Jews.”Now, he also points out that there have been Jewish voices throughout history and today who make the case for this one-state anti-Zionist solution.Sy Hoekstra: Including one of your former professors, Peter Beinart [pronounced bean-art] Beinart [pronounced Bine-art]?.Jonathan Walton: Yes. Beinart [Bine-art].Sy Hoekstra: Beinart. Okay.Jonathan Walton: Yes, if you don't read Peter Beinart stuff, please go subscribe to his Substack, and then read all of the wonderful, wonderful analyses he does on Israel and Palestine. And he's been doing this for decades.Sy Hoekstra: Okay. Thank you for that summary Jonathan. So, now tell us why did you pick this and what are your thoughts on it? Why did you pick this article?Jonathan Walton: Yeah, I think I picked this article for two reasons. One is that he makes an argument that everybody makes, and then he makes one that very few people know about. So the first one is that we need to be able to say with distinct clarity and conciseness, that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. Now, if we conflate the two, it's helpful for people who have certain agendas. But if we're actually trying to love people well, and see them for who they are, and not just politicize them into entities that we can deny or dismiss or destroy, then we have to be able to say that Palestinians are not Hamas. That the political ideologies that govern us are not held by every single person, especially if you are a child in an incubator, right?We have to be able to see people apart from the ideas that oppress and marginalize them, or the ideas that we have about them. And so that argument for me, particularly in somewhere like The Atlantic, which has made unhelpful articles, by the way, since the conflict started, but Adam just writes a great, concise, clear argument around the nuances necessary. The second thing is that if we are about creating theocratic states that are tied to ethnicity, we are creating states that are racist and exclusatory. Exclusionary?Sy Hoekstra: Exclusionary [laughs]. You just made up a new word, exclusatory.Jonathan Walton: [laughs] Exclusatory. They are inherently racist and exclusionary, and we need to lean into that a little bit more, I think. Because if we are desiring to set up religious ethno-states, we are creating spaces that will be inherently oppressive to people who are outside of that social hierarchy. That is what will happen. So if we are going to create political realities that then create social realities, because politics, like the Greek is like how people, social people deal with power, then we are going to create structures that oppress and marginalize. That's what's going to happen. And so there needs to actually be not a two-state solution, in my opinion, but a one-state solution where people can actually pursue nuance and prosperity and flourishing together.It's not a popular opinion, or popularly talked about opinion, but I do think that is the one that's actually going to lead to prosperity and peace in the region. That's my hope and my prayer when I engage with these things, and I'm grateful that Adam Serwer wrote the piece and it was published.Sy Hoekstra: That's interesting cause Serwer actually doesn't, he's like, “I don't really care one state, two state, whatever works for peace and harmony, that's fine with me. I'm just pointing out what I think should be a point of engagement for people talking about the issue.”Jonathan Walton: Yes, that's true.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah, that's good. I like this one. This wasn't my, this is your pick in the newsletter, but I love Adam Serwer [laughs], just in general. We've recommended him, I've recommended him before in the newsletter too. Part of the reason I think it's important is because like you said in the newsletter, that just the noise of the conflict, the intensity of the emotions around it makes it really hard for a point like this that is relatively simple to land. And there are just, there are a lot of people... I mean, I was reading yesterday about how the Anti-Defamation League, which is a well known Jewish organization that kind of monitors extremism of all kinds, not just anti-Semitism, but they focus on that a lot, is now labeling any protests calling for a ceasefire as anti-Semitic—or as anti-Israel. Just calling for a ceasefire.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: That's like the lack of nuance isn't even… there are like grown adults…[laughter]…grown, well-educated adults, saying things that are absolutely wild, because people's emotions and ideologies and all kinds of ideas around this topic are just, they swirl and make a bunch of noise, like you said. And I just appreciate it when somebody says something that everyone needs to understand in an exceptionally clear way.Jonathan Walton: Right. To add to that though, I think what is problematic is that there are major news outlets that interview people that say things like that. Like to be pro-Palestine is to be inherently anti-Semitic. And then they go unchallenged. They go one question and they move on to the next discussion. It's not just that the stuff is out there, it's that it's not challenged and then it's not questioned at all. So the conflation moves forward as fact for millions of people every day. And I hope that there are more leaders that will say, actually, let's slow down and separate the two.Sy Hoekstra: Yep. And we will talk about how to slow down and separate things in a minute. Let's jump into the broader discussion then. Let's just start with where we're coming from when we talk about this with Israel and Palestine. Where we start from, what's our starting point and how do we think about the issues? Jonathan, do you want to…? You've already like intimated a little bit about what you think, but why don't you give us a little more?Jonathan Walton: Yeah. I mean, I think the starting point for me, I immediately go to the historical context of how and why Israel came to be, and then how and—the State of Israel came to be in 1948—and the United States' and the West's role in that. I dive there immediately just so that I can step out of trying to throw on Old Covenant language, try to graft myself onto some larger cosmic story from God, and just say, “No, that actually wasn't it.” Let me resist that temptation. Because it is so easy to want to be right when we're angry, upset, frustrated, sad, grieving, and an attack like what Hamas did on October 7th can lead to that. I think the big picture is where I start and where I end is just mothers holding their dying children. Those two images for me are really, really, really, really difficult to hold on to.Sy Hoekstra: And even by the way, you mentioned the ICU before, I think.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: Just in case people don't know, like a day or two ago, the hospital that was bombed toward the beginning of the fighting was bombed again and the power went out.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: So the incubators in the ICU were not working and a few dozen children, babies died as a result.Jonathan Walton: Right. And I mean, yeah, that just doesn't have to, it just doesn't have to happen. It just doesn't have to happen. And if you follow me on Instagram, I've tried to post… [choking up]Sy Hoekstra: Take your time.Jonathan Walton: …the same photo every day. There's a short video of a woman just holding her kid, and they put… like all of the remains are just in bags. White bags. And that I think… I don't post other videos because I think they're too… Just, I mean, I don't want people to be… Like, even some things are too unsettling for me, and I don't think Instagram is helpful and how they just bombard people with images to keep them on algorithm. But this this particular video, I do share because I think it speaks to the lack of humanity and the humanity… the lack of humanity of what's happening to them and the humanity of what is happening when you lose a child. And it doesn't have to be that way. It just doesn't.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah. Thanks.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: I think I start at a similar place. The beginning point for me is 1948. The context for everything that is happening is the fact that 750,000 Palestinians were forced off of their land. And since then, in order to maintain, they were forced off their land in order to create space for settlers to come in and create this state, and then have decades of basically violence to maintain that situation. And I think like Jonathan said, if there's a settler situation like that, at no point in history have you ever had hundreds of thousands of people kicked off their land and forced into another place and forced to live as second class citizens under a regime that is fundamentally not built for them and not had violence as a response.Which is not the same as me saying I don't hold Hamas responsible for what they've done. It just means if you're going to have a state like Israel, there's going to be a violent response every single time. And you're going to have to have continuous escalations of violence in order to maintain a situation like that, because you kicked hundreds of thousands of people off their land. And if you don't start from that point and say, how do we go back and do something about that fundamental problem that founding the State of Israel created, you're never going to solve anything, right? There's going to be no… if the only discussion is, “We're here, all the international community says we deserve to be here, the Bible says we deserve to be here, this is our land, nobody else matters,” then you're never going to stop having violence.And by the way, Palestinians live in a lot of different places, they don't just live in Palestine. You're never going to stop having Palestinians, you're never going to stop having the idea of Palestine. A huge percentage of Jordan's population is Palestinians. There are Palestinians in Egypt. There are Palestinians all over the world, it's not going away. And any other framing is just not going to get you to any sort of solution that deals with anything real. For me, like the one state, two state—I don't know the details. I'm just saying you're going to have to address the fact that all these people's land was taken, and they were forced off of it, and there's been an enormous amount of violence and discrimination in order to maintain that situation, and if you don't, this attack from Hamas will not be the last.It's the same thing, 9/11 didn't happen in a vacuum either, right? That happened… again, I hold the people who did it responsible for their actions, but it's also not surprising. That it happened at all is not surprising.The other point I wanted to make is that just like, people call it a colonizing project in Israel, and people are confused a lot of times by that framing of it. But it's not as confusing when you understand how invested the West is in it. Like effectively we are the colonizing country.Jonathan Walton: Yep.Sy Hoekstra: Like the United States and Britain and France to a certain degree, we have all had a hand in this because we want an ally in the region. It is about our foreign policy interests. That's why Israel was created in the first place.That's the only reason they had the political will to do it in the first place, and that's the only reason it continues to exist. Because another reality of the situation is Israel is surrounded by people who would destroy it if it wasn't being protected by bigger countries like us. And they're there because we want them to be there and because they serve our interests in a lot of ways, our foreign policy interests. And I think part of the reason that we don't see it this way, or that Americans especially are primed not to see it this way, is because of the kind of racist colonialist way that we see our own country.Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: Right? Like we do not… So many Americans, so many Christians in particular—talk about a concrete example of colonized faith, of theology that supports colonization—we talk about American exceptionalism and how we've been blessed by God and how we've accomplished all these great things, and nothing about all the people that were displaced and killed and enslaved and exploited to get to where we are. Like we are so used to that, just celebrating America and not thinking about any of the things that happened as a result. I was just watching something with Rashid Khalidi who's a Palestinian-American historian, and he was just like “A Native American reservation, Palestine, the places where Black people were forced to live in South Africa in apartheid; It's all the same thing.”You're just forcing people to live somewhere so that your colonialist project can stand. And the point is that we're used to talking about self-determination and self-governance. Like us in the United States, we say, “We fought against Britain because we had the inalienable right to govern ourselves,” with no thought to the fact that we were denying the right to govern themselves to a bunch of other people.Jonathan Walton: Yes. Absolutely.Sy Hoekstra: [laughs] That is a fundamental part of how America thinks of itself, that kind of doublespeak [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: Self-determination for us, but not for the people that we don't want to give it to. So it's not really a surprise that we have no issue saying, “Oh yeah, this state Israel, has self-determination, and we're going to make sure that they continue to have that” with no regard for all the self-determination that they are denying to the people within their borders.Jonathan Walton: Yes. I mean, embedded in our political reality in the United States and all of the economic and social tentacles downstream of that is radical hypocrisy.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: And are socially accepted. Morally, I'm using my big, huge finger quotes, morally justifiable hypocrisy.Oh, and something that I wish Christians understood, which is why I think I enter back in where like where I come into it because I try to stay in a lane to stay grounded, is that like the economic and political and militaristic interests of the United States are not how Jesus runs foreign policy. The idea that the, let's say, the Roman government fits so beautifully with Jesus' desire for the beloved community makes absolutely, positively no sense. And so if you are a follower of Jesus listening to this podcast and you're thinking to yourself, “We should wholeheartedly put just a platform where the kingdom of God is the same as a platform of a political party,” then we are radically out of step with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the apostles and anything before or after that we are sitting in with in Scripture, which is missing it completely.Because Jesus says, “We will be known by the fruit that we bear,” and the fruit of the United States, just like Sy was saying, when Joe Biden stood up in Congress in 1986 and said, as he was fighting for $3 billion worth of funding to go to Israel, he said, “This is the best $3 billion investment we can make, because if Israel didn't exist, we would have to make it exist to secure our interests in the region.”Sy Hoekstra: That is a clip available on YouTube if you want to go watch it.[laughter]Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: I should also say or we should also note, this is implicitly obvious, but we do not come at this from a position of like interpreting the dream in the book of Revelation to figure out who needs to own Israel and when in order to bring about the apocalypse [laughs], or anything like that.Jonathan Walton: Oh Lord… [laughs]Sy Hoekstra: I'm laughing as I say it because it is funny, but you have to note it because that is a dominant view in American Christianity.Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: It's not a dominant view in the church in any way, like the global church, but it's the dominant view here. And again, it's not surprising to me that it is a dominant view here, because it is a view that fits very nicely with American foreign policy.Jonathan Walton: Yes. I will also say, and this is not in our notes, but we don't come at this also coming at it thinking that this is some… when we are noting the interests of the United States and Western interests in foreign policy to set this up, we are not then endorsing some grand conspiracy theory about Jewish people.Sy Hoekstra: Oh, yeah, that's a good point to make. We're actually doing the opposite of that.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: We're saying, unfortunately, like sadly, what I'm saying is, I think the Jewish state and the global Jewish people have been,Jonathan Walton: Apro—Sy Hoekstra: like their really genuine cause has been used, has been appropriated as you were about to say.Jonathan Walton: right.Sy Hoekstra: They're pawns in the schemes of America's foreign policy interests. I think that's what it comes down to. By the way, a lot of other... this is not just Israel. Like a lot of times Hamas is a pawn of Iran or Russia. Like a lot of times this is… the Middle East and all these fights, we'll talk about this more, a lot of people are being used for other people's interests.That is generally what is happening in so many conflicts in the Middle East, like they are proxy wars for other people and other people's interests. Okay, so Jonathan, you mentioned the importance, and this actually goes nicely into what we were about to talk about, that which is the importance of separating the people of these two countries or of these two places, I guess. Of Israel and Palestine from their governments. Why is that such an important point to you?Jonathan Walton: Yeah, I think it's an important point because people are not always in control or responsible for what those who govern and control them do in the world. It's often that they don't agree. It's often that they don't endorse. It's often if they had power, they would actually stop it. But unfortunately because of how our world is ordered, children can't stop what their parents do. Employees can't stop what their bosses and supervisors do. Like if I held a child responsible for the abuse of their parents, then we have a serious problem, because in all of these interactions there's power and resources at play. So to say that a child or their mother is responsible for rockets firing from wherever, and then therefore you can take a missile and destroy that hospital or destroy that ambulance, or destroy that convoy that you just told to go into this corridor, there's serious, serious problems with that.Similarly, if you are sitting on the other side of the wall downstream of oppression, it is radically unhelpful, radically wrong, to maim and kill and shoot and kidnap people who may not, and particularly an activist that I'm thinking of, she was actually someone who was helping the Palestinians get into hospitals in Israel and get the health care that they need, and she was kidnapped. So I think we have to understand that people are not necessarily endorsers or enforcers of the policies of the governments that govern them.Sy Hoekstra: Right. And you can't talk about them as monoliths. I mean, like you were just mentioning, there's actually a number of people who were killed or kidnapped by Hamas who were peace advocates, who were actually people who are very much on the side of Palestine. That doesn't matter to Hamas. There's no difference to them. And it's the same thing. I mean, actually, the Hamas leadership, just a couple days ago The New York Times published an interview with a bunch of the members of Hamas leadership, and the stuff they cop to is unbelievable. I mean, it's like stuff that people kind of already knew about them, but the fact they just come out and say it, like that they absolutely knew what the response of Israel would be to their attack. And they knew that a ton of people would die as a result. And they were just like, “That's just the price that we're paying to get this issue back on the map, basically.” Right?Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: And the specific reason they're doing it was because Israel was attempting to normalize diplomatic relationships with Saudi Arabia and some other Middle Eastern countries, and they didn't want that to happen. They don't want Israel to become normalized in the Arab world, and they want more people talking about Palestine. So they killed a bunch of Israelis and then they knew that as a result, a bunch of their people would die. And that's just like, to them it's just totally is what it is. It's wild. It's not wild, I guess, it's how a lot of terrorists operate. But on the other side, there are plenty of Israelis and there are plenty of Jews around the world who are completely against what the government of Israel does.And the government of Israel right now is one of the most far-right, Jewish supremacist governments they've ever had. And so it's… I wholeheartedly agree with the point that you cannot talk about the conflict in a helpful or nuanced way without I think, realizing that.Jonathan Walton: Right. I also lean into the fact, and this I think, is something we also have to hold tightly, even though it's really, really slippery. Is that even soldiers don't believe in the policies and the actions sometimes that they are forced to carry out. There are a number of IDF soldiers, and reserves and people who have left saying, “I don't want to be a part of this.” And just like you had soldiers coming back from Iraq, coming back from Afghanistan saying, “I thought that I was going for this one thing, and I went for something else. And I ended up fighting for my comrades, like fighting for my battalion. I'm not fighting for this country, I'm caught up in a conflict and I feel like a pawn.”Because I think we have to lean into the complexities of the power that people have, not just that the power we think they have, the power that we perceive. Because behind every gun, and before every gun is a person. They're people. The person who's sending the bullet, the person being hit by the bullet, the person that's dropping the bomb, the person that the bomb is dropped on. They're people, and if we're able to see the image of God and one another, then maybe we could slow down before we dehumanize people and think that violence is justified.Sy Hoekstra: I think that's a good transition for us into Jonathan, how do we in engage with the issues at hand here without burning out or just trying to avoid the anxiety or trying to ignore it? How do we come at this in an emotionally healthy way? And by the way, I'll note before you answer that, we've mentioned a number of articles and other resources along the way in this conversation, and we will have links to those in the show notes if you want to read anything further. But go ahead, Jonathan.Jonathan Walton: Yeah. I think that, you know, I gave a talk some years ago, was it two years? It was a year after the march by White supremacists in Charlottesville. So what I said to them was that for some of you, this is your first time engaging with anything about White supremacy and racism and the experiences of Black people and White people in the United States. It's your first time. This is all new to you, all the feels are there. For some of you, you were here when Rodney King was beaten, or you were here when Trayvon Martin was killed, or your first step into this may have happened today, yesterday, or 10, 15 years ago. But regardless of that, we need to be formed into people that are able to respond from our deepest values, not our deepest wounds.So if you're sitting there, and you're like, “Man, all these images are coming into my feed on social media.” I think, again, we need to treat social media like a garden, not a dumpster fire, because the algorithm is feeding off your outrage and desires your constant engagement. But literally, your heart and mind cannot handle that amount of dissonance and pain and struggle. So we actually have to build in patterns of what it looks like to engage, pray, take a break and engage again. And so if you were sitting there and you're thinking to yourself, “I don't want to be someone who just jumps in and jumps out on my own whims and giggles. I decide to get in when I feel guilty and then I get out when I feel overwhelmed.” That's a doom scrolling cycle that's radically unhelpful.And we can take this offline and put it in real life, when we disengage from the suffering of people around us and say it's for self-care, or say it's to take care of ourselves, what we're actually doing is bypassing the suffering of people around us, because we don't have the rhythms necessary to rigorously engage with the world as it is. And so, if we are not going to be people who run to comfort, we have to be people who have done the spiritual, emotional, physical, mental work necessary to have the fortitude to stand in solidarity with ourselves, with the poor and the marginalized, with the family around us, and even our enemies, to be able to see from their perspective so that we are able to love well.And so I think a couple of ways to do that on social media, is to turn off notifications, and to have people you follow and that you don't follow so that you're able to stay engaged without being overwhelmed. Because if you don't curate your social media, the algorithm will do it for you. So that's just the online stuff. In real life, similarly, who are you going to listen to and talk to, and who are you not going to listen to and talk to, so that you are able to be built up into the person that you want to be for the sake of those who are marginalized and suffering, not just for your own sake to feel comfortable and okay? So I need you to lean into the complexity because I'm not saying avoid all the people who are difficult in your life. That's not what I'm saying.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: I'm not saying, “Get away from the folks who challenge you.” That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying, seek out the people that challenge you in ways that make you better, so that you can love one another well. I have to listen to hard conversations and engage with people who call me out. Because I'm not trying to live a life that where I and my comfort and my self-preservation is the most important priority, because the Gospel says I need to take up a cross. It doesn't tell me to go buy a croissant.[laughter]Jonathan Walton: I love bread, and that's my comfort food.Sy Hoekstra: [laughs].Jonathan Walton: And so that is why I said the cross with a croissant. It wasn't just for the alliteration. [laughs] But God is calling us to make sacrifices, and I think that when we have communities of people who are willing to do that sacrificial work with us, then when the next attack happens, when the next mass shooting happens, we actually have the inner fortitude and the external community to engage with these things for the long term, which is what God is calling us to.Sy Hoekstra: That is all some very good advice. I don't know that I have things to add on to that, but I have other stuff [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Sure.Sy Hoekstra: This has just been important for me when it comes to this particular issue. Actually, it's important for me in a lot of issues, but developing a real understanding and sense of sympathy for the people who disagree with you, to me is really important. So in this particular case, what that means is trying to… it's not even that hard when it comes to Israel honestly, right? Because why is Israel such an appealing idea? It's because Jewish people have faced so many thousands of years of oppression everywhere they've gone. And Israel today has created for the Jews who live there, peace and flourishing that they haven't seen probably since King David, honestly.And it is just the dream of having a place where your oppressed people can be free and flourish. It's not hard to sympathize with that at all. It's one of the most natural human instincts. The problem is, like Jonathan said before, the way this world is ordered, the easiest way to accomplish that is to trample other people, and is to find somebody like the US whose interests are aligned with you, you know what I mean? Like to go that route. But understanding kind of where people are coming from and how real the fear is, even for people who have been a little bit secure for a few decades. You know, what I mean? How real that fear still remains in people.So my great grandmother who was alive until I was 24, was half Jewish, and her dad came over as a young kid from Romania. They went through Russia first, but they came over from Eastern Europe fleeing pogroms and anglicized their names, married Christians, went to church, and they erased Judaism from their lives effectively. And my grandma has told me that my great grandmother told her when she was young, to never tell anyone, for any reason that they were Jewish. But the reason they did that was fear. It's like the fear is so incredibly real, even for people who are living kind of middle class lives in the United States.And, I don't know, being able to understand that makes the problem to me feel a little bit more comprehensible and it makes it feel like, because it's comprehensible, like something that could theoretically be if not solved, at least you could change people's minds. There are ways around that fear, and like expanding people's sense of solidarity and love for other people who are going through the same thing. That's it, you have to be able to see that what Palestinians are going through at the hands of Israel is the same struggle, is the same thing that Jews have gone through forever. So then when I hear like bad faith arguments, or bad faith readings of history, I have an idea of what's behind it, maybe not for the individual speaker that I'm talking to, but for a lot of people, and that helps.Another thing that helps is get out there and do something [laughs].Jonathan Walton: It's true.Sy Hoekstra: It really helps to call your representatives to petition, if you can go to a march or protest or something, I did that this weekend. Being with a ton of people who feel the same way as you, or like participating in some kind of movement like that just makes you feel a little bit less isolated and lost and like you're losing your mind because people around you are saying such wild stuff. Any other thoughts Jonathan, before we wrap up?Jonathan Walton: Yeah. I mean, for people who are listening to Sy and it's like, “Okay, how can I capture that?” I think what Sy is saying is something we've talked about in the past where it's like, we have to move from pity and sympathy towards incarnation. So the ability to feel sorry and sad for other people, that's just pity and sympathy. To look at someone's experience and say, “You know what, that is sorrowful,” right? And sympathy to feel that sorrow for yourself and then empathy to actually be able to imagine like, “Oh man, okay, I can identify with that.” And you watch Sy just do that when he's like, “Okay, I'm not just far away from this, but how can I get a little bit closer? Oh, my great grandma.”He's moving, he's identifying those feelings. And then he moves to this thing called compassion, where he actually says, “You know what, I'm going to think about, how can I suffer with them, like alongside them, even from the position that I have in Harlem? You know what, I'm going to go and protest. I'm going to put my shoes on and get my family together, and I'm going to walk, and I'm going to actually go be out there.” And if I can get in proximity in some ways to imagine what that compassion will look like and eventually, I'm going to incarnate with the people who are around me that are suffering as well, because I'm sure in that crowd, there are people who are more closely connected than Sy is.And so the fruit of that is the communal connection that he was just talking about. There's this collective grief that can be released. And when you experience the grief and connection, you're less likely to be violent, because the grief and the pain and the struggle and the push for better has somewhere to go and you have people to do it with.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: Because we have to seek out community. We have to have these rhythms, like Sy just walked through. We have to create those things to move from dismissal and dehumanization, and whatever all of might be happening inside of us towards pity and sympathy, towards empathy, towards compassion. And then if we can, in Jesus name incarnation, putting ourselves as close as we possibly can, to those who are suffering the most.Sy Hoekstra: And then when you go at that, like, the emotional health part is part of the incarnation as well, meaning like, because you can go into the grief, and you can get lost in it.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: And you can find an outlet for that grief in calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: So I was listening, there's a… I will definitely put this in the show notes. There was a talk, what do you call it? an event [starting at 26:40 in the linked video], that featured a conversation between Michelle Alexander who wrote The New Jim Crow, and Ta-Nehisi Coates, and the professor I mentioned before, Rashid Khalidi. And Coates, I guess, for those who don't know, is a famous Black American writer who writes about racial relations in the US mostly, went to Israel a few years ago, and went to the Holocaust Museum that they have in Jerusalem.And he went in and felt everything that he felt and then he walked outside and was immediately met with a line of like 10 IDF guards with enormous guns, right? And this is really interesting actually. He talks about how people talk about the situation in Israel like it's so complex, like you need a Middle East Studies degree to really understand what's going on. He's like, “I went there and I understood it in one day.” He's like, “I saw Palestinians not being able to go down certain roads, and they had other roads that they could go down that were not as well kept and whatever.” And he's like, “I know what that is. My parents grew up in Jim Crow, this is not confusing to me.”But he was like, he kind of said, “Imagine if Black people had gone through the hundreds of years of slavery and Jim Crow and segregation and everything and come out on the other side, and the lesson that they pulled from it was, we just need to get power, it doesn't matter what we do with it as long as we're safe.”Jonathan Walton: [long inhale] Mmmm, right.Sy Hoekstra: And he said that's Israel. Like that's what has happened. And it's just tragic in so many ways. So I think all the things that Jonathan was saying are so important, because this conversation just gets people going in so many different directions because of the trauma that is on both sides. Like the really heavy trauma that is on both sides of the wall in Israel.Jonathan Walton: I agree. I think there's, when I say and when we say, pursuing community, we are saying that we are trying to pursue a community that is seeking peace.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: That is [laughs] not… Because unfortunately, there is a solid… we may cut this out, but there is a solidarity that exists in exacting violence. And I think the resistance to that is necessary and difficult. And if we're not careful… No, it's exactly what you said.Sy Hoekstra: [laughs].Jonathan Walton: If we are not careful we will mistake our safety for the really, really, really good fruit as opposed to the collective fruitfulness of everyone being the thing that we long for and seeing it. That's the same thing, that's the exchange that Black slaves made when they became overseers. I will be safe. Those people won't be, but I will be safe. And like Tim Keller would say when he wrote Generous Justice, is that the definition of wickedness is to disadvantage the community for the advantage of yourself. And the definition of justice is to disadvantage yourself for the advantage of the community. And I think my hope would be that continue to push and disadvantage ourselves so that everybody can be free.Sy Hoekstra: Amen.Jonathan Walton: Amen.Sy Hoekstra: That is a hard thing to ask, but nevertheless, I say amen [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Amen [laughs]. It's true.Sy Hoekstra: Before we finish up, well, a couple of things. One, I'm just going to remind you, like Jonathan did at the top. If you appreciate what we're doing here, which you do because you're listening to this, which means you're a subscriber, and we thank you so much for that support, please go and give us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're on Apple, leave us a little written review if you can. It helps, it's a very quick thing that you can do that really does genuinely help us. The reviews that we have on our podcast by the way, are so heartwarming and lovely [laughs], and they make me feel so great inside. So if you want to support us and also genuinely just make me feel real nice in my little heart, that'd be great[laughter]Sy Hoekstra: Oh, you know what Jonathan, I'm going to start doing what I realized I haven't been doing because… So we have not been crediting Joyce who does our transcripts [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Oh man.Sy Hoekstra: I'm going to add Joyce to the list of transcripts. The reason we haven't been crediting her is because when we started the show, we were just doing the transcripts ourselves, and we just got into a rhythm of not crediting ourselves.[laughter]Sy Hoekstra: Joyce Ambale. Ambale? Hmm, Joyce is going to have to tell me how to pronounce her last name because I've only ever seen it in writing. Joyce Ambale does our transcripts. Our theme song is “Citizens” by Jon Guerra, our podcast art is by Robyn Burgess, and we will see you all in December. Thank you so much for listening.[The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra fades in. Lyrics: I need to know there is justice/ That it will roll in abundance/ And that you're building a city/ Where we arrive as immigrants/ And you call us citizens/ And you welcome us as children home.” The song fades out.]Sy Hoekstra: We're going, yeah?Jonathan Walton: [singing] We are recording now. We are recording now. Yes.Sy Hoekstra: OkayJonathan Walton: Okay [clears throat].Sy Hoekstra: [inhales for a long time, brrrrs loudly sounding like he's shaking his head, coughs, clears his throat, kind of growls, and speaks in a loud, hoarse voice]. Ready to go.Jonathan Walton: [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: Everyone, I'm normal [laughter]. I make normal noises and there's no need for concern. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ktfpress.com

I denne udgave af Langsomme Samtaler taler Rune Lykkeberg med den jødiske forfatter og professor i statskundskab og journalistik på City University of New York o Peter Beinart. Med rødder i Sydafrika er Beinart blevet en af USA´s store liberale intellektuelle i konflikten mellem Israel-Palæstina. Som få andre mestrer Beinart at kunne rumme to modsatrettede tanker i konflikten på én gang. Til sidst i samtalen får Beinart derfor også lov til at give sit bud på, hvordan han forestiller sig fred kan opstå i Israel og Palæstina. 

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Peter Beinart to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israeli and Palestinian forces and the destruction left in its wake. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, "For the Children of Israel, and the Ones Who Will Try to Forget." Peter Beinart is Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York. He is also Editor-at-Large of Jewish Currents, an MSNBC political commentator, a frequent contributor to The New York Times, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He writes the Beinart Notebook newsletter on https://substack.com. His first book, The Good Fight, was published by HarperCollins in 2006.  His second book, The Icarus Syndrome, was published by HarperCollins in 2010. His third, The Crisis of Zionism, was published by Times Books in 2012.  Beinart recently published an important essay in the New York Times (October 14, 2023): "There is a Jewish Hope for Palestinian Liberation. It Must Survive."

The New New Left Is No New Frontier and JFK Was No Liberal Peter Beinart, in “The Rise of the New New Left,” makes a number of interesting and gloomy observations about voting patterns among millennials. But in the course of an otherwise enlightening article, he misrepresents the legacy of one of the most popular American presidents. In a discussion of “political generations” inspired by the work of the sociologist Karl Mannheim, Beinart asserts: “If you are in your late 50s, you are probably too young to remember the high tide of Kennedy-Johnson big government liberalism.” But whatever the grandiose... View Article

Peter Beinart and Yousef Munayyer discuss the impact of Israel's new government on the Jewish American community in the United States. Beinart is Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, Editor at Large of Jewish Currents, and a Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace.

This week I speak with artists Jon Beinart, Tim Molloy (creators of the Toddlerpillars NFT project) and Christopher Ulrich about their new Toddlerpillars graphic novel. We discuss the process of bringing Christopher over to Australia to work on the project and their process of writing, storyboarding and illustrating this epic project. We also discuss the creative potential and problems of the NFT space, the crazy state of the world, the creative process and lots more!!! Toddlerpillars website: https://toddlerpillars.com/ Jon's website: https://beinart.org/ Tim's website: https://www.timmolloy.com/ Christopher's website: https://www.christopherulrich.com/ Our sponsor: The Skull Shoppe: https://SkullShoppe.com The Dark Art Society Podcast is produced by Chet Zar. Become an Official Member of the Dark Art Society: https://www.patreon.com/DarkArtSociety Chet's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ChetZar The Dark Art Society Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkartsociety Official Dark Art Society Website: https://www.darkartsociety.com The Dark Art Society Podcast is now available in a variety of places, including the following platforms: SoundCloud: @darkartsociety iTunes: https://apple.co/2gMNUfM Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=134626&refid=stpr Podbay: https://podbay.fm/show/1215146981 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrQBJayd-dfarbUOFS5m7hQ DarkArtSociety.com Copyright Chet Zar LLC 2022

Sophie Hope, Lizzie Lloyd and Katy Beinart recorded a live unedited conversation on 30 March 2022 at the Brighton Centre for Contemporary Arts during a public event to launch Lloyd and Beinart's new publication, Acts of Transfer. The publication reflects Lloyd and Beinart's collaborative work revisiting past artworks that involve social engagement and/or public participation. The discussion here delves into their motives for doing this work, how they went about it and some of the issues and questions that emerged through the retracing of past projects to create new readings and interpretations.

This week, Allen sits down with Jon Beinart from the highly successful Toddlerpillers NFT project. Jon gets deep into his past and how art has always provided an anchor. We discuss the inspiration behind Toddlerpillars and some of Jon's plans for the future!

This week I speak to an old artist friend, Jon Beinart. Jon is a successful artist and gallery owner and has been on the podcast once before (Ep. 117) but he wanted to come on to speak about the NFT world. His NFT project "Toddlerpillars" has been hugely successful, and Jon has a lot of experience with NFTs. Worth a listen whether you are interested in NFTs or not! This was a great and interesting conversation. Also, new subs and a quick art life update. Jon's links: https://toddlerpillars.com https://twitter.com/toddlerpillars https://twitter.com/chimerapillars https://jonbeinart.com The Dark Art Society Podcast is produced by Chet Zar. Become an Official Member of the Dark Art Society: www.patreon.com/DarkArtSociety Chet's Patreon: www.patreon.com/ChetZar The Dark Art Society Instagram: instagram.com/darkartsociety Official Dark Art Society Website: www.darkartsociety.com The Dark Art Society Podcast is now available in a variety of places, including the following platforms: SoundCloud: @darkartsociety iTunes: apple.co/2gMNUfM Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/s?fid=134626&refid=stpr Podbay: podbay.fm/show/1215146981 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrQBJayd-dfarbUOFS5m7hQ DarkArtSociety.com Copyright Chet Zar LLC 2022

The State of Israel has many structures, policies & even foundational ideas in need of repair. But are liberal western political framings helpful when trying to resolve Israeli society's contradictions? Yehuda HaKohen is joined by Peter Beinart of Jewish Currents to discuss Beinart's journey from the two-state Liberal Zionist paradigm to his current one-state position. The two also talk about correct versus incorrect framings for understanding Israeli society, Jerusalem's new governing coalition's attempt to revive Liberal Zionism and the positive reception it's been receiving in the West.

We recently published two pieces—”https://jewishcurrents.org/on-loving-jews (On Loving Jews)” by editor-in-chief Arielle Angel and “https://jewishcurrents.org/reclaiming-the-covenant-of-fate (Reclaiming the Covenant of Fate)” by editor-at-large Peter Beinart—investigating what, if anything, Jews owe one another, especially across fundamental political divides such as disputes over Zionism and Palestinian freedom. This episode features two conversations digging deeper into the question of Jewish solidarity. In the first, Angel and Beinart explore the places their pieces overlap and diverge; in the second, Angel speaks with contributing writer Rebecca Pierce about how she thinks about “Jewish peoplehood,” communal obligations, and organizing as a Jew of color. Articles, Threads, and Films Mentioned: “https://jewishcurrents.org/on-loving-jews (On Loving Jews)” by Arielle Angel “https://jewishcurrents.org/reclaiming-the-covenant-of-fate (Reclaiming the Covenant of Fate)” by Peter Beinart “https://www.sefaria.org/Kol_Dodi_Dofek (Listen, My Beloved Knocks)” by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik https://jewishcurrents.org/letters/on-on-loving-jews (Raphael Magarik's letter about “On Loving Jews”) https://twitter.com/YairWallach/status/1437801026812354567?s=20 (Yair Wallach's thread on “Jewish peoplehood”) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0uSQA1TMbw (No Man's Land) by Rebecca Pierce Books Mentioned: Leviticus: The Book of Holiness by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Thanks to Santiago Helou Quintero for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

Host: Stuart H. Isaacson, MD Guest: Salima Brillman, MD Guest: Sean C. Beinart, MD Join Dr. Stuart Isaacson, a neurologist and movement disorder specialist, as he welcomes fellow neurologist and movement disorder specialist Dr. Salima Brillman and cardiologist Dr. Sean Beinart to discuss neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) causes, symptomatology, disease burden, and approaches to optimal management involving collaboration between neurology and cardiology specialists. During their discussion, the following questions will be addressed: What is nOH and how is it diagnosed? What leads to symptoms of nOH? What are some common and less common symptoms of nOH? What is the impact of nOH symptoms on the patient and the caregiver? How do we approach the management of nOH symptoms? How can cardiologists and neurologists collaborate in managing patients with nOH? For additional reference please review: Cutsforth-Gregory JK, Low PA. Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension in Parkinson Disease: A Primer. Neurol Ther. 2019 Dec;8(2):307-324. © 2021 Lundbeck. All rights reserved. UBR-D-100900

This episode is a Cantina Conversation with the artists behind an upcoming NFT project, Tim Molloy and Jon Beinart.  The Toddlerpillar project is a favorite of the Nerd Cantina.  In this episode, we dig into the artistic history of both Jon and Tim and we cover the direction that this Toddlerpillar is heading. This is a fascinating conversation whether you are new to NFTs or you are an experienced collector.     Toddlerpillars- https://twitter.com/toddlerpillars  Jon Beinart- https://twitter.com/jonbeinart  https://beinart.org/pages/jon-beinart  Tim Molloy- https://www.timmolloy.com/    We ask that you support the show in any way possible.  You can like, share, rate or comment on any of the various social media and podcast players.  Join the conversation in our closed Facebook group at thenerdcantina.com/community, or become a patron on our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thenerdcantina) where a pledge of as little as $1 will get you a free sticker.

Richmond Summer Meals with Maggie LaRue, Paul Scherrer & Charlie Beinart (06/03/2021) - Kelley & Ray talk about this free program for any child (resident or visitor) under 18 with some folks from RCS & Chartwells School Dining Services.

After not being accepted onto the university course she wanted to join, Jane Beinart lost her confidence in her art. Fast forward ten years and Jane made a return to art for herself, but also for others, since she helps grown-ups discover or re-discover ways to express themselves through art.CreativityFound.co.ukInstagram: @creativityfoundpodcastFacebook: @creativityfoundpodcastClubhouse: @clairewaitebrown and Creativity Found Connect clubMusic: Day Trips by Ketsa https://ketsa.uk/under Creative Commons Licensehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/Raising_Frequecy/Day_TripsArtworks: Emily Portnoi emilyportnoi.co.ukOther podcasts cited: The MothSupport the show (https://ko-fi.com/creativityfoundpodcast)

Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri- Kansas City, joins us to discuss the latest congressional effort to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. There is both celebration and angst as the bill heads to the president for his signature. The process included major fights with progressive activists over their signature policies, including a minimum wage increase and recurring payments to citizens. The bill also has significant temporary changes to child tax credits.Ted Rall, a political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The odds of the embattled New York Governor surviving are decreasing day by day, as a sixth woman has come forward with a complaint of sexually inappropriate conduct. A woman claimed that she was summoned to the governor's mansion for a work-related issue when Cuomo touched her in a manner that she deemed inappropriate. Her complaints have been referred to the New York Attorney General along with the other five complaints.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the militaristic policy push that is coming from the US Congress. A bipartisan group of 140 members of Congress has authored a letter urging President Biden to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and push for a more extensive agreement. The suggestion will effectively mean ending the JCPOA, since Iran has already stated that they will not accept any changes to the agreement. Dr. Johanna Fernandez, assistant associate professor of history at Baruch College and author of "The Young Lords: A Radical History on the Puerto Rican Counterpart of the Black Panther Party," joins us to discuss Mumia Abu-Jamal. Reports are that Mr. Abu-Jemal is in poor health and currently suffering from COVID in a Pennsylvania detention facility. Mumia's health situation has brought up the issue of whether prisoners should be released early to counter the spread of COVID in detention facilities. Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the foreign policy outlook for the Biden administration. Immediately after taking office President Biden proclaimed that “Diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy, we must start with diplomacy." Four weeks into Biden's presidency, author Stephen Kinzer argues that "The president has disappointed those who hoped he would begin extricating us from the Middle East." Kinzer goes on to say that Biden's recent bombing of Syria will perpetuate the violence that is created simply by the presence of our troops.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of America's Undeclared War, joins us to discuss Iran. Progressive activists and politicians are losing patience with President Biden's Iran policy. Biden promised to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action developed by the Obama administration while on the campaign trail. Now that he has taken office, the President is pushing for changes to the agreement that will almost assuredly doom the deal.Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss American Exceptionalism. Peter Beinart has a substack article about the absurdity and folly of American Exceptionalism. Beinart recalls a recent conversation in which US State Department spokesman Ned Price responded to reasonable questions with evasion and gibberish. Beinart points out that Price was speaking the language of American Exceptionalism. He says that "The essence of American exceptionalism is that the United States possesses a virtue so intrinsic that it cannot be falsified by events."Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of History at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss the Senate filibuster, as well as action for unionization by Amazon employees. House legislation aimed at addressing the company's attempts at busting unions passed overwhelmingly, with only one partisan defection from the Democratic party. The legislation comes during a closely-watched struggle between Amazon employees and the online behemoth in Bessemer, Alabama. Meanwhile, activists in favor of ending the filibuster argue that this legislation is doomed to die at the hands of a GOP filibuster, and that this instance is a perfect example of why the filibuster needs to be ended.

Peter Beinart speaks to Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor from 2009-2017, about working on Israel, Palestine, and Iran in the Obama Administration. Rhodes draws insights from interactions with different lobby groups, presidential travel to Israel and a memorable meeting with young Palestinians in Ramallah, and talks about navigating the assumption by Israel advocates that Blackness translates into sympathy for Palestinians living under oppression. Beinart and Rhodes end the conversation with a discussion of the Biden administration and Democratic foreign policy advisors' approaches to the IHRA definition of antisemitism and Democrats' longstanding commitment to the concept of the two state solution. Ben Rhodes's new book, After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made, will be out in June 2021.

On today's episode, Andrew talks with columnist Peter Beinert about America's loss of world leadership in a post-Trump world. Peter Beinart is professor of journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and professor of political science at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is also a contributor to The Atlantic, a columnist for Jewish Currents, and a CNN political commentator. His first book, “The Good Fight,” was published by HarperCollins in 2006. His second book, “The Icarus Syndrome,” was published by HarperCollins in 2010. His third, “The Crisis of Zionism,” was published by Times Books in 2012. Beinart has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Newsweek, Slate, The Forward, Reader’s Digest, Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Polity: the Journal of the Northeastern Political Science Studies Association. The Week magazine named him columnist of the year for 2004. In 2005, he gave the Theodore H. White lecture at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden leads Donald Trump in major polls and may ride his low-key campaign to the White House, because he has an advantage Hillary Clinton lacked -- he's a man...and he's not Hillary Clinton. That's what Peter Beinart says in The New York Times. Are voters just a bunch of woman-haters who assume female candidates are more dishonest even if PolitiFact documents they tell the truth more often than their male counterparts? Beinart adds that Elizabeth Warren is more honest, but less trusted, than Bernie Sanders. In 2010, Yale researchers found that we view ambitious women with "feelings of moral outrage." Bill Whittle Now with Scott Ott is a production of our Members, who run their own website, including a Member-written blog. Join us now at https://BillWhittle.com

It's the new month of Av and the memorial day of Aaron the High Priest. Malkah Fleisher joins Yishai to talk about the love, or absence of it, in the discourse, to find new connections to Jerusalem, and to keep Israel from becoming a Beinartistan - a bi-national state. Then, Rav Mike Feuer on the second reading of the Torah and the real story of why Moses didn't enter the land.

It's the new month of Av and the memorial day of Aaron the High Priest. Malkah Fleisher joins Yishai to talk about the love, or absence of it, in the discourse, to find new connections to Jerusalem, and to keep Israel from becoming a Beinartistan - a bi-national state. Then, Rav Mike Feuer on the second reading of the Torah and the real story of why Moses didn't enter the land.

This week, Uri and Rivky sit down for a thought-provoking conversation with journalist and political commentator Peter Beinart. Beinart has made a recent splash in his recent political conversion: he no longer believes in a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine; rather, Beinart sees hope in a single secular binational state, with equal rights for Jews and Palestinians. Uri and Rivky ask him about fears for this new state, if he's given up on both Israeli and Palestinian self-determination, and how Judaism has impacted his evolving thoughts. They also discuss antisemitism in America and in the Arab world, the symbolism of the destruction of the Temple, and what other political positions Beinart has changed over the years - and what causes true change. Links: Peter Beinart Jewish Currents https://jewishcurrents.org/yavne-a-jewish-case-for-equality-in-israel-palestine/ Peter Beinart New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/opinion/israel-annexation-two-state-solution.html Peter Beinart 10 years ago https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2010/06/10/failure-american-jewish-establishment/ Response from Anshel Pfeffer https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-peter-beinart-s-one-state-solution-sounds-so-perfect-it-s-practically-utopian-1.8983601 Response from Dan Shapiro https://twitter.com/DanielBShapiro/status/1280965854759395328 and https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/end-the-jewish-state-lets-try-some-honesty-first/ Helen Thomas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVlg01QMN3k

The seemingly intractable Israel-Palestine conflict may well be moving into a new phase, one in which the long-dominant two-state solution is no longer viable or desirable to the parties involved.  How did this occur?  And what would replace it? Peter Beinart, noted journalist and editor-at-large of Jewish Currents magazine, recently published two pieces in the Jewish Currents and The New York Times about abandoning his own faith in the long-sought two-state solution.  Beinart now proposes a vision of equality for all in a single state. He joins Then & Now in conversation with LCHP Director and UCLA professor of Jewish history David Myers to discuss his shift in perspective and the role of history in his present-day analysisThe conversation revisits the definition and historical foundations of Zionism, the role of the Holocaust in Jewish approaches to Israel, and the related dynamics of other geopolitical conflicts. Ultimately, Beinart complicates the lines between utopianism and realism, challenging listeners to approach a longstanding conflict with new perspective.

Alan Dershowitz, Emeritus Prof. at Harvard Law School and author of “Guilt By Accusation” and “Defending Israel,” discusses his profound disagreements with Peter Beinart’s op ed proposing Israel be replaced by “Israel-Palestine.” With Mark S. Golub.

Daniel Gordis, Senior VP and Distinguished Fellow at Shalem College in Jerusalem and author of Israel – A Nation Reborn, responds to Peter Beinart’s article calling for a one-state solution and an end to the Jewish State of Israel. With Mark S. Golub.

In episode 167, I continue on the topic of "social media marketing for artists" with resident marketing and social media expert Josh G. His first interview (Ep. 110) is our most listened to podcast and Josh does not disappoint in this new fun and informative follow up episode. Lots of little nuggets sprinkled throughout! I ALWAYS learn something new about art promotion and marketing when I talk to Josh! Also a quick art life update. Interview starts at 6:18 Creep Machine website: www.creepmachine.com Creep Machine on Instagram: instagram.com/creepmachine Josh G's original article on this same subject on the Beinart blog: https://beinart.org/blogs/articles/beating-the-algorithm-the-artists-guide-to-instagram-social-media The Dark Art Society Podcast is produced by Chet Zar, with mixing and mastering by Bryan Kilgore of Kilgore Sound; find him on Instagram and Twitter (at)kilgoresound, or his website www.kilgoresound.com Become an Official Member of the Dark Art Society: www.patreon.com/DarkArtSociety Chet’s Patreon: www.patreon.com/ChetZar The Dark Art Society Instagram: instagram.com/darkartsociety Official Dark Art Society Website: www.darkartsociety.com The Dark Art Society Podcast is now available in a variety of places, including the following platforms: SoundCloud: @darkartsociety iTunes: apple.co/2gMNUfM Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/s?fid=134626&refid=stpr Podbay: podbay.fm/show/1215146981 YouTube: bit.ly/2nNYPre DarkArtSociety.com Copyright Chet Zar LLC 2019

Art and Resistance have always gone together. From Picasso's Guernica to the 1968 student protests in France the art produced has been powerful and symbolic of a time or of a movement. Talking to an audience at artrepublic gallery, lecturer Katy Beinart from the school of Art and Design at Brighton University tells us about some of those seminal moments. What's more she brings us closer to the present day by looking at how art is now helping to influence the Extinction Rebellion movement.

Phuhlisani's Director of Research Dr Rick de Satge provides an analytic overview of key issues and South African land news stories from Week 49. We cover expropriation, law, policy, rural and urban land reform, land rights and mining, water allocation reform and much more. Extracts from news items, op eds and research papers. Pick the track that interests interests you or take 20 minutes to get the big picture.

This week's interview is with my old friend, artist and early online Surrealist/Dark Art promoter, Jon Beinart. We talk about running a gallery, starting the International Beinart Surrealist Collective (a place online where many Dark Artists got their first big exposure), sobriety, "Toddlerpedes", my upcoming show at Beinart gallery called "The Administrators", collecting and representing artists and lots more! I had not spoken to Jon in 3 1/2 years so it was great to catch up! I also talk about nearly losing my shit dealing with the deadline of my show, "The Administrators", The 7 Sins show and answer the 5 questions. Beinart Gallery: https://beinart.org Jon Beinart personal art: http://jonbeinart.com/ Beinart Gallery on Instagram: https://instagram.com/beinartgallery The Dark Art Society Podcast is produced by Chet Zar, with mixing and mastering by Bryan Kilgore of Kilgore Sound; find him on Instagram and Twitter (at)kilgoresound, or his website www.kilgoresound.com Become an Official Member of the Dark Art Society: www.patreon.com/DarkArtSociety Chet’s Patreon: www.patreon.com/ChetZar The Dark Art Society Instagram: instagram.com/darkartsociety Official Dark Art Society Website: www.darkartsociety.com The Dark Art Society Podcast is now available in a variety of places, including the following platforms: SoundCloud: @darkartsociety iTunes: apple.co/2gMNUfM Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/s?fid=134626&refid=stpr Podbay: podbay.fm/show/1215146981 YouTube: bit.ly/2nNYPre DarkArtSociety.com Copyright Chet Zar LLC 2019

In episode 110, I interview Josh G, creator of the Creep Machine. The Creep Machine is one of the first Dark Art blogs, if not THE first. Aside from being a really nice guy and Dark Art Lover, Josh also has a degree in art history and works in Northern California in the internet tech world. He has intimate knowledge of how to use Instagram and has lots of inside info and advice for artists using the platform! If you are an artist working on your online presence, this may the most important episode we have ever done! Josh was able to get over 300k followers on the Creep Machine instagram in a relatively short amount of time, organically and with NO PAID ADS simply by working with and understanding the dreaded "algorithms"! If you are an artist looking to raise your online profile, then this is the episode to listen to! I also talk about recovering from Monsterpalooza and answer the 5 questions of the week. Buffer and Linktree links: https://buffer.com https://linktr.ee Creep Machine website: www.creepmachine.com Creep Machine on Instagram: instagram.com/creepmachine Josh G's article on this same subject on the Beinart blog: https://beinart.org/blogs/articles/beating-the-algorithm-the-artists-guide-to-instagram-social-media The Dark Art Society Podcast is produced by Chet Zar, with mixing and mastering by Bryan Kilgore of Kilgore Sound; find him on Instagram and Twitter (at)kilgoresound, or his website www.kilgoresound.com Become an Official Member of the Dark Art Society: www.patreon.com/DarkArtSociety Chet’s Patreon: www.patreon.com/ChetZar The Dark Art Society Instagram: instagram.com/darkartsociety Official Dark Art Society Website: www.darkartsociety.com The Dark Art Society Podcast is now available in a variety of places, including the following platforms: SoundCloud: @darkartsociety iTunes: apple.co/2gMNUfM Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/s?fid=134626&refid=stpr Podbay: podbay.fm/show/1215146981 YouTube: bit.ly/2nNYPre DarkArtSociety.com Copyright Chet Zar LLC 2019

This week, Uri and Rivky discuss a recent flurry of articles discussing the relationship between American Jews and Israeli Jews. In the Forward, Peter Beinart warns that American Jews reject Birthright if they don't address, head on, Israel's fraught relationship with the Palestinians. In the New York Times, Jonathan Weisman warns that American Jews are facing a division between their brethren and their values. And in Times of Israel, Daniel Gordis, responding to Beinart and Weisman, tells American Jews to take a step back and have some hubris in their approach to Israel. After reading all three, Rivky and Uri have to ask, who's right? If this problem is real, is it fixable, or is the breakup inevitable? And do American Jews, or Israeli Jews, really think it's a problem that they care to fix? Relevant links: Peter Beinart on Birthright: https://forward.com/opinion/416968/birthright-will-fail-if-it-cant-adapt-to-the-needs-of-young-jews-that/ Jonathan Weisman on the potential split: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/opinion/sunday/israeli-jews-american-jews-divide.html Daniel Gordis telling American Jews to calm down: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-american-zionist-assault-on-israel/

As we launch a new series considering the role that Israel might or might not play in the future of American Judaism, Dan and Lex are joined by writer and commentator Peter Beinart, Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York. 1 Beinart is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and a senior columnist for The Forward. His 2010 article in The New York Review of Books predicted a widening gap between Israel and young American Jews, and his framing has shaped the American Jewish community's discussion ever since. In this episode, we explore generational differences in Jewish life, denominational differences within generations, and the ever-present tension between universalism and particularism. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here. To access full shownotes for this episode, click here!

In the first episode of the Foundation for Middle East Peace’s new podcast, “Occupied Thoughts: Israel, Palestine & Peace,” Peter Beinart and Danny Seidemann discuss the current on-the-ground realities of Jerusalem – the epicenter of a religious, regional, and domestic conflict. Jerusalem is the most volatile “final status” issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the stark reality of Jerusalem’s divisions and the status of its Palestinian residents has huge implications for what is possible (and not) for a future agreement. Listen to Beinart & Seidemann discuss and debate the temperature on the streets, the peace initiative of President Trump, the meaning of “Zionism,” the one-state versus two-state debate, and BDS. Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributor to The Atlantic and National Journal, a Senior Columnist at The Forward, and a CNN Political Commentator. You can follow Peter on Twitter @PeterBeinart. Danny Seidemann is the diplomatic world’s go-to expert on all things Jerusalem. He is an lawyer who has argued before the Israeli Supreme Court, a legendary tour guide of Jerusalem’s geopolitical terrain, and has briefed all the foreign diplomats you could possibly name. Danny is the founder and director of Terrestrial Jerusalem which tracks developments in Jerusalem that could impact either the political process or permanent status options, destabilize the city or spark violence, or create a humanitarian crisis. You can follow Danny on Twitter @DanielSeidemann. Music: Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing. Used with permission. http://www.latcheswing.fr/

In the most recent episode, Peter Beinart and Daniel Gordis grappled with the American Jewish millennials who have started to lose faith in the Two-State Solution. The Two-State Solution has long been considered the only legitimate end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but new times are prompting the question: what if the Two-State Solution is dead? Is there any way to solve the conflict without it? And is it worth it to make small improvements, or should people wait until a solution is finalized before making changes to the reality on the ground?

The Israeli occupation in the West Bank has polarized the American Jewish community. One demonstration of this fact is in IfNotNow, who has emerged as one of the most influential movements on the Jewish left. Members of IfNotNow are expressing their disdain for Israeli policy by actively pushing American Jews to stop supporting the occupation.In the 11th episode of Fault Lines' first season, Daniel Gordis and Peter Beinart discuss IfNotNow, its protest at AIPAC, and its implication for the future of the American Jewish community. Peter Beinart has written about IfNotNow in the past, from a complimentary and critical perspective, and espouses a generally favorable opinion towards the young group. At the beginning of this podcast, Daniel Gordis calls them naive, and stated that he “was infuriated” by IfNotNow's actions at the AIPAC Policy Conference.

Fault Lines episode 10Listen as Peter Beinart and Daniel Gordis parse the Israeli conflict. The issues are vast and the opinions fly during the course of this conversation. Learn about the historic issues that plague this region. Can this conflict ever be resolved? Is it possible for President Donald Trump to make a historic deal resulting in peace? What are your thoughts? Start the conversation here community@forward.com

In the wake of the formation of the new Israeli government and as the Vatican formally recognizes the the state of Palestine, the debate about Israel/Palestine in the United States is shifting. As many look past a two state solution that seems increasingly difficult to achieve, more fundamental debates about Zionism, partition and equality are gaining greater prominence. Join New America NYC for a debate over these questions between Peter Beinart, Senior Fellow at New America, and Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director of the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation.

In his new book The Crisis of Zionism, (Times Books, 2012), Peter Beinart, Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science at The City University of New York, questions the long-term viability of the American Jewish community’s support for Israel. Beinart feels that liberal American Jews are feeling increasingly distanced from Israel as a result of Israel’s handling of its conflict with the Palestinians. In our interview, we talked about whether Barack Obama is America’s first “Jewish President,” how Debbie Wasserman Schultz let Democrats know when and whether they could applaud for Binyamin Netanyahu, and how Beinart’s critics have reacted to his arguments. Read all about it, and more, in Beinart’s controversial new book. Please become a fan of New Books in Public Policy on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his new book The Crisis of Zionism, (Times Books, 2012), Peter Beinart, Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science at The City University of New York, questions the long-term viability of the American Jewish community’s support for Israel. Beinart feels that liberal American Jews are feeling increasingly distanced from Israel as a result of Israel’s handling of its conflict with the Palestinians. In our interview, we talked about whether Barack Obama is America’s first “Jewish President,” how Debbie Wasserman Schultz let Democrats know when and whether they could applaud for Binyamin Netanyahu, and how Beinart’s critics have reacted to his arguments. Read all about it, and more, in Beinart’s controversial new book. Please become a fan of New Books in Public Policy on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his new book The Crisis of Zionism, (Times Books, 2012), Peter Beinart, Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science at The City University of New York, questions the long-term viability of the American Jewish community’s support for Israel. Beinart feels that liberal American Jews are feeling increasingly distanced from Israel as a result of Israel’s handling of its conflict with the Palestinians. In our interview, we talked about whether Barack Obama is America’s first “Jewish President,” how Debbie Wasserman Schultz let Democrats know when and whether they could applaud for Binyamin Netanyahu, and how Beinart’s critics have reacted to his arguments. Read all about it, and more, in Beinart’s controversial new book. Please become a fan of New Books in Public Policy on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Institute of Historical Research Plenary Lecture Plant transfers, imperialism and biodiversity: a view from Africa William Beinart (Oxford) Anglo-American Conference of Historians 2010: Environment