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On the evening of Sept. 16, New York’s YIVO Institute sponsored a massively attended panel discussion called “Bundism’s Influence Today.”  The panel was diverse in age, but less so in viewpoint.  The audience included an impressive number of engaged young Jews, but apparently few with sympathy for the Jewish state.  Although the panel’s moderator, Prof. Jack Jacobs […]

Our TTN colleague, CUNY prof and Nation columnist Eric Alterman, draws a connection between a recent statement by Pres. Trump and years of neoconservative attacks on American Jewish liberalism.  Here are selections from Alterman’s “Trump’s Comments on the ‘Disloyalty’ of Jews Have a Sordid History” (subtitled, “Neocons believed that a bit of evangelical anti-Semitism in exchange […]

Responding to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of his intent to extend Israeli sovereignty over large parts of the West Bank, the Progressive Israel Network released the following statement: A democratic and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians requires national self-determination for both peoples. Any step to unilaterally impose Israeli sovereignty over Palestinian people and […]

As I explained in my post this past February on NY Times opinion editor Bari Weiss, “I don’t see her adequately confronting the fact that the ongoing injustices inflicted upon Palestinians and the deepening occupation are what’s driving support for the BDS movement and explicit anti-Zionism that sometimes spills into antisemitism from the left.”  On the […]

In addition to “Don’t Be ‘Useful Idiots’ for BDS” by Michael Walzer, this post is a further followup to “Summer of Defeats for Academic BDS.”  It is by Steven B. Smith, the Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science at Yale University.  Both Professors Walzer and Smith spoke against a proposal considered and defeated by the Foundations of Political Theory […]

This is a followup to “Summer of Defeats for Academic BDS.” This short talk was my contribution to the debate at the Foundations of Political Theory section of the American Political Science Association which defeated a proposal for boycotting Israeli institutions of higher learning:           I was glad to hear from a speaker earlier this evening […]

The following letter, dated August 27, 2019, was co-signed by 25 retired Israel Defense Forces commanders and former government security heads (listed under text). It is addressed to four members of the US House of Representatives: Bradley S. Schneider, Lee Zeldin, Jerrold Nadler and Ann Wagner:  We wish to express our appreciation for the passage […]