Issue: Liberal ZionismRSS feed

Recently, an earthquake struck the Jewish world. Peter Beinart, the poster-child of liberal Zionism in the US (ever since the NY Review of Books published his 2010 seminal essay, “The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment“) has officially abjured political Zionism.  Still, his about-face was foreseeable. I have the utmost respect and admiration for Peter Beinart, […]

Superstar leftwing Member of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, backed out of speaking at an online memorial for Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin, sponsored by Americans for Peace Now.  To start the ball rolling backwards, an anti-Israel comment on Twitter apparently shook her up, questioning why she’d participate in a memorial for an Israeli leader who, as Defense […]

Peter Beinart’s recent NY Times op-ed and his longer essay in Jewish Currents argue in principle for a one-state binational solution for Israelis and Palestinians.  His article in Jewish Currents attempts to draw a parallel for his proposal with the story of Yochanon Ben Zakkai, a first century C.E. religious scholar who is said to have smuggled himself out […]

This top photo of a 1950s-era MAPAM socialist-Zionist celebration of May Day (distributed by Creative Commons.org CC by 2.5) accompanied my History News Network review article, “The Decline and Fall of Socialist Zionism.”  Tal Elmaliach, a young Israeli historian, has written a book (cover below) with a double focus: 1) the leftwing MAPAM political party and […]

The following is the May 14th statement of Ameinu (The Third Narrative’s sponsor) on the new Netanyahu-Gantz coalition government, and the statement of J-Link, the International Progressive Jewish Network to which Ameinu is a constituent member: Ameinu Says No to Annexation, Calls on Labor Ministers to Oppose With the formation of a new government of […]

Religiously, Peter Beinart is what one may call “conservadox,” an observant Jew who attends a liberal-ish modern Orthodox synagogue but does not routinely cover his head and doesn’t consider himself Orthodox.  Some years back, we were both guests at the home of a mutual acquaintance for a Shabbat dinner.  And I’ve written a few articles […]

This post borrows from a longer feature in Fathom, the British online journal: “Democratic Socialism, Israel and the Jews: An Interview with Michael Harrington (1975), with new preface by Mitchell Cohen (2020).”  Most of what follows is from the newly-written preface: Michael Harrington [1928-1989] was America’s most eloquent voice for democratic socialism for decades.  . […]