Episode description

Welcome to the first official episode of the Jewish Currents podcast, On the Nose. After a brief conversation about the show’s title, editor-in-chief Arielle Angel, publisher Jacob Plitman, managing editor Nathan Goldman, and assistant editor Mari Cohen discuss the Anti-Defamation League’s recent survey of American Jews about their perceptions and understanding of antisemitism, in the wake of a reported “uptick in antisemitic incidents.” We discuss what it means that the survey suggests American Jews widely conflate anti-Zionism and certain criticisms of Israel with antisemitism. What’s the relationship between claims of antisemitism and feelings of discomfort? How does this misunderstanding relate to the left’s thinking about the authority of subjective experience and the politics of feelings? What can Jewish identity politics teach us about the power and limits of identity politics writ large?

Articles and Podcasts Mentioned:

“Survey of American Jews since Recent Violence in Israel” by the Anti-Defamation League

“Preliminary ADL Data Reveals Uptick in Antisemitic Incidents Linked to Recent Mideast Violence” by the Anti-Defamation League

“A Closer Look at the ‘Uptick’ in Antisemitism” by Mari Cohen

“Jewish Americans in 2020” (Pew study)

“The Collective Work of Abolition” by Claire Schwartz

“How Not to Fight Antisemitism” by Jewish Currents editors

“How not to think like a cop, with Naomi Murakawa” from Time To Say Goodbye

“Fears of Government Surveillance Complicate Muslim Groups’ Access to Federal Security Funding” by Mari Cohen

Books Mentioned:

We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba

Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical by Shaul Magid

Black Power, Jewish Politics by Marc Dollinger

Sexual Justice by Alexandra Brodsky

Policing the Crisis by Stuart Hall, Chas Critcher, Tony Jefferson, John Clarke, and Brian Roberts

Thanks to Santiago Helou Quintero for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”