On the Nose

Jaksot

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  UK Sanctions Settlements 10.09.2026 52min

  On September 8th, the UK announced sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including an import trade ban, sanctions on companies and individuals, bans on advertising the sale of stolen land, and restrictions on arms export licensing. They were joined in the adoption of these policies by France and Canada, and nine other European countries released a statement announcing intentions to support the effort. This unprecedented raft of policies was largely framed as an attempt to salvage the two-state solution and to counter planned settlement expansion into the E-1 Corridor, which would split the West Bank in two.On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel speaks with Ryvka Barnard, deputy director of the UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign; Emily Hilton, international policy director at Diaspora Alliance; and Maya Rosen, associate editor of Jewish Currents, about these latest developments. They discuss the issues with limiting sanctions to the settlements in one-state reality, potential loopholes in implementation, and the reactions from the UK Jewish establishment and the Israeli settlement movement. Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingJoint Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Two-State Solution“UK, France among 12 states backing sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements,” Al Jazeera“Trump didn't oppose UK sanctions on Israeli settlements,” Barak Ravid, Axios“The Wrong Way to Fight Antisemitism in Britain,” On the Nose, Jewish Currents“Polling reveals Palestine a major factor in progressive voters ditching Labour,” Palestine Solidarity Campaign“The Making of a Coal Boycott,” Andreas Malm and Maxy Guedes, Jewish Currents“Burnham confirms top level government meeting to bolster security for Jewish community over High Holy Days,” Lee Harpin, Jewish News“America Should Follow UK and Sanction West Bank Settlements,” New Jewish Narrative statement“J Street Welcomes UK, France and Canada’s Decision to Ban Imports From West Bank Settlements,” J Street statement“What is the Police and Crime Bill and how will it change protests?,” BBC“The Settler Community Responds to UK Sanctions,” C14Register for JC Live!Register for the New Jewish Institutions Skill-building Boot Camp!Transcript forthcoming.
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  Fighting the Politics of Powerlessness 03.09.2026 1t 3min

  Organizing is hard, not just for the ways we are knocked down by our opponents, but also for the ways we often turn on our comrades in anger and despair. In the recently published book For Louder Days, Yotam Marom—a veteran of Occupy Wall Street, co-founder of IfNotNow, and movement facilitator who has worked with Sunrise, Dream Defenders, Uncommitted, and more—diagnoses how the left’s ambivalence about power leads to a number of bad habits. We tear down our leaders or pretend there are no leaders at all; we avoid conflict and hard choices, which leads to bad strategy; we draw the boundaries of belonging too narrowly. On this episode of On the Nose, Marom talks to Arielle Angel about all the ways we turn on each other instead of playing to win—and how we might shift our orientation away from the “politics of powerlessness.”Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingFor Louder Days by Yotam MaromJewish Diaspora Movement Skill-Building Boot Camp Registration“Who Speaks for Black Voters?,” On the Nose, Jewish CurrentsHate by Seyda Kurt“Why Israelis are leaving in record numbers,” Hila Amit, +972 MagazineTranscript forthcoming.
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  TEASER: The Myth of the “Good Guy at the Checkpoint” 01.09.2026 4min

  This episode of On the Nose is for subscribers and members only. Subscribe for $4/month here. If you’re already a subscriber, check your email for instructions on accessing this episode.A recent article in Haaretz announced that a left-wing youth group called Hamahanot Haolim, part of the socialist Zionist movement, is planning a kibbutz-style settlement in the Jordan Valley, in the occupied West Bank. According to the article, organization director Ilan Gazit said that “he is aware of the damage West Bank settlements do to Palestinian rights, but argued that since new settlements will be built in the Jordan Valley in any case, it’s preferable to have as many of them as possible populated by leftists.” Gazit elaborated: “We aren’t ashamed of this and we aren’t hiding it. This is in line with our worldview: A strong security border is needed in the east that will be defensible and create a necessary condition for peace. We are leftists who believe in equality between people and are guided by a humanistic, socialist, democratic worldview.”On this premium episode of On the Nose, Israeli American social worker and co-founder of the Unsettled podcast Asaf Calderon talks to Arielle Angel about the fallacy of the “good guy at the checkpoint,” and what this announcement says about the shifting relationship between Israel’s so-called left and the settlement enterprise.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“Israeli Left-wing Youth Group Plans Kibbutz-style Settlement in West Bank,” Yair Foldes, Haaretz“What the Soldiers Did in Gaza,” On the Nose, Jewish Currents“The Anti-Politics of Disengagement,” Elisheva Goldberg, Jewish Currents“Revising the Dream,” Mari Cohen, Jewish CurrentsTranscript forthcoming.
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  Repetition and Solipsism in the “Israel Debate” Play 20.08.2026 56min

  After a few years of seeing Jewish plays “debating” Israel/Palestine, Jewish Currents editor-at-large Arielle Angel and theater critic Alisa Solomon explored the phenomenon through an exchange of letters, which were published this week. On this episode of On the Nose, they discuss the plays that fall into this category: most recently, the critically acclaimed Birthright by Jonathan Spector, but also including The Zionists by S. Asher Gelman, Giant by Mark Rosenblatt, The Ally by Itamar Moses, and Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon. They detail the compulsive repetition of these plays and they explore why Jewish hand-wringing is being consistently elevated during a moment of genocide, and why it appears so popular with critics and liberal audiences alike.Thanks to Jules Natt for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“Birthright Stages a Tired Debate,” Arielle Angel and Alisa Solomon, Jewish CurrentsBirthright by Jonathan SpectorGiant by Mark RosenblattThe Zionists by S. Asher GelmanThe Ally by Itamar MosesPrayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon“Campus Politics Takes the Stage in The Ally,” On the Nose, Jewish Currents“Who Is Tom Stoppard’s ‘Jewish Play’ For?” On the Nose, Jewish Currents“Giant Gave the People What They Want,” Jessica Goldschmidt, Jewish Currents“‘Birthright’ and ‘Giant’ Tackle Jewish Identity,” Emily Nussbaum, The New Yorker“‘Birthright’ Stages a Thrillingly Complex Conversation on Conversation Itself,” Helen Shaw, The New York Times“Taking the Long View, Brilliantly: Birthright and Camping,” Sarah Holdren, Vulture“Most US kids of intermarriage raised Jewish; parents want institutions to notice,” Ben Sales, The Times of Israel“Shari Redstone’s Next Act: Mogul Named Chair of ‘We Will Dance Again’ and ‘Bad Boy’ Studio Sipur,” Alex Weprin, The Hollywood ReporterMiami New Drama’s announcement of the Y6K Project“‘A Silent Moratorium,’” Lisa Tolin, Geraldine Baum, Malka Margolies, PEN America“Feeling excluded in the literary world, Jews are launching their own publishing houses,” Philissa Cramer, JTA“Birthright Israel and #MeToo,” Sarah M. Seltzer, Jewish Currents“Michael Steinhardt, a Leader in Jewish Philanthropy, Is Accused of a Pattern of Sexual Harassment,” Sharon Otterman and Hannah Dreyfus, The New York Times“Nadav Lapid Faces ‘No,’” On the Nose, Jewish Currents“Kaddish for an Unborn Avant-Garde” by Maia IppSarah Hurwitz on how phones are making it hard to speak to Jewish young people about Gaza“Van Jones and the moral vacancy of American commentary on Gaza,” Ziyad Motala, Al JazeeraTheater Workers for a Ceasefire Birthright BoycottTranscript forthcoming.
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  Who Speaks for Black Voters? 14.08.2026 56min

  Progressive outsider candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly prevailed over establishment pick Haley Stevens to win the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s open Senate seat, though AIPAC spent tens of millions of dollars to defeat him. The narrative that has emerged before and after the primary is one that stresses El-Sayed’s weakness with Black and Jewish voters.As Jewish Currents senior reporter Alex Kane wrote earlier this month, Black and Jewish centrists are teaming up in key races to defeat progressive candidates, whom they portray as fixated on Palestine at the expense of their Black constituents. As Darius Jones—senior adviser to a Black centrist group called the National Black Empowerment Action Fund and longtime AIPAC operative—told Jewish Currents, “Focusing on a “foreign conflict” won’t “lower health care or housing costs for a Black senior in Detroit, or ensure that a path to home ownership easier for a Black constituent in St Louis or Ferguson.” These Black politicos have endeavored to link moderate Democratic policies and Black interests; reflecting on El-Sayed’s attacks on the Democratic establishment, for example, party strategist Jamal Simmons told The Hill that such “attacks on the Democratic establishment in places like Detroit are attacks on Black leaders.” Meanwhile, moderates and conservatives across the country appear intent on pushing the narrative that democratic socialism is the province of privileged white people, pointing to the demographics of the group’s membership and the class backgrounds of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s staffers and advisers.To discuss the ways that the figure of the “Black voter” is being used in the fight over the direction of the Democratic Party, host Arielle Angel and Alex Kane welcome Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor—professor of African American studies at Princeton University, author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, and a co-founder of the digital magazine Hammer & Hope—to On the Nose. They discuss the role of Israel/Palestine in Black politics, the fallacy that Black voters are more moderate on the issues, and what to do with DSA’s demographic problem.Thanks to Jules Natt for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“The End of Black Politics,” Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New York Times“Donald Trump’s Victory, the Elitism of Democrats, and the Need to Build a Hospitable Left,” Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Daniel Denvir, Hammer & Hope“With Jewish Establishment’s Help, a Black Political Group Battles the Left,” Alex Kane, Jewish Currents“An Anti-AIPAC Insurgent Tests Her Message in a Working-Class Stronghold,” Alex Kane, Jewish Currents“The Congressional Black Caucus’s Silent Partnership With AIPAC,” Anthony Conwright, The Nation“Can Abdul El-Sayed unite Dems? He has work to do with Black, Jewish voters,” Simon D. Schuster, Bridge Michigan“Who Is Abdul El-Sayed? His Harsh Trump Takedown Is a Clue,” Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, The New Republic“El-Sayed faces ‘risky bet’ with Michigan’s Black voters,” Amie Parnes and Caroline Vakil, The Hill“NYC-DSA is 60% white, internal survey says,” Peter Sterne, City & State“How ‘Pro-Israel’ Orthodoxy Keeps US Foreign Policymaking White,” Peter Beinart, Jewish Currents“Valerie Foushee ‘Will Not Accept’ AIPAC Money in 2026 Election,” Chase Pelligrini de Paur, Indy“The Revolutionary Imperative,” Neil Smith, AntipodeSiena University poll of DSA favorability“Most Americans Say Policing Needs 'Major Changes,’” Steve Crabtree, Gallup“AOC and Mamdani wanted to defund the police. Their backtracking puts organizers at risk,” Derecka Purnell, The Guardian“Movement for Black Lives opposes George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,” AP“Eliot Engel, Jamaal Bowman, and the CBC,” Alexander Sammon, The American ProspectCommunists in Harlem During the Depression by Marc NaisonThe New Jim Crow by Michelle AlexanderTranscript forthcoming.
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  Genocide Studies Departments Still Can’t Name Genocide in Gaza 06.08.2026 46min

  In early June 2024, the Holocaust historian Raz Segal was offered a job directing the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota after roundly impressing an academic search committee. But as soon as the offer was extended, donors, politicians, and Jewish advocacy groups mobilized against his hire due to his public advocacy against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which included his Jewish Currents article “A Textbook Case of Genocide” from October 13th, 2023. Within a week, the university’s interim president intervened to rescind Segal’s offer. Now, two years later, Segal, an associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies and the endowed professor in the study of modern genocide at Stockton University, has reached a $250,000 settlement with the University of Minnesota.On this episode of On the Nose, senior editor Mari Cohen guest hosts to interview Segal about the lessons from his struggle at Minnesota and recent developments in the field of genocide studies, which Cohen reported on extensively in a 2024 Jewish Currents feature. In their conversation, Segal traces the history of genocide studies and the political contexts that have made it difficult for scholars in the field to adequately address Israeli violence, and reflects on “A Textbook Case of Genocide” nearly three years after its publication. Is genocide studies finally evolving to meet the moment? And what should we make of the fact that many liberal commentators are only now willing to accept the argument Segal made six days after October 7th?Thanks to Jesse Brennemen for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“A Textbook Case of Genocide,” Raz Segal, Jewish Currents “Can Genocide Studies Survive a Genocide in Gaza?,” Mari Cohen, Jewish Currents“An Israeli professor lost a prestigious US job offer after speaking out on Gaza. Now the university is paying him $250,000,” Alice Speri, The Guardian“A Holocaust Scholar Called Israel’s Actions in Gaza ‘Genocide.’ It Cost Him a Job Offer,” Maggie Hicks, Chronicle of Higher Education “Many American Jews sharply critical of Israel on Gaza, Post poll finds,” The Washington Post “Bad Memory,” Jewish Currents “Israel Must Stop Weaponizing the Holocaust,” Raz Segal, The Guardian“Tenured California Professor Fired Over Gaza Protest Wins Job Back,” Alice Speri, The Guardian The Problems of Genocide by Dirk MosesIAGS Resolution on the Situation in GazaConvention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide“Museum Statement on the Attack on Israel,” US Holocaust Memorial Museum“No, Israel is Not Committing Genocide in Gaza,” Bret Stephens, The New York Times“US Universities Are Seeing an Influx of ‘Antisemitism Centers.’ Some Jewish Scholars Are Worried,” Alice Speri, The Guardian“Disputed Gaza Language No Longer on Stockton Holocaust Studies Page,” Buzz Keough, The Press of Atlantic City Transcript forthcoming.
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  Here Where We Live Is Our Country 23.07.2026 52min

  The resounding success of Here Where We Live Is Our Country, Molly Crabapple’s vividly told and extensively researched history of the Jewish Labor Bund—a socialist group founded at the end of the 19th century on principles of internationalist solidarity, doikayt (or hereness), and Jewish national-cultural autonomy—has improbably brought the Bund, decimated in the Holocaust, into the 21st century. In this interview, Arielle Angel speaks with Crabapple about what it means to see the Bund from this vantage, from the other side of a century where Jews have gone from victims of genocide to genocidaires. What can we learn about purity politics and principled refusal, about solidarity and its failures?Thanks to Julia Natt for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingHere Where We Live Is Our Country by Molly Crabapple“Back to the Bund,” Samuel Hayim Brody, Jewish Currents (forthcoming in the Fall issue)Transcript forthcoming.
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  The Event 09.07.2026 1t 16min

  A strange fire has consumed the land between the river and the sea.Fiction by Henry Bean from our Fall 2025 issue."The Event" was written by Henry Bean and edited for the page by Arielle Angel and Nathan Goldman. It was narrated by the author, with sound design and music by Amber Devereux at Tin Can Audio"The Event" was recorded in New York City by Will Coley, with additional recording by Annie Bennett. It was produced and directed by Ella Watts and Arielle Angel, with Executive Production by Arielle Angel.Special thanks to Leora Barish, Max Bean, Andy Bienan, Dana El Kurd, Matthew Francis, Jessica Marglin, David Myers, Hussein Omar, Josephine Riesman, Adam Liam Rose, Jonathan Shamir, and Elisheva Urbas.
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  TEASER: The Hazing of Scott Wiener 03.07.2026 4min

  This episode of On the Nose is for subscribers and members only. Subscribe for $4/month here. If you're already a subscriber, check your email for instructions on accessing this episode.Last week, two videos of constituents aggressively confronting California State Senator Scott Wiener on his stance on Israel/Palestine went viral—one from a World Cup watch party and one from a trans march during Pride. Wiener, the likely replacement in the House for the retiring Nancy Pelosi, has joined commentators in labeling the incidents as antisemitic harassment. But pro-Palestine constituents have some basis for being wary of Wiener: In January, Wiener awkwardly—perhaps opportunisitically—reversed his position on applying the word “genocide” to the devastation in Gaza after declining to use the term on the debate stage.In this premium episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel talks with Jewish Currents senior politics editor Mari Cohen parse the two videos, and discuss how the left should relate to even the most opportunistic reversals on Palestine in the Democratic Party.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingLetter to the editor on the imperative to welcome Scott Wiener“S.F. Trans March organizers defend protesters who drove out Scott Wiener,” Lucy Hodgman, San Francisco Chronicle“Democratic Presidential Contenders Are Turning on Israel. Will They Convince Progressives?,” Alex Kane, Jewish Currents“Facing backlash after accusing Israel of genocide, Scott Wiener steps down as Calif. Jewish Caucus co-chair,” Philissa Cramer, JTA“Harris reaches out to Mamdani, pro-Palestinian activists in run-up to 2028,” Holly Otterbein, Alex Thompson, Axios“Justice Department opens civil rights probe after NYC coffee shop bans congressman over Israel support,” Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert, Business Insider“In California, Jewish Groups’ Win Is Students’ Loss,” Gabi Kirk, Jewish CurrentsZohran Mamdani being confronted on PalestineTranscript forthcoming.
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  “Democracy and Asylum Rise and Fall Together” 02.07.2026 40min

  Last week, the Supreme Court ruled on several issues related to immigration policy. While the court narrowly preserved birthright citizenship, it issued other rulings that will put an untold number of people in danger. One ruling, Mullin v Al Otro Lado, upheld the federal government’s policy of turning back asylum seekers before they can reach the US-Mexico border—a policy also known as “metering”—hollowing out the right to asylum enshrined in both domestic and international law. In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor referenced the St. Louis, the ship of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany turned away from the US, whose passengers were mostly killed in the Holocaust: “Congress passed the Refugee Act in 1980 because it did not want this country to repeat the mistakes of its past. Yet if the refugees on the M. S. St. Louis were to walk up to a port of entry on our southern border today, the majority’s interpretation would allow immigration officers to refuse even to consider their asylum applications by physically blocking them from stepping foot onto US soil,” she said.In another ruling, Mullin v Doe, the Supreme Court granted the president the power to end the Temporary Protected Status program, or TPS, which has allowed vetted and eligible immigrants to live and work legally in the US if they cannot return safely to their countries. Justice Samuel Alito, in his majority opinion, said courts do not have a say in what the president and the Department of Homeland Security decide; the president can end TPS for Haitians and Syrians without judicial review. He also rejected a separate claim brought by Haitians that the move to deport them was based in racial prejudice. TPS has been in effect since 1990. There are 350,000 Haitians who have been in the US legally under TPS, and whose lives have now been thrown into chaos.In our spring issue, we published a prescient piece by immigration reporter Tanvi Misra about the death of asylum, and the ways that its decline is a dire portent for democracy itself. Asylum, Misra reminds us, is a “place-based right” designed to prioritize human life over national borders: As soon as an endangered person steps foot onto a country’s soil, they “are entitled to that body’s protection,” regardless of whether they crossed with permission. This is exactly the principle that has been undermined with this recent ruling, which prevents people from arriving and making an application. As this ruling suggests, for as long as asylum has existed in the US, so have efforts to weaken it. It has been issued selectively and on racial grounds—much more easily been granted to German-speaking Protestants than to Jews escaping the Holocaust; readily offered to Cubans fleeing Castro but not to Haitians fleeing the US-supported Duvalier dictatorship.Misra’s essay tells us that this tactic of denying landfall to migrants as a way of denying them asylum has gone into overdrive in the past decades as border agents try to intercept asylum seekers earlier and earlier in their journeys. In the process, the US border has, Misra says, “not just hardened, but expanded”—into Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, and beyond. Under Trump 2.0, the border has also spilled inward, into LA, Chicago, Minneapolis, and all the other places where border agents are chasing down asylum seekers and, increasingly, all migrants.In this episode of On the Nose, recorded in mid-June before the Supreme Court rulings, Misra speaks about these grievous attacks on asylum with John Washington, a staff reporter at Lookout and the author of the forthcoming book, How to Close a Camp: Dispatches from the Fight Against Immigrant Detention, as well as The Case for Open Borders and The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum at the US-Mexico Border.This conversation was originally a live membership event. Become a member so you don’t miss the next one!Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“The Death of Asylum,” Tanvi Misra, Jewish CurrentsHow to Close a Camp: Dispatches from the Fight Against Immigrant Detention by John WashingtonThe Case for Open Borders by John WashingtonThe Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum at the US-Mexico Border by John WashingtonThe Suppliants by AeschylusOedipus at Colonus by Sophocles“The principle of non-refoulement,” European Union Agency for Asylum1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol “A History of Haitian Discrimination by United States Immigration Policy,” US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants“‘Metering’ of Asylum Seekers Is Bad Policy, Bad Law, and Bad for the Border,” Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, American Immigration Council“US flight carrying deported migrants lands in Central African Republic,” France24“What Are Third-Country Removals? Understanding Their Use In U.S. Immigration Policy,” American Immigration Council“Broader Crises,” Tanvi Misra, The Baffler“The Unraveling of Afghan Asylum,” Tanvi Misra, New York Review of BooksTranscript forthcoming.
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  Nadav Lapid Faces “No” 25.06.2026 39min

  Over the last couple weeks, there has been an enormous amount written—from The New York Times to Le Monde to Haaretz, among other places—about a controversy centered on Nadav Lapid, an Israeli filmmaker living in France. Lapid has made several critically acclaimed films, including Synonyms, Ahed’s Knee, and, most recently, Yes, and his work has taken home jury prizes at the Berlinale and Cannes.The recent controversy was focused on the FIDMarseille international film festival. There was a planned retrospective of Palestinian films at the festival this year. Meanwhile, Lapid was invited to head the jury. It was also decided that there would be an event honoring him, and that he would teach a master class. When a dozen filmmakers threatened to pull their films from the festival, Lapid withdrew as head of the jury. When that did not quell the protests, he decided to cancel the event and the master class, as well.The response from many in the film world has largely been to rally around Lapid, with two letters published in Le Monde, one of them garnering over 350 signatures of high-profile figures in the industry. The letters allege that Lapid is being boycotted solely because of his identity. One of them declares, “Nothing justifies the silencing of an artist . . . the cultural boycott is an intellectual dead end that we must collectively overcome.”Meanwhile, Film Workers for Palestine, allied with PACBI, which coordinates the academic and cultural boycott of Israel, published a translation of a statement by Palestine Will Save Cinema, pointing to the fact that Nadav Lapid’s latest film, Yes, received support from the Israeli Film Fund, was presented at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival as an Israeli co‑production, and competed for the Ophir Awards (akin to Israel’s Academy Awards). “States have always invested in cinema, literature, the arts, and festivals as instruments of influence and legitimacy. Cultural production does not circulate in a political vacuum. It contributes to the representation of nations, the construction of their international image, and the dissemination of their narratives,” they wrote. “This is precisely why cultural boycott exists. Not because artists are responsible for the crimes committed by their governments, nor because certain works should be prohibited, but because cultural institutions, funding systems, and distribution policies play a concrete role in states’ strategies of legitimation.” There can be no mistaking the content of Yes, which seeks to depict the depravity of Israeli society during the genocide. But it does open with the icon of Israel’s Ministry of Culture, due to the support it took from the Israeli Film Fund, which accounted for 13% of the film’s funding.On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel talks to Nadav Lapid about the recent controversy, and the two hash out some of their disagreements about cultural boycott.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“‘Guilty by Virtue of My Identity,’” Nirit Anderman, HaaretzTwo letters in support of Nadav Lapid, published in Le MondeFilm Workers for Palestine translation of Palestine Will Save Cinema statement on FID MarseillleFilm Workers for Palestine Pledge to End Complicity“What the NY Knicks Mania Reveals About Israelis and Collective Blame for Gaza,” Libby Lenkinski, Haaretz“Thank You for Boycotting Me: As an Israeli Filmmaker, Here’s Why Global Pressure Amid Gaza Matters,” Avigail Sperber, Haaretz“Paul Simon’s Graceland: the acclaim and the outrage,” Robin Denselow, The Guardian“Non,” Catherine Haas, lundimatin“Is the cultural boycott of Israel an effective political tool for the Palestinian cause?” on Radio France“Israeli Grotesque,” Mitchell Abidor, Jewish CurrentsTranscript forthcoming.
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  Politics and the Jewish Body 18.06.2026 52min

  In the latest issue of Jewish Currents, we published a piece called “Does the Jewish Body Keep the Score?” by Jon Danforth-Appell, which looks at three recent left-wing books about the relationship between Jewish trauma and Zionism, and challenges the view that Zionism in Jewish communities constitutes a trauma response that will need to be healed in order to be fought. On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel speaks with the author of one of those books, Wendy Elisheva Somerson, known as Wes, a somatic healer who helped found the Seattle chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace and published An Anti-Zionist Path to Embodied Jewish Healing last year. Angel and Somerson discuss the risk of essentializing about “Jewish bodies,” whether implanted or prosthetic trauma still needs to be “healed,” and what it means to claim Jewish ritual as somatic practice.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingAn Anti-Zionist Path to Embodied Jewish Healing by Wendy Elisheva SomersonRuach healing groups“Western Philosophy as White Supremacism,” Crispin Sartwell, The Philosophical SalonPower-Under: Trauma and Nonviolent Social Change by Steven Wineman“Prosthetic Trauma at the Nova Exhibition: Holocaust Memory, Reenactment, and the Affective Reproduction of Genocidal Nightmares,” Ben Ratskoff, Journal of Genocide Research“Picturing Power,” Arielle Angel, Jewish CurrentsWounds Into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma by Tirzah FirestoneTaking the State Out of the Body: A Guide to Embodied Resistance to Zionism by Eliana RubinTranscript forthcoming.
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  The Israel Day Parade Debacle 04.06.2026 43min

  Last Sunday, New York City officials took part in the annual Israel Day Parade on Fifth Avenue. Mayor Zohran Mamdani was notably absent, insisting that this was not a “Jewish pride parade,” as it is often styled, but a celebration of a country committing genocide, and saying he did not need to be present to “ensure the safety” of the parade. His resolve proved prudent, as New York officials found themselves scrambling to distance themselves from the far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is responsible for the creeping annexation and violent ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, and who took part in the march along with a rogues gallery of openly genocidal Israeli government officials.On this episode of On the Nose, host Arielle Angel, senior reporter Alex Kane, and news director Josh Nathan-Kazis discuss the history and makeup of the Israel Day Parade, parse the responses from New York officials facing criticism for marching with extremists, and debate the feasibility of an actual “Jewish pride parade” in New York City.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“A Litmus Test Backfires,” Josh Nathan-Kazis, Jewish Currents“NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani missed the Israel Day Parade. Many who went didn’t miss him.” Grace Gilson, The Forward“Progressive Zionists Choose a Side,” Mari Cohen, Jewish CurrentsDocumentation of abuses in Hebron on B’Tselem“Meet the U.S. Nonprofit That Funds the Israeli Guards Who Terrorize Palestinians,” Alex Kane, In These Times“Universal Jurisdiction in Action: Peru Investigates Israeli Soldier for Genocide and War Crimes after HRF Complaint,” The Hind Rajab FoundationNerdeen Kiswani tweet about protesting the Israel Day Parade“Bitter Rift Over Israel Hits LGBTQ Jews Hard After Controversial Protest At Celebrate Israel Parade,” Ari Feldman, The Forward“Jewish New York deserves a parade as diverse as its communities,” Jill Jacobs, JTATranscript forthcoming.
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  Sally Rooney in Hebrew 28.05.2026 45min

  In 2021, famed Irish author Sally Rooney declined to publish her book in Israel because there was no BDS-compliant publisher. At the time, she said she would be “pleased and proud” to have her books translated into Hebrew, as long as it was done in a way that respected the principles of the boycott. Last week, Rooney announced that she was publishing a Hebrew translation of her latest book, Intermezzo, with November Books and +972 Magazine. The publishers had been vetted by PACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, and deemed BDS compliant. This means November Books does not operate in Israeli settlements, receives no state funding, and explicitly recognizes the Palestinian right of return. In The Guardian, Rooney said she “kept in touch with PACBI along the way to try to ensure that I was upholding both the letter and the spirit of the institutional boycott.”Immediately, there was backlash. Some Palestinian writers, including Mohammed El Kurd and Susan Abulhawa, questioned the decision to use this “loophole” in BDS guidelines to bring the book to Israeli audiences. Why now? And why this? Even if it adheres to the letter of the boycott, does it capture the spirit, as Rooney says? On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel speaks with Ahmed Moor, a writer and fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace; Maya Rosen, assistant editor at Jewish Currents; and Muhammad Shehada, a writer from Gaza and a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, about this tempest in a teapot surrounding the Hebrew translation of Intermezzo. They discuss whether this action hit its strategic marks, and what the response says about the Palestine movement’s relationship to both the Israeli left and the prospect of changing Israeli society.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingBDS Guidelines“On +972 Magazine, Sally Rooney, and the centering of Israelis in an anti-colonial movement,” Susan Abulhawa, MondoweissThe Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé“Yuval Noah Harari on Donald Trump’s Core Delusion,” The Ezra Klein ShowPerfect Victims by Mohammed El Kurd“We’re publishing Sally Rooney in Hebrew, in line with BDS. Here’s how and why,” Haggai Matar, +972 MagazineSalma Shawa discussing Hebrew on Instagram“In the Middle of Our Palestinian Neighborhood, My Daughter Started Yelling in Hebrew,” Sari Bashi, HaaretzPACBI’s Position on No Other Land“Did Zionism Go Wrong or Was It Always Wrong?,” Peter Beinart with Omer Bartov and Gideon Levy on the Beinart Notebook on SubstackTranscript forthcoming.
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  Hasan Piker’s Politics of Appeal 21.05.2026 40min

  Over the last eight years, streamer and leftist political commentator Hasan Piker has built a following of millions on Twitch, where he streams seven to ten hours a day, discussing current events and interacting with followers in a rapid-fire chat. Lately, Piker, who has hit the campaign trail for Democratic candidates like Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, has become the object of a raging debate about the direction of the Democratic Party. For many progressives, establishment attacks on Piker and the candidates he supports are evidence that the party is out of touch with its base, especially young people. For the establishment, embrace of Piker by Israel-critical candidates is evidence that the party is becoming too radical. A recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal by leaders of the centrist think tank Third Way labeled Piker a “Jew hater,” and urged Democrats to denounce him.The irony is that Piker, who appeals to exactly the sorts of young men who are being lured to the right in large numbers by the “manosphere,” is unique in how often he speaks about the principled fight against antisemitism. As figures like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes become more prominent in the pro-Palestine digital ecosystem, Piker may be one of the most important figures on the left countering a simplistic narrative of Jewish control and American innocence. On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel speaks with Piker about keeping the nuance in a media environment that wants easy answers, using electoral politics to build class consciousness, and why he keeps talking about antisemitism.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingHasan Piker on Twitch“Hasan Piker Has a Few Choice Words for His Bad-Faith Critics,” Aaron Regunberg, The New Republic“The Right Is Capturing the Online Palestine Conversation,” On the Nose“Charlie Kirk and American Innocence,” On the Nose“Where Cenk Uygur and I Disagree,” Beinart Notebook on Substack“The Many Equivocations of Curt Mills,” Will Alden, Jewish Currents“Ocasio-Cortez warns against associating with Greene, calling her a ‘proven bigot,’” Ryan Mancini, The Hill“AOC vs. MTG on Palestine: the voting records don't lie,” Mehdi Hassan on Zeteo“This Is Why There’s No Liberal Joe Rogan,” Ezra Klein, The New York Times“Democrats Are Too Cozy With Hasan Piker,” Jonathan Cowan and Lily Cohen, The Wall Street Journal“Some Democrats Shun Him, but Young Voters Want a Selfie,” Nathan Taylor Pemberton, The New York Times“House Democratic leaders condemn Texas candidate for antisemitic comments,” Ben Kamisar, NBC NewsTranscript forthcoming.
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  The Wrong Way to Fight Antisemitism in Britain 14.05.2026 48min

  On April 29th in London, an attacker stabbed a Muslim acquaintance before traveling to the largely Jewish neighborhood of Golders Green and stabbing two Jewish men at random. This was only the latest in a string of attacks on Jews, synagogues, or other communal infrastructure in the UK since mid-March; other instances have included arson attacks on three synagogues as well as Hatzola ambulances. The British Jewish community—already on edge since the Yom Kippur attack on a Manchester synagogue that killed two and injured three—is in a state of rising alarm. Predictably, Jewish communal leaders, politicians, and the police have baselessly sought to tie the attacks to the Palestine solidarity movement, justifying crackdowns in civil liberties and proposing increased police budgets.The backdrop to these attacks is a local election cycle in which the two major parties, Conservative and Labour, lost substantial ground to tertiary parties on their wings: Reform on the right, and the Green Party on the left. Though newly elected members of the Reform Party include avowed racists and Holocaust deniers, much of the media attention has been on candidates whom the Green Party has removed from contention because of charges of antisemitism. There is particular focus on the head of the Green Party, 43-year-old Zack Polanski, whose Jewish identity and pro-Palestine stance has shattered some of the received wisdom about who British Jews are, announcing a new era in UK Jewish left politics.To discuss the London attacks and their political fallout, Arielle Angel speaks with Brendan McGeever, co-director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism at the University of London, and Em Hilton, co-founder of Na’amod, an organization of British Jews opposing Israeli occupation and apartheid. They parse what we do and don’t know about these attacks, and critique the government’s response, which casts Jews as special wards of the state at the expense of civil liberties and the safety of other minority groups.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Articles Mentioned and Further ReadingBrendan McGeever in the Jewish Currents newsletterJewish Policy Research survey on UK Jews’ feelings about antisemitism, UK Jewish voters voting Green, and UK Jewish identification with Zionism“The present crisis,” editors of Vashti“Good Jews, Bad Jews,” Barnaby Raine interviewed by Gavin Jacobson, Equator“The difficult truth about antisemitism in the UK,” Brendan McGeever, Ben Gidley, David Feldman, Prospect“Anti-terrorist programme Prevent ‘outdated and inadequately prepared’, report finds,” Rajeev Syal, The GuardianDavid Cameron’s 2015 speech at the Community Security Trust Keir Starmer echoing Enoch Powell“U.K. Vows Crackdown on Pro-Palestinian Protests After Latest Antisemitic Attack,” David Luhnow, Wall Street Journal“Five members of biggest British Jewish body suspended after Israel criticisms,” Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian“Processing the Attack at Bondi Beach,” On the Nose, Jewish CurrentsAshok Kumar on Julia Hartley-Brewer“Over 2,000 U.K. Jews Sign Petition Against Nigel Farage Attending Antisemitism Rally,” Hagar Shezaf, Haaretz“How Palestine Action put the justice system on trial,” Rikki Blue, Declassified UK “Zack Polanski’s Jewish identity is being erased because he is leftwing,” Owen Jones, The GuardianZack Polanski on Sky News“Green Party candidate arrested over antisemitic social media posts,” Athena...
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  The Hill 07.05.2026 1t 2min

  Harriet Clark comes from a long line of radicals. Her ancestors were gun runners in Minsk. Her grandparents were active members of the Communist Party USA, and the family moved to Moscow for a time, where her grandfather wrote for the Daily Worker. Her mother is Judith Clark, a former member of the Weather Underground and the May 19th Communist Organization, who was given a life sentence for her participation in the Brinks robbery in 1981 that killed three people. (Judith was paroled in 2019.)Harriet Clark’s debut novel, The Hill, tells the story of a girl who vows to visit her mother every week in the upstate New York prison where she is being held. In this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel speaks with Harriet about her stunning new book, what comes after failure in radical movements, and the heroism of trying to keep families affected by incarceration together.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingThe Hill by Harriet Clark“I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye,” Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic“Photos of the migrant caravan and the Trump military response tell different stories,” Johnny Simon, QuartzJoseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey“Judith Clark’s Radical Transformation,” Tom Robbins, The New York TimesHouse and Fire by Maria HummelHousekeeping by Marilynne Robinson“To a Student” by Diane Di Prima
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  Exit Interview 30.04.2026 45min

  After more than ten years as the rabbi of the anti-Zionist synagogue Tzedek Chicago, Rabbi Brant Rosen is stepping down. On this episode of On the Nose, Rosen speaks with editor-in-chief of Jewish Currents, Arielle Angel—who after eight years is also leaving her post—about what has changed in the building of anti-Zionist institutions over the last decade, what it means to do Jewish left communal work in a time of crisis for Judaism, and whether we must believe we will win.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingTzedek Chicago“We Need New Jewish Institutions,” Arielle Angel, Jewish Currents“Our Approach to Zionism,” Jewish Voice for PeaceMariame Kaba talking to Dean Spade about hope“Mailbag #3 — Live!,” On the Nose“Stay In,” Arielle Angel, Jewish Currents
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  Mailbag #3 — Live! 16.04.2026 46min

  On this episode of On the Nose, Jewish Currents editor-in-chief Arielle Angel, publisher Daniel May, editor-at-large Peter Beinart, and advisory board member Simone Zimmerman answered listener questions about what accountability looks like for US rabbinic leadership, how American Zionists will respond to Israel’s plummeting popularity, and more. For the very first time, this episode of On the Nose was recorded live in front of an audience, which gathered at Littlefield in Brooklyn.Thanks to the Littlefield staff for hosting and recording the event. Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“J Street says Israel should fund its own defense,” Jacob Kornbluh, The Forward“Democratic Senators Face Pressure on Israel Arms Sales Vote,” Josh Nathan-Kazis, Jewish Currents“Democratic Presidential Contenders Are Turning on Israel. Will They Convince Progressives?,” Alex Kane, Jewish Currents“A Majority of Voters Support Senate Resolutions To Block Bombs and Bulldozers To Israel,” Common Dreams“The Many Equivocations of Curt Mills,” Will Alden, Jewish CurrentsHere Where We Live Is Our Country by Molly CrabappleJFNA Survey of Jewish Life since October 7 – Zionism Findings“Rhetoric Without Reckoning,” Simone Zimmerman, Jewish Currents“At Synagogues, Tensions Are Boiling Over,” Eyal Press, The New Yorker“The Rabbinic Freak-Out About Zohran Mamdani,” On the Nose“Nostra Aetate” from the Second Vatican Council“MAGA Catholics in Revolt,” On the Nose“Do No Harm! Palestinian Call for Ethical Tourism/Pilgrimage” from the BDS movementEverything You Have Is Yours, film about Hadar Ahuvia“The Capitalist’s Kibbutz,” Sam Adler-Bell, Jewish Currents
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  The Right Is Capturing the Online Palestine Conversation 09.04.2026 43min

  As right-wing streamers like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens have become more outspoken against Israel and against Zionist influence in American politics, their content has found new audiences online, even in a Palestine movement traditionally more associated with the left. Though the fracture on the right around Israel is a welcome development, the anti-Israel right’s racist, misogynist, anti-trans, anti-immigrant, and antisemitic views raise questions about how the left should relate to this development, and what it can offer instead.On this episode of On the Nose, Jewish Currents editor-in-chief Arielle Angel speaks with Izz al-Din Mustafa, co-executive director of the Palestinian-led advocacy organization Adalah Justice Project, and Stefanie Fox, executive director at Jewish Voice for Peace, about whether the ubiquity of right-wing anti-Israel voices online was showing up in their face-to-face organizing. They discuss the perils and opportunities created by the growing popularity of conservative anti-Israel voices, the importance of IRL organizing, and how the left might reclaim the conversation.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingAdalah Justice ProjectJewish Voice for Peace“The Bondi Memo’s Quiet Rewriting of Domestic Terrorism Rules,” Thomas E. Brzozowski, Lawfare“Verified pro-Nazi X accounts flourish under Elon Musk,” David Ingram, NBC News“Meta’s Broken Promises: Systemic Censorship of Palestine Content on Instagram and Facebook,” Human Rights Watch“Joe Kent’s Resignation Was Brave. His Analysis Was Faulty,” Peter Beinart, Jewish Currents“American Evangelicals’ Declining Support for Israel,” Jonathan Kuttab, Arab Center Washington DCChristians for a Free Palestine“We need an exodus from Zionism,” Naomi Klein, The Guardian“MAGA Catholics In Revolt,” On the Nose“The Democratic Party debate over Hasan Piker is really a fight over Palestine’s new place in U.S. politics,” Walter Lucken IV, Mondoweiss“Why do elite Democrats fear Hasan Piker?” Bhaskar Sunkara, The Guardian