Tag Archives: politics

(2026) The State of the Union (Abject Terror)

Posted on February 27, 2026 by zjb

The State of the Union is the face of the abject terror captured by the cameras as they pan the House Chamber only one year into what is already the bad eternity of Trump’s second term. The expression could not … Continue reading →

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(Mamdani) The Friend-Friend Distinction (Diaspora Haredi Political Theory)

Posted on January 9, 2026 by zjb

An “askan” in Haredi communities is the political fixer who coordinates the communal interest before local or state power. Indig is the askan who represents the interests of the Ahronim segment of the Satmar community. Based on enmity, the organized … Continue reading →

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Unhinged On The Jewish Anti-Zionist Left

Posted on December 18, 2025 by zjb

In this tendentious post, I want to trace along the edge of the broader undoing of political norms and institutional guardrails in the Age of Information a more local version manifest in the dynamic of Jewish life. Beset by deep … Continue reading →

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Neo-Bundist Diasporist Manifesto for Tomorrow (Di Luftmenschen)

Posted on December 3, 2024 by zjb

This incredible neo-post-Bundist statement here by Di Luftmenschen, richly illustrated, in its own right a Jewish art object, reads in part like science fiction of Octavia Butler. The authors are cognizant of Israel (not…a European novelty, but the seed of … Continue reading →

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(Auto-Emancipation) A Social Jewish Left (After October 7)

Posted on November 25, 2024 by zjb

Three questions for Jews on the Left in the fierce face of rising anti-democracy movements and religious ethno-nationalism in Israel and the United States and resurgent anti-Semitism before and after October 7 and the re-election of Donald Trump: What defines … Continue reading →

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(Trump) Covenant of Pieces (2024)

Posted on November 9, 2024 by zjb

Kudos to Jeremy Kolmanofsky for connecting the dots between the re-election of Donald Trump election this week and this week’s parsha read in the synagogue as part of the yearly cycle of ritual reading. In Genesis 15, God takes Abram … Continue reading →

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Truth Lies Hate Trump (Binary Politics)

Posted on November 7, 2024 by zjb

Trump did what Bernie and the U.S. left could never do. All at the same time, he turbo-charged his base and captured the center of American politics. The effect was synthetic in character. He combined the anger of the base … Continue reading →

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(Campus Protests) Jewish Students (October 7)

Posted on August 28, 2024 by zjb

So much was written about Jewish student experience of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism during the anti-Israel protests after October 7 during the 2023-2024 academic year. Much of what was said paid little mind to students themselves. What do Jewish students say … Continue reading →

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(Israel) Cruelty & Catastrophe (Hamas)

Posted on May 31, 2024 by zjb

The primary moral response and natural inclination in the face of catastrophe is to think of the victims first. But the political calculus is more complex. Political leaders of sovereign and semi-sovereign national communities are responsible for the well-being of … Continue reading →

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(Biden) Power & Law (Israel at War in Gaza

Posted on October 10, 2023 by zjb

President Biden delivered a powerful speech outlining support for Israel in this war against the Hamas terror regime in Gaza. The 12 minute speech, which you can read here was unlike anything said by anyone in the current government in … Continue reading →

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