Founded in 1946, Jewish Currents is a magazine committed to the rich tradition of thought, activism, and culture of the Jewish left. Subscribe today! jewishcurrents.org/subscribehttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtk5b3ayys24"There was no Sanctuary Movement yet. It was almost exclusively radical Catholic nuns that taught me the ways of progressive work in the church, inviting people in, getting them food.” From Office Hours with Laurie Melrood, introduced by Max Greenberg. jewishcurrents.org/laurie-melrood https://jewishcurrents.org/laurie-melrood20 Aug 2026 21:00 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtk5b3ayys24https://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtk3vbfh3f2eIllinois was one of the first states to pass legislation cracking down on the BDS movement. Now, as Israel’s popularity plummets, state legislators are looking to make their state one of the first to repeal its anti-BDS law. https://jewishcurrents.org/overturning-anti-bds-laws-is-the-next-fight-for-the-pro-palestine-left20 Aug 2026 20:35 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtk3vbfh3f2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtjsed5aty2e"Every time one of my friends went out to do a river crossing, I would be on pins and needles waiting to hear that everyone was safe. There was nothing normal about what we were doing.” —Laurie Melrood jewishcurrents.org/laurie-melrood20 Aug 2026 17:45 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjsed5aty2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtjpgoldbs24"The resulting revelation was so astonishing that it surpassed the king’s expectations." A short story about the depravity of political rulers from Ingeborg Bachmann. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-smile-of-the-sphinx20 Aug 2026 16:52 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjpgoldbs24https://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtjoz4zt6w2qEarlier this week, we published Alisa Solomon and Arielle Angel's letters about 'Birthright.' On this episode of On the Nose, they resume the conversation. https://jewishcurrents.org/repetition-and-solipsism-in-the-israel-debate-play20 Aug 2026 16:45 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjoz4zt6w2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtjmn4h6at2yOn the anniversary of Laurie Melrood’s death, we remember her words and her work. Read about her politicization, her work as part of the underground sanctuary movement in the Rio Grande Valley, and her analysis of the politics of solidarity. jewishcurrents.org/laurie-melrood20 Aug 2026 16:02 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjmn4h6at2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtjlvz7c3t2pOn this episode of ‘On the Nose,’ theater critic Alisa Solomon talks to @alisasolomon.bsky.social about the compulsive repetition of plays that elevate Jewish hand-wringing during a moment of genocide—and why they're so popular with critics and audiences alike. https://jewishcurrents.org/repetition-and-solipsism-in-the-israel-debate-play20 Aug 2026 15:49 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjlvz7c3t2phttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtht5trzlh2c"The Sphinx closed her eyes—or was she, in fact, sightless? The sovereign cautiously tried to read her expression.” https://jewishcurrents.org/the-smile-of-the-sphinx19 Aug 2026 22:54 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtht5trzlh2chttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mthreynmu22s"Producers—and prize juries—love plays like these because they appear edgy but don’t really challenge prevailing views.” @alisasolomon.bsky.social and Arielle Angel discuss ‘Birthright,’ a new play about a tired debate. https://jewishcurrents.org/birthright-stages-a-tired-debate19 Aug 2026 22:22 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mthreynmu22shttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mthhkytt2w2pA short story in the form of a strange, dreamlike parable about a king and a sphinx. From Ingeborg Bachmann's Complete Stories, translated by Philip Boehm and Tess Lewis. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-smile-of-the-sphinx19 Aug 2026 19:26 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mthhkytt2w2phttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtfcbfcjjk2t"Local Jewish leaders told their constituents that, if only Mamdani had shut up about Netanyahu, this sort of thing wouldn’t happen. But based on what we know now, that’s wrong. Montes seems to have thought he was God. He wasn’t taking orders from the mayor." — @joshnathankazis.bsky.social [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Aug 2026 22:46 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtfcbfcjjk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtfbve6qea2sAmerican Jewish discourse has turned rank and accusatory following a frightening incident at a Manhattan shul, with leaders casting blame in all the wrong directions. https://jewishcurrents.org/a-scary-night-at-synagogue18 Aug 2026 22:39 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtfbve6qea2shttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtf5ys5z622e“If organizing inside prison once moved in lockstep with Intifadas across Palestine, now Israeli prisons echo the outright genocidal conditions of the outside.” —Dikla Taylor-Sheinman https://jewishcurrents.org/the-torture-regime18 Aug 2026 21:30 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtf5ys5z622ehttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtf55vkbaj2w"What’s striking is that almost all these plays seem to have been cooked in the same kitchen," writes @alisasolomon.bsky.social in a letter to Arielle Angel on ‘Birthright’—the newest in a long line of plays that “debate” Israel/Palestine. https://jewishcurrents.org/birthright-stages-a-tired-debate18 Aug 2026 21:15 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtf55vkbaj2whttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtexbkawai2vIn recent years, Israeli prisons have become institutions not primarily of incarceration, but of torture and death. Dikla Taylor-Sheinman reports in our new issue. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-torture-regime18 Aug 2026 19:29 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtexbkawai2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mteqdmiuxb2vNew on our site: An exchange of letters between editor-at-large Arielle Angel and theater critic @alisasolomon.bsky.social on the phenomenon of Jewish plays that “debate” Israel/Palestine. https://jewishcurrents.org/birthright-stages-a-tired-debate18 Aug 2026 17:25 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mteqdmiuxb2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mtene7jqzu2wIn our new issue, Dikla Taylor-Sheinman investigates how Israel’s torture regime developed—and its implications for the Palestinian freedom struggle. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-torture-regime18 Aug 2026 16:32 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtene7jqzu2whttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3mt2kpiu4os2dOn this episode of On the Nose, @keeanga.bsky.social and @alexbkane.bsky.social talk to Arielle Angel about the mainstream assertion that democratic socialism is white politics, and the question of what the Black public actually wants. https://jewishcurrents.org/who-speaks-for-black-voters14 Aug 2026 16:18 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2kpiu4os2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3msyubhj7kd2aIn a new essay, J.A. Cohen reviews Benjamin Balthaser's 'Citizens of the Whole World' and David Kraemer's 'Embracing Exile' and asks: What are the limits of diasporism? https://jewishcurrents.org/the-limits-of-diasporism14 Aug 2026 00:04 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3msyubhj7kd2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/jewishcurrents.bsky.social/post/3msyjwz5aav2wForced to choose between Michigan primary winner Abdul El-Sayed’s anti-Zionism and Mike Rogers’ MAGA radicalism, many liberal Jewish groups are waffling, @alexbkane.bsky.social reports. https://jewishcurrents.org/a-choice-for-liberals-in-michigan-zionism-or-fighting-trump13 Aug 2026 20:59 +0000at://did:plc:moq7ffrln34fdh2crgro7nl2/app.bsky.feed.post/3msyjwz5aav2w