We made it to Episode 50! Today, it's just Zach and Ben talking about the recent elections to the World Zionist Congress. They start discussing by how Zionism can (and should) be defined, followed by an overview of the voting process, the participating slates, they pros and cons of voting, and some possible alternatives to Jewish self-determination.

Zach's ongoing "Bundism Today" series can be found here

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This week, Ben and Zach are joined by two organizers based in Palestine-Israel whose lives and political journeys inform powerful reflections on displacement, state oppression, solidarity, and the possibilities of joint struggle.

Kastuś, originally from Minsk, has moved through various diasporic contexts—Belarus, Australia, and now Tel Aviv — shares his path from growing up under authoritarianism to joining the Belarusian uprising in 2020, and working with Kompass Media (Ep. 26) and on his own to alleviate harm and expose the reality of state (and state-backed) violence.

Mohammed, a 48’ Palestinian from Umm al-Fahm, brings deep insight from growing up as part of an activist family and community, and reflects on his experience as a Palestinian student at an Israeli university in the wake of October 7.

Our conversation draws provocative parallels between the histories of European Jews and Palestinians—without flattening their differences—as a way to think about shared experiences of dispossession, repression, and resistance. On this 82nd anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, it is as important as ever to reject nationalist histories and challenge all forms of domination and hate.

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Thank you to Monsieur Jack for his beautiful rendition of the Partisan Song "Zog Nit Keynmol"

This week Zach and Ben are joined by Kofi, who recently took part in the Black Jewish Liberation Collective’s (BJLC) “Teshuvah Across Waters,” the inaugural cohort of a sustained solidarity and education project in relationship to the Hebrew Ibo community in Nigeria.

In our conversation we explored a variety of topics. Kofi's experiences as a Jew by choice, the Afro-Jewish reality of being part of both African and Jewish diasporas, Ibo Jewish communties' relationship to hegemonic Jewishness (Zionism, Orthodoxy and Ashkenormativity) and much more.

This episode is in direct dialogue with Rafael Shimunov's recent interview with one of the organizer's of the trip, Rabbi Dr. Koach Frazier and two other participants. Check out Beyond the Pale's Episode on the BJLC's Teshuvah Across Waters to learn more about this powerful heritage trip.

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The World Union of Jewish Students hosts its annual congress over the new year. Zach retells Ben his experiences from the 2023/24 conference in Prague. They chat about the participants, location, events, conference, and why and how Jewish student diasporists should engage with Jewish student unions at the local, national, regional and global level.

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Becca Strober joins Ben & Zach to speak about her educational organizing and activism as an American-Israeli, both online and on the ground. We speak about the Jerusalemite identity, diverse semantic labels, productive engagement with those who disagree with us, and a road forward for Israelis and the movement for Palestinian liberation.

Check out Becca's work on Instagram and her podcast!

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Ben & Zach are joined by Hallie Appel and Maddan Eisenberg. Together, they discuss their organising efforts as the Provisional Steering Committee of the International Jewish Labor Bund.

If you interested in getting involved, click HERE

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Big thank you to Isabel Frey for her beautiful rendition of Di Shvue!

Although recent news has led some to portray Amsterdam (and Diaspora more broadly) as inhospitable for Jewish life, it is home to a thriving Jewish community that has been charting a path toward a diasporist Jewish Future.

Ben and Zach are joined by Jelle and Tori, two organizers of Oy Vey, an outward-facing, radically inclusive and unapologetically Jewish hub in Amsterdam. Drawing on hundreds of conversations with community members and Amsterdam's wider Jewish community, they have created A New Jewish Manifesto which seeks to provide a positive vision for Jewish life in Diaspora. This timely text is being launched in multiple languages at the Jewish Manifestival, a hybrid event on Thursday November 21 starting at 7:00pm (GMT +1).

In this conversation, Jelle and Tori explore the work of Oy Vey, and guide us through the social and institutional context it has been built in. Alongside many other insights, they provide perspectives on the constructive relationship they have with the many other Jewish communities in the city.

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Historian and yiddishist Tamara joins Ben and Zach to talk about the history of the Jews in Mexico, the 1930s and 1940s, the role of the Jewish left in the country, and contemporary politics following the beginning of the presidency of Claudia Sheinbaum - the first female and first Jewish president of Mexico who is continuing the progressive "Fourth Transformation" of the country!

ingeveb.org/people/tamara

forward.com/news/622618/mexico-president-claudia-sheinbaum-jewish-family-holocaust/

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Big thank you to Aly Halpert for continuing to allow us to use her music!