Seeing the shocking death toll in Iran, I understand why people in the diaspora call on Trump to intervene—despite the fears this entails. It echoes recent months in Israel: calling on a president who undermines democracy in his own country for help. The world is what it is.

Hillel Cohen's Army of Shadows will appear in German translation in spring 2026. It is a thought-provoking book. For readers seeking a concise entry into Cohen's argument, an interview with him from November 2024 is particularly illuminating and timely: blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-fantasy-...

Vielen Dank an @wannseekonferenz.bsky.social für die Einladung zur Teilnahme an der Veranstaltung zum Jahrestag der Wannsee-Konferenz. Ich freue mich auf das Gespräch mit den anderen Teilnehmenden und dem Publikum unter anderem über Staatsräson – einen der derzeit wohl umstrittensten Begriffe.

Theater als Recherchekunst, Therapie, Mittel zum Comic Relief – es gehört in Israel (wieder) zum Alltag und sucht den internationalen Austausch, den Europa leider gerade meidet. Am härtesten treffen die Boykotte regierungskritische Künstler*innen.

A small and quiet Chag Sameach while waiting for the rain to stop.

I read a nice interview with Volker Weidermann about his new book on Mascha Kaléko's difficult return to Germany in the 1950s. It led me back to her poems, and it brought to mind this one, which feels perfectly attuned to this moment in my day. www.juedische-allgemeine.de/kultur/masch...

Yesterday, Michael Walzer spoke at the Van Leer Institute for his 90th birthday. Among the well-wishers was @faniaoz-salzberger.bsky.social. He remains an important American voice—and someone who will not apologize for speaking in Jerusalem. I wrote a note about it. www.hagalil.com/2025/12/mich...

It is almost painful to read Peter Beinart's public statement on X in which he apologizes for having given a talk at Tel Aviv University. The degree to which one can submit oneself to humiliation—what a friend aptly described as a Stalinist-style exercise in self-criticism (1/3)

All the luck to them! "In Jerusalem, there are people whose pub is their synagogue. They are familiar with it, they have been drinking there for 15 years." www.haaretz.com/life/2025-10...

Impressive collection of Israeliana at Harvard. But there is also truth in how the article ends: "'In the present atmosphere, the thought that material like this is also in the hands of a foreign university, which completely controls its exposure and use, is somewhat disturbing.'" t.ly/HrFnW

Sometimes all it takes is one person who refuses to join a boycott. Yesterday, the American Archive of Public Broadcasting posted part of a November 14, 1997 interview with Ruby Bridges, in which she recalled how white parents boycotted the school when she became the first Black child (1/2)

This is good news: The Max Planck Center for Democracy, Security and Human Rights is being established at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem — joining the network of only 19 such Centers worldwide. @maxplanck.de

“Did you stop to ask yourselves what change your decision has truly achieved?” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/w...

In his talk, Dan Diner exemplified much needed restraint—avoiding hasty analogies—through Camus’ unfinished Der erste Mensch. He saw it as a masterly reflection on the tension between moral universalism and particular belonging. A novel that teaches without prophesying. www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...

Breaking the rule of law in the name of the rule of law. Recommend this Haaretz podcast with Eran Shamir-Borer — for over 20 years in the IDF’s International Law Dept, now heads the Center for National Security and Democracy at the Israel Democracy Institute. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

In Haaretz, Steven Levitsky notes that while authoritarian shifts are unfolding in Israel, the situation remains reversible — in fact, more encouraging than in the U.S., where democracy eroded faster and pushback has been weak. Even in wartime, Israel can rely on a strong civil society. t.ly/JmKoX

„Niemand ist so am Frieden interessiert wie die #Ukraine“ „Im Gespräch” mit dem Historiker Karl Schlögel, der Meister der Vororterkundung www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/archaeologe-...

An interesting read while stuck in traffic. "But there are also countries in regression, like the United States, where Trump has dismantled many systems. And there's Israel." www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

While Trump this week portrayed Hamas at one moment as some kind of security force—and the usual groups were quick to highlight Israel's alleged breaches of agreements without mentioning Hamas's failure to honor its own—I came across grassroots street installations in Jerusalem this morning (1/2)

Over the last two years, while listening to comments — mainly from people in the academia and art world, and most recently at some GSA panels in Arlington — I began to wonder whether a new spectre is haunting Europe, this time bearing the name "antideutsch." (1/3)

Leaving this cute city of Madison. Big thanks again to Chad Goldberg for inviting me to the seminar “Politics, Culture, and Society”. I am also very grateful to the institutions that supported the event, and to everyone who attended and asked such thoughtful questions.

I wonder what it says about professors who, from their still safe havens in Europe and Canada, respond to their American colleagues only by calling for their institutions to be boycotted now. For me, solidarity looks different–not only because (1/2) www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Whilst the BUF did not become a mass political party, their existence demonstrates the popularity of fascism across Europe at the time. Our online exhibition explores the individuals and organisations that have fought back against antisemitism in France, Britain and Germany buff.ly/iBFECQJ

As the saying goes, all good things come in threes—my third comment on the boycott topic today, this time from Germany. This appears to be another attempt to explain calls to boycott Israeli colleagues. Good luck in their efforts to foster constructive dialogue with supporters of the BDS movement.

Just following up on my boycott comment from this morning — in this case, a boycott would have made total sense.

When boycott calls have made sense.

These are indeed very important voices from Gaza. I hope they will be heard and taken seriously. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/w...

Sad that this still needs repeating. #antisemitism #Manchester @faniaoz-salzberger.bsky.social

Sunflowers — a bit dry and tired — but still facing the Russian embassy in DC.

Many thanks to Jonathan Skolnik for inviting me to his undergraduate seminar "Representing the Holocaust" at @umasspress.bsky.social. My first time speaking to 70 students – on the Eichmann Trial, Arendt, and Sivan's tendentious documentary. Very grateful for the students' thoughtful questions.

Today marks my last day at the @robinsoninst.bsky.social, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I am deeply grateful for almost three years in this academic home. A few more words in the screenshot.

Not exactly looking forward to the long flight… but I am really looking forward to seeing some of you again soon in DC/Arlington. And I'm truly grateful to the Jacob Robinson Institute, Hebrew University for making my participation possible. #thegsa2025

Merz weint, Schwerdtner lacht, Netanyahu befindet sich in Sparta, der Krieg geht weiter und der Alltag sowieso. Aber Mini-Bourekas sind mir heute in einer Bäckerei, eröffnet 1922, auf dem Heimweg aufgefallen – und in meinen Besitz übergegangen.

The Musée de l'Art et de l'Histoire du Judaisme and the @labnf.bsky.social are planning a joint Colloquium “Jewish histories of Paris”. Now, five French scholars decided to #boycott it due to the participation of an Israeli PhD student. I drafted a #statement (1/5) www.lemonde.fr/culture/arti...

"Thought-terminating clichés"—language that is "repetitiously centered on all-encompassing jargon, prematurely abstract, highly categorical, relentlessly judging, and to anyone but its most devoted advocate, deadly dull: in Lionel Trilling's phrase, 'the language of nonthought.'" –Lifton t.ly/0KjjN

29.08.01: Habil Kılıç, Inhaber eines Obst- & Gemüsehandels, wird in München durch den NSU ermordet: sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/mor... #KeinVergessen

This is not too bad. It reminds me of Arendt quoting Kafka: "It is difficult to speak the truth, for though there is only one, it is alive and therefore has a living, ever-changing face."

My heartfelt thanks go to the @robinsoninst.bsky.social team for their incredible support over the past nearly three years.

According to reports, around one million people took to the streets across Israel yesterday – about 10% of the population. Translated to Germany’s population, that would mean more than 8 million people on the streets – a number unimaginable in German history. www.timesofisrael.com/hundreds-of-...

„Wirklich, sie scheren sich um niemanden.“ www.zeit.de/2025/33/ehem...

José Brunner: „Die Hamas könnte die Geiseln freilassen,(…).“

Ein nuancenreiches Interview mit José Brunner über das Leid in Gaza, die Eule der Minerva und das Problem voreiliger Urteile, über Omer Bartov, Amos Goldberg, und die menschenfeindlichen Tendenzen jüngster Boykottaufrufe gegen israelische Wissenschaftler:innen. www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/jose-...

Not sure it's wise for @taz.de to platform a Hamas member—especially as images of hostage Rom Braslavski surface and Palestinian civil society suffers under this brutal war. And since I don't want my feed filled with Hamas faces—here's the last song from the bar I was at. t.ly/odcV5 t.ly/eZ-P4

A couple of weeks ago, a group of scholars—mainly from the USA—published a statement in taz backing Die Linke's endorsement of the Jerusalem Declaration. I wonder whether they are aware of voices like that of Thuringian Left Party politician @katharinakoenig.bsky.social.

Fueled by fake news and fantasy narratives: the CDU's voting behavior in the recent Federal Constitutional Court selection reveals striking parallels—not so much to Trumpism, but to the earlier Tea Party movement. Indeed: the hour of the hysterics.

We are pleased to announce that our Deputy Director Dr. Iris Nachum, has been appointed to the Academic Advisory Board of the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture - Simon Dubnow. Best of luck in this important role Dr. Nachum! @dubnow.bsky.social @alfredlandecker.bsky.social

I am looking forward to participating in this workshop, where I will be giving a talk on academic boycott campaigns in the aftermath of #October7.

In 1975, the photographer Tod Papageorge slowly made his way across the country, from New York City to Los Angeles, where he’d shoot throngs of sun-dazed, sweat-glazed beachgoers. See his photos.

And that's exactly what the BDS movement does: it strengthens Netanyahu, empowers the extreme right, endangers left wing, critical researchers and activists, and throws fuel on an already blazing fire in the region.

It's troubling that Israeli colleagues are constantly pressured to make declarations of belief, as if they were representatives of the Government – with acceptance of the genocide charge often serving as a litmus test for inclusion in the international scholarly community.