A bit over a year ago, my friend and colleague Chris Blackwell had a clemency hearing. As a model of rehabilitation and achievement from prison, he seemed like an obvious candidate. Instead, the process left me wondering "Who is this for?" Read his essay: jewishcurrents.org/process-of-p...

Pretty overwhelmed by this generous overview of MOBILITY by @maricohen.bsky.social in @jewishcurrents.bsky.social today. She *read* this novel. A gift. 😭 jewishcurrents.org/shabbat-read...

Jewish Currents has learned that the Conscience flotilla, with Emily Wilder aboard reporting for us, has been intercepted and boarded by the Israeli military. Communications with Emily and the rest of the boat have been cut. We are awaiting further updates.

My conversation with @maricohen.bsky.social associate editor at @jewishcurrents.bsky.social is now up on the public feed. One of the most important conversations I've had all year. A fascinating/sad/mindbending discussion about the rifts forming within Genocide Studies & more.

In a new On the Nose episode, associate editor @maricohen.bsky.social interviews organizers from a new campaign to shift Jewish communities towards abolitionist strategies for safety and security. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. jewishcurrents.org/making-safet...

Important @maricohen.bsky.social story on how hate crime prosecutions are being mobilized to clamp down on pro-Palestine dissent. jewishcurrents.org/how-support-...

NEW unpaywalled: My months-long investigation into the use of hate crime charges against Palestine supporters since October 7th. I found 17 individuals who have faced hate crime charges for pro-Palestine activity or speech, and focused on a few cases here: jewishcurrents.org/how-support-...

NEW from our summer issue, out from behind the paywall: @maricohen.bsky.social reports on a chilling new use of hate crime statutes to target individuals for pro-Palestine protest or speech. jewishcurrents.org/how-support-...

In a new On the Nose episode, from a live event in February, @maricohen.bsky.social interviews @rabbiandykahn.com about the history of anti-Zionism in the Reform movement and a new attempt to revive it. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: jewishcurrents.org/the-return-o...

@maricohen.bsky.social reports on cases in which pro-Palestine activity has led to hate crimes charges. jewishcurrents.org/how-support-...

My latest investigation is now online for @jewishcurrents.bsky.social subscribers. I identified 17 people since October 7th who have been charged with hate crimes for pro-Palestine speech or activity. I tell several of their stories here. jewishcurrents.org/how-support-...

In response to violence in DC and Boulder, American Jewish leaders are doubling down on conflating Zionism with Jewish identity—even as they insist that it's wrong to target Jews for Israel's actions. This response won't protect Jews, writes publisher Daniel May: jewishcurrents.org/the-tangled-...

really upsetting read www.cjr.org/feature-2/we...

confused about trump's apparent distance from netanyahu even as the president ruthlessly cracks down on israel critics at home? @alexbkane.bsky.social's report unpacks the contradictions of trump's israel policy and the rise of the "restraint" movement jewishcurrents.org/unpacking-th...

"Buber thus objected to some basic social and political structures that made his own existence possible. He was walking south in a train heading north." jewishcurrents.org/wrestling-wi...

i'm caught up on tariffs now! you can be too: jewishcurrents.org/a-leftists-g...

📣 Announcing the 2025 Livingston Awards Finalists in International Reporting! The Livingston Awards honor the best in journalism by professionals under 35. Championing ambitious, impactful journalism for over four decades. Explore their work: loom.ly/LAVASEQ #YoungJournalists

Must read: Mahmoud Khalil speaks out for the first time since his arrest by the Trump administration in an exclusive letter, dictated over the phone to his family, from ICE detention in Louisiana.

talked with Alex Kane and Arielle Angel about how Jewish groups are responding to the abduction of Mahmoud Khalil; what a new-ish liberal opposition means or doesn't mean for political alignments going forward; and the rise of new reactionary groups jewishcurrents.org/the-jewish-i...

really convenient time for twitter to be down, huh?

do you or someone you know work in a national or major regional Jewish organization and have concerns or information about how your organization is responding to the detention of Mahmoud Khalil? Email [email protected] or Signal maric.95. Anonymity available.

great report by Alex Kanethat shows how the crisis in holocaust & genocide studies is also playing out in the youth education arena. another example of how an educational institution relying on pro israel donors/support now finds its hands tied jewishcurrents.org/a-progressiv...

I've recently been in touch with @othmanabdrabou.bsky.social. Othman and I are both journalists born in 1995. He lost five siblings and his home in the genocide. Please consider donating to help him rebuild and find a safe home for his family: www.gofundme.com/f/help-AbdRa...

On the new episode of our podcast, On the Nose, @aptly-engineerd.bsky.social speaks with @maricohen.bsky.social, Noah Kulwin, and @sidhubaba.bsky.social about the Oscar-nominated film The Brutalist.

got to talk about The Brutalist with a dream team of movie commentators: @aptly-engineerd.bsky.social, Noah Kulwin, @sidhubaba.bsky.social. Listen to latest ep of On the Nose where you get your podcasts! jewishcurrents.org/an-unproduct...

New York JC community: join us for our winter issue launch on Thursday, February 27th at Littlefield in Brooklyn! We'll have issues and merch, tacos if you get hungry, music by Slavic Soul Party, and most importantly: all of you. See you there.

Want to see a bonkers new antisemitism poll? 74% of Jews say "anti-Zionist movements are antisemitic by definition" *and* 50% of Jews say "anti-Zionist movements are NOT antisemitic by definition" Yes... that adds up to 124% and no it doesn't really make any sense

growing up, the state made us write essays every year that were graded by a computer program. By the time I was a young teenager I was on a mission to destroy this concept by being as annoying as possible. I think I won some battles doing this but it's clear on a larger scale I've lost the war.

great thing about making a playlist for my own birthday is that I get to put sorry by justin bieber on it and no one can stop me

i'm so sorry to the haters but I had a rich & thought-provoking experience at this conference this week! hopeful that key intellectual spaces like these will continue to proliferate, in defiance of the powers racing to constrain & confine the university www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...

every Richard Brody review is like “why didn’t they explain the details of how the character walked from point a to point b in between scenes? It doesn’t make sense he just showed up there!” as if he’s never seen a movie before and honestly he’s kind of right for that

Now out from behind the paywall: @maricohen.bsky.social goes long on the crisis facing the field of genocide studies as institutions that emerged from the study of the Holocaust grapple with—or ignore—genocide in Gaza. jewishcurrents.org/can-genocide...

NEW: My longform report on the field of genocide studies is now unpaywalled. What happens when institutions that grew out of the study of the Holocaust—where Israel is often understood as the survivors' state—must grapple with Israel committing genocide? jewishcurrents.org/can-genocide...

In the first installment of our new series on Palestinian intellectual history, scholar Ussama Makdisi reflects on Edward Said's understanding of historical Jewish victimhood in the context of the genocide in Gaza.

so delighted to see @maricohen.bsky.social shout out no expectations in today's jewish currents newsletter jewishcurrents.org/shabbat-read...

"Second U. of C. student arrested, evicted for participation in pro-Palestine protest" www.hpherald.com/evening_dige...

thanks to sustained pressure campaign by jewish investing group JLens (now an ADL subsidiary), the morningstar-owned sustainable investing firm sustainalytics has now jettisoned an entire category of human rights analysis to avoid criticizing israel: (thread) www.jta.org/2025/01/07/u...

“Can Genocide Studies Survive a Genocide in Gaza?” by Mari Cohen who interviewed everyone in the field for this extensive and exacting analysis of the political and conceptual crisis highlighted and accentuated over the past 13 months. jewishcurrents.org/can-genocide...

my favorite songs released in 2024 ! open.spotify.com/playlist/5fM...

In a new On the Nose episode, @maricohen.bsky.social, Alex Kane, @emmasaltzberg.bsky.social, and @shaabiranks.bsky.social discuss the incoming Trump administration's likely escalation of the campaign to silence the anti-genocide movement. jewishcurrents.org/preparing-fo...

"It is urgent that news organizations defend their editorial independence, rather than capitulate to these attacks in advance. We must cover these perils accurately,” writes @maricohen.bsky.social

my prediction for journalism in 2025 for @niemanlab.org: the campaign against Palestine solidarity under the guise of fighting antisemitism will give the right new tools to repress journalism. Reporters must not fall for it. www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/repr...

🔥 @maricohen.bsky.social on the weaponization of antisemitism to repress journalism, for @niemanlab.org. “In this environment, it is urgent that news organizations defend their editorial independence, rather than capitulate to these attacks in advance." www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/repr...

(2/2) @sethclewis.bsky.social @maricohen.bsky.social @kevindgrant.bsky.social @maritzafelix.bsky.social Michael Rain Cristina Tardáguila Francisco Vara-Orta Justin Kosslyn Shakeel Hashim Laxmi Parthasarathy Sam Ford www.niemanlab.org/collection/p...

subscribe now to read my deep dive into tensions in the field of genocide studies over gaza in print! (and early online)

Our Fall/Winter issue is almost here! Featuring work from @maricohen.bsky.social @arthurasseraf.bsky.social @soljbrager.bsky.social & others, a special collaboration with @hyperallergic.com and so much more. Subscribe today to get it—and save 25% with code WINTERBLUESKY. jewishcurrents.org/subscribe

“The word ‘rehabilitation’ is thrown around a lot in the criminal justice system, but the truth is that prisons are just about the last place anyone should expect to become a better person.”

Must read piece by my friend and colleague Christopher Blackwell: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/o...