It was good to be on the Jewish Currents podcast this week talking about the fallout from the murder of Charlie Kirk: MAGA’s authoritarian campaigns of repression; the strange & overzealous displays of mourning from Israeli leaders; & more

On the latest episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel, @davidklion.bsky.social, @benlorber8.bsky.social, and Maya Rosen discuss reactions to Charlie Kirk’s assassination across the political spectrum, as well as the outsized response in Israel. jewishcurrents.org/charlie-kirk...

For Christian nationalists like MTG, anti-Zionism slides seamlessly into antisemitism. AIPAC & pro-Israel politics are critiqued not as political forces but as “another religion” intruding upon the “Christian patriotic” USA. For the Israel-skeptic Right this is the natural frame

Ben Lorber @benlorber8.bsky.social has been writing about groypers for some time. Their "early maneuvering could edge the groyper brand even further into the conservative big tent." politicalresearch.org/2022/01/05/w...

If you only have time for one article on the #groypers, you can't do better than this 2020 PRA feature from @benlorber8.bsky.social. politicalresearch.org/2021/01/15/a...

From the radical 'dissident Right' to mainstream MAGA operatives & White House staffers, major figures on the Right are thirsting for state repression & political retribution against Democrats & the Left after the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk

This episode of Lifting the Curtain takes a deep look into the role of antisemitism in the global far-right ecosystem, paying close attention to the U.S. and Germany. Tune in now to listen to the full conversation with @eladn.bsky.social and Dr. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum: ow.ly/zuLJ50WUOC0.

Was a great time joining @benlorber8.bsky.social for this podcast. My fav topic 🙃

I had a great conversation with @benlorber8.bsky.social about rising criticism of Israel among the American right. You can listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... Will this ideological shift impact Gaza? Or is it all opportunistic? Listen to find out.

We are excited to announce the release of Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism, a mini-series from PRA and Diaspora Alliance! In this episode, hosts Shoshana Brown and @benlorber8.bsky.social define antisemitism and discuss how it's being weaponized post-October 7th. Listen now: bit.ly/4m3BT0v.

After showing his guns emblazoned with racial slurs, far-right slogans, Minneapolis shooting suspect displayed a message "Hail Breivik. Hail Brenton." Neo-Nazi Anders Breivik killed 77 in Norway in 2011. Brenton Tarrant killed 51 in shootings at 2 mosques in New Zealand in 2019.

On September 3 @praeyesright.bsky.social is launching a new podcast series, Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism, with our friends at Diaspora Alliance! Co-hosted by myself & Shoshana Brown, we unpack antisemitism & its misuse in our era of authoritarianism & genocide open.spotify.com/episode/75ZG...

A century ago, the European far-right railed against 'Judeo-Bolshevism' as a sinister, foreign and violent fifth column, threatening Europe from within. Today, Israel joins the European far-right in deploying the same scapegoating against Muslims.

The word ‘secular’ in ‘secular government of Israel’ carries many layers of meaning for MTG’s Christian nationalist audience. It’s meant primarily to dispute the Christian Zionist sacralization of Israel— Israel is not a state created by God to fulfill Biblical prophecy;

'But most right-wing Israel-skeptics are not anti-militarists. While they inveigh against U.S. support for war in the Middle East or Ukraine — a similarly contested fault line in the MAGA movement — they saber-rattle just as loudly against China'

A bunch of Gen-Z MAGA influencers just got back from a propaganda trip to Israel, likely funded by the hasbara group Israel365 which recently was awarded a grant to arrange the trips by the Israeli government in a bid to stem the rising tide of MAGA criticism

My take on the unfolding MAGA civil war over Israel for @972mag.com. It’s a long time coming- the product of imperial exhaustion, neocon overreach, generational change, horror over genocide, & shifting Christian nationalist views on Jews & Biblical prophecy www.972mag.com/israel-us-ma...

My latest @972mag.com on rising criticism of Israel within the MAGA camp-- what it looks like, who's driving it, why now, how Israel's defenders are responding, and how progressives should respond

"But most right-wing Israel-skeptics are not anti-militarists." "Their animating grievance is not solidarity with Palestinians, but nationalist humiliation, shame, and rage at the prospect of American decline." #USA #Gaza #Palestine #Israel #China #Genocide

When the world notices Christian Zionism at all it's in the US context, where it has fueled US support for Israel since the 1980s. But its fastest growth is across the Global South. A Ugandan jurist dissented from the ICJ genocide ruling bc "we are in the end times" www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/...

PRA’s @benlorber8.bsky.social dives into how Heather Johnston, a little-known Christian Zionist from Alabama, organized the recent congressional visit to the West Bank and why operatives like her shouldn’t be ignored by mainstream media. Read the full article @religiondispatches.org: bit.ly/3URGcRa

"But ultimately, they hope that Israeli Jews not only embrace Religious Zionism, but also develop faith in Jesus as the Messiah..."

My latest @religiondispatches.org - GOP leader Mike Johnson visited the West Bank yesterday & proclaimed support for Israeli annexation. But few noticed the Christian Zionist operative who has arranged trips like his for decades, driven by Biblical prophecy religiondispatches.org/media-fail-t...

A leading pro-Israel lawfare advocate- “of course the Jewish star represents the Jewish race.” His logic- attacking an Israeli flag is antisemitic, because essentially the Nazis were correct when they racialized Jews by forcing us to wear a Star of David. US district court agrees

The delegation was hosted by Heather Johnston, a Christian Zionist operative who founded the US Israel Education Association, based in the West Bank settlement of Ariel, to "play a hidden role" in "helping facilitate unfolding prophecies". From a 2021 interview--

The state of pro-Israel hasbara right now

People like to claim the pro-Palestine Left are hypocrites for fixating on Israel's injustices while ignoring unjust systems they benefit from in America. This is bogus of course- we oppose both- but ironically, the charge actually does fit for Israel's new critics on the Right.

This is horrific. It leaves me wondering how anyone will prove citizenship if a birth certificate no longer does so.

The issues of Epstein and Israel have combined to drive a wedge between Trump and his conspiratorial MAGA base, but those who applaud these developments and right-wing voices are playing a dangerous game, argues @benlorber8.bsky.social at @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/argument/pro...

Great digging on the white nationalist ties of Substack's most popular amateur historian. In a piece last week I highlighted Cooper/MartyrMade's recent interview on the 'Jewish Question' (screenshot). As his star continues to rise, he's less inclined to strategically camouflage his true beliefs

Alongside yesterday’s Senate Dem vote, another sign of major shift on Palestine- Tucker Carlson interviewed John Mearsheimer, who thoroughly unpacked the structural supremacy undergirding Israel’s oppression of Palestinians since the Nakba. Over 4 million views in 24 hours

Anger over Trump’s Epstein cover-up and his support for Israel have converged, and while Trump has long fashioned himself as an avatar of that revolt, now he appears as its target, writes @BenLorber8.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

What’s really driving U.S. evangelical support for Israel? Ben Lorber (Political Research Associates) exposes how End Times prophecy fuels Christian Zionism—and why that makes the movement deeply antisemitic. youtube.com/shorts/NByFM...

Every Jewish leader, too. Ruminating on the future of Judaism feels not only beside the point, but almost narcissistic right now. But it’s where my mind goes. Maybe it’s a kind of dissociative tactic, like I can’t sit with the helplessness I feel, that we all feel, when after/

The issues of Epstein and Israel have combined to drive a wedge between Trump and his conspiratorial MAGA base, but those who applaud these developments & right-wing voices are playing a dangerous game, argues @benlorber8.bsky.social at @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/argument/pro...

Really remarkable episode of posting through it with @benlorber8.bsky.social @jaredlholt.bsky.social and @michaelehayden.bsky.social Extremely thoughtful and measured. But never pulling any punches. It’s the exact conversation we should be hearing in progressive spaces more.

Good piece by @benlorber8.bsky.social on Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories and how easily they shade into antisemitism: newlinesmag.com/argument/pro...

Much has been written about the conspiracy theorist/MAGA celebrity/Trump whisperer Laura Loomer, but this piece by ‬@shaneburley.bsky.social and Jewish MAGA's uneasy alliance with white nationalists and antisemites is the deepest dive yet into this ideological swamp. newlinesmag.com/reportage/la...

Further reading: @shaneburley.bsky.social & @benlorber8.bsky.social co-authored this book on the weaponization of antisemitism by the right & how to combat the very real rise in antisemitism—AND (not unrelated) Islamophobia, racism, anti-immigrant hysteria www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741043...

Hard to find a unique angle on a saturated topic like Epstein but @benlorber8.bsky.social has done just that — he examines the antisemitic underbelly of the MAGA obsession with the billionaire pedophile and warns against progressive amplification of these narratives. newlinesmag.com/argument/pro...

A pair of MUST reads at @newlinesmag.bsky.social — @shaneburley.bsky.social on Laura Loomer and Jewish MAGA's danse macabre, @benlorber8.bsky.social on the antisemitic core of MAGA's obsession with Epstein and why progressives have no business jumping on the bandwagon. Ideology critique at its best.

My latest @newlinesmag.bsky.social. The MAGA crusade against Jeffrey Epstein & the pedophile cabal is built on a scaffolding of ultra-nationalism & antisemitism. Millions of Americans are ready to revolt against predatory plutocrats — only a mass progressive movement can really deliver it

NEW: Epstein and Israel have combined to drive a wedge between Trump and his conspiratorial MAGA base, but progressives who applaud these developments and right-wing voices are playing a dangerous game, argues @benlorber8.bsky.social at @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/argument/pro...

Mehdi is incredible in this. So few can do what he does. Great to hear someone of his stature say "I don't debate fascists." but that producers for Jubilee/Surrounded invited & platformed known white supremacist groypers & Holocaust deniers should prob render the show a pariah/no-go

If yesterday’s Christian Zionists once displaced their disavowed longing onto Israel- allowing for the Jewish state the very chauvinism they were afraid to openly desire in America- tomorrow’s Christian nationalists will displace their disavowed shadow onto Israel

I've identified "Pinesap" as 24 year-old Connor James Estelle. Thanks @benlorber8.bsky.social More x.com/ericlevai/st...

This ep is basically an extension of our Jeffrey Epstein and ADL coverage but with more Elmo 👇🏽 Please also follow the great @benlorber8.bsky.social!