The Jewish Diasporist

In this episode Ben sits down Sydney Levy, a longtime activist and organizer who has worked with JVP, formerly as advocacy director, CJNV (Center for Jewish Nonviolence), JSWANA Bay and other organizations. Throughout the conversation, Sydney speaks about his experiences growing up within the insular Venezuelan Jewish community, before moving to Jerusalem as an "accidental settler" while studying...

In this episode we speak with three organizers of the United Jewish Peoples Order (UJPO) to explore their organization's storied century-long history, and its present work as a community organization committed to developing secular socialist Jewish life in Toronto (and Canada more broadly) through educational, cultural and social events and programs. Join UJPO, Naomi Klein and others on June 11th...

Ben and Zach are joined by Emanuel Ovadia, creator and editor of Gazoz De Frambuaz , a Ladino-centering zine based in Miami Florida. Gazoz De Frambuaz (Raspberry Soda) serves as a metaphor for the cultural exchange that's served as a a wellspring for Sephardic culture across the region that Sephardic Jews made their home after the Spanish Inquisition: Southwest Asia and North Africa. Our conversat...

Ben and Zach speak to Daniel Grossman, a member of Na'amod and fellow (former?) organiser within the British Jewish community, including the Union of Jewish Students and Board of Deputies. Our paths have crossed before... Member of UK Jewish body resigns over failure to call out Israel on Gaza | UK news | The Guardian (That's Dan!) yourparty.jewishdiasporist.com Subscribe to our collaborative YouT...

Zach speaks to Leah Robbins, one of the organisers behind the Achvat Olam Community Day School, the groundbreaking project to establish the first diasporist Jewish day school in Boston. (apologies for the audio being a bit rusty - Z) Learn more about Achvat Olam Subscribe to our collaborative YouTube Follow us on Instagram If you like the work we're doing here, please consider supporting us on Pat...

Chaia of Kleztronica and Rabbi Chel Mandell of Santa Cruz CA's Tzimtzum Community the first ever episode of the Jewish Diasporist recorded with a live audience. This episode was recorded live on September 15th. Chaia is an electronic composer working at the intersection of Yiddish culture and electronic club music. She weaves archival Yiddish samples with techno and ambient frameworks, creating hy...

Naomi Seidman , Director of the University of Toronto's Center for Diaspora and Transnational Studies joins us to explore the young academic discipline of Diaspora Studies, its history and contents, and its relationship to other academic fields. Subscribe to our collaborative YouTube Follow us on Instagram If you like the work we're doing here, please consider supporting us on Patreon ! Big thank...

In this episode, we are joined by Deatra Cohen and Adam Siegel, authors of "Ashkenazi Herbalism" and recently: "Woven Roots; Recovering the Healing Plant Traditions of Jews and their Neighbors in Eastern Europe." Their new book expands on their earlier work by foregrounding the ways plant medicine served as a medium for coexistence in a land that's often only remembered as a place of Jewish suffer...

Rabbi Chel Mandell of the Tzimtzum Community and Jewish educator and Diasporist Podcast Co-Host, Ben Yanowitz were invited on to local Santa Cruz radio station KSQD for an Interview for “ Talk of the Bay ,” hosted by Meilin Obinata, to explore the complexities of Jewish communal life in Santa Cruz, CA. The Jewish community in Santa Cruz is a microcosm of our diaspora at large. Change is happening...

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 fou...

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...

Becoming Gamers and Deporting Hitler - Let's Play Social Democracy: An Alternate History After much consideration, we have decided to relaunch the Jewish Diasporist for its 3rd year as a GAMING CHANNEL! Check out the full Let's Play episode in video on youtube! Play the game here! https://red-autumn.itch.io/social-democracy Thank you to Dan Nichols for continuing to allow us to use his Aleinu L'sh...

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...

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. Subscribe to our collaborative YouTube Follow us...

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 ! Su...

Uno Reverse Bundism. Zalman, former guest from episode 23, interviews Zach about Cafe Bund and the principles which guide his local and transnational organizing. Back with Ben next time for a biiiig episode :)) Bundist Zine Fundraiser Instagram: @ cafe.bund Subscribe to our collaborative YouTube Follow us on Instagram If you like the work we're doing here, please consider supporting us on Patreon...

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 Support the Rayyan Family Subscribe to our collaborative YouTube Follow us on Instagram If you like the work we're doing here, please consider supporting us on...

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...

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/peop...

Sukkot reminds us of the dwellings our ancestors lived in when they were fleeing Egypt, they are the temporary dwellings of refugees. Yet settlers have bastardized the holiday to be about occupying land, and often use the plants of the Lulav to claim Sukkot as a Zionist Holiday. In this episode, join Ben and Jordan for a walk as they creatively engage with the Holiday's halacha (Jewish Law/Way of...

So often, Jews and Palestinians are seen as separate, even diametrically opposed communities, yet what happens when we center those who hold both of these identities simultaneously? In this episode, Ben and Jordan are joined by Hadar Cohen, an Arab Jewish scholar, mystic artist and community organizer to discuss the complexities, tensions and possibilities of modern Arab-Jewish life and identity....

In this special crossover episode of The Jewish Diasporist and Labor Jawn, hosts Jordan and Gabe team up to interview Dr. Caroline Luce, a scholar of Jewish labor history in the United States. Together. They explore the rich and complex history of Jews in America, highlighting the intersections of immigration, labor unions, synagogues, mutual aid societies, and colonialism. Tracing the westward mi...

In this episode, Ben and Jordan discussed an institution near and dear to their hearts, URJ Camp Newman, with additional former campers and recent staff members, Dani and Ezra. Throughout the conversation, we explore the way camps serve as a microcosm of the diasporic Jewish world, offering a crucial space for young Jews to develop their identities while also highlighting many of the tensions betw...

Okay, not EXACTLY Paris... We venture into France for the first time to speak to Mati, one of the organisers of a new diasporist congregation in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, just north of Montmartre. Follow Le Shul Saint-Ouen on Instagram Subscribe to our collaborative YouTube Follow us on Instagram If you like the work we're doing here, please consider supporting us on Patreon ! Big thank you to Aly Hal...

Sophie Cardin (MPhil, Oxford) (Mazel Tov!) joins us to talk about her work on Yiddish Political Utopia, especially the work of Kalmen Zingman (1889-1929) author of "In the Future City of Edenia" (1918). We talk about Zingman and the other utopian writers of his time, what utopia is and the importance of utopian thinking in the present situation (fans of JD35 will love it in particular!) Zingman in...