It was wonderful to see so many of you bright and early today for the discussion with Brad Lander! I welcomed Brad back to The Debrief for a delightful, hopeful conversation about Jewish values and public service that may help you detox (at least temporarily) from the latest pathologies and cruelty in American politics.
Specifically, Brad and I spoke about:
Pivoting from local NYC politics to running for Congress in NY’s 10th Congressional district
Challenging Rep. Dan Goldman in the Democratic primary
Taking on AIPAC, its toxic role in American politics and Democratic primaries, and the Democratic Party burying its 2024 election autopsy over Gaza findings
Supporting the Block the Bombs Act and opposing occupation and genocide — while fighting for safety, freedom, and equality for Israelis and Palestinians
Assessing Mayor Mamdani’s first weeks in office and prospects for repair among a divided Jewish community in New York (and beyond)
Committing to public service and what it requires in the era of Trump (with a tip of the hat to President Harry S Truman and our fellow Truman Scholars!)
I can’t recommend this conversation enough and hope that you’ll share it with your networks. If you’d like to (re-)watch Brad and my previous conversation in October, just before the NYC mayoral election, you can do that here.
If you haven’t seen it yet, watch the lovely Mr. Rogers-esque ad introducing Brad Lander’s congressional campaign, which takes on AIPAC out of the gate:
CELEBRATE PURIM: SUBSCRIBE TO THE DEBRIEF!
Huge thanks to Brad Lander for making this Jewish holiday-themed pitch for folks to become paid subscribers to The Debrief:
I think people should make a Purim contribution.
You know, you’re thinking about Shushan, you’re celebrating, you can’t tell Haman from Mordechai.
Go ahead and throw Debra Shushan a subscription!
For those who are less familiar with Purim, which begins this Monday evening, it marks the story from the Book of Esther, in which Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai saved the Jewish people in 4th century BCE Persia — specifically, its capital, Shushan! — from a genocide plotted by the king’s advisor Haman. On Purim, Jews read the megillah (below) and there is a tradition whereby (some) Jews drink alcohol until they can’t distinguish between the cursed Haman and heroic Mordechai.
All to say… I agree with Brad! It would be delightful, meaaningful, and so greatly appreciated if you (Jewish or not!) would join me in celebrating Purim by becoming a paid subscriber to The Debrief. If you do, I’ll tell you the story of why my husband and I changed our last names to Shushan when we got married! It’s a good one.
Tues, March 3 at 12pm ET: Upside-Down Love with Sari Bashi
The Debrief’s author book talk with Sari Bashi is coming up next week! Just released in English and already a USA Today bestseller, Upside-Down Love: A Memoir in Two Voices is the impossibly unlikely love story of Sari and her husband Osama, who are now living and raising their children in the West Bank.
Options for ordering the book are here.
Sari is brilliant and thoughtful, a founder of the Israeli Gaza-focused human rights organization Gisha and now the Executive Director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI). She’s also an alum of The Debrief and I’m excited to welcome her back to talk about her book and new role at PCATI.
The book talk with Sari is exclusively for paid subscribers. Please join up and support The Debrief, if you haven’t already.
I’d love to hear your questions and comments for Sari! Please send them here:
One last thing…
I’ll be attending the J Street convention this Sunday and Monday. If you’ll be there and would like to meet up, drop me a line.
Warm regards, as always!
Debra
