Folks, I’m writing to share the recording of the podcast I did earlier today with Lawrence Winnerman, who kindly invited me to join him on his platform and curated a thoughtful discussion on Jewish Americans, Israel-Palestine, and the current political moment in the US.
Our conversation covered some of the same territory as my podcast yesterday with the fabulous Jess Craven, but it’s unique. This one (with Lawrence) was a conversation between two progressive Jewish Americans whose views overlap, with interesting differences that sparked thoughtful and hopefully fruitful dialogue.
We touched upon the advertised title of the discussion (“Will the Democratic Party Tear Itself Apart Over Israel-Palestine?”), addressing the recent attack against Scott Wiener by a small group of extremist thugs. We also covered ground inspired by Lawrence’s recent essay, “Zionist,” and spoke about genocide in Gaza and why we use that word.
If you’re interested in Zionism — what it was at its inception, what it looks like in practice in Israel today, how it came to focus on the Land of Israel/Ottoman-then-Mandatory Palestine, and why a critical mass of Jews came to embrace it against the backdrop of murderous pogroms and then the Holocaust — you’ll get a basic, necessarily incomplete primer.
This conversation will also be of interest to viewers who would like a working understanding of key Jewish organizations that focus on Israel-Palestine and where they fall on the political-ideological spectrum.
As always, I’d love to hear what you think! Comments are most welcome.
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TOMORROW (Thurs, July 2), 11:15am Eastern ← new time
This is a big deal, folks! Ro Khanna — Congressman from CA-17, progressive champion, and likely 2028 presidential candidate — will be making his debut on The Debrief!
TIMING NOTE: Khanna’s staff requested a slightly earlier start time, so we’ll get under way at 11:15am Eastern. I anticipate that we’ll only have 30 minutes with the Congressman.
It would be fabulous to have a robust audience for the live podcast! I hope you’ll join us!
Ro Khanna has long been a progressive leader pushing to change US policy on Israel-Palestine. Since Israel’s onslaught against Gaza following Hamas’ October 7 attack, Khanna has moved further to the left and spearheaded a number of significant efforts.
He is currently pushing to strip a provision mandating US-Israeli military integration from the National Defense Authorization Act, cosponsors the Block the Bombs Act, supports the UN commission’s finding that Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza, is leading a resolution calling for accountability regarding Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank, led a letter pushing for US recognition of Palestinian statehood, and became the first lawmaker to sign Track AIPAC’s PEACE Pledge. He also led the charge to pass a bipartisan War Powers Resolution to prohibit the US military from conducting unauthorized hostilities in Iran.
Friday, July 3, at 11am Eastern
Just in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I’ll speak with Ami Fields-Meyer about his new book, On Courage: How to Be a Dissident in an Age of Fear. It couldn’t be more timely. Ami is fresh off his interview with Rachel Maddow and I’m delighted to welcome him to The Debrief!
That’s it for now!
I hope to see you tomorrow at 11:15am Eastern for the conversation with Rep. Ro Khanna!
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Warm regards,
Debra
