What I've Been Thinking About
There's a lot to process in the current news cycle. Especially when it comes to Jews.
Image courtesy The Conversation
I’VE BEEN SILENT LATELY BECAUSE there’s been so much to keep up with on the subjects of Israel and Judaism. This is not the ideal response for someone writing a Substack, I know, so let me be transparent about what I’ve been thinking.
First—and it pains me deeply to write this—I am very glad that six months ago I made the difficult decision to turn down a senior Fulbright grant to Israel. I was beyond thrilled to win the award and excited to spend four months in Israel. But after Trump’s election, the situation felt way too volatile. I was afraid of exactly the kind of situation that has unfolded in Israel: war with Iran, with or without American interference.
I’m grateful for the current ceasefire, and hope it lasts. But what Israelis have been going through for the last number of weeks has been rough. For a tiny taste of it, I recommend reading this account, put together by my former elementary school classmate Joseph Zitt under the title “A Momentary War.” Joe made Aliyah in 2017 and now lives in Herzliya. He chronicles what it’s like to run for the shelter two, three, four times a night, to live with the constant threat of attack or a missile landing on top of you. To have all your daily activities canceled or postponed indefinitely because of the uncertainties.
Another development that validated our decision not to go was the resignation of all 12 Fulbright Commission board members earlier this month. The resignations came after the State Department overruled the commission’s scholar selections and canceled hundreds of awards, based on the research topics of those scholars, including climate change, gender, race, biology, agriculture, and environmental resilience.
I guess if we just put our fingers in our ears and sing la-la-la, the world will stop racing toward environmental disaster and social regression.
This was blatant political interference by the Trump administration—I would argue the most dangerous administration this country has ever had. According to the New York Times, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s proposed budget for next year cuts funding for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which includes the Fulbright program, to less than a tenth of its current level.
Will there even be a Fulbright program next year? Given this administration’s xenophobia and isolationism, it wouldn’t surprise me if the program was eliminated altogether. Which would be just one more of the huge losses we will all have to endure because of the greed, bigotry, cynicism, and arrogance of our current political “leaders.” (I put this in quotes because what’s happening now is not leadership; it’s bullying, the domineering imposition of the will of a few on a system that’s meant to reflect the needs of the many.)
Am I bitter? Hell yeah. I also recognize that while I’m mourning the loss of an opportunity, many others in America are undergoing immediate bodily and financial harm because of the policies of the current administration.
Image courtesy ABC News
ANOTHER ISRAEL- AND JEWISH-THEMED STORY I’ve been following with mixed feelings has been Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic primary win in the New York City mayoral race. depending on which news source you read, Mamdani’s victory is a triumph for Palestinian rights, a reflection of the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism, a giant step to the left for the Democratic party, new hope for the American left, or a win for progressive Jews who are critical of Israel.
The range of opinions is dizzying. And frankly, it’s all speculation at this point. Time will tell whether Mamdani is elected (I can’t believe he won’t be) and what, if anything, that will portend for residents of New York City, whether they’re Jewish or not.
The Hebrew phrase that keeps coming to mind as I contemplate Mamdani’s primary win is חוץ מזה, which literally translates to “besides.” Meaning, this may be true but then again that may also be true. It’s the “this and” school of thought, rather than the “either/or” way of thinking. An expansive rather than a restrictive approach. A spectrum rather than a binary.
Mamdani’s win may be both a win for progressive American politics and a blow for the Jews. It may be a step toward healing the historical Jewish/Muslim divide in the city, or it may exacerbate that animosity. Time will tell.
In the meantime I will keep up with my Hebrew lessons, in the hope that one day in the not too distant future I’ll get to spend time again in the complicated homeland of my people.