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Jewish Currents

Jewish Currents is an American quarterly print magazine and online news outlet founded in 1946, originally as an organ of the Communist Party USA's Jewish section, dedicated to advancing left-wing Jewish politics, culture, and activism, including non-Zionist support for Israel's founding and contemporary critiques of Zionism and Israeli government policies.^[1]^[2]
The publication evolved from its communist roots amid the Khrushchev-era crisis, rebranding as a democratic socialist outlet in 1958 under editor Morris U. Schappes, emphasizing secularism, civil rights, U.S.-Soviet détente, and Palestinian statehood while condemning Soviet antisemitism.^[1] Acquired by the Workmen's Circle in 2005, it bridged Jewish left factions before a 2018 relaunch under editor-in-chief Arielle Angel, which targeted millennial and progressive audiences through redesigned print issues and expanded digital content on topics like antisemitism, race, labor, and the Israel-Palestine conflict.^[1]^[2] This revival positioned Jewish Currents as a leading voice for anti-Zionist Jewish dissent, fostering discourse untethered from mainstream pro-Israel norms and influencing younger activists amid rising campus protests and debates over Jewish identity.^[3]^[4]
While praised for literary quality and factual reporting, Jewish Currents has drawn criticism for its editorial alignment with extreme left perspectives, including consistent opposition to Zionism and selective coverage favoring Palestinian narratives over Israeli security concerns, reflecting a bias documented in media analyses.^[5]^[6] Its influence remains niche, appealing primarily to progressive Jews skeptical of establishment Jewish institutions, though it has garnered awards for journalism and contributed to suppressing historical lineages of Zionist critique within American Jewish communities.^[2]^[4]

Historical Development

Founding and Early Years (1946–1950s)

Jewish Life, the predecessor to Jewish Currents, was founded in November 1946 by affiliates of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) through the Morgen Freiheit Association, serving as an English-language monthly magazine to propagate a communist perspective on Jewish affairs and Israel-related issues.^[7] Key figures included Morris U. Schappes, who served on the editorial board as part of a group of CPUSA activists, and Louis Harap, who became managing editor from 1948 to 1957.^[8]^[9] The publication functioned as an unofficial organ of the CPUSA, reprinting speeches by communist leaders and defending Soviet policies, including initial denials of antisemitism in the USSR and Eastern Bloc.^[10]^[7] In its early years, Jewish Life emphasized opposition to McCarthyism, advocacy for Black-Jewish solidarity in civil rights efforts, promotion of Yiddish culture, and support for Israel's 1948 founding from a non-Zionist, diaspora-nationalist viewpoint that prioritized Jewish continuity outside Palestine.^[1] The magazine gained notoriety in the late 1940s and early 1950s for defending events like the 1952 Slánský trial in Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Doctors' Plot, framing them within anti-imperialist narratives rather than acknowledging Stalinist repression.^[10]^[7] The mid-1950s marked a pivotal shift amid de-Stalinization; following Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 speech exposing Stalin's crimes and reports on Soviet suppression of Jewish culture, Jewish Life issued a partial recantation for overlooking these issues, leading to a readership decline and gradual disaffiliation from direct CPUSA control.^[1]^[10] By 1957, under Morris Schappes's leadership, the magazine rebranded as Jewish Currents, transitioning toward independence while retaining a leftist orientation focused on critiquing Stalinism without fully rejecting Marxist-Leninist principles.^[7]^[1]

Cold War Era Positions (1950s–1980s)

During the 1950s, Jewish Currents—originally launched as Jewish Life in 1946 by the pro-Communist Morgen Freiheit Association—prioritized opposition to McCarthyism, framing it as a profound threat to American democracy and civil liberties rather than a legitimate response to communist infiltration.^[1]^[10] The magazine, edited by figures like Morris U. Schappes, celebrated Jewish resistance to Senator Joseph McCarthy's investigations, which had dismantled affiliated groups such as the 50,000-member Jewish People's Fraternal Order by targeting alleged communist ties.^[1] It also advocated for Black-Jewish solidarity in the civil rights struggle, aligning with broader left-wing activism while sustaining a readership drawn from former Communist Party USA members amid the era's red scares.^[1] A pivotal shift occurred in 1956 following Nikita Khrushchev's secret speech denouncing Stalin's crimes, prompting Jewish Currents to issue a public mea culpa for previously downplaying Soviet antisemitism, including defenses of the 1952 Slánský trial and Doctors' Plot, and to evolve toward democratic socialism; the publication was renamed Jewish Currents in 1958.^[1]^[10] Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, it critiqued Soviet repression of Jewish culture and emigration—condemning, for instance, the 1975 Ogonyok magazine's antisemitic content and declaring forced assimilation a "catastrophic" threat by 1982—yet distrusted the mainstream Soviet Jewry movement, such as the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, for aligning with U.S. Cold War hawks and prioritizing mass emigration to Israel over demands for cultural rights within the USSR.^[11] The magazine advocated U.S.-Soviet détente to ease tensions, reflecting lingering faith in socialist ideals despite growing disillusionment with Moscow's policies.^[1] On Israel, Jewish Currents maintained a "pro-Israel, non-Zionist" stance, affirming the state's right to exist as a Jewish refuge post-Holocaust while rejecting Zionism as "bourgeois nationalism" incompatible with diaspora Jewish identity.^[12] It praised Israel's early social-democratic character, supported its defense in the 1967 Six-Day War against Arab mobilization, and critiqued left-wing figures like Huey Newton for anti-Israel rhetoric verging on genocidal, but faulted Israel's post-1950 alignment with U.S. "imperialist aims" and called for Palestinian self-determination and a two-state framework.^[12] This positioning often placed the magazine at odds with both mainstream Zionist institutions and radical anti-Zionist elements on the left, emphasizing pragmatic peace over ideological purity.^[12]

Decline and Hiatus (1990s–2010s)

In the post-Cold War era, Jewish Currents faced challenges from waning interest in explicitly socialist Jewish publications, as the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 undermined the ideological frameworks that had sustained its readership among older Jewish leftists. Circulation dwindled amid broader declines in print media and the aging of its core demographic, which included survivors of McCarthyism and veterans of labor movements who had supported the magazine since its anti-Stalinist pivot in the 1950s. By the late 1990s, the bimonthly publication struggled with financial constraints and reduced relevance, reflecting the marginalization of organized Jewish radicalism in an ascendant neoliberal consensus.^[1]^[13] Morris U. Schappes, who had edited the magazine for over four decades since 1956, retired in 2000 at age 92, marking the end of an era dominated by scholarly critiques of Zionism and defenses of secular Jewish culture. His departure coincided with leadership transitions at the Morning Freiheit Association, the longtime publisher, exacerbating operational difficulties. Lawrence Bush succeeded as editor in 2003, introducing modest updates like expanded cultural coverage while preserving the democratic socialist orientation and quarterly print schedule. Under Bush, the magazine maintained a niche existence, attracting some Baby Boomer subscribers but failing to reverse readership erosion in the face of digital alternatives.^[14]^[13]^[15] In 2005, the Workmen's Circle, a secular Jewish labor organization, assumed publishing responsibilities, facilitating a merger with rival left-wing outlets and providing modest institutional support to avert closure. Despite these efforts, the 2000s and 2010s saw persistent low visibility, with issues produced on a shoestring budget and distributed primarily through subscription lists numbering in the low thousands. This era of subdued output and limited influence—often described retrospectively as a hiatus in the magazine's broader cultural impact—stemmed from the exodus of younger Jews toward mainstream institutions and the internet, leaving Jewish Currents as a vestige for an dwindling cohort of ideological holdouts. The period ended with Bush's retirement in 2018, paving the way for a generational shift.^[1]^[11]^[16]

Revival and Modern Reorientation (2018–Present)

In 2018, Jewish Currents was relaunched under the leadership of a new editorial team composed primarily of millennial Jews, marking a shift from its near-dormancy in prior decades. Arielle Angel was appointed editor-in-chief, overseeing a redesign of the print quarterly and the website to appeal to younger readers and expand digital outreach. This revival was motivated by contemporaneous political developments, including the Trump administration's policies and Israel's perceived rightward trajectory, which the magazine's leadership viewed as prompting a resurgence of diasporic Jewish activism independent of Zionist frameworks.^[1]^[17]^[3] The reorientation emphasized continuity with the magazine's historical Jewish left traditions while adapting to contemporary concerns, such as critiques of American Jewish institutional support for Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights. Under Angel's direction, content increasingly challenged mainstream Jewish organizations' alignment with Israeli policies, framing Zionism as incompatible with progressive values and promoting alternatives like binationalism or diaspora-centered Jewish identity. This stance drew acclaim from left-leaning audiences but criticism from pro-Israel commentators, who described it as a departure from the magazine's earlier non-Zionist but less confrontational positions toward outright opposition to Israel's existence as a Jewish state.^[18]^[6]^[19] Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing Gaza war, Jewish Currents intensified its focus on anti-Zionist narratives, publishing pieces that contextualized Palestinian violence as resistance to occupation while expressing sorrow over Israeli casualties but prioritizing critiques of Israel's military response. Angel articulated this approach in public forums, emphasizing the magazine's role in sustaining Jewish dissent amid institutional pressures for solidarity with Israel. The publication's coverage, including endorsements of armed Palestinian resistance in prior conflicts like May 2021, solidified its reputation among progressive Jews but alienated broader audiences, with external analyses noting a consistent left-wing bias in its editorial selections. By 2024, the magazine hosted events for donors to discuss sustaining its mission amid heightened scrutiny, reflecting both growth in niche influence and ongoing tensions with mainstream Jewish opinion.^[20]^[3]^[19]^[5]

Editorial Stance and Ideology

Core Commitments of the Jewish Left

The Jewish Left, historically rooted in early 20th-century immigrant labor movements, has long committed to socialist principles, emphasizing collective ownership, workers' rights, and opposition to capitalist exploitation, as evidenced by the involvement of Jewish radicals in organizations like the International Workers Order and the promotion of interracial unions during the Great Depression era.^[21] This economic stance drew from European precedents such as the Bund in the Russian Empire, which prioritized class struggle and Yiddish cultural autonomy over nationalist separatism.^[22] Secularism formed another foundational pillar, rejecting religious orthodoxy in favor of rationalist, humanist interpretations of Jewish identity to foster universal solidarity and combat what adherents viewed as reactionary religious influences.^[23] Anti-imperialism and internationalism underpin the Jewish Left's foreign policy orientations, particularly a longstanding critique of Zionism as incompatible with proletarian unity and often framed as a form of settler-colonialism that displaces indigenous populations.^[21] Prior to 1948, many Jewish leftists advocated for a binational democratic state in Palestine with equal rights for Arabs and Jews, opposing partition and Zionist militias; however, geopolitical shifts, including Soviet endorsement of Israel's creation, led to temporary alignments that overlooked the displacement of over 700,000 Palestinians during the Nakba.^[21] In contemporary iterations, this evolves into advocacy for Palestinian self-determination, rejection of Israeli policies described as apartheid-like, and solidarity with global anti-colonial struggles, reflecting a universalist ethic that extends Jewish historical experiences of persecution to all oppressed groups.^[2]^[24] Broader social justice imperatives, including anti-racism, anti-fascism, feminism, and environmentalism, integrate with these economic and geopolitical commitments, positioning the Jewish Left in alliance with American progressive movements while critiquing mainstream Jewish institutions for perceived acquiescence to power structures.^[2] This framework prioritizes diaspora Jewish culture and activism over state-centric nationalism, seeking to rebuild institutions that sustain leftist Jewish continuity amid declining traditional affiliations.^[25] Such positions, while rooted in empirical histories of Jewish radicalism, have drawn internal debates over secularism's rigidity and the practicality of universalism in ethnically charged conflicts.^[23]

Positions on Zionism and Israel

Jewish Currents espouses a non-Zionist editorial position, explicitly rejecting the characterization of Israel as the central Jewish homeland or diaspora Jews as exiles from it. In a 2012 article reflecting on its history, the magazine stated that it does not subscribe to Zionist ideology because it does not regard Israel in this manner, distinguishing itself from pro-Israel but non-Zionist perspectives by emphasizing universalist Jewish values over national particularism.^[12] The publication critiques Zionism as a historical project that repudiates diaspora Jewish life and aligns with settler-colonial dynamics, drawing on suppressed traditions of American Jewish dissent that prioritized Palestinian rights over uncritical support for a Jewish state. Articles argue that early 20th-century Jewish opposition to Zionism stemmed from ethical concerns about displacing indigenous populations, a lineage obscured by mainstream institutions favoring pro-Zionist narratives.^[4]^[26] This framing reflects the magazine's alignment with leftist ideologies that view Zionism through lenses of anti-imperialism and decolonization, though such interpretations often encounter pushback for minimizing security imperatives rooted in empirical histories of Jewish persecution and Arab rejectionism. Post-2018 revival under editor Arielle Angel, Jewish Currents intensified scrutiny of Israeli policies, hosting discussions on anti-Zionist organizing and rejecting "Zionist realism"—a paradigm critiqued as resigned acceptance of Israel's structural flaws without challenging its foundational legitimacy. Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, which killed approximately 1,200 Israelis, the magazine published pieces framing Israel's Gaza operations as "genocidal violence," aligning with protests by groups like Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and endorsing their 2023 statement of unequivocal opposition to Zionism as a political ideology enabling ethnic supremacy.^[27]^[28] These positions, while attributed to ethical imperatives for Palestinian liberation, have been contested by external observers for selective emphasis on Israeli actions amid Hamas's charter-mandated antisemitism and use of human shields, highlighting a pattern in left-leaning Jewish media of prioritizing causal narratives that downplay adversarial agency.^[3] Jewish Currents advocates studying Israel in tandem with Palestine, insisting that the latter's dispossession is inextricable from the former's founding, and criticizes U.S. pro-Israel advocacy for insulating Zionism from debate via legal or cultural mechanisms. It has dismissed liberal Zionist critiques of Netanyahu's government as insufficient without broader accountability for alleged genocidal policies in Gaza, where over 40,000 Palestinian deaths were reported by Gaza health authorities as of mid-2025, though independent verification remains contested due to Hamas control over data. Such stances position the magazine as a counterweight to mainstream Jewish organizations like the ADL, which view anti-Zionism as veiled antisemitism, but they also underscore systemic biases in progressive outlets that amplify Palestinian casualty figures while underemphasizing Israeli civilian traumas or rejection of two-state compromises by Palestinian leadership since 2008.^[29]^[30]^[31]

Relations with Mainstream Jewish Institutions

Jewish Currents has cultivated relations marked by sharp criticism toward mainstream Jewish institutions, which it portrays as uniformly committed to Zionism and resistant to internal dissent on Israel-related matters. The magazine contends that organizations including federations, synagogues, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) operate as "purveyors of Zionism," prioritizing ethnic solidarity and defense of Israeli policies over broader progressive values or Palestinian rights.^[27] ^[3] This perspective informs Jewish Currents' repeated accusations against the ADL for conflating anti-Zionist activism with antisemitism, inflating incident statistics to shield Israel from scrutiny, and subordinating domestic civil rights advocacy to pro-Israel lobbying.^[32] ^[33] ^[34] In turn, mainstream institutions and aligned commentators have rebuked Jewish Currents for undermining communal cohesion and Jewish peoplehood. The ADL, for example, decried the magazine's role in campaigns that prompted Wikipedia to downgrade the organization's sourcing reliability on Israel-Palestine topics, labeling the effort a "deeply disturbing" instance of coordinated anti-Israel bias.^[3] ^[35] Liberal Zionist figures, such as Yehuda Kurtzer, have criticized specific Jewish Currents pieces—like Dylan Saba's 2021 essay portraying Israel's Iron Dome as offensive rather than defensive—as "indefensible" and reflective of a disinterest in collective Jewish security concerns post-October 7, 2023.^[3] ^[36] These tensions trace to earlier periods, including the Cold War era, when Jewish Currents diverged from mainstream advocacy during the Soviet Jewry movement by rejecting calls for mass emigration exclusively to Israel and emphasizing alternative destinations amid concerns over coerced aliyah.^[11] In its post-2018 revival, the publication has escalated calls for "new Jewish institutions" detached from Zionist frameworks, arguing that existing bodies alienate younger, left-leaning Jews and fail to address power imbalances in the Israel-Palestine conflict.^[25] This advocacy underscores Jewish Currents' self-conception as a voice for a "suppressed lineage" of Jewish dissent, operating on the fringes of organized Jewish life where Zionist alignment remains the normative expectation.^[4] ^[3]

Content Formats and Output

Print Magazine and Thematic Issues

Jewish Currents publishes a quarterly print magazine that combines investigative reporting, essays, fiction, poetry, and artwork, emphasizing the perspectives of the Jewish left on domestic and international affairs. Following its 2018 revival under new millennial-led editorial leadership, the publication resumed regular print editions as a quarterly alongside its online presence, marking a shift from sporadic output during the prior hiatus to a structured format aimed at sustaining reader engagement through tangible, collectible issues.^[1] Central to the print magazine's approach are thematic issues, where each edition coalesces around a core motif to connect disparate stories, revealing patterns across eras, geographies, and disciplines rather than isolating events in silos. This structure, explicitly designed to highlight causal linkages and historical continuities, draws from the magazine's tradition of synthesizing leftist Jewish intellectualism with empirical scrutiny of power dynamics.^[18] Examples of thematic explorations include examinations of familial structures and intergenerational tensions within Jewish communities, as in early post-revival print efforts, and broader interrogations of moral panics or institutional responses to crises like those post-October 7, 2023.^[37] ^[38] Recent issues, such as Fall/Winter 2024 and Summer 2024, extend this model to contemporary debates on Zionism, diaspora politics, and cultural preservation, with print-exclusive layouts enabling immersive features like extended visual portfolios.^[39] Print circulation supports the magazine's nonprofit model, with issues available via subscription or individual purchase, fostering a dedicated audience amid digital proliferation. This format prioritizes depth over immediacy, allowing contributors space for nuanced arguments that challenge mainstream Jewish institutional narratives, though the thematic lens occasionally amplifies selective causal interpretations aligned with editorial commitments.^[1]^[38]

Digital Expansion and Podcast

Following its 2018 revival under new editorial leadership, Jewish Currents significantly expanded its digital operations, transitioning from a primarily print-focused publication to one with daily online output. The organization's website, jewishcurrents.org, became the central platform for in-depth reporting, political analysis, cultural criticism, and archival content, complementing its quarterly print magazine issues.^[2] This shift enabled broader accessibility, with features including event listings, full digital issues, and subscription-based newsletters such as the weekly Thursday edition, which deliver curated updates on Jewish leftist discourse.^[40] Membership programs, introduced to sustain the digital infrastructure, offer tiered access starting at $9 per month, encompassing print and digital subscriptions alongside exclusive online content.^[41] The digital expansion also formalized labor structures for online production, culminating in the ratification of a union contract for digital staff in January 2022, followed by a second contract in February 2025, reflecting growth in web-based editorial and multimedia roles.^[42] By 2025, the platform had evolved to include interactive elements like reader surveys on institutional experiences and calls for new Jewish organizations, underscoring its role in fostering online community engagement beyond traditional print readership.^[25] In June 2021, Jewish Currents launched its flagship podcast, On the Nose, as a biweekly audio series produced by the editorial team. The inaugural episode, titled "Jewish Feelings" and released on June 29, 2021, explored thematic elements from the magazine's Spring 2021 issue, setting the tone for discussions on the politics, culture, and ideological tensions within the contemporary Jewish left.^[43] Episodes typically feature staff-led conversations on topics such as antisemitism, Zionism critiques, leftist organizing, and cultural figures, with occasional guest appearances including activists like Angela Davis.^[44] Distributed on platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, the podcast has maintained a consistent release schedule, amassing episodes that address real-time events like reactions to Israeli policies or domestic Jewish institutional dynamics by 2025.^[45]^[46] This format extended the magazine's reach into audio, aligning with broader trends in digital media consumption among progressive audiences.^[47]

Key Publications and Series

Responsa is an ongoing editorial column in Jewish Currents, collectively authored by the magazine's staff to reflect internal discussions on pressing political, cultural, and ideological topics within the Jewish left.^[48] The series emphasizes analytical responses to current events, often critiquing mainstream Jewish institutional positions on issues like Zionism and antisemitism.^[48] The Uncivil Servant column, contributed by translator and writer Mitchell Abidor from approximately 2014 to 2018, reviewed books, films, and historical works related to Jewish experiences, including Soviet-era Jewish autonomy in Birobidzhan and émigré literature.^[49]^[50] Abidor's pieces, such as examinations of Yiddish poetry trials and immigrant theater histories, highlighted overlooked aspects of radical Jewish cultural production, drawing on primary translations and archival insights.^[49]^[51] Shabbat Reading List, a weekly digital series launched in the magazine's revival era, compiles curated book and article recommendations from staff, board members, and supporters, spanning Jewish studies, leftist activism, and global affairs.^[52] As of 2025, it has published over 100 installments, promoting works like analyses of Sephardi modernity and critiques of contemporary Jewish politics to encourage Shabbat reflection and broader reading.^[53]^[54] A Visual History of the American Jewish Left series, published in multiple parts starting around 2015, documented leftist Jewish publications and movements through archival images and commentary, covering outlets like Chutzpah and Tikkun.^[55] This effort preserved visual records of 20th-century radicalism, contrasting with dominant narratives in mainstream Jewish media.^[55]

Notable Figures and Contributors

Editors and Leadership

Arielle Angel has served as editor-in-chief of Jewish Currents since its revival as an independent bimonthly print magazine in 2018, guiding its editorial vision toward leftist Jewish thought, cultural criticism, and activism.^[2]^[13] Prior to this role, Angel worked as a fiction writer and editor, including contributions to outlets like Guernica, and drew from her family's Sephardic Holocaust survivor background in Thessaloniki, Greece, to shape the publication's emphasis on reimagining Jewish traditions amid contemporary political struggles.^[56]^[57] The publisher, Daniel May, manages fiscal and operational aspects, supported by deputy publisher Naomi Gordon-Loebl and managing director Cynthia Friedman, who handle strategic development and administrative functions.^[2] Managing editor Allison Brown oversees daily editorial workflows, while senior editor Nathan Goldman and culture editor Claire Schwartz contribute to content curation across politics, arts, and society.^[2] Associate editor Mari Cohen and news editor A. Gopalan focus on reporting and analysis of current events, including Israel-Palestine dynamics and domestic U.S. policy.^[2]^[58] Peter Beinart serves as editor-at-large, providing high-profile commentary on Zionism, antisemitism, and Jewish diaspora issues; a former New York Times columnist, Beinart has advocated for alternatives to the two-state solution, influencing the magazine's critical stance on Israeli policies.^[2]^[59] Nora Caplan-Bricker, a contributing editor and executive editor, brings experience from The New Yorker and Harper's, emphasizing investigative pieces on cultural and political intersections.^[2]^[60] The editorial board reflects a collective approach, with contributing editors like Ari M. Brostoff and David Klion shaping thematic issues.^[2] Governance includes a board of directors co-chaired by Kathleen Peratis and Mark Egerman, featuring figures such as M. Gessen and Lizzy Ratner, who provide oversight on advocacy and finances, alongside an advisory board with scholars like Judith Butler and Susannah Heschel.^[2] Editor emeritus Lawrence Bush maintains ties to the pre-revival era, while no major leadership transitions have occurred since 2018, underscoring stability amid growing readership.^[2]

Influential Writers and Pieces

Peter Beinart, a frequent contributor since the magazine's 2018 revival, has authored influential essays critiquing Israeli policy and advocating for Palestinian rights, including "The Era of Unconditional Support for Israel Is Ending" (2024), which argued that international backing for Israel was waning amid Gaza operations.^[61] His work, often drawing on Jewish ethical traditions to oppose a Jewish ethnostate, has positioned him as a leading voice in anti-Zionist Jewish discourse, with pieces like "What Israeli ‘Victory’ Looks Like" (2023) analyzing military escalations.^[3] Dylan Saba, a contributing editor, gained attention for "The Case Against the Iron Dome" (2021), which contended that Israel's missile defense system perpetuates occupation by enabling aggressive policies without accountability, sparking debate on military aid. Saba's essays frequently integrate historical materialism and critiques of U.S. imperialism, influencing leftist Jewish organizing on BDS and divestment campaigns. Mari Cohen, deputy editor, has produced reporting such as "How Support for Palestine Became a Hate Crime" (June 17, 2025), documenting U.S. legal actions against pro-Palestinian activism post-October 7, 2023, and highlighting tensions in Jewish community surveillance. Her pieces on anti-Hamas protests and Israeli PR efforts underscore the magazine's focus on dissecting power dynamics in advocacy. Emily Wilder's investigative work, including "Forty-Eight Hours in Israeli Captivity" (2024), detailed her detention by Israeli forces, amplifying discussions on press freedom and arbitrary arrests in the West Bank.^[62] Such firsthand accounts have bolstered Jewish Currents' reputation for on-the-ground reporting from contested regions. Other recurring contributors like Noah Kulwin, co-host of the Blowback podcast, have shaped the magazine's digital output through essays on U.S. foreign policy intersections with Jewish identity, while Mitchell Abidor's translations and historical analyses connect Yiddish radicalism to contemporary issues.^[63] These writings collectively advance the publication's ideological framework, prioritizing critiques of nationalism and capitalism within Jewish contexts.

Reception and Impact

Circulation and Audience Growth

In 2022, Jewish Currents maintained a circulation of 5,200 print subscribers alongside more than one million annual online readers, supported by a $1.6 million budget.^[64] Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, the publication saw rapid audience expansion, acquiring over 1,000 new paying subscribers in the ensuing weeks amid intensified coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.^[65] By September 2024, the subscriber base had nearly doubled to roughly 10,000, even without implementing a full paywall, driven by broader engagement in Jewish progressive discourse on the conflict and anti-Zionism.^[3] This growth contrasted with challenges faced by other niche magazines, highlighting Jewish Currents' appeal to readers seeking left-leaning critiques of Israeli policy and mainstream Jewish institutions.^[64] No public data on further circulation changes through 2025 has been disclosed, though the magazine continued emphasizing digital newsletters and thematic issues to sustain momentum.^[65]

Influence on Jewish Discourse

Jewish Currents has shaped segments of Jewish discourse by reviving and amplifying historical traditions of leftist dissent against Zionism, positioning itself as a counterweight to the pro-Israel orientation of major American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.^[4] Through essays, podcasts, and reporting, it promotes frameworks such as diasporism—emphasizing Jewish flourishing outside Israel—as viable alternatives to Zionist narratives, influencing debates among progressive Jews on identity and solidarity with Palestinians.^[66] This approach draws on empirical trends, including a 2021 Jewish Electorate Institute survey finding 38% of American Jews under 40 viewing Israel as an apartheid state, to argue for reevaluating uncritical support for Israeli policies.^[67] Post-October 7, 2023, the magazine emerged as a key venue for Jewish critiques of Israel's Gaza operations, hosting inter-generational discussions that challenge mainstream discourse's fusion of Judaism with Zionism.^[56] Its role in this rupture with Zionist institutions is evidenced by audience expansion: print subscribers stood at 5,200 in 2022, with online readership exceeding one million annually, before nearly doubling to around 10,000 subscribers in the following year amid heightened polarization.^[57]^[3] Publications like those endorsing Palestinian resistance perspectives have informed activist circles, including intersections with Jewish Voice for Peace's protests and Democratic Socialists of America debates on electoral strategy toward Israel.^[19]^[68] While its influence remains concentrated among millennial and younger progressive Jews—fostering a "storm-center" for anti-Zionist thought per left-leaning analyses—critics argue it exacerbates communal fractures by prioritizing ideological critique over consensus-building, as seen in leftist responses prioritizing anti-Zionism amid the Simchat Torah massacre aftermath.^[56]^[69] This dynamic underscores Jewish Currents' causal role in diversifying discourse but highlights limitations in bridging broader Jewish opinion, where surveys indicate persistent majority support for Israel despite generational shifts.^[67]

Achievements in Advocacy

In its early years, Jewish Currents opposed McCarthyism and promoted Black-Jewish solidarity within the U.S. civil rights movement, contributing to broader leftist coalitions against racial discrimination during the 1940s and 1950s.^[1] The magazine also advocated for U.S.-Soviet détente amid Cold War tensions and supported Palestinian self-determination and statehood from the late 1950s onward, positioning itself as a secular, democratic socialist voice critiquing both Soviet repression of Jewish culture and uncritical Zionism.^[1] Following its 2018 relaunch, Jewish Currents amplified advocacy for reallocating U.S. aid from Israel toward domestic priorities, aligning with groups like Jewish Voice for Peace in campaigns challenging unconditional American support for Israeli policies.^[27] In 2025, it released the Community Safety Campaign guide, a resource outlining strategies for Jewish organizations to foster "safety through solidarity" by building alliances with Palestinian, Black, and immigrant rights movements, aiming to counter isolationist tendencies in mainstream Jewish institutions.^[70] The publication has hosted events and published analyses critiquing efforts to defund or abolish UNRWA, framing such campaigns as extensions of broader attempts to suppress Palestine advocacy, thereby sustaining a platform for dissenting Jewish voices on international policy.^[71] These efforts have helped document and mobilize against what it describes as the criminalization of pro-Palestine activism in the U.S., including cases like that of Mahmoud Khalil in 2025.^[72] While direct policy victories remain limited, its reporting has influenced progressive Jewish organizing by highlighting successful local mobilizations, such as challenges to pro-Israel lobbying in electoral contexts.^[73]

Criticisms and Controversies

Ideological Bias and Representation Claims

Jewish Currents has faced accusations of left-wing ideological bias, manifested in its consistent advocacy for progressive causes and criticism of Israel, often employing loaded terminology such as labeling Israeli policies as "apartheid" or "genocidal" without incorporating counterperspectives from Israeli officials or Zionist viewpoints.^[5] Independent media evaluators rate the publication as left-biased, noting its one-sided editorial framing in articles on topics like U.S.-Israel relations and Palestinian self-determination, despite generally factual reporting.^[5] Critics, including pro-Israel Jewish commentators, describe it as a platform for "radical Israel-haters," tracing its roots to a 1946 founding by the Communist Party USA and arguing that its content mainstreams anti-Zionist rhetoric under the guise of Jewish dissent.^[74] Representation claims center on the publication's alleged exclusion of pro-Israel or Zionist voices, with former left-Zionist contributor Ralph Seliger severing ties after over two decades, citing editorial rejection of his perspectives and a post-October 7, 2023, shift toward virulent anti-Zionism that ignores Palestinian rejectionism and emphasizes Israeli culpability.^[6] Detractors argue this curates a narrow echo chamber, amplifying fringe anti-Zionist positions while sidelining the mainstream Jewish consensus, as evidenced by polls showing 80-90% of American Jews favoring pro-Israel stances, which Jewish Currents pieces have questioned or downplayed.^[75] ^[76] Such selectivity is said to misrepresent the diversity of Jewish opinion, prioritizing self-criticism and distance from Zionism over balanced discourse on Jewish security concerns.^[76]

Post-October 7, 2023 Coverage

Following the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and took over 250 hostages, Jewish Currents published an explainer article on October 10 describing the incursion as militants breaking through Gaza's barrier to invade "more than 20 Israeli towns and army bases in a gruesome attack."^[77] The piece contextualized the event within Israel's blockade of Gaza and prior rocket exchanges but acknowledged the scale of the assault, including killings at a music festival and kibbutzim.^[77] Just six days later, on October 13, the magazine ran an opinion piece titled "A Textbook Case of Genocide," authored by Raz Segal, which characterized Israel's impending ground operation in Gaza—announced in response to the attacks—as meeting the legal threshold for genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.^[78] Segal cited Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's announcement of a "complete siege" on Gaza, including cutting off electricity, food, and fuel, as evidence of intent to destroy Palestinians as a group, while framing the operation as an extension of long-standing policies rather than a direct retaliation.^[78] This early invocation of "genocide" against Israel, before significant ground operations or the full scope of Gaza casualties (which later exceeded 40,000 per Hamas-run health ministry figures) was known, contrasted with broader international hesitancy to apply the term, including initial rejections by bodies like the International Committee of the Red Cross.^[78] Critics contended that such framing minimized Hamas's deliberate targeting of civilians—aligned with the group's charter calling for Israel's destruction—and prioritized accusations against Israel over unequivocal condemnation of the attackers' atrocities, including rape, mutilation, and burning of victims documented in UN and Israeli forensic reports.^[76] ^[79] Publications like The Jerusalem Post accused Jewish Currents of amplifying "token" anti-Zionist voices that misrepresented U.S. Jewish opinion, where polls showed over 80% support for Israel's right to defend itself post-October 7, per surveys by groups like the American Jewish Committee.^[76] Subsequent Currents articles, such as "Weaponization and Denial" in April 2024, scrutinized Israel's evidentiary claims from October 7 footage and hostage testimonies as tools for justifying Gaza operations, while highlighting alleged counter-denials of Palestinian suffering, further fueling charges of selective outrage and alignment with narratives that equated victim and perpetrator.^[80] The magazine's coverage extended to critiques of antisemitism definitions, including a June 2024 analysis challenging the Anti-Defamation League's post-October 7 audit for conflating anti-Zionism with Jew-hatred, arguing it inflated incident counts by including pro-Palestinian protests.^[33] This stance drew backlash for downplaying documented spikes in antisemitic violence—such as synagogue attacks and threats tied to the attacks—amid ADL data showing a 400% U.S. increase in incidents.^[33] In September 2024, Brooklyn College canceled a Jewish Currents event on Gaza coverage due to security concerns and internal debates over the magazine's perceived one-sidedness, which organizers linked to broader fears of hosting views critical of Israel amid heightened campus tensions.^[81] A New Yorker profile in the same month depicted Currents staff as grappling with internal "angst and sorrow" over the war, increasing religious commentary like weekly Shabbat reflections, yet maintaining a focus on Israel's actions as disproportionate, which some saw as reflective of the publication's longstanding ideological tilt rather than balanced reckoning with Hamas's role.^[3]

Accusations of Anti-Zionism and Fringe Views

Jewish Currents has faced accusations from pro-Israel commentators and former contributors of promoting anti-Zionist ideologies that reject Jewish national self-determination in Israel as a core element of Jewish identity. Critics, including Ralph Seliger, a longtime associate who severed ties in 2024 after over two decades, describe the magazine's post-2018 relaunch under editor-in-chief Arielle Angel as a shift toward "virulently anti-Zionist" content targeting younger, progressive audiences, prioritizing criticism of Israel over broader Jewish concerns.^[6] This stance, detractors argue, aligns with fringe perspectives that frame Zionism as inherently colonialist or supremacist, diverging from mainstream American Jewish support for Israel's existence, where surveys indicate 73% of Jews view Israel favorably.^[76] Specific editorial choices have drawn ire for allegedly excusing or downplaying Palestinian militancy while demonizing Israeli actions. For instance, a June piece titled "The Gavel and the Gun" by Darryl Li labeled Israel as "apartheid, colonialist, and genocidal," with critics contending it overlooked Palestinian agency in conflicts and the human toll on Israelis.^[6] Similarly, "Resistance Through a Realist Lens" featured Angel alongside a Palestinian writer who uncritically referenced alliances between Hamas and groups like the PFLP and DFLP, prompting accusations of legitimizing radical violence under the guise of realism.^[6] Advisory board member Simone Zimmerman's article "Rhetoric Without Reckoning" rebuked liberal Zionists for insufficiently denouncing Israel's post-October 7, 2023, operations as "genocide," a term critics say inflates Israeli defensive measures while minimizing Hamas's role in initiating hostilities.^[6] High-profile departures underscore internal tensions over these views. Joshua Leifer, a former masthead editor, resigned in 2024, citing the magazine's refusal to explicitly condemn Hamas's October 7 attack— which killed over 1,200 Israelis—as a failure to prioritize Jewish vulnerability amid deference to pro-Palestinian extremes.^[6]^[3] Yehuda Kurtzer, in a 2023 Forward analysis, accused Jewish Currents of disinterest in "Jewish peoplehood and solidarity," portraying it as emblematic of a left-wing Jewish milieu detached from communal ties to Israel.^[3] Further critiques highlight the magazine's amplification of editor-at-large Peter Beinart's advocacy for a binational state solution, seen by opponents as erasing Jewish sovereignty and echoing historical anti-Zionist arguments that endangered Jewish survival by prioritizing assimilation or universalism over particularism.^[76] Funding from entities like George Soros's Open Society Foundations has fueled claims of ideological bias, with detractors arguing it enables misrepresentation of American Jewry's pro-Israel consensus through "as a Jew" framing that lends fringe anti-Zionism undue legitimacy.^[76] These accusations portray Jewish Currents not as a balanced progressive outlet but as a platform cultivating detachment from Zionism, potentially alienating mainstream Jewish institutions while appealing to a radical minority.^[82]

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