Inside the Struggle Among Michigan’s Jews

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit peterbeinart.substack.comOur guest is Daniel Biss, who just won in the ninth Congressional district in Illinois. For people interested in what Congress will do regarding Israel-Palestine, Biss is an intriguing figure. His mother is Israeli. He studied there, and at one point even held Israeli citizenship. He identifies as a progressive Zionist, but his positions are left enough that he has been attacked by the Anti-Defamation League. Biss hit back, saying that the ADL traffics in “fear, intimidation, and extremism.”I disagree with Biss on some things, but this much is clear: Like Brad Lander, he is a new kind of Jewish member of Congress. We haven’t had many Jews in Congress willing to challenge the Israeli government, and its Jewish defenders, in the way he does. I was curious to learn more about his beliefs and his plans.Topics include:How Biss reconciles his belief in pluralistic democracy with his support of a Jewish stateBiss on a Palestinian right of return and on BDSHis decision, as mayor of Evanston, not to send the police to break up the pro-Palestine encampment at Northwestern UniversityHis conflict with the ADL and AIPACWhy he avoids the term genocide

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit peterbeinart.substack.comMy guest is Gilbert Achcar, professor emeritus of SOAS University of London. He is the author of many books, the latest of which is Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World-Historical Perspective. Topics includeWhy the US joined Israel to attack IranWas the Gaza genocide necessary to win Palestinians world support?Should the Palestinian solidarity movement be more critical of Hamas?

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit peterbeinart.substack.comOur guests are Rabbi Alana Alpert, the Rabbi of Tachiyah, a multi-generational congregation in Metro Detroit, and Alice Mishkin, a fellow at the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan.I Invited them to discuss Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan and the Jewish divide over his candidacy.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit peterbeinart.substack.comTo discuss the results of yesterday’s midterm elections, our first guest is Patrick Gaspard, who served as President Obama’s political director, as executive director of the Democratic National Committee, as US ambassador to South Africa and as president of the Center for American Progress.Our second guest is Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted Movement that in 2024 challenged Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to end their support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He was just elected to the State Senate in Michigan’s District 2, which includes Dearborn and Downriver communities.Topics include:Does the arc of history bend toward justice?How El-Sayed and Alawieh were able to overcome an avalanche of anti-Islamic attacksConverting the Democratic Party to populismChanging course on Israel-PalestineHow to convince the general public to care about liberal democracy

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit peterbeinart.substack.comThe Israeli elections were yesterday.To discuss the results, our first guest is Sami Abu Shehada, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and former Knesset member who led the Balad Party until he withdrew from this year’s elections after having been disqualified by Israel’s Central Elections Committee.Our second guest is Avrum Burg, a former Knesset speaker who has undergone a remarkable ideological journey and now questions Jewish statehood itself. We discuss the results of the Israeli elections and the nature of the Israeli political system.

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit peterbeinart.substack.comOur guest is Aharon Dardik. Aharon is an Israeli-American ex-settler, and conscientious objector to the Israeli military. He was a nonviolent activist at Columbia University. He was recently detained by the Israeli forces while doing protective presence for West Bank Palestinians during olive harvest. We discussed:Dardik’s experience attempting protective presenceTrying to converse with soldiersDardik’s childhood on a settlement and how he outgrew itInteracting with loved ones who still support IsraelWhether Israeli settlers should leave or remain, but as equals

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