Jewish Diasporist Host, Ben Yanowitz, was invited on to local Santa Cruz radio station KSQD for an Interview with “Talk of the Bay”host, Meilin Obinata, alongside Rabbi Chel Mandell of the Tzimtzum Community, to explore the complexities of Jewish communal life in Santa Cruz, CA. Together they explored the way Jewish life has adapted since the pandemic and the changing communal politics as the community has polarized between Zionists and anti-Zionists post-October 7th, looking out how these moments have accelerated long-lasting trends within the community.

Check out Meilin's work on KSQD here!

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Big thank you to Aly Halpert for continuing to allow us to use her music!

We made it to Episode 50! Today, it's just Zach and Ben talking about the recent elections to the World Zionist Congress. They start discussing by how Zionism can (and should) be defined, followed by an overview of the voting process, the participating slates, they pros and cons of voting, and some possible alternatives to Jewish self-determination.

Zach's ongoing "Bundism Today" series can be found here

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Big thank you to Aly Halpert for continuing to allow us to use her music!

This week, Ben and Zach are joined by two organizers based in Palestine-Israel whose lives and political journeys inform powerful reflections on displacement, state oppression, solidarity, and the possibilities of joint struggle.

Kastuś, originally from Minsk, has moved through various diasporic contexts—Belarus, Australia, and now Tel Aviv — shares his path from growing up under authoritarianism to joining the Belarusian uprising in 2020, and working with Kompass Media (Ep. 26) and on his own to alleviate harm and expose the reality of state (and state-backed) violence.

Mohammed, a 48’ Palestinian from Umm al-Fahm, brings deep insight from growing up as part of an activist family and community, and reflects on his experience as a Palestinian student at an Israeli university in the wake of October 7.

Our conversation draws provocative parallels between the histories of European Jews and Palestinians—without flattening their differences—as a way to think about shared experiences of dispossession, repression, and resistance. On this 82nd anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, it is as important as ever to reject nationalist histories and challenge all forms of domination and hate.

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Thank you to Monsieur Jack for his beautiful rendition of the Partisan Song "Zog Nit Keynmol"