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JNS.org Pro-Israel liberals took particular pleasure last month in mocking the latest evidence that Jews on the far left know no limits in their hatred for Israel.

The object of their derision was Jewish Currents, a far-left publication that issued a formal apology to its readers for accepting an advertisement from the Dorot Fellowship for a 10-month-long fellowship program for American Jews in Israel. But as much as its hard not to laugh at the contortions those on the far-left go through to maintain their standing as good Jews in the eyes of their antisemitic ideological allies, mainstream Jewish groups that are still trying to promote a two-state solution with the Palestinians may be the ones who have lost touch with reality.

The fellowship was explicitly pitched as open to both Zionists and non-Zionists, and requires participants to return to the US upon completion of their stay rather than remaining in Israel. Many of its past graduates have gone on to careers in progressive groups that are bitterly critical of the Jewish state, like J Street and the New Israel Fund, and are vocal Israel-bashers. But the mere fact that this program took place in Israel was enough to generate a backlash against the magazine. Within a day, its editor issued a public apology, claiming that it was not in line with our values and had somehow not been vetted properly. That seemed to imply that the values of Jewish Currents consist of support for boycotts of Israel.

Jewish Currents was founded in 1946 as an organ of Communist Party USA. It tottered along for decades as an organ of red diaper babies still trying to justify the Stalinism of their deluded parents, even as it retreated a bit from their ideological extremism. Eventually even that limited audience died out, and the publication merged for a few years with the socialists of the group formerly known as the Workmens Circle, before collapsing altogether. But it was revived in 2018 by a new generation of radicals and scored something of a coup in 2020 when author Peter Beinart, the former tribune of liberal Zionism-turned dedicated anti-Zionist, left The Forward and joined its ranks.

This publication ought to be one of the preferred outlets of members of anti-Zionist and antisemitic groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine. But the audience of Jewish Currents remains small, perhaps because in its target demographic, the appetite may be limited for any title that includes the word Jewish.

Still, some of the mockery of Jewish Currents from liberal Zionists who still believe in Israels right to exist struck me as a bit hollow.

There are still many more American Jews who define themselves as liberal Zionists than those who identify with the anti-Zionist radicals at Jewish Currents. But the shift in the Democratic Party base in favor of anti-Israel figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) as well as her openly antisemitic Squad colleagues like Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and away from the aging moderates who still claim to be allies of the Jewish state, cant be ignored. People who read Jewish Currents and it is telling that AOC follows it on Twitter are illustrative of a tiny minority of American Jewry. But anti-Zionism is becoming less of an outlier position if not altogether respectable among Jewish elites in fields like journalism, something that is reflected constantly in the pages of publications like The New York Times.

Jews who think, like so many antisemites, that one Jewish state on the planet is one too many are setting themselves up for disappointment. The nearly 7 million Jews who live in Israel arent about to acquiesce to their extinction of their state. But the notion that a two-state solution involving the creation of what would actually be a second independent Palestinian state, along with the one in all but name currently ruled by Hamas in Gaza, is no more realistic than Beinarts fantasies about the end of Zionism.

The reason is that the ambitions of the Palestinians are more in tune with the values of Jewish Currents than they are with those who claim to be both pro-peace and pro-Israel. That was confirmed for the umpteenth time by a recent item published in Haaretz.

The article by anti-Zionist journalist Amira Hass was a reaction to the recent visit of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas to the home of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz. The meeting, at which Gantz made some concessions on financial support and other matters to Abbas without getting anything in return, was denounced by right-wing members of Israels governing coalition.

Gantzs critics were correct that appeasing Abbas while the PA still funds terrorism is wrong. But the move could be defended as being little different from past decisions by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing governments to allow funding to flow to Abbas and even, albeit indirectly via Qatar, to Hamas. The justification is that while Abbas and his Hamas rivals will never make peace with Israel, it is in the interest of the Jewish state to keep the Fatah government of the West Bank afloat and even to ensure the same for Hamas rule in Gaza if it will help motivate these bad actors to maintain relative quiet.

Yet it also stirred the hopes of some Jewish liberals that the meeting was a harbinger of future peace talks that would, with the proper amount of pressure coming from the Biden administration, mean that their two-state hopes are not dead.

But as Hass reported from Ramallah, when Abbas invited Palestinian intellectuals, writers and journalists to his headquarters to discuss this, those who thought he would give some outline of a political horizon for action were disappointed. Abbas did repeat his usual threats that the corrupt PA would collapse without more financial help, and that without even more Israeli concessions he would take drastic measures to revive the Palestinian cause. Abbas has been saying the same things throughout the 17 years of the four-year term to which he was elected as PA president, and his current threats are no more credible now than in the past.

But his main subject was something else. As Hass reported, To everyones surprise he expatiated at length about the origins of Ashkenazi Jews (Khazars who converted to Judaism, he says), and about the differences between Ashkenazim and Mizrahim, Jews from Arab and Islamic countries.

Even after being given a gift of concessions at no cost to himself, Abbas main obsession remains promulgating long-since-debunked conspiracy theories such as the one about the Khazars in order to delegitimize Jewish rights to their homeland. Nor should it be surprising to learn that a man whose doctoral dissertation supported Holocaust denial should be thinking along these lines.

With such a person who is, after all, the supposed moderate as opposed to the radicals of Hamas peace is impossible. And since the nature of Palestinian political culture makes it hard to imagine a less hateful thinker replacing him, that vindicates the position of the majority of Israelis who believe that the status quo must be maintained indefinitely since there is no other choice compatible with their countrys survival.

The distance between those Americans who deny the legitimacy of a Jewish state, and a Palestinian leader who promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories, isnt so great. But though their position is much more respectable than one grounded in hate, it is those Jews who cling to a belief in two states as a path to peace who are truly disconnected from Palestinian reality.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNSJewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.

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Anti-Zionist Jews Are More in Tune With the Palestinians Than Jewish Liberals - Algemeiner

The Ontario Liberals are calling on the Doug Ford government to bring in the military to help long-term care homes and hospitals struggling amid a surge of COVID-19 cases.

The partys leader made the statement at a virtual news conference on Wednesday morning, saying that Quebec reached out for military assistance to help with its vaccine roll out and received it.

We believe that its so important to pick up the phone and call the prime minister, to reach out to the federal government to seek support and help from Canadas military to come into Ontario to help deal with the challenges that we have in both nursing homes and hospitals, Steven Del Duca said.

I dont want (Premier) Doug Ford to wait another week or two or five. I dont want to be scrambling at the last second. I want that conversation to occur today.

The Canadian Armed Forces were first deployed in Ontario in April 2020 to help seven long-term care homes grappling with severe COVID-19 outbreaks. The military has been utilized sporadically since then, helping at hospitals and nursing homes struggling amid outbreaks or severe staffing shortages.

More recently, in April 2021, three medical teams comprised of nursing officers, medical technicians and other Canadian Forces members were sent to Ontario hospitals to assist in intensive care.

Del Duca also asked that the premier recall the legislature and repeal Bill 124, which limits regular salary increases for nurses to one per cent for each 12-month period.

The bill was introduced by the Ford government in 2019 to ensure that increases in public sector compensation reflect the fiscal situation of the province.

We know how critically important that is because we are facing incredible burnout, incredible number of nurses in particular who are leaving the profession because they know in their heart the premier doesnt respect the work that they do, Del Duca said.

The Liberals are also calling for a speedier credential process for internationally trained nurses, to allow staff to be seconded at alternative hospital sites on an emergency basis, and for the government to invite other registered health professionals to participate in vaccinations in order to free up doctors and nurses.

Today we are urging Doug Ford to do the right thing. Take these five concrete suggestions, move on them urgently and position our health-care system so that it can continue to be resilient.

A spokesperson for the Minister of Health told CTV news Toronto in a statement they took swift action "to blunt transmission and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed."

"If the Del Duca Liberals werent asleep at the wheel they would know that two weeks ago our government issued a call to arms to allow more individuals to safely administer the COVID-19 vaccine, including but not limited to registered and retired health professionals, paramedics, dentists, and firefighters," Alexandra Hilkene said.

"We will continue to work with our health care and hospital partners to ensure they have the support they need and will not hesitate to take further action as needed."

The government did not say whether the premier was considering asking for military assistance.

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Ontario Liberals call on Doug Ford to bring in military to help assist long-term care and hospitals - CTV News Toronto

Dont Look Up dramatically exposes the cynicism of the ruling class, who prioritise their own profits above saving the planet. But despite exposing the dead end of capitalism, the film ignores the potential for the working class to transform society.

Adam McKays satirical film Dont Look Up (available on Netflix) is one of the most divisive films of the year just gone.

The premise of the film is very simple. We follow astronomer and PhD student Kate (Jennifer Lawrance) and her supervisor, Prof Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), who have discovered an enormous comet heading straight towards Earth. They try to warn the world that there is a 99.7% chance that the planet will be destroyed.

Clearly, the comet is a metaphor for climate change. The 99.7% probability is a reference to the percentage of scientists who agree that climate change is happening and that human activity is responsible for it.

ALERT! This review contains significant plot spoilers.

Initially, when the astronomers attempt to alert the President of the existential threat, she reacts by calculating the effect of a possible decision on the upcoming mid-term elections. She ignores the threat when she concludes that telling people of the comet may not be advantageous to her mid-term electoral campaign.

Frustrated, the astronomers speak directly to the media. But they find that their news gets barely a mention, as it is squeezed between segments. They are told by the TV hosts that they need to keep it light, airy and fun. Theyre questioned over whether the comet is actually real, whether this is not all a lie, and whether the planet is actually in danger.

Only when the president drops in the polls does she decide to take action.

Kate tells her: I didn't vote for you. But this is obviously much bigger than my misgivings. So I will be 100% behind this effort. No matter how offensive I may find you.

In other words, she states that this is not a political question; that they should put aside their differences, and all come together.

BASH CEO, Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance), is an obvious composite of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos. He proposes mining the mineral resources on the comet, worth trillions of dollars. When his plan is leaked, the establishment launches a cynical campaign, explaining that mining the comet will create more jobs.

When the comet becomes visible in the night sky, the astronomers launch a Look Up campaign to convince the president to destroy it. The campaign is based on how liberals approach activism, i.e. raising awareness, asking the government politely to do something, with no involvement of workers or the masses.

In response, the President organises a Dont Look Up campaign, the supporters of which are clearly a sneering caricature of Trump supporters.

Meanwhile, Insherwells plan to mine rare minerals from the comet and shatter it into several harmless pieces fails. However, he, the president and a few hundred of the super-rich have a back-up plan to escape Earth on a spaceship and settle on another far-distant planet, leaving the ordinary people to die.

Dont Look Up is about how the capitalists despite having the resources and technology to solve the crisis prioritise their profits over saving the lives of the other 7.9bn people on the planet. To this effect, the film is good at exposing the cynical calculations of the establishment.

But where the film fails is its lack of any solution to this crisis facing humanity. This is ultimately since the film has been made from a liberal, not a socialist, point of view.

Of course, this is not the only film about a comet threatening our planet see Deep Impact and Armageddon, for example. However, it is extremely telling how confident these films are regarding saving humanity, in comparison to Dont Look Up.

Today, such illusions have been vaporised by the ruling class woeful response to the climate crisis and pandemic. It is true that if such issues are left to the capitalist class to solve, the result is that millions of ordinary people die.

Although the liberals are correct to not trust the conservative wing of the ruling class in solving these crises, they are incapable of seeing that the solution lies with the working class. In Dont Look Up, the working class is cynically portrayed as sheepish and stupid, simply as people who riot and loot.

For example, the film mocks how some people might be attracted to the idea that mining the comet will create jobs. This is typical of how the liberal establishment fail to understand how Trump gained popularity within a section of the working class with his promises of revitalising the US economy.; especially when you consider that the alternative was the establishment figure head Clinton.

If the entire planet is at stake, with eight billion lives about to be lost, just for a potential opportunity to make the rich even richer, then a very reasonable suggestion would be to take matters into our own hands.

This film has been released in a period where millions worldwide have taken to the streets over the climate, Black Lives Matter, and against austerity. But the potential for the working class to take power into its own hands to solve the crisis is completely ignored throughout.

At the end of the film the protagonists realise that all is lost; they are doomed. Kate says: Im thankful that weve tried. But had they actually tried?

Asking the establishment politely to give up their profits through a toothless campaign was bound to get them nowhere. And as their campaign predictably failed, they resigned themselves to their fate, went back to their families, and sought comfort in religion.

The film is profoundly pessimistic and fatalistic: a reflection of the outlook of liberals who see only doom and gloom as capitalism further deteriorates. Whether on the climate question, the pandemic, or even sexism and racism, they have nothing to say. They are oblivious to the fact that as capitalism declines, a new society is struggling to be born.

We need to shape our own fate and take ownership over our future. Whilst the liberals sit and weep, we fight for a socialist society based on the needs of the working class.

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Review: Don't Look Up: Don't leave it to the liberals to save us - Socialist Appeal

Ahead of another critical Covid-era general budget and an upcoming series of state elections, noted economy & political commentator Swaminathan Aiyar said the very fate of reforms in India likely hangs on which way the UP verdict goes.

"A lot of liberals like me might be very happy to see BJP lose the UP elections, but from the point of view of the economy, a bad BJP loss would mean a sudden squeeze or sudden slowdown in the entire reform process and that would not be good for the economy," said Aiyar in an interview to ET Now.

As it is, reforms have already been kind of relegated to the backburner following the major fiasco on the farm laws. Aiyar notes that after being badly bitten by the farmers agitation, Modi govt itself wants to go easy and slow on reforms. While the three farm laws were the most visible casualties, other reform measures including monetisation and the four labour laws will suffer too, he says.

Aiyar says that a lot hinges on the UP outcome: if BJP does well, it will be a vindication that the farm protests didn't reflect the general mood and so, the govt will double down on reforms. It will bode well for the fate of the entire pending reform pipeline. And India needs this to happen, because a govt must learn to look beyond protests that any privatisation brings in its wake, he notes.

If, on the other hand, the BJP loses or does badly in UP, it will lead to panic in government circles regarding the unpopularity of reforms, Aiyar says. That will send a lot of negative signals to the government, and at a time when there already is a lot of sloth in the monetisation process, such signals will wreck the reform agenda, he adds.

Bad signals from UP will likely stall the already sputtering monetisation of assets, leaving the govt with no realistic chance of meeting its target, Aiyar notes. "The national monetisation pipeline is supposed to get lakhs of crores of rupees within a few years. Will that really happen with this kind of slowdown of reforms," he asks.

As an example, Aiyar cites the UP electricity reform case. It may be recalled here that attempts to reform the UP power sector a while ago had led to a serious loss of face for the authorities there. As soon as official announcements were made, the electricity staff ganged up and threatened to shut down the entire state, following which the government had to beat an ignominious retreat. This, when New Delhi's stated official power policy is all about privatising discoms.

After the UP lesson, the BJP is moving very cautiously even in places that are under its rule, such as Puducherry and Chandigarh, Aiyar observed. All this means the reform process will without doubt be in danger if BJP suffers a serious defeat in UP, and will get a boost if the party has a good victory, he added.

He said the UP poll outcome will be more important than the budget in deciding the economy's road ahead. With the budget coming after the polls, the budgetary announcements will depend on which way UP goes, he said, adding that budget & UP polls together constitute the big picture at the moment.

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A BJP loss in UP will be bad news for economy even if it makes liberals happy, says Swaminathan Aiyar - Economic Times

More than 250 bills aimed at reducing the rights of LGBTQ+ people are currently working their way through state legislatures in the United States, or have already been passed. Thirty-three states, including Pennsylvania, have introduced upwards of 100 bills specifically targeting transgender and gender non-conforming children and adults. As the country begins to emerge from the pandemics shadow, 2021 is shaping up to be a banner year in many ways, including an unprecedented amount of proposed anti-trans legislation.

Meanwhile on a national level, the Education Department announced on June 16 that discrimination against students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited under Title IX,a 1972 law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools.The change reverses one of numerous Trump-era policies curtailing transgender rights.

We definitely are in the middle of a major cultural war, a major political war, says Heather Love, professor of English in the School of Arts & Sciences. You cant go through the Trump presidency and not think that there is a kind of crisis around white male identity. Many of the societal problems plaguing Americalike deindustrialization and affordable health careare difficult to fix, she says, while policing bathrooms and locker rooms is more manageable and easier to accomplish.

When there is pent-up tension within society, gender and sexuality provide an easy outlet for persecution, Love says. Trans youth are being attacked in that context, as a vulnerable population that is continually served up, like game pieces in the culture wars.

Im not sure if the intent is actually to cause trans death, says Love, but that will certainly be the effect.

Of the 117 state bills focusing on gender identity that were introduced in 2021, 58 target gendered spaces and activities such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and school sports. Twenty-nine aim to further restrict access to gender-affirming medical care.

The sports-related bills would require students to play on teams consistent with their birth-assigned sex, framing it as a Title IX issue. This includes HB 972, Pennsylvanias Save Womens Sports Act.

Athletics is often portrayed as a level playing field, says Love, cordoned off from all the inequalities and power dynamics that we know to be true in society. You just put everybody on the field and they can work it out in some kind of fair arena.

Were talking about mental health issues, were talking about separation from community and family. There are economic [and] educational repercussions and consequences for not allowing folks to be who they are. Causha Antoinette Spellman, a Ph.D. student in the School of Social Policy & Practice

In reality, she says, sports are integrated into culture, and in the U.S. they can be tied to scholarships, accolades, and even future earnings. Citing a 2020 Connecticut lawsuit, detractors claim transgender girls would have an unfair physiological advantage over cisgender teammates if allowed to play on girls teams. This, some lawmakers have alleged, would deny young cisgender women athletic scholarships, despite the fact that no trans students have been offered athletic scholarships since the NCAA approved a trans-inclusive policy in 2011. Trans-identified people make up 0.6% of U.S. adults, according to a 2020 Gallup poll.

Is there this huge group of trans women taking over athletics? asks Erin Cross, director of the Universitys LGBT Center. No. A lot of these bills are out of fear. The fear of not being able to put people into boxes.

This is a way to build up ideas around fear that the country is changing, and we need to hold on to our old values, continues Cross. I think a lot of these folks have never met a transgender person. A trans personyoull see[is] just like anybody else.

This includes Lia Thomas, co-chair of Penn Non-Cis, a club that aims to build community for trans and non-cis people. One of my big concerns for trans people is feeling alone, she says. Even if you dont pay attention to the news [about] states proposing and passing vicious anti-trans legislation, it can feel very lonely and overwhelming.

For Thomas, relief has always been found in the water. Swimming is a huge part of my life and who I am. Ive been a swimmer since I was five years old, she says. The process of coming out as being trans and continuing to swim was a lot of uncertainty and unknown around an area thats usually really solid. Realizing I was trans threw that into question. Was I going to keep swimming? What did that look like?

Thomas took a year off during the pandemic and will swim for the Penn womens team in her senior year. Being trans has not affected my ability to do this sport and being able to continue is very rewarding, she says.

In April, 2021, under the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, Arkansas became the first state to ban doctors from administering hormones or puberty blockers to minors. Puberty blockers, which are also administered to treat precocious puberty in cisgender children, are sometimes prescribed to trans children experiencing gender dysphoria to delay the onset of secondary sex characteristics. Were a child to cease taking these medications, by choice or by circumstance, puberty would resume its initial course.

Trans youth are being attacked as a vulnerable population that is continually served up, like game pieces in the culture wars. Heather Love, professor of English in the School of Arts & Sciences

Studies have found that trans and gender non-conforming youth are at a greater risk of suicidality than the general population, and that access to gender-affirming care and social support significantly lowers that risk. Yet, Love says, language in laws like the SAFE Act suggests that government inference is necessary to protect children from harm. Theres a kind of fantasy that, because theyre in the space of development, somehow trans life could be stopped, says Love. If you stop youth from becoming trans then you solve the problem, whereas we know that not to be the case. Unfortunately, its a time when people are extremely vulnerable.

The biggest misconception is that trans people are confused and you can change them, says Causha Antoinette Spellman, a social welfare Ph.D. student in the School of Social Policy & Practice. Well look back on this time and there will have been a concentration of suicides as a result of children and youth not being able to be who they are.

We have a big fear response to anything that deviates from normality, says Spellman. Western society, they say, claims that its citizens need to operate from within binaries or the system wont work, but what that really means is that the system will no longer uphold patriarchal privilege. Spellman says, We know that a system that works for trans people works for everyone.

Spellman, who studies Black and Indigenous queer and trans youth at the intersection of the child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice systems, came out as non-binary while in earning their masters in social work at the University of Hawaii. There, Spellman was surrounded by an entire population and community of folks [for whom] the third gender, or mh, was revered and were the holders of their culture, they say. Learning about that level of Indigeneity in a gender that doesnt exist on the binary gave me the freedom that I didnt find in Western culture.

When it comes to ideas about gender, Love says there is a real groundswell of transformation in the U.S., particularly among young people, and these bills are a direct response to try and stop that transformation. You can limit access to health care or punish people who are in schools at the moment, but these are violent measures that cant really stop the wave of whats happening, she says.

Its collapsing, agrees Amy Hillier, associate professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice. The monster appears biggest before it falls.

The idea that everybody fits neatly into this boy or girl category, this man and woman category, is oppressive for anyone who wants to know themselves better, Hillier says. Its imposed on us, its a form of social control, and it doesnt give us room to explore.

Judith Butler and other queer theorists argue that gender has been made to seem like the most central, biologically natural thing in the world, says Love. You know, people are just men or women, get used to it. Thats a fact. But if it were actually so natural, if it were actually just the way things are, why would you need such violent policing around it? Love asks. You have to force it to appear natural.

Ideas about sex and gender have shifted throughout history, says Spellman. An estimated1-2% of the U.S. populationis intersex, and gender roles have always varied by culture, era, and influence. What we now call transgender or gender expansive has existed in Indigenous cultures across the world since the beginning, as long as people have existed, they say. There was a time when wigs and high heels were reserved for men of high esteem, and high caliber, and money and power. Somewhere along the line, it shifted to femininity and therefore weakness.

Sexism and patriarchy are at the heart of these efforts, says Hillier. The gender binary is about keeping people in their place. Its very threatening when folks start to question these categories. For some folks, its the undoing of the moral order.

Trans and gender non-conforming individuals are disproportionately exposed to violence, discrimination, and suicidal ideation, says Spellman. Losing access to gender-affirming care or being legislated out of participating in public life amplifies all of these risks. This vulnerability worries Spellman.

Im scared. Were talking about mental health issues, were talking about separation from community and family, they say. There are economic [and] educational repercussions and consequences for not allowing folks to be who they are.

Spellman is particularly concerned about the mental impact of the proposed and passed bills on trans youth, especially as states reopen. School-age children have to navigate a return to physical classrooms and the ensuing academic push from teachers and administration. What theyre missing, says Spellman, is that students wont be on track academically if theyre simultaneously navigating restrictions around gender expression and bathroom usage.

Everyone is probably aware of a young person in crisis right now, Love says. But for trans and gender non-conforming youth in particular, the collision of this onslaught of anti-trans legislation with the emergence from more than a year of isolation is a crisis moment, she says. From Loves perspective, athletic participation is not about getting a trophy, but about developing a basic sense of well-being: To cut off peoples access to this kind of affirmation and community, especially now, seems like an incredible act of cruelty.

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Game pieces in the culture wars | Penn Today