Podcast: Unpacked Media
Wondering Jews podcast with Noam Weissman and Mijal Bitton
I recently joined the Wondering Jews podcast with Noam Weissman and Mijal Bitton to talk about the work I’ve been doing since October 7.
We discussed my attempt to analyze antizionism as a distinct ideology, how it emerged historically, why it has become so powerful in academia and public discourse, and what it means to push back against it intellectually and publicly.
We also talked about my background in anthropology, the research that led me here, and the founding of the Movement Against Antizionism (MAAZ).
Grateful for the thoughtful conversation.
The best takeaway from this is that it is really important to address antisemitism directly for what it is. Call it out as an irrational global hate movement. Antisemitic and anti-Zionistic people portray themselves as rational when at some point their minds have been insidiously contaminated by tainted academic irrationality. Because the murder of innocent men, women and children (babies even) on October 7th can never be minimized or considered rational or normal by a sane person. So by default, it is pathological. This is difficult to communicate to the average person because tainted academics have captured about 90 percent of global media and the remaining 10 percent would need to have extremely powerful messaging to break through that barrier. It's said in the world of boxing you immediately aim all your strongest hits at your opponent's most obvious physical weaknesses. In antisemitism and anti-Zionism these weakest points are that their viewpoints are irrational and not reality based and at root are actually poorly disguised paranoid when closely oberved. Whether envy or paranoid or a little of both, maybe they are sheep who blindly follow a shepherd whose voice they don't recognize. Which some believe, if one is a sheep is the quickest way into the jaws of the wolf.
This was really helpful to listen to. I appreciate how you explained what you mean about calling antizionism what it is, and how to create a conversation on our own terms rather than continually trying to prove one thing or another.