Benjamin Balthaser
@blbalthaser.bsky.social
Assoc prof of multiethnic US lit; au of Dedication (2011), Anti-Imperialist Modernism (2016), Citizens of the Whole World: Anti-Zionism & the Cultures of the US Jewish Left (2025). He/him. 🕎🌹😷🇵🇸Chicago 🐢
https://iusb.academia.edu/BenjaminBalthaser
https://iusb.academia.edu/BenjaminBalthaser
It’s little known that the Christmas War Time Truce was regarded as a mutiny at the time by the brass and probably served as a kind of preface for the 1918 Kiel Mutiny, in which German workers’ councils effectively ended the war
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_mu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_mu...
Kiel mutiny - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 25, 2025 at 11:14 PM
It’s little known that the Christmas War Time Truce was regarded as a mutiny at the time by the brass and probably served as a kind of preface for the 1918 Kiel Mutiny, in which German workers’ councils effectively ended the war
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_mu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_mu...
How many times can one break a cease-fire before it’s just a one-sided war
“Israel has violated the U.S.-brokered October 10 ceasefire at least 875 times”
“Israel has violated the U.S.-brokered October 10 ceasefire at least 875 times”
December 23, 2025 at 9:24 PM
How many times can one break a cease-fire before it’s just a one-sided war
“Israel has violated the U.S.-brokered October 10 ceasefire at least 875 times”
“Israel has violated the U.S.-brokered October 10 ceasefire at least 875 times”
well she does have moxie
“I gave my opinion…God created male and female, and anything that's not from God, is glorifying to God, is glorifying to the enemy…
I should have gotten 100. I've gotten 100 on every single essay in this class, and I write them all the same—exactly the same.”
“I gave my opinion…God created male and female, and anything that's not from God, is glorifying to God, is glorifying to the enemy…
I should have gotten 100. I've gotten 100 on every single essay in this class, and I write them all the same—exactly the same.”
December 23, 2025 at 7:34 PM
well she does have moxie
“I gave my opinion…God created male and female, and anything that's not from God, is glorifying to God, is glorifying to the enemy…
I should have gotten 100. I've gotten 100 on every single essay in this class, and I write them all the same—exactly the same.”
“I gave my opinion…God created male and female, and anything that's not from God, is glorifying to God, is glorifying to the enemy…
I should have gotten 100. I've gotten 100 on every single essay in this class, and I write them all the same—exactly the same.”
It’s deeply upsetting that a student’s attempt to fire a trans instructor … worked. As a theorist once famously said, power is knowledge
A graduate teaching assistant who gave a University of Oklahoma student a failing grade on a psychology essay will no longer be teaching at the university
Graduate instructor who gave failing grade to Samantha Fulnecky no longer teaching at OU
A graduate teaching assistant who gave a University of Oklahoma student a failing grade on a psychology essay will no longer be teaching at the university.
www.koco.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:55 AM
It’s deeply upsetting that a student’s attempt to fire a trans instructor … worked. As a theorist once famously said, power is knowledge
Reposted by Benjamin Balthaser
Bari Weiss is killing stories the right way.
by Ezra Klein
by Ezra Klein
December 22, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Bari Weiss is killing stories the right way.
by Ezra Klein
by Ezra Klein
As someone else observed, Bernie says “Israel” and not “Netanyahu” here. His trajectory, from liberal Zionism, to no longer calling himself a Zionist, to sponsoring many of the arms embargo bills against Israel I think is also the trajectory of much of the US liberal left
December 21, 2025 at 4:33 AM
As someone else observed, Bernie says “Israel” and not “Netanyahu” here. His trajectory, from liberal Zionism, to no longer calling himself a Zionist, to sponsoring many of the arms embargo bills against Israel I think is also the trajectory of much of the US liberal left
It’s an oft noted contradiction of capitalism that we live in a golden age of public health research and discovery and simultaneously a barbaric age of disease, neglect and public disinvestment
December 20, 2025 at 8:00 PM
It’s an oft noted contradiction of capitalism that we live in a golden age of public health research and discovery and simultaneously a barbaric age of disease, neglect and public disinvestment
the most wholesome content on the internet today
It was such a joy to celebrate Hanukkah with Mandy, Kathryn and their son, Gideon. As Jewish New Yorkers across our city prepare to light candles and mark the seventh night today, I wish you and your families a Hanukkah full of light and love.
youtu.be/KIxAKyioXng
youtu.be/KIxAKyioXng
Happy Hanukkah
YouTube video by Zohran Mamdani for NYC
youtu.be
December 20, 2025 at 7:50 PM
the most wholesome content on the internet today
Reposted by Benjamin Balthaser
Had the three Dems who voted for this held the line and voted no, they could have blocked it.
December 18, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Had the three Dems who voted for this held the line and voted no, they could have blocked it.
Congress voted against its own right to have a vote - for the sanctified cause of an illegal, colonial war
BREAKING: Congress has voted down the Venezuela War Powers resolution with a vote of 211 to 213.
Even with 70% of Americans opposing the war, lawmakers are allowing Trump's senseless, illegal aggression to continue unchecked.
Even with 70% of Americans opposing the war, lawmakers are allowing Trump's senseless, illegal aggression to continue unchecked.
December 18, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Congress voted against its own right to have a vote - for the sanctified cause of an illegal, colonial war
Reposted by Benjamin Balthaser
"Cuomo isn't Jewish, Adams isn't Jewish, Trump isn't Jewish. But they all are delighted to weaponize antisemitism, to weaponize Jewish fear, against Muslims especially."
Jewish Democratic Congressional candidate Brad Lander.
My full interview with him: zeteo.com/p/meet-the-p...
Jewish Democratic Congressional candidate Brad Lander.
My full interview with him: zeteo.com/p/meet-the-p...
December 17, 2025 at 3:04 AM
"Cuomo isn't Jewish, Adams isn't Jewish, Trump isn't Jewish. But they all are delighted to weaponize antisemitism, to weaponize Jewish fear, against Muslims especially."
Jewish Democratic Congressional candidate Brad Lander.
My full interview with him: zeteo.com/p/meet-the-p...
Jewish Democratic Congressional candidate Brad Lander.
My full interview with him: zeteo.com/p/meet-the-p...
My dear boy, you think you are talking about anti-white prejudice, but you are really just describing the liberal and literary professions (journalism, academia, publishing) collapsing under the weight of four decades of neoliberalism:
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
![Desperate for advancement-he'd had the same job, the same title, for nearly six years —Andrew looked elsewhere. "I applied for positions at The Atlantic, Politico, CNN, The Washington Post, three different desks at The New York Times," he told me. But newsrooms were contracting, which only made the competition more intense. "When scarcity sets in, you start to worry about these things a little bit more," Andrew reflected. "This was a business model problem that was exacerbated by the racial [and gender] preference](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:zgnkx3z75dmchqkaykcwhyzx/bafkreigiiwa2afs3ttbw2t2f3hkxxxpj7fywb62mol5xnw2c3bmcjg447i@jpeg)
December 16, 2025 at 8:00 PM
My dear boy, you think you are talking about anti-white prejudice, but you are really just describing the liberal and literary professions (journalism, academia, publishing) collapsing under the weight of four decades of neoliberalism:
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
Reposted by Benjamin Balthaser
When I went to college a hundred years ago (2000-4), my school was actively recruiting humanities majors, w scholarships etc. Institutions incentivize areas of study in order to grow them. And they underfund them intentionally to strangle them. It’s not a random natural phenomenon.
one of the great, pernicious myths perpetrated about higher ed—which media, higher ed administrators, politicians, and a number of faculty are complicit in spreading—is that humanities departments close due to some combination of cratering student demand and unjustifiable cost. It’s not true
My humanities dept was relevant. Majors were up. Courses were 100% enrolled. Revenue positive, GE serving, etc etc. We were still eliminated.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
December 16, 2025 at 12:56 AM
When I went to college a hundred years ago (2000-4), my school was actively recruiting humanities majors, w scholarships etc. Institutions incentivize areas of study in order to grow them. And they underfund them intentionally to strangle them. It’s not a random natural phenomenon.
At the risk of yiddishe naches, what I love most about princess bride is that it introduced generations of Americans to the radical narrative inversion that schlemiels (vizzini, montoya, max) may be diaspora losers but are far more hilarious, memorable & compelling than the princess, or her suitors
December 16, 2025 at 1:03 AM
At the risk of yiddishe naches, what I love most about princess bride is that it introduced generations of Americans to the radical narrative inversion that schlemiels (vizzini, montoya, max) may be diaspora losers but are far more hilarious, memorable & compelling than the princess, or her suitors
Netanyahu literally hours after the attack on Sunday denouncing Australia’s call for a Palestinian state. There is not a single Jewish catastrophe this war criminal would not weaponize to seize even more land and win ever greater impunity for Israel.
December 15, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Netanyahu literally hours after the attack on Sunday denouncing Australia’s call for a Palestinian state. There is not a single Jewish catastrophe this war criminal would not weaponize to seize even more land and win ever greater impunity for Israel.
The peddlers of racism come to their keyboards
December 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
The peddlers of racism come to their keyboards
it’s the moment, when immediately after tackling the shooter, Ahmed El Ahmad has the presence of mind to lay the gun down next to a tree, he goes from being not only someone who is brave, to mentshlichkeit, the v expression of humanity and decency
December 14, 2025 at 8:03 PM
it’s the moment, when immediately after tackling the shooter, Ahmed El Ahmad has the presence of mind to lay the gun down next to a tree, he goes from being not only someone who is brave, to mentshlichkeit, the v expression of humanity and decency
One of the central subjective experiences of being Jewish is to feel afraid for fellow Jews and, in light of the weaponization of antisemitism, of them, or at least what may be done by states in our name
December 14, 2025 at 7:05 PM
One of the central subjective experiences of being Jewish is to feel afraid for fellow Jews and, in light of the weaponization of antisemitism, of them, or at least what may be done by states in our name
Reposted by Benjamin Balthaser
Part of the Chanukah tradition is to place the light menorah either outside or in a window where outsiders can see it. This is supposed to advertise the miracle of Chanukah. These days, it is also a way of saying, “This is a Jewish home.”
Every year I think about how it is also an act of bravery.
Every year I think about how it is also an act of bravery.
December 14, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Part of the Chanukah tradition is to place the light menorah either outside or in a window where outsiders can see it. This is supposed to advertise the miracle of Chanukah. These days, it is also a way of saying, “This is a Jewish home.”
Every year I think about how it is also an act of bravery.
Every year I think about how it is also an act of bravery.
clearly the sign of a benevolent, productive and useful technology
Trump threatens funding for states over AI regulations reut.rs/4iWfhiu
Trump threatens funding for states over AI regulations
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will withhold federal broadband funding from states whose laws to regulate artificial intelligence are judged by his administration to be holding back American dominance in the technology.
"We want to have one central source of approval," Trump told reporters, flanked by top advisers, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, arguing that 50 different regulatory regimes hamper the growth of the nascent industry.
reut.rs
December 14, 2025 at 9:23 AM
clearly the sign of a benevolent, productive and useful technology
Pulling out a book and a parker ballpoint on the commuter train I feel like one of those fantasy characters unveiling a sword from an ancient kingdom, hoping their time will come again
December 13, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Pulling out a book and a parker ballpoint on the commuter train I feel like one of those fantasy characters unveiling a sword from an ancient kingdom, hoping their time will come again
Remembering when, yrs ago, I naively asked an ethnic studies scholar why use Carl Schmitt as theoretical framework. “He offers a criticism of liberalism.” When I asked why not Marx, Gramsci, Adorno who also offer a critique of liberalism it got quiet, real quiet, as if I sd “sieg heil” in class
December 13, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Remembering when, yrs ago, I naively asked an ethnic studies scholar why use Carl Schmitt as theoretical framework. “He offers a criticism of liberalism.” When I asked why not Marx, Gramsci, Adorno who also offer a critique of liberalism it got quiet, real quiet, as if I sd “sieg heil” in class
Chomsky and the (Ir)Responsibility of the Intellectuals - while Noam was a voice in the wilderness throughout my post-Reagan-era youth, he’s an important reminder that we need radical parties, not lone truth-tellers who, always as people do, contain multitudes en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Res...
The Responsibility of Intellectuals - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 13, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Chomsky and the (Ir)Responsibility of the Intellectuals - while Noam was a voice in the wilderness throughout my post-Reagan-era youth, he’s an important reminder that we need radical parties, not lone truth-tellers who, always as people do, contain multitudes en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Res...
Happy to see my review essay on Jewish anti-Zionism make @bostonreview.bsky.social’s list of most read essays from this year. If one had to read a summary of this year - it’s agonies and ecstasies (but mostly just agonies) - this is a compelling list.
www.bostonreview.net/reading-list...
www.bostonreview.net/reading-list...
Our Most-Loved Pieces of 2025 - Boston Review
Revisit the writing from this year that readers turned to the most.
www.bostonreview.net
December 11, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Happy to see my review essay on Jewish anti-Zionism make @bostonreview.bsky.social’s list of most read essays from this year. If one had to read a summary of this year - it’s agonies and ecstasies (but mostly just agonies) - this is a compelling list.
www.bostonreview.net/reading-list...
www.bostonreview.net/reading-list...
I love this guy. It’s as if the rot of American liberalism could be a singular shuffling flesh-bag of grievance and self-pity
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fetterm...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fetterm...
Fetterman Writes Letter Asking Israel’s President to Pardon Netanyahu
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) prepared a letter in recent days asking Israel’s...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:50 PM
I love this guy. It’s as if the rot of American liberalism could be a singular shuffling flesh-bag of grievance and self-pity
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fetterm...
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fetterm...