Joel S.
@joelhs.bsky.social
Professor of Religion and Jewish Studies, Sarah Lawrence College. PhD in Religious Studies, University of Chicago. Globalist elite and Thing-in-Itself-hating Jew. Husband of @petticoatshrink.bsky.social. He/Him/הוא/ער
I've been vocal in saying groups like the ADL are much too quick to label all anti-Zionism as necessarily antisemitism, and I will continue to say so. But if you want to see why many Jews instinctively feel like criticisms of Zionism are antisemitism, look at this. www.i24news.tv/en/news/inte...
'Zionist attack:' Venezuela’s acting gov't blames Israel for Maduro seizure - i24NEWS
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez asserted that the US operation that led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro "seems Zionist"
www.i24news.tv
January 5, 2026 at 12:42 PM
I've been vocal in saying groups like the ADL are much too quick to label all anti-Zionism as necessarily antisemitism, and I will continue to say so. But if you want to see why many Jews instinctively feel like criticisms of Zionism are antisemitism, look at this. www.i24news.tv/en/news/inte...
Venezuelan Jewish institutions have all been closed for safety after the capture of Maduro - though this article does not make it clear if Venezuelan Jews did this themselves, for safety, or if the government ordered it. www.haaretz.com/jewish/2026-...
'Good for the Jews': Venezuela's tiny Jewish community isn't yet celebrating Maduro's exit
Only Somewhere Between 3,000 and 5,000 Jews Remain in Venezuela, After Thousands Have Fled in the Past Quarter-century. A Prominent Jewish American Organizational Leader With Close Ties to the Region ...
www.haaretz.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Venezuelan Jewish institutions have all been closed for safety after the capture of Maduro - though this article does not make it clear if Venezuelan Jews did this themselves, for safety, or if the government ordered it. www.haaretz.com/jewish/2026-...
"There was a willful amnesia that West Germans found convenient. It fit in with a way of compartmentalizing Nazism, which is to say all the bad things were done by this minority of fanatics, the rest of us were just taken in." www.dw.com/en/lufthansa...
Lufthansa and the role of big business in the Holocaust – DW – 12/29/2025
German airline Lufthansa is one of many big-name brands that collaborated with the Nazis during the Holocaust. As the airline celebrates its 100th anniversary, why does its Nazi past continue to fly u...
www.dw.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:38 AM
"There was a willful amnesia that West Germans found convenient. It fit in with a way of compartmentalizing Nazism, which is to say all the bad things were done by this minority of fanatics, the rest of us were just taken in." www.dw.com/en/lufthansa...
This is a good column. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/o...
Opinion | Maduro’s Ouster Plays Right Into Putin’s Hands
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:37 AM
This is a good column. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/o...
Mamdani rescinded every executive order issued by Eric Adams after Adams's indictment, but still the "New York Times" is focusing exclusively on two of those orders that had to do with Israel.
There is someone singling out Israel here. And it isn't Zohran Mamdani.
There is someone singling out Israel here. And it isn't Zohran Mamdani.
January 4, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Mamdani rescinded every executive order issued by Eric Adams after Adams's indictment, but still the "New York Times" is focusing exclusively on two of those orders that had to do with Israel.
There is someone singling out Israel here. And it isn't Zohran Mamdani.
There is someone singling out Israel here. And it isn't Zohran Mamdani.
There are critiques of Zionism that focus on Zionism as an identifiable ideology with real effects on the world. And then there are critiques of Zionism that imagine "Zionism" as a many-tentacled global conspiracy to replace the Elders of Zion. This is the latter. www.haaretz.com/world-news/2...
'Zionist overtones': Venezuela's interim president claims Israeli role in Maduro's capture
Speaking to the Nation in a Televised Address, Acting President Dolcy Rodriguez Said the World Is in Shock That Venezuela Was the Victim of Such an Attack and Suggested 'Shameful' Israeli Collusion
www.haaretz.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:09 PM
There are critiques of Zionism that focus on Zionism as an identifiable ideology with real effects on the world. And then there are critiques of Zionism that imagine "Zionism" as a many-tentacled global conspiracy to replace the Elders of Zion. This is the latter. www.haaretz.com/world-news/2...
Kahanist government.
Ben Gvir’s dismissal ‘will not happen,’ vows Netanyahu, bucking AG’s pressure https://www.timesofisrael.com/ben-gvirs-dismissal-will-not-happen-vows-netanyahu-bucking-ags-pressure/
Ben Gvir’s dismissal ‘will not happen,’ vows Netanyahu, bucking AG’s pressure
In tense cabinet meeting, deputy AG trades barbs with far-right minister, warns he is eroding police independence by interfering in investigations
www.timesofisrael.com
January 4, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Kahanist government.
"Denazification is a myth on every level of German society." www.dw.com/en/lufthansa...
Lufthansa and the role of big business in the Holocaust – DW – 12/29/2025
German airline Lufthansa is one of many big-name brands that collaborated with the Nazis during the Holocaust. As the airline celebrates its 100th anniversary, why does its Nazi past continue to fly u...
www.dw.com
January 4, 2026 at 3:01 PM
"Denazification is a myth on every level of German society." www.dw.com/en/lufthansa...
Um, no. No, he is not.
January 4, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Um, no. No, he is not.
Yeah, wouldn't it be terrible to have a ruling family which controls the judiciary and amasses wealth through corruption?
Cilia Flores, who was captured by the U.S. with her husband, Venezuela’s longtime authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, is one of the country’s most powerful political figures. She helped consolidate his rule while controlling the judiciary and amassing wealth through corruption, experts say.
Who Is Cilia Flores, the Power Broker Captured Alongside Maduro?
www.nytimes.com
January 4, 2026 at 2:34 AM
Yeah, wouldn't it be terrible to have a ruling family which controls the judiciary and amasses wealth through corruption?
This is very much not the kind of support George W. Bush had for invading Iraq, and yet still depressingly high.
Support For The US Running Venezuela:
All:
⚫ Oppose: 41%
🟢 Support: 34%
Support Among:
🔴 Republicans: 60%
⚪ Independents: 26%
🔵 Democrats: 16%
YouGov / Jan 3, 2026
All:
⚫ Oppose: 41%
🟢 Support: 34%
Support Among:
🔴 Republicans: 60%
⚪ Independents: 26%
🔵 Democrats: 16%
YouGov / Jan 3, 2026
January 4, 2026 at 2:29 AM
This is very much not the kind of support George W. Bush had for invading Iraq, and yet still depressingly high.
"The idea that because drugs are coming from a country it justifies an invasion and a change of administration in that country basically gets rid of any kind of limits on the use of force." www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
The Brazen Illegality of Trump’s Venezuela Operation
A scholar of international law on the implications of the U.S. arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.
www.newyorker.com
January 3, 2026 at 10:05 PM
"The idea that because drugs are coming from a country it justifies an invasion and a change of administration in that country basically gets rid of any kind of limits on the use of force." www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Compare the statements of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Hakeem Jeffries to the Trump administration's illegal war on Venezuela.
I do not want the fascist right to stake out a clearer antiwar position than the nominal small-d democratic opposition. But that is on the opposition party to ensure.
I do not want the fascist right to stake out a clearer antiwar position than the nominal small-d democratic opposition. But that is on the opposition party to ensure.
January 3, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Compare the statements of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Hakeem Jeffries to the Trump administration's illegal war on Venezuela.
I do not want the fascist right to stake out a clearer antiwar position than the nominal small-d democratic opposition. But that is on the opposition party to ensure.
I do not want the fascist right to stake out a clearer antiwar position than the nominal small-d democratic opposition. But that is on the opposition party to ensure.
This interview is worth reading: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Gaza After the Ceasefire
A Palestinian businessman on the persistent humanitarian crisis in the territory, and what he hopes might change.
www.newyorker.com
January 3, 2026 at 8:05 PM
This interview is worth reading: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Say what you will about the Bush administration; they at least understood you have to mouth some platitudes about democracy and freedom and not just openly get up there and brag about occupying countries to steal their oil.
Trump: "We're going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country. And we are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so."
January 3, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Say what you will about the Bush administration; they at least understood you have to mouth some platitudes about democracy and freedom and not just openly get up there and brag about occupying countries to steal their oil.
The first wave of fascists in the early twentieth century were not exactly the greatest intellectual luminaries of their age, but these ones really are the stupidest fascists alive.
Trump: "All the way back it dated to the Monroe Doctrines. And the Monroe Doctrine is a big deal. But we've superseded it by a lot. By a real lot. They now call it the Donroe Document. I don't know. It's Monroe Doctrine. We sort of forgot about it."
January 3, 2026 at 5:02 PM
The first wave of fascists in the early twentieth century were not exactly the greatest intellectual luminaries of their age, but these ones really are the stupidest fascists alive.
Baudrillard's "The Gulf War Did Not Take Place" feels like essential reading right about now.
January 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Baudrillard's "The Gulf War Did Not Take Place" feels like essential reading right about now.
An important background to what happened today is that Donald Trump apparently earnestly believes that Venezuela was responsible for rigging the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden. We really are governed by the stupidest possible conspiracists. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Trump hints support for fringe theory that Venezuela rigged 2020 election
President’s comment implies hostility to Venezuela may be based on unfounded election-rigging conspiracy theory
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:25 PM
An important background to what happened today is that Donald Trump apparently earnestly believes that Venezuela was responsible for rigging the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden. We really are governed by the stupidest possible conspiracists. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The Iraq War was a horrible idea, but it had overwhelming US support post-9/11/01, and the Bush admin did the work to win a substantial portion of the US to its side. Today, suspicion of US interventionism is shared across the political spectrum. This is not going to go how Trump thinks it will.
January 3, 2026 at 2:15 PM
The Iraq War was a horrible idea, but it had overwhelming US support post-9/11/01, and the Bush admin did the work to win a substantial portion of the US to its side. Today, suspicion of US interventionism is shared across the political spectrum. This is not going to go how Trump thinks it will.
Even by the standards of this terrible age, I can still be shocked by how awful the news I wake up to manages to be. Not an auspicious start to 2026.
January 3, 2026 at 2:08 PM
Even by the standards of this terrible age, I can still be shocked by how awful the news I wake up to manages to be. Not an auspicious start to 2026.
Gut first Shabbos of Gregorian year 2026, everyone. May this year bring us all a little closer to liberation.
January 2, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Gut first Shabbos of Gregorian year 2026, everyone. May this year bring us all a little closer to liberation.
The IHRA definition of antisemitism is a case where there is a real split between the Jewish advocacy world, which sees it as the gold standard, and Jewish Studies scholars, who, with few exceptions, find it conceptually problematic. Even the scholar who wrote it opposes using it this way.
January 2, 2026 at 10:04 PM
The IHRA definition of antisemitism is a case where there is a real split between the Jewish advocacy world, which sees it as the gold standard, and Jewish Studies scholars, who, with few exceptions, find it conceptually problematic. Even the scholar who wrote it opposes using it this way.
"Fascism was “over there.” America was the bulwark of democracy “over here.” This is one way forgetting works." theconversation.com/america-face...
America faced domestic fascists before and buried that history
Although thousands of Americans embraced fascist ideas during the interwar years, a new study examines why the US has had little appetite to remember that past.
theconversation.com
January 2, 2026 at 9:38 PM
"Fascism was “over there.” America was the bulwark of democracy “over here.” This is one way forgetting works." theconversation.com/america-face...
This is a very good piece on why the American Jewish establishment's strategy to fight antisemitism is doomed to fail unless they rethink some fundamental assumptions: forward.com/news/antisem...
Things are only going to get worse for Jews from here
Nobody seems to be making a dent in antisemitism — even as problematic beliefs about Jews continue to grow.
forward.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:53 PM
This is a very good piece on why the American Jewish establishment's strategy to fight antisemitism is doomed to fail unless they rethink some fundamental assumptions: forward.com/news/antisem...
The editors of “Tablet” seem to think that they can mainstream this sort of white nationalist rhetoric and still allow American Jews to fall on the “good, real Americans” side of the divide. I think the lesson of the past few months of far-right rhetoric pretty clearly demonstrates that they cannot.
Here is the editor of Tablet agreeably reposting someone calling nonwhite NYC immigrants "worthless biotrash." It's astonishing how quickly this stuff has escaped containment
January 2, 2026 at 6:30 PM
The editors of “Tablet” seem to think that they can mainstream this sort of white nationalist rhetoric and still allow American Jews to fall on the “good, real Americans” side of the divide. I think the lesson of the past few months of far-right rhetoric pretty clearly demonstrates that they cannot.