Another Education Is Possible

In this episode, writer and organizer Anna Rajagopal shares experiences from a Jewish upbringing in Texas. They describe the failures and frustrations of the NGO-ified so-called Jewish left and the ways in which their own political education has been shaped by Palestinian comrades "calling them out and calling them in." With compassion and critique, Anna invites listeners toward the quiet work of unmaking Zionism. As the episode shows, anti-Zionism is not the outcome of internal, individual unlearning for Jews but an endless, urgent, and collective praxis.

Writer and activist Alison Glick shares a story that moves from Jewish cooking in Cincinnati to experiential unlearning on a kibbutz (or, as Alison puts it "learning what Zionism actually is"). Alison discusses the First Intifada, the student encampments, and her novel, The Other End of the Sea. This is a moving and engrossing episode about family, writing, and so much else.

A quick note about today's episode. Parts of the interview have been edited to protect identities and stories.

On this episode, we're pausing. Producers Yardain and Sam join Jordan to ask what a podcast does and what small role the slow work of a podcast about education can play in the Palestine Solidarity Movement.

In this episode, host Jordan Corson chats with two friends, Roy Danovitch (an associate head of school based in Oakland), and Dani Friedrich (an associate professor of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University) about the ways in which anti-Zionism has created new dynamics and stronger foundations for relationships with family and friends. The episode reveals how integral friendships can be in building educational community. As anti-Zionist Jews and educators, Roy and Dani also explore how they've navigated educational institutions during the genocide in Gaza.

As a number of recent articles suggest, the genocide in Gaza has thrown the field of Holocaust and genocide studies into crisis. Meanwhile, a new generation of students and scholars are actively naming the genocide and opposing Zionism. In this episode, Ren Bell, a graduate student in Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University joins guest host (and Another Education Is Possible producer) Samantha Hoehle to explore Ren's trajectory as an anti-Zionist Jew. The conversation moves through Ren's work in theater and performance and questions the future of Holocaust and genocide studies.

From a Zionist upbringing in Cincinnati to radical political organizing in New York City, Rabbi Alissa Wise takes us on a vast educational journey. Across time and space, she remains devoted to tending to Jewish people and Jewish life. Our conversation touches on her years working for Jewish Voice for Peace and pushing the organization to support BDS and become explicitly anti-Zionist. Rabbi Wise also shares intimate stories of learning with Palestinian shepherds and people tending to Jewish graves in Ukraine.

Researcher Joe Grim Feinberg joins us to talk about bagels, doykeit, and ecstatic Jewish performance. The conversation moves from the Midwest of the U.S. to New York City to Prague as Joe explores what might count as Jewish values in the face of Zionism. Throughout, Joe speaks with compassion and clarity about the possibilities of diaspora.

Listeners may have heard Maura on a special episode we aired last year about academic freedom and Palestine. In this episode, Maura returns for a more in depth conversation about her educational journey in the Palestine solidarity movement. We discuss her being fired from her tenured position and hear stories from her everyday classroom practice. She offers a glimpse of her time as a principled high school student encountering Edward Said's work and reminds of a need to be as loud and forceful as possible in the fight for Palestinian liberation.

Anti-Zionist education doesn't just mean unlearning Zionism. Many Jews, including today's guests, have undertaken educational projects where anti-Zionism is a starting point. In our conversation, the Haiven family take us through community building and ostracization from the Jewish community in Canada, learning and practicing their own version of Jewish traditions, and the sustaining power of rage. The whole episode is like listening in on an everyday conversation around a radical dinner table.

Whether at the Penn encampment or marching in the streets of Philadelphia, the Jewish Boomers Against the Occupation in Palestine have been a visible force of Palestinian solidarity work. In this episode, the group's co-founders, Sukey Blanc and Rachel Martin, take us through decades of friendship and intersectional organizing.