THIS IS NOT A BLOG

World Refugee Day States and their figureheads teach us to treat displacement as a force of nature. We are told of "floods" of refugees and "waves" of migration. Unfortunate, natural occurrences that sadly collide with the supposedly neutral, natural terrain of nation-states, borders, and immigration enforcement. But while emigration is indeed natural, nearly universal across human history and animal species alike, the legal category of the "Refugee" is not. It is not a passi

The first Stonewall anniversary march, held on June 28, 1970. The annual march continues to this day. This International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, we refuse to let our struggles be sanitized into matters of understanding and conversation; instead, we continue to wage a relentless fight for gender and sexual revolution. In Hebrew, the acronym for this day is הבנ”ה, pronounced Havana - meaning "understanding." This name is a mistake. Undeniably, as quee

The Nazi Looting and subsequent bookburning of the Institute of Sexology. 6 of May 1933, Berlin. Knowledge, its production, reproduction, development, distribution, and maintenance, form the veins of human societies across the earth. For this exact reason, when states, institutions, corporations, and global systems seek to weaken, subjugate, or erase a culture or a people, one of their first targets is the means of production and distribution of knowledge: books, bookshops, l

Israel is a nation of immigrants—a thin stretch of land where Jews from every corner of the globe suddenly found themselves huddled together. In the early decades of the state, the Ashkenazi elite (hailing from Eastern and Central Europe) viewed themselves as a "modernizing, civilizing force." To them, Jews arriving from Middle Eastern and North African countries were often seen as "primitive" relics of the past. Yet, this was a complex relationship: even as they sought to "m

Dear This Is Not An Ulpan community, This year, three holidays arrive almost together: Passover, Easter, and Eid al-Fitr. Three traditions, three histories - yet all speak the shared language of liberation. Passover tells of escape from slavery. Easter speaks of resurrection after violence and death. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, a month of endurance and reflection. Each reminds us: oppression is not final, suffering is not the end, and human beings can imagine freedo

This Saturday, after months of suspense, a new front was opened. An unprovoked attack on Iran has dragged us further into the abyss, pulling the United States along with it. Only months ago, victory was declared; today, we are told that war is once again "necessary." No explanation is given, and for many, none is required. There is a painful silence where there should be questions, as a society continues to see itself as the victim even as it cheers for the flames. It is hard