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When they say the quiet part through a bullhorn
August 20, 2024
One of the most popular chants at yesterday’s poorly attended “March on the DNC” in Chicago was: We don’t want no two state! We want all of fourty-eight! The clip below is […]
Bhikkhu Bodhi’s heavily edited interview with Thanissara
July 19, 2024
Below is a transcript of an interiew of Bhikkhu Bodhi by Mary Thanissara. The interview appears to have been heavily edited before it was released on youtube as part of a 100+ minute long online […]
Buddhist teachers should not encourage people to kill themselves
July 15, 2024
This post deals with the subject of suicide and also contains at least one reference to Scientology and quite possibly other sensitive/offensive topics. Consider yourself trigger warned. If you are […]
The deep roots of antisemitism in the Islamic world
July 9, 2024
At the moment this post is mostly just a list of links. I hope to come back later and provide a brief overview of each of the linked-to items. They all pertain to the subject indicated by the title […]
Lies, Damned Lies, and “I meant to say ‘Zionists'” (UPDATED)
July 6, 2024
[UPDATE: As of July 9, Meta has updated its Hate Speech policy to reflect the fact that in some cases “‘Zionist’ … may be used as a proxy to refer to Jewish or Israeli […]
Does Western Buddhism Have a “Zionism Problem”?
July 3, 2024
A little while back I posted Top Ten Signs Your ‘Criticism of Israel’ Is Really Just Antisemitism. Number Three on that list was “You use the word ‘Zionist’ as an […]
When “Pro-Palestinian” Activists Say the Quiet Part Out Loud
June 24, 2024
Three weeks after the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, Palestinian artist and film-maker Jumana Manna wrote about how she and other Palestinians had first reacted to the news of October 7th, and […]
Bhikkhu Bodhi and the Double Standard of Salience, Part Two
June 23, 2024
When Israel is treated differently from other countries, it is fair to ask: why? In such cases we must at least consider the simplest and most obvious explanation: Israel is treated differently […]
Free course on Zionism and Anti-Zionism by Einat Wilf
June 21, 2024
The Tikvah Fund is offering a free online course taught by Einat Wilf: “Zionism and Anti-Zionism: The History of Two Opposing Ideas A new online course with Dr. Einat Wilf and Zoé Tara […]
Bhikkhu Bodhi and the Double Standard of Salience, Part One
June 20, 2024
It is of course possible to criticize Israel without being antisemitic. In fact, no one is more openly critical of the Israeli government than the citizens of Israel (a vibrant democracy where […]
The Nakba (What is Zionism, Part Two)
June 14, 2024
Once the Jewish state of Israel was established, one might suppose that there was no longer any need for Zionism. After all, hadn’t the goal of Zionism been accomplished? However, there still […]
The case of Miriam Libicki’s un-banning is cause for hope (I hope)
June 13, 2024
Here is an article that is mostly a post-ban interview with the artist Miriam Libicki. It also includes the complete text of the original “accountability statement” in which […]
What is Zionism? (Part One)
June 11, 2024
Not surprisingly, those who had chosen to fight to prevent Israel from coming into existence in the first place were not welcome in the sovereign state that they were still at war with. These Palestinians had made two choices: (1) to take up arms against Israel, and (2) to flee to safety when the fighting turned against them (an option, it should be repeated, not available to their Jewish opponents). […]
What he said (Salman Rushdie)
June 10, 2024
Below are quotes from a recent (May 16) interview with Salman Rushdie. A video clip from that interview can be found here: https://x.com/DavidSaranga/status/1792268944000127188 “Right now, if […]
Bookchinpalooza
June 9, 2024
Murray Bookchin was one of the most prominent American leftists to resist the deadly embrace of antisemitism. If you want to know more about him, here are some things to check out: “Attacks on […]
The Five Double Standards of Left Antisemitism (To understand Buddhism’s antisemitism problem you have to understand the Left’s antisemitism problem, Part Deux)
June 8, 2024
Below is a quote from: Antisemitism and the Left: Confronting an Invisible Racism Sina Arnold & Blair Taylor Journal of Social Justice, Vol. 9, 2019 […]
To understand Buddhism’s antisemitism problem you have to understand the Left’s antisemitism problem
June 7, 2024
University Campuses, Black Lives Matter, the Women’s March – many political mobilizations have in the past years been associated with antisemitism in progressive movements. Based on an empirical […]
“Attacks on Israel Ignore the Long History of Arab Conflict” by Murray Bookchin
June 7, 2024
In May of 1986, Murray Bookchin (America’s second most famous Anarchist, right after Noam Chomsky) wrote an article for the Burlington Free Press titled “Attacks on Israel Ignore the Long […]
Folllow the Money: Jewish Voices for Peace is funded by the Muslim Brotherhood
June 6, 2024
We came out with a report on SJP, the Students for Justice in Palestine, which is directly connected to, it was kind of born out of the AMP, the American Muslims for Palestine, which is a Muslim […]
What Is Antisemitism?
June 5, 2024
In order to prevent speeding one does not simply put up signs that say “Please Do Not Drive Too Fast”. Instead, one posts signs that clearly state how fast is too fast. These are called […]