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Voters gonna vote Brett Meiselas at Meidas Touch: As Republicans try to cope with their crushing losses suffered during Tuesday’s elections, multiple MAGA firebrands have taken aim at one particular target – Taylor Swift. But Swift’s fervent fanbase, known as Swifties, are ready to fight back. On Tuesday, the iconic superstar encouraged her fans to vote, writing on Instagram, “Voters gonna vote!” and sharing a link to Vote.org. Last month, following a similar call to action, Swift was reportedly responsible for registering more than 35,000 people to vote. That kind of muscular power-flexing by women seriously gets under the skin of pasty male misogynists (and worse). Right-wing extremist and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec seethed in an unhinged post on X about “THE CHILDLESS, UNMARRIED ABORTION ARMY MOBILIZED BY BARBIE, TAYLOR SWIFT, AND TIKTOK THAT IS CRUSHING REPUBLICANS AT THE BALLOT BOX.” In the words of Taylor Swift, you need to calm down. Charlie Kirk, who runs the extremist organization Turning Point USA, a radical group attempting to pull young voters into the MAGA movement, could not contain his rage during his podcast. “Taylor Swift is going to come out in the presidential election and she is going to mobilize her fans, I’ll be nice…and we’re going to be like ‘Oh why, where did all of these young female voters come from’… We better have a plan for that… Taylor Swift, I think she put up one voter registration link and she registered millions and millions. And let’s be honest, all the Swifties want, is swift…

Continue readingSmell the desperation?

I remain horrified that a simple plea to witness Israeli suffering and to help bring hostages home safely is controversial.

"I didn't expect this and I don't feel safe anymore,” said Reut Levi, 37, who opened Tamar Juice Bar in June.

Given Israel’s lack of strategy for the day after Hamas is defeated, the risk of the settler movement making progress is even more concerning.

Critics of Israel had decried the screening, organized by Gal Gadot and other Hollywood insiders, as a “Zionist trap.”

The rally aims to show that even as American Jews have become increasingly polarized, a broad spectrum of Jewish organizations and their supporters can still unite behind an overarching message of backing Israel and opposing antisemitism. 

Chances are you’ve heard the ghostly cries of Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke singing, "I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo," whether on the radio or from some angsty teenager’s headphones. The multi-platinum, massive hit captured the zeitgeist at the perfect time to bring an unknown band like Radiohead to the front lines of rock music. The […]

Genesis 25:12-25:18

Why They Rip Down the 'Kidnapped from Israel' Fliers by hersh

Antisemitism has the power to override every norm and decent impulse.

Why the "From the River to Sea" Chant Is Antisemitic by hersh

During the Israel-Gaza war, you may have heard the phrase “from the river to the sea” being chanted. Learn why it’s not a freedom call – it’s straight up antisemitism.

Israel has long succeeded in spite of its leaders, not because of them.

Lacking freedom, Jews once developed an ethic of martyrdom. Now, they don’t need martyrs, they need to stand and fight.

What the anti-Semitic fulminations of the Pink Floyd lyricist tell us about the intersection of art and toxic politics

The two-fold tragedy of a soldier's unnecessary death. And for a taste of sanctity on the eve of Shabbat, profiles of the soldiers tasked with identifying the nearly unidentifiable dead.

Is anybody listening?

Social justice” is a foundational biblical value. But its ancient meaning has little to do with the modern catchphrases and ideologies that are part of contemporary social justice discourse, like socialism or “equality of outcomes.” Instead, the Bible gives us a much more complex vision of “justice and righteousness” to describe the ideal social order. […]

There is no one “kosher” Jewish approach to social justice, just as there is no single authorized Jewish response to any of the challenges we humans encounter and create for ourselves. Jewish texts contain a multitude of opinions, enough to support the presuppositions and political persuasions that almost any seeker could bring to them. One […]

As a wave of anti-Jewish violence tore through New York in December 2019, Christian clergy across Boston gathered to compose a powerful statement, asserting their shared responsibility to combat antisemitism. Ministers of all races and denominations drafted the statement collaboratively, inviting a handful of their closest Jewish partners to provide feedback to ensure that the […]