Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 5hThis is the closest approximation to how I'm feeling today. Thank you. 1403
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 05/10/2026To me, the whole UK Green Party saga is a sad reminder that more than a decade into the resurgence of the nationalist right, so many remain under the peculiar illusion that labeling an ideology "racist" will somehow disable or weaken it. You might as well believe in a "right side of history." 130
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 02/10/2026It's clear the governor, whoever that is, prefers to have a weak state party chair. Jay Jacobs always ready to offer that service. 040
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Now, I am not the harshest grader. If you complete the work according to stated expectations, you get an A from me (with A+ reserved for distinction). But even if I was being a stickler for the college's recommended grade distribution, the average would probably be around B+. 020
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 02/10/2026This is my first semester directly teaching undergrads and I have to say the horror stories have not materialized. Most of them are great and are eager to talk in recitation. I was worried about the blue-book writing assignments but most of them have done really well on them too. 250
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 02/10/2026They didn't expect to have to campaign in Florida this year. All else is noise. 030
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Yes, there were cosmetic pauses in arms sales until a rigged election was held and the administration could half-plausibly say a civilian government was in charge. Look, I'm not raking Obama over the coals for this. But these are the facts. 150
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026The military did murder nearly 1,000 protesters a month after the coup. Arrested thousands more. But I agree Obama didn't have great options if he didn't want to get sucked in. 120
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Yeah, I knew about this. IIRC, the Saudis, Emiratis, and Israelis were all whining since 2011 about how Obama didn't protect Mubarak. He was consistently hands-off throughout, but with the military relationship remaining consistent. 020
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Unless I've missed a development (very possible), I think this was all after the fact? Obama and Kerry were not encouraging a coup against Morsi. 110
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Daniel May on why Jewish Currents invited Hasan Piker to their October 11 event at BAM. (I will be there, by the way. Please say hello if you're coming!)jewishcurrents.orgWhy We Invited Hasan Piker to JC LiveJewish Currents publisher Daniel May on our upcoming conference 031
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Jonathan making it clear that he won't take yes for an answer until Mayor Mamdani cries uncle on Israel/Palestine and now his DSA membership. Thank goodness the Nexus Project exists or else there would be no Jewish community organization dedicated to countering antisemitism. 032
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Really happy to see this coalition of liberal Jewish groups coming together, from JCPA to J Street to JFREJ. 072
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 28/09/2026When I was a liberal Zionist, I would have considered this an outrage and a scandal. Today, I can't but welcome news that Israel itself is clarifying that it is not a state of all the world's Jews.haaretz.comIsrael freezes aliyah for two Jews over activism protecting PalestiniansIn both cases, the protective-presence activists, who did not know each other, had their passports photographed by a soldier or settler. These are the first known cases in which Israeli authorities ap... 0117
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 27/09/2026If you're coming to AJS this year, stop by my panel on December 22 at 10:30 AM.(Will repost in December as well.) 020
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Mazel Tov! Wonderful news (your impending marriage, not the rain). 110
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Netanyahu's seemingly alienating English-language speeches make more sense if you understand that he has basically written off the Democratic Party. The goal is to extract as much as possible out of Republican administrations while the white boomer+ demographic holds sway there. 041
Reposted by Abe SilbersteinBrad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 24/09/2026War criminals are not welcome in New York City. I stood alongside a diverse set of Jewish New Yorkers and allies — at several protests today organized by @jvp.bsky.social, by @truahrabbis.bsky.social & @jstreetdotorg.bsky.social, and by Israelis for Peace. 338771
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Let this be the last year of Benjamin Netanyahu's embarrassing "leader of the Jewish people" farce at the UN, and the first of 8 years of Zohran Mamdani overseeing the city during General Assembly weekend. 091
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 23/09/2026A more positive assessment of Benjamin Moser's "Anti-Zionism" by Shaul Magid.lareviewofbooks.orgSnow Globe Palimpsest | Los Angeles Review of BooksBenjamin Moser delivers biographical sketches of Jews who refused to abandon the Diaspora. 000
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Gilbert Achcar on why, contra the legacy of Walt and Mearsheimer, the Iran War is the responsibility of Trump and US imperialism.jacobin.comReasons of EmpireJohn Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt blamed Israel for America’s Middle Eastern fiascos. But from Iraq to Iran, Washington has had its own reasons for war in the Gulf. 000
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026There has not been a serious effort to desegregate public schools in decades. What usually gets proposed are "reforms" like charters and attacks on unions in the name of teacher accountability. That this route has been seemingly exhausted is a good sign. 110
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Broadly speaking, among liberals and progressives, it looks like we are finally beyond the notion that education reforms of any kind can transform neoliberalism into a fairer or more just economic paradigm. That is one dead-end thankfully foreclosed. 131
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The typical private school in the US is a very mediocre parochial school that doesn't necessarily compare favorably on academics to local public alternatives? 010
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Herzog is part of the rot. Always has been.haaretz.comHerzog pardons IDF soldier convicted of killing wounded Palestinian assailantThe IDF has previously objected to pardoning Azaria, citing his lack of remorse over his actions. Defense Minister Katz, who requested the pardon, said it sent a message that 'we do not leave our sold... 1311043
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 18/09/2026That is, if they even bothered with him *in* graduate school. When I was considering this route a decade ago, I distinctly remember it being possible to complete an MIA at SIPA while exclusively taking professional-track courses. I don't believe any graduate work in Political Science was required. 1281
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 18/09/2026This is true but the DC foreign policy establishment is contemptuous of academic scholars of international relations, mainstream or not. It is basically part of the professional socialization process. Few in the blob bother with Kenneth Waltz after they graduate from SIPA, SAIS, HKS, Fletcher, etc. 27013
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 17/09/20262018 "Mueller Time" vibes. This is not happening. 040
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 13/09/2026In fairness, I haven't read the book which is why I said 'appears'. But I will delete the screenshot if you contend he's distorting your words with that parenthetical. 100
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 13/09/2026It appears from this review that Benjamin Moser's long-awaited book on anti-Zionism is a major disappointment, laden with errors of fact and citational judgment.newyorker.comIs Zionism’s Moral Crisis About Roads Not Taken—or Original Sin?Where Benjamin Moser replaces one story of Jewish exceptionalism with another, Omer Bartov shows what’s lost when polemic takes the place of history. 120
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 09/09/2026I’ve always admired the scholarship and leadership of David Myers. But I don’t think I ever expected him to write something quite like this. “The path to rebuilding a sustainable, morally tenable Judaism for the future will be paved by the embrace of Palestinian liberation as a moral necessity.”shaulmagid.substack.comGuest Essay: David Myers - “Shevirat Ha-Kelim (Rupture) and Tikun: (Fixing)”Toward a New Paradigm of Jewish Identity 030
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 09/09/2026In the long-running saga of "Are white Jews really white?", eligibility for refugee status according to the Trump administration would be quite the weight on the scale. 140
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Journal article I submitted in June is "Under Review" with no indication of whether this means the editorial desk or blind reviewers. Email I wrote two weeks ago via the submission portal—does that function even work?—has not been acknowledged. Best case scenario post-PhD is decades of this. 020
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Christian Zionist supersessionism at its most naked. 0227
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 01/09/2026I'm honestly afraid to check how much I've spent on cases of Polar Black Cherry over the years. It might be over 4 digits. 030
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Aaron Jakes, via a review of Angela Buchdahl's memoir, on US Reform Judaism failing to meet the moment.nplusonemag.comThe Right Reform Rabbi | Aaron JakesWhen Buchdahl professes that she can understand “how even white men in America are feeling,” she unwittingly reveals a structuring affinity between the politics of white reaction and her own anti-anti... 000
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 31/08/2026I'm comparing the weirdness. I would be lying if I said I was hurt or offended by Brianna. I'm just puzzled by her Jewish supporters not finding this cringeworthy. 120
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 31/08/2026How do people on the receiving end of this "allyship" not find it incredibly weird and off-putting? I would be totally mortified if my mainline Protestant political allies (for example) started lecturing right-wing Jews about Tikkun Olam or whatnot. 2150
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 31/08/2026It's not online yet, but the Fall issue of n+1 includes a devastating takedown by Aaron Jakes of Angela Buchdahl's memoir and career. Look out for it. 010
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026He's not a real Trot. He's supported by the David North/World Socialist Website cult. 010
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026I renewed my AHA membership on the advice of friends and colleagues who are leading the good fight from within. I'm not sure for how long I will continue to do this, though.chronicle.comOpinion | A Scholarly Association’s Secretive Washington PlaybookDid the American Historical Association ask a corporate lobbying firm for advice on how to silence its members? 011
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026I was very proud to vote for Shawn Fain and the United UAW list in the international officers election. Shawn has been a tremendously effective and principled progressive leader on the national stage. If you are a member, please remember to send in your ballot.jacobin.comThe United Auto Workers Are Voting for Their Top LeadershipUnited Auto Workers members are now voting by mail ballot for their top officers. The election will decide whether President Shawn Fain, who led 2023’s stand-up strike against the Big Three automakers... 0202
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Oh yeah. His wife is definitely not voting for a Trumpist. She was considering Cynthia Nixon for Governor in 2018! 010
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Not pointing out a downside, just clarifying the contours of the potential coalition. 130
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026It is defensible in theory and J Street will defend it. But liberal Zionists to their right will have a conniption. 260
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026I can’t believe I’m about to enter year three of my PhD program and that I just finished my prospectus workshop. Time flies when you’re having fun, and in my case gaining a dozen new close friends through my cohort. No conflicts or beefs, only love and support. Literally zero complaints or regrets. 140
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Hamid Dabashi writes, "You are either on the side of the genocidal mass-murdering bombers, or on the side of those being bombed." Yes, and the Guardian letter made very clear the signatories were on the side of Iranians being bombed, not the US and Israel. No ambiguity there.middleeasteye.netWar on Iran: Left-wing luminaries behind Guardian letter have lost the plotBy equating the bombers with the bombed, the appeal signed by Angela Davis and Judith Butler lends moral cover to western imperialism - and its backers are already deserting it 030
Abe Silberstein @abesilbe.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Hal Foster: "My wager is that ‘the people’ may have now become a force of the anti-commons, of enclosure, in whose name detention camps and data centres are being built. Hence my vote for a temporary moratorium on the word, and a search for its utopian antithesis."tribunemag.co.ukAbolish the PeopleSocialist politics in the 2020s is a search for the commons, whose utopian energies are buried in our lost histories and lurking in the ruins of our present. 010