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Joel Schalit

@jschalit.bsky.social

648 followers 512 following 375 posts

Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief @ The Battleground • i24News • Ex-EURACTIV, France 24 & Tikkun • Akashic Books, NYU Press & Pluto Press.

Posts Replies Media

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 4h

Low expectations. Even lower results. The Xi-Trump summit was mostly for show, and it delivered even less. This week on Globalists, William Noah Glucroft and Mitchell Plitnick explain why dropping the enemy mindset may be the only way to get anywhere on AI, Iran, and climate change.

thebattleground.substack.com

Enemies Are Expensive

China and the West

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Robert Kraft's campaign against Antisemitism is reshaping what can be said in public life. But it's ordinary Jews, not billionaires, who will bear the consequences. Ari Paul, on the class dynamics at play, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Silencing Macklemore Won't Make Jews Safer

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

What happens to Israeli journalists who tell the truth about Gaza? Ask filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who now face calls to revoke their citizenship over their award-winning documentary NAZA. Ari Paul on the Netanyahu government's backlash, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

The NAZA Affair: A Test Case for Press Freedom in Israel

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Borders returned; the world rearmed. And we barely noticed. The last decade shattered the global order, bringing new walls, new alliances, and new fractures. Then COVID hit, drowning out the conversation before we could process the shift. Heather Alonsdottir on the lost 2010s for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

The Architecture of Innocence

Ten Years After the Summer of 2016

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Empire never really ended — it just changed shape. Its fingerprints are everywhere— who we see on screen, who gets a passport, who gets watched and who doesn't. Iolanda Cuomo, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

What Colonialism Left Behind

In The Long Shadow of Empire, by Angelo Boccato

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Netanyahu had advance warning of the October 7 attack. He sat on it. This week on The Battleground's Globalists podcast, Josh White and Mitchell Plitnick unpack the bombshell Haaretz report — and what it means for a reckoning that still isn't over.

thebattleground.substack.com

Ignored Warnings and Denials

Key Takeaways From Haaretz’ 7 October Scoop

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Unification won't be the finish line. It'll be the starting gun. Irish unity, if it comes, will only deserve the name if British communities in the north can stay British within it — and if the people celebrating get more than a new flag to march under. John Foster, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Ireland After Unification

Why the South Must Respect the British North

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The EU wants to break its dependence on the US for aerial defence — and is turning to Israel to do it. Given Washington’s growing hostility, the logic is clear. But closer military cooperation with Israel creates an entirely different set of problems. Mitchell Plitnick, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Ursula von der Leyen’s Faustian Bargain

Brussels Turns to Israeli Weaponry

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

British Jewish leaders acknowledge settler violence — yet fight sanctions on settlements. Why? Blaming settlers, instead of Israeli policy, is safer. Some warn even this step could be branded antisemitic. Are settlements really fringe, or mainstream Israeli politics? Ari Paul, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

The Double Standard Protecting Jewish Settlers

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Viktor Orbán may have driven Central European University out of Hungary—but he couldn’t erase what happened within its walls. Heather Alonsdottir explores CEU’s lasting legacy, the generation it transformed, and why education remains one of the most powerful antidotes to fascism.

thebattleground.eu

My Budapest is Gone

The Scene of a Novel

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The UK just sanctioned Jewish settlements — and the Israeli government is furious. But strip away the diplomatic drama, and the sanctions are more bark than bite. On this week's Globalists podcast, Josh White and Mitchell Plitnick unpack the real story: criticising Israel is now a political win.

thebattleground.substack.com

Britain's Israel Sanctions

All Bark, No Bite?

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

When domination feels worth it — if you get a cut of the power. How Germany's antifascist consensus collapsed, and what it reveals about late capitalism's mix of real fear and the pull of revenge. John Foster, on Alternative für Deutschland’s victory in Sachsen-Anhalt, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Germans Against Liberal Democracy

Alternative für Deutschland Wins

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The terrorists won — just not the way you think. 25 years later, it's time to face what 9/11 actually taught us about America's response. Mitchell Plitnick, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

The Terrorists Won

11 September Turns 25

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Protecting Jews means protecting everyone vulnerable — that's what an enlightened society does. Which is why Jews should be on the front lines, defending every marginalised group under attack. Ari Paul, on the assault on woke and DEI, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Woke DEI Is Bad—Except When It Comes to Antisemitism

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The Ferret proves you don't need big resources to do big journalism — just the will to actually chase the truth. Josh White on Scotland's scrappiest, sharpest newsroom for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Participatory Public Interest Journalism

The Ferret Rewrites the Rulebook

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Britain's borders won't last forever. John Foster traces the long road to Irish reunification — and why even Labour is quietly admitting it's not "if," but "when."

thebattleground.eu

The Long Road to Irish Reunification

Brown Says What Burnham Won't

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

A decade on, Brexit has left the UK poorer and more authoritarian. Heather Allansdottir says Iceland's EU referendum shows exactly what Britain got wrong — and why participatory democracy is the only way back.

thebattleground.eu

Iceland’s Vote, Britain's Mirror

Lessons for a Post-Brexit Nation

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The world once knew how to punish genocide. Ratko Mladić's death in a Hague cell is a badly needed reminder. So why is Israel cosying up to Serbia and Republika Srpska? Ari Paul, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Serbia and Israel's Alliance is Even Worse Than it Looks

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The most alienating prime minister ever.

thebattleground.eu

Failed Britain’s Jews

Photoshop Hamas sympathiser. Golders Green, London.

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

It wasn't supposed to go this well. As July drew to a close, The Battleground reached its highest-ever monthly readership, thanks to a brilliant editorial team firing on all cylinders. Joel Schalit, from Torino.

thebattleground.eu

Good News From The Battleground

Letter From the Editor

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

A Hebrew-speaking beggar outside a Jewish bakery. A city I grew up in, which I thought I already knew. Finishing the London volume of a five-book street photography series, captured in one unforgettable trip. Yours truly, for The Battleground. [Link in comments]

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

The Ceuta migrant crisis became a Rorschach test for conspiracy: "Muslim invasion" fantasies on one side, Israeli/American subterfuge theories on the other. Josh White & Mitchell Plitnick examine claims Morocco engineered it — and argue the left needs more than a defensive crouch.

thebattleground.substack.com

Populist Hybrid Warfare

Migration as a Political Weapon

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Giorgia Meloni's gambit against Pedro Sánchez has blown up in her face. She went looking for proof that the European left was finished — instead she found a government that understood exactly what was at stake in refusing to fold. John Foster, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

How Migration Became Meloni's Undoing

Racism, Populism and the Politics of Blame

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Antiwar movements aren't what they used to be. The Vietnam and Iraq wars each drew record numbers of demonstrators — but the recent U.S.-Israeli military action against Iran has sparked no comparable mobilisation. What gives? Ari Paul, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

In Search of the American Antiwar Movement

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Hip-hop, hardcore, grime and drone. Joel Schalit, with this week's playlist, for The Battleground newsletter. [Link in comments]

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Why do prosperous, educated democracies increasingly struggle to sustain faith in democracy? The far right has grasped this with alarming clarity and outflanked the socialist left. John Foster, on the rise of nationalist identity politics, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Far-Right Identity Politics

Why the Left Failed

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

The EU's response to Spain's migrant crisis was more than shameful — it was a warning sign. Europe's political consensus is drifting back toward impulses history has already judged harshly. William Noah Glucroft, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Ceuta Shattered the EU Dream

Euroscepticism in an Age of Fascist Creep

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Paradise Metal refuses the flattening gaze that turns unfamiliar traditions into exotic curiosities. Father Dionysios Tabakis's debut channels a lineage of sacred sounds—from Ravi Shankar to Sister Rosetta Tharpe—refracted through the lens of Greek Orthodoxy. Charlie Bertsch, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Greek Orthodox Psychedelia

Paradise Metal, by Father Dionysios Tabakis

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

It feels like only yesterday Israel advocates claimed criticism of the Israeli government was welcomed because Israelis did it themselves. That changed after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Netanyahu, wanted by the ICC, should face justice. Ari Paul, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Netanyahu Über Alles

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

PinkNews, once synonymous with a more inclusive and tolerant Britain, is in trouble. Its struggles reflect both the economic pressures on alternative media and the costs of chasing the political centre while alienating its queer base. Josh White, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Decline of the Queer Centre

The PinkNews Story

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Has Andy Burnham’s new government marked a real break with the neoliberal status quo? In this edition of Globalists, Josh White and Mitchell Plitnick examine its early moves, progressive prospects, and the opportunities—and limitations—of the leadership change.

thebattleground.substack.com

Burnham's Big Test

Keep the Pressure on Labour

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Between grievance and terrorism lies a struggle over interpretation. Berlin's Pride parade attack became proof of immigration's dangers to the far right, and prejudice's dangers to the liberal centre. What made the attack significant is that it fit neither story. John Foster, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Beyond the Border

German Liberalism in Crisis

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Ron Kampeas says Israel isn't committing genocide in Gaza. The evidence says otherwise — and the veteran journalist's denial deserves scrutiny. Mitchell Plitnick, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

The War Over Genocide

Israelis, Americans and Gaza

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Jack Hazan and David Mingay's 1980 film Rude Boy explores the contradictions of punk by following The Clash. It resists the celebratory approach of most music documentaries, offering an ambivalent portrait of both the band and the movement it helped define. Charlie Bertsch, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

The Limitations of Punk

Rude Boy, Directed by Jack Hazan and David Mingay

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Anti-leftism is a politics of superiority. The left is targeted not only because it challenges the existing order, but because those who identify with it are cast as socially, culturally and politically inferior. Ari Paul, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Trump, the Left, and the Politics of State Terror

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

The war in Ukraine has reached a pivotal moment. On this week’s Globalists, Josh White and Mitchell Plitnick discuss what Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dismissal of military head Mykhailo Fedorov means for the conflict and why a negotiated peace remains as distant as ever despite Donald Trump’s promises.

thebattleground.substack.com

The Russian Front

Ukrainian Turmoil Threatens War Gains

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

The West offers Ukraine military support and market integration. Missing is democratic control over political institutions. Solidarity must mean more than neoliberal fantasies—it must defend Ukrainians' power to shape the social content of independence. John Foster, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

When War Never Ends

The Making of Ukraine's Garrison State

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Although the Epstein Files could inspire a war on human trafficking, fixation on their exceptional contents threatens to do the opposite. Standing up for the survivors in the Files shouldn’t mean treating them differently from those who don't make headlines. Charlie Bertsch, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

No Fairy Tale Villain

Demystifying Jeffrey Epstein

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

It was the best Battleground event yet. If you couldn’t make it, we recorded it for you. On 7 July, The Battleground launched Josh White's new e-book, Tories Are Dead, and Outsidergrad, Duncan Simpson and Joel Schalit’s collaborative field recordings LP, at MayDay Rooms, on Fleet Street.

thebattleground.substack.com

The Battleground in London

Live at MayDay Rooms, Part I

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

In March 2025, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian born in Syria, was abducted by federal agents and disappeared while his wife was pregnant. Threatened with deportation, the Columbia University student was accused of criticising the Israeli government. Now he wants justice. Ari Paul for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Mahmoud Khalil is Fighting for Us All

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

If Andy Burnham’s Northern populism is to succeed, he’ll need to pivot sharply from Keir Starmer’s neoliberal approach. Anything less than radical change will just offset the far-right challenge for another few years. Josh White, for The Battleground. thebattleground.eu/2026/07/20/a...

thebattleground.eu

Andy Burnham's Make-or-Break Moment

Turn Labour Left—or Else

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The War on Terror has a new name. If the pundits are to be believed, it’s the New Forever War. In this week’s Globalists, Josh White and Mitchell Plitnick unpack the conflict's complexities and explain why, despite Iran’s battlefield success, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump won’t stop fighting.

thebattleground.substack.com

The New Forever War

Iranian Ceasefire Over

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The Trump Administration’s war on the International Court of Justice has ramifications that extend far beyond The Hague. In such a world, The Hague is not really the target. It’s Constitutionalism they’re after. John Foster, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Power Without Justification

Donald Trump Against the ICJ

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

When Palestinians try to take their case to international courts, the US cuts aid and sanctions global legal bodies. When Palestinians engage in non-violent campaigning, they’re prosecuted or face other penalties. Palestinians are left with no alternatives. Mitchell Plitnick, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Israeli and Palestinian Violence

American Double Standards

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

The Times of London’s decline feels different from that of other British newspapers. The collapse of British centrism has left many mainstream media unable to recognise post-Brexit society and its far-right politics. Josh White, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Relic of a Bygone Age

The Story of The Times

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

As Israel's once-sacrosanct standing in US politics fades, establishment Jewish pundits like Nicholas Lemann seem increasingly at sea. The rest of us know how to build a humanistic Jewish politics that fights for equality in Palestine and beyond. Ari Paul, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

What’s a Jew to Do? Nicholas Lemann Gets the Blues

Ruthless Cosmopolitan

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

When it comes to street photography, Brussels has few peers. Nine new images from my book-in-progress for The Battleground: thebattleground.eu/photo/

thebattleground.eu

Socialist Unrealism

Redistributing the furniture, Brussels 1000.

Reposted by Joel Schalit

Mitchell Plitnick @mjplitnick.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

In this week’s Globalists, Josh White and Mitchell Plitnick unpack the rise of Zohran Mamdani in New York and Zack Polanski in Britain. One is redefining leftist politics within the Democratic Party; the other is mounting a challenge to Labour from the left. thebattleground.eu/podcast/the-...

thebattleground.eu

The Mamdani-Polanski Experience

Capturing the Zeitgeist

Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Why do liberal parties seem more alarmed by victories on their left flank than defeats by the right? That world has ended. The institutions built to govern it, however, remain. John Foster, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

Afraid of Their Own Voters

Why Liberal Parties Move Right

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Joel Schalit @jschalit.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

On 4 July, the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary. This landmark has been met with noticeably less enthusiasm than the bicentennial. It mirrors America’s decline as a global power and the disillusionment of those who once saw it as a democracy. Mitchell Plitnick, for The Battleground.

thebattleground.eu

More Democracy, Less Oligarchs

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