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Rafael Shimunov

@rafaelshimunov.bsky.social
13K followers 229 following 325 posts

Host of Beyond The Pale on WBAI 99.5 FM NYC, Board alum Jews for Racial & Economic Justice. Co-founder of the Jewish Vote. Art at Art V War. Queens is the Future. @rafternoon on IG, leaving my 100K on X.

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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action @bendthearc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Statement by Bend the Arc CEO Jamie Beran: "Earlier this year, in an effort to truly confront antisemitism, the American Psychological Association (APA) correctly updated its ‘Resolution on Antisemitism’ to remove suggestions that criticizing the state of Israel was inherently antisemitic." 🧵
Greenblatt: For more than a year, we and other Jewish organizations told the APA's leadership exactly what needed to change, and they failed to act. A federal advisory committee has now confirmed what Jewish psychologists have been saying all along: antisemitism within this organization is pervasive.

An accreditor cannot credibly set standards for an entire profession while failing to uphold them within its own walls. This suspension should be a turning point, not another headline the APA waits out.

ADL: We commend the 
@usedgov
's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity for recommending the suspension of the APA's accrediting authority on grounds that include the agency’s failure to address a pervasive culture of antisemitism.

ADL has spent more than a year pressing the APA to confront this crisis and has documented a hostile climate for Jewish and Israeli psychologists within the APA.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Notice Jonathan Greenblatt's sneaky words here, implying it's Jewish Psychologists vs the APA. When it was Jewish Psychologists who helped lead removing criticism of Israel from their definition of antisemitism. Now this is the result of his lobbying of Trump to punish them.
Greenblatt: For more than a year, we and other Jewish organizations told the APA's leadership exactly what needed to change, and they failed to act. A federal advisory committee has now confirmed what Jewish psychologists have been saying all along: antisemitism within this organization is pervasive.

An accreditor cannot credibly set standards for an entire profession while failing to uphold them within its own walls. This suspension should be a turning point, not another headline the APA waits out.

ADL:
We commend the 
@usedgov
's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity for recommending the suspension of the APA's accrediting authority on grounds that include the agency’s failure to address a pervasive culture of antisemitism.

ADL has spent more than a year pressing the APA to confront this crisis and has documented a hostile climate for Jewish and Israeli psychologists within the APA.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Sending love protection to anyone dating in the vicinity of these insufferable tech bros. www.wired.com/story/tech-b...
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Robert Kraft didn’t ban Macklemore chanting Free Palestine. Robert Kraft is trying to stop 70,000 people chanting Free Palestine with him. And they still will because Palestine is bigger than Macklemore.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Well, the good news is that Ed Sheeran just made all of us more Irish than he is 🇮🇪
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action @bendthearc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Trump is desperate. The only way his movement can win is to break the rules and target our elections. But we will fight harder than ever to protect them. Join Bend the Arc's Jews for Election Protection campaign: www.alhands2026.org 🪬
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
My message to @speakermenin.bsky.social on her tacit endorsement of anti Muslim hate in her NYC Council.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Wow just now: @hellgateny.bsky.social asks NYC Council Speaker Menin if councilmember Paladino comments about @mayor.nyc.gov Zohran Mamdani being motivated by the same intentions as the 9/11 hijackers was Islamophobia. Menin, her boss, not only refused to answer, she called it “politics”.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
At my jobs in Jewish organizations, at my synagogue, at my Jewish dinner tables, across Jewish op-eds, journals, blogs and podcasts we have spoken for years about how Israel’s behavior is fueling antisemitism.
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Mondoweiss @mondoweiss.net · 20/08/2026
An Israeli strike destroyed two major medicine warehouses in Deir al-Balah, the latest Israeli attack on Gaza's failing health system. Gaza’s Health Ministry says medicine shortages are now killing three cancer patients a day. mondoweiss.net/2026/08/sile...
mondoweiss.net
‘Silent extermination’: Israel bombs medicine stores in Gaza, worsening the Strip’s dire healthcare crisis
An Israeli strike destroyed two major medicine warehouses in Deir al-Balah, the latest Israeli attack on Gaza’s failing health system. Gaza’s Health Ministry says medicine shortages are now killing…
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
There are only two ways to instantly know if ethnic whites are part of your nyc block.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
US Judge: Israeli Flag = Jewish Race? Unhinged ruling from an infamous Trump appointed federal judge, Trevor McFadden. Same person who protected Jan 6 insurrectionists, Trump taxes, anti-vax, banning press. www.thejewishnews.com/news/israeli...
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden rejected Ali's argument that the flag did not represent Jewish identity. "Sumrall supports Israel as an expression of her Jewish identity," he wrote in the ruling.

"The Star of David, emblazoned upon the Israeli flag, symbolizes the Jewish race," he wrote. "Battery, particularly involving a racial symbol, is strong evidence of racial discrimination."
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Tried to delete genocide. Had to delete her account instead.
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Last night's attack at Central Synagogue is deeply heartbreaking, unjustifiable, and disturbing beyond words. For so many of us who attend Shabbos prayers weekly, it's a beautiful moment of rejuvenation, connecting with our tradition, and building community. An attack on Shabbat cuts deep 😭 1/5
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action @bendthearc.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
The suspect reportedly held far right ideologies, including the dehumanization of Jews, Iranians, and the Mayor himself. A reminder that we must commit to combatting antisemitism alongside all forms of bigotry. Our collective safety depends on it. 4/4
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action @bendthearc.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Our hearts break for the Central Synagogue community in Manhattan after Friday night’s attack. Shabbat is the day we are commanded to pause and peacefully gather together in worship. The peace was shattered, but the worship boldly continued. 🧵
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Yet another op-ed in prestige media pretending racism, sexism and transphobia among Republicans is a response to Democratic overreach www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/o...
Republicans Are About to Repeat the Democrats’ Biggest Mistake
Over the years, Republicans have portrayed Democrats as beholden to bespoke identities (they/them), obsessed with an alleged genocide (Gaza) and in thrall to anti-American revisionism (see the efforts to recenter our national narrative on slavery).

We are critics of diversity, equity and inclusion programs who largely agree with that characterization. We believe the Republicans’ war on woke has made America a fairer, safer place by checking some of the worst excesses of modern progressivism, from antiwhite discrimination in corporate America to biological men competing in women’s sports.

But we are also concerned that this backlash is morphing into something darker, dumber and ultimately self-defeating. Today the right has begun to resemble its depiction of the left: There are invented identities like heritage American, claims of white genocide in South Africa and arguments from right-wing influencers that the Allies weren’t the good guys in World War II.

What changed, in other words, were the facts on the ground. The Republican Party responded organically to a shift in public opinion, which was itself a response to a more assertive form of transgender activism — one whose definition of inclusion seemed to compromise basic notions of fairness. Once regarded as a political albatross, bathroom bills are now on the books in 21 states.

A similar dynamic drove the right’s dwindling tolerance for affirmative action and D.E.I.
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
damniel spookradski @self.agency · 14/08/2026
did we live through the same decade?
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
"Federal neglect—and restrictive aid conditions—have broken the infrastructure meant to sustain human life in the Caribbean U.S. colony." From Coenia Sanchez for @inthesetimes.com inthesetimes.com/article/puer...
inthesetimes.com
Congress Has a Responsibility to Reverse the Water Crisis It Caused in Puerto Rico
Federal neglect—and restrictive aid conditions—have broken the infrastructure meant to sustain human life in the Caribbean U.S. colony.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I don't know which lobby, Amazon or Israel, but someone is writing these Zohran talking points for them.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
So much of our lives are devoted to work that has to happen just because boomers didn't go to therapy. So much of lives taken, too
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Bright D Limm 임대중 @bdlimm.myatproto.social · 10/08/2026
PS: If the Delivery Protection Act—for which Z just announced his support today—passes, this will be (after the rent freezes) the 2nnd major policy achievement of his admin. @tiffanycaban.bsky.social 's bill is THE model for city + state governments to replicate nationwide. bsky.app/profile/rafa...
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 10/08/2026
If it looks like an Amazon delivery and drives like an Amazon delivery, then it's an Amazon delivery, right? Not according to Amazon. Big companies like Amazon have built a vast network of subcontractors who deliver their packages while shielding them from accountability.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Zuckerberg's $300M yacht "repeatedly" declined to help stranded Alaska boat calling for help. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Zuckerberg faces questions over why superyacht reportedly declined to help stranded boat
Small cruise ship rescued skiff in south-east Alaska even though Meta billionaire’s $300m megayacht was closer
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Antonia Marrero @antoniamarrero.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Support independent media. Support Pacifica’s anchor: @wbai.org Support freedom on the airwaves. HT @stucknation.bsky.social @democracynow.org @democracyatwork.bsky.social
myemail.constantcontact.com
✊ Independent media survives because listeners step up
Email from WBAI Radio Help WBAI continue bringing you the reporting and voices corporate media leaves behind.   Independent Media Needs Independent Support Over the last two years WBAI has paid the Du
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
We’ve been fighting for these Amazon delivery worker protections for years. Cheers to @tiffanycaban.bsky.social and @mayor.nyc.gov for ruining Jeff Bezos’ day today. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/n...
nytimes.com
A Fight Brews Between Mamdani and Amazon Over Delivery Workers
New York City’s mayor wants major companies to hire employees directly rather than relying on contractors. The firms say that will raise prices and slow service.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
From car bomb threats to white powder envelopes and a DOJ investigation based on fake hasbara Yelp reviews, how Congressman Dan Goldman vilified Poetica, an immigrant owned small biz he’s supposed to protect in a last ditch effort to save a losing race. indypendent.org/2026/08/targ...
indypendent.org
Targeted: An NYC Congressman accused Poetica Coffee of Antisemitism — Bigotry Came to Avenge Him.
Poetica Coffee owner refused to take Representative Dan Goldman's money. Zionists death threats have flooded his coffee shops.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
“A Shiite meat bomb” Just casual Islamophobia from Jay Leno. Conan and Letterman would never.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Reclaiming Arab Jewish identity through music with Laura Elkeslassy.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
A minority of Jews pretending to speak for all of us when they call on the most hated American in the world (Trump) to defend the most hated man in the world (Netanyahu) and go after one of the most liked (Mamdani). 🧵
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Here in Queens, we're mourning the loss of this young neighbor, Angel Sarah Rampersad, sent to Iran to die for Trump and Netanyahu's political games, power, land and cash grabs. I am disgusted. www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news...
cbsnews.com
U.S. soldier from Queens killed during Iran airstrike in Jordan, Pentagon says
Sgt. Angel Rampersad was a 28-year-old from Ozone Park who died in an Iranian attack on an air base.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Israel's torture and starvation machine is so bad, that even the Wall Street Journal has to investigate it. www.wsj.com/world/middle...
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Poetica Coffee responds. When Congressman Goldman knew he was losing, he decided to spend the final days of his race against @bradlander.bsky.social pretending a constituent was antisemitic for opposing his material support of Israeli genocide of Palestinians. www.usatoday.com/story/news/2...
usatoday.com
How a Brooklyn coffee shop got caught in a political firestorm
Poetica Coffee made a post criticizing Congressman Dan Goldman right before his NY primary race. What followed were protests and death threats.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
4 of 10 "religiously Jewish" Americans under 45 emphasize support for Israel. They are more likely to keep kosher & observe shabbat than older Jews who support Israel more. Another false narrative of Israel being a halachic religious expression bites the dust. www.timesofisrael.com/poll-israel-...
timesofisrael.com
Poll: Israel support not priority for most younger religiously affiliated US Jews
In contrast, half of US Jews over 45 say supporting Israel 'extremely' or 'very' important to their Jewish identity; 3 in 10 Jews under 45 say Israel committed genocide in Gaza
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I wrote about the misguided outrage of the NYC immigrant enclave map. My immigrant enclave. Mayor Zohran Mamdani. And some things the map did get wrong! rafternoon.substack.com/p/jewish-and...
rafternoon.substack.com
Jewish and Italian “Exclusion” in New York City’s Immigrant Enclave Map
Willful ignorance fuels a misreading of NYC’s map of immigrant enclaves, but the deeper issue is our mayor doesn’t have scandals – so his opponents have to invent them.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
One fun part of having a scandals and corruption free nyc mayor is watching all the strange complaints haters have to invent in order to stay mad. His wife going on vacation. A map of newer immigrants not honoring Ellis Island immigrants. A suit in a pool.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
We are not at war with Iran. Trump is bombing Iranians.
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action @bendthearc.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Many Dems hold a moral line that Republicans abandon. As a movement, we need to be done treating patterns in isolation and see how harms intersect from targeting women, people of color, Jews, Muslims, immigrants, LGBTQIA+, people w disabilities. Moral leadership means acting before harm not after
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action @bendthearc.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Many Democrats hold a moral line that Republicans abandon. As a movement, we need to be done treating patterns in isolation and see how harms intersect from targeting women, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities & more. Moral leadership means acting before harm not after.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
The Pinkerton agency still exists. Are banned from hire by US government. Hired by Amazon against its workers.
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
damniel spookradski @self.agency · 02/07/2026
a minority of jews (30%) see the left as the greatest violent danger to jews in u.s. society as opposed to the vast majority (70%) who see that threat coming from the right, but the minority exerts total control over our mainstream institutions and sets their agenda, acting on behalf of all jews
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
New poll. The vast majority of American Jews (adding up Reform and Unaffiliated which make up nearly 70% of us) identify the source of rise in antisemitism from the RIGHT. Which is also statistically true. ncar.us/papers/antis...
ncar.us
Antisemitism, Israel, and the Fractured Jewish Consensus - Nexus Center for Antisemitism Research
Recently, the Jewish Voters Resource Center conducted a survey to assess the landscape of American Jews six months before the midterm
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Poetica Coffee, an immigrant owned brooklyn small biz, was smeared by Rep. Dan Golden as a last ditch campaign tactic to stoke fear. He played w human lives who are now getting death threats, a DOJ investigation and white powder in the mail. Read their statement www.instagram.com/p/DaQlBOplP_...
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Breaking: Mayor Zohran Mamdani makes good on another campaign pledge: freeze the NYPD headcount.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
White people listen to Imagine by John Lennon over various mayonnaise appetizers and get moved until a black woman named Darializa wonders what it looks like in policy.
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Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Dan Goldman confessed to coordinating with AIPAC on the debate stage tonight. Unlike my opponent, I’ve never accepted their support, and I never will.
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Knicks in 5
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Rafael Shimunov @rafaelshimunov.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Important video about Salah Sarsour, the Wisconsin grandfather abducted by ICE and being forced to die in internment without his diabetes medicine.
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Reposted by Rafael Shimunov
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action @bendthearc.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
As Jews, we will not be used as Trump’s excuse to deport people without due process and erode the democracy that keeps all of us safe. Free Salah Sarsour.
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