The past twelve months have been tumultuous for left-wing Jews. An election exposed the fault lines in our understanding of antiracism; a global movement for Black lives, set in motion by the murder of George Floyd, cracked them open once more. Legacy Jewish media died, only to be resurrected by a shadowy consortium. A pandemic mobilised and immobilised us. We watched in horror as our communal institutions dodged annexation, and migrant dinghies slid into the Channel.
Yet this upheaval has also been constructive. Political polarisation has consolidated a self-identifying “Jewish left”, and clarified the need for radical solidarity over narrow self-interest. Jews marginalised by our communal institutions have found each other, and done some cool shit.
Vashti launched a year ago at what now feels like an impossibly innocent time. On the eve of her first birthday, wiser but not without hope, she asks:
Where next for the Jewish left?
Joining Vashti’s editor Rivkah Brown to consider this question will be:
- Em Hilton // Co-founder of Na’amod UK: British Jews Against Occupation and organiser with the Centre for Jewish Non-Violence.
- Aviah Day // lecturer in criminology at the University of Birkbeck, race scholar and housing activist
- Yael Shafritz // London-born, DC-based campaigner with IfNotNow and Jews Against White Nationalism
- Tania Shew // PhD student in the University of Manchester’s History department and antiracism campaigner. Tania also worked on Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign
- Lev Taylor // fourth-year rabbinic student and gay communist
To ensure Vashti reaches her second birthday, we suggest guests donate:
- Waged // 8
- Low-waged // 5
- Unwaged // 3
Towards the end of the evening, we’re going to open the panel to audience questions. If you can’t be there, but have a question you’d like to ask, tellvashti@gmail.com.