In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, Natasha Roth-Rowland, Orly Noy, and Peter Beinart join FMEP’s Sarah Anne Minkin to discuss Jewish Supremacy. Some analysts (Orly Noy and Peter Beinart among them) use “Jewish supremacy” as a way of explaining Israeli political and social structures broadly. At the same time, Jewish supremacist politicians are predicted to gain significant power in the Israeli government in the next election. In this podcast, we discuss what “Jewish supremacy” means when Jewish critics of Israel use it, what value there is in trying to understand Israel as a Jewish supremacist regime and/or society, and how this analytical framing relates to other frames including apartheid and settler colonialism.

Bios

Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNBC Political Commentator. Follow Peter: @PeterBeinart, peterbeinart.substack.com

Orly Noy is an editor at Local Call, a political activist, and a translator of Farsi poetry and prose. She is the chair of B’Tselem’s executive board and an activist with the Balad political party. Her writing deals with the lines that intersect and define her identity as Mizrahi, a female leftist, a woman, a temporary migrant living inside a perpetual immigrant, and the constant dialogue between them. Follow Orly: @NoyOrly

Natasha Roth-Rowland is an editor and writer at +972 Magazine, and a doctoral candidate in History at the University of Virginia. Her research and writing focus on the Jewish far-right in Israel-Palestine and the United States. Natasha previously spent several years as a writer, editor, and translator in Israel-Palestine, and is now based in New York. She writes under her family’s true last name in memory of her grandfather, Kurt, who was forced to change his last name to ‘Rowland’ when seeking refuge in the UK during WW2. Follow Natasha: @NatashaRoth01

Sarah Anne Minkin, PhD is FMEP’s Director of Programs & Partnerships. She leads FMEP’s programming, works to deepen FMEP’s relationships with existing and potential grantees, and builds relationships with new partners in the philanthropic community. She is an affiliated faculty member at University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Right-Wing Studies. Follow Sarah Anne: @saminkin

Resources

A few relevant articles from Orly Noy:

• Israel citizenship law no longer hides its real goal of Jewish supremacy (Middle East Eye) 
• Kahanism doesn’t need a seat in the Knesset: Israelis may fear the racist Itamar Ben-Gvir could enter the Knesset next week, but the government has been carrying out his vision just fine without him. (+972) 
• Why B’Tselem is calling Israel an apartheid regime, from the river to the sea (+972)

Peter Beinart’s reference to Jewish Supremacy in the NYT:  Has the Fight Against Antisemitism Lost Its Way? (August 2022)

Natasha Roth-Rowland in +972 Magazine: https://www.972mag.com/writer/natashar/

B’Tselem’s 2021 apartheid report: A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is Apartheid