Thread by @RVilkomerson, I have a serious bone to pick with the INN article in [...]

I have a serious bone to pick with the INN article in @jewishcurrents. Not the analysis re INN, which is really not my lane, but the political context that was/not offered. THREAD 1/

Coupled with the antisemitism article, I’m increasingly worried about how the Jewish Left is being implicitly defined by @jewishcurrents through omission. Ready to own my personal biases & concerns at play here! (ten years as ED of @jvplive, many more & counting as a member) 2/

I offer this concern as an absolute admirer and fan of @jewishcurrents. The reason it’s important to talk about is that it is becoming the defining voice of the Jewish Left, in large part thanks to just how smart, provocative and aesthetically interesting it is 3/

Obviously the INN article by @aaronfreedman has an internal focus and can spend limited time on context. But, it sums up @jvplive in 2014 in this dismissive way: 4/

But look: in June 2014, @jvplive had about 5,000 members, about 20 chapters, including a Rabbinic Council & between 5-10 campus chapters (someone should go into the archives and get the exact numbers, I’m spitballing a little) 5/

ahem, this is from 2011! https://youtu.be/BAV-3-AqP9M ">https://youtu.be/BAV-3-AqP...

After dozens of actions, incl. civil disobedience, in summer of 2014, JVP tripled in size in every measure.“Small but active” is a pretty serious erasure of the largest & most dynamic org in this sphere, esp since 1300 trained members is the # cited to illustrate INN’s growth 6/

This is in no way to underplay the importance of INN, many of whose leaders and members I call my friends and comrades. But it is to say that to omit that context is a serious distortion of what was driving the Jewish Left on Israel/Palestine 7/

Also, in 2014 @jvplive already had at least 2 serious BDS-related wins under our belt: a partially successful campaign to get TIAA-CREF to divest from companies profiting from occupation & a crucial support role in the Presby Church’s success in divesting from the occupation 8/

Over the period of 2014-2021 covered in the article, @jvplive officially endorsed BDS in 2015 and declared an anti-Zionist position in 2019. All while continuing to grow, with about 20,000 dues-paying members now 9/

There can hardly be any doubt that existence of JVP made space for INN, which it admirably filled. Over the years, INN’s politics have moved closer to JVP’s. So it is absolutely baffling how a conclusion of the piece is that it is INN that has made space for JVP to grow! 10/

Meanwhile, the oft-discussed antisemitism piece. Overall, i deeply appreciated it!

But now I want to focus on its omissions, which i touched on then, in context of the INN piece 11/ https://twitter.com/RVilkomerson/status/1379263418956451853">https://twitter.com/RVilkomer...

https://twitter.com/RVilkomerson/status/1379263418956451853

It was framed as "the Jewish Left& #39;s approach to antisemitism has xyz problems," outlining a framework that groups like Bend The Arc, INN & JFREJ have mostly in common 12/

That erases that actually there are parts of the Jewish left that have been putting forward a different conception of antisemitism for quite awhile, including the JVP book, writing by @tsengputterman @brat_skoff @lesleywilliams @denevel, many others 13/ https://twitter.com/RVilkomerson/status/1379263424899784706?s=20">https://twitter.com/RVilkomer...

https://twitter.com/RVilkomerson/status/1379263424899784706?s=20

It flattens the definition of what/who the Left is & leaves the impression that the Jewish Left is limited to this specific approach. I& #39;m not arguing that @jewishcurrents ignores JVP (which I& #39;m really using here as a stand-in for anyone w/overt pro-BDS/anti-Zionist politics) 14/

But there does seem to be an unwillingness to place JVP as central & driving force in today’s Jewish Left, and instead reinforces idea that the Left is solely represented by groups that are actually more timid in their politics, at least on Israel/Palestine 15/

I think the first draft of history is being written here, which is a tribute to the persuasive power of @jewishcurrents as the voice of the Jewish Left. But that’s why its so important we engage with what I see as this troubling orientation 16/16

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