Jews, the Left and the Rest
On May 6th and 7th, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research held a conference on “Jews and the Left.” Eitan Kensky of The Forward defined the conference as a chance “to discuss the history and repercussions of Jewish involvement in leftist political movements.” While there are “challenges of incorporating the left into larger narratives of Jewish history,” the conference harkened back to the original conference in 1964 where Leftism and Judaism were well-defined. Now leftism in the Jewish community is “more defined by advocacy for social justice,” not quite fitting the Old or New Left, but something current left-leaning Jews nonetheless embrace, according to Kensky.