Anna Jo

Nov 30, 2024 | derspekter.org | Yasha Levine |Sam Sherman |Anna Jo

Dispatches — 9 min read The Bund came into existence in the Russian Empire, the largest Jewish community in the world in the late 19th century. While by no means ignoring the international arena (both due to the ideological belief in socialist internationalism and the pragmatic necessity of operating as a conspiratorial organisation) this Eastern European Yiddishland would remain the central point of the movements’ activities.

Nov 18, 2024 | derspekter.org | Sam Sherman |Anna Jo |Kaia Berman Peters |Yasha Levine

This is a reprint of the introduction to a longer series, called "The Soviet Jew," currently being published on Yasha Levine's Substack, "Weaponized Immigrant." We encourage you to continue reading and support Yasha's work. IntroIt was the morning of November 9, 2017, Washington, DC. It was cold and windy outside. But I was warm, standing inside a hallowed hall of American Democracy — a plush room on the first floor of the Library of Congress.

Oct 18, 2024 | derspekter.org | Sam Sherman |Anna Jo |Kaia Berman Peters

Interview — 24 min read In the award-winning 2023 sci-fi documentary “Lyd,” co-creators Sarah Ema Friedland and Rami Younis frame the year 1948 as a moment that ruptured reality. The film, narrated by the city of Lyd itself (“I used to be very beautiful. I used to be very famous.

Oct 4, 2024 | derspekter.org | Anna Jo |Kaia Berman Peters |Jewish Voice |Sam Sherman

"It's a sign of the ages, markings on my mind. Man at the crossroads, at odds with an angry sky. There can be no salvation, there can be no rest, Until all old customs are put to the test. The gods are all angry, you hear from the breeze, as night slams like a hammer, yeah, and you drop to your knees. The questions can't be answered… You're always haunted by the past…. The world's full of children who grew up too fast."~ Gil Scott-Heron, “A Sign of the Ages,” Pieces of a Man (1971)...

Sep 20, 2024 | derspekter.org | Kaia Berman Peters |Jewish Voice |Anita Gallers |Anna Jo

“So my parents met in a hippie cult in the 70s. I’m only half Jewish. I’m not sure I should be here.” I say it with such dryness that you might be tricked into thinking I’m completely normal. The rabbi corrects me and says that I am completely Jewish, and I need to come to celebrate Shabbat more often. Quietly sipping bitter Israeli wine from a single-use plastic cup, I feel a deep sense of regret for having left the house. Then from across the room, I hear a loud, very Jewish-American voice.