Raina Lipsitz

New York

Writer and Editor at Freelance

Journalist, feminist, fried food enthusiast + author of THE RISE OF A NEW LEFT @versobooks

Articles

Tragedy and Its Discontents

3 weeks ago | open.substack.com | Raina Lipsitz

One of the chief pleasures of Moshe Zvi Marvit’s sweeping family saga Nothing Vast is the way it transports you to places and times that feel soothingly distant from here and now. His characters move from Morocco and Poland to France, America, and Israel, and we meet them at various times between 1932 and 1973.
Sheriffs Already Have Too Much Power. Who Will Stop Them Now?

1 month ago | inthesetimes.com | Raina Lipsitz

Raina Lipsitz March 13, 2025 Despite decades of efforts to reform policing in the United States and the massive anti-brutality demonstrations of 2020, police officers continue to avoid prosecution for murder charges and police unions still have vast budgets which they often use to intimidate critics.
Media Obscure Message of Oscar-Winning Documentary ‘No Other Land’

1 month ago | scheerpost.com | Raina Lipsitz

By Raina Lipsitz / Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR)When No Other Land won this year’s Academy Award for best documentary feature, corporate media outlets didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet. The film captures Palestinians’ struggle to survive in the occupied West Bank, as settlers and Israeli soldiers steal their land, destroy their homes and attack them with impunity.
Media Obscure Message of Oscar-Winning Documentary No Other Land

1 month ago | fair.org | Raina Lipsitz

When No Other Land won this year’s Academy Award for best documentary feature, corporate media outlets didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet. The film captures Palestinians’ struggle to survive in the occupied West Bank, as settlers and Israeli soldiers steal their land, destroy their homes and attack them with impunity. It’s also a moving exploration of the friendship between two of the filmmakers, one free and one living under occupation, and the limits of documentary filmmaking itself.
NYT: Trump Unstoppable, Opposition Futile

1 month ago | fair.org | Raina Lipsitz

The New York Times editorial board (2/8/25) this month urged readers not to get “distracted,” “overwhelmed,” “paralyzed” or “pulled into [Donald Trump’s] chaos”—in short, don’t “tune out.” But what good is staying informed unless there are concrete actions Trump’s opponents can take to rein him in?
The irony of Elon Musk’s attack on public broadcasters

2 months ago | indexoncensorship.org | Martin Bright |Mackenzie Argent |Raina Lipsitz

In the blizzard of announcements, statements and threats made by President Donald Trump’s administration over the past few weeks, those concerning public broadcasters should have a particular resonance for readers of Index on Censorship.
The Underestimated Alliance That Could Beat Back Trumpism

2 months ago | newrepublic.com | Raina Lipsitz

With the backing of most major U.S. unions—the Teamsters were a notable exception—Kamala Harris won a majority of union households in 2024 but failed to stop Donald Trump. Union members are still likelier than non-union members to vote Democratic, but Harris’s union household support was down by three percentage points from Joe Biden’s 2020 mark; Trump’s was up by five. Nearly 40 percent of registered voters who are also union members now vote or lean Republican.
Index condemns the arrest of two Palestinian booksellers and calls for their immediate and unconditional release

2 months ago | indexoncensorship.org | Katie Dancey-Downs |Raina Lipsitz |Georgia Beeston

Index on Censorship is alarmed by the arrest and ongoing detention of author Mahmoud Muna, owner and bookseller of Jerusalem’s Educational Bookshop. The Educational Bookshop specialises in Arabic and English language books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the history of Jerusalem. Mahmoud and his nephew Ahmad Muna were arrested in the bookshop by undercover Israeli police on the afternoon of Sunday, 9 February 2025.
Under the Taliban, Afghanistan's musicians have fallen silent

2 months ago | indexoncensorship.org | Sarah Dawood |Katie Dancey-Downs |Raina Lipsitz |Danson S. Kahyana

A young man plays a handmade tanbur (a long-necked lute) in Zaranj. Photo by Megapress Images / Alamy This article first appeared in Volume 53, Issue 4 of our print edition of Index on Censorship, titled Unsung Heroes: How musicians are raising their voices against oppression. Read more about the issue here. The issue was published on 12 December 2024.
"They controlled my voice, my body, my agency"

2 months ago | indexoncensorship.org | Katie Dancey-Downs |Raina Lipsitz |Georgia Beeston |Danson S. Kahyana

Iranian singer Golazin Ardestani wants to see the day when women can perform freely in Iran. Photo by Laetitia Dumez This article first appeared in Volume 53, Issue 4 of our print edition of Index on Censorship, titled Unsung Heroes: How musicians are raising their voices against oppression. Read more about the issue here. The issue was published on 12 December 2024.