As we celebrate Shavuot and the giving of the Torah, remember: The Mekhilta deRabbi Yishmael tells us that the Torah was deliberately given in the wilderness, not the Holy Land. Ultimately, the people are a people of the book and the text, before the land and the soil.

Cal State University’s deal with OpenAI — providing ChatGPT to all faculty, students, and staff — will expire in June 2026. Amid the prospect of layoffs in the CSU, we’re asking the chancellor not to renew this costly and demoralizing contract. Link below and anyone can sign:

Every woman in academia has her Larry Summers.

I don’t live in New York but I am taking this as a personal message nonetheless.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Shanah Tovah, New York City. Here's to a sweet and hopeful New Year.

Thoughtful review of my book by @spinsker.bsky.social in @worldlittoday.bsky.social

World Literature Today@worldlittoday.bsky.social · last yr.

Beyond the Land “is a timely monograph that guides us through Jewish literature and art of the twenty-first century in Israel, America, and Europe.” Shachar Pinsker reviews this “thought-provoking and hopeful book.” @spinsker.bsky.social‬ worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/book-re...

My review essay of Beyond the Land is published at @worldlittoday.bsky.social.

World Literature Today@worldlittoday.bsky.social · last yr.

Beyond the Land “is a timely monograph that guides us through Jewish literature and art of the twenty-first century in Israel, America, and Europe.” Shachar Pinsker reviews this “thought-provoking and hopeful book.” @spinsker.bsky.social‬ worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/book-re...

Charoset, a paste made of ground apples, is found on the Passover seder plate to remind us of the mortar used by the Israelites when they were slaves in Egypt. Let's remember farm workers who do the hard work so we have apples on our tables. #WeFeedYou

As a rule, I never sign open letters. But I’m proud to have signed this one. Desperate times, desperate measures. #notinourname. docs.google.com/document/d/e...

Last Spring, in an interview with CNN, Mahmoud Khalil expressed how Palestinian and Jewish safety are intertwined.

“How do regimes manage to impose minority rule on enormous populations? By getting the majority to give up. Don’t do that.” www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/they-are-a...

They Are a Minority

Get your mind right.

hamiltonnolan.com

This is not really a happy update. My daughter and I have taken to visiting our favorite weird grocery stores (there are many of these in the Valley) in the afternoons for snacks and treats and to get out of the house.

This is a shande. You will not find a better person or a better scholar than @saulnoamz.bsky.social www.thecrimson.com/article/2024...

Early bday wishes to the queen of my heart 💙 Ofra Haza was a singing sensation known for combining traditional Yemenite music with electronic pop sounds. She was born #ThisWeekinHistory in 1957. https://buff.ly/3YRLoWR #MizrahiHeritageMonth

I spoke to the Forward about Israel's use of celebrities and social media in its latest round of war-related Hasbara. forward.com/culture/5672...

Reeling from tragedy and seeking support, Israel has a social media strategy — and it involves a l...

Almost immediately after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel Oct. 7, the country’s official social media accounts began posting horrifying pictures.  There was video of cars on fire, billowing black...

forward.com

This felt like a strange time to write the newsletter, but we felt we had to chronicle the responses to the war we saw in pop cultural spaces. noibiza.substack.com/p/war-memes-...

War Memes Edition

Featuring celebrities old and new, plus cookies, cottage, and jam

noibiza.substack.com

I was interviewed about my book for the New Books Network! Its a great tl;dr version of the book. newbooksnetwork.com/beyond-the-l...

I had some doubts about posting this here because on FB someone called me "shameful," but here goes. This photo was taken on Nir Oz in 1998 with my Israeli “family.” It was a beautiful place full of lovely people... 1/9?

LA folks, there will be a book launch event for Beyond the Land one week from today!

Very pleased to announce the 2023-24 Paula Hyman Mentorship Program fellows and their mentors. associationforjewishstudies.org/professional...

Today's excerpt is from the conclusion of my book. The video linked below, Static and Ben-El's "Shake Ya Boom Boom," featuring will.i.am, is one of the objects of analysis in this closing reflection (it's also a banger!). youtu.be/-2EZbz22iNg?...

I took the weekend off, but I'm back today with an excerpt from Chapter 5, on the Israeli expatriate artistic community in Berlin and the movement for diasporic Hebrew. The image is from a Poetic Hafla event in Berlin (learn more about them in the book!). Excerpt to follow.

Chapter 4 of Beyond the Land focuses on Yael Bartana's And Europe will be Stunned, a 3-part video installation that imagines Jewish pioneers settling in Warsaw as part of a transnational liberation movement. The image is from the third part of the series, Zemach (Assassination).

Today's book post is from Chapter 3, about translingual (English) literature by Israeli writers. The map below is from Rela Mazali's Maps of Women's Goings and Stayings, and this is from the conclusion of the chapter: (excerpt to follow)

Today's book post is from Chapter 2, which analyzes Hebrew novels written in English by Ruby Namdar and Maya Arad. Excerpt to follow.

The map below is from Yoav Avni's excellent novel Herzl Amar (Herzl Said), and appears in the first chapter of my new book, which is about novels that imagine Jewish homelands in locations other than Palestine. Excerpt to follow.

In honor of my book's publication this week, I wanted to share some excerpts. Today, a bit of the intro:

One week until publication day!

Academia is wild because you can behave in the most unethical way possible and then just…teach an ethics class.

It’s book post time! I wrote a book, pub day is in 2 weeks, and you can order it from Wayne State UP or your favorite bookseller. https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/beyond-land

I was going to make my first bluesky post about my book but then my cat did this. (I’ll post about the book tomorrow.)