All Articles
Democrats Need a Programmatic Alternative to Mass Deportation, Not Just “Resistance”
The recent focus on President Trump’s provocative and possibly illegal militarization of the immigration issue has obscured the vulnerability of his underlying policy on the subject itself. Democrats would do well to refocus attention on that policy. With the number of new unauthorized arrivals now down to near zero, the moment is ripe for Democrats to advance a broad proposal for bipartisan immigration reform that substantially accepts the Trump-era restrictions on new border crossings and visa violations – which began during the final year of the Biden administration – while urging a path to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants, other than convicted criminals, who are already here.
The “Settler Colonial” Trap for Israel
Adam Kirsch’s new book, a powerful critique of the concept of settler colonialism as applied to the history of Israel, could not have arrived at a more timely moment. Kirsch outlines a number of essential points that collectively show the shallowness of viewing the establishment of the state of Israel through the lens of this concept, one that has become ubiquitous on college campuses. However, Kirsch’s book exhibits two shortcomings that point in the direction of further work needed to complete the task the author has so forcefully begun.
“Hate” Was Not the Problem at Penn (or Other Universities), Radicalism Was and Still Is
Late last year Pennsylvania’s Governor Josh Shapiro interjected himself forcefully into the uproar over former University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill’s Congressional testimony (in which she failed to say that calling for “the genocide of Jews” would necessarily violate the school’s code of conduct) and the events on the Penn campus that would soon culminate in her resignation. The governor came out strongly against antisemitism in all its forms – never bad in itself. But Shapiro’s widely reported speech on Sunday, December 10, 2023, at Philadelphia’s Rodeph Shalom synagogue, in which he proclaimed, “Hate has no place here,” misnamed the chief problem that had plagued Penn and a number of other universities this past fall.
Anti-racist Lens Distorts History on New Jersey "Freeholders"
I grant there is no compelling reason for New Jersey’s counties to retain the traditional term “chosen freeholders” as the name for their elected officials. In a bill signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy on August 21, the title of these lawmakers will become “county commissioners” at the beginning of 2021. The new term certainly conveys better than “chosen freeholder” what these elected representatives do. But there is little basis for tying the older term to the history of slavery or racial prejudice, as many of New Jersey’s political leaders have done.
No, Christine Blasey Probably Isn't Behaving Like the Children Who Leveled False Accusations in the Salem Witch Trials
President Trump isn’t the only one citing the Salem witch hunt to shape public opinion these days. Reference to the infamous witch hunt of 1692 has again entered public discourse to explain psychology professor Christine Blasey’s accusation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when both were teenagers.
"Occupy" Movement Must Move to the Center
The Occupy Wall Street movement has reached a tactical dead end. This much has been apparent for weeks. Remarkably, its fundamental message of seeking a more equitable distribution of wealth in America has not been lost, despite the extremism and eccentricity of the protests.