The Beinart Notebook

Our Zoom call this Friday will be co-sponsored by Jewish Currents and held at its regular time: 1 PM ET photo by Cassidy Araiza of Lux Magazine Our guest will be Rozina Ali, a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and the author of the new book, just released this week, Seasons of Fury: Four Families and the Rise of Islamophobia in America.

Our Zoom call this Friday will be co-sponsored by Jewish Currents and held at its regular time: 1 PM ET. Our guest will be Rozina Ali, a contributing writer at TheNew York Times Magazine and the author of the new book, just released this week, Seasons of Fury: Four Families and the Rise of Islamophobia in America.

Our guest is Rabbi Asher Lopatin, the Director of Community Relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor and the Rabbi of Kehillat Etz Chaim in Oak Park, Michigan. I’ve known Rabbi Lopatin for a long time. He’s not only a great teacher of Torah, he’s also a mensch. Which makes his willingness to support Mike Rogers over Abdul El-Sayed even more distressing to me. Nonetheless, we had a respectful conversation. I’m grateful to him for having it.

Zoom link

There will be no Zoom call this Friday, as I’ll be traveling. I plan to release a pre-recorded interview instead. We’ll be back live on Friday, August 28 at our regular time. Ask Me Anything This Tuesday, August 18, at 2 PM Eastern, we will hold an Ask Me Anything session, for PREMIUM SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. Click the subscribe button below to see the different options.

Our guest is Norman Finkelstein, the longtime critic of Israel, and critic of the way the memory of the Holocaust—which both his parents survived—has been exploited to justify Israel’s actions. He has written a new book, titled Gaza’s Gravediggers. I talked to Norman about what it’s like—after decades as a political outcast—to see his views becoming mainstream.

This week’s Zoom call will be at our regular time: Friday at 1 PM Eastern. Our guest will be Norman Finkelstein, the longtime critic of Israel, and critic of the way the memory of the Holocaust—which both his parents survived—has been exploited to justify Israel’s actions. He has written a new book, titled Gaza’s Gravediggers. I want to talk to Norman about what it’s like—after decades as a political outcast—to see his views becoming mainstream.

Our guest is Rahm Emanuel, who has served as Chief of Staff for Barack Obama, a member of Congress from Illinois, mayor of Chicago, and US Ambassador to Japan. He recently gave a speech at Tel Aviv University that advocated US pressure on Israel, but also made claims about the history of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations with which I disagree. Topics include: Emanuel’s family’s history in Israel-Palestine What he learned about Zionism growing up What was offered to the Palestinians at Camp David?

This week’s Zoom call will be at our regular time: Friday at 1 PM ET. Our guest will be Norman Finklestein, the longtime critic of Israel, and critic of the way the memory of the Holocaust—which both his parents survived—has been exploited to justify Israel’s actions. I don’t really know Norman. But watching him over the years, I’ve often thought that he has a prophetic personality. Having a prophetic personality doesn’t mean you’re always right.

Our guest is Curt Mills, executive director of The American Conservative, and the subject of a recent profile in Jewish Currents. Curt is one of most influential thinkers in defining a conservative foreign policy that is skeptical of both war and unconditional support for Israel. We talked about why he supported Donald Trump in 2024, and what he thinks of Trump now, about the role of racism in conservative opposition to immigration, and about what J.D. Vance believes.