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On the Nose

On the Nose

By: Jewish Currents
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On the Nose is a biweekly podcast by Jewish Currents, a magazine of the Jewish left founded in 1946. The editorial staff discusses the politics, culture, and questions that animate today’s Jewish left.Copyright 2026 Jewish Currents Judaism Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences Spirituality
Episodes
  • Nadav Lapid Faces “No”

    Nadav Lapid Faces “No”
    Jun 25 2026
    Over the last couple weeks, there has been an enormous amount written—from The New York Times to Le Monde to Haaretz, among other places—about a controversy centered on Nadav Lapid, an Israeli filmmaker living in France. Lapid has made several critically acclaimed films, including Synonyms, Ahed’s Knee, and, most recently, Yes, and his work has taken home jury prizes at the Berlinale and Cannes.The recent controversy was focused on the FIDMarseille international film festival. There was a planned retrospective of Palestinian films at the festival this year. Meanwhile, Lapid was invited to head the jury. It was also decided that there would be an event honoring him, and that he would teach a master class. When a dozen filmmakers threatened to pull their films from the festival, Lapid withdrew as head of the jury. When that did not quell the protests, he decided to cancel the event and the master class, as well.The response from many in the film world has largely been to rally around Lapid, with two letters published in Le Monde, one of them garnering over 350 signatures of high-profile figures in the industry. The letters allege that Lapid is being boycotted solely because of his identity. One of them declares, “Nothing justifies the silencing of an artist . . . the cultural boycott is an intellectual dead end that we must collectively overcome.”Meanwhile, Film Workers for Palestine, allied with PACBI, which coordinates the academic and cultural boycott of Israel, published a translation of a statement by Palestine Will Save Cinema, pointing to the fact that Nadav Lapid’s latest film, Yes, received support from the Israeli Film Fund, was presented at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival as an Israeli co‑production, and competed for the Ophir Awards (akin to Israel’s Academy Awards). “States have always invested in cinema, literature, the arts, and festivals as instruments of influence and legitimacy. Cultural production does not circulate in a political vacuum. It contributes to the representation of nations, the construction of their international image, and the dissemination of their narratives,” they wrote. “This is precisely why cultural boycott exists. Not because artists are responsible for the crimes committed by their governments, nor because certain works should be prohibited, but because cultural institutions, funding systems, and distribution policies play a concrete role in states’ strategies of legitimation.” There can be no mistaking the content of Yes, which seeks to depict the depravity of Israeli society during the genocide. But it does open with the icon of Israel’s Ministry of Culture, due to the support it took from the Israeli Film Fund, which accounted for 13% of the film’s funding.On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel talks to Nadav Lapid about the recent controversy, and the two hash out some of their disagreements about cultural boycott.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“‘Guilty by Virtue of My Identity,’” Nirit Anderman, HaaretzTwo letters in support of Nadav Lapid, published in Le MondeFilm Workers for Palestine translation of Palestine Will Save Cinema statement on FID MarseillleFilm Workers for Palestine Pledge to End Complicity“What the NY Knicks Mania Reveals About Israelis and Collective Blame for Gaza,” Libby Lenkinski, Haaretz“Thank You for Boycotting Me: As an Israeli Filmmaker, Here’s Why Global Pressure Amid Gaza Matters,” Avigail Sperber, Haaretz“Paul Simon’s Graceland: the acclaim and the outrage,” Robin Denselow, The Guardian“Non,” Catherine Haas, lundimatin“Is the cultural boycott of Israel an effective political tool for the Palestinian cause?” on Radio France“Israeli Grotesque,” Mitchell Abidor, Jewish CurrentsTranscript forthcoming.
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    39 mins
  • Politics and the Jewish Body

    Politics and the Jewish Body
    Jun 18 2026

    In the latest issue of Jewish Currents, we published a piece called “Does the Jewish Body Keep the Score?” by Jon Danforth-Appell, which looks at three recent left-wing books about the relationship between Jewish trauma and Zionism, and challenges the view that Zionism in Jewish communities constitutes a trauma response that will need to be healed in order to be fought. On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel speaks with the author of one of those books, Wendy Elisheva Somerson, known as Wes, a somatic healer who helped found the Seattle chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace and published An Anti-Zionist Path to Embodied Jewish Healing last year. Angel and Somerson discuss the risk of essentializing about “Jewish bodies,” whether implanted or prosthetic trauma still needs to be “healed,” and what it means to claim Jewish ritual as somatic practice.

    Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

    Media Mentioned and Further Reading

    An Anti-Zionist Path to Embodied Jewish Healing by Wendy Elisheva Somerson

    Ruach healing groups

    “Western Philosophy as White Supremacism,” Crispin Sartwell, The Philosophical Salon

    Power-Under: Trauma and Nonviolent Social Change by Steven Wineman

    “Prosthetic Trauma at the Nova Exhibition: Holocaust Memory, Reenactment, and the Affective Reproduction of Genocidal Nightmares,” Ben Ratskoff, Journal of Genocide Research

    “Picturing Power,” Arielle Angel, Jewish Currents

    Wounds Into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma by Tirzah Firestone

    Taking the State Out of the Body: A Guide to Embodied Resistance to Zionism by Eliana Rubin

    Transcript forthcoming.

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    53 mins
  • The Israel Day Parade Debacle

    The Israel Day Parade Debacle
    Jun 4 2026

    Last Sunday, New York City officials took part in the annual Israel Day Parade on Fifth Avenue. Mayor Zohran Mamdani was notably absent, insisting that this was not a “Jewish pride parade,” as it is often styled, but a celebration of a country committing genocide, and saying he did not need to be present to “ensure the safety” of the parade. His resolve proved prudent, as New York officials found themselves scrambling to distance themselves from the far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is responsible for the creeping annexation and violent ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, and who took part in the march along with a rogues gallery of openly genocidal Israeli government officials.

    On this episode of On the Nose, host Arielle Angel, senior reporter Alex Kane, and news director Josh Nathan-Kazis discuss the history and makeup of the Israel Day Parade, parse the responses from New York officials facing criticism for marching with extremists, and debate the feasibility of an actual “Jewish pride parade” in New York City.

    Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

    Media Mentioned and Further Reading

    “A Litmus Test Backfires,” Josh Nathan-Kazis, Jewish Currents

    “NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani missed the Israel Day Parade. Many who went didn’t miss him.” Grace Gilson, The Forward

    “Progressive Zionists Choose a Side,” Mari Cohen, Jewish Currents

    Documentation of abuses in Hebron on B’Tselem

    “Meet the U.S. Nonprofit That Funds the Israeli Guards Who Terrorize Palestinians,” Alex Kane, In These Times

    “Universal Jurisdiction in Action: Peru Investigates Israeli Soldier for Genocide and War Crimes after HRF Complaint,” The Hind Rajab Foundation

    Nerdeen Kiswani tweet about protesting the Israel Day Parade

    “Bitter Rift Over Israel Hits LGBTQ Jews Hard After Controversial Protest At Celebrate Israel Parade,” Ari Feldman, The Forward

    “Jewish New York deserves a parade as diverse as its communities,” Jill Jacobs, JTA

    Transcript forthcoming.

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    43 mins
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