JASS - Jewish Activism Summer School

🔴 A century-old movement is making a comeback — and it has a lot to teach us.
The Progressive just published a fascinating piece on the revival of the Jewish Labor Bund across the United States and Europe. Bundism — with its commitments to doikayt ("hereness": building solidarity where you live) and Yiddishkayt (maintaining a vibrant diasporic Jewish culture) — is finding new resonance among Jewish socialists and organizers grappling with today's political moment.
New chapters are forming, Yiddish sing-alongs are happening at local bars, and a new generation is asking: what does it mean to be Jewish, politically engaged, and rooted in place?
These are exactly the kinds of questions we explore at JASS. Whether you know the history of the Bund deeply or are encountering it for the first time, this article is worth your time.
👉 Read it here:

The Bund Is Back In a handful of cities across the United States and Europe, Jewish socialists are reviving a storied early twentieth century institution.

What if young people from across the MENA region — Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin, Jews, and others — worked side by side to rebuild Gaza?

That's the founding mission of the Gaza Youth Corps, and this summer we're bringing together its founding group in Berlin.

🗓 JASS 2026 — From Gaza to the World: Building Networks for Democratic Futures
📍 27 July – 9 August 2026 · bUm Berlin, Kreuzberg

JASS 2026 is structured around two interconnected weeks:

🔹 Week 1 (27 July – 2 August): Founding the Gaza Youth Corps
A working conference to co-create an independent, non-political volunteer organization supporting rebuilding in Gaza through regional cooperation.

🔹 Week 2 (3–9 August): Building a Pan-European Jewish Activist Network
A participatory founding gathering for activists, scholars, and community leaders — co-creating frameworks for responding to authoritarianism, antisemitism, and the erosion of democratic values.

We welcome three types of participants:
✅ Activists & organizers
✅ Academics & researchers
✅ Community & organizational leaders

You can apply for one week or both.
💶 €400 per week · €800 full program (accommodation included)
⏰ Deadline: 1 May 2026

👉 Apply & full program info: www.jassberlin.org/summer-program
📋 Pre-register: forms.gle/idLBJSK8rqsZtt7r8

See the program flyers attached below ↓

EVENT: Seminar: 'Racism and antisemitism in postcolonial and Marxist social theory' - 18 March [Announcement]
Naomi Smith
Location
United Kingdom

Location: Online - the joining link will be sent the day before the event

Time: 1pm to 2pm (GMT)

The definitions of racism and antisemitism are fiercely contested in both academia and the public sphere. The understanding of these terms is shaped not least by (implicit or explicit) social-theoretical assumptions.

In this seminar, Leo Roepert (University of Hamburg) will examine concepts of racism in two influential strands of social theory: postcolonialism and Marxism. He will examine how the concept of racism is represented in these two theoretical traditions, and how this is shaped by each strand’s underlying assumptions in social theory, as well as their respective limitations. Postcolonial approaches view racism primarily as an expression of a (post)colonial power relationship, whereas Marxist approaches focus on the significance of racism for the material and ideological reproduction of capitalism.

He will also explore how antisemitism is addressed within postcolonial and Marxist traditions and will argue that they have difficulty grasping the specific character of antisemitism owing to the way racism is comprehended in both theoretical strands.

Free seminar for scholars. Contact [email protected] for further information or register here: https://bisa.bbk.ac.uk/event/racism-and-antisemitism-in-postcolonial-and-marxist-social-theory/?hash=e4487db1-f376-4fd7-897d-069e411cc133

Contact Information
Naomi Smith, Events Coordinator

Contact Email
[email protected]
URL
https://bisa.bbk.ac.uk/event/racism-and-antisemitism-in-postcolonial-and-marxis…

Racism and antisemitism in postcolonial and Marxist social theory | Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism Event Information and Booking Date: 18th March, 2026 Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Location: Online - the joining link will be sent the day before the event Speaker(s): Leo Roepert, University of Hamburg Booking: Free seminar for scholars. Click the link below or contact [email protected] for further informa...

We thought you might appreciate this song/video from our friend Yonatan K***a in Kiryat Tivon:

from the midst of these absolutely crazy days, under fire - wanted to share with you this new song released this week, "משאלה ما شاء الله" -
a bi-lingual prayer, with Nour Rezeq, a friend and partner from Beit-Lehem, Palestine.

מִשְׁאָלָה ما شاء الله \ יונתן קונדה & נור רזאק يونتان كوندا و نور رزق yonatan K***a & Nour Rezeq Lyrics: Yonatan K***a, Nour RezeqOud and Melody: Dvir RevitalCello: Shirah Kuleh, Hamutal MaromNey, Musical Production & Aarangement: Yonatan K***aMix & Mast...

From JASS – Jewish Activism Summer School, we would like to share this important invitation from the Institut für Neue Soziale Plastik with our network:

Dear artists, cultural workers and friends,

We’re excited to invite you, our artist network of over 400 people, to our first online network meeting* of the year. Our network continues to grow steadily — yet not solely out of solidarity. It is expanding because more and more doors are quietly closing to Jewish and Israeli artists, cultural practitioners, and to those who take a clear stance against antisemitism. What we are witnessing is not only exclusion, but a troubling normalization of silent boycott. We remain deeply unsettled by the atmosphere in which we work — by developments in the arts and cultural sector, and by the tacit boycotts that increasingly shape professional realities.
How have you experienced the past months? What changes have you noticed — on social media, within cultural institutions, in your professional circles, or in your daily working environment? The struggle against antisemitism in the cultural sphere can only succeed if it is not dismissed as abstract or exaggerated. It requires us to confront what is happening openly and honestly — to acknowledge the many so-called “individual cases” and to recognize them as part of a systemic pattern. We are very much looking forward to seeing you again soon and to continuing this important conversation together. It will be good to meet, share experiences, and speak openly about the issues outlined above.

The network meeting takes place on March 26, 2026, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm via Zoom. You will receive the Zoom-Link after registration. Please Register here: https://forms.zohopublic.eu/neuesozialeplastik1/form/Netzwerktreffenanmeldung/formperma/zgo5OebI5hozwagtwN8JEcE3nnhVRZ0dFVUpHvvyRQE.
For several years, the Institut für Neue Soziale Plastik has organized nationwide networking events to provide a safe space for Jewish, Israeli, and ally perspectives in the arts and cultural sector, to foster cooperation, and to increase the visibility of positions critical of antisemitism.

If you feel this space could be meaningful for you or someone in your network, please consider joining and sharing.

You’re warmly invited to a special two-part series marking 50 years since the death of Hannah Arendt.

An intimate space for shared reading, conversation, and reflection, inspired by Hannah Arendt and Rahel Varnhagen, combining close reading, discussion, and a walk through Berlin.

📅 February 15 & April 26
🕟 4:30 PM
📍 Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft, Berlin

⚠️ Limited spots – registration required
👉 forms.gle/8Kh2CRz5kz86GPzh9

Organized by JASS – Jewish Activism Summer School
In cooperation with Paideia, Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft, and the University of Potsdam.

We look forward to seeing you there!

We are delighted to invite you to an exclusive three-event series dedicated to the life and work of Hannah Arendt.

For the first time, the series will unfold across a unique and meaningful location in Berlin, allowing participants to engage with Arendt’s ideas not only through texts and discussion, but also through place.

Each encounter is designed as a stand-alone event, while together they form a coherent intellectual journey. Participants are welcome to register for individual sessions or to take part in the full series.

All encounters have limited capacity and require prior registration.

​📅 January 13, 2026
🕕 6:00–8:00 PM · IBZ, Wiesbadener Str. 18, 14197 , Berlin

Register for the screening: https://lnkd.in/dYq_AQrr

​Thinking in the Salons of Berlin
📅 February 15 & April 26
🕟 4:30 PM · Berlin

Register for the Berlin Salons: https://lnkd.in/dYq_AQrr

See today's nuanced, illuminating analysis of German legal cases dealing with antisemitism by Yael Paz.

LinkedIn This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

Please join Lisa Maria Madera and me for a unique opportunity to think about the rights and rites of Nature, and shifting our relationship to our more than human kin. This event is both a university course and a very special excursion to the Ecuadoran rainforest.

For the syllabus see The Rights of Rivers and the Rites of Trees (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G90kocCHQrdG6Lzaw7g9LpUvEztExPKC/view). This course is open to the general public with registration as an auditor or visiting student (https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/studium/what-to-study/gasthoerer-nebenhoerer). Registration open until 30 October. For the full description of the excursion see Invitation to a Listening Tour of Ecuador (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hx4n9G7FiQxPCZzHYAUP0wYfEy1nHB30/view). Click here to register for the excursion: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf1c926oDuR0CgoR-SZqTSTebX8gGcLYaQpXdDsz8NLEkNcPQ/viewform.

🟣 Jewish Activism Summer School (JASS) Berlin 2025 – A space of learning, action & connection

We’re thrilled to share that JASS Berlin 2025 has just concluded after three intense and inspiring weeks of learning, community-building, and reimagining Jewish activism from multiple angles.

This year’s cohort included participants from Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, India, Israel, the U.S., and Argentina, and was enriched by incredible instructors from around the world. Together, we explored urgent questions around identity, resistance, and hope.

Our program included:

🔹 Deep Democracy sessions
🔹 Interactive workshops on the Building Blocks of Successful Theories of Change
🔹 Powerful first-person testimonies on the struggles for democracy in Russia
🔹 A Live Action Role-Playing (LARP) experience — where participants immersed themselves in fictional roles to collaboratively engage with complex scenarios
🔹 Jewish thought in dialogue with postcolonial discourse
🔹 Explorations of Jewish pacifism, peacebuilding, and diasporic Zionism
🔹 A visit to Kanaan, a restaurant created by a Palestinian and an Israeli chef
🔹 Sessions on The Levant is Q***r, radical tenderness, and much more

We’re incredibly grateful to the local participants who joined our open sessions and to everyone who made this experience possible. You can explore our full list of instructors and cohort here. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M6WfyYjuu-mciQyMuWy7p6zOiJPTynsm/view

📸 Below are just a few glimpses of what we shared — though the essence of JASS goes far beyond what a camera can capture.

Stay tuned for upcoming local activities — and of course, JASS 2026 is already in motion.

👉 Let’s keep building this growing network of Jewish thinkers, creators, and changemakers.

With heartfelt appreciation,
The JASS Berlin Team



JASS - Jewish Activism Summer School Alla Gutnikova Jonathan Schorsch Uriel Aiskovich Universität Potsdam

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