Florida's Don't Say Gay law is is emboldening LGBTQIA+ hate, leading to a Jacksonville high school play centering a queer Jewish love story being banned. Beyond The Pale hosts the renowned playwright and the heroic students fighting together to bring it back.

Pulitzer prize winning playwright Paula Vogel is joined by actors Madeline Scotti and Brennan Mitchell from the Jacksonville, Florida high school production of their (now censored) play, Indecent. 

Special interview by original Beyond The Pale contributor, journalist, theater critic & scholar Alisa Solomon. 

Rafael Shimunov interviews workers' rights attorney Hugh Baran who joined 100+ lawyers drawing from their Jewish & American values to say #NoToLaSalle.

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Beyond The Pale: Queer Jewish Love Banned in Florida & The Battle Against Justice LaSalle

In our 2nd segment Friday we spoke with workers' rights attorney Hugh Baran who joined 100+ lawyers drawing from their Jewish values to say #NoToLaSalle, Justice Hector LaSalle who is NY Governor Kathy Hochul's pick for Chief Judge of New York.

https://thecourtnydeserves.com

https://forward.com/fast-forward/530991/jewish-lawyers-opposition-hector-lasalle-hochul-nys-highest-court

https://www.jfrej.org/news/2023/01/sign-on-letter-jewish-attorneys-against-lasalle

Over 100 Jewish Lawyers Oppose Justice LaSalle

Did you know the Hebrew Bible was rewritten to reverse genders of characters? We're joined by groundbreaking artist Yael Kanarek who talks about how she regendered the Torah into 𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘵 𝘛𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘩 with your cohosts Shoshana Brown and Rafael Shimunov. Today is also Shoshana's first show as official, weekly co-host.

Yael Kanarek is an artist who's practice focuses on the relationship between language and form. She works in various media such as internet art, large-scale sculpture, and fine jewelry. Kanarek became known in the mid 90s for her Internet art trilogy, "World of Awe." She exhibited at the Whitney Biennial, SFMoMA, Jewish Museum, EMST Museum, and more. She’s a recipient of fellowships with the Rockefeller New Media grant, Eyebeam, and NYFA, among others. 

Learn more

Beit Toratah http://beittoratah.org
Yael Kanarek https://yaelkanarek.com
Shoshana Brown https://shoshanaakua.com
JFREJ Events https://jfrej.org/events

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Yael photos by Gili Getz

Beyond The Pale: Regendering The Torah with Yael Kanarek

Our guest Beatrice Weber, the Executive Director of Young Advocates for Fair Education. YAFFED is a nonprofit organization founded by individuals raised within Hasidic and Haredi communities, and is committed to improving secular education in Hasidic and Haredi schools.

Beatrice is an Ordained Interspiritual Minister, author, and speaker Beatrice Weber. She was raised in a Hasidic Jewish community and was married off to a Rabbi in an arranged marriage before graduating high school. Despite harsh opposition from the community and her family, she left her marriage several years ago and currently lives in Brooklyn with the two youngest of her ten children. She was recently featured on the front page of the New York Times for winning a lawsuit against NYC and NYS.

Yeshiva Interrupted: The Fight for Hasidic Kids' Education

We're joined by two leaders of last night's 30+ activists and constituents who successfully shut down a 92nd Street Y event featuring Congressmen Ritchie Torres of the Bronx and Mike Lawler of Westchester, demanding a permanent ceasefire, an end to US support for Israeli war crimes, and a Free Palestine.

Protesters staged various interruptions, including chants of “blood on your hands,” “genocide is not peace,” and “free Palestine,” throughout the event. The venue’s security staff forcibly ejected the protesters and, in some cases, tried to wrest away their banners and signs. At least one protester was pushed down the stairs by security, and many others were roughly grabbed and shoved. 

Constituents of NY-15 and NY-17 voiced frustration with their representatives for abandoning community members and ignoring their needs while tirelessly promoting bipartisan efforts to continue the Israeli occupation of Palestine. 

Rep. Torres has been called “Israel’s loudest House supporter.” In 2022, Torres received $141K in funding from AIPAC. He serves the poorest Congressional District in the U.S., but in public statements made since taking office in 2021, he mentions Israel 236% more than he mentions poverty. 

“As a constituent in one of the poorer sections of District 15, I denounce Rep. Ritchie Torres for ignoring the needs of those most underserved while serving the capitalist class objectives of greed and genocide. The Bronx does not support genocide and we call on this government to force the Israel settler-colonial state to cease its attacks on Occupied Palestine now.” 
— Foxy Jazzabelle, NY-17 Constituent

Thursday’s disruption came a week after the U.S. House of Representatives passed  Ritchie Torres and Mike Lawler’s bill to create a new “special envoy” for the Abraham Accords. The Abraham Accords, introduced by the Trump administration in 2020, have been widely criticized for offering a one-sided peace plan: Israel gains new recognition by Arab states like the UAE, while Palestinians gain no hope of statehood.

Rep. Lawler has repeatedly denounced calls for a ceasefire, emphasizing Israel’s “right to defend itself” and “the right of the Jewish people to live peacefully” on what he calls “their native land.” Lawler’s Congressional district has one of the highest populations of Jewish people in the U.S. and outside of Israel. Yet six weeks ago, he endorsed a Rockland County legislator, James Foley, who has a documented history of antisemitism. 

“As a Jewish constituent of Rep. Mike Lawler, it is appalling to watch him defend a genocide under the guise of Jewish safety and survival.”
 – Ilana Zaken, NY-15 Constituent

The 92NY, which hosted the disrupted event, made headlines in October for canceling a talk by the professor and novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen because he signed a letter calling for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation. A public outcry ensued, and 92NY halted their remaining literary events for the season.

“I have watched 92NY time and time again suppress important voices that have extended support for the Palestinian struggle. This type of McCarthyism has no place at a beloved New York cultural institution.” 
– Jason Rosenberg, former employee of 92NY’s Bronfman Center for Jewish Life 

The grassroots coalition of Jews and constituents of NY-15 and NY-17 who disrupted Thursday’s event share a commitment to freedom for all people. Jewish values are not to be weaponized and our spaces are not to be compromised. New Yorkers deserve and demand better from our elected officials and our historic institutions.

Shutting Down 92nd St Y for Gaza

Just fifty favorite records of mine that I happen to own in vinyl in no particular order. Mostly 90s "backpacker" type stuff - it's a reflection of when I was collecting at the time, and doesn't necessarily represent all my favorite artists or favorite songs, many of which never were released on vinyl. I've never made a mix this long, and admittedly I ended up doing it in three separate parts. There was no real planning besides making sure I played 50 different records. Hope you dig it!

For 50 Years

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50 Hip-Hop Records for 50 Years of Hip-Hop (mix)

Back with an episode for the new year - some mellow-ish selections to set a tone. Trying to get back on pace with some weekly episodes for you all but it remains a little tough with everything going on. Hope folks are healthy and safe out there. 

Tracklist: JJ Whitfield, Jazz Co/Op, Rudolph Johnson, Alan Hawkshaw, Brian Bennett, Tangerine Dream, Atlantis Jazz Ensemble

January 10 2024

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Pullin from the Stacks - Episode 239 - New Modes

Turkish-Sephardic folk song performed by Chloe Pourmorady, Brigitte Bogle, and Pontea Banayan. Arranged for 3 female voices.

Las Esuegras de Agora

Elohin creates the Man from Eve's Rib. When the man is brought to her she exclaims: “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; he will be called man, because he was taken out of woman.”

Genesis 2: Elohin Creates the Man from Eve's Rib

Live DJ set from a performance at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, June 1st 2019. Gallery visitors were responding to the prompt: 

"Think about what your journey to empowerment has been like. In one paragraph, share a story of a time when you felt closest to your most powerful self."

Thank you to everyone who participated, and to YBCA for hosting!

Music:
4Hero - Spirits in Transit
Sun Ra - Tiny Pyramids
Antibalas - Sanctuary
Leah King - Silver Ocean, Space Signs
J Dilla - Crushin’ (instrumental)
TOKiMONSTA - Waiting for the Break of Dawn
Nostalgia 77 - Dreamers Dance
Build an Ark - The Blessing Song

Diasporic Futurism @ Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 6.1.19

This exploration of masculine and feminine forms of the sh'ma was created for Beit Toratah with Yael Kanerak. 

Shimi Tisraela Tehovah(Adonotai) Elohoteinu Tehovah Ahat
Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Ehad 

Hear, wrestlers with divinity: Our source, our God, is sacred unity

Learn more about Beit Toratah at: https://www.beittoratah.org/

Vocals: Emily Cohen
Production/Mix: Adami Gordon

Kriat Shim'i Sh'ma

Host of Beyond The Pale on WBAI 99.5 FM New York

Shutting Down 92nd St Y for Gaza

Beyond The Pale

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