The General Jewish Labour Bund Series

Fascism and the Far-Right Series

Conversations with Movement Elders

In the Streets

From the Archives

On this episode: we break down new anti-semitism numbers, discuss increasing repression against Muslim communities, and introduce the Jewish National Fund’s mysterious new Israel Advocacy HQ. We bid farewell to the Jewish Tribune, talk about Bill Marantz’s racist column in the Jewish Post and News, and try to wrap our heads around why Mexican workers were paid to dress up as Chassids in NY. Lastly, we’re joined in studio by Amy Darwish (an organizer with Tadamon!) to talk about ten years of the BDS movement.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/07/24/on-this-episode-we-break-down-new-anti-semitism/

David's article going into more detail on anti-semitism numbers: http://treyfpodcast.tumblr.com/post/125089303662/anti-semitism-data

01 Ten Years Of BDS

On this episode: we talk about the JDL in Montreal and an expansion of the Canada-Israel Free Trade agreement. We give a nod to the St.Louis Jewish Voice for Peace in their response to the Anti-Defamation League’s collaboration with city police, and question the royal family’s “heil-gate”. Lastly, we’re joined in studio by Claire Hurtig (Treyf’s director of design) to talk about pinkwashing and a recent Quebec delegation of LGBT Francophone Quebecois(es) to Israel. 

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/07/29/on-this-episode-we-talk-about-the-jdl-in/

02 Conservatives Nix Jewish Heritage Month

This segment didn’t make it into the last episode but we still wanted to share it with you! In this short, we discuss Mike Huckabee’s recent holocaust-invoking fame, Steven Blaney’s special permission, and comparisons between Iran and Nazi Germany.

Show notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/08/14/short-whos-invoking-the-holocaust-now/

Short: Who's Invoking The Holocaust Now?

It's Treyf’s bar mitzvah episode! On this special occasion, we reminisced about our 13th birthdays and the process of getting older as a podcast. We called Ilan Benattar from Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s Mizrahi caucus to talk about a Tablet Magazine article and the concept of Mizrahi-washing. After some technical issues the first time around, Dave Zirin joined us for the interview, discussing Zionism and Palestine solidarity activism in the NBA. And finally, our recommendation went to the recent New York Times parody issue distributed by JVP/Jews Say No, and we spoke to Beth Miller about the project. 

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/02/17/episode-13-mizrahi-washing-dave-zirin/

13 Mizrahi-Washing, & Dave Zirin Returns!

We spoke with Kenyon Zimmer, author of the new book 'Immigrants Against the State: Yiddish and Italian Anarchism in America.' We talked about the history of Yiddish Anarchism in America, how many people were involved, how it influenced US immigration policy, and what led to the decline of the movement.

Show notes:https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/09/01/short-yiddish-anarchism-in-america-with-kenyon-zimmer/

Treyf: A Debatably Jewish Podcast

Short: Yiddish Anarchism in America with Kenyon Zimmer

Sam returns to the studio and we reflect on some recent incidents of anti-Semitism on the left in Canada. We then speak with Spencer Sunshine, an anti-fascist activist and researcher, about Christopher Bollyn, an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist and holocaust denier who recently gave a talk at a leftist space in New York City. Spencer was part of a protest held outside the event, and explains the context surrounding it.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/09/21/short-anti-semitism-on-the-left-with-spencer-sunshine/

Short: Anti-Semitism on the Left with Spencer Sunshine

On this week’s episode, we talked about CKUT’s funding drive (please donate if you can!), a journalist who doesn’t understand our tagline, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s visit to a synagogue, and that giant cross of secularism. We were joined by Annie Cohen to discuss Jewdas’ recent Yom Kippur Ball, as well as the collective’s organizing against the institutional Jewish community in the UK. Finally, we spoke with Sandy Fox of the recently-launched podcast Vaybertaytsh, to talk about Yiddish, Feminism, and podcasting.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/10/26/yiddish_feminism/

22 Yiddish Feminism & The Yom Kippur Balls

On this episode, we took some time to reflect on changes in the Jewish political landscape following the US election. We spoke with Aurora Levins Morales about her recent article in the Nation, mentoring younger Jewish activists, and putting a Trump victory into historical context. We ended the show with our usual Shkoyach segment - David giving theirs to an anti-poverty group and Sam giving his to a Montreal neighbourhood.

*EDIT: at the beginning of the show, David mentioned that 70% of Jews voted for Trump. They meant to say that this 70% voted AGAINST Trump.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/12/02/24-aurora-levins-morales/

24 Aurora Levins Morales

We spoke with Daniel Boyarin, author of Unheroic Conduct: the Rise of Heterosexuality and the Invention of the Jewish Man, about his work, the tension of being both a radical leftist and orthodox Jew, and what it was like to go to high school with Bruce Springsteen.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/12/22/daniel-boyarin/

Short: Daniel Boyarin

On this episode we spoke with Karen Brodkin, author of ‘How Jews Became White Folks,’ about the stories white Jews tell about Jewish history and the differences between structural racism & bigotry. We then spoke with Benjamin Balthaser, professor of multiethnic US literature at Indiana University-South Bend, about rural anti-Semitism and the institutions behind it. We ended the show with our usual Shkoyach! segment, highlighting a menorah feud, a pirate radio station, and an essay from 1967.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2017/01/05/25-white-jews-whiteness-and-anti-semitism/

25 White Jews, Whiteness, & Anti-Semitism

Following up on our last episode, we spoke with Mark Tseng Putterman about his twitter essay on the recent media conversation about Jews and whiteness.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2017/01/18/short_mtp_on_whiteness/

Short: Jews & Whiteness with Mark Tseng Putterman

We're back from our month off! We spoke with Orit Bashkin, author of 'The New Babylonians: A History of Jews in Modern Iraq,' about the history of Iraq's Jewish left and why certain Jewish histories remain untold.

Short: The Iraqi Jewish Left with Orit Bashkin

We spoke with Leslie Lutsky about his recent decision to end Jewish Digest, a Montreal-based radio show that's been on the air for over 25 years. We'll be releasing archives from the show over the next few months.

Short: Jewish Digest Goes Off the Air

In this 1993 interview, Leslie Lutsky talks with Les Tager, a founding member of the Toronto-based Jewish Feminist Anti-Fascist League (JFAFL). To skip the part of the show where Sam and David talk about unrelated things, jump straight to 8:03!

From the Archives: Jewish Feminist Anti-Fascist League (Jewish Digest, 1993)

On this episode, we focused on the final days of the Canadian Jewish Congress. We spoke with Bernie Farber (former CEO of the CJC) & Dan Freeman-Maloy (Jewish academic, writer, and activist) about the CJC's history, how the Jewish Federations replaced it with CIJA (an Israel advocacy group), and what this means for our present moment.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2017/05/25/29-the-destruction-of-the-canadian-jewish-congress/

29 The Destruction Of The Canadian Jewish Congress

We spoke with Mark Tseng-Putterman and Tallie Ben Daniel about Jewish Voice for Peace’s new book, ‘On Anti-Semitism: Solidarity and the Struggle for Justice.’ We talked about the Jewish right’s understanding of Anti-Semitism, the Jewish left’s struggle to present a coherent alternative, and whose voices get centred in these conversations.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2017/06/15/on_anti_semitism/

30 On Anti-Semitism

In this 2004 recording, Leslie Lutsky interviews Ella Shohat, internationally renowned Mizrahi academic, and Professor of Cultural Studies at NYU. They speak about what led Iraqi Jews to leave for Palestine, how asserting Arab-Jewish identity has become politicized, and what it was like growing up as a Mizrahi Jew in Israel.

From the Archives: Ella Shohat (Jewish Digest, 2004)

We were in Toronto last week for the 84th anniversary of the Christie Pits Riot, a piece of Jewish anti-fascist history that felt more significant this year. We decided to share this series of short interviews, originally conducted by Radio 613, which includes a conversation with Lionel Mernick, a Jewish man who was at the riot in 1933.

From The Archives: The Christie Pits Riot (Radio 613, 2008)

We spoke with Laura Whitehorn, former political prisoner & tireless revolutionary activist and organizer, about her decades of participation in movements for justice. We spoke about organizing against white supremacists during the 1970s, how she relates to the newly radicalized Jewish left, how her work has changed over time, and what solidarity ought to look like in our current context.

We packed a lot into the Show Notes this week! Check them out here: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2017/10/12/laura_whitehorn/

Short: Laura Whitehorn

Our upcoming episode on The Great March of Return has taken longer than expected so we're sharing a behind-the-scenes update along with a condensed version of the Electronic Intifada Podcast's episode on the 70th anniversary of the Nakba.

Electronic Intifada Podcast: The Nakba at 70

On this episode, we focused on the anti-Jewish immigration laws of the 1920s and 1930s & how they relate to the present.

We spoke with Syed Hussan (a migrant justice organizer in Toronto) about the Canadian government's upcoming apology for turning away Jews fleeing the Nazis, and how this fits into Canada's immigration history. 

We also spoke with Libby Garland (author of 'After They Closed the Gates: Jewish Illegal Immigration to the United States, 1921-1965') about how the history of unauthorized Jewish migration can help us better understand the current moment.

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2018/11/02/41-immigration-exclusion-and-false-apologies/

41 Immigration, Exclusion, and False Apologies

On this episode, we had two conversations about the history of Fascism. We first spoke with Gord Hill about the history of Anti-Fascist movements and the connections between Fascism and Colonialism. We then spoke with Shira Klein about how to understand the widespread Jewish support for Fascism that existed in interwar Italy. 

Show notes & transcript here: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2019/02/19/42-fascism-and-the-far-right-1/

42 Fascism and the Far-Right Pt 1

Happy Purim! We wanted to share this excerpt from a 1991 episode of Jewish Digest, set at an anarchist Purim party in occupied Tio'tia:ke (Montréal). Thanks to the Canadian Jewish Archives for their help digitizing the original cassette.

Treyf Podcast

From the Archives: Anarchist Purim Party (Jewish Digest, 1991)

We went on a trip to Buffalo, NY last month to speak with anti-imperialist political prisoner David Gilbert. We talked about his Jewish upbringing, what he learned from the Weather Underground, and how his thinking has changed over time. We highly recommend the show notes for this one!

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2019/04/29/43-david-gilbert/

43 David Gilbert

For the first instalment of In the Streets, we talked with an anonymous queer anarchist who's affiliated with The Tower, an anarchist social space in so-called Hamilton, Ontario. Queer and trans folks in Hamilton have been experiencing heightened police repression following this year's Pride events, and called a multi-city Day of Action in response.

Show notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2019/06/30/in-the-streets-free-the-hamilton-pride-defenders/

In the Streets: Free the Hamilton Pride Defenders!

We're back from our summer break! For part two of our series on fascism and the far-right, we spoke with Diana Garvin about her research into Italian fascism's attacks on women's autonomy & the inspiring ways that women resisted the fascist regime. We then spoke with Matthew Lyons about his work documenting far-right groups in the US & the ways misogyny has grown within that milieu.

Editor's note(s): This episode was recorded just after the Jewish new year. And the reason it felt like more than 2 years since we talked with Matthew Lyons is because it was actually 3!

Show Notes & Full Transcript: https://bit.ly/327nTtK

44 Fascism and the Far-Right Pt 2

For this episode, we explored the relationship between fascism and colonialism. We talked with Christian Davis about Germany's colonial genocide in Namibia and the ways that this tragedy acted as a precursor to the Holocaust. We then spoke with Rowland Keshena Robinson about how to understand fascism in a settler colony like the US, as well as what the threat of fascism means for Indigenous people today.
Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2019/11/30/episode-45-fascism-and-colonialism

45 Fascism and the Far-Right Pt 3

To celebrate the yearly #WaronChristmas, we are rebroadcasting our special episode from a few years ago. 

“Inspired by the confluence of panic and satire that is the War On Christmas, we endeavoured to discover its true meaning. Relying on the guidance of longtime activist Moishe Volf Dolman, we moved through Christmas past and present in Montréal, trying to understand what the War On Christmas is actually about.“ 

Merry Kratsmaych to all! #NishtGeshotygenNishtGefloygen #Didn’tRiseupDidn’tFlyUp!

The War On Christmas

We spoke with Tallie Ben Daniel and Nava EtShalom about their new show, Diaspora Podcast from Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). We discussed the origins of the podcast, the goals and intentions of putting it out, and what folks can expect in the first season of the show.

Short: Diaspora Podcast

For this instalment of In the Streets, we spoke with Jennifer Wickham, media coordinator for the Gidimt'en Camp on Wet’suwet’en territory. We spoke about the Wet’suwet’en struggle for their territory, the recent raids by Canadian police, and the Indigenous-led Shut Down Canada uprising that's emerged in solidarity.  [Note: This episode was recorded on Feb 27th 2020]

Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2020/03/02/in-the-streets-shut-down-canada/

In the Streets: Shut Down Canada

On April 19th, car caravans visited prisons & migrant detention centres in cities across so-called Canada. The caravans made noise and held signs in solidarity with those locked up, demanding their immediate release in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This recording is an edited version of a special live broadcast by CKUT's Prison Radio Show that aired during the mobilization.
Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2020/04/20/in-the-streets-freethemallcaravan

In the Streets: #FreeThemAllCaravan

The first episode of our series on the Jewish Labour Bund, a secular Jewish socialist movement founded in the late 1890s! We spoke to Elissa Bemporad and Josh Meyers about the founding of the Bund, its underground revolutionary activities, and it's complicated relationship with the Bolsheviks. Special thanks to JB Brager for the art we're using for the series and to Brivele for calling in a rendition of 'FTP in der Gasn.'

Show notes & full transcript here: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2020/05/31/46-labour-bund-pt-1

[This episode was recorded prior to the inspiring Black-led resistance following the white supremacist police killings of George Floyd, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others.]

46 The General Jewish Labour Bund Pt 1

Ashanti Alston is an anarchist, a prison abolitionist, and a former member of the Black Panther Party & Black Liberation Army. He was a political prisoner for over a decade and continues to work with the Jericho Movement for the freedom of all political prisoners. We talked with Ashanti about his life, his political work, state repression, prison abolition, and his thoughts on the current political moment.
Show Notes & Transcript: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2020/07/28/47-ashanti-alston

47 Ashanti Alston

The second episode of our series on the Jewish Labour Bund, a secular Jewish socialist movement founded in the late 1890s.

On this episode, we spoke with Jack Jacobs about the Jewish Labour Bund during the interwar period in Poland. We talked about the Bund's widespread support during this period, its approach to Secularism, Zionism, Doykeit, and its many different auxiliary organizations.

Show notes & full transcript here: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2020/09/08/48-the-general-jewish-labour-bund-pt-2

Special thanks to JB Brager for the art we're using for the series!

48 The General Jewish Labour Bund Pt 2

For this instalment of In the Streets, we spoke with Skyler Williams, spokesperson for 1492 Land Back Lane, an ongoing land reclamation effort on Six Nations territory. We talked about the repression that people there are facing, the recent solidarity day of action, and the relationship between this struggle and the 2006 reclamation of Kanonhstaton. 

Show Notes & Full Transcript: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2020/10/17/1492-land-back-lane

In the Streets: 1492 Land Back Lane

The final episode in our series on the Jewish Labour Bund! We first spoke with David Slucki about the ways the organization was reimagined after the Holocaust, with Bund chapters scattered around the world. We then spoke with Molly Crabapple about the Bund’s different legacies & what the symbol of the Bund can mean for different people today. Special thanks to JB Brager for the art we’re using for the series!

Show notes & full transcript here: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2020/12/13/49-the-general-jewish-labour-bund-pt-3

49 The General Jewish Labour Bund Pt 3

On this episode, we spoke with Irena Klepfisz. Irena is a writer, a poet, an activist, a lesbian feminist, a teacher, a researcher, and a movement elder. We talked with Irena about her experience being born in the Warsaw Ghetto to Bundist parents, her role in founding the Jewish Women’s Committee to End the Occupation, her years of work in the lesbian feminist movement in NYC, and her thoughts on the ways Jewish history is taught today. 

Show notes & full transcript: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2021/02/23/50-irena-klepfisz

50 Irena Klepfisz

Treyf is an anarchist Jewish podcast recorded in occupied Tio'tia:ke (Montreal), Kanien’kehá:ka territory. The show features discussions about radical leftist politics and history, highlighting perspectives often excluded from mainstream Jewish spaces.

Treyf Podcast

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks