Jewish Anarchist Salon
Facilitated by Ami Weintraub and Cindy Barukh Milstein
Hosted by Ratzon: Center for Healing and Resistance
The Jewish Anarchist Salon invites you to join in co-learning and dialogue on what it means to be both anarchist and Jewish today. In recent years, Jewish anarchism has had a rebirth, reemerging in resistance to growing authoritarianism, including increases in antisemitism. But it’s also reimagining itself, whether in terms of queer and feminist sensibilities, cultural and ritual practices, or spaces that prefigure the world to come. This salon aims to build on and encourage the further growth of Jewish anarchism as well as strengthen our connections to each other. Our hope is that in these conversations and beyond, we can develop creative, proud, and liberatory responses to our broken world.
Each 1.5-hour online gathering will revolve around a theme, which will be kicked off with some framing thoughts by a presenter—for 15-30 minutes. We’ll then open it up for facilitated conversation among us all.
This salon is open to anyone who identifies as Jewish. We hope to share these kinds of conversations with the wider anarchist community in the future.
Discussion Topics and Dates
Sunday, March 13, 7 pm EST
What is Jewish anarchism today?
Facilitated discussion
*daylight savings time*
Sunday, March 27, 7 pm EST
Fascism, antisemitism, and our resistance
Presenter: Shane Burley
Sunday, April 10, 7 pm EST
Community self-defense, solidarity, and safety
Presenter: Chava Shapiro
Sunday, April 24, 7 pm EST
Ancestral stories and future building
Presenter: Ami Weintraub
Sunday, May 8, 7 pm EST
Art, culture, and liberation presenters
Presenter: Naomi Weintraub and TBA
Sunday, May 15, 7 pm EST
Bringing anarchism to Jewish spaces, and Jewishness to anarchist spaces
Facilitated discussion
Salon Culture
We hope to create a positive group culture with the following intentions:
1. Start from a place of curiosity and not knowing, and then wrestle together with dilemmas and possibilities
2. Everyone is responsible for this salon and everyone creates it together
3. Strive for a culture of collective care
4. Speak about ideas in relation to your life, practices, and experiences versus in abstractions and generalizations
5. Aspire to make space for everyone to share and listen well
6. This is a space of experimentation, not perfection