Podcast Summary: The Jewish Bund and Political Imagination
Podcast: It Could Happen Here
Host: Danael Kurd (with guest Molly Crabapple)
Date: April 8, 2026
Overview
This episode features host Danael Kurd in conversation with award-winning writer and artist Molly Crabapple, whose new book, Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund, explores the history and philosophy of the Jewish Bund movement. The discussion centers on the Bund’s ideology, its erasure from mainstream Jewish memory post-Holocaust, the resurgence of interest in Jewish socialist history among American Jews, and the political implications of recovering erased histories. With contemporary resonance—especially around Zionism, antisemitism, and solidarity with Palestinians—the episode offers a deeply reflective, historically rich, and politically urgent dialogue.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
The Philosophy of "Duikeit" or "Here-ness" (00:01–07:16)
- Duikeit Defined: The Jewish Bund’s doctrine of duikeit (Yiddish for "here-ness") represented a bold insistence that Jews belong and deserve to flourish wherever they are, particularly in Eastern Europe—even in societies overtly hostile to Jews.
- Quote:
“It’s a defiant assertion of rootedness in a place that wanted Jews dead... Jews had a right to live and flourish in freedom and dignity in their homes, because that's the right that every single human on this earth has.”
—Molly Crabapple (02:03)
- Quote:
- Historic Parallels: Crabapple draws connections between duikeit and the Palestinian concept of samud (steadfastness), highlighting how rootedness in one’s land resists forced displacement and genocide.
- Erasure After the Holocaust: The destruction of Eastern European Jewry, combined with post-war violence and coercion, led survivors to leave. Zionist groups took over refugee camps, often pressuring survivors to migrate to Palestine.
- Sharp Critique:
“Zionism is built on this very self hating dichotomy... [between] Diaspora Jews who were weak... and... the brave big dicked Israeli Sabras who are strong.”
—Molly Crabapple (06:08) - The Bund’s refusal to accept the premise of inevitable exile challenged Zionist narratives, resulting in its ideological marginalization.
- Sharp Critique:
Bundist Influence Today & American Jewish Identity (07:16–12:13)
- Solidarity with Palestinians: Younger American Jews expressing solidarity with Palestinians are often portrayed as rejecting not Judaism, but Zionism, in favor of universal justice.
- Bundist Echoes vs. New Moment: Crabapple contends this shift stems less from conscious Bundist inheritance and more from witnessing injustice firsthand, amplified by Palestinian journalists’ work:
“Decent people of all stripes are seeing a genocide live streamed on their smartphones... it's just their basic humanity.”
—Molly Crabapple (08:15)
- Bundist Echoes vs. New Moment: Crabapple contends this shift stems less from conscious Bundist inheritance and more from witnessing injustice firsthand, amplified by Palestinian journalists’ work:
- Education & Identity Crisis: Many young Jews lack knowledge of the vibrant socialist and mutual aid cultures of previous generations, having been given what Crabapple calls a “bullshit narrative” centered on victimhood and the redemptive state of Israel.
- “A lot of young Jewish people are trying to look back to... their own grandparents... there’s this huge rediscovery of the Bund and of Jewish socialism that’s inspired by rejection of the Zionist genocide.”
—Molly Crabapple (10:32)
- “A lot of young Jewish people are trying to look back to... their own grandparents... there’s this huge rediscovery of the Bund and of Jewish socialism that’s inspired by rejection of the Zionist genocide.”
Contradictions in Jewish Public Opinion & Bundist Relevance (12:13–15:28)
- Polling & Attachments: Polls show significant numbers of U.S. Jews identifying as non- or anti-Zionist, but also reveal a persistent belief in Israel’s necessity for Jewish continuity.
- Poll contradictions reflect both poor civic education and emotional attachments; some attribute blame for Israeli violence solely to figures like Netanyahu rather than the structure of the state itself.
- “People have this unthinking emotional attachment to Israel, even if they literally hate everything that Israel's doing… they try to blame it on Netanyahu and not on the entire system.”
—Molly Crabapple (13:15)
- Challenges: Disentangling Jewish safety from support for Israel is particularly fraught as antisemitism rises globally, leading some to cling to Zionism despite disillusionment.
Antisemitism, Fascism, and Misguided Solidarity (15:28–20:08)
- Fascists Exploiting Discontent: Neo-Nazi figures exploit legitimate grievance over the genocide in Gaza to worm their way into mainstream discourse, echoing historic fascist tactics.
- On Tucker Carlson:
“[He] advocates the ethnic cleansing of the United States of immigrants… the fact that anyone, because he gives good clip on Palestine, thinks that he's their ally… is madness.”
—Molly Crabapple (17:35) - Crabapple laments leftists or pro-Palestinian voices elevating figures like Carlson, emphasizing the need for intersectional solidarity and clear analysis.
- On Tucker Carlson:
- Danger of Bypassing Solidarity: Traumatized communities risk tactical alliances with outright enemies, jeopardizing broader coalitions and immigrant safety.
Institutional Suppression of Bundist Memory (20:08–22:48)
- Which Institutions Benefit from Erasure?: Mainstream Jewish organizations (like the ADL, campus Hillels) are critiqued as non-representative, undemocratic, and invested in upholding Zionism as the central pillar of Jewish identity.
- “These are institutions led by very wealthy people that are in no way responsive to young Jews… [they] want to keep having their sort of stranglehold on getting to be the spokesman for these very, very, very diverse communities.”
—Molly Crabapple (21:29) - The resurgence of interest in Bundism undermines these institutions’ authority and exposes the contingency—not inevitability—of the Zionist project.
- Open hostility to potential resurfacings of Bundist history (“Boondists all died in the Holocaust, lol”) reflects how threatening this ideological alternative is to those vested in current power structures.
- “These are institutions led by very wealthy people that are in no way responsive to young Jews… [they] want to keep having their sort of stranglehold on getting to be the spokesman for these very, very, very diverse communities.”
Memory, History, and Political Imagination (22:48–26:02)
- The Memory Project: Crabapple reflects on her own labor-intensive process recovering Bund history—learning Yiddish, traveling in the former Bund heartlands, translating obscure texts.
- “I felt like I was doing necromancy... I was in love with these rebel ancestors... who constructed whole worlds out of love and grit even when society wanted to crush them.”
—Molly Crabapple (24:08)
- “I felt like I was doing necromancy... I was in love with these rebel ancestors... who constructed whole worlds out of love and grit even when society wanted to crush them.”
- Political Utility of Recovered History:
- She argues that recovering erased, rebel pasts broadens the horizon of political imagination, showing alternatives always existed—and still do.
- “Powers that be try to impose themselves onto the past, [as if] there is no alternative, as Margaret Thatcher said. When you preserve these rebel histories... it expands our capacity for imagination. Things could have been differently, and people still can change the world.”
—Molly Crabapple (25:21)
- “Powers that be try to impose themselves onto the past, [as if] there is no alternative, as Margaret Thatcher said. When you preserve these rebel histories... it expands our capacity for imagination. Things could have been differently, and people still can change the world.”
- She argues that recovering erased, rebel pasts broadens the horizon of political imagination, showing alternatives always existed—and still do.
Notable Quotes
- “What the Boond did was it shows the lie of that [Zionist dichotomy] because the Boond were strong. And they didn't just fight for their right to stay in Europe with graduate school seminars, they fought for it with brass knuckles and with guns.”
—Molly Crabapple (06:17) - “A garrison state cannot keep people safe. No such ethnostate can keep people safe.”
—Danael Kurd (22:49) - “They fought for an ethos that was rooted in human dignity... but also in economic justice and leftism. I just fell in love and I wanted them to live again.”
—Molly Crabapple (24:29) - “Things could have been differently, and people still can change the world.”
—Molly Crabapple (25:32)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:01 – Introduction and guest welcome
- 01:01 – Explanation of duikeit ("here-ness") and Bundist philosophy
- 04:55 – How the Holocaust and postwar violence erased Bundism
- 07:16 – Comparing Bund memory to the Black Panthers; young Jews and anti-Zionism
- 10:50 – Jewish identity crisis and rediscovery of socialism
- 12:13 – Polling, contradictions, and emotional attachments to Israel
- 15:28 – Antisemitism, fascist tactics, Tucker Carlson, and solidarity dangers
- 20:08 – Which institutions benefit from erasing Bundism?
- 22:48 – The necessity of new Jewish institutions, memory, and history’s agency
- 23:55 – Crabapple’s personal journey studying the Bund
- 25:21 – The importance of rebel histories for present and future politics
Episode Tone & Concluding Thoughts
The tone throughout is direct, unsparing, earnest, and occasionally darkly humorous, capturing both the gravity of the subject and the passionate commitment of the speakers. Crabapple fuses personal history, deep research, and sharp contemporary analysis; Kurd’s questions foreground the stakes of this forgotten history for present political struggles and Jewish identity. The conversation ultimately serves as both a warning against complacency and an invitation to imagine—and build—just alternatives, grounded in memory, solidarity, and a refusal to accept “there is no alternative.”