Batya Ungar-Sargon: Why the Left Sees Jews Differently Now
6/6/202655 min
Batya Ungar-Sargon joins Michael Shermer for a wide-ranging conversation about the historical relationship between Jews and the American left, and why that relationship has become increasingly strained in recent years.
The discussion begins with the reaction to October 7 and the political language that quickly emerged around Israel, Palestine, power, oppression, and resistance. From there, Ungar-Sargon traces a longer history: Jewish life in early America, Jewish involvement in the labor movement, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the civil rights movement, and the role many Jews played in shaping progressive politics in the 20th century.
Batya Ungar-Sargon is a columnist for The Free Press and the host of Batya! on NewsNation, where she is a weekend anchor. She holds a PhD in English from the University of California, Berkeley. Her new book is The Jews and the Left.
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Batya Ungar-Sargon· Guest0:58
Why is it not true of other immigrants?
Michael Shermer· Host1:00
Yeah.
Batya Ungar-Sargon· Guest1:00
Why were the Jews so upwardly mobile? The answer is actually extremely heartbreaking. Other immigrant communities continued to supply that first generation that would work in the sweatshops. The Jews, after 1933, that supply was cut off, and by 1945 it was dead. The Jewish community very much misunderstands ourselves in America. A lot of Jews feel like they are an immigrant community. They feel that they are an oppressed minority. We're neither of those things.