https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/30/style/arielle-angel-jewish-currents-magazine.html
Amazing New York Times piece about Jewish Currents and Arielle Angel in last
Sunday’s paper, written by Emma Goldberg, daughter of J.J. Goldberg, writer and
former editor of The Forward. JJ is a contemporary of us Altes.
The piece focused primarily on Arielle’s impressive vision, her unflagging
determination, and her desire, along with her largely young team of dedicated
leftists, to tackle many of the issues around being an American Jew today. The
magazine’s courageous and controversial coverage of Palestine and Israel is front
and center in their reporting. The article also talked briefly about Jacob Plitman,
an enthusiastic and very young visionary chosen by Larry Bush and some of the
rest of us to take over the magazine when Larry left. Jacob and Arielle along with
the people they hired transformed a magazine that was wonderful in one way
to wonderful in another. They broadened the base to serve the young. Their
launch party took place in a club in Gowanus and 400 young people happily
appeared. Larry Bush took over Currents from its founder and long time editor in
chief, Morris Schappes,a Communist victim of the City College Rapp Coudert
commission. Schappes edited Currents with his own strong arm and his own
strong lens for four decades, until 2000 when Larry became editor-in-chief. A
writer and artist who writes music, creates large and small art works, and has
written and published numerous books, he was a one man band at the
magazine for many years. There he created JEWDAYO, an ingenious daily record of
secular Jewish history through the lives of the people who made it. His followers,
like the followers of Morris and Arielle, were grateful and devoted.
In his sixties, Larry was ready to retire. He worked hard, and felt it was time to
turn the magazine over to people who were young.
How a story is told always depends on who is doing the telling.. And of course
how the piece is edited.
We here all know about the long rich history of the Jewish Left .
In our own lifetime, we’ve had many progressive Jewish groups across the country,
working for social change – from New Jewish Agenda to Jews for Racial and
Economic Justice. (Aliza Becker did extensive interviews with scores of activist
Jews, in her impressive American Jewish Peace Project, with Bard College.
https://hac.bard.edu/amor-mundi/the-american-jewish-peace-archive-2015-02-26).
After the party in Gowanus, where a few of us over 50 huddled together talking,
Jessica and I had lunch. Her daughter, a rabbi, suggested we start a magazine for
us called Alte.
We had lunch with Larry a few weeks later, and here we are.
LOVE to all,
Esther
PS I had some experience myself with passing the baton. My boss, Moe Foner,
insisted he wanted to die in the office. I argued against him, and actually won. He
died at home, although the night before, he called and asked me to write down
what to do when he was gone. And when I left my own replacement was actually
Harry Belafonte. But that’s another story.
I, too, wish Esther had written this utterly ageist article. Little recognition or respect for the work done by Larry and the past generation of writers, artists, journalists, historians (stop me anytime) as JC was “schlepped” along for decades. Abidor’s quote was also unfortunate as it reduced serious work on class, labor and civil rights to a groan fest in a Miami retirement center. As I was late to the party as a contributing writer and as I live in Maine (far from NYC gatherings), I personally did not see JC in that insignificant light. And the silly and dismissive term “boomer” was used as contemptuously as it sounds. Arielle is not the culprit, she expressing pride in her mother’s renewed activism for reproductive rights. The reporter and NYT are for banning all forms of bigotry except ageism (and in some quarters, antisemitic sentiment). Sorry, Bernie Sanders is not the ONLY elder actively devoted to tikkun olam. To make him so is to see him as an abstraction rather than as a real human elder, like so many of us, who have wisdom and energy to give. My work in labor organization, refugee absorption (Afghans and Ukrainians at this time) and civil rights education go forth with greater time and vigor since I retired from full time work. And (Baruch HaShem) I hope to continue until at least Bernie’s age. NYT and the ‘journalist should be held accountable for this ageist crap. Late night hosts and media generally as well. Larry deserves better than how JC was characterized prior to the ‘great revival’ by this talented (if absolutist) new radical Jewish generation. Arielle and I don’t see eye-to-eye on a few things, but overall I regard her as a talent and a force to be respected, and argued with.
Great, Esther! Wish YOU had written that NY Times article...