Lila Corwin Berman

Honest American History Shouldn't Be Divisive Annie Polland argues that studying our humble roots teaches us what really makes American history exceptional.

History from the tenements, not the White House: time.com/7320335/hone...

Jewish-Studies Scholars, Beware: Trump’s Deal Will Corrupt You We must all resist being turned into court Jews.

"Fueling Jewish studies on the fumes of the Trump administration’s attack on higher education is not a win. It’s a trap, and one we fear will bring ill consequences to our field, our universities, and American Jews." Me, @ronitstahl.bsky.social, and Kate Rosenblatt. www.chronicle.com/article/jewi...

Jewish-Studies Scholars, Beware: Trump’s Deal Will Corrupt You We must all resist being turned into court Jews.

"But fueling Jewish studies on the fumes of the Trump administration’s attack on higher education is not a win. It’s a trap, and one we fear will bring ill consequences to our field, our universities, and American Jews." From @lilacb.bsky.social, Kate Rosenblatt, and me.

DHS used anonymous pro-Israel site to target activists for deportation, agency says in court DHS said at a trial Wednesday that it used a list from the site, which has been accused of doxxing people whom it sees as being anti-Israel and antisemitic.

A senior ICE official admitted that ICE is using Canary Mission to identify students to deport.

Let's be clear: Canary Mission — and its counterpart, Betar US — are extremist groups that do not represent the interests of mainstream Jewish America.

Legal historian traces history of ‘marital privilege’ in American law | Penn Today Penn Carey Law’s Serena Mayeri’s new book highlights how legal battles against ‘marital supremacy’ advanced equality and the challenges that remain.

A brilliant new book on how intimate matters structure public status and benefits. Not to be missed: penntoday.upenn.edu/news/legal-h...

Legal historian traces history of ‘marital privilege’ in American law | Penn Today Penn Carey Law’s Serena Mayeri’s new book highlights how legal battles against ‘marital supremacy’ advanced equality and the challenges that remain.

It's publication day for "Marital Privilege," by my phenomenal Penn Carey Law colleague @serenamayeri.bsky.social! If you are interested in marriage, non-marital intimate relationships, family law, inequality, 20th c. legal history, law & social movements -- this book is a must-read! #LegalHistory

Opinion | I’m a Conservative Evangelical. I’m Done With the Army.

Courage on display: resigning from the military and writing publicly about it, no matter the consequences, to inspire others to ask "what it would take for them to disobey a lawful but unethical order." www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/o...

Schrier to RFK Jr: You gave Cassidy the answer he needed to hear in order to get his confirmation vote, then as soon as you were secretary you turned around & fired all 17 members. You lied. I also want to be clear that I will lay all responsibility for every vaccine-preventable death at your feet.

SCHRIER: Have you ever treated measles?

RFK JR: No

SCHRIER: Well I have. Let me tell you how miserable these kids is. The great thing is there's a vaccine to prevent it ... they only work if you actually give them

Why Zohran Mamdani's candidacy for NYC mayor terrifies the pro-Israel establishment | Opinion ***

"What is feared is a mayor who cares no less about what Palestinians in Bay Ridge feel when they see pictures of children in Gaza killed by Israel than he does about what Jews in Riverdale felt when macabre images flooded in on October 7."
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025...

Brad Lander Is Arrested by ICE Agents at Immigration Courthouse

How many more elected officials will be baselessly handcuffed, detained, arrested before the rest, no matter their party, realize they must speak out? www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/n...

Hi, this is Meg Barnette, Brad's wife.

While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE.

This is still developing, and our team is monitoring the situation closely.

Will be participating in a live Zoom tomorrow afternoon with the great @ronnieag.bsky.social, @lilacb.bsky.social, and @davidaustinwalsh.bsky.social, on "Billionaires, the Academy, and American Jewish Intellectuals," if you care about one or more of those topics! zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Exclusive: ADL chief compares student protesters to ISIS and al-Qaeda in address to Republican officials Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said the protesters were acting like members of ISIS and al-Qaeda.

Which quote to pull? Greenblatt comparing student protestors to terrorists; Greenblatt making unsubstantiated claim that Mahmoud Khalil has "ties to grps overseas"; Greenblatt instructing AGs to go after K-12 teachers; Greenblatt enthusing, "God bless Secretary McMahon.” forward.com/news/726133/...

A Professor Was Fired for Her Politics. Is That the Future of Academia?

Tail end of wordy article, real story emerges: dean sends disappearing Insta post to Title IX officer, who sends to Hillel dir, who sends to Israel fellow, who is "encouraged...to have one or two students file a complaint" about antisemitism. Tail wags dog. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/m...

The End of the Marty Peretz Era At a controversial event at the Center for Jewish History, Trump donor Bill Ackman held his own against an exhausted brand of liberalism.

"The lineup suggested a reunion, or perhaps a resuscitation, of an intellectual community that hasn’t properly existed in more than a decade." @jewishcurrents.bsky.social
jewishcurrents.org/the-end-of-t...

The Group Behind Project 2025 Has a Plan to Crush the Pro-Palestinian Movement

Jewish communal orgs: you are being played. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/u...

Bill Ackman’s keynote on antisemitism at academic symposium rankles Jewish scholars Jewish scholars say a billionaire who helped oust Harvvard’s president and who admires President Donald Trump has no place at a symposium on antisemitism.

Center for Jewish History bets its mission and devotion to scholarship on a billionaire who cares little about either. forward.com/news/720712/...

How a Georgetown scholar went from ‘quiet’ researcher to detainee Conservative groups stumbled across Badar Khan Suri by investigating the academic centers where he and his wife studied.

Harrowing tale of the groups that are trying to get people deported and giving cover to a government that has jettisoned due process. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

Opinion | I Can’t Believe Anyone Thinks Trump Actually Cares About Antisemitism Jews should remember how Trump promised to “protect” L.G.B.T. citizens.

Goldberg on Deborah Lipstadt's quietism or outright support for the weaponization of antisemitism: "It seems clear to me that if your presuppositions about Israel lead you to sanctify Trump, they bear rethinking." www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/o...

Gov. Pritzker: "Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption, but I am now...These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace...we will fight their cruelty...we must castigate them on the soap box and then punish them at the ballot box.”

Opinion | Trump’s fake emergencies are the real crisis His vague national security claims chill speech and action far beyond his individual targets.

"If a president can violate constitutional rights with impunity, then no one — including his own supporters — is safe from tyranny." Clear-eyed analysis from @serenamayeri.bsky.social, Amanda Shanor and Alexander Volokh www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Because anger isn't the best weapon; because apathy is no option; because symbols create movements and movements create change, I introduce to you @RIBBONS FOR FREEDOM (on Insta, for now).

Beginning the late 1970s, Americans tied ribbons around trees until the hostages were set free. Today, we must do the same. Freedom is not possible without due process and respect for the Constitution. Until everyone’s freedom is restored, we tie RIBBONS FOR FREEDOM. On Insta at RibbonsforFreedom

Van Hollen says that he asked the VP of El Salvador why his government continues to hold Abrego Garcia even though he’s not charged with any crime and there’s no evidence that he’s MS-13.

“His answer was that the Trump administration is paying the government of El Salvador to keep him at CECOT”

yes, one hopes there might be some soul-searching on that count.

BROAD COALITION OF MAINSTREAM JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS RELEASE STATEMENT REJECTING FALSE CHOICE BETWEEN JEWISH SAFETY & DEMOCRACY - Jewish Council for Public Affairs Today, a coalition of ten organizations representing a broad swath of mainstream American Jewry – including three of the four denominations – issued a joint statement rejecting the false choice betwee...

“...we unequivocally condemn the exploitation of our community’s real concerns about antisemitism to undermine democratic norms and rights, including the rule of law, the right of due process, and/or the freedoms of speech, press, and peaceful protest." jewishpublicaffairs.org/press-releas...

US Jewish history fuels community’s concerns about Trump deportations Activists, leaders and historians say perceived erosion of civil rights under administration threatens Jews, even if action needed to combat antisemitism

You can't say you believe in rts & then stand idly by deportations w/o cause in the name of fighting antisemitism. If you're ok w these actions, then you don't care about rts. And if you don't care about rts, then laws that protect Jews & others are meaningless. www.timesofisrael.com/us-jewish-hi...

US Jewish history fuels community’s concerns about Trump deportations Activists, leaders and historians say perceived erosion of civil rights under administration threatens Jews, even if action needed to combat antisemitism

"'Without those kinds of rights, the pathway toward political annihilation and then just annihilation was unfortunately so perilously clear,' said @lilacb.bsky.social, who is working on a book about American Jewish citizenship."
www.timesofisrael.com/us-jewish-hi...

Exclusive | Trump Administration Wants to Install Federal Oversight of Columbia University In an unusual move, the government is aiming to legally bind the school to changes as they negotiate over federal funding

Not to quote myself but "I suspect Columbia could meet every one of the administration’s new demands to restore its federal funding...and it would still be in the crosshairs...The project is not a legal one. It’s an ideological one."
www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...