ICSA #2

A Movement Begins ...

Welcome to the second substack of the Institute for the Critical Study of Antizionism (ICSA)! And welcome to the many new subscribers since the previous issue … In these early days the newsletters will be aimed at getting people up to speed and providing some initial resources, but they will grow gradually more substantive as ICSA begins to bloom. So…

What is ICSA?

ICSA is the newly launched initiative to produce, promote, and disseminate scholarship in the critical study of antizionism. It aims to be housed in or affiliated with a proper university (talks are underway), and to change the current dominant academic discourse (which is deeply anti-Israel and anti-Jewish), with the goal of ultimately reclaiming the academy and even saving Western Civilization (yes, it is that ambitious).

To learn more about ICSA, visit www.icsaz.org and follow us on X @InstituteCSA. If you think you might want to be part of it—either as a scholar, a donor, or in any other capacity—please DM me. Currently more than 70 scholars have expressed interest (and I’ve only just begun recruiting), and numerous others are volunteering their skills and services.

ICSA has officially launched with a seven-webinar series featuring prominent scholars, generously sponsored by the Chai Mitzvah Scholars Circle, starting with a foundational webinar offered by myself a few weeks ago. A recording of that webinar is available here. The rest of the series will continue in February, and its dates and details will be announced shortly, on X, on this substack, and elsewhere.

Some Background

If you’re interested in really understanding how we got here, my recent two-volume book might be useful. In Israel Breathes, World Condemns I document and analyze the trajectory that led to the horrific campus response to the October 7 massacre (endorsement and celebration rather than horror and condemnation), then document and analyze what campuses have become in the aftermath of the massacre (the phrase “cesspools of Jew-hate” comes to mind). They’re currently available in inexpensive editions; they’re being republished in more expensive academic editions in the next month or so, so get them now! Volume 1 (The Trajectory) is here; Volume 2 (The Aftermath) is here.

You can also get some background from my recent fun conversation with Shai Davidai—a true hero in the battle against campus antizionism—which you may find here.

Some Resources

The interest in focusing specifically on antizionism—especially the critical study thereof—is growing quickly. You’ve probably already noticed if you’re on social media, particularly through the work of the activist groups Movement Against Antizionism and StopAntizionism. (Check them out, and follow them on social media.)

Some recent articles have been especially interesting or useful:

(1) Micha Danzig, “Antizionism Isn’t About Foreign Policy, It’s About Reopening the Jewish Question,” pretty much nails it: https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/386171/antizionism-isnt-about-foreign-policy-its-about-reopening-the-jewish-question/

(2) Adam Louis-Klein has been the real intellectual engine of the movement, dropping regular brief truth bombs eviscerating numerous aspects of antizionist “scholarship” and the “scholars” who produce it. Philosopher Gregg Rosenberg has assembled many of those little bombs into something approximating a nuclear bomb, reading almost like a single linear essay. It may be a little abstract for some, and it’s a little uneven, reflecting it’s having been assembled from distinct pieces, but it packs a punch. Its title also nails it:

“The Unbearable Lightness of Academic Antizionism”: https://medium.com/@ghrosenb/the-unbearable-lightness-of-academic-antizionism-ec0c003dd926

(3) Finally, for a pretty mind-blowing lecture on just how serious antizionism is—basically it amounts to a long-running global conspiracy to eliminate the Jews—I’m giving another free webinar, called “Protocols of the Elders of Anti-Zionism: Antizionism in Focus,” this coming Wed., Jan 14, at 630 PM ET, cosponsored by Mothers Against College Antisemitism among others. Register for it at tinyurl.com/AndrewPessin.

That’s it, for now. Please share this substack and spread the word about ICSA to any interested persons—we’re going to need the whole community involved in the battle, it’s all hands on deck at this existential moment—and feel free to reach out with any questions or to get more involved.

Andrew Pessin