JASS - Jewish Activism Summer School

12/08/2026

Polish poet, musician, and memory activist Grzegorz Kwiatkowski will be in Berlin on September 5 for two events bringing together poetry, Holocaust testimony, memory, and music.

At 5:00 pm, the Polish Institute Berlin will host a conversation with Kwiatkowski about his poetry and his current work as Artist-in-Residence at Yale University’s Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, where he has been working with Polish-language Holocaust survivor testimonies and transforming them into poems. His work is also connected to his campaign to preserve nearly half a million shoes connected to the former Stutthof concentration camp.

At 7:30 pm, Kwiatkowski’s band Trupa Trupa will perform at Maschinenhaus Berlin.

Trupa Trupa’s music has appeared in Agnieszka Holland’s films Green Border and Franz. The band has recorded sessions for NPR Tiny Desk, BBC Radio 6 Music, and World Cafe, and has released music through Sub Pop.

September 5, Berlin
5:00 pm — conversation at the Polish Institute Berlin
7:30 pm — Trupa Trupa at Maschinenhaus

Tickets for the concert: https://lnkd.in/g9z4bhQk

https://lnkd.in/gs6-gw-z
www.trupatrupa.com

Mourners EP is out

06/04/2026

🔴 A century-old movement is making a comeback — and it has a lot to teach us.
The Progressive just published a fascinating piece on the revival of the Jewish Labor Bund across the United States and Europe. Bundism — with its commitments to doikayt ("hereness": building solidarity where you live) and Yiddishkayt (maintaining a vibrant diasporic Jewish culture) — is finding new resonance among Jewish socialists and organizers grappling with today's political moment.
New chapters are forming, Yiddish sing-alongs are happening at local bars, and a new generation is asking: what does it mean to be Jewish, politically engaged, and rooted in place?
These are exactly the kinds of questions we explore at JASS. Whether you know the history of the Bund deeply or are encountering it for the first time, this article is worth your time.
👉 Read it here:

In a handful of cities across the United States and Europe, Jewish socialists are reviving a storied early twentieth century institution.

05/04/2026

What if young people from across the MENA region — Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin, Jews, and others — worked side by side to rebuild Gaza?

That's the founding mission of the Gaza Youth Corps, and this summer we're bringing together its founding group in Berlin.

🗓 JASS 2026 — From Gaza to the World: Building Networks for Democratic Futures
📍 27 July – 9 August 2026 · bUm Berlin, Kreuzberg

JASS 2026 is structured around two interconnected weeks:

🔹 Week 1 (27 July – 2 August): Founding the Gaza Youth Corps
A working conference to co-create an independent, non-political volunteer organization supporting rebuilding in Gaza through regional cooperation.

🔹 Week 2 (3–9 August): Building a Pan-European Jewish Activist Network
A participatory founding gathering for activists, scholars, and community leaders — co-creating frameworks for responding to authoritarianism, antisemitism, and the erosion of democratic values.

We welcome three types of participants:
✅ Activists & organizers
✅ Academics & researchers
✅ Community & organizational leaders

You can apply for one week or both.
💶 €400 per week · €800 full program (accommodation included)
⏰ Deadline: 1 May 2026

👉 Apply & full program info: www.jassberlin.org/summer-program
📋 Pre-register: forms.gle/idLBJSK8rqsZtt7r8

See the program flyers attached below ↓

12/03/2026

EVENT: Seminar: 'Racism and antisemitism in postcolonial and Marxist social theory' - 18 March [Announcement]
Naomi Smith
Location
United Kingdom

Location: Online - the joining link will be sent the day before the event

Time: 1pm to 2pm (GMT)

The definitions of racism and antisemitism are fiercely contested in both academia and the public sphere. The understanding of these terms is shaped not least by (implicit or explicit) social-theoretical assumptions.

In this seminar, Leo Roepert (University of Hamburg) will examine concepts of racism in two influential strands of social theory: postcolonialism and Marxism. He will examine how the concept of racism is represented in these two theoretical traditions, and how this is shaped by each strand’s underlying assumptions in social theory, as well as their respective limitations. Postcolonial approaches view racism primarily as an expression of a (post)colonial power relationship, whereas Marxist approaches focus on the significance of racism for the material and ideological reproduction of capitalism.

He will also explore how antisemitism is addressed within postcolonial and Marxist traditions and will argue that they have difficulty grasping the specific character of antisemitism owing to the way racism is comprehended in both theoretical strands.

Free seminar for scholars. Contact [email protected] for further information or register here: https://bisa.bbk.ac.uk/event/racism-and-antisemitism-in-postcolonial-and-marxist-social-theory/?hash=e4487db1-f376-4fd7-897d-069e411cc133

Contact Information
Naomi Smith, Events Coordinator

Contact Email
[email protected]
URL
https://bisa.bbk.ac.uk/event/racism-and-antisemitism-in-postcolonial-and-marxis…

Event Information and Booking Date: 18th March, 2026 Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Location: Online - the joining link will be sent the day before the event Speaker(s): Leo Roepert, University of Hamburg Booking: Free seminar for scholars. Click the link below or contact [email protected] for further informa...

10/03/2026

We thought you might appreciate this song/video from our friend Yonatan K***a in Kiryat Tivon:

from the midst of these absolutely crazy days, under fire - wanted to share with you this new song released this week, "משאלה ما شاء الله" -
a bi-lingual prayer, with Nour Rezeq, a friend and partner from Beit-Lehem, Palestine.

Lyrics: Yonatan K***a, Nour RezeqOud and Melody: Dvir RevitalCello: Shirah Kuleh, Hamutal MaromNey, Musical Production & Aarangement: Yonatan K***aMix & Mast...

02/03/2026

From JASS – Jewish Activism Summer School, we would like to share this important invitation from the Institut für Neue Soziale Plastik with our network:

Dear artists, cultural workers and friends,

We’re excited to invite you, our artist network of over 400 people, to our first online network meeting* of the year. Our network continues to grow steadily — yet not solely out of solidarity. It is expanding because more and more doors are quietly closing to Jewish and Israeli artists, cultural practitioners, and to those who take a clear stance against antisemitism. What we are witnessing is not only exclusion, but a troubling normalization of silent boycott. We remain deeply unsettled by the atmosphere in which we work — by developments in the arts and cultural sector, and by the tacit boycotts that increasingly shape professional realities.
How have you experienced the past months? What changes have you noticed — on social media, within cultural institutions, in your professional circles, or in your daily working environment? The struggle against antisemitism in the cultural sphere can only succeed if it is not dismissed as abstract or exaggerated. It requires us to confront what is happening openly and honestly — to acknowledge the many so-called “individual cases” and to recognize them as part of a systemic pattern. We are very much looking forward to seeing you again soon and to continuing this important conversation together. It will be good to meet, share experiences, and speak openly about the issues outlined above.

The network meeting takes place on March 26, 2026, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm via Zoom. You will receive the Zoom-Link after registration. Please Register here: https://forms.zohopublic.eu/neuesozialeplastik1/form/Netzwerktreffenanmeldung/formperma/zgo5OebI5hozwagtwN8JEcE3nnhVRZ0dFVUpHvvyRQE.
For several years, the Institut für Neue Soziale Plastik has organized nationwide networking events to provide a safe space for Jewish, Israeli, and ally perspectives in the arts and cultural sector, to foster cooperation, and to increase the visibility of positions critical of antisemitism.

If you feel this space could be meaningful for you or someone in your network, please consider joining and sharing.

26/01/2026

You’re warmly invited to a special two-part series marking 50 years since the death of Hannah Arendt.

An intimate space for shared reading, conversation, and reflection, inspired by Hannah Arendt and Rahel Varnhagen, combining close reading, discussion, and a walk through Berlin.

📅 February 15 & April 26
🕟 4:30 PM
📍 Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft, Berlin

⚠️ Limited spots – registration required
👉 forms.gle/8Kh2CRz5kz86GPzh9

Organized by JASS – Jewish Activism Summer School
In cooperation with Paideia, Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft, and the University of Potsdam.

We look forward to seeing you there!

01/01/2026

We are delighted to invite you to an exclusive three-event series dedicated to the life and work of Hannah Arendt.

For the first time, the series will unfold across a unique and meaningful location in Berlin, allowing participants to engage with Arendt’s ideas not only through texts and discussion, but also through place.

Each encounter is designed as a stand-alone event, while together they form a coherent intellectual journey. Participants are welcome to register for individual sessions or to take part in the full series.

All encounters have limited capacity and require prior registration.

​📅 January 13, 2026
🕕 6:00–8:00 PM · IBZ, Wiesbadener Str. 18, 14197 , Berlin

Register for the screening: https://lnkd.in/dYq_AQrr

​Thinking in the Salons of Berlin
📅 February 15 & April 26
🕟 4:30 PM · Berlin

Register for the Berlin Salons: https://lnkd.in/dYq_AQrr

24/12/2025

See today's nuanced, illuminating analysis of German legal cases dealing with antisemitism by Yael Paz.

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

20/10/2025

Please join Lisa Maria Madera and me for a unique opportunity to think about the rights and rites of Nature, and shifting our relationship to our more than human kin. This event is both a university course and a very special excursion to the Ecuadoran rainforest.

For the syllabus see The Rights of Rivers and the Rites of Trees (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G90kocCHQrdG6Lzaw7g9LpUvEztExPKC/view). This course is open to the general public with registration as an auditor or visiting student (https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/studium/what-to-study/gasthoerer-nebenhoerer). Registration open until 30 October. For the full description of the excursion see Invitation to a Listening Tour of Ecuador (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hx4n9G7FiQxPCZzHYAUP0wYfEy1nHB30/view). Click here to register for the excursion: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf1c926oDuR0CgoR-SZqTSTebX8gGcLYaQpXdDsz8NLEkNcPQ/viewform.