Jo-Ann Mort - Dissent Magazine

The Israeli Protesters Deserve Our Support

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ September 8, 2023

A free judiciary is a prerequisite for ending Israeli domination over the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Jerusalem: City or Symbol?

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ June 11, 2021

What is happening in Sheikh Jarrah lies at the heart of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

After the Israeli Elections

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ Online Articles

The project of rebuilding the Israeli Jewish left can no longer wait.

Anti-Semitism vs. Democracy in Poland

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ February 24, 2018

The passage this month of Poland’s notorious “Holocaust Bill” should be a warning to those who ignore the link between anti-Semitism and growing authoritarianism.

The Puzzle of Poland

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ September 13, 2017

A quiet but fierce war is raging for the hearts and minds of Polish citizens, as a vibrant and well organized protest network confronts an increasingly authoritarian right-wing government.

Memories of Bogdan Denitch

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ April 4, 2016

The man whom the folk-singer legend Dave Van Ronk, Bogdan’s old friend, called “the mad Montenegrin” was a larger-than-life figure with a uniformly kind heart that he often tried to mask.

Letter From Jerusalem

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ July 8, 2014

The myth of a united Jerusalem has helped lead us to this horrible moment.

Beyond SodaStream: Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation in the Private Sector

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ February 14, 2014

SodaStream, an Israeli company with a production facility in a West Bank settlement, made headlines recently due to the superstar status of its spokeswoman, Scarlett Johansson. But the real stars of the Israeli business community are those who joined with …

Peace and Pessimism in the Promised Land

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ December 12, 2013

“Sixty-five years after its founding,” Ari Shavit writes in My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel, “Israel has returned to its core questions. . . . Why Israel? What is Israel? Will Israel?” To answer these questions, he goes far beyond the occupation, touching on many issues that get to the core of Israeli identity.

The War That Never Ended

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ November 13, 2013

Yossi Klein Halevi’s Like Dreamers tells the story of the members of the 55th Paratrooper Reserve Brigade, who played in securing Jerusalem during the Six Day War. From the peace movement to the settlements, the paths followed by the brigade’s veterans was a microcosm of Israel’s most intense schisms.

Politics by Personality

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ July 10, 2013

July 10, 2013, Tel Aviv: Israel used to be a nation of political parties marked by hard-and-fast ideologies—but not so much today. Even the right’s toxic combination of religious zealotry and hard-edged cynicism has more to do with a mindset …

New Palestinian Prime Minister—Same Old Stalemate

Jo-Ann Mort ▪ June 7, 2013

The last Palestinian legislative elections were in 2006, when Hamas, the Islamist political organization, scored a victory over Fatah, the Palestinian nationalist faction. Hamas took control of Gaza in an event that most Fatah loyalists still consider “that bloody coup.” …