The Association for Promotion of Jewish Secularism (APJS) is a nonprofit organization that publishes Jewish Currents, an anti-Israel Jewish magazine. The New Yorker has described Jewish Currents as seeking to “…criticize Israel while holding on to Jewishness.” ¹

In 2022, Jewish Currents claimed have 5,200 print subscribers, with a budget of $1.6 million and 12 full-time staff members. ²

Jewish Currents

The Association for Promotion of Jewish Secularism (APJS) is a nonprofit group that publishes Jewish Currents, a magazine publication on Jewish culture and current events that is critical of the State of Israel. APJS declares itself to be “doing business as” Jewish Currents. ³

History

Jewish Currents was founded in 1946 as Jewish Life by the Morgen Freiheit Association, which its website claims was associated with the American Communist Party. The magazine’s issues contained articles critical of then-Sen. Joe McCarthy’s (R-WI) anti-communist campaigns, showing support for Black-Jewish solidarity, promoting anti-racism, discussing Yiddish culture, and discussing “support for Israel’s founding from a non-Zionist, diaspora-oriented perspective.” ⁴

In 1958, the magazine was renamed to Jewish Currents and claimed to shift its reporting to a ““democratic” socialist” perspective. Following this rebranding, Jewish Currents released articles that argued for peace between the United States and Soviet Union, support for Palestinian Arab sovereignty, and support for the Civil Rights Movement. ⁴

In 2005, the Worker’s Circle (then-called the Workmen’s Circle) became the publisher of Jewish Currents for a time. ⁴

News

The New York Times has described Jewish Currents as “firmly on the left.” ² Jewish Currents has released publications critical of U.S. support for the State of Israel while expressing support for establishing a Palestinian Arab state, the Palestinian right-of-return ideology, and a boycott of businesses operating in the West Bank. ⁵

Jewish Currents has published several essays claiming Israel must return all land to the Palestinian people. ⁶ Another essay was critical of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. ⁷ The magazine also published stories with allegations of evictions within the West Bank. ¹

Jewish Currents has publicly denounced the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a left-of-center pro-Israel group that acts as a watchdog against antisemitism, as a credible source. ¹ In November 2019, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) wrote an op-ed essay for the magazine discussing the rise of American antisemitism. ⁸

Controversy

In September 2024, the New Yorker published a story discussing Jewish Currents’ reporting following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks against the State of Israel and the resulting blowback. According to the article, less than a week following the attacks, the magazine wrote an op-ed accusing Israel of “genocide” for its response in Gaza. The article continues by claiming, “at times, the Currents masthead has seemed on the cusp of disintegration.” ¹

Also in September 2024, Brooklyn College’s Tow Center cancelled its hosting of a Jewish Currents-sponsored event. The magazine released a statement claiming, “we have good reason to believe that this was a political decision, intending to avoid platforming voices for Palestinian liberation.” The Tow Center denied the accusations. ⁹

In December 2021, Jewish Currents ran an advertisement in one of its publications for the Dorot Fellowship, a ten-month leadership training program in Israel for American Jews. The magazine later issued an apology, claiming it was due to not “properly vetting” the Fellowship. ⁵

Funding

From 2000 to 2004, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) made four grants to the Association for Promotion of Jewish Secularism (APJS) worth $800,000 in total. ¹⁰

The APJS has received donations of at least $5,000 from several left-of-center groups including the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Puffin Foundation. ¹¹

According to the New Yorker, Jewish Currents’ largest donor is Peter Beinart, a left-wing Jewish journalist and critic of the State of Israel. ¹

1. Lewis-Kraus, Gideon. “The Angst and Sorrow of Jewish Currents.” The New Yorker. September 9, 2024. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/09/16/the-angst-and-sorrow-of-jewish-currents.
2. Goldberg, Emma. “She’s Building a Little Jewish Magazine on Big Ideas.” New York Times. December 30, 2022. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/30/style/arielle-angel-jewish-currents-magazine.html.
3. “Association for Promotion of Jewish Secularism Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133100063/202412289349301721/full.
4. “About.” Jewish Currents. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://jewishcurrents.org/history.
5.  Harris, Ben. “Jewish Currents apologizes for running an ad for an Israel fellowship, saying it ‘is not in line with our values’.” Jewish Telegraphic Agency. December 23, 2021. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://www.jta.org/2021/12/23/united-states/jewish-currents-apologizes-for-running-an-ad-for-an-israel-fellowship-saying-it-is-not-in-line-with-our-values.
6. Hawa, Kaleem. “The Nakba Demands Justice.” Jewish Currents. May 14, 2021. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://jewishcurrents.org/the-nakba-demands-justice.
7. Saba, Dylan. “Iron Dome Is Not a Defensive System.” Jewish Currents. May 25, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://jewishcurrents.org/iron-dome-is-not-a-defensive-system.
8. Kampeas, Ron. “Bernie Sanders writes essay on antisemitism for Jewish publication.” The Jerusalem Post. November 12, 2019. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Bernie-Sanders-writes-essay-on-antisemitism-for-Jewish-publication-607571.
9. Tress, Luke. “Event for left-wing magazine Jewish Currents finds a new home after public complaints over cancellation.” NY Jewish Week. September 11, 2024. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://www.jta.org/2024/09/11/ny/event-for-left-wing-magazine-jewish-currents-finds-a-new-home-after-public-complaints-over-cancellation
10. “Awarded Grants.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=Association+for+Promotion+of+Jewish+Secularism.
11. “About.” Jewish Currents. Accessed October 5, 2024. https://jewishcurrents.org/financials.