Jacobin Radio

Our guest Yoav Peled argues that Netanyahu is the only issue in the April 9 election. Netanyahu is under indictment for one case of bribery and two cases of fraud, but Yoav says he is likely to win even though his party and their bloc — with far-right, racist and religious parties — is more or less tied with the anti-Bibi “Blue and White” coalition or bloc. Yoav also discusses his new book, The Religionization of Israeli Society — which sheds light on how the country has moved from secular Zionism to an increasingly far-right expansionist religious Zionism, and how that helps us understand the election, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and the relation between culture, politics, nationalism, secularization, and new social movements.

Suzi then talks to Micah Uetricht in Chicago, where 5–6 socialists were just elected to the City Council. Micah argues they will have outsize influence in determining the political issues — much as we have seen nationally with the election of democratic socialists to Congress. In his aptly titled article in the Guardian “America's socialist surge is going strong in Chicago” Micah writes that the socialist victories in Chicago were not a fluke, people are miserable with the status quo of austerity — and if Chicago’s elections are any indication, it just may be that people are ready to try socialism.