I've just finished Molly Crabapple's remarkable history of the Jewish Bund, and I can honestly say that it is the most difficult book, the most affecting history I've read in a long, long time. It's the story of Jewish resistance in tsarist Russia, and then Poland and beyond, as the Bund faces rising tides of bigotry, racism, fascism and genocide...and resists through courageous networks of workers, artists, activists and visionaries. And all the way through, there runs a thread: that our one hope is one another, solidarity, building movements beyond borders and differences.
Here's what Molly says about her project:
"So why did I write thie book about the Bund--who lost, who were failed--and not about victorious killers? Because I am sick of monsters--whether they belong to my group of any other or any other. Because I know that we all have the capacity to be victims and tormenters, as well as bystanders, staring blanklyat a burning wall. Because I want off the samara wheel of atrocity, and the Bund's demand of solidarity across difference is the only way to get there.
"Such solidarity is fragile and frequently betrayed, but it is all we have. It is the only thing that can save us..."
For my many friends working so bravely to protect human rights, strenghten democracy and end the occupation that has decimated Palestinian communities in Gaza and the West Bank...I recommend this book as a challenging, indispensable and inspiring reflection on where we've been, and where we might still go.
