What happened to the Jewish left?

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s UpFront published a 25-minute video interview on July 19, 2026, in which host Marc Lamont Hill speaks with artist and author Molly Crabapple about the history and contemporary relevance of the Jewish Labour Bund, anti-Zionism and currents within the Jewish left today. The programme frames the discussion around what has happened to the memory and political legacy of the Bund, and whether parts of its worldview are being revived among present-day Jewish leftists.

According to Al Jazeera’s description, the General Jewish Labour Bund was founded in 1897 in the Russian Empire as a revolutionary socialist movement. It organized Jewish workers, promoted Yiddish culture and democracy, and opposed Zionism. The segment presents the Bund as a historical example of Jewish political organizing rooted in diaspora life, labour politics and cultural autonomy rather than a nationalist project in Palestine.

The article text does not provide detailed excerpts from the interview or specific claims made by Crabapple beyond identifying the themes of the conversation. It names Crabapple as an Emmy Award-winning artist and author and places the discussion within UpFront, Al Jazeera’s interview programme hosted by Hill.

The topic matters because debates over Zionism, anti-Zionism, Jewish identity and left-wing politics have become especially visible in contemporary public life. Based on the publisher’s framing, the episode uses the Bund’s history to explore an alternative Jewish political tradition and to ask how, or whether, that tradition informs Jewish left activism today.