
E133 - The Bund: Fighting Fascism, Fighting Zionism (w/ Molly Crabapple)
Published: April 10, 2026
Duration: 1:25:44
In 1897, a small group of Jewish Marxists on the outskirts of the Russian empire founded the General Jewish Labour Bund. The Bundists were revolutionary socialists, unapologetic internationalists, champions of the Yiddish language, and implacable foes of nationalism of every stripe, including (especially) Zionism. Bundists helped found the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, organized militias to defend Jews against pogroms, fought on the frontlines of the 1905 and 1917 revolutions, fought fascists wherever they found them, and helped lead the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
The history of the Bund is largely forgotten today — in part because Bundists were such early and pre...