I’m an orthodox, Jewish, Israel-American who does not believe that Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite, unlike many in my demographic. I reject the idea that people who have issues with Zionism are automatically labeled as antisemites. I do have some constructive criticism for Mamdani where I try to convey how the term “globalize the Intifada” sounds and feels to many, especially in NYC.

Fundamentally, wokeness is a good thing. However, like all good things you can have too much. Excesses can create a new set of problems. It seems, unfortunately, that cruelty has become the overwhelming response to the excesses of wokeness.

I discuss what wokeness is, how it became excessive and give examples of how anti-wokeness has become cruel. I draw on an episode of the original Star Trek series to explore a path forward.

Article - Massachusetts teen arrested by ICE

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/massachusetts-student-arrested-by-ice-on-his-way-to-volleyball-practice-has-been-released

Article - USNS Harvey Milk renaming

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/massachusetts-student-arrested-by-ice-on-his-way-to-volleyball-practice-has-been-released

Article - Trans athletes in NCAA

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/education-ncaa-transgender-athletes-records-reversal-rcna191742

Article - Nichelle Nichols and MLK Jr.

https://www.startrek.com/en-un/news/nichelle-nichols-remembers-dr-king

Article - Star Trek “The Enemy Within”

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Enemy_Within_(episode)

Video - “The Enemy Within” trailer

https://youtu.be/_AYsdW1RbWw?si=56EzCFxVvPfbrNDy

Video - California’s Governor Newsome speaks in response to Trump takeover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXQQNUeb4Sw

Video - Leonard Nimoy tells the story of the Vulcan salute that goes with the phrase “live long and prosper”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyiWkWcR86I

In this episode I discuss my thoughts about how the U.S. is currently dealing with immigration and immigrants. As an immigrant to Israel I lean on my experience to compare Israel to the U.S. I also reserve some particularly sharp critique for Trump’s current Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller.

Emma Lazarus’s sonnet “The New Colossus”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46550/the-new-colossus

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on his city’s handling of immigrants

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz6U5vwCcak&t=299s

Ronald Reagan’s farewell address

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/farewell-address-nation

Stephen Miller’s early life

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.html

Op-ed by David Glosser, Miller’s uncle

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/13/stephen-miller-is-an-immigration-hypocrite-i-know-because-im-his-uncle-219351/

Kristi Noem’s photo ophttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKYW5gKeOWc

Article on immigrants and crime

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/debunking_the_myth_of_immigrants_and_crime.pdf

Article - “The Afrikaner Exception” by Meir Brooks

https://meirbrooks.wordpress.com/2025/05/18/racism-of-the-unadulterated-kind