JACOBIN

AUGUST 4. 2025

Belgium’s Arrest of IDF Soldiers Could Be a Watershed Moment

Belgium’s detention of Israeli soldiers over alleged war crimes in Gaza has set a historic precedent for holding Israel to account for its war crimes. And it’s a sign that the tide is turning against Israel.

AUGUST 3. 2025

Sinjar: Proxy Wars on Sacred Ground

Ten years ago today, ISIS began its genocidal assault on Iraqi Yazidis. Reporting from the Sinjar region, our correspondent shows how a fractured community finds its path to recovery hindered by geopolitics as much as by violence.

The Jeffrey Epstein Scandal Is a Stain on Both Parties

Forget partisan finger-pointing. The Jeffrey Epstein scandal cuts across party lines, indicting economic and political elites alike.

A Nazi-Era Law Still Lands Poor People in Jail in Germany

In Germany, at least 8,000 people go to jail each year for failing to pay public transit tickets. The relevant part of the criminal code was introduced under the Nazis — yet is still routinely used to imprison mostly poor non-payers.

AUGUST 2. 2025

Abundance for the 99 Percent

Abundance is the precondition of socialism, but socialism is also the precondition of abundance.

We Need a Strategy to Win Zohran’s Agenda. Call It Plan Z.

Electing Zohran Mamdani is just the beginning. To actually win his agenda against billionaire opposition, we need to build popular power — permanent grassroots organizations that can mobilize tens of thousands to have his back when the fight gets real.

Immigrant Workers in Italy Strike for a 40-Hour Week

Italy’s small textile firms have long been considered nearly impossible to organize. But a recent wave of successful simultaneous strikes is expanding possibilities for Italy’s hyperexploited immigrant workforce.

AUGUST 1. 2025

Should We Invade Israel in the Name of Humanitarianism?

For decades, liberal humanitarianism argued that the international community should take military action against states engaged in extreme human rights abuses. Well, there’s no way to argue that Israel isn’t exactly such a state.

Britain’s New Left-Wing Party May Be Devastating for Labour

The new party announced by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana shows that Gaza has become a key fault line in British politics. Keir Starmer’s Labour Party can no longer rely on silencing the Left.

For Bertolt Brecht, War Isn’t Humanity’s Eternal Fate

With Europe in ruins in 1945, Bertolt Brecht wrote that war “has been discredited for some time to come. ” That period seems to be meeting its end, as European states push a new era of rearmament.

The American Child Death Toll Is Mortifying

Children in the US are 80 percent more likely to die than children in peer nations. Causes range from lax gun laws to privatized health care. What connects them all is a corrosive culture of individualism that makes child safety parents’ business alone.

Berlin’s Striking TikTok Workers Stand Up to a Tech Giant

In Berlin, TikTok wants to replace 160 employees with AI. If the company is successful, many others will follow suit — but workers are fighting back with a strike.

JULY 31. 2025

Trust in the Demos Isn’t Naive — It’s Empirical

Democratic deliberation asks us to meet as moral equals, exchange reasons for our beliefs, consider evidence, and remain open to changing our minds. Evidence from real-world examples shows that it can reduce polarization and deepen public judgment.

Fantastic Four: First Steps Is Light, Bright, and Kinda Boring

Will we ever get past the dominance of superhero movies in mainstream American cinema? Will they ever become any good?