“For every second of time was the strait gate through which the Messiah might enter.” —Walter Benjamin We witnessed recently the most heroic collective act that we can expect to see in our lifetimes, but it has not been much remarked upon. Perhaps this is because we in the Western left have become so accustomed […]
Archives for 2023
Into the Flood: Interview with a Palestinian-American Activist
As events in Gaza rapidly unfold, Hard Crackers spoke with Noor Salah, a Palestinian-American activist living in the United States. Hard Crackers: Tell us about yourself. Noor Salah: I’m Palestinian-American, first generation born in the United States. I come from a family of activists on both sides, especially my maternal side. My father was particularly […]
A Call for Submissions
Hard Crackers relies on written submissions and articles from our editors and our readers. These stories can take many different forms. They can be: biographical essays recalling certain work or real life experiences; recollections or revelations regarding historic or current events; interviews with interesting characters whose voices and opinions often go unheard; reviews of books, […]
Zionism, Antisemitism, and the People of Palestine
The following essay is based on a talk that Noel Ignatiev delivered in March 2004 at the Massachusetts College of Arts. Despite being nearly 20 years old, this text is nonetheless absolutely relevant because it provides a historical context for understanding Israel’s 75 year occupation of Palestine, one that is missing from most mainstream media […]
Iowa Bluffs
“Indeed, we are all implicated in Iowa.” –Heather Anne Swanson, “The Banality of the Anthropocene” Crossing the Mississippi River from Illinois into Iowa by car is an almost effortless glide, eliding entirely the forceful pull of the Great River and the centuries of violence greater still that harnessed its bucking current into an engine of […]
How Did I Get Here?, part 3: Iowa City Activism in the 1970s
The following is the third in a series of three excerpts from David Ranney’s longer piece “Reflections: Well, How Did I Get Here?” After leaving graduate school in 1966, I entered what I have called my first academic career. It would only last until 1974. Between 1970 and 1974, I was a faculty member at […]