The Resistance & Hope Issue of The Ex-Puritan is Here!

Dear Readers,

The Ex-Puritan is thrilled to share with you Resistance & Hope, our annual special issue guest-edited by the brilliant Bahar Orang. 

The contents of this special issue address, in both critical and creative capacities, the events of October 7, 2023, from the perspective of Palestinian resistance to the occupying state of Israel. The Ex-Puritan, as a literary magazine based on the values of anti-racism and decolonization, stands for a free Palestine. We also reject the automatic conflation of anti-Zionism and anti-semitism. To critique the state of Israel, which is actively committing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, is not to endorse or promote hatred for the Jewish people as a whole. Rather, anti-Zionism resists the ongoing Zionist project of settler colonialism and genocide. As Mira Sucharov notes, while it is often argued that "every other group gets to define the terminology around their own oppression, and therefore so should Jews," it is important to acknowledge that "when a state — which by definition interacts with others within and outside its borders — is brought into the equation, the debate about antisemitism ceases to be about only Jews." This positioning is not new but is shared across nationalities (both Israeli and non-Israeli), borders, and generations.

Furthermore, as Bahar gestured to in the call for this issue, the demand to qualify any discussion of Palestinian resistance with a condemnation of certain groups (which are represented here in various forms) is exactly the type of demand the contributors here are challenging and circumventing. We affirm these contributors’ rights to express their beliefs and we invite our readers to do the same, in good faith and with the critical thinking and nuance that these pieces deserve.

This issue begins with Bahar Orang's editorial note and her accompanying poem "Flood."

In poetry, find "Al-Aqsa Flood | طُوفَانُ الأقَْصَى" by Sarra Ghadeer Malek, "LITANY" by Janan Alexandra, and "Let me hold your hand so you don't take my life I wouldn't want to scare you into killing me" by Kendra Augustin.

Jody Chan and CeCe Fortier offer the essay "THERE ARE NO CRAZY SOLDIERS ON THE FRONT."

Next, read Abdaljamad Omar's conversation with Yasir Piracha, Zara Khan's interview with Fatima Joumaa, and a conversation between Ibrahim Abusitta and Nazanin Zarepour.

Last but not least, check out Justin Podur's review of Yahya Sinwar's The Thorn and the Carnation.

We hope that you enjoy this special issue.

All our best,

The Ex-Puritan Editors