Episode 113: Sim Kern, author of Genocide Bad - Jewishness & antizionism

Sim Kern is an author and social media creator who sprang to prominence at the beginning of Israel's latest war on the people of Gaza. As they have spoken out, from a Jewish perspective, against zionist justifications for Israel's violence, they have articulated what many within and outside Jewish communities feel about Israel and Zionism.

As a result of their TikToks, they were invited by America's only Palestinian-owned publisher, Interlink, to get some of those helpful thoughts onto paper. The result is Genocide Bad, a book that was denounced by some Israeli pundits before it had been published, and which made the NYT bestseller list.

In this episode, Sim talks to Jonty about why they don't use the word 'antisemitism' anymore, how they have experienced all the attention (positive and very negative), and what Christians and other people concerned about justice can say and do in the face of overwhelming political and media support for Israel's war crimes.

They also talk about finding hope in a bathroom stall. It's pretty cool.

Follow Sim on TikTok @simkern, on Insta @sim_bokstagrams_badly and at simkern.com

Check out Genocide Bad at interlinkbooks.com and find this interview in print (alongside similar voices) in Issue 4 of S(h)ibboleth magazine shibbolethmag.com

You can listen to Episode 113 anywhere: in a pro-Palestinian march, at a Jewish antizionist reading group, in church, or right here…


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Beer Christianity is an anti-capitalist, pro-BLM, pro-LGBTQ+, anti-imperialist, post-post-post-evangelical podcast where we drink a bit and talk a lot. Our aim is to be real, helpful and entertaining.


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There's also a connected Show With Music on Spotify called New Old Music. Check it out if you like eclectic music and random chat.

Other things…

Malky’s design work has graced many good magazines and music videos. You can find his stuff and even commission him if he’s not too busy, here. Jonty's novel, Incredulous Moshoeshoe and the Lightning Bird, is not literature but it’s quite fun if you like Supernatural, Africa or the Goth scene. Laura doesn’t want us to post her BookTok until she’s posted more videos. She may have prayed for the app to be banned just to avoid it.

Beliefs…

We don't really want to preach at you, but some people like to know what we believe. It's this: Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to teach us a better way to be, while reconciling us to God and each other in a way we could never do without Him. He also changed water into wine. Nice. 


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Episode 112: The uncontrolling God - Simon Cross and Thomas Oord