Daniel Sieradski

Daniel Jonathan Sieradski (born June 19, 1979) is an American writer and activist. He was the founding publisher and editor-in-chief of Jewschool, a left-wing Jewish weblog,[1]

Daniel Sieradski
Born (1979-06-19) June 19, 1979
NationalityAmerican
OccupationWeb strategist, writer and activist

Career

In 2001, Sieradski, founded Jewschool, which was called "influential" by Cnet.[2] Sieradski has also worked as a web designer and digital strategist with several Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.[3]

Activism

Googlebomb

In 2004, Sieradski organized a so-called googlebomb, an attempt at manipulating Google's search rankings.[4] Responding to outrage over the placement of an antisemitic website atop the results on Google's search for the term "Jew" and a call for Google to censor its search results led by Steven Weinstock,[5] Sieradski organized a campaign which replaced the site Jew Watch with Wikipedia's entry on Jews.[6]

Corner Prophets

Sieradski organized hip-hop concerts with Israeli and Palestinian rappers, with a defunct project called Corner Prophets, with the stated intention of promoting peace and coexistence through the arts.[7] He has also been a DJ on the jointly-operated Israeli-Palestinian FM radio station All For Peace which broadcasts from Ramallah.[8]

Occupy Judaism

On October 7, 2011, citing the Hebrew prophet Isaiah's admonition to fast by "feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, breaking the bonds of oppression," Sieradski organized a Kol Nidre Yom Kippur prayer service at Occupy Wall Street,[9] the mass demonstration for economic justice in Lower Manhattan that began in September 2011.[10] Some reports placed attendance at upwards of 1,000.[11] The Forward's editor Jane Eisner called it a positive "turning point" in American Judaism,[12] while Commentary (magazine) called it "a deeply troubling trend that all who care about the Jewish future would do well to take seriously."[13]

Nothing to Hide

In June 2013, reacting to Americans' complacency over the mass surveillance disclosures revealed by Edward Snowden, Sieradski set up a Twitter account, @_nothingtohide, that retweeted users who expressed a lack of concern or outright support for U.S. government surveillance.[14] The account became the focus of a column by Ross Douthat in The New York Times.[15]

Nazi Detector

In June 2016, Sieradski modified a Google Chrome extension called The Coincidence Detector that was used to identify Jews with echoes, with Sieradski's modified version surrounding the names of those on its list with swastikas. It was released it in the Chrome Web Store as The Nazi Detector.[16] Replying to The Forward, Sieradski pointed out that "this is really about folks who are harassing other folks online. The ‘real’ Nazis are dead".[17]

Anti-fascist Activism

Sieradski is a member of Antifa[18][19] and has been described as "Antifa’s Most Prominent Jew".[20] Along with other activists, he attempts to pressure venues to deplatform fascist and racist events before counter-demonstrating.[19]

Reaction

Sieradski has been described as "a major figure of the Jewish Internet world and a cultural trailblazer with a diverse fan base" by The Forward.[21] B'nai B'rith Magazine called him a "fresh faced iconoclast ... redefining American Judaism,"[22] and Tikkun said he was "fast becoming one of the most recognized Jewish literary voices on the Internet."[23] The Jewish Standard described Sieradski as "a leader in a Jewish movement that is trying to a create a new image for Judaism to project to its youth,"[24] he was called "an innovator in Jewish new media" by Editor & Publisher.[25] In 2008, The Jewish Week counted Sieradski among a group of 36 Jewish New Yorkers under the age of 36 "who are combining mitzvot, leadership and passion in making the world a better place."[26][27] In 2010, he was numbered among The Forward 50, an annual listing of the 50 most influential American Jews.[28] Haaretz has called him a "professional thorn in the side of the American Jewish establishment."[29]

In June 2017, Sieradski's Twitter account was suspended for reasons that are not clear. Sieradski believes the ban resulted from either a campaign of harassment by a right-wing user called "Baked Alaska", who has posted antisemitic tweets,[30] or for tweeting to Courtney Love during a Twitter argument with Linda Sarsour.[31]

References
  1. Olidort, Shoshana (January 13, 2006). "The Pastrami Chronicles: Famed Deli Closes". The Forward. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
  2. Becker, David (April 7, 2004). "Google caught in anti-Semitism flap". Cnet. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  3. Levinson, Claire (April 15, 2007). "Leading Blogger Joins Jewish Mainstream". The Forward. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  4. Hoffman, Guy (April 19, 2004). "הקישור היהודי של גוגל". Ha'aretz. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  5. Pilcher, Bradford (April 15, 2004). "The answer to hate speech is..." Just Another Rant. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  6. Berkofsky, Joe (April 30, 2004). "Searching for 'Jew': Google Duel Shows Challenge of the Digital Age". j. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  7. Berman, Daphna (March 4, 2005). "Rap Riffs to Heal the Rifts". Haaretz. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  8. Bronson, Sarah (November 3, 2005). "It Sounds Better in English". Haaretz. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  9. Sieradski, Daniel (October 4, 2011). "Kol Nidre Minyan at #OccupyWallStreet". Mobius1ski (Personal blog). Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  10. Kaleem, Jaweed (October 7, 2011). "Yom Kippur Service Taking Place At Occupy Wall Street". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  11. "1,000 Jews gather at Wall St. for #occupy-yomkippur Kol Nidre". +972 Magazine. October 7, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  12. Eisner, Jane (October 13, 2011). "Why 'Occupy Judaism' Is Turning Point". The Forward. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  13. Ackerman, Matthew (October 10, 2011). "A Sad Mix of Judaism and Radical Politics at "Occupy Wall Street"". Commentary. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  14. Shackford, Scott (June 12, 2013). "3 Reasons the Nothing to Hide Crowd Should Be Worried About Government Surveillance." Reason. Accessed September 15, 2013.
  15. Douthat, Ross (June 8, 2013). "Your Smartphone Is Watching You." The New York Times. Accessed September 15, 2013.
  16. "This activist found a brilliant way to get back at neo-Nazis using their own tools". Fusion (TV Channel). June 27, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  17. Dolsten, Josefin. "Nazi Detector App Brands Right-Wing Extremists — and Donald Trump – The Forward". Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  18. https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Antifa-the-group-that-fought-white-supremacists-in-Charlottesville-502721
  19. Sales, Ben (August 17, 2017). "Fighting facists: The group that battled white supremacists in Charlottesville". Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  20. Kestenbaum, Sam (June 9, 2017). "'Antifa's Most Prominent Jew' Booted From Twitter". Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  21. Levenson, Claire (August 17, 2007). "Leading Blogger Joins Jewish Mainstream". The Forward. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  22. Greenberg, Richard; Cohen, Debra Nussbaum (Fall 2005). "Uncovering the Un-Movement" (PDF). B'nai B'rith Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2005. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  23. Siwek, Daniel (June–July 2005). "An Interview with the Orthodox Anarchist". Tikkun. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  24. Weiss, Steven I. (2005). "Jewish Renaissance Man" (JPG). The Jewish Standard. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  25. "Trio of Appointments for a Jewish News Agency". Editor & Publisher. August 21, 2007. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  26. "36 Under 36". The Jewish Week. May 21, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  27. "36 Under 36: New Media Types". The Jewish Week. May 21, 2008. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  28. "Forward 50". The Forward. October 26, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  29. "Are U.S. Jewish organizations hypocrites on immigration?". Haaretz. June 17, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  30. Hathaway, Jay (22 June 2017). "Twitter Is Somehow Making Its Nazi Problem Worse". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  31. Kestenbaum, Sam (June 9, 2017). "A Prominent Left-Wing Jew Was Kicked Off Twitter". Retrieved September 5, 2017.
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