Time To Say Goodbye A New History of Radicalism, Organizing, and the Jewish Bund plus AI Robs Artists Again with Molly Crabapple
Mar 25, 2026
Molly Crabapple, illustrator, writer, and activist behind a new book on the Jewish Bund, explains years of research, learning Yiddish, and global travel. She explores the Bund as a model of community organizing, culture, and solidarity. Then she confronts AI theft of artists’ work and the broader cultural and political stakes of tech’s reach.
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How A Family Painting Sparked The Book
- Molly discovered the Bund through a painting by her great-grandfather showing a woman throwing a rock with "It Got the Bund" on the back.
- That family clue plus a 2015 Palestine trip pushed her from personal curiosity to multi-year research and a 2018 article.
Research Marathon Included Learning Yiddish And Library Residency
- Molly wrote, translated Yiddish, and visited Bund locations worldwide, living in the New York Public Library during a fellowship to finish the book.
- She translated archival pamphlets herself and rewrote the manuscript about 15 times while the Gaza war unfolded.
Bund Model Shows Politics Through Lived Culture
- The Bund modeled mass-working-class culture that combined Marxism with rich community life rather than grad-school theory.
- They ran sports clubs, summer camps, free breakfasts, childcare, schools and theatrical troupes that made socialism feel attractive and practical.
