Is the postmodern theory of intersectionality–the new master narrative of the left, which claims to expose the hidden and overlapping structures of oppression in Western societies–intrinsically hostile to Jews and Israel? Or is it a mere accident that the loudest proponents of intersectionality also tend to be obsessed with “Jewish privilege” and the alleged depredations of the Jewish state? Is it possible to imagine a form of intersectionality that is friendly to Zionism and Israel? Or does anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel go to the core of intersectionality?

As intersectionality has migrated from postmodern academe to the forefront of left-wing activism, these questions have become urgent for anyone worried about anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Witness, for example, the controversy over the connections between the Women’s March and Nation of Islam chief Louis Farrakhan. Despite significant mainstream-media pressure, and the pleas of their liberal-Jewish allies, the leaders of the Women’s March have refused to distance themselves from Farrakhan or forcefully condemn his long record of anti-Semitic rhetoric.