Robert Rosenthal is an American Jewish writer, commentator, and the publisher of “The Progressive Jew,” an independent Substack newsletter launched in 2023. Raised in a traditional Jewish community in Passaic, New Jersey, with ancestral roots in Lodz, Poland, he was educated within mainstream Zionist traditions during his youth. After decades of supporting Israeli policy, he shifted his political position following historical study and direct engagement with Palestinians, becoming a vocal critic of political Zionism and right-wing nationalist movements.
Through “The Progressive Jew,” Rosenthal publishes analysis examining the intersections of Middle Eastern politics, domestic political trends, and human rights. His writings explicitly connect critiques of political Zionism with opposition to domestic Christian nationalism and Trumpism, arguing that ethno-nationalism undermines democratic institutions and civic equality. His essay, “The Biggest Zionist Lies of All Time,” which examines 17 prevalent historical narratives—including “making the desert bloom” and “a land without a people for a people without a land”—was republished by the Promised Land Museum, an educational portal documenting the history of Palestine/Israel.
As a member of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Rosenthal draws directly on his family’s Holocaust history to critique military occupation and structural segregation. In his essay “Extricating Myself From Zionism’s Toxic Grip,” he reflected on the universal ethical imperative of his heritage, writing: “For me, ‘Never again’ stopped being a slogan about Jews alone and became a commitment to stand against ethnic cleansing anywhere, especially when it’s done in my name.”