Judaism and Abolition: Grasping at the Root with Ayeola Omolara Kaplan

Join the Making Mensches team (Elana, Jesi/Rocki, and Jessie) and Ayeola Omolara Kaplan for the second episode of our Judaism and Abolition series!

Ayeola is a revolutionary surrealist artist who creates artwork that synchronizes abolitionist dreams and experiential reality. Ayeola’s craft is inspired by her Jewish eco-spirituality and the divinity that seeds the intersecting threads of disability justice, gender liberation, racial equity, and class abolition. 

In this episode, we talk about ecospiritualism, Cop City in Atlanta, the significance of ecological consciousness in abolition work, teshuva, how we can reconstruct Judaism, and so much more. We are so grateful for Ayeola’s wisdom and art and hope if you’re listening, you’ll go support her.

Show Notes:

• BUY AYEOLA’S ART
• DWELL in Revolution MM episode with Ayeola
• Why Cop City Goes Against Jewish Values
• The Prisoner’s Herbal by Nicole Rose
• Uncle Jim’s Worms
• Vermicomposting 
• Reorienting Within a World of Plastic episode
• Rose Luxemburg’s prison letters

If you enjoyed this episode, please support Ayeola’s work.

[This episode was recorded in April 2026.]

Big thanks to Ayeola for this conversation, Jesi for being part of the team, Jessie for editing the podcast, and to Nate for our podcast music. If you want to support our work, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠you can do so here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠