#a lonely jew

[fennecfiree]

Some art I made at 3am lmao

He is so sad help him 😔

[shalom-iamcominghome]

I've been doing a lot of reflection as of late, especially after this past class.

This past class was about the Torah and Tanakh in general, and the way the rabbi talked about the commandments (specifically the ten commandments) has made me really reflect on how I interpret them, specifically the fifth commandment, or honoring your mother and father.

This is a commandment I have wrestled with for a long time - in fact, it brought me away from g-d at multiple times. I was severely abused when I was incredibly young by my mother, and I used to feel insulted at the implication that I were to honor her while she got to live a better life. It was hypocritical, in my eyes.

But this rabbi surmised that this particular commandment was because parenthood is an act of creation, something that is like the g-d from which we come from. My realization is this: I don't think we're necessarily meant to take even these commandments literally.

I this particular commandment is more of a call to honor creation - creation is a gift, and like any gift, many people simply will not like it and will discard it. The person who abused me created me, but she did not honor creation. She didn't honor me, but I can still honor it.

I have started to honor creation much more. I'm too young, too unstable, not mature enough to be a father (though I fantasize about it), but I create all the time. I create relationships, I create with my hands through crochet. I create memories, I create my world. And I can honor who I am and where I came from that made me who I am. I've been learning one of the mother tongues of my family (Italian, since part of my family originates there) and it was judaism that inspired me to do this.

I don't think g-d wants me to honor my abuser. I think He wants me to remember the Holy action of creation. When I am a father, that act of creation will be Holy, and indeed, I am already joyful about the thought.

I have seen many people struggle with this particular commandment, but I think this perspective helps me personally. I don't think I ever have to forgive my abusers (plural), and I don't think I am commanded to simply because they happened to be family. I am commanded to recognize the holy, to elevate the mundane. In doing so, I will remember g-d. Through creation, I honor g-d and everything he has done for us, for me, and for our collective people.

[matan4il]

I saw your post about Noah and it just but a bee in my bonnet about how people in all sorts of fandoms have been doing similar things to Jewish actors (but it’s not as well known cause they’re obviously not as high profile as stranger things). I follow you from the 911 fandom, and I also watch 911 Lone Star and both Ronen Rubinstein (who plays TK) and Lisa Edelstein (who guest starred so isn’t a regular anymore but is iconic in her own right) have gotten hate. Ronen removed his twitter after people started calling him a Zionist and harassing him. Lisa turned comments off on some of her ig posts and specifically said it was so she wouldn’t get attacked. The only things those two have said are in regards to getting the hostages home safe or in reaction to the immediate events of Oct 7. Yet they’re being called supporters of genocide. The antisemitism disguised as “antizionism” is so fucking obvious and it’s sad how it’s infiltrated even the smaller fandoms if actors involved dare to be Jewish and express concern for fellow Jews.

Hi Nonnie!

First of all, yes. Sadly, there is not a single fandom I have been active in, that has been a safe space for Jews in general, and they've all become worse since Oct 7. So I'll talk a bit about the 911 fandom, but let's be clear that this fandom isn't the issue, it really is a symptom of a much bigger problem, which is very prevalent in online spaces, not just online fandoms. What I'll talk about is obviously not true for every single person, but it IS true for enough people, and especially for some very vocal ones, who shape what the "allowed" discourse is.

I have not been following what the 911 fandom does and says about Ronen Rubinstein for at least 2 years, but I can't say I'm surprised by what you told me.

I've written more than once about the fact that Jews are not white, not even the white passing ones. Also, I'm hardly the only Jew raising their voice about this, and yet I've noticed that the 911 fandom, which raged when half-white Eddie Diaz was not recognized as a POC by one fan, the fandom which has accepted Christopher Diaz as a POC (even though he's canonically only 25% Mexican, and is played by an actor who actually IS white, which means there's no arguing over the fact that Chris looks white), is also the fandom which has repeatedly conceptualized Ronen as a white guy, same for his character TK (even though he's canonically only half white), and with that view in mind there's been hostility towards Ronen that I've come across not long after 911LS just started. Ronen's family is from an area where Jews had been repeatedly slaughtered, including during the Holocaust for NOT being white less than one hundred years ago. TK looks white (you know, exactly like Chris), so that's enough to ignore Jewish identity, history, being native to the Middle East, and anti-Jewish persecution. Ronen gets conceptualized as a white oppressor. And as such, he's a fair target, even an encouraged one.

Gavin, whose character Chris is recognized as a POC, even though he himself is completely white.

Ronen, whose character TK is not recognized as a POC, even though the actor is fully Jewish.

Natacha, whose character Marjan is recognized as a POC, even though the actress herself is half white. She's also half Lebanese, Marjan is fully so, and whatever Arabs are, Jews are the exact same, because both groups are native to South West Asia (similarly, both groups come in a variety of skin tones).

So I'm not surprised that Ronen is being mistreated. Jews are mis-conceptualized as white, and the Israeli-Arab conflict gets mis-conceptualized by applying to it a race-based model imported from the US, in which Israelis are white Jews (even though 21% of our population is Arab, a part of our leadership is Arab and has been since the first Knesset was elected, over 70 years ago, and even though many of the Israeli soldiers fighting to protect us are Arabs... when the conflict is explained, they're all erased, and Israelis are only understood as - and blamed as - white Jews), who are evil oppressors of brown Arabs (even though some Arabs are just as white looking, or even whiter than some Jews). Then, this conflict is used to vilify and justify harassing Jewish actors, whether Noah in Stranger Things, Timothee Chalamet, or Ronen and Lisa.

Here are some white looking Palestinians, who always get ignored by the people conceptualizing the conflict as white vs brown people:

Two pics of Israeli soldiers killed, each pic from just one day in this war in Gaza, and you can see the diversity of skin tones...

Like I said, I haven't been following Ronen, but I did happen across a post that claimed he needs to be canceled for the crime of blocking people who the poster said were pro-Palestine. But in my experience, even when you're a Jew who is not being hateful towards Palestinians, you're just pro both groups, because you recognize they're both humans, the fact that you have the "audacity" to stand up for Jewish people and Jewish rights, and against the mis-representation of Jews in Israel, is enough for antisemitic bullies to use that to come after you with antisemitic abuse under the guise of being pro-Palestinian (here's just one example. I wonder how many Palestinians have been liberated by harassing Jews online. Pretty sure the answer is zero. I also always love how this crowd never actually stands up for Palestinians when they're wronged by fellow Arabs, in Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon or Syria. It's only the Jews who bother these "pro-Palestinians," not the actual well being of Palestinians). I'm sure that if we could see who Ronen was blocking, it would be the same kind of people who have been sending me these very caring, human rights-oriented messages:

^ This ask was specifically a response to my reply to an anon telling me I lost my claim to humanity when I became an Israeli (and me answering that that was at the age of 5 months, and that my parents' decision to bring me to Israel actually saved my life).

^ Just a small collection, nowhere near what I actually got, but I kept them 'coz I wanted to show people at some point what Jews who dare to not want Israel destroyed are subjected to. And Ronen probably got similar ones, he blocked them, and for saying he was blocking them, he got further hate... At what point are people going to wake up and see that this is how an antisemitic misinformation campaign works? Lots of Germans genuinely believed in the narrative that Jews backstabbed them during WWI. If you were to ask them in the 1930's whether they hate Jews simply for being Jews, they'd say no, that they hated Jews, because Jews deserved to be hated due to their actions. In the exact same way, now support of the existence of the Jewish state, not even of its specific policies, is being spun as justification to hate on Jews.

I'll say this again. This reply isn't about Ronen. It isn't about Noah. It isn't about Lisa. This isn't about a specific fandom. This is a call for people to wake up and smell the antisemitic coffee, the legitimization of Jews being harassed. Please don't be a part of it, and if you can, please speak up when you see others being a part of it. I KNOW that online, and def on Tumblr, the majority of posts you see justify the vilifaction of anyone who is pro Israel's existence, even while also being critical of its leadership. And it's easy, and it feels right, to go with what everyone else in your echo chamber says. But you can be that one guy in 1930's Germany who didn't do the heil Hitler. If you will be, it may not be easy, but I very much doubt you'd ever regret it.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[frankiehasfangs]

Queer Jewish people PLEASEEEEE interact (bonus points if ur nuerodivergent)

[guessimdumb]

Silver Jews - Honk If You're Lonely (1998)

I know it seems sad to be so damn blue

[fakevariety]

i think people get really fucking loose with anti semitism to the point where they don't even know what they're saying and i am out of patience people need to shut the fuck up

[my-jewish-life]

Idk what to do, it's been months since the last time I talked to my rabbi. I was on pride shabbat in august last year and she told me she would get in touch the week after, still haven't heard anything. I figured she was probably busy as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were approaching. I have sent her e-mails and tried contacting the synagogue, nothing. Then October 7th happen and now they have closed everything from non members to stay safe which i totally understand, so I figured maybe i could become a member, get a membership. But for converts you need to have finished your convertion to get one, I haven't even started yet....

Idk what I wanted with this post, I just needed to get this off of my chest. Idk what to do, I feel so tiny and lost🥺😭

[spinthetags]

SOUTH PARK MARCH MADNESS! ROUND 1, MATCHUP 16:

You can refresh your memory on A Lonely Jew on Christmas and Taco-Flavored Kisses by following the hyperlinks! Happy voting!

[aguineapigcouldntdothis]

does anyone know of good places to find virtual synagogue services? between my disabilities, school, and the distance between me and the closest synagogues, its just not realistic for me to go weekly. i can make it in person to the one thats an abt hour away monthly (MAYBE twice montly during summer) but id at least like to attend in some way weekly. if anyone has any advice for where to find virtual services or specific people to reach out to abt this pls lemme know :) also im not super picky im reform and sephardic and while id love to find something that aligns with that i know it may not be realistic

[gorillawithautism]

sigh

[an-attempted-poet]

sometimes i think that with everything going on in the world i might be more religious than i thought.

it's still hard for me to believe in a higher power or a god because i am so heavily and wholeheartedly a science person, as well as when i was younger and really was religious it felt like nothing i prayed for ever worked and all my trauma kept coming, no matter what i did

i think as i get older and have more of a idea of the world i've come to terms with being religious but not believing in a strict power. that i can find comfort in religion and the community i grew up in but i don't have to adhere to the exact definition of religion i thought i did when i was younger

[mossboys]

i’ve been trying to stay off social media in general but honestly nothing has radicalized me like this has. i think about it constantly. i’ve never been on the verge of tears almost constantly because of anything in the news before

[canonjewstournament]

hello hello!! so i have 37 characters who got 4 or more nominations. unfortunately that's a few too many for a 32-person bracket, so below i've listed everyone with 4 nominations so you can vote on who gets to make it in. there's 9 total, and the 3 who get the least votes will be eliminated.

and at some point i'll make a list of everyone who got 2-3 nominations. unfortunately one of them is alma winograd-diaz but i will NOT be changing my pfp because i love her and fuck you

[matan4il]

lowkey not even as invested in 911 lonestar but ronen has been getting so much hate i feel so defensive about the show like. oof, there's gonna be too much chaos when the season airs

Hi Nonnie!

Honestly, IDEK when the new season airs, or whether real life will allow me to watch it, but all of my solidarity and support goes out to Ronen. Jews do not deserve this kind of abuse and de-humanization for caring about their people and their homeland, especially when it's someone who actually was born and grew up in Israel, and still has friends there (he even mentioned a personal connection to unfathomably young kids who had been butchered by Hamas).

This wouldn't be done to someone of any other nationality. For example, no matter what the US or UK or Iran has done that people might strongly disagree with, including in recent years, I've never seen individual American or British or Iranian actors held responsible for their government's actions, and expected not to care about the American or British or Iranian people when they are suffering. Because that would be de-humanizing. It would be acting like these American or British or Iranian (or any other nationality, really) actors are political billboards first, and humans second.

It's de-humanizing to expect Ronen not to care about the well being of Israelis and Jews, about their safety after the massacre that was committed against them on Oct 7, and which Hamas leaders promised to repeat whenever possible, about those who are still held hostage in Gaza (whether it's their bodies being denied of having a proper burial and their families of closure, or whether they're alive and continuously abused by people who we know raped, mutilated and tortured even children just because they were Jews), about the rocket attacks on Israel from several fronts (do people realize what it feels like to see the photos of Israeli Jewish kids taking cover from rocket attacks on the ground, with their little hands held over their heads, of all days on Yom Ha'Shoah, our national Holocaust Memorial Day? How do people expect us not to care about that?) which have continued uninterrupted since Oct 7, about the on going psychological and emotional trauma people have and are suffering here, about the repeated personal (because yeah, anti-Jewish terrorism and violence in Israel was not born on Oct 7, and many of us carry scars from previous attacks) and intergenerational trauma (because most of us grew up with the knowledge of what antisemitic violence, including in Arab and Muslim countries, has done to our families) that all of this evokes...

And going, "But so many more have died on the other side!" is de-humanizing as well. It's as if you had your mother murdered, and when you wanted to express your grief and loss, you'd be told that you should care about your neighbor's pain more, because he lost five cousins, not just one mom, and five is more than one. As if this is exactly how human pain works, by numbers... (not to mention, this notion ignores that at least two of the cousins are actually responsible for the murder of your mom in the first place, and they're also responsible for causing the deaths of their other cousins)

IDK, it's just... not normal that Jewish pain and Jewish solidarity are being demonized like this. And it is about demonizing these specific expressions of Jewish bond, because even Jews who have expressed compassion for both sides have been vilified (Ronen even included innocent Palestinians suffering in his initial IG statement, made on Oct 9 and linked above and there's a screenshot below, then he shared an extra statement that was even more about innocents on both sides suffering, and he was still crucified like he's some sort of a heartless monster).

It is NOT okay if the only Jews acceptable to you, are the ones who do not express Jewish pain and solidarity.

I hope people who may see my ask reply are capable of... IDK. Even if in the past they attacked Ronen or other Jews for expressing any kind of compassion for fellow Israeli Jews, I hope these people can really take in how de-humanizing that is, and what sort of a message it sends to Jews out there, re-consider whether that's a path they want to take again, or support when others take it, and do better than they have before. It's never too late to learn and fix things.

De-popularize the de-humanization of Jews!

Because that's the freaking decent thing to do.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[wutheringheights78]

for those of us not on letterboxd, what stuck w u abt shiva baby

hi jum...i think it's the specific feeling of being lost and estranged from your jewishness and wanting it back so badly but not really knowing how to get it....and the "are you proud of me" scene. also can you get LB please

[andallthatmishigas]

God I’m so fucking tired of the world.

If you wanna say something, say it. Don’t go on anon and tell me what to do. You can share information without a directive. Thanks bye.