#all the blame on israel and none on hamas

[noaluvs]

This never should've happened anymore , than Oct 7th should've happened !

Yet here we are .

I am sorry Israel 💔🇮🇱

[queer-scots-geordie-dyke]

I currently have a lot of Jewish mutuals/people I follow and over the course of the last few months, almost Every. Single. One has talked about their mental health declining, that they’re exhausted and terrified, that they’ve become more closed off and lost their trust in people from outside their communities, due to being gaslit and ignored constantly on a society wide scale. Almost all of them have experienced antisemitic abuse or violence personally or had bomb threats to their synagogues and community centres or had swastikas and slurs graffitied on their properties.

The worst thing about this outrage is that none of them are really surprised by it - frightened, sickened, yes - but not surprised. They and their ancestors have had to deal with this shit for thousands of years. And all of them expect - no they *know* - it’s going to get worse.

It’s beyond fucking shameful. We are failing these people on a massive, society wide scale. Again.

So, I NEVER want to see a single one of my fellow goyim say shit like “Jews are just playing the victim,” “the rise in antisemitism is overblown and not as bad as they say because I haven’t seen it,” “it’s just a few extremists,” because NO, IT ISN’T - it’s systemic. Those who aren’t directly perpetrating it are mostly ignoring it. If you won't believe or listen to Jewish voices (if not, why not?) then the cold statistics cannot be waved away.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-antisemitic-incidents-up-about-400-since-israel-hamas-war-began-report-says-2023-10-25/

https://news.sky.com/story/more-than-4-000-antisemitic-incidents-recorded-by-jewish-charity-in-uk-in-2023-with-explosion-in-hatred-blamed-on-hamas-attacks-13071580

https://www.reuters.com/world/how-surge-antisemitism-is-affecting-countries-around-world-2023-10-31/

[fairuzfan]

What kills me about this person is that they admit the Palestinians are occupied and israel is an occupying force but they still manage to blame the occupied for the circumstances the occupier inflicts on them. And this is what drives me up a wall about liberal zionists. They admit that israel is occupying Palestine and and that the occupation must end but it's all just... buzzwords to them. They think the occupied and occupier need to work together to end the occupation and that occupation is some set of rules that a government imposes on people when it's a systematic violence that's perpetuated even by civilians who are determined a "higher class" than the occupied. Like they're willing to admit the occupation is bad and should not happen but that's as far as they're willing to admit. They are completely unwilling to even say that Palestinians are oppressed by Israelis (yes, all Palestinians are oppressed by all israelis, it's not a statement of morality its a statement of relationships between two groups of people) and are insisting that Palestinians are to blame for the occupation, on some level.

And this is not an exaggeration. Because they do say "israelis see the apartheid was as a security wall to stop the suicide bombings so you can understand how israelis feel about palestinians" but the occupied are constantly expected to make room for their occupiers' feelings. Like in every single instance. Even when talking about "peace" (which is never really peace, just a quieter occupation) Palestinians are expected to "hold up their side of the deal" in order to gain basic rights. Like they're constantly told "Well israelis are afraid that you'll kill them so you gotta promise to be nice and then we will stop shoving a gun in your face" as if the Palestinians hold any sort of meaningful structural power over israelis.

Like, I'm sorry but there's not a reality in which Palestinians oppress israelis in this entire world. None. We have no structural power compared to israelis. We will always be bottom rung compared to them, we will always be guilty before proved innocent, we will always have the gun in our faces, we will always be bombed and bombed and bombed and starved and bombed and no structural power will help us. Sorry if this is a hard truth to swallow but Palestinians are oppressed by israelis. Even HAMAS (the favorite israeli boogieman) is oppressed by israelis. Because that's the nature of the world. The occupied are, by definition, oppressed. The people who are blockaded and their food and water are controlled by an occupying entity are the oppressed people. So it's like, even if you want to argue the "shared humanity" route, you have to acknowledge that oppression is structural and enduring and that every Palestinian IN THE WORLD experiences oppression from israelis and those that ally themselves with israelis. Otherwise, your hollow statements of "wanting to end the occupation" just sound to me like you really don't understand that the occupation is present in every aspect of Palestinian life and that, unfortunately, israelis have to do more than tear down the apartheid wall and the settlements and the checkpoints and have to fundamentally reshape society if they want *real* peace.

But the sad part is, they don't really care about actually helping Palestinians, they care about seeming "moral" and "doing the right thing" but they've made up their minds about what doing the right thing is without even speaking to Palestinians about it. Or I should say, caring about speaking to Palestinians about it.

[theroundbartable]

My position on the war in Israel/ Palestine

Below the cut, because this is my opinion, and you are, of course, not expected to share it, or even care about my position at all. You might not even like what I have to say.

This is for myself and for the people who decide whom to follow based on the flags I raise in my bio (which is none).

It's a bit long, sorry.

The war in Israel/Palestine has now been going on for over a year and I keep seeing blogs that are entirely pro palestine, and then others who are entirely Israeli, accusing each other of rape and murder and genocide, of antisemitism and zionism, etc. etc. Most of these accusations were fact checked and true. Some arguments I heard of people were quite obviously formed through what their government told them, might even lied to them about. I cannot blame these people for clinging to faith, to clinging to the vague idea that there is a sense to their suffering, or who are trying to deflect of their own guilt.

I am German. I know the arguments. I know why they exist and I cannot blame people who's life might be depending on that hope, who's sanity might depend on that faith.

So far, I have not really posted my own opinion on it and I understand that my position on this is not a common one. Nor is it one that many people will accept or find satisfying. Never the less, this is my point.

Under normal circumstances, I would never have made a post and I already am very late to the debate, but since elections in the US are up and more dangerous than ever, since the debates and the war lead to attacks on people online and world wide, since all this enables the same fascistic views that once dominated my country and are threatening to dominate the field once again, I think I should at least say something.

I need to, in order to make up the the past my grandfather took part in as a German soldier, to honor my grandmother's memory who welcomed refugees of war and "war criminals" who were stationed in the neighboring Arbeitslager in her home; in her home where she was all alone with her sick father and waited for the news of her brothers falling in the war while the polish captive cooked them dinner and taught her to read. I need to, as someone who's ancestors were both shooting and housing their enemies. As someone who carries both the guilt and the pride into the next generation.

This is not a football game.

I can't go and pick a side and root for their win. I can't go out on the street with other students and hold up "free palestine" signs, when I know that the words are war propaganda from a group of terrorists. I can't go and side with Israel and justify a genocide by telling people they are being antisemitic if they criticise the Israeli government.

It is the Israeli government under Netanjahu, it is the Hamas who are fighting this war, and to say that the people under their leadership aren't in on it is naive to a degree.

We are not talking about winning and losing here. Because there are no winners in war. I CANNOT debate on who's human rights are worth more than the other. I CANNOT ignore that the Hamas started the war, I cannot ignore that they abuse their captives, I cannot excuse that the Israeli government shoots back at hospitals and abuses their own captives as well.

I can't choose between the grays, because to me, they are the same shade.

But to say they are all supporting those leaderships, to say that not most of them are just trying to survive is terrifyingly cold. That would be like saying they deserve what is happening to them and that can never be the truth.

This doesn't mean I'm not judging between the two. I judge the obvious violence on both sides, I fear for the victims on both accounts, I hate the idea that categorises who is allowed to live where in the country, I despise the idea that Israel alone is to blame.

"You can't not pick a side."

I did. Because there is not just two sides to this war. There is three or four, perhaps even more than that.

There is the terror organisation, there is the government, and then there is the people stuck in the crossfire. I refuse to side with the criminals. I refuse to side with the abusers. They are both wrong, they are both murderous and violent, and siding with one would be - for me - like pointing the gun at the other.

That said, I do not believe that people who raise the palestine flags are wrong, neither do I judge the Israel one. Both sides deserve justice for what happend and what continues to happen. But to a German who only raises the flag once every four yeara at soccer games, worshipping the government that is doing all this, that feels wrong. I know that my view is distorted because of my family's Nazi history, but I can't help feeling that way.

If we're talking about violence, justice would mean that more violence is the answer. An eye for an eye is justice too, but this will never result in peace.

Quite honestly, I don't even think a two state solution would be the answer either. It could be, if Hamas and Israel wanted peace. If Natanjahus war wasn't a ploy to keep himself in power. As it is right now, with the war expanding, even if they managed to somewhat put down their weapons, they will continue to be neighboring enemies, they will continue to hate each other and they will continue to never forgive, to never forget, justifying future reasons to war.

Honestly, I'm not arrogant enough to say I know the solution. All I know is that I know where I stand. And I will never, under any circumstances, judge you if you live in Isreal or in palestine. Nor will I judge you for fighting for each of their rights. Because unless you wish for the complete destruction of the other, unless you justify a genocide, then I am on your side. Because you are, in this war, on your own. And I don't want to see you there alone.

And I will not raise your flag, I will not raise the flag of your enemy, I don't even raise my own flags because I'm honestly not that much into soccer. Because I separate you and your life from the system you live in.

All I can do is tell you that if you flee to Germany, I will be one of the people voting for your safety, for your right to stay, and for being properly integrated. I will not side with the right wing fascists that dominate this country. I will not side with people who simply picked their favorite oppressor. It's not enough to save you. But I'm not a hero. I can only refuse to be the villain.

This makes my position obviously debatable, to some even unacceptable, and I understand that it's not very satisfying to read this from someone who is lucky and priviledged enough to watch from the sidelines.

But I simply cannot support either of these systems. Because neither of them value human life, let alone human rights.

[eretzyisrael]

by Douglas Murray

And since Hamas had always insisted that there must not be one Jew in such a state – that it must be, to borrow a sinister term from history, Judenrein, or cleared of Jews – then that meant the Jews must all either be killed or forcibly evacuated. 

None of the student protest leaders or their followers ever put forward any non-genocidal plan for the removal of the Jews of Israel, so it is not a stretch to say that the chant was genocidal.

The same went for the cry of 'Intifada' – holy war. There was considerable debate as to whether this was inflammatory. 

But to anyone who was Jewish, the slogan could not have been clearer. Intifada is not a neutral term, any more than 'Sieg Heil' is a phrase that simply means 'Hail victory'.

Since the 1980s, Palestinian leaders and clerics have twice called for an 'Intifada' against the Jewish state, and these turned out to be among the bloodiest periods in Israel's history. 

For years, terrorist attacks against innocent civilians happened on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis.

On a beautiful summer evening in Tel Aviv in 2001, scores of young Israeli women queuing to get into a beach-front nightclub were targeted. 

A Hamas suicide bomber killed 21 of them. Sixteen were teenagers. Limbs were strewn across the road; bodies lay in piles.

A student from the University of Bristol pictured at their pro-Palestine encampment in May 2024 

+18

View gallery

As they called for 'Intifada', did the protesters at American colleges know this? Equally, when they accused Israel of being an 'apartheid state' did they realise that almost a fifth of the population of Israel are Arabs and enjoy the same rights as Jews?

Probably not, because two months after the Hamas massacres, an opinion poll revealed that while 81 per cent of respondents of all ages backed Israel in its fight against Hamas, among 18 to 24-year-olds an extraordinary 60 per cent thought the October 7 attacks were justified and 51 per cent in the same age bracket agreed that Israel 'should be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians'.

It is bewildering that these opinions come from the exact same generation of students who were brought up to believe that words are violence and that silence is violence. Yet calls for genocide appear to be just about the only thing that is not violent.

But, though the campus protests made little impression on Western government, one set of leaders was taking a keen interest. 

In May 2024, a Hamas leader addressed a conference in Istanbul hosted by the Muslim Brotherhood and expressed his thanks for 'the great student flood' that had emerged at American, British and other Western universities.

What students on these campuses were doing was all part of Hamas's plan and had been factored in. A plan that led direct from campus demonstrations in America to jihad on the streets of Israel.

The endorsements kept coming. The supreme leader of the Iranian revolutionary Islamic government, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote praising the students of America. 

'You are now part of the Resistance Front,' he told them, 'and you have begun a dignified struggle under the ruthless police pressure of your government that evidently defends the oppressive and brutal Zionist regime.'

There's more than one irony in this, but in the years since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Khamenei and his predecessor, Ayatollah Khomeini, have killed, tortured and imprisoned thousands of Iranian students, especially when they have come out and protested against their own government as the American students were now doing.

In one crackdown in 2009 the government's security forces openly shot student protesters on the streets, then ordered the digging of mass graves for the bodies of those who were murdered and tortured. 

Students who were detained in the regime's prisons in the aftermath of these protests attested to having been raped with batons and bottles. 

But the Ayatollah wasn't going to allow something like his own track record to get in the way of destabilising America. 

In his letter to American students, Khamenei talked about a changing situation, consciences awakening and history turning a new page. 

He concluded his salutations with citations from the Quran and said: 'I empathise with you, young people, and I respect your steadfastness.'

The fact that 2024 saw a record surge in executions inside Iran was left out of his letter, as was the fact that his regime publicly executes people convicted of homosexuality by hanging them from cranes and throwing them off high buildings. 

Khamenei was clearly pleased with the ignorance of America's students and his own ability to foment dissent in a country he describes as 'The Great Satan'.

[laineystein]

i personally don’t support war and find blindly serving any military awful. I don’t mean to be rude i just wonder why you think that defending israel is the only way to garuntee jewish safety? that feels like taking responsibility off of other countries and leaving diaspora jews vunerable. im really just anti military but this conflict has been awful and i hope for the safety of all jewish people israelis muslims and palestinians but no safety to a government of right wingers

I admire your bravery in reaching out when I don’t have anon turned on. Few would, so good on you.

First off, I’m not serving blindly. None of the soldiers I’m serving with are serving blindly. We all believe in what we’re doing and we’re going to keep doing it until the mission is done and all of our people are safe again. I could get into the nuances of conscription and reserves but I’m not going to. With confidence, succinctly, none of us are serving blindly. (I’m also employed by the IDF outside of reserves so I assure you that I, in particular, love my army and believe in what we stand for.)

I don’t *think* that defending Israel is the only way to guarantee Jewish safety. I know it is. We are a country surrounded by homicidal antisemites. Hamas has stated that they will continue doing what they did on October 7th until we cease to exist. There is no peace for the Israeli or Palestinian people with Hamas still in power. So we’re destroying their tunnels and we’re rooting them out and we’re here for our hostages. Let’s play devils advocate - if Israel didn’t exist do you all honestly think that Hamas and all other Iran proxies would just allow Jews and the Western world to live in peace? Because they wouldn’t. Y’all should be grateful that we’re here because if we weren’t, they’d be killing Jews elsewhere. Don’t let them fool you into believing this is about land. They. Hate. Jews. And Israel is the only place in the world where Jews can truly defend themselves. My grandfather survived the Holocaust BH and he always says that they didn’t have a way to defend themselves in the camps. They weren’t organized. They didn’t have weapons. They didn’t have the upper hand. Well now we’re organized and we’re armed and we’re trained. Never again will we be helpless - thanks to Israel.

“That feels like taking the responsibility off of other countries” - what responsibility? To protect Jews? To persecute Hamas? Feh! None of that will ever happen. Not once has any other country *saved* the Jewish people. And, actually, often times people are turning a blind eye to our persecution - like most of the world did on and after and ever since October 7th. Like they did during the Holocaust. Like they have every time Hamas and PIJ indiscriminately fire rockets at Israel. As I said, never again will our safety be in anyone else’s hands because the world has shown us time and time again that they do not care.

“Leaving diaspora Jews vulnerable” is an insane way to blame the victim. WE WERE ATTACKED. But do you think we needed to be attacked for people to hate Jews? No, this has just empowered them to do so out loud. There has always been a correlation between anti-Israel hate and violence against Jews in the diaspora. In May of 2021 when 4000+ rockets were fired into Israel, goyim in the diaspora took this as permission to act out their antisemitic fantasies. Again when WE WERE ATTACKED. Don’t forget - People were celebrating our massacre before Israel even set foot in Gaza. Don’t let the world fool you into thinking that Israel defending ourselves has created antisemitism in the diaspora, it’s only encouraged it.

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume you are not Jewish. I don’t know how to explain this conflict to you - a conflict I have lived my entire life (like my parents and grandparents before me). I don’t know how to share my pain and grief and the pain and grief of my tribe in a way that will make sense. But I’m done needing to justify my existence as a Jew. Israel is done justifying its existence as the homeland of the Jewish people. History has shown us that our survival is our responsibility and I/we won’t apologize for it. The same people that are too cowardly to stand up for us when our people are killed and raped can keep their mouths shut when we defend ourselves.

And it seems like maybe you didn’t read this post that I shared today which really would have answered a lot of this without me needing to go on a sleep deprived rant.

[sweaterkittensahoy]

Hey, so we're clear: antisemitism in the US is about to get even worse because the bigots on right are feeling empowered by the presidential election, and the bigots on the left will continue to blame all Jews everywhere for everything the Israeli government chooses to do in a military situation that does not include taking popular votes from their own citizens, let alone Jews outside of Israel. Because antisemites would rather listen to propaganda from terrorist groups than actually do any critical thinking, read anything that might prove they are factually wrong, or even do some reading about what constitutes a justifiable act of war when just blaming all Jews everywhere is so much easier to feel morally superior and also get some of that deep-seated antisemitism room to breathe like it's never breathed before.

Hamas is a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. Netanyahu is NOT popularly supported by Israelis, and Israelis whether in the IDF or not, do NOT get a say in military decisions that Israel is making.

And, literally NONE of what I just said should affect the treatment of literally ANY JEWS. But boy, if the last 13 months hasn't shown the whole fucking antisemitic ass of a lot of people.

Free Palestine from Hamas. Free Lebanon from Hezbollah. Free Israel and all Jews from antisemites.

[jewreallythinkthat]

I’ve seen you mention a few times about having problems with standing together. If you don’t mind, could you go further into detail about that? I’m not super familiar with the organisation, but from what I’ve seen and heard they seem to be pretty good (especially now that they’re trying to deliver aid into Gaza)

Yeah for sure.

I think their aim to have peace, a Palestinian state, and the attempt to bring food to Gaza is really important and admirable. In theory, they stand for pretty much everything I do.

The problem is the way they go about achieving some of their aims, I feel, is incredibly devisive and finger-pointy-blame-slinging. For example, this was their statement on 7/10

Hamas terrorists were still in Israel committing their (officially classed as a genocidal) attack and ST were already demonising Israel. The entirety of the second paragraph is not necessary. The inability to outright condemn the barbaric nature of what happened, without also condemning Israel at the same time is not something I can get on board with. There is no justification for what was done. None.

Anyone with a brain, especially left wing Jews and Israelis know that the occupation of the West Bank, and the Gaza situation (which once again, Egypt are also involved with) are unsustainable and there is absolutely further discussion, protest, and debate to be had over how to get the fucking settlers out of the West Bank, set up a successful Palestinian state, make Gaza livable again in the fastest way possible, and obtain a sustainable peace in the region but in a statement condemning the biggest single slaughter of Jews (along with Palestinians, Thai nationals, and multiple other peoples), that was not the time.

I also found the immediate and aggressive personal attack against Hen Mazzig when he posted about an LGBT+ issue unbelievably distateful. I will admit that Hen's wording was certainly.... A little point scorey.... But the actual event he was talking about was a big deal. I think having a direct go at a gay man, including an impressive case study worthy example of the Straw Man argument, when talking about an LGBT+ issue is unacceptable. It frankly came across as a personal vendetta and incredibly childish.

The other thing that frustrates me is that as a Palestinian-Israeli joint group, the only people I ever see ST calling out, insulting, and demeaning are Israelis. They (from what I see) do not condemn the PA or other Palestinian groups at all and while the current Israeli administration are reprehensible in their behaviour, it takes two to tango and they are not the only ones in the wrong. If you are building a solidarity movement, you need to call out both sides for being shitty. If you don't, it's not a solidarity movement IMOH.

All that being said, I do think there is a lot of good that ST do, I just wish they would take people's concerns with their behaviour at times as a genuine thing that people want them to better about rather than immediately going on the defensive and shutting any attempt at discussion. It feels like they refuse to take any criticism, no matter how valid it is as if they are the only people trying to end this.

I hope this answers the question a bit. (Basically, as always, it's complicated 🙃)

[jewishbarbies]

So I debated for a long time whether to send this or not bc I explicitly do not want to equate what's happening in I/P to fiction or in any way trivialize the very real people who have died

But I find it incredibly ironic (in a bad way) how the leftist circles screaming about Zionism are the same circles that are STILL openly proudly fans of tv shows/books/movies that depict war in genuinely nuanced ways. Ways that EXPLICITLY contradict the black and white narratives exploding in leftist spaces.

So like. Did y'all miss the point or do you think nuance is for fiction only? There are innocent civilians on every side in war and civilians shouldn't be blamed for the actions of their governments --but only in fiction? In the real world it's fine to celebrate civilian casualties as long as they're Israeli? Guilt by association in fiction is bad but every Jewish person should be held accountable for the Israeli military???

Like I'm intentionally not naming any fandoms bc this SHOULDN'T be about fandoms, but the hypocrisy is killing me. They claim to be fans of the "killing civilians is bad even when they're from the Bad Culture™" shows but they're out in the real world denying (or worse celebrating) Oct 7th? They love the fictional characters who say "killing civilians is bad" but can't stand Jewish people mourning the civilians in israel? What???

(again, I'm really not trying to make this extremely real problem about fiction. I just mean the complete lack of self awareness I see every day has me ready to explode. )

no, i get what you mean. i definitely think there's a link between the massive drop in critical thinking and media literacy and the fandomization of real world issues. there's some statistic that gen z is the most politically active of most previous generations and while that's inherently a good thing, they're not engaging with politics and conflicts in responsible ways. they'll do a lot of organizing for a cause here in america and get something done, and then think they can do the same thing for international plights and just end up stepping on everyone's toes, inadvertently perpetuating that america-centric attitude they claim to be against, bc they don't listen.

a lot of people these days refuse to engage with media in the way it's intended and therefore ignore or flat out miss its entire message. you'll have a movie/show/book/whatever about the nuances of war, like the hunger games (which gen z is so completely misinterpreting), and how easy it is to become the person you're fighting against if you let yourself do the things they do eye for an eye style, and they'll come away from that comparing hamas to katniss. it makes no sense within the context of the book's narrative, yet that's the conclusion they draw because they refuse to properly engage. it contradicts their second-hand anger. they're mad about their own shitty life in the states and the powerlessness we all feel here as our rights are being threatened every single day, and they'll look for somewhere else to put it all. so they butt in to situations they don't belong in and make it worse like bulls in a china closet.

bottom line is that they see what they want to see because of their lack of self reflection and self awareness, thus allowing their lack of media literacy, critical thinking, and confirmation bias run the way they think and believe. they've taken "it's fiction" to the point where none of them would pass a basic english class and now palestinians and hamas are all blorbos in The Real World Show.

[jewish-vents]

i work for a school district and our labor union back in november wanted to put out a ceasefire statement that didn’t condemn hamas and blamed israel for the conflict. i live in a pretty liberal area where there have been a lot of protests and even riots since the war started. there are only like 10 jews in the entire district and we rallied to go to the executive board meeting and talk about why this was a dangerous thing to do especially at a time when literally none of us were going to shul bc of all the bomb and shooting threats. i spent an hour on the worst zoom call of my life traumatizing myself trying to explain to the people in my union who i fully believe had good intentions why this was not something that was appropriate for a teachers union on the other side of the world with literally no stake in the conflict to do and that it would disproportionately impact the few jewish folks who actually work here and are materially impacted by the war. after listening to my union president go on about how she doesn’t want to be “the arbiter of what is and is not antisemitism” (which, nobody was asking you to do that. we literally just wanted you to listen to us when we told you a thing was antisemitic) one of the staff from my school (bless him) suggested rewording the statement to be more specific to the union so that instead of taking a position on the war, it was acknowledging the impact it was having on our communities and pledging solidarity with any union or community members who were affected by it. and that’s what they ended up doing! which felt pretty good despite having to sit there and be questioned and attacked for saying “maybe you don’t have to have an opinion on something that literally doesn’t affect you and maybe you should listen to the people who actually have a stake in this and are being attacked because of it”

fast forward to yesterday. without announcing to the general union members they voted again on a ceasefire resolution and pushed it through, sending out a link to call your congressperson about calling for ceasefire to all union members. i’m just. what was even the point of all of that if they were going to ignore everything we said and push it through anyway. i get that things are bad and i hate the war too. but all this is doing is alienating the few jews in the district who are already being attacked by their coworkers and students over the war regardless of our position or opinion on it. i’m lucky in that my building staff has been really supportive to my face and have stood up for me behind my back. my coworkers at other schools are having a very different experience and it’s so frustrating that those experiences are constantly diminished and compared to others. none of the things that we talked about back in november have changed. all of the reasonings for not making a statement on this are the same. but the union leadership pushed it through anyway, without telling the union until after it was already over and done. i’m just so tired of being ignored by the group that is supposed to be advocating for me. i’ve been having issues with district admin overloading my classes and the union has ignored me because of what i did at that meeting back in november (when i was terrified and traumatized and begging them to not endanger us further) and the district obviously isn’t going to help me. i’m in my second year of teaching considering quitting because of all of this. what the hell am i supposed to do now.

.

[uboat53]

Well, today is the one year anniversary of when a number of Hamas militants snuck past Israeli defenses around the Gaza strip, murdered over 1,000 Israeli civilians, and kidnapped several hundred more. Given that, this seems to be a good time to reflect on what happened and what has happened since as a result.

First off, I think it's important to recognize that, of everything that has happened, none of it represents the actual desires or actions of Palestinians, Israelis, or even Lebanese people as they are getting dragged into the conflict as well. The conflict very much needs to be understood as being between Hamas, the Netanyahu government, and Hezbollah with all of the people of the region being caught in between. Certainly the people of each group sometimes see the combatants as their protectors against the excesses of the others, but almost none of them actually support the atrocities that the warring party of their "side" has committed.

It's also important to recognize that, as much as Israel had cause for a military response to Hamas' attacks, no attack gives carte blanche for any and all levels of violence. Israel has committed unbelievable atrocities on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip in the name of attacking Hamas and, while it's beyond the point in moral terms, in strategic terms it's important to point out that they've arguably created far more angry new recruits for Hamas than the number of fighters they've actually killed. Would a different Israeli government have undertaken military action in response to this attack? Definitely. Would they have done so in a massively different way? Almost certainly.

In addition, the methods of warfare were absurdly bad for achieving the stated aim of recovering Israeli captives. In fact, it's fairly clear at this point that Israel has killed about as many of its hostages as it's saved and those still in captivity are no closer to freedom than ever. More importantly, most of those who were actually released were released not by military action, but by diplomacy. In other words, we have to understand the actions of the Israeli military not as being made in furtherance of the security needs of the Israeli state, but having been made in furtherance of the Netanyahu government's agenda.

You see, Netanyahu is historically and absurdly unpopular in Israel. 75% of Israelis wanted him gone and that was before they blamed him for the security failures of October 7th, 2023. It's also important to note that Netanyahu is facing numerous criminal probes which are only being held at bay by the fact that he holds the position of Prime Minister. Much like Trump, Netanyahu needs to stay in office if he hopes to stay out of court.

He has the advantage, though, in that the next Israeli elections are not scheduled until October of 2026. As long as he can keep his governing coalition together, he can stay in office for another two years no matter what the Israeli public thinks of him. Luckily for him, and unluckily for just about everyone else, his coalition consists almost entirely of bloodthirsty Jewish supremacist parties and hard-line Jewish religious parties. His actions in the conflict this last year have not been taken out of a desire to secure Israel's security, but out of a desire to appease the members of his political coalition and keep him in office as long as possible in the hopes of a turnaround in his political fortunes.

And we should be clear, the actions taken over the last year by the Netanyahu government have severely damaged Israeli security. Yes, Hamas and now Hezbollah have been degraded to some degree and even some of their leaders have been killed, but the organizations still exist and now have a whole new generation of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians who have been brutalized by Israel to recruit from. More importantly, though, is that Netanyahu has damaged Israel's relations with its main backers in a way that will be difficult to recover from.

In Europe, even Germany, which has previously backed Israel to the hilt as part of its post WWII reckoning with the Holocaust, has seen support for Israel drop to record low levels. In the US, Netanyahu's open support for Donald Trump has seen the Democratic Party, which used to be staunchly pro-Israel, begin to question its support; questions which will not easily go away even after this war is over. To some degree this was inevitable as the Democratic coalition increasingly leans toward minorities and non-religious people, but Netanyahu's actions have certainly sped it up.

While Israel can, to some degree, continue without this support, it will do severe damage to the country if their primary trading partners and suppliers of weapons turn against them. More importantly, the US veto at the UN is the only thing that has prevented international sanctions from being put in place, sanctions that will certainly be imposed if the US refuses to continue this pattern even for a single vote.

In other words, much like Hezbollah with Lebanon and Hamas with Gaza, the Netanyahu government has done irreparable long-term damage to Israel, the state it represents, in the name of securing its own parochial power. In the process, it has killed tens of thousands of civilians, destroyed a nascent political alignment with the Persian Gulf monarchies which would have significantly improved its security, and seems to be in the process of trying to ignite a broader regional war which would further isolate Israel internationally and likely cost the lives of a good many Israelis in open war.

Oh, and the hostages are still not all back yet.

So yeah, the last year has been a disaster for just about everyone in the Middle East and there doesn't seem to be any prospect that it's going to get better anytime soon. I think it's a solid lesson in the damage that autocrats who are not responsible to the people they supposedly represent can do, and an important lesson that even a country with functioning democratic institutions can find itself in that situation if people with such inclinations are allowed to take power.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Palestinians elected a terrorist organization to run their gov’t. That gov’t attacked Israel. Hamas AND the Palestinians who voted for them are responsible for every death. They wanted war. They got war. Deal with it.

If this was a war, Israel's actions would still be criminal.

They've committed every war crime in the book.

Though this is not a war.

Not that they aren't already violating every international law under the sun.

But who's counting?

Israel is an illegal apartheid state, their existence in Palestine is illegal.

And has been since 1948.

Hamas didn't come to being till 1987, so what about those 39 years?

When the Nakba (1948) and the Naksa (1967) occurred, the two major events that caused thousands of Palestinians to be displaced from their homes.

Israel was responsible for it all, there wasn't no Hamas to blame it all on than.

Or the time prior to their creation where the Zionists were invading Palestinian villages and torturing innocents.

Such as Deir Yassen, who's massacre has become infamous.

And is where the Palestinian child in oven story came from, with an Israeli soilder demanding a baker to throw his son in an oven and threw them both in when the baker refused.

There was no Hamas than. Israel did this all of their own doing.

And you don't need to take my word for it, Israeli soilders lovingly recount these atrocities with a smile.

Not to mention that Hamas was created by Israel as a way to destabilise Gaza.

And the moment they turned on Israel to fight for their people, Israel tries to pretend they were never involved.

As for the election, half of Gaza's population is under the age of 18.

The children Israel are mercilessly bombing and killing weren't at the age to vote, nor alive to vote in an election in 2006.

And what of those outside of Gaza?

Palestinians in the West Bank who are being killed, their is no Hamas in the West Bank.

It's almost like the colonial oppressors of Israel are the ones responsible for all of this.

The people who continue to blockaded Gaza and have done for 16 years, control their food supplies, water, fuel and don't allow Palestinians to return home.

All the Palestinians want is peace, to exist on the land that is and always has been there's.

The land that Israel is illegally occupying.

None of these atrocities, no one would have been killed if it wasn't for Israel.

Hell they've admitted to killing their own civilian hostages.

And denied wanting anymore hostages released. Any calls for peace, they refuse.

Hostages that have spoken pit against them and spoke of being treated humanly by Hamas.

Hostages that were taken in exchange for the thousands of innocent imprisoned Palestinians in Israeli.

Prisoners who don't get trials, and are mostly children.

This genocide been ongoing since 1948, it cannot be reduced to the 7th October.

Israel wants to wipe Palestinians off the face off the earth. And now they have the perfect excuse too.

They are responsible for every death. Along with everyone who supports them.

If Israel stopped fighting, no one would die.

If Palestinians stopped fighting they would be completly wiped out.

The one time Palestine fights back is the one time anyone cares, and blames them for their own massacre.

As if Israel isn't completly responsible and have been killing Palestinians since before the Israeli settlers settled in Palestine.

Israel tried for years to pretend that Palestinians never existed, now they are blaming them for their own massacre.

It is Israel dropping bombs on civilians, on ambulances, on houses, on hospitals, on schools, on churches, on mosques etc.

All things that are war crimes and violate international law.

Nothing they have done is justified.

And it never will be.

Palestinians were free once and they will be free again.

From the river to the sea.

[eretzyisrael]

Israel’s Enemies Tell Five Big Lies

Following the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, antisemites mount a series of vicious attacks, threats and malicious lies against Jews and Israel

With no shame or sign of humanity, the enemies of Israel have doubled down on their insistence that Israel is an illegitimate state that must be destroyed and that the savage slaughter of 1,200 innocent Jews was justified—all based on five “Big Lies” about the Jewish state.

What are the facts?

The world for Jews and Israel will never be the same. Wellesley College students receive official messages saying Zionists (i.e. most Jewish students) are not welcome in the school’s dorms. Hamas official Ghazi Hamad in a TV rant swears Hamas will repeat October 7 over and over until Israel is annihilated. West Bank Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi says “What Hitler did to you was a joke—we will drink your blood and eat your skull.”

While Hamas’s October 7 atrocity shattered the hope of many Palestinian supporters, causing them to rethink their positions, the event only ignited an explosion of hate from other of Israel’s enemies. Tens of thousands of demonstrators made clear they no longer support two states living side by side in peace. Rather they demand “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free . . . by any means necessary”—meaning, clearly, slaughter of civilians.

Power of Big Lies: Though Israel was the victim of a mass murder of innocent Jews, its enemies blame the Jewish state—not only for the Hamas massacre, but also for responding in defense. The reasons many blame Israel for the atrocity are based on five Big Lies. Big Lies were used by Nazi leader Goebbels, who noted that if he told an outrageous lie often enough, people would begin to believe it. Alternatively, if you use truth as a basis for your judgments, you may these facts useful:

Lie #1: Israel is a colonial state that stole Palestinian land. A colonizer is a foreign nation that conquers and exploits another nation. First, the Palestinians have never controlled any land in Palestine: They were also never a nation. Nothing was stolen. Second, Jews are the indigenous people of the land of Israel. They have lived there continuously for 3,000 years and had two commonwealths for over 1,000 years: They are not foreigners. No colonial state.

Lie #2: Israel commits genocide. Genocide is the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members. Israel does not, nor has ever, targeted innocent Palestinian civilians for killing—no mass murders, no pogroms. All Palestinian civilian deaths have occurred as collateral damage while fighting terrorists who hide in residential or other public areas. Tellingly, the population in in and around Israel has mushroomed since Israel’s founding in 1948—from about 700,000 to seven million today: Zero genocide.

Lie #3: Israel practices apartheid. Apartheid is a system of legalized racial segregation in which one racial group is deprived of political and civil rights. Israel has no laws or policies separating or limiting the rights of any of its citizens—including two million Arab-Israeli citizens—nor any Palestinians outside Israel. Political and civil rights of all Palestinians outside Israel are controlled by their respective dictatorships, who allow virtually no freedoms, such as speech or the vote. No apartheid.

Lie #4: Israel is committing war crimes. War crimes include torture, hostage taking, acts of terrorism, rape and intentional targeting of civilians. While Hamas committed all these acts on October 7, Israel commits none. Though some media bristle at what they consider excessive civilian deaths during Israeli military efforts, in fact, Israel attacks only military structures and personnel—never civilian-only targets. Unfortunately, Hamas places its fighters in dense residential areas or in tunnels beneath them, endangering civilians. No Israeli war crimes.

Lie #5: Israel brutally oppresses the Palestinians daily. Oppression is the malicious exercise of power to discriminate against some groups. Because Israel completely exited Gaza in 2005, it has no power over of the daily lives of Gazans. However, because of Hamas’s continuous terror, especially efforts to kill Jews and destroy the Jewish state, Israel and Egypt have placed Gaza under a strict blockade to prevent terror attacks. Likewise, because of the Oslo Accords, Israel and the Palestinian Authority share governance of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Thus, Israel plays virtually no role governing Palestinians daily lives and only enters Palestinian-controlled areas when terrorists flee to and hide in them. No oppression.

Above all, Israel and the U.N. have made numerous offers of land for an independent Palestinian state. Unfortunately, the Palestinians have turned down five offers of land for peace since 1948, three of them over the last 23 years. Apparently, their dream of conquering Israel “from the land to the sea” is more important.

The bestiality of the October 7 massacre shocked us—beheadings, incineration, rape, torture, heartless executions, brutal kidnappings. Even worse, the gates have opened to unlimited Jew hatred on American streets and campuses—to condoning savagery with the excuse of Palestinian liberation . . . based on utter lies about the Jewish state. But Hamas and the haters should know that “Never Again,” means fighting and defeating evil forever.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Hello,

Ive been following you for years and I love your blog. In all my years on this website I have never posted, sent an ask or a message, commented or interacted with anyone on this website in any way. However seeing your recent posts about Palestine made me feel like I had to say something.

Just because you support the “weaker” side, it doesn’t make you immune to lies and propaganda.

Please educate yourself before you spread misinformation and/or misleading info.

I am a citizen of Israel. This conflict started when Hamas brutally murdered hundreds of innocent civilians, including elderly and children. They kidnapped over a hundred more. They are known for being a terrorist organisation whose stated goal is to murder jews.

I am terrified. My people are forever scarred. I and everyone I know have lost loved ones in this war. And the fact that people like you in these terrible times choose to focus solely on the suffering of the Palestinians, ignoring and justifying our suffering, speaks volumes.

The bombings you speak of, are a retaliation for the slaughter of October 7th. Israel warns citizens in advance, in order to prevent as many casualties as possible. But we cant just ignore the murder, kidnapping, rape and harm to our people like you do. We have no choice but to defend ourselves.

We have no interest nor desire to commit genocide against the Palestinian people. If we did, we would have already done so. Instead we financially support Palestine, despite the fact they use this money not to better their lives, but to instead attack our civilians.

Beware of misinformation like the accusations against Israel for bombing the hospital in Gaza. That is a straight up lie that was proven false, and the Hamas spread it along with lies about how many people got hurt, in order to convince people like you that they are justified. And its working.

Before you accuse others, maybe check your own biases and think to yourself why a Palestinian life is worth something to you and an Israeli one isn’t.

Can you even imagine what it feels like to go online after such a tragedy for a little relief, only to see people like you calling for my death?

And yes, that is what you’re doing by supporting and encouraging the actions of Hamas. An organisation that cares more about killing innocent civilians like me than protecting its own people.

I hope that if you can’t take the time to properly understand this complicated situation, you will at least stop talking about something that you clearly don’t understand.

You know, I put all of this in a private post initially. I've been largely focused on spreading charity posts, actual concrete things that can be done to save the innocent people caught in the crossfire. But clearly, my message has been mixed, so I'll define it right here.

This is just something that seeps into my bones and I had to say it somewhere: the sheer refusal by both sides to admit what they're doing. Oh, we thought that music festival was soldiers....wait no we didn't, it was random Gazan civilians who did it instead, not us, hurt them instead. Oh we are going to wage all out war....no those innocent civilian casaulties weren't us, it was them! (No, the cause of the explosion has not been independently proven. It has, however, been proven that Israel shelled the place three days earlier as a "warning" then called ordering an evacuation shortly before.) Put down an evacuation order so short and so sudden the UN protests that civilians can't possibly get out in time, then bomb one of the convoys. Tell your countrymen the evacuation order was fake so you get more human shields. More rockets! More airstrikes! More "accidents" to the tune of hundreds of civilians dead, and you never have to carry the burden or the blame for any of it. Shoot from far enough away, target enough civilians, makes it easy, makes it fun. The glory of war with none of the guilt and none of the risk! Ain't that a wonderful thing. Ain't that a fucking joke.

I grieve for the innocent Israeli citizens slaughtered because Hamas cowards wanted to kill the defenseless. I grieve for the people in Gaza getting slaughtered because neither side cares if they live or die. The difference between the two is not that one life is worth more than the others. That is morally repugnant and fundamentally absurd. The difference is that Israel is getting aid from many nations, while other nations only give aid to Hamas, not the people of Gaza. They need humanitarian aid, they need someone to speak for them and beg for restraint, which is why I'm primarily reblogging posts that call for humanitarian aid to them and for a ceasefire so they can, at the very least, have the evacuation time they should have been allowed. It is not because their lives are worth more, but because to far too many, their lives are worth less.

I understand your pain and fear, and I am deeply sorry for your loss. I too find those rooting for Hamas or declaring that the victims deserved it for being settlers repugnant. But the people of Gaza did not do this, and if it's a choice between them living and Hamas dying, I will choose their lives every time. I will always choose life. And I refuse to apologize for that. Violence like this is a cycle, revenge and revenge and revenge again because you cannot kill an idea with bombs, only keep destroying until nothing is left to fight over. You cannot stop a cycle by continuing to spin.

[pettytiredandjewish]

For the “pro Palestine” crowd:

-hamas is a terrorist organization that is literally harming Palestinians and using them as human shields??? Like those bastards could care less about their own people. They just want power and control. Just like isis and other extremist groups. They also have tight control over the media in that region and that they are using it to their advantage? They control the narrative of what’s happening, the number of casualties, lie about attacks, etc.

-if you really do care for Palestinians- do you condemn Hamas for what they’ve done to Palestinians? If they really cared about them they would have stopped using them as human shields and give them food/water/other essentials that is being sent to that region during the war. But instead Hamas is holding all of that hostage. Also the Israeli government did sent out warnings to tell Palestinians to evacuate. But guess what-Hamas told their people to ignore those warnings.

-that Israelis are not their government??? They can’t control what their government does. Most of them hates what’s going on and wants this war to be over. None of us wanted this war but it happened because of the bombings and the pogrom on 10/7. Hamas literally disguised themselves as IDF to trick Israeli citizens to trust them while this horrible attack happened. This resulted in the Israeli citizens getting attacked/kidnapped/r****/k*lled. How are you justifying this?!?!

- do you guys even care about the hostages that Hamas is still holding??? And how they are being treated horribly? Do you care that Hamas is executing them like some sick game? (I could go into more detail but the pictures and videos that I’ve seen… ). Do you care that they are r***** innocent women, kids and men? It’s really messed up and f-ed up if you are turning a blind eye on that. Me too unless you’re a Jew…

-this war could end if all the hostages were to be freed , Hamas steps down from power and pay for what they’ve done and Israel gets a new president/goverment (and the ones who were involved will deal with the consequences). Israeli citizens are not their government. Stop blaming them for what their government is doing. This war wasn’t wanted and we want it to be over. But it will continue until Hamas is stopped and until all hostages have been freed.

-why do y’all keep attacking jews/Israelis who are mourning the deaths of their loved ones who were killed during this war??? What are you gaining from that? Let us mourn in peace for the love of g-d. Also why are you attacking people who are calling out antisemitism? (I mean I know the answer…) but why??? I hate to break it to y’all but antisemitism is on the rise (it’s getting worse every single day). Are we not allowed to be afraid about that? To be consistently worried for our loved ones and our selves? Yes Islamophobia hate crime is one the rise (I constantly worry about my family friends and the shit that they’re dealing because we live in a small town) but are we not allowed to be concerned about the rise of antisemitic hate crimes that’s has also been happening?

-also I can’t believe I have to say this but…stop calling for a global intifada!!! Y’all know what that is? Do really want to call for a global attack on all jews/Israelis? Like what the actual hell?! Why would you want that?!? What is wrong with y’all? This is why i have trust issues.

-also can you stop blockading synagogues/hospitals/college campus buildings/etc and harassing jews who’s have nothing to do with this whole war??? Like what’s the point? Do y’all think that we have Israel’s president phone number? You pulling that shit isn’t doing anything but causing harm to those that you are harassing. Also idk maybe stop spewing out antisemitic shit at your protests? And stop calling jews/Israelis Nazis- because that is so f-ed up. Just don’t do it.

I am proud of being Jewish. I should not be called a heartless bitch, monster, or moron (just some of the shit I’ve been called ) for calling out antisemitism and being worried about Israeli citizens who are also affected by this war. I do care about the Palestinians who are victims of this war but I also care about the Israeli citizens- they are treated like shit. Don’t blame them for something that they did not do. You attacking random jews online and in person is not helping with stopping the war. It’s making things worse. And y’all wonder why us jews don’t feel safe…

Am Yisrael Chai! ✡️ and for all those who have died, may your memory be a blessing.

[phantasm-masquerade]

Tankies are now blithely engaging in Holocaust inversion, claiming that the idea that European antisemitism *wasn't* limited solely to the Shoah is a "myth", and claiming that the idea that there was indeed antisemitism in SWANA before Zionism was a "myth".

Facts:

- both Christian Europe and Muslim/Arab SWANA were massively antisemitic for over a thousand years, and this had nothing to do with and was not caused by Zionism

-- the Umayyads were actually the ones who invented the "Yellow Badge" usually associated with the NSDAP

-- there were pogroms, oppression, massacres, supression, and forced conversion of Jews up and down Europe and SWANA for thousands of years

- The Holocaust/Shoah was not the reason Israel was created (see: founders of Zionism in 1830s; Dreyfus Affair)

- "Zionist" as a label was used by Stalin to repurpose NSDAP antisemitic propaganda for his own purposes, and this is generally how tankies use it today.

- in addition to the European imperial powers, the Ottoman Empire\Turkey shares a lot of the blame for how the region currently is

- that this region had a large Arab population at all is also a result of colonialism, namely by the Caliphates

- there are other supressed native peoples in SWANA, for example the Amazigh, Assyrians, Armenians, native Egyptians, Kurds, Druze, Mandeans, and others. People who purport to be anti colonialism should also care about them.

- none of this justifies Israel, its racist government and leaders, and its current and continuing campaigns against civilians who have not participated in Hamas' violence