#america is able to support israel's genocide because it's american of them to do so

[miamicommune]

i know unamerican is the most disputed term of all time but calling supporting genocide an unamerican practice rly does feel uncomfortably like denial when you look at american history

[studiodaydream]

genuinely, genuinely, in the most neutral way possible: zionism in no way claims that jews control the world. idk where you got that from. all zionism is is the belief that jews should be able to live in their ancestral homeland freely. it's not white supremacy, because not all jews are white. please stop spreading hate ❤️

There is no hate for Jews here, only for White Supremacist ideologylies like Zionism.

I have proof that Israel mutilates, and guns down African Jews, who are not the so called "Evil Muslims" that Zionist love to kill and murder for their land and resources.

Most of this is about Ethiopian Jews but the treatment of Refugees from African Countries is even more so appalling.

You cannot tell me to do my research and all I've found is Racism, Islamophobia, Genocide, Mutilation and Murder.

Talks about a Chosen Race, and Superior Bloodlines and not see the White Supremacy that has plagued America and Europe for hundreds of years.

You can not tell me to do my research about Zionism and tell me I don't know anything only to see that your so called "Jewish Nationalist Independence" came from an Antisemitic British man

So no im not spreading hate, I'm spreading facts about the White Supremacist ideology of Zionism. That believes that it shouldn't be criticized because it's Jewish White Nationalism and it's different from regular White Nationalism and if you compare the two and criticize Israel you're antisemitic and you hate Jews.

Judaism is a non violent religion. Jewish Culture is non violent. What is Violent is Zionism and its settler colonialist aggression towards its neighbors, relentlessly bombing them out of "self defense" well the world is watching what youre so called "self defense" looks like.

It looks like dead babies left in hospitals that have been bombed

Isreal's "self defense" looks like a father asking for help with his child, as his dead child's REMAINS are stuffed in bags and yet he begs for help

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joudie Kalla - جودي القلا 🧿 (@palestineonaplate)

Israel's self defense looks like White Phosphorus being dropped on innocent civilians

https://youtu.be/geqdxdNEToU?si=js5ZGZC4eajY7uO2

These links show that Israel is not only a White Supremacist Nation like its parents The US and UK but also that Zionism is a White Supremacist Ideology.

I am not spreading hate Anon, I am spreading facts. To deny these facts is to spread hate. To deny that Israel is not a criminal empire and is simply "defending its right to exist" is to spread hate.

Antisemitism is on the rise and it's not because of people like me Anon is it because of Israel and Zionist Settler Colonialist Aggression towards the Palestinians and towards its Arab Neighbors. Israel denies the Nakba and that it stole land at all claiming that "no one lived here before we came" a "empty land with no people". Well there were people and those people had neighbors who saw what Zionist did to their defenseless neighbor with the backing of terrorist countries like the US and the UK. Terrorist Nations that destabilized and murdered millions in 3 separate nations in their "War on Terror".

White Supremacy has no ally on this blog, including Zionism.

If you want to unfollow me go ahead. I will not be swayed by Zionist Propaganda that this is all in "defense" of Jewish Nationhood, and how the only way to "defend" Jewish Nationhood is to invade other countries and murder other people who look different from them because they are the "Chosen People".

We've heard it all before, when the Europeans said they were bringing "civilization" to Africa and the Americas by enslaving our people and stealing our land and resources. When America had its "Manifest Destiny" which led to the genocide of countless Native Americans and the stealing of their land and resources. To Nazi Germany and the "Superior Ayan Race" which killed millions and invaded other nations killing millions of more.

You might be familiar with that last one, the Holocaust. Where millions of Jews were brutally and systematically murdered. But not only Jews but Black Europeans, Romanian Immigrants and LGBTQ Europeans.

But it seems like Israel has forgotten history because it does not treat African Jews equally to its European Jews and is actively Hostile to Refugees from African countries. While committing Genocide against the Palestinians as I type this out.

So if you're reading this I implore you to donate if you can or spread awareness of what's happening in Gaza

https://buildpalestine.com/2021/05/15/trusted-organizations-to-donate-to-palestine/

And your daily clicks

https://arab.org/click-to-help/

Do not allow Zionist to call you antisemitic for calling them out on their lies.

Palestine will be Free, From the River to the Sea

[footemoji]

I’m having a hard time understanding a lot about this conflict. Today, in the USA (Chicago Illinois, San Francisco California, and in New York) Pro-Palestinian activists decided to block the bridges to prevent people from entering or leaving. As a result, people waited for a minimum of 5 hours before the bridge was completely opened for them to cross. I’ve been reading stories of people who were transporting stem cells, sick people, etc who weren’t able to make it out.

According to the protestors, their goal was to cause an “economic blockade” by causing everyone to not be able to go anywhere

Shockingly a lot of Palestinians were supporting this saying that inconveniencing Americans is a good way to bring light to the situation happening in Gaza. I’ve even had some say that the few lives that were lost because of this were “fine” because it’s for the cause. I don’t want to believe that everyone is this cruel, so I will give my thought generally speaking.

I’m not an expert on these things, I don’t know much so im just using logic. Joe Biden is not the supreme authority over Israel. So let’s say that the USA stops sending aid to Israel completely. Let’s say they cut ties. Where will the protesting end up then? Will it move to another country who may support Israel? The way I see it is, Israeli government is going to do what it wants to do whether America sends it money or not.

Secondly, why is it that Americans have to suffer for what we cannot control? Blocking the bridge did nothing for the people in control. They were comfortably in their homes, meanwhile working mothers and fathers lost job time because of this. People have children to feed. How is what’s happening in Gaza somehow the fault of innocent civilians?

This act today was just cruel and my heart hurt because of it. I in no way am turning a blind eye to the suffering of those in Israel, whether that be Israeli or Palestinian. But at some point we really have to think about where our actions will take us. I’m curious to know if anyone is sharing the same thoughts as I am. Again, I am not educated on the conflict to where I can speak confidently about it 100%, im just looking at this from a logical standpoint.

hi!! i’d love to try and explain but im not an expert i just can see whats right and whats wrong easily.

so protests are supposed to be seen so im assuming they did such an extreme act was to be noticed and to show the government the lengths they’re willing to go for this cause.

and the genocide in palestine is a HUGE cause. over 13,000 children have died. and 33000+ people in total. and the usa is funding the people committing the genocide, these protesters are trying to convince the government to stop funding israel’s mass killing.

it really goes to show that a couple people dying unjustly in america causes a bigger outrage than all the unjust deaths in gaza.

i dont get what you say that if the US stops funding israel nothing will change. A LOT WILL CHANGE!! the usa not funding israel will give them less power which is great!

Also, that last part i’d like to say. israel is not real. its stolen land from palestine. so don’t say “the suffering of those in israel” its the suffering of those in palestine.

[many-sparrows]

hello! as a queer christian who’s just discovered your blog, you’re a little inspirational to me.

i’d like to ask, if you have time to answer - what can a non-american not-yet-legal-adult with about fifteen euros to their name do for palestine? all i could think of was to paint some badges, go to a local protest and pray, but i don’t know what meaningful action i could take to help the effort to stop this appalling genocide. what can i do?

thank you 🇵🇸🇷🇴

Heeheehee, hello! I'm sorry for leaving you in The Box for so long, I've had a very chaotic couple weeks.

I'm glad you're here!!

Painting badges and showing up and praying is a great place to start. You would be surprised how many people are incredibly and deeply moved by seeing Christians at actions. Maybe that's an america thing because so many Christians here are so particularly terrible, but my presence at the time of arrest and in jail and so on has helped so many people address religious trauma, and someone told me that my faith filled conviction helped her talk to her dad about all this and they prayed together for the first time. I'm so serious when I say THAT is what witnessing means.

As a not-yet-adult, I would caution you to please be careful. Don't risk arrest unless you have very supportive parents or a well developed set of contingency plans. I know very much what it feels like to want to do more, to think you're not doing enough, but there are people with the resources and experience to be able to make the call to put their bodies on the line-- and they need support from people who don't get arrested.

I don't have a good grasp on official European stances on Palestine outside of, like, Germany and Ireland, but that is also something to consider. Even if you're not a legal voter, you can definitely still contact political offices or raise awareness about what your country is or should be doing. Outside of direct economic ties, what manufacturers exist in your area? What companies ship what goods through your area? That might sound complicated to figure out, but once you start digging, the research falls into line.

I particularly like making fliers about the economic ties companies have to Israel and wheat pasting them up. That varies in legality so I can't, in good conscience, tell you to do that without at LEAST running a risk assessment. But you can always hand out fliers and tack em up on billboards and slip em between books at the library. I know making fliers can also have an economic barrier though.

Talk to the people you know. Honestly, this has been scarier to me than getting arrested, but if you can calmly grasp both scripture and the dignity of the Palestinian people, patiently walking other people through that can make a big difference.

Physical presence, at protests and the like, is important, and so is being vocal. Write to ceos, tweet your government officials, etc etc etc. Follow Palestinian Christians and churches and pray with and for them as they need.

Any and every action is important, even the small ones. I think about it this way: God doesn't call me to single handedly do anything. I cannot end this. And I'm not expected to. God just asks me to do what I can, with tenacity and determination. Sometimes that means just painting badges and showing up and praying, which can grow into something more.

[thoughtlessarse]

I’m having a hard time understanding a lot about this conflict. Today, in the USA (Chicago Illinois, San Francisco California, and in New York) Pro-Palestinian activists decided to block the bridges to prevent people from entering or leaving. As a result, people waited for a minimum of 5 hours before the bridge was completely opened for them to cross. I’ve been reading stories of people who were transporting stem cells, sick people, etc who weren’t able to make it out.

According to the protestors, their goal was to cause an “economic blockade” by causing everyone to not be able to go anywhere

Shockingly a lot of Palestinians were supporting this saying that inconveniencing Americans is a good way to bring light to the situation happening in Gaza. I’ve even had some say that the few lives that were lost because of this were “fine” because it’s for the cause. I don’t want to believe that everyone is this cruel, so I will give my thought generally speaking.

I’m not an expert on these things, I don’t know much so im just using logic. Joe Biden is not the supreme authority over Israel. So let’s say that the USA stops sending aid to Israel completely. Let’s say they cut ties. Where will the protesting end up then? Will it move to another country who may support Israel? The way I see it is, Israeli government is going to do what it wants to do whether America sends it money or not.

Secondly, why is it that Americans have to suffer for what we cannot control? Blocking the bridge did nothing for the people in control. They were comfortably in their homes, meanwhile working mothers and fathers lost job time because of this. People have children to feed. How is what’s happening in Gaza somehow the fault of innocent civilians?

This act today was just cruel and my heart hurt because of it. I in no way am turning a blind eye to the suffering of those in Israel, whether that be Israeli or Palestinian. But at some point we really have to think about where our actions will take us. I’m curious to know if anyone is sharing the same thoughts as I am. Again, I am not educated on the conflict to where I can speak confidently about it 100%, im just looking at this from a logical standpoint.

I've read a Daily Telegraph article on the protests in the US. The Telegraph is not known for its love of protesters, and certainly not pro-Palestine/anti-war protesters, so any deaths would have been reported gleefully. There were none. The Telegraph did interview a woman who had to walk the last stretch to O'Hare in Chicago. She said, “This was an inconvenience, but in the grand scheme of things going on overseas, it’s a minor inconvenience.”

None of the protests lasted 5 hours. Some were over within 45 minutes, and none was longer than 3 hours. In New York it was from 3:15pm and the bridge was completely open by 5pm.

The protests in Chicago have been every day since the Hamas attack on October 7. They are anti-war protests, not explicitly pro-Palestine,

Palestinians support the protests. Why is that shocking? It'd be shocking if they didn't.

The US is Israel's biggest donor. Israel could not conduct the genocide without US help. US munitions are responsible for the devastation visited upon Gaza. This makes the US complicit in the Israeli war crimes. Had the US stopped providing arms much of Gaza would still be standing and a lot more people would still be alive, 12,300 of them children bombed and shot in the four months to March 2024. From 2019 to 2022 the number of dead children in all the world's conflicts stood at 12,193.

Nobody else is in a position to give Israel some much, certainly not the Europeans, although, we too are complicit just not to the same extent. Russia is too busy fighting its own fascist war and anyway holds little love for Israel, despite the fact that they both use settler colonies to expropriate land. That would leave China, and I can't see them arming Israel.

There was a time when protest marches were all that was needed for those in power to take notice. However, such protests are easily ignored, so protesters have to up the ante. Civil disobedience has a long history. It got women the vote (US and Europe) and helped usher in civil rights in the US. It's drawing attention to the climate crisis around the Western world.

Lastly, I like to think that were I in an ambulance stuck behind a pro-Palestine protest and was still able to, I would leave the ambulance and join the protest.

[shrinkrants]

I'm voting blue because I do think it's the lesser of two evils. But it sickens me to think what a huge hunk of my taxes will go toward funding the war machine and to massive corporate subsidies. Everything Caitlin says in this piece is true. Here's an excerpt:

For ten and a half months American progressives have been mollified into a state of paralysis with empty words about a ceasefire and a two-state solution by a political party that has never had any real intention of bringing about either of these things. The Biden administration has been just as guilty in Israel’s genocidal atrocities as the Netanyahu regime itself, but by paying lip service to humanitarian concerns and pretending to be working toward peace while regularly leaking stories to the press about how angry and stern Biden is with Netanyahu, they’ve been able to wash their hands of their guilt in the eyes of many. That has been the single defining feature of this presidential race. Not electing the first female president. Not stopping Trump. Not saving American democracy (whatever that means). The single defining feature of this presidential race has been one of America’s two mainstream factions claiming to want peace and justice for the Palestinians while supporting an administration that has been butchering them in a horrifying genocide. That’s the effect of the Democratic Party, and it’s been doing this since long before October 7. Obama made a whole political legacy out of weaving tapestries of flowery prose expressing deep compassion and a love of peace and justice, while spending eight years continuing and expanding all the most depraved and murderous policies of his predecessor.

[princessflorida]

I'm sure I'm probably not the first person to think of it or do it, but do y'all remember during the height of the BLM protests in the US when we were all across social media (those who actually cared) flooding the tags like backtheblue and bluelivesmatter with as much BLM content as possible?

It aggravates them and frustrates them yes, but more importantly what it does is force them to be exposed to information from the other side whether they like it or not, and gives them no outlet to post purposeful misinformation (blatant lies) and racist content. Why not do this with #freepalestine? Why not tagflood all the zionist tags so every single time they try to look for content that coddles them to feel better about genocide, they see what is actually happening instead? All across the world, across all platforms, don't even let them be able to search for content that with pacify them like a baby with a binky so they can't use it as their haven for "oh but the situation is so complicated" or "if you don't support israel you are antisemitic and hate jewish people" or "so you support hamas? you support terrorism?" etc bullshit misinformed talking points they yell into an echo chamber to make themselves think they're smart and won a facebook argument meanwhile thousands of people, mostly children, are being bombed and ground invaded by israel and cut off from necessary supplies like food, water, and medical care during this settler-colonialist, end-stage-genocide apartheid attack.

I hope people who are in favor of this genocide see everything I tagflood and not only get angry at the lack of pro-genocide, islamophobic, xenophobic, and yes, antisemitic content (there's so much on the pro israel side primarily from americans, you'd think they wouldn't because their pro israel but it really goes to show what numbnuts the vast majority of americans are. they don't actually care, they're just racist or obsessed w white christian rapture/holy war rhetoric) but also open their eyes and have to see what's really going on so they can't pretend anymore. And if they still don't care, keep forcing them to witness the things they performatively support. Where I live in america is so bad, even the people who claim to be progressive and did things like publicly support BLM and trans/gay rights are CRICKETS silent about this. Free Palestine!

[brainzzzeater]

I’m having a hard time understanding a lot about this conflict. Today, in the USA (Chicago Illinois, San Francisco California, and in New York) Pro-Palestinian activists decided to block the bridges to prevent people from entering or leaving. As a result, people waited for a minimum of 5 hours before the bridge was completely opened for them to cross. I’ve been reading stories of people who were transporting stem cells, sick people, etc who weren’t able to make it out.

According to the protestors, their goal was to cause an “economic blockade” by causing everyone to not be able to go anywhere

Shockingly a lot of Palestinians were supporting this saying that inconveniencing Americans is a good way to bring light to the situation happening in Gaza. I’ve even had some say that the few lives that were lost because of this were “fine” because it’s for the cause. I don’t want to believe that everyone is this cruel, so I will give my thought generally speaking.

I’m not an expert on these things, I don’t know much so im just using logic. Joe Biden is not the supreme authority over Israel. So let’s say that the USA stops sending aid to Israel completely. Let’s say they cut ties. Where will the protesting end up then? Will it move to another country who may support Israel? The way I see it is, Israeli government is going to do what it wants to do whether America sends it money or not.

Secondly, why is it that Americans have to suffer for what we cannot control? Blocking the bridge did nothing for the people in control. They were comfortably in their homes, meanwhile working mothers and fathers lost job time because of this. People have children to feed. How is what’s happening in Gaza somehow the fault of innocent civilians?

This act today was just cruel and my heart hurt because of it. I in no way am turning a blind eye to the suffering of those in Israel, whether that be Israeli or Palestinian. But at some point we really have to think about where our actions will take us. I’m curious to know if anyone is sharing the same thoughts as I am. Again, I am not educated on the conflict to where I can speak confidently about it 100%, im just looking at this from a logical standpoint.

Not sure why this question was asked to me but I’ll do my best to answer you as simply as I can put it. I try my best to keep myself informed every day about the genocide in Gaza and protest/boycotts occurring here in the United States.

Yes it absolutely was an economic blockade, because it disrupted a small section of the economy in major cities in the United States.

It isn’t shocking to hear Palestinians are happy to see major protests coming from Americans. In fact, I’m sure they see it as a beacon of hope that the main country funding the genocide in Gaza is not being supported by many of their own citizens. I have personally not heard anyone say that it was “fine” for lives being lost in the blockades. Though I will say it is saddening to hear that that happened, and I send my best wishes to those affected by the loss of this people.

If or when the United States stops sending Billions of dollars to Israel, no the protests will not stop. There are many countries that still hold protests despite their own government supporting Palestinians as well. The difference is HOW the protests are conducted. The reason they are more disruptive here in America is because we want to show the government that we do not stand behind them in the decision they are making to continue supporting Israel.

You are right. The protest did not directly/immediately affect any of the politicians or millionaires in the country. But one thing to know about our own economy is that it is extremely fragile. And the government HATES when we go out of our way to disrupt the order of “peace” they have kept around us. Protests, as we have all hopefully learned in any history class, are very successful ways to bring great change to the issues they are tackling with determination from the participants. In the grand scheme of things, the majority of Americans will NEVER suffer the way the majority of Palestinian families have suffered. Every single day there are entire bloodlines being murdered, children being sniped, innocent people literally being BLOWN UP. It would be selfish to turn a blind eye to what is happening to them.

Living in America fucking sucks. With the way things are going politically, if you are not a white cisgendered heterosexual man you will be targeted by your own government. The capitalist society built around us is so suffocating and draining that we are being worked to the grave. So a lot of people, including yourself, wonder why should I have to put the work in if it doesn’t effect me?

To that all I have to say is. I care about people. I have sympathy. Just because I will suffer does not mean I will not fight for others. I wish I could do more than just spread awareness, and give more of the little money I have. Sometimes all people can do is block a bridge and shout till their throats are soar to do ANYTHING to help innocent lives across the sea. And that is better than nothing.

[wolfgabe]

I have been observing the whole mess down in Israel right now over the past few weeks and have been reluctant to share my thoughts here considering how my thoughts will likely get me branded as pro genocide by the internet hive mind, but I feel I need to get this off my chest now.

Do I acknowledge Bibi is a piece of garbage who played a large part in sparking this conflict and making things worse? Yes.

Do I recognize that Hamas is a terrorist group that is basically the reason why its practically impossible for there to be any true peace between Israel and Palestine? Also yes.

Calling out Hamas for the shit they have done does not make one pro genocide. It's frankly been infuriating seeing how people seem to gloss over the fact that Hamas has no issue with using their own civilians as literal meat shields or how they have been hording stockpiles of fuel and supplies in their underground tunnels. There are people who really want to leave but can't simply because Hamas won't allow it.

The problem is a lot of these people you see online screaming free Palestine probably never even heard of Gaza up until now nor would they be able to actually locate it on a map if they tried. It's basically East Palestine all over again with bad faith actors capitalizing on the conflict for easy clout or closet right wingers looking for a convenient excuse to bash Biden only it's 100x worse.

It's been quite depressing really how this conflict has ended up exposing a lot of people on the left as raging anti semites. People can scream how this will haunt Biden in 2024 all they want but frankly I would say this has probably done more damage to the left wing movement than Biden's reelection prospects. The hard truth is a majority of Americans think Biden is doing the right thing with Israel and see Hamas as the one most to blame. There is a reason why supporting Israel often falls within America's own interests especially considering they are our closest ally in the middle east. Tearing down posters of Jewish kidnapping victims doesn't make one pro Palestine. It's also quite telling how a lot of these anti-Israel protesters apparently get mad very quick when you point out that Hamas are in fact terrorists.

Those who demand a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza are not serious about actual peace in the middle east and/or are woefully ignorant of the reality of the situation. If you honestly expect Israel after suffering one of the worst terror attacks it has seen in decades to suddenly agree to a ceasefire with a Terrorist group that has openly called for the eradication of all Jews which they will likely violate just like they did with the last ceasefire that was brokered by Egypt, then I got a magic bridge to sell you. A ceasefire at this point is basically the equivalent of slapping a band aid on an open wound and the only one who really benefits from it is Hamas since it grants them time to rearm and regroup.

Just suddenly barging into a neighboring country and indiscriminately kidnapping, killing and beheading adults, children, and babies is not liberation. Mind you it was not just jews but also Arabs, Muslims, Ethiopians, African Guest Workers among others that were among the 1400 needlessly executed by Hamas on that day. I also will remind people there are innocent nationals including Americans that are being held hostage right now so no it's not just Jews that are suffering.

And I just would like to give a shout out to Biden here. I don't he is getting nearly enough credit for the fact that he might be the one person that is seriously preventing this conflict from spilling out into the rest of the Middle East. And this is on top of pushing for more humanitarian assistance to Gaza residents as well as pressuring Israel to hold off on a ground invasion and working to open humanitarian corridors. I find it ironic how people can scream Joe Biden is pro Genocide when he has probably been one of the most pro Palestine presidents seen in decades.

War sucks all around that's a fact and its even more frustrating in this day and age with places like Twitter having become certified disinformation cesspits. As the old saying goes truth is often the first casualty in war.

And perhaps a bit of advice if you are looking for reliable news sources right now on Israel and Palestine. I would probably avoid Twitter and TikTok like the plague.

[xueyuverse]

I’m having a hard time understanding a lot about this conflict. Today, in the USA (Chicago Illinois, San Francisco California, and in New York) Pro-Palestinian activists decided to block the bridges to prevent people from entering or leaving. As a result, people waited for a minimum of 5 hours before the bridge was completely opened for them to cross. I’ve been reading stories of people who were transporting stem cells, sick people, etc who weren’t able to make it out.

According to the protestors, their goal was to cause an “economic blockade” by causing everyone to not be able to go anywhere

Shockingly a lot of Palestinians were supporting this saying that inconveniencing Americans is a good way to bring light to the situation happening in Gaza. I’ve even had some say that the few lives that were lost because of this were “fine” because it’s for the cause. I don’t want to believe that everyone is this cruel, so I will give my thought generally speaking.

I’m not an expert on these things, I don’t know much so im just using logic. Joe Biden is not the supreme authority over Israel. So let’s say that the USA stops sending aid to Israel completely. Let’s say they cut ties. Where will the protesting end up then? Will it move to another country who may support Israel? The way I see it is, Israeli government is going to do what it wants to do whether America sends it money or not.

Secondly, why is it that Americans have to suffer for what we cannot control? Blocking the bridge did nothing for the people in control. They were comfortably in their homes, meanwhile working mothers and fathers lost job time because of this. People have children to feed. How is what’s happening in Gaza somehow the fault of innocent civilians?

This act today was just cruel and my heart hurt because of it. I in no way am turning a blind eye to the suffering of those in Israel, whether that be Israeli or Palestinian. But at some point we really have to think about where our actions will take us. I’m curious to know if anyone is sharing the same thoughts as I am. Again, I am not educated on the conflict to where I can speak confidently about it 100%, im just looking at this from a logical standpoint.

Extreme measures are taken in extreme situations. Every protest comes from somewhere. If this place (the source of the problem that caused the protest) is ignored and the protesters suffer repression, then what kind of government is this?

I will not be working with hypotheses, with “what if the US stopped financing the war” or “what if the US no longer had any influence in this war”, because that didn't happen and I cannot guess what would happen if the US stopped this (apart from the fact that Israel would certainly continue with its genocide). I also can't answer you as to whether or not it's a good idea to block highways, I don't see myself in a position to do that, but know that this type of protest is not new, here in Brazil every now and then there are protests like this too — and the results are as many negative as positive, often the positive results make the negative results worth it.

However, believe me, it's not that people don't care about innocent lives, it's the extremity of the situation that leads them to put their priorities elsewhere. For the Palestinians, Palestine is the highest priority, after all, they're for them, not even “justice” is on their side. If there was another way (and there wasn't a lack of trying), they would definitely have gone that way.

The last thing the world wants is to find itself in this situation (believe me, the last people who want to be in this situation are the Palestinians), and this is only happening because countries in the Global North continue to finance the Palestinian genocide and turn a blind eye for Israel's attacks on other countries, after all it's economically and territorially advantageous for them to invest in wars and genocides caused by the Global North.

The only side that is continually being murdered in this history for 70 years is Palestine.

Who do you think is cruel? The Palestinians, because they have to take increasingly extreme measures to try to guarantee a minimum of justice and freedom because of colonialism that expelled them from their homeland and the only thing they receive is more deaths, needing to live on donations, or politicians from the Global North whose only role is to support genocide to the point of being negligent towards their own people? Let's remember that when it comes to the USA, there are more American military bases around the world than there are hospitals.

Don't blame the people, they are not the ones causing the problem, they don't even have power comparable to that of the countries of the Global North. The only ones who can make all this stop are the countries of the Global North and, mainly, the USA and Israel: the USA because they are always the ones who veto any resolution to cease fire, in addition to financing the war. Why hold a vote at the UN where the majority votes in favor of a ceasefire if the US can veto it? Why convene an assembly of the ICJ (which belongs to the UN and, therefore, the USA) if Israel will continue to get away with it? And Israel, because all it has to do is stop bombing and killing hundreds of civilians a day and the “war” will end.

At this point, you must have already realized where the scales of advantage, privilege and inequality always tip. Even if the US stops funding the war and sends humanitarian aid to Palestine, none of it will do any good if they continue to veto ceasefire resolutions and ignore all the war crimes committed by Israel — the genocide will continue with or without US funding. And the ones who end up getting fucked up the most are the civilians.

We are already very lucky that the Global North has not yet led the world into a Third World War (at least not yet), honestly.

Protests are a way of drawing the government's attention to the problems that are happening. Or they solve it or the people will have to intervene to take matters into their own hands. If you don't want there to be protests, even a revolution, then the government better listen and serve its people. It's the government that has to fear its people, not the people that have to fear the government.

If we don't want any innocent lives to be taken or put at risk in our countries, then we need to protect the lives of other countries too.

And, I'm sorry, but the US is a big part of the problem. 90% of the world's problems are US problems: Democratic Republic of Congo and all of Africa; Palestine and the entire Middle East; all of Latin America (the military dictatorship in Brazil from 1964 to 1985 was financed and influenced by the USA, did you know?); Hawaii (which suffers from colonization, imperialism, exploitation and American tourism to this day, there are even billionaires wanting to buy Hawaii as if Hawaii were an object, and not a nation that was once independent and prosperous, but after the North American invasion was oppressed and exploited for centuries), among others.

“They were comfortably in their homes, meanwhile working mothers and fathers lost job time because of this. People have children to feed. How is what’s happening in Gaza somehow the fault of innocent civilians?”

First: who can guarantee that every Palestinian was at this protest too? Who can guarantee you that there weren't mothers and fathers, patients in ambulances and Palestinian-American children who suffered the consequences because of the demonstration? Who can guarantee that the protestants didn’t suffer the consequences too? What they least have are Palestinians and Palestinian activists comfortable in their homes.

Why do American interests always have to come first? If you only rebel and your hearts only hurt when the crossfire hits you, then there is something wrong there.

What is happening in Gaza is not the fault of innocent civilians, but it seems that the US and Israel never cared enough to let the situation get to this point.

In other words, the US is hypocritical and selfish madness. This country creates a million problems all over the world, they cause deaths, slavery, abuse, exploitation, colonialism, imperialism, among other crimes, all over the world and when the consequences knock on the door, North Americans think it's bad (and it's for the people think so, but there's no point in turning your hatred and indignation against those who are at a greater disadvantage than you).

Compared to what the US has done for centuries in other countries, the only ones "sitting comfortably in their homes" are the Americans themselves (and that's not to mention the problems that Americans cause and suffer within their own country, which has no relation whatsoever to Palestine or any other place mentioned here).

If you don't want this kind of thing to happen again, then cover the government in a minimally decent position.

“This act today was just cruel and my heart hurt because of it. I in no way am turning a blind eye to the suffering of those in Israel, whether that be Israeli or Palestinian.”

This act today is just a dust compared to more than 70 years of colonization. There is only one side suffering, and it's definitely not Israel, and especially not the USA.

As you said, you know virtually nothing about what is going on, so I strongly suggest you go to Palestinian sources to understand. I'm not Palestinian, I can't speak for them, I just pass on the information.

[kael-writ]

This lacks a lot of understanding of the nuance here.

(1) While unlikely, it's actually not impossible to get Harris off the ballot too. Im going to be protesting at the DNC, as are many Palestinians and allies..

(2) While difficult, it's actually not impossible to have a third party win, if not now, someday

(3) The threat of and fear of losing votes is pressure on Harris that she needs.

Everyone saying "you HAVE to support her! You can't criticize her!" is doing something extremely harmful right now imo. She needs heavy, strong criticism, right now.

You say refusing to vote has/can never helped push the country left. I disagree. I think the Dems having to court our votes has made them have to distinguish themselves from Republicans more than they would.

(4) Furthermore, voting Dem uncritically, "Blue no matter who" and "shush you cant say that do you want Republicans to win?!" has certainly done nothing to help us go further left. Dems absolutely LOVE being able to use the threat of going further right to keep the status quo. They would rather lose elections than go too left. The right wing nature of the Democrats relies on people feeling like they HAVE to accept the Dems as is and can't possibly ask for better.

(5) Personal convictions and feelings do matter. The people saying she doesn't deserve the support of people she hates and hurts, particularly genocide victims, are doing a good thing for themselves and their loved ones, those victims. You can't look a Palestinian in the eye and tell them they HAVE to shut up and support someone who wants their family dead and works to make it happen. How people feel and their personal morality matters and you can't take it away.

(6) In many states, the decision to not vote of a minority, even a large minority, of people is not going to change who wins the electoral college, and it's frustrating to see people forget how the electoral college works. We know in advance what the swing states will and will not be. Your vote or lack thereof can be nothing more than a personal statement in your state. You actually can be strategic or just personally moral in this way.

Ultimately, one vote is absolutely nothing, even a couple 100 votes is not what swings an election. The knuckle-under libs outnumber the radical left right now. A handful of radical leftists choosing not to support a genocidal cop is not going to break the election.

(7) The idea that Harris or Biden is radically different from Trump is not shared by everyone around the world who have to suffer American oppression. If you actually listen to people like Palestinians, they'll tell you that. And America is a land of immigrants, and a lot of leftists listen to these folks and stand by them. To a lot of people, yea, this is just theater.

(8),If you really wanna persuade radical leftists to support someone so fuckin repulsive, you gotta at least be real and be understanding. The condemnation and condescension, the fucking personal insults (ableist to boot, nice one), the lack of nuance, lack of understanding the full picture, is just not gonna win people over.

(9) You know where I think that energy is better spent? Go write Harris a letter saying, "hey a lot of my comrades don't wanna vote for you unless you make some major changes, like fully committing to divesting entirely from Israel. As someone who wants you to win, I want you to take these potential lost votes seriously."

Or if you havent yet, write your local reps. "Hey if you guys fight to stop arming Israel you'll get more support from the left also it's the right thing to do to not mass murder people."

(10) The pressure radical leftists are putting onto Harris is honestly meant to pressure everyone else too, because ultimately, a lot of us just wanna end the genocide, and the police state, and so on.

Finally:

Not everyone thinks the same way. You gotta meet them where they're at. A lot of people believe revolution is possible. Or they just have very strong personal morality and they are going to stick to it no matter what seems pragmatic to you.

Calling resistors idiots isn't gonna change the mind of people who admire someone like Aaron Bushnell who set himself on fire to try to save Palestine. He aint gonna vote. And there's a good reason people honor him. They don't care if you don't think what he did was strategically pragmatic to your goals. It's bigger than that. Try to understand why they feel that way.

if you would rather elect a fascist than a liberal you're not a leftist you're just edgy

[nightcoremoon]

on a whim I randomly watched a video that combined news footage and audio of the howard stern show on the morning of september 11th and honestly it did nothing but further confirm my thoughts that osama bin laden had nothing to do with it, that it was 100% orchestrated by the United States government, and that the average American citizen held plenty of anti-islamic sentiment even before 9/11 and every single person in that room and several of the callers were calling for the United States to “bomb the shit out of Them, even the innocent civilians because they’re sitting there supporting the terrorists”. 9/11 was not al quaeda trying to destroy the united states because if it was, then that’s the shittiest attempt at a functional terror attack I’ve ever seen. that was poking the hornets nest and by god the United States rained extra hellfire upon the Middle East for two entire decades. if al quaeda truly wanted to disable the United States infrastructure, they would have hit the fucking pentagon and White House and the capitol building and the mint HQ and the stock market and the Statue of Liberty and countless other strategic targets WAY BEFORE THEY HIT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. and instead what happened? the towers were hit first, the plane that was gonna hit the white house mysteriously went down in Pennsylvania and the plane that hit the pentagon fucking disappeared on impact leaving behind absolutely zero debris, gee isn’t it sure convenient that the only Americans who died in the collision were the citizens working the financial jobs and the fire and rescue workers who died trying to save what lives they could. gee isn’t it sure convenient that giuliani gained a lot of power and the states gained enough sympathy from the UN that the iraq invasion was totally accepted and allowed and the US had a Good Reason to engage the Middle East in a war and every red blooded American patriot was so fueled by anger and hate and the propaganda of constantly seeing the towers on every tv channel for weeks that there was a surge of people joining the military and an excuse to expand the military budget even more? isn’t it weird that there were a lot of cameras at the cinematographically perfect angles to catch the moments of impact and that they looked almost professionally done by people who knew their way around an american made airplane and were able to hijack it despite being only four people (allegedly) each? isn’t it weird that it makes more logical sense that a dozen “conspiracy theories” align in a perfect spiderweb pattern of painting out the CIA and the FBI and the cheney and rumsfeld to be the biggest pieces of shit profit-motivated warmongers in american history, than it is that “All Muslims Are Evil Actually”? rumsfeld wasn’t even secretary of defense for nine months before he got the blank check. bush didn’t do 9/11, bush was just a scapegoat mouthpiece of the right wing propaganda machine; he was reading a fucking book to kids when they told him about the planes, and he admitted to speaking to cheney and HW and all these other people before daring to make the most watered down weaksauce pathetic mockery of a presidential speech anyone’s heard in almost 25 years.

this goes beyond that jet fuel can’t melt steel beams. the motivation of the group we were told by news outlets who were told by the government are the ones who did it make no sense, especially given that THE CIA TRAINED OSAMA. you trust the government to have told you the truth about who attacked us? there was no “attack”. two planes hit the towers is the only factual statement we can glean from the footage. 9/11 was the perfect reason to start a war in the Middle East to take their oil and kill Muslims; the two things america loves most in the world are taking oil and killing muslims and they lapped it all up. it is the most well crafted fabrication of cause and effect of the 21st century, well, that is, until Israel officially launched their genocide of Palestine on a scale never seen prior and said “it was hamas”. there’s no way you can look me in the eye and genuinely say with every fiber of your being that every single thing that the US has said happened around 9/11 actually happened exactly the way they said it did.

if the two options are being a crazy conspiracy theorist and being a bootlicking shiteating “yes daddy” islamophobic authoritarian’s wet dream cog in the murder machine, then sure why not, I’m a crazy conspiracy theorist. I’m already that anyway for pointing out the the US has destabilized many other perfectly functional societies in the past, and committed mass genocide against the native populations of america, and performed experiments on humans so vile that even Mengele would be disturbed. the us military is the most powerful force on the planet, and anyone that they want to die is going to die no matter how much we try to fight it. you won’t stop it by voting third party. you won’t stop it by abstaining from voting. this is the real world. if the citizens of islamic countries don’t deserve to die by the hands of the US bombing the holy hell out of them because the citizens of a country shouldn’t be punished by the evil actions of their governments and splinter terror cells hiding among the population, then the citizens of THIS country who can and will suffer significantly more so under the hands of a right wing fascist regime may as well be saved. if you have the privilege to survive under trump and you don’t use it to help the ones who don’t, you’re just as much a piece of shit as every single piece of propaganda feeding into the machine that is gonna kill muslim civilians no matters what you ever do. it is more important to consider the options of Make Life Easier For >150,000,000 People or Don’t Do That than it is to contemplate this imaginary fairytale utopia of unicorns and pixie dust that right-of-center moderates and pastel commies have deluded themselves into thinking. you can’t claim that the Left isn’t far Left enough while also saying that in your eyes they’re exactly the same as the Right. you are either Hard Right or a Neoliberal. you don’t get to sit on the moral high ground and claim superiority when the battle is trench warfare. you don’t wanna vote, fine, but you better be giving every single fucking dollar and cent you have to your homeless neighbors, insulin gofundmes, palestinian refugees, lawyers for members of the queer community, islamic victims of reactionary abuse, and anyone else who will suffer due to your inaction. if you even buy so much as a fucking biggby coffee I’m kicking your ass

[iwantjobs]

5/2/2024: To all Hamas terrorists haters, Mike Johnson and his people: If you (America) help Israel to steal land from the Hamas terrorists and their terrorist people, don't hate them from fighting back.

If a force higher than the white forces comes to America and steal your land and park their troops all over your land, what would you do? You fight back just like the Hamas terrorists and all terrorists. If you are poor and have no money for weapons, you fight back with all methods you can even kidnapping children as ransom because that's what poor countries do. However, I hate the hamas terrorists for killing baby(ies) though which started this war against babies and children.

Hey Mike Johnson and his people, if you stop sending money and weapons to Israel to support bombing the terrorists babies and children and stealing more land from the Palestinians in Occupied West Bank (the area what houses the town where your Jesus was born), I guarantee you the Hamas terrorists and it's terrorist people won't hate America that much and stop doing terrorist violence on you.

I guarantee my reasoning won't stop Mike Johnson and his people to continue supporting Israel and Even Irish Catholic Biden, because what they want as Jesus' people is Jesus' birth land at all costs, even going against their Constitution to defy the separation of church and state in the First Amendment.

Shame on you. Stealing land and bombing terrorists babies in the name of Jesus, God, and democracy. God (Jesus' father), Jesus, what goes around comes around, karma, and the Constitution are watching America, Mike Johnson and it's people . Satan is also watching with glee that he seduced Mike Johnson and his people, America, and Israel, and half of the Jewish people who supports Israel to steal back their ancient land from 3,000 years ago at all costs while calling themselves equality, democracy, and civilized humans who can be reasoned it. You too became just like the Hamas terrorists and their terrorist people-- except you and Israeli and the half of the Jewish people around the world who supports this are worse for you were the instigator of this war: stealing land in colonization, kicking terrorists out of their land, killing terrorists on their own land of 400 years, and still grabbing land as we speak, and bombing babies. I am out of here. I will be able from Tumblr for a while to focus on my Palestinian lawsuit in the 9th Circuit appeal court and to the US supreme Court and relinquishing my genocide, gay, and Spanish as 2nd language America eternally. Peace, love, & suing. ✌️ 💕 & suing. The native Americans (Indians) are watching too for if Israelis are able to take back their ancient ancestors' land with Mike Johnson and his people Americans help, then the Indians want their ancient ancestors land in America back, too. Perhaps the Mike Johnson and his people can move to Israel and Occupied West Bank to be closer to Jesus and give back their land to the Indians. Fair deal? Very fair in God's reasoning. Hey Mike Johnson and your people, try being the only white people living in the bottom of the Middle-East and top of Africa. You'll stick out like a an obese sore thumb, and the people in the Middle-East and top of Africa aren't as helpless as the Indians in America for they have friends with big weapons and their own God's representative called Muhammed so they will fight to death in their jihadis. Stupid Mike Johnson and his people and America and all people living in Europe, Canada, Australia and Zealand and Nordic countries. Prepare to return your stolen colonial land to the indigenous people once the Israelis are able to o get back their ancestors' land from ,3,000 years ago with your Christian help of unequivocal and unwavering support.

[cyarskj1899]

Hamas is playing all of you, lmaoo.. he's using his own people as human shields has be cause war all over the place. But That’s yall friend tho

I think so many folk say something like "It's too complicated" when talking - or not talking -about the middle east/war between Israel & Hamas is because in this country we're socialized to see our issues in black and white, literally. The truth here is far more complicated.

Black people long ago became the 2nd largest minority but you'd never know it because all social advancements, battles, laws, school books, and elections are presented as binary - Black vs. white.

Of course there's a historical uniqueness to being Black in America in that we are the only formerly enslaved people of all the other non-white folk. The only ones needing emancipation, & who are descendants of Africans & white enslavers. Caribbean folk, too, of course.

And our education, pop culture, laws, law enforcement, and all of it are always informed by that history, first, middle, and last. And all other non-white folk bear the secondary consideration in such an unfair way it causes fighting between all the groups.

We know of the devastation of the original peoples on this land, the genocide, the ongoing destruction of lands & broken treaties We know the southwest & all the way to California was Mexico. Those inhabitants were suddenly foreigners on land they've occupied for generations

We know Chinese citizens helped build infrastructure that is still used today. We know construction, farming, & other industries populated by non-white folk contribute to us being able to maintain a standard of living that wouldn't exist with their incredible contributions.

But no matter the complicated facts for hundreds of years, America boils everything to Black vs white. So many are left out because americans crave simplicity over the effort to understand nuance and complexity. We want good to be a white hat & bad to be a black hat.

We want the allies vs. the axis. Avengers vs. Thanos. Everyone vs the Yankees. It is a reason the bros hate women directed movies that explore emotion, grey areas, resolution without the biggest gun (though women movies certain do those well/better, too).

We want a wealthy dummy speaking dumb soundbites over an experienced woman with long thoughtful answers. We want a wealthy dummy who spoke in malapropisms vs an Intelligent Black man/woman who speaks in detail, in nuance, and who can laugh at themselves.

We end up with a population quick to join others struggles because they refuse to join *this nation's struggles. The rapid widespread support for Ukraine is the other side of the coin to the rapid pro-palestine support. Americans refusing to join this nation's struggles.

We have it great, we're number 1, america is the best nation ever, etc." Americans will retort with ferver. We tell ourselves that to absolve ourselves. And to convince ourselves to see past the nuance and embrace the simplicity.

Americans will tell you the entire history of the british monarchy, every shakespeare reference to kings, the history of Ireland and north Ireland, facts about Mr. Darcy, and how their ancestors came on the mayflower, or were half Cherokee, or why plantation weddings are ok.

But ask them about Black history, Mexican American history, the histories of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Black farmers, indigenous treaties, or detailed history of American slavery that includes the wealth our folk created.

Ask americans about the mass slaughters, mass rapes, baby killing, breeding, daily violence that done by american slave owners and you'll be quickly shut down, your books banned, your jobs in jeopardy. You never see slave owners listed as "most prolific killers" but they were.

Look at the range of Black folk colors. How did we get these shades of black and brown? We didn't come to these shores my color. And we didn't voluntarily give our our deep beautiful Blackness. It, like our lives, was stolen.

We can speak on the middle east just like we can speak on Ukraine. Or Congo. Sudan. We can say, as I have said since the day Netanyahu tried to derail president Obama w/a misguided speech to congress at the best of racist republicans-that fool needs to go. Hamas needs to go.

Netanyahu needs to go. Hamas needs to go. Palestine needs a state. Israel needs to be safe and as our 80+ year ally, we need to continue to support them, as we do all our allies, like Ukraine, England, Japan, S. Korea, etc. That's not complicated.

America is complicated and we've somehow managed to exist with longstanding racial, ethnic, religious, and ideological differences and disagreements. We understand it because as much as we like to be happy fools, we have to face ourselves daily. It's not Black and white. End.

[weatherwhim]

One of the aspects I think everyone needs to recognize about bigotry is that public perception of "how bad" a particular flavor of discrimination is compared to all other kinds has very little to do with which groups are the most tangibly harmed or harassed, and a lot more to do with the oppressed group's ability to politically organize.

One of the reasons that specifically anti-black racism- in specifically the United States- is so recognized is because black people make up about 15% of the population of the US. In Europe, the issue is literally smaller- not because Europeans are any less racist, but because the portion of Europeans that are black is far lower (Wikipedia says ~1.2% in 2019, only counting Europeans of African descent). That's a much more convenient number of people for regional media to ignore. That's a much smaller number of bodies that can form a crowd to visibly protest in city plazas. It's fewer voices to shout out. And thus, it's a much harder task for protest organizers to win awareness for, even when anti-black racism absolutely exists all across Europe.

Without an education that is able to explain what discrimination is in general, how it systemically works, and how bigoted attitudes are able to take root in ordinary people (no, you are not exempt), any minority group that doesn't have the benefit of an active civil rights campaign with a footing in their home-region is going to continue to have their struggles swept under the rug, and their oppression outright denied by the same people who are oppressing them- even if those people think of themselves as good liberals who would never do that kind of thing to the specific groups whose fights against oppression they've been sold on.

We can make fun of Europeans for writing off their beyond-parody racist treatment of the Romani, but the reality is, without a general education about the inner workings of bigotry and systemic discrimination, we're just going to end up repeating it towards every minority group that hasn't specifically been singled out by an organized civil rights movement as "one of the oppressed people who we need to stand up for".

Think of how comparatively little anyone in America talks about the Americans Indians, who were subjected to such thorough genocide that they now make up a tiny fraction of the population of their native continent. Think of how much casual anti-asian sentiment gets thrown around in the United States. And if you want to turn back to Europe, think about how the recent immigrations of Middle Eastern refugees have almost single-handedly triggered a backslide into nationalist and isolationist policies. The United Kingdom choked so hard on its own Islamaphobia that it isn't even in the EU anymore.

Think about how oppression against groups with more ability to lobby is weaponized against groups with less. Consider Israel and Palestine. People forget to look at things as simple as where the bombs are falling, and on who. People talk about the horrors of the Holocaust as something that must be prevented from reoccurring as an argument for supporting a government that's literally filtering Palestinian civilians into concentration camps, and don't see the irony because it's different people from the ones in their history books. The horrifyingly disparate number of deaths among Jewish Israelis and Palestinians should be enough evidence by itself to demonstrate where the lion's share of the region's current systemic oppression is being directed, but people aren't looking at the deaths. Nobody can trace what "protecting ourselves from oppression" does or does not excuse, because it's become an abstract game of "avoid bigotry" that isn't based on bigotry's connection to tangible harm, only the public perception of it. That comes down entirely to which side has more ability to sway public perception.

When people in Europe look down on Americans for being racist against black people, then turn around and cheer for bulldozers to demolish Romani homes, and treat the possibility that some of them are just innocent people legally living in their country with contempt, that's because it's not the action of denying people human rights that they're paying attention to. That's not their conception of bigotry. Bigotry is only when it happens to the particular cultural or ethnic groups they've been told they have to defend. As long as this line of thinking stays in place, no minority group will ever have protections against bigotry any greater than their own individual ability to advocate for themselves. At that point, it's just a numbers game.

So pardon me if this is a silly idea, but maybe if we're trying to form a litmus test for what bigotry is that doesn't immediately crumble from the slightest lack of self-awareness, maybe a good starting point is the bombs and the bulldozers. If you want a specific type of person's home to be destroyed so that they have nowhere to exist anymore, that's definitely bigotry.

somebody will rightfully notice that europeans are really fucking weird about romani people and there will always be 1 person in the comments going "okay it's not racist, you just don't understand, bleeding heart americans, i promise my brother tony had an experience which proves they're all raping theives and hitler was right about them" and not seem to be aware of how much they sound like americans talking about black ppl

[jewish-privilege]

...As an Ethiopian Jew living in America, it can be frustrating having to constantly feel like your identity is under suspicion by not only other Jews but also people who have absolutely no knowledge of Jews or Judaism. I’ve complained alongside my Moroccan, Yemeni, and Persian friends countless times about the different microaggressions and plain ignorance of our fellow Jews and non-Jews alike; this can range from a friend’s grandparent making an inappropriate remark to being held up at the airport as the TSA agent looks over your last name once again. I remember in eighth grade history class, hearing my teacher profess how “the Holocaust was stupid because Jews are essentially white.” As a young person who still had no clue how to react when an authority figure behaved ignorantly, all I could do was sit there in silence.

I will not be silent any longer.

For a lot of people, the idea of “Jew” equals “white,” and that leads to a range of annoying to downright insulting encounters while navigating the spaces where we should feel we belong.

In America, many of us are faced with the threat of anti-Semitism that scars the whole of our community, but we’re also faced with the ingrained and monstrous beast that is racism. It happens like this: You overhear terms like “shvartze,” the Yiddish word for black that is considered a slur against Black people, whispered while meeting a friend’s extended family. Your mother is harassed by a random security guard as she picks you up from working Sunday school at the J.C.C. The police harass you following a cousin’s bar mitzvah. These are just some of the forms of harassment that I and my loved ones have experienced in spaces where all Jews are supposed to be able to safely congregate. More often than not, members of our communities are put in precarious positions in regards to dealing with bigotry that presents itself in spaces meant to for all Jews.

...Ashkenormativity is a unique form of eurocentrism that has found its way into Jewish culture. In a twisted way, the “whiteness” that became a hallmark of power due to European colonialism has been able to become a boon for white-passing Jews, in particular Ashkenazim. While in much of actual Europe, anti-Semitism is so deeply rooted that even having white skin doesn’t necessarily enable you with privilege, in the unique case of America, it allows for a situational point of privilege that changes based on the whim of the majority. The same way that in so much of society, we have defined white people as the “default” person, a similar sentiment has translated into defining the Ashkenazi as the “normative” Jew.

For Jews of Color — some of whom are Ashkenazi themselves though still face racism based on the color of their skin — we are not only asking for our fellow Jews to use the privilege they do have in non-Jewish society to better the lives of others; we are demanding to be equal members of our own Jewish communities.

This is not only an American issue. In Israel, even though our Jewishness is no longer seen as a threat, we still face the brutal realities of racism. The slayings of Solomon Teka and Yehuda Biadga last year have caused widespread communal outrage and have brought to the forefront the issues of racism and police brutality in Israeli society. Out of the six Ethiopian Israeli men murdered over the last five years, only the death of one was prosecuted and the sentence only carried the weight of three years. It took until this past January for Haymanot Judaism, the religious practices unique to Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), to be fully acknowledged by the Chief Rabbinate as an authentic form of Judaism, despite the ruling of late Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in the early 1970s and decisions made in 2014 to recognize Haymanot Judaism. This means that for the last few decades, many Ethiopian Jews living in Israel either had to convert to Rabbinic Judaism or jump through hoops to be able to engage in major life events like marriage.

Systemic racism from both religious and policing structures in Israel have only worked to attempt to assimilate Ethiopian Jewry in a way that is grossly inappropriate. This includes incidents like the distribution of birth control to Ethiopian women without giving them full disclosure on the effects, throwing out blood donations given by Ethiopians, and sending Ethiopian teens off to boarding schools after settling into Israel. These were all on top of police practices like racial profiling as well as racism from fellow Israelis. Now we are seeing the younger generation taking an active and aggressive stance in protecting themselves and their rights as fellow Israeli citizens against the structures that their own parents couldn’t fight against.

The list of injustices goes on: Out of the many issues of disgusting racism that have occurred against the Mizrahi Jews, one of the most chilling is the disappearances of the over 1000 Yemeni children in the 1950s that until the last two decades went widely under-investigated. Systemic segregation was used as a weapon against many Mizrahi Jews who came to live in Israel. Segregation, religious intolerance, economic inequality, and harassment led to the formation of HaPanterim HaShhorim, the Israeli Black Panthers, in the ’70s to fight against the discrimination faced by Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews. Even today as society improves, there is an education and wealth disparity between Mizrahi and Ashkenazi Jews.

Historically, there has also been a bad habit of the Ashkenazim attempting to triumph their own traditions as greater or more authentic, leading to times when Ethiopian and Indian Jews have been pressured to “convert” as if they weren’t already Jewish.

Even the very way we define Zionism needs to change. Theodor Herzl, the Austrian Jew largely credited as “the father of political Zionism,” was an assimilationist. His viewpoint on what the Jewish state of the future would become was fashioned in a way that only took in the perspective of the non-religious Ashkenazim who frequented his circles. Herzl also supported the Ottoman government against the Armenian rebellion for independence, which resulted in the Armenian genocide.

The issue at the heart of the Zionism that dominates our culture is that the person who we are so quick to give credit to left out a huge portion of our people and didn’t intend on ever including us. Crediting a single person for the dream of Jewish liberation and sovereignty overlooks the fact that our culture, people, and faith thrives because of the fluidity and strength of our many traditions. We should instead credit our families, communities, leaders, and more importantly, ourselves, with the continued survival of our people.

We come from a tradition that calls for us to actively reinterpret what we were left to inherit. For our community to effectively come together, we need to have more hard discussions and push for change. At this point we should not have to ask; we demand our fellow Jews to give us an actual spot at the table.