#and no i’m not talking about being antizionist or pro palestine

[bpdlottiematthews]

Love going on a random blog for fandom reasons and discovering they’re a raging antisemite <3

[spacelazarwolf]

I've seen people say that because you don't talk enough about the genocide in palestine and instead talk about the antisemitism in leftist pro-palestine spaces (even though you have talked about palestine before and don't support israel) that somehow makes you a zionist. It's like ??? That's not how that works. Honestly I'm sick of this performative activism where you must disavow anyone Jewish who dares to talk about antisemitism during this time. Then these people turn around and say that they don't hate Jews they just hate Israel

yeah it’s exhausting. i’ve got complicated feelings abt calling it a genocide — mostly bc of the way non palestinian gentiles are just parroting words without actually understanding why people are calling it a genocide, and also using it as an excuse for gratuitous holocaust inversion — but at the end of the day i think arguing a semantic issue isn’t going to help gazans who are dying right now. i don’t think it matters if we say it’s genocide or if we say it’s a precursor to genocide or if we say it’s a catastrophic loss of human life, it’s all just words. what matters right now is not if one single random disabled jew thousands of miles away uses the right word. what matters right now is that people are dying and that needs to stop. and apparently saying that means i’m an evil genocide denier who’s basically a nazi.

and like. it doesn’t matter how many times i explain my position in excruciating detail. it doesn’t matter how much nuance i give and how many personal feelings and insecurities i share, bc it has never been abt if i’m actually a zionist. they don’t care. in fact, it’s better for them if i don’t openly identify as a zionist, because that strengthens their use of zionist as a dogwhistle. if they only targeted jews who openly identified as zionists, the dogwhistle wouldn’t work.

and for the antisemitism stuff, i’m very unsurprised that’s why they’re targeting me. ppl have made it clear that they not only don’t care abt antisemitism but that antisemitism is necessary for their “activism” so they see me telling them not to be antisemitic as me telling them not to advocate for palestinians, and at this point i can’t help it if they’re idiots.

zionism and antisemitism aren’t a chicken and the egg situation. zionism is a direct response to antisemitism in the diaspora, and by actively participating in making it worse and mocking jews for being afraid of the antisemitism we’re facing, you’re doing political zionists’ work for them. i want to talk about this, about the rhetoric i’ve seen used in some jewish spaces and how antisemitism in antizionist movements just bolsters it, and what they can do to instead connect with these jewish institutions and leaders to address the very real concerns jews have and show them that israel is not the solution. but people don’t want to hear what they can do better. they want to hear that “zionists” and “zionist institutions” are all evil groups plotting world domination and weaponizing the holocaust. i might have more success doing this work in irl spaces but i’ve very much given up on doing it here.

[jewfrogs]

hi gabriel. i have a problem. i initially followed your blog a year or two ago because i was in the process of converting; haunting my local reform synagogue, becoming a known quantity, chilling with folks at holidays, et cetera. i stopped attending friday services regularly a little before oct 7 (restaurant job with conflicting hours), but since things started i haven’t gone back. i keep telling people it’s because i don’t want to have to talk about it but i don’t know how to square being an anti zionist convert with being surrounded by people who are firmly pro israel. just last week they invited an idf soldier to speak about how hard his job is!! and fuck i miss the friends i made there. i miss having ten grandmas. im sorry i know you’re not the Jewish Ambassador and you sure didn’t ask for receiving random emotionally loaded anons, but i dont know what to do. i know i can’t be a solitary jew but the ones i know are apparently cool with war crimes if their side does them. i didn’t think i had a soul but i guess i do and it’s fucking hurting bad right now fuck

hi honey. i’m sorry i can’t say much of substance beyond that i’m right there with you and it’s miserable and i wish there was an easy solution. i wish it wasn’t this way; i wish so many jewish spaces weren’t this way.

nothing can fully replace physical, in-person community in most cases, but it’s important to find ways to remind yourself that you may be solitary, but you are not alone.

you might look into the shabbat services at tzedek chicago (one of the only actively antizionist synagogues i know of) which are available virtually around the world.

depending on where you live, there might be a jewish presence at pro-palestine protests or events with organizations like JVP or INN or other local groups, which can be affirming and meaningful (and even if there isn’t an explicit presence, there’s a high likelihood that there’ll be other solitary jews).

reading historical and contemporary writings by antizionist jews is great (i recommend anti-zionism: analytical reflections, although i’m not sure if it’s anywhere online).

online spaces can be a blessing too—r/jewsofconscience has consistently solid conversations and community, and even just seeing other antizionist jews on here reminds me that i’m not alone and i’ve never been alone.

i wish you well and i hope you find as much peace as possible 🪬💙🧿

[starshipsys]

🛰️okay it is kind of concerning that a lot of pro-palestine quickly turns into antisemitism. Like, you guys have to be really vigilant and really pay attention because there’s a lot of people who have a lot to gain from shoehorning antisemitism into pro-palestine messaging. And I’m pretty sure a lot of people do not even understand what Zionism even means when they say they’re antizionist, and honestly if you aren’t super well researched about it then you really should just say you’re pro-palestine without talking about Zionism/antizionism. I mean it really stands to reason that if you don’t know what you’re talking about then you shouldn’t really talk about it, and if you’re not Jewish and aren’t close with any Jewish people and aren’t a historian, you probably don’t really know as much about Zionism and Israel as you think you do. And if you’re not close with any Palestinians then you probably don’t know as much about Palestine as you think you do.

There has been a huge uptick in antisemitism and it’s really scary. If you haven’t seen the uptick in antisemitism, then you are blind, and you are not listening to Jewish people. If you are wishing death upon zionists, that is antisemitic. Wishing death upon any specific group of people is targeted hatred. A lot of the people who say things like “hating deviant behavior will be co-opted to target all queer people” don’t seem to apply that logic to “hating zionists can easily be co-opted to hating all Jews” like. If you’re not constantly examining everything to check for antisemitism, you’re probably being complicit in it, not noticing it, or at worst, spreading antisemitic rhetoric. We say stuff like “it’s not enough to be not racist, you’ve gotta be antiracist” and that applies here, a lot. People are spreading antisemitism under the guise of being pro-Palestine. It is happening. People are trying to turn support for Palestine into hatred for Jews. You need to support Palestine more than you hate zionists, or Israel, or the IDF/IOF, and you need to be wary of anyone who is trying to get you to hate anyone. Hatred is ALWAYS the enemy. Ideas and rhetoric are more dangerous than any person. The pen is mightier than the sword.

To be clear, I do believe Palestine deserves to be free, and I do believe there is a genocide going on in Palestine against the Palestinians. It fits the definition of a genocide. But calling it a second Holocaust, comparing Israel to nazi germany, these things are antisemitic and dangerous. It’s Holocaust inversion. And if you don’t know what that is, you really, really, really need to look up the methods of antisemitism. I’m usually extremely conflict averse and normally I just reblog stuff without saying things, but this is really important. People need to research antisemitism so that they can be pro-Palestine without inadvertently enabling nazi rhetoric. Don’t spread nazi noise. You need to pay attention. I am afraid. I’m afraid for the Palestinians going through this horror, and I’m afraid for the Jews who are being targeted by bad faith actors that are disguising themselves as pro-Palestine activists. If someone is knowingly spreading antisemitism, they don’t care about Palestine. If someone is knowingly spreading antisemitism, they want Jews dead, and they’re not going to stop there. If someone is unknowingly spreading antisemitism, they’re giving Nazis a way in. Nazis want all of us dead or under total and complete control. Including the Palestinians that you’re trying to free! Do not spread nazi noise. The Nazis are still here, and they didn’t go away when ww2 ended. They went into hiding, and they’re trying to use this to make a comeback.

So please, double-check, triple-check, quadruple-check that post before reblogging, before spreading it to other platforms, before using its rhetoric in your arguments. Read up on antisemitic methods. Research the dogwhistles that nazis use. Pay attention to the imagery and symbolism. Follow the antisemitism tag. Make sure you’re following and listening to Jewish people on some platform. At the same time, make sure you’re following and uplifting the voices of Palestinians. And remember, this is not a simple issue, the history is not simple, and you probably don’t know as much as you think you do. I guarantee that unless you’re Israeli or Palestinian, you know next to nothing. So if the people you’re listening to aren’t the Palestinians themselves, and if the people you’re listening to aren’t Jewish people worried about the uptick in antisemitism, then the people that you’re listening to might have an ulterior motive for what they’re saying. Think critically and question everything. Please don’t let anyone trick you into promoting violence against Jewish people.

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

Please donate to Palestinian causes if you can and don’t forget your daily clicks. Keep boycotting and striking and protesting. If you’re American, please join the “uncommitted” voting protest to pressure biden to urge a ceasefire. But, if you’re going to spread messages about freeing Palestine, the Palestinian genocide, and especially antizionism, you need to research antisemitism so that you can catch it, and you need to proactively and very intently make sure your spaces are not antisemitic. And if you’re going to protest, watch out for nazi symbolism, and call it out when you see it.

[aqlstar]

advice-seeking anon here just wanted to say thank you so much for your thorough and thoughtful responses ❤️

i definitely don’t feel comfortable around the people who excuse or perpetuate antisemitism through their views, but i struggle with how to approach it other than distancing from them because of past experiences. i don’t tend to call out individuals anymore because it feels exhausting and unhelpful when it’s been met with vitriol, willful ignorance, or ridicule. the ignorance is staggering, like i genuinely don’t think that any of them know what they’re talking about or have done any research beyond maybe like instagram infographics/influencers or al jazeera articles and other bs. then they get so deep into this perspective of that being “the truth” or the “right thing” (demonizing Israel and zionists as like “evil colonizers” and “genocide supporters”) that they get pissed off and refute any evidence or disagreement otherwise, and default to the “anti zionism isn’t antisemitism!” excuse whenever being called out for antisemitic rhetoric, tokenizing antizionist Jewish people, etc. as exhausting as it is, i know it would be good to make more of an effort to call people out anyway though, so that i don’t contribute to normalizing or accepting that behavior.

years ago, i totally uncritically bought into a lot of the harmful pro-Palestine beliefs and historic revisionism, because it’s been promoted by a lot of Native American activist groups under the guise of indigenous rights. it wasn’t until truly and openly learning from different perspectives, learning more about history and more about Israel that i could understand how wrong and backwards that is. after the start of the war, i took down and reported antisemitic hate speech on my college campus and also discouraged the formation of an SJP chapter among our student clubs (which thankfully didn’t come to fruition). my yellow ribbon either got snagged or ripped off my bag at some point, so this was also a good reminder for me to get a new one! maybe a yellow ribbon pin will be more durable than an actual ribbon. anyway, sorry for these long messages. i’ll keep looking for ways to be a better ally and hoping for an end to this war soon that sees the hostages returned home and brings lasting peace.

super grateful for everyone like you and all the educators/activists putting the truth out there, with so much courage, grace, and kindness in the face of all the ignorance and hate

Anon you are giving me hope for the future 🥹

Yes- there is a very well organized disinformation campaign working on influencing people our age and especially marginalized groups that Israel should be destroyed. Most people don’t/can’t get passed the knee jerk negative reaction to Israel to look into the history or the reality of the situation.

Instead of engaging directly with the rhetoric of groups like JVP and SJP, I think it can be helpful to affirm some basic facts about the Middle East- namely that the Levant and the Arabian peninsula are two geographically distinct regions divided by a very large desert, and Arabs are only one of many groups of people native to North Africa and West Asia.

The pro-Palestine (“the whole region is meant to be Arab”) disinformation primarily targets Jews, but it also sets up the Kurds, Assyrians, Yazidis, Coptics, Maronites, etc up for an uphill battle being taken seriously in the West.

Idk if you’ve read my one specific post which I have lost track of that explains that my dad’s side of the family is Assyrian and left for the US in 2 waves from Haifa in Ottoman Syria (1st) and British Mandatory Palestine (2nd).

They left because they were scared of the growing Arab nationalist movement (not actually a “Palestinian” nationalist movement- at that point they wanted to establish an Arab Syrian state in control over the whole of the Levant).

Idk what I’m really saying here. Thanks for letting me ramble.

[jewish-vents]

i’m so, so tired. i’ve deleted almost all of my social media apps, barring tumblr. i am definitely a very political person, and have been invested in developed a deeper understanding of world history and geopolitics since i was ~12 (i’m 18 now). but i feel so drained. i’ve muted tags on here relating to palestine and the conflict in general, and i feel horrible about it bc i see people around me constantly posting about it, but i just can’t. i’ve given up. i ideologically leaned far more against the state of israel before oct 7th than i do now, and i’ve seen this amongst many of my jewish friends too. my online friends have always tended to be pro-palestine, but i never saw this much dehumanization coming from them until now. to see how hated jewish people are, to see how many people i loved thought oct 7th was justified resistance… it hurt beyond words… even my longtime irl best friend tried to explain the conflict (and was whining about me getting ben and jerry’s at a store) to me despite not knowing anything about i/p before this war. i hate being talked to like im an idiot. but if i vocalize that, im speaking over others.

i don’t like seeing images of dead children. i don’t like reading about rising death tolls. i don’t like being bombarded with brutal details about humans’ suffering. and that is all everyone online is ever talking about. and all i see people say is that i need to suck it up because there are people suffering way more than me right now, which obviously is true. but i don’t want people to think im a bad, ignorant person. and sometimes i start to believe i actually am. i was very actively posting about the war when it first started, but now as i have seen more and more how cruel people are towards jews i just don’t post much at all on anything besides tumblr. i worry my online friends think i don’t care, and especially that i somehow don’t care about palestinians, when i do, and i always have! but do i have to subject myself to such upsetting information everyday to care? why can i not be afforded a break? why aren’t jewish people allowed to mourn for the loss of life in israel and the hostages without being accused immediately of hating palestinians and wanting them dead? how come non-palestinian muslims are widely allowed to center themselves in this conversation (obviously, muslims are hurting too, though) and talk about their feelings but jews aren’t allowed to? why are jewish people not allowed to feel anything? why must we ignore one group’s suffering and insist that another’s is more important to acknowledge? why?

and i’m just scared, because i don’t know what to believe. maybe israel is somehow doing all these terrible things and im actually evil for doubting it? idk if that makes sense, but it’s how i feel. i’ve witness very disturbing behavior from both zionists and antizionists, and it’s tiring. i have seen members of the former camp saying “there are no innocents in gaza” and members of the latter saying “there are no innocents in israel”. it’s why i can’t really identify with either party, so i feel alone. by its simplest definition i am a zionist, but people have turned that word to mean a million different things that at times it just feels like its lost its meaning. and when i see someone say “zionists dni” on their acc its like… what do you even mean?

i think there are a lot of well-meaning people in the pro palestine crowd, and i don’t think that’s wishful thinking either. though obviously, there are a lot of truly vindictive people out there who have nothing but hatred in their hearts. but i now get anxious to see an account i follow post something pro-palestine. and i feel so horrible about it. i know many of these people have good intentions, but i automatically assume there is something more sinister going on, whether it’s someone i know personally or not posting about it. and i don’t want to! i want to believe most people are good! or at least decent! but i can’t.

i just wish i didn’t have to be bombarded with so much information whenever i log on to interact with fandom posts. but i worry that means i don’t care. but i really think i do… i can’t not care. but sometimes i feel like im not caring enough

.

[rosebijoumme]

hi I’m this is your art big but I can’t be off anon rn bc of ppl harassing me on this account and I don’t want someone to user search me and find it.

But I was wondering how you avoid Zionist indoctrination while converting? Bc I decided to look into conversion last year (ultimately decided I do not theologically agree with Judaism as much as I thought) and after working in a Jewish community for a year, I found myself thinking more like a Zionist and agreeing with their beliefs. Until recently when I had to really get out of that and realize I was allowing myself to be told what to think. I think for me only hearing one side is what did it, and feeling like I have to be a Zionist if I want to be Jewish/reconnect w my Jewish ancestry. I feel bad bc I used to be pro Palestine or at least thought I was but my thinking started going down a pretty dangerous path and at two or three different points i had to pull myself out of it bc I felt like I was being radicalized.

whooooo boy.

The short answer is stick to your principles.

The longer answer is, you need to surround yourself with antizionist Jews and make a commitment to antizionism. I've actually had my conversion on hold for an unfortunate amount of time due to various life stuff causing me to leave my hometown, and have had trouble connecting with another Rabbi due to lack of community outreach for the region I live in, time, distance, etc. I've even reached out to rabbis and we started working on things until scheduling and other problems threw a wrench in the works. This is a sore spot for me so I don't talk about it much. But the thing is, a synagogue could be established in a 15 minute walk away from me tomorrow, and if it was predominantly run by zionists I would not go. This is because of my commitment. When I was 15-18, it was frustrating to see flags in the bimah, but I could ignore it- noting that I'm from the south and have had to learn how to cope with genocidal and regressive symbols like this (confed flags, dont tread on me, etc) being around me without any control over them basically my whole life, and that my hometown's temple largely didn't talk about Zionism. I'm sure thats different now and people there have likely gotten radicalized. I'm older now, and I can't, and frankly I dont think it was a good thing that I used to. I have no desire to participate in a temple that permits genocide.

You also need to critically think about... everything. Ask yourself "if someone said this shit about any other group, would I agree?" (For example, I would not agree that white Italians need their own state where being white Italians are central, and where keeping the white Italian birthrates high is necessary, and would recognize that as ethnonationialism- and people do say shit like that about Italy).

Additionally, you shouldn't. Ever. Lie to your rabbi/whatever other religious leader your branch of Judaism recognizes about something like this as a conversion student. It can turn on you very badly and very quickly.

Anti- or at minimum non-zionist rabbis and temples exist, though they aren't as common. I would prioritize finding antizionist Jews in your area and not only forming relationships with them, but asking their advice on who and where to go to. Sometimes there won't be resources that you can use as an antizionist. Sometimes you'll be stuck in a weird grey area for a long time. I'm not uncomfortable with this, honestly. The fact that I've stuck with it even through this only signifies my commitment. Abayudaya Jews created their community with few resources avaliable, and even through times of hostility. The commitment means I fully recognize them as Jews, even though plenty of them didn't convert the way rabbinic Judaism recognizes as sufficient. I care more about how other Jews who I have relationships with see me, knowing my struggle with community resources, than say, being recognized as a "proper Jew" by the Israeli state. This doesn't mean I think conversion isn't necessary (because people love to fearmonger about converts misbehaving); it just means that I don't feel personal spiritual unease with the way my path is going and the complications I've faced and still am dealing with. I keep to myself about these complications more because they're personal details and very stressful for me, so I don't care to share them in a public forum, especially because people treat converts very badly, and I'm also treated badly for not being white. And thats before considering that I'm not a zionist. People are going to do lashon hara enough about me without actually knowing private details like that.

Additionally, these in person relationships are necessary because a lot of rabbis won't loudly advertise that they aren't zionists as it can be dangerous for them, and whatever "advertisement" they do may be through orgs where there's a mix of "soft zionists" like If Not Now and JVP, and actually committed antizionists, and you won't know which is which because they don't do a lot of social media or etc.