#but that’s what’s being asked of Israel

[adollwritesblog]

Edit: I just want to start with saying that nothing about this has to do with OP and I don't want to attack anyone. As with Southpauz, I too am not okay right now and needed to breathe out my opinion. Most people support progressive ballots and measures. Even 57% of people who voted in FLORIDA wanted to bring back abortion rights (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/05/us/florida-abortion-ballot-measure.html) . Progressive policies were popular all across the nation (on abortion: https://www.npr.org/2022/05/06/1096676197/7-persistent-claims-about-abortion-fact-checked) (on minimum wage: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/04/22/most-americans-support-a-15-federal-minimum-wage/) (on medicare for all: https://www.citizen.org/article/public-support-for-medicare-for-all/). Hell, most people support trans folks!!! (https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/06/28/americans-complex-views-on-gender-identity-and-transgender-issues/)

Kamala Harris did not convey any of her progressive policies to her voters. She was cowardly and her messaging was extremely ineffective.

When asked about trans rights, she said "We should follow the law" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbVPee2UdJk) .

"When asked about Palestine, she said, "Isreal has the right to defend itself" (https://theweek.com/politics/kamala-harris-israel-gaza-policy).

When asked about immigration, she said, "Protect the border" (https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/trump-harris-border-wall-arizona-rusting-2021-rcna173094).

In saying all of this ridiculous "centrist" shit, she LOST 20 million votes (Biden got 81 million votes, Harris got 60 million) (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/fact-focus-multimillion-vote-gap-2020-2024-fuels-115586026).

There is not a sudden change in what people believe in. For instance, most people do not want mass deportation (https://www.vox.com/2024-elections/379883/mass-deportations-trump-harris-polling-immigration-border) (when presented between granting citizenship and mass deportation, most people say citizenship). This might be surprising, given the candidate who won is a huge advocate for this, but the dems DID NOT PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE (see above). (Or, at least, they did not convey effectively that they were an alternative).

Whether you agree with people withholding their votes for whatever reason or not (I personally believe people should vote no matter what, but people will do what people will want to do), it is the job of the democratic party to work to earn their votes. On just about every issue, the Democrats were fucking abysmal in this front. The only economic policy that they would convey was the $50,000 for start-up small businesses, and most people don't give a rats fuck about that (https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/09/04/harris-proposes-50000-small-business-tax-deduction-for-startup-expenses-heres-what-to-know/) (at least, I know I don't).

I understand that people are scared and frustrated. I am too. But the democratic party has been dropping the fucking ball for the past 12 years, ever since Obama, and I'm tired of people being blind to this. ESPECIALLY since the democrats keep pushing themselves further and further to the RIGHT. Already, they are discussing abandoning trans rights to appeal to the "centrist" voter (https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/democrats-transgender-rights-harris-election-rcna179148).

The whole "vote-blue-no-matter-who" is idealistic and ruining the party because no body cares to hold these cowards accountable. And the media has also definitely fucked things up tremendously, I agree with that. All that the democrats did was run the "harm reduction" campaign, which is rarely an effective motivator to get people out to vote. My source for this is the way the democrats have used this strategy for the past 12 years and only barely eeked out Trump in 2020, (I think it was like 12,000 popular votes?) and that was mainly because of Trump's horrible mishandling of a global pandemic.

Most of Trump's policies are not popular. But Trump, unlike Harris, actually conveys a message to people, a message for change. The Dems keep trying to go for maintaining the current order, and NOBODY FUCKING WANTS THAT. WE WANT CHANGE!

I'm not mad at anyone who are feeling frustrated by everyone around them. It looks really scary right now, and I sympathize with that. But just please, please, please understand that it is the job of the democratic party to appeal to voters to get their votes, and when they don't do that, they fucking lose and we pay the price!! Leftists have every right to vote how they please, whether you agree with their views or not. Hopefully people will learn from this that bullying people into voting for your candidate is not effective and only stews resentment between groups with common interests. If you want leftists to vote for your candidate, give them policies that the candidate will do that will directly benefit their lives. The dems think they can abandon the left, but then they get less and less turn out. I'm sick and tired of people blaming leftists for having boundaries with politicians. The dems gambled not getting these votes, lost them, and lost the election. If the leftists are so necessary to win the election, do LITERALLY ANYTHING to get their votes.

It is time we stop blaming voters and start holding our representatives accountable for their stupidity and blindness.

[matan4il]

You might have heard that last night, Israelis and Jews were attacked by Muslims across Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands, after a soccer match between a Dutch and an Israeli team.

So far, multiple reports state that people have been stabbed, beaten, ran over, thrown into a river, 10 Israelis have not been located since the pogrom and 3 are considered missing, several of the injured have been located in hospitals, the total number of wounded is still being investigated, all Israelis and Jews in Amsterdam have been advised to conceal any signs of their Israeli or Jewish identity, many Dutch officials have remarked on this failure to protect Jews and Israelis from their attackers (so fuck everyone trying to victim blame the attacked... this was fully one-sided and the Dutch have admitted that), and the State of Israel has been working to evacuate its citizens from the Netherlands as quickly as possible, including with flights during Shabbat, which is allowed for religious Jews due to the risk posed to the lives of the evacuees.

I've read some accounts from attacked victims, and some of their stories are reminiscent of what was done to Jews during (and right before) the Holocaust. Europe 2024 is not much safer for Jews than Europe 1934.

It is ironic that the Israeli team whose fans were attacked is Macabbi Tel Aviv. Maccabi's uniform used to be blue and white, and their nickname was "The Blue Ones." As the first confirmed information about the Holocaust reached the Land of Israel (then under British rule and referred to as Mandatory Palestine), one of its players suggested adding yellow to the team's uniform, in honor of the Jews in Europe forced to wear the yellow star. Maccabi has since been known as "The Yellow Ones." Even more ironic is the fact that this is the same all-Jewish Maccabi Tel Aviv team that Palestinians, including Bella Hadid, have repeatedly appropriated, and misrepresented it as "proof" of the existence of an independent Arab state called Palestine.

Meanwhile, the State of Israel has announced that it will recognize the pogrom in Amsterdam last night as a terrorist attack (source in Hebrew), a move which will enable the victims to receive social aid and support from the state. Israel has also opened special national hotlines that have been opened for the victims. They are available in several languages: Hebrew, English, Russian and Arabic (source in Hebrew). That's right. The only Jewish state in the world, whose citizens are targeted for the supposed discriminatory policies of their government, is offering any possible Arabic speaking fans who have also been victimized by this antisemitic attack their own hotline. So apartheid, much genocide. /eyeroll

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

[some-triangles]

Now that everyone's a little less raw it looks like the Takes are rolling in, so I might as well add mine.

The thing that frustrates me is that everybody knows that the democratic party is a bought and paid for centrism machine, but we forget this every time an election rolls around. It's been the most important election of my lifetime, where we have to set aside petty concerns like the social safety net or not slaughtering people in the middle east in order to vote for the lesser of two evils, for the last 20 years. It is a reflection on how eagerly human beings will divide themselves into factions that this continues to work.

I want you to reflect on that moment of enthusiasm the left collectively had when Harris came on board (do you remember when Walz made that joke about Vance fucking a couch? Good times.) Do you ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

There is a very obvious lesson to be learned from Trump's win here, but it will go aggressively unlearned, because it is not in the interests of the media or the political classes to learn it. The CNN roundtable on how Harris lost because she wasn't pro-Israel enough went out yesterday. Consider how much money is spent on a presidential election in this country - even the nicest, most liberal lobbyists, lawyers, "journalists", consultants and associated professionals have mortgages to pay and mouths to feed.

All I want at this point is a little honesty from the "in my america" lawn sign brigade, a little reflection. All I want is for the next time the democratic party comes around asking for your money, your energy, your attention- just think a little bit about what you've bought from them so far. Think about the current state of the healthcare system, think about who profits from it, think about how much you still spend on insurance and on top of insurance. Think about how the rich get richer under both parties. Think about how this election was decided when business decided they could accept Trump and the democrats were left holding the principles they'd been trying to sell, outbid for them. Tear up the fundraising letters, and on top of that, tear up your medical bills. Kick the sunk cost fallacy out of your brain and admit that this isn't working. I'm not asking you to take the next step, to think about why a message founded on white supremacy and american exceptionalism is so persuasive to so many of us, or why every single person in a position of real power is lying about a genocide that we can see happening on our phones. Just think about where your money has gone and whether there's been a return on your investment.

For those of you who already know what I'm talking about, the story is the same as it ever was. Due to inflation the 20 bucks of mutual aid we pass around should probably be updated to 50, and we should probably find some way of passing it that doesn't involve Peter Thiel, but other than that, business as usual.

[unnounblr]

Thinking about it more though. I mean, I don't see how vowing to have a republican in her cabinet and wheeling 90 year old Dick fucking Cheney on stage did anything but hurt, but as far as Gaza goes.

Like, the DNC didn't allow any of the Palestinian protestors or activists to get on stage as speakers, and I think that was a mistake, ultimately.

But, like, I know there are people on the Left who object to even Bernie saying that Israel has a right to exist and defend itself against Hamas, and I'm not sure how many of the 14 million who voted for Biden but didn't vote for Kamala take that stance?

Looking over the texts of her speeches, for the most part, Harris's stance on Gaza was "Israel had a right to defend themselves after October 7th, but they went too far, the U.S. has to work with Israel to negotiate a ceasefire, return the hostages, and bring humanitarian aid to Gaza". Paraphrasing, but that's what Harris said on the topic multiple times.

And. I know a lot of people on the left don't like how both-sidesy it is, that Israel isn't willing to negotiate with Hamas, that Israel is the aggressor, that Hamas is a resistance group, that Israel was harming Gaza with the security check points and apartheid and the illegal West Bank settlements before October 7th. And.

I mean, I think it would have been great if she had said a word about the illegal settlements, and suggested that Israel should abide by international law. Criticism of Israel and the way it has responded and acted is very obviously more than warranted

But the thing is, the United States of America is in an alliance with Israel, and has treaties and accords with Israel. Part of the U.S. constitution is that, along with the constitution itself, any treaties the U.S.A. enters into are the Supreme Law of the Land.

Like, that's why the U.S. never became part of the ICC, or adopted the convention on the rights of the child, or other human rights resolutions and treaties. Because they would be extremely legally binding, on the level of the constitution itself. And Americans didn't want to obey those laws.

But the U.S.A.'s treaty with Israel means that, legally, the U.S.A. has to come to Israel's defense when Israel is under threat. Other parts of U.S. law do require the U.S. to withhold military aid from regimes that do war crimes and human rights violations, (which, I mean, with the U.S.'s history I don't know if that's ever been enforced, the U.S. are the ones who put countless dictators into power) but, those laws arent in the constitution, a treaty overrides them. So, legally, when Israel is attacked, like on October 7th, the U.S. is required to do something to come to Israel's aid and ensure Israel's existence.

The Biden administration did start withholding some weapons from Israel this year, but it was clearly too little, too late. For the election and for Gaza both. And after they had already sent thousands of weapons before that.

On the flipside, some of the more progressive democrats in congress ended up losing their primaries for being too critical of Israel, and. I mean, not only would all the fanatical Christians who think Israel needs to exist to end the world join together and vote republican if someone actually did run an anti-Israel campaign. I think a lot of Jewish people, even left-leaning ones like Bernie, would object to the idea of a state where 6 million Jewish people live suddenly not existing?

Like, the more I think about it, and look at everything involved. I am increasingly less certain about what Biden and especially Harris could even have done, with the Gaza situation.

Especially since. And I admit this may be conspiratorial. Mossad and Israeli intelligence supposedly got reports about the October 7th attack beforehand. And Netanyahu's government specifically withdrew security forces from the area, but let the music festival and holiday continue. And all along, while Biden was asking Netanyahu for a ceasefire, pausing some shipments of some weapons, trying to get humanitarian aid in by making new ports. Trump was on Truth social, and apparently even calling Netanyahu privately, telling him to continue.

I dunno, part of me thinks Netanyahu was never going to stop, no matter what Biden said or did, if he thought continuing improved his chances of getting his buddy Trump back instead.

Is she genuinely losing?! How are the democrats so good at losing

[11queensupreme11]

Well America is doomed 🙏 I genuinely do NOT understand people who voted for a CONVICTED FELON A RAPIST AND A PEDO.

(warning: i'm gonna rant a bit because this has really disappointed me. i'm not surprised, but i am disappointed)

there's still a sliver of hope left in me (copium) for a recount just like last time, which helped biden a lot. plus, there's evidence of a lot of voter suppression, election fraud and interference going on (ballot boxes being burned, mail-in ballots being turned away because of "inability to verify signatures", poll stations closing early, bomb threats, etc.) and all of this coincidentally happening in blue areas only smh, so i'm really hoping that kamala doesn't concede and lets the votes keep counting (because there's still millions left), or at least demand a recount later on

remember, counting doesn't last only a day. it takes days, not a single night. there's still more votes to be counted and incidents to be investigated AND the chance for a recount should kamala ask for one.

this election should be an eye-opener on just how deeply hateful and uneducated a lot of americans are. literally the only people who would ever benefit from a trump reign are rich, white, heterosexual, cisgender men and that EXACT combination only. it doesn't matter if you're a rich black woman, or a broke white man, or a heterosexual poc, etc. if you are not rich AND white AND straight AND cisgender male, you will NOT benefit from him at all.

and yet we had exactly those sort of people voting him in. black women and men of all ages did so good voting blue, but their hard work has been ruined because SO many white women and men, and latinos have voted against their own interests. hell i saw gay couples and trans people proudly voting for trump all over twitter. all because of their own hatred and lack of education because some of them GENUINELY thought trump would make their lives better. they hate everyone and they hate themselves, and they aren't even aware of it. they're so stupid too, they don't understand what's going to happen to them under trump and they don't WANT to

don't even get me started on the jill stein bs. i get it that people genuinely thought that voting for her would save palestine, but she was being endorsed by a member of the KKK and has a running mate who is openly against abortion and trump himself has said that he liked her -- that should've been telling. not only that but she's part of the green party. green parties will never win, their sole purpose is to divide votes and that's exactly what happened in some of the states kamala could've won had it not been for so many people choosing jill stein instead. all those wasted votes could've HELPED US.

right now we've lost the senate and house of representatives, we are becoming a very fascistic country -- even more than we were before. rfk jr -- the man who's wife killed herself because of his rampant cheating scandal, the man who chooses conspiracy theories over science, who promised to ban ALL vaccines (polio, flu, covid, measles, smallpox, etc) -- will soon be in charge of public health (including women's health), the department of education will be targeted even more than before because dumb, uneducated americans are more likely to vote red (a fact which has been proven many many times before -- this very election is also proof of that), palestine and ukraine are in more danger than ever -- trump wants all of palestine wiped out for israel and he wants to remove the US out of NATO so european countries are going to have to do whatever they can to protect ukraine and themselves from russia because putin's not gonna stop at ukraine and israel's not gonna stop with palestine, syria, lebanon, and yemen.

this is a country full of dangerously dumb and cruel people and it's going to impact EVERYONE because america can't keep their claws out of other countries' businesses

[thrandilf]

Palestinians were *actually* telling people to boycott the vote. Wrong again. Please for the love of god, read a history book, explore outside of electoral politics, stop blaming those with principles for what is the sole fault of fascists, grow tf up

There's no such thing as "boycotting a vote" you stupid Goddamned fucking IDIOT.

You're not even worth replying to but you know what?

You don't vote? All you're saying is you're a waste of time to spend outreach resources on.

Congratulations.

Now the guy who wants Israel to "finish the job" will be in power. Trump who criticizes Biden for holding back. He wants Gaza to be real estate for everyone else. He's racist, Islamophobic, and war hungry against Palestinians and everyone living within within the US who disagrees with him and who comes from any sort of minority and everyone KNOWS ALL OF THIS because he held fucking neonazi rallies and said all of it out loud himself.

Harris would have been better in every way for everyone on the fucking planet and wanted a two state solution/ceasefire.

I referenced a last minute endorsement she did receive from Muslim and Arab American leaders as well as posts I had seen around but didn't save where people were saying to vote for Harris in between, idk, fighting for their lives.

Ukraine is Also in danger and people in Eastern Europe are scared about Trump too.

I will not be discussing this anymore/I'll be deleting any asks or stupid ass replies to anything I post but let me make it clear. If you fell for the psyops and "boycotted" your vote:

You don't care about Palestinians.

You don't care about Ukrainians.

You don't care about women.

You don't care about climate change or anyone in the US/places the US exports food to having clean water/safe to eat food.

You don't care about queer people.

You don't care about any indigenous, black, brown, or Asian people within the US.

You don't care about gun control.

You don't care about the horrific impact this will have on the global South.

You don't care about freedom of the internet.

You don't care about homeless people.

Y'all hate women of color so much it's unreal.

You don't care about anyone but your fucking self and the delusion you have that you're somehow virtuous by not voting when all you are is blindly showing your own ass as being uninformed and flaunting it as good while y'all let this shit happen. Fuck off.

[anarchywoofwoof]

i've seen a few people in the comments or the notes expressing their regret for being happy about this and i just want to add something.

you should be happy to see someone who reminds you of yourself elected to public office. that should be a source of motivation for you to believe that if it's something you want to do, being trans alone is not an exclusive barrier to your entry into politics. i don't want to take that away from anyone.

but what i was getting at in my OP, which i wrote when i was a little more amped up than i am right now, is that the only reason Sarah McBride was elected as a trans woman is because she has the *explicitly approved* opinions of the very tippy top of the Democratic party.

Sarah previously worked underneath Beau Biden, Joe Biden's late son, when he was Attorney General of Delaware. Sarah is also primarily responsible for Biden's shift on the way he views trans people. this is undeniably a good thing, but ask yourself this:

if Sarah McBride had dissenting views on Israel, didn't have exclusive access to the President of the United States' son, or failed to toe the party line, does any of this ever materialize and improve the lives of transgender people in this country?

your rights and representation in the government should not be dependent upon the right trans person having the right connections in state and local government that somehow leads them to having clout with the POTUS. any trans or queer person should be able to walk off of the street, run for Congress and have representation alongside any cis person. you shouldn't have to be in the exclusive club of people with the exclusive opinions in order to be successful in anything you want to do.

trans people on tumblr celebrating an absolutely rabid zionist being elected to congress simply because she is a trans woman and then utterly shouting down anyone who mentions it is incredibly fucking embarassing.

genuinely losing my faith at an exponential rate in a lot of the people on this website which sucks because i thought it was the last bastion of online progressive principles. and now i'm realizing it's kind of just woke reddit.

[incorrect-riordanverse]

It's really disheartening that Rick Riordan stance on the war I understand that he wants to be neutral on this stance but in my opinion by becoming neutral he only worsening the issue as many Palestines are dying that are mostly children, how the majority of Israeli are supporting the Genocide of Palestine, and how the government is trying so hard (but miserably failing) to justified the genocide. I will hold him accountable for what he said on this issue as during this period the choice is basically "you are with us or against us."

Part of me wishes he will realize what he said was wrong and understand the bigger issue that plays at hand. I will criticism for his actions as how can a man who promotes LGBTQIA and representation of minorities and disabilities in his books turn a blind eyes to Genocide of people. However we can only wait and see on his next move.

One last thing about your previous you said you don't group Riordan with other authors where do you would group him with? Also this is more on an opinion base answer but many people are boycotting companies that support Israel there as been another post on Twitter on boycotting authors. Rick Riordan happens to be one of them. Do you believed that he should be boycotted with other authors or he should be properly educated and apologized for his previous statement? If you believed he should be boycotted what do tou have to say to those who might have the mentality of "separate the art from the artist"

thank you for this ask, and i completely agree with you! it is extremely hypocritical of him considering what he preaches for in his books. i think he’s convinced he has properly addressed the apartheid by using very vague language that can be applied to anything, and in doing so, he’s addressed nothing really.

your first question on who i would group him with— probably other authors who are doing the exact same as him in their virtue signalling. i always like to link my other blogs to each other, so i don’t think it’s a secret that i have a red queen account and i’m pretty passionate about that. unfortunately, victoria aveyard is another fantasy author who has literally wrote a whole four-book series on the uprising against oppression but is now playing neutral in her address of the apartheid. rebecca yarros is in the same boat, although i haven’t read ‘fourth wing,’ fans have said there are large themes of oppression within the book. so if i had to group riordan it would probably be in the ‘i-like-to-write-about-it-for-profit-and-praise-only’ group.

in terms of boycotting, i think that’s a great idea! i would also like to remind everyone that the percy jackson tv show is coming out in a little over a month, but disney is a huge industry financially supporting israel as well ($2 million in funding), which is obviously far more damning than a poorly written address by one person. there is a boycott happening for disney as well— and the pjo show will be released on disney + . i implore everyone to not watch it on that platform!! personally i will be pirating it online (idk if i’ll get into trouble saying that here but lol oh well), because im pretty sure the boycott is only for withdrawing financial support, not simply consuming media.

i feel like separating art from the artist only works if that artist is… like, dead, and you’re using that art and its values as a historical insight to how the world was during its time. you can still like a piece of work that has a problematic artist, you can engage with the work (to an extent). but separating art from the artist barely works because either:

to engage with the art is to support the artist in some way, so that artist is making money based on your interaction with that (particularly in the case for singers and streaming of songs)

that artists’ views and values are so rancid that it’s literally embedded within the text itself. to ignore it is harmful.

harry potter is my all-time favourite example to use, because jkr is the scum of the earth, and her views are entrenched in her work. a lesser known example is sarah j maas and her books (she’s also not as dogshit as jkr, but then again, its not hard to be a better person than her). i’m not going to bag on these people for liking things by problematic people (would be hypocritical of me), i just think it’s cowardly not to address it when you come across it, or at least admit to it. to simply write things off as ‘separate to the artist’ is like purposefully turning off your critical thinking skills.

on whether boycotting or an apology is enough— if riordan did apologise and used specific language and not the nonsense he had in that blog, expressed his remorse for his ignorance and then actually did or said something to support the people of palestine then, yeah. that’s fine and that’s how we learn ig. but he should educate himself, too many activists, people from the arab community and especially palestinians are expected to be all-knowing and to educate everyone else on an already draining and personal tragedy. it’s been exhausting for me, i can’t imagine what they’re going through. if riordan (or anyone) needs to be educated, he should do it himself, and (at least in my opinion) i don’t think the info is very hard to find now. it’s just about weeding out the misinformation.

i think boycotting is a good idea as of now. it can serve to be a catalyst for self reflection for many people. also, as much as i hate most online discourses, talking about it online needs to happen. i don’t want these authors to forget, for a moment, about the ignorance they posted online during a time of international crisis.

[otrtbs]

you do realize that someone not saying they don't support palestine while being vocal about their support for israel is still problematic right…?

okay. now what?

[sereniv]

Well i think we ALL should be threatening not to vote for Harris if she doesnt call for an arms embargo. Id say ceasfire but lets be real

I think we ALL should be putting our effort into applying pressure on ending a genocide, rather than pressuring people to vote for someone who not only seems to be going back on policies she said she stood for, but is also not proving she will actually do anything on the situation in Palestine

The voting hasnt happened. You can't get mad at people for AT LEAST threatening to not vote for her. Threatening. As in, no one has voted yet. So it's all talk right now.

If people dont end up vote for Harris it will be her own fault. Thats just how it works. What she says, but more importantly what she does, is what makes people vote for her just like any other candidate

we arent even asking that much. At the VERY least, is to stop sending weapons. 1 thing she and biden are capable of doing but have shown having no plans on even considering it.

Now, I dont know what im doing when it comes to voting bc theres a lot that can happen until then. im not thinking of what im going to do, im focused on helping to apply pressure. Ive sent emails and called. But even just talking about it can help.

Yes, if Trump wins it IS worse, beyond Palestine. For the planet, and everyone.

But the fact is that some people will not vote for her. That is a fact.

Another Fact is some people will vote for her only if they feel confident she will actually do something about the genocide.

These are facts. You don't even need a source for that

Why are you wasting your time on people who wont vote, instead of convincing the Hold Voters to vote for Kamala by making Kamala someone they will want to vote for?

WE arent dividing the vote. SHE is.

Worry about the blame game for after the election.

For now, help us get her to agree that the United states will stop sending weapons to Israel and/or keep the halt (of weapons), if by some miracle biden gets something done.

[newnitz]

To add to that: Israel is NOT culturally Anglo-Saxon. Study these graphs. I left out the indulgence in Hofstede's cultural factor as a) it hasn't been measured for Israel and b) in my lived experience Israel is a high indulgence country not unlike the US.

While in Hofstede's scale Israel and the US will appear quite similar, in Meyer's there's a marked gap in nearly every dimension. Not as extreme as, say, US/India, but enough to let you feel like an immigrant.

For example, the one thing I struggled most with US culture and I suspect makes US-born Olim move right back there, Israeli culture is extremely direct, more than Australia(which most Americans are familiar with as the "direct culture"), even more than other (in)famously direct Dutch and Russian cultures. In fact, Russians and Ukrainians(who are between Russian and Dutch directness) struggle with Israeli directness, we might be the most direct culture she mapped. In Israel, nothing is sugar-coated, nothing has timing or sensibilities accounted for. If people disagree with you they'll say it to your face, no matter what. As an American, you'll experience Israelis as rude, unpleasant, inappropriate and insensitive. On the flip side, Israelis would experience you as thin-skinned and two-faced for practicing and expecting your American manners.

But on the other side, this means no mind games, you always know where you stand with people. You never have to tiptoe around people or guess what their triggers are. Israel's low-heirarchy culture means you'll have a lot more agency in your job and obedience will never be demanded of you. "Customer is always right"? That's a good joke for Israelis. Pleasant customer service is not the norm and is rewarded accordingly. People will be fashionably late everywhere but nobody will treat being late as a personal offense.

Study these differences between American and Israeli work culture to get a sense of the day-to-day culture, and ask yourself: is this something I can adapt to? Is this something I want? And if I have no choice, how do I begin to adapt?

The most sensible reasons to move to Israel are:

Deep, meaningful connection to that land, feeling like an empty unfillable gap wherever else one is

Realistic imminent threat to safety / life

Many Americans in particular who make aliyah are unpleasantly surprised by the cost of living in Israel. Right now the economy is weaker than it has been in many years due to wartime drag - plus, there is the war itself.

It's a major step and anyone making it needs to go in absolutely clear-headed. Is Israel your heart? Is your immediate environment becoming immediately unsafe? Or is this 12-hours-after-the-vote-call panic?

By all means, learn more about the process. It may be right for you, and if you go, you take my blessings and well-wishes for a long and happy life there. Depending on how far and how fast America sinks, maybe someday your new neighbor will be me.

The absolute LAST reason I would ever recommend moving to Israel is with the intention of voting out Netanyahu, simply because Israeli politics are much more complicated than Americans are used to and Netanyahu is very very good at building coalitions and staying in power. I'm as disappointed in that as most Israelis and most diaspora Jews but we need to face reality. In Israel you would be able to be politically involved without fear of being excluded due to your Jewishness - and if there was ever a crime aimed your way because you were Jewish, you would be reasonably assured that the government, the military, would take your side. That is the most I think it is reasonable to hope for.

I for one am not making any moves to leave America. Now. Our standard of living is hard to beat, everyone I know is here, I like the food, the weather, and I am privileged enough to live somewhere reasonably safe.

Watch the police, the courts, the security apparatus. If they continue acting like violence against Jews is a crime, I say stay. If they start to act like Ivy League campus security guards, tacitly accepting violence against you - or worse - then it may well be time to go.

[grecoromanyaoi]

The westerner is you. You're a westerner. Israel is a western society. Israelis grow up and partially descend from Western cultures. Israel has more in common with western superpowers like the USA than any country in the Levant. You talk like westerners as if they're foreign, but the call is coming from inside the house.

where did i say im not a westerner lmfao? how is me saying 'hm this is happening due to this site being largely populated by westerner' acting like westerners are foreign? r u rly that stupid? u do realize that killing urself on the alter of demonizing me does not make u a martyr, right?

[rendoas]

I think there's been a frightening amount of people on both sides of the Israel/Palestine conflict spectrum treating the whole thing like they're picking a football team. I think part of this issue stems from many people now electing to get their news from Instagram and Tiktok, and another part is how difficult it is to find reliable news articles that aren't funded by a party that stands to gain something from swaying international opinion.

I think most people's hearts are in the right place, being against human suffering and killing.

But I also think that far too many people have been swept up in "being on the right side of history" that they're not viewing this issue through the nuanced lens it really deserves.

From what I personally have read, this has been the fairest explanation (and the easiest for me to understand) of the conflict with viewpoints from both Palestinian and Israeli people.

My conclusion is that this is ultimately so very tragic because people are suffering on account of their governments' decisions. I don't think either Palestine or Israel (as governments, not people) are correct. I think the only correct thing is to stop the violence, and to love thy neighbor, and to care about one another. But I also have no idea how to get there, and am certainly not equipped in any sort of diplomatic or militaristic way to even begin to have anything to say about it.

I hope all the calling for ceasefire affects change. I hope all the donations and aid get through and save lives.

[gxlden-angels]

Do not stop talking about Palestine. Do not forget about Palestine. This is not a battle of religion and I do not think it should be treated as such. From the river to the sea, they will be free 🇵🇸

Disclaimer: I am not an expert. I am just some guy in the US. I am not a direct source of information. Please listen to Palestinians. Please help them directly. Please help with protests if your country is supplying Israel with weapons like the US.

[perfectlyvalid49]

I am afraid as a Jew.

I know that we are on the “how dare you say we piss on the poor” piss poor reading comprehension website, but the vast, vast majority of my original post is about the antisemitism that I experience in my life today, and the antisemitism that my ancestors experienced before Israel became a state. Zionism has little impact on either. If you can’t tell the difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, it may be that your anti-Zionism is antisemitic, whether you mean it to be or not.

You said that something didn’t sit right with you when you read my post, and I think that something is a part of you realizing that some of your behavior in your advocacy for Palestine is the sort of behavior that I and many other Jews view as antisemitic and you didn’t like that. The good news is that the discomfort you felt can lead to growth, but only if you let it.

I appreciate that you have Jewish friends, but the Jews that show up to pro-Palestinian marches are the sort who are the most tolerant of antisemitism, and the most likely to not call it out when they see it. The Jews who will not tolerate antisemitism have essentially been forced out of the pro-Palestine movement in the last six months for being “Zionists,” regardless of their actual political beliefs. Because of this, I’m not sure you are as educated on the subject matter as you think you are. I hope you will read this and that it will give you some things to think about, and maybe choose to learn more about.

In this post, if I am conflating Judaism and Zionism (and I think that’s happening more in your head than it is in the text), it is because the people who are attacking “Zionists” are attacking Jews. I don’t think the people who might hurt me are going to ask me my opinion on Israel before they strike, and in fact, I have seen people on this website call anti-Zionist Jews Zionists for doing something as simple as pointing out antisemitism, so even if they do ask, I will probably be found wanting.

In addition, there are more Christian Zionists in the United States than there are Jews in the world. And yet, I have not heard of a single Christian Zionist being attacked for their beliefs, nor are Christians routinely called upon to defend their views on Israel in the way that Jews are. Meanwhile, I have watched a non-Zionist Jew lie though his teeth to his six year old about why we all had to leave our synagogue so fast because “they hate us” is so, so hard to explain to a young child.

I’m actually going to ask you to answer your own question. Why would a post about JEWISH TRAUMA feel the need to mention the displacement of JEWS in Israel, but not the displacement in Gaza, a place where there are ZERO JEWS? Or am I not allowed to center myself and my people in a post about my experience of our communal pain? If not, could you imagine asking that of any other minority group?

I think that if you can call Gaza a concentration camp, you need to study up on either Gaza or the Holocaust. I am not saying that conditions there were good, nor am I saying that I think that they should have continued as they were. And I’m certainly not advocating for them continuing as they are. But to say the two are equivalent is like saying that Earth and Jupiter are both planets, so they are the same size. There are some key differences that you are missing. I made a quick chart.

The antisemitism of BDS is well documented. In particular it leaves a bad taste in my mouth because the House Representative from the district next to mine came to several synagogues in the area, claimed to be pro-Israel, and didn’t mention that BDS was part of her platform until after she was elected (literally, it was not on her website until after she was elected). I know that’s just the actions of one person, but that, in association with the movement’s antisemitic rhetoric, makes it worthy of inclusion on my list.

I went and googled a definition of apartheid, and got this from Cornell Law: “Apartheid refers to the implementation and maintenance of a system of legalized racial segregation in which one racial group is deprived of political and civil rights.” If Israel denies Arabs political and civil rights, how come Arabs serve at all levels of Israeli military and government, including sitting on their supreme court, holding office in the Knesset, and holding high ranking military positions? If your problem is with how Palestinians are treated, you must remember that Gaza and the West Bank are not actually a part of Israel (nor do they wish to be) and therefore the Palestinians living there do not live in Israel and are not Israeli citizens. Most countries have limits on what non-citizens can do, why should Israel be different? Palestinians should certainly be allowed to form their own country, and I’m in favor of a two state solution, myself. But it sounds like you don’t think Israel should exist. I’m curious as to why you’re in favor of Palestinian self-determination, but not Jewish self-determination.

It’s not genocide. Simply put, if Israel wanted to kill every man, woman and child in Gaza, there would have been no one left by the end of October. They would not have sent in ground troops, they would have just bombed them from the air. They would not have sent in aid, because why bother. The intent is to destroy Hamas, NOT the Palestinian people. Without the intent to destroy the Palestinian people, it’s war, and it’s terrible, but it’s not genocide. The fact that you either don’t understand that, or need to use the worst accusation possible to make your point is one of the reasons why I don’t think you’re as educated on the topic as you believe.

I want to know your definition of Zionism. My definition (one of the more common ones among people who identify as Zionist) is the right for Jews to have a self-determined state in the area now known as Israel, their indigenous homeland. Why should anyone with a conscience be against that? What part is morally objectionable? If you object to only the location, where should their homeland be, if not their land of origin?

Why do you think so many of those words were in quotes. The right hates the “other”, but I put other in quotes because people on the right will decide they don’t like you, and then work out how you fit into the category of “other” regardless of whether you’re different or not. Similarly, the left hates “privileged/elite/oppressors” IN QUOTES because people on the left will decide they don’t like you and then work out how you fit into the category of “privileged/elite/oppressors.” In this case, if you are Jewish and therefore a member of a minority with a history of oppression that goes back thousands of years, you will get called an “oppressor” by the left so that they can give themselves moral permission to attack you. I have a problem with actual oppressors, but the left has shown that they don’t believe that words have meaning. Holocaust, oppressor, apartheid, genocide – all of these words have definitions, and the definitions are being ignored so that the left has mean words to use against Israel. Until I can believe that the left is using words in a meaningful way, I will not hate a group just because the left says I should. You should consider doing the same.

You say that “the most egregious act of antisemitism since the 40s is the State of Israel conducting ethnic cleansing, massacres, apartheid, occupation, shoot-to-kill policy, theft of homes and land, and latest of all: genocide under the banner of the star of David.” That’s not Jew-hatred. That’s not antisemitism. That’s the excuse that people use for their antisemitism though. If you and others like you can’t help coming after Jews in the Diaspora as “oppressors” because of the actions of Israel, that’s not Israel’s fault. That’s the fault of the people who choose to be shitty to Jews “because Israel!” If a person can understand how attacking a Chinese American isn’t an appropriate response to the crimes committed by the Chinese government, but they can’t understand why attacking a Jewish American isn’t an appropriate response to the crimes committed by the Israeli government, then the problem is that the person is antisemitic and looking for an excuse.

If every oppressed person has the right to fight back, then you should be happy to know that there’s a long history of Jewish oppression in the MENA area. Consider the 1948 war the act of the Jewish people fighting off their oppressors and founding a new state where they could be free. Does that narrative make you feel better about Israel? It’s what you seem to be indicating that you want. Or is that narrative only ok if it’s the Jews being overthrown? Why might that be?

There are no laws in the United States aiming to reduce the rights of Jews or harm Jews right now. Two years ago, women in the United States had a constitutional right to abortions. Things change, and they can change quickly. And do you know where else there were no laws aiming to reduce the rights of Jews? Germany in 1930. The Jews have a long cultural memory, and part of the reason for that is because we ALWAYS need to run eventually, and so we need to remember what it looks like when it’s time to go. I think that if you don’t understand that every place that Jews have lived for the last 2000 years has been safe right up until it wasn’t, then you missed out on one of the major points of my post. Maybe read it again for understanding instead of just trying to find bits of it that you want to use to talk about how Zionists are terrible.

Not that I should have to defend my statements to you, and it’s really nitpicky for you to call it out, but here is a list of people I “know” in Israel:

My penpal from middle school – it’s been at least 20 years since we last wrote.

A handful of Israelis that I follow – I’ve even had positive interactions with some of them on Tumblr!

Some cousins on my mom’s side. They’re like fourth cousins and we’ve never met. But I know they exist! I don’t know if they know I exist.

My husband’s cousin’s wife’s family – we’ve met once, at my husband’s cousin’s wedding in 2009.

Does that explain how I can have family and acquaintances in Israel, but not consider any of them close (a clause that you very conveniently cut off in your quote)? I don’t talk to them, I’m not kept up to date of their activities. If something bad has happened to them, I haven’t been informed. Their existence hasn’t impacted the trauma that I was writing about.

Anyway, Am Yisrael Chai refers to the people of Israel – a name that Jews have called themselves for centuries prior to the founding of the state. In fact, the state was named for the people – “We are the people of Israel, so we will name our state Israel,” not, “Hey we named this place Israel for no apparent reason, I guess we’re the people of Israel now.” If you don’t know that, it tells me that you’re REALLY not as educated on the topic as you ‘re trying to make yourself sound. And given that there’s already been an extensive conversation about why people who don’t know what Am Yisrael Chai means jumping in to this post to attack Israel is antisemitic, in the comments section ON THIS POST, I don’t feel like going over the whole thing again. Either read the link, or accept this TL;DR on it: If you read a post about antisemitism and feel the need to redirect focus to Israel, you’re being antisemitic.

And honestly, reading through your response, the whole thing seems in bad faith. You’ve either deliberately missed the point, or given the worst possible faith reading to everything I wrote, and then came on to my post about how antisemitism is upsetting (deliberately on a joyous holiday) to talk about why you don’t like Israel, and how you think that things would be better for me if I were a Good Jew and just denounced Israel and the 40% of the Jewish population that lives there. I will not throw my own people under the bus to be kept as a favored pet for as long as I am willing to agree with you. There were Jews that did that in Nazi Germany, and they were killed just as surely as the Jews who did not. There were Jews who did that in Soviet Russia and it got them deported to Siberia just as surely as the Jews who did not.

Frankly, for someone who is so uneducated in Jewish history, I find your tone in this post condescending, and I find your claims of “I’m not antisemitic, I’m just an anti-Zionist,” to ring incredibly false. I think that at best, you’ve been drinking Hamasnik propaganda Kool-Aid at your pro-Palestinian marches and don’t realize how much false or biased information you’ve been told, and I think that more likely, you live in the West and have not interrogated just how much antisemitism is just present in Western culture and therefore present in you. Like I said at the top, I hope that you will maybe do some research involving conflicting viewpoints to your own and maybe learn something about Judaism before you hop on another post to lecture a Jew about something you don’t understand.

On being Jewish, and traumatized (It’s been 5 months and I want to talk):

Judaism is a joyous religion. So much of our daily practice is to focus us on the things that are good. I know that there’s a joke that all our holidays can be summed up as “they tried to kill us. We survived – let’s eat!”, and you might think that holidays focused on attempts at killing us might be somber, but they’re really not. Most are celebrated in the sense of, “we’re still here, let’s have a party!” When I think about practicing Judaism, the things I think about make me happy.

But I think a lot of non-Jews don’t necessarily see Judaism the same way. I think in part it’s because we do like to kvetch, but I think a lot of it is because from the outside it’s harder to see the joy, and very easy to see the long history of suffering that has been enacted on the Jewish people. From the inside, it’s very much, “we’re still here, let’s party” and from the outside it’s, “how many times have they tried to kill you? Why are you celebrating? They tried to KILL YOU!”

And I want to start with that because a lot of the rest of this is going to be negative. And I don’t want people to read it and wonder why I still want to be Jewish. I want to be Jewish because it makes me happy. My problem isn’t with being Jewish, it’s with how Jews are treated.

What I really wanted to write about is being Jewish and the trauma that’s involved with that right now.

First, I want to talk about Israeli Jews. I can’t say much here because I’m not Israeli, nor do I have any close friends or family that are Israeli. But if I’m going to be talking about the trauma Jews are experiencing right now, I can’t not mention the fact that Israeli Jews (and Israelis that aren’t Jewish as well, but that’s not my focus here) are dealing with massive amounts of it right now. It’s a tiny country – virtually everyone has a friend or family member that was killed or kidnapped, or knows someone who does. Thousands of rockets have been fired at Israel in the last few months – think about the fact that the Iron Dome exists and why it needs to. Terror attacks are ongoing; I feel like there’s been at least one every week since October. Thousands of people are displaced from their homes, either because of the rocket fire, or because their homes and communities were physically destroyed in the largest pogrom in recent history – the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust ended. If that’s not trauma inducing, I don’t know what is.

And there is, of course, the generational trauma. And I think Jewish generational trauma is interesting because it’s so layered. Because it’s not just the result of one trauma passed down through the generations. Every 50-100 years, antisemitism intensifies, and so very frequently the people experiencing a traumatic event were already suffering from the generational trauma that their grandparents or great grandparents lived through. And those elders were holding the generational trauma from the time before that. And so on.

And because it happens so regularly, there’s always someone in the community that remembers the last time. We are never allowed the luxury of imagining that we are safe. We know what happened before, and we know that it happened again and again and again. And so we know that it only makes sense to assume it will happen in the future. The trauma response is valid. I live in America because my great grandparents lived in Russia and they knew when it was time to get the hell out in the 1900s. And the reason they knew that is because their grandparents remembered the results of the blood libels in the 1850s. How can we heal when the scar tissue keeps us safe?

I look around now and wonder if we’ll need to run. We have a plan. I repeat, my family has a plan for what to do if we need to flee the country due to religious persecution. How can that possibly be normal? And yet, all the Jewish families I know have similar plans. It is normal if you’re Jewish. Every once in a while I see someone who isn’t Jewish talk about making plans to leave because they’re LGBTQ or some other minority and the question always seems to be, “should I make a plan?” It astounds me every time. The Jewish answer is that you need to have a plan and the only question is, “when should I act?” Sometimes our Jewish friends discuss it at play dates. Where will you go? What are the triggers to leave? No one wants to go any earlier then they have to. Everyone knows what the price of holding off too long might be.

I want to keep my children safe. When do I induct them into the club? When do I let my sweet, innocent kids know that some people will hate them for being Jewish? When do I teach them the skills my parents and grandparents taught me? How to pass as white, how to pass as Christian, knowing when to keep your mouth shut about what you believe. When do I tell them about the Holocaust and teach them the game “would this person hide me?” How hard do I have to work to remind them that while you want to believe that a person would hide you, statistically, most people you know would not have? Who is this more traumatic for? Them, to learn that there is hatred in the world and it is directed at them, or me, to have to drive some of the innocence out of my own children’s eyes in order to make sure they are prepared to meet the reality of the world?

And the reality of the world is that it is FULL of antisemitism. There’s a lot of…I guess I’d call it mild antisemitism that’s always present that you just kinda learn to ignore. It’s the sort of stuff that non-Jews might not even recognize as antisemitic until you explain it to them, just little micro-aggressions that you do your best to ignore because you know that the people doing it don’t necessarily mean it, it’s just the culture we live in. It can still hurt though. I like to compare it to a bruise: you can mostly ignore it, but every once in a while something (more blatant antisemitism) will put a bit to much pressure on it and you remember that you were already hurting this whole time.

On top of the background antisemitism, there’s more intense stuff. And usually the most intense, mask off antisemitism comes from the right. This makes sense, in that a lot of right politics are essentially about hating the “other” and what are Jews if not Western civilizations oldest type of “other”? On the one hand, I’ve always been fortunate enough to live in relatively liberal areas so this sort of antisemitism has felt far away and impersonal – they hate everybody, and I’m just part of everybody. On the other hand, until recently I’ve always considered this the most dangerous source of antisemitism. This is the antisemitism that leads to hate crimes, that leads to synagogue shootings. This is the reason why my synagogue is built so that there is a long driveway before you can even see the building, and that driveway is filled with police on the high holidays. This is the reason why my husband and I were scared to hang a mezuzah in our first apartment (and second, and third). For a long time, this was the antisemitism that made me afraid.

But the left has a problem with antisemitism too. And it has always been there. Where the right hates the “other”, the left hates the “privileged/elite/oppressors.” It’s the exact same thing, just dressed up with different words. They all mean “other” and “other” means “Jew.” It hurts more coming from the left though. A lot of Jewish philosophy leans left. A lot of Jews lean left. So when the left decides to hate us, it isn’t a random stranger, it’s a friend, and it feels like a betrayal.

One of the people I follow works for Yad Vashem, and a few weeks ago she mentioned a video they have with testimonies from people who came to Israel after Kristallnacht, with an unofficial title of “The blow came from within.” The idea is that to non-German Jews, the Holocaust was something done by strangers. It was still terrible, but it is easier to bear the hate of a stranger – it’s not personal. But to German Jews, the Holocaust was a betrayal. It wasn’t done by strangers, it was done by coworkers, and neighbors and people they thought were friends. It was done by people who knew them, and still looked at them and said, “less than human.” And because of this sense of betrayal, German survivors, or Germans who managed to get out before they got rounded up, had a very different experience than other Holocaust victims.

And I feel like a lot of left leaning Jews are having a similar experience now. People that we’ve marched with or organized with, or even just mutuals that we’ve thought of as friends are now going on about how Jews are evil. They repeat antisemitic talking points from the Nazis and from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and when we point out that those ideas have only led to Jewish death in the past they don’t care. And if someone you thought of as a friend thinks of you this way, what do you think a stranger might think? Might do?

The Jews are fucking terrified. I’ve seen a post going around that basically wonders if this was what it was like for our ancestors – when things got bad enough to see what was coming but before it was too late to run? And we can see what’s coming. History tells us that they way people are talking and acting only leads to one place. I’m a millennial – when I was a kid the grandparents at my synagogue made sure the kids knew – this is what it looked like before, this is what you need to watch out for, this is when you need to run. I wonder where to run to. It feels like nowhere is safe.

I feel like I’ve been lucky in all this. I don’t live in Israel. I have family and acquaintances who do, but no one I’m particularly close to. Everyone I know in real life has either been sane or at least silent about all of this (the internet has been significantly worse, but when it comes to hate, the internet is always worse). I live in a relatively liberal area – there’s always been antisemitism around anyway, but it’s mostly just been swastikas on flyers, or people advocating for BDS, not anything that’s made me actually worry for my safety. But in the last 5 months there have been bomb threats at my synagogue, and just last week a kid got beat up for being Jewish at our local high school. He doesn’t want to report it. He’s worried it will make it worse.

I bought a Magen David to wear in November. At the time it seemed like the best way to fight antisemitism was to be visibly Jewish, to show that we’re just normal people like everyone else. Plus, I figured that if me being Jewish was going to be a problem for someone, then I would make it a problem right away and not waste time. I’ve worn it almost constantly since, but the one time I took it off was when I burnt my finger in December and had to go to urgent care. I didn’t think about it too much when I did it, but I thought about it for a long time after – I didn’t feel good about having made that choice.

The conclusion I came to is that the training that my elders had been so careful to instill in me kicked in. I was hurt, and scared, and the voice inside my head that sounds like my grandmother said, “don’t give them a reason to be bad to you. Fight when you’re well, but for now – survive.” It still felt cowardly, but it was also a connection to my ancestors who heeded the same voice well enough to survive. And it enrages me that that voice has been necessary in the past. And it enrages me that things are bad enough now that my instinct is that I need to hide who I am to receive appropriate medical care.

I wish I had some sort of final thought to tie this all together other than, “this sucks and I hate it,” but I really don’t. I could call for people to examine their antisemitic biases, but I’m not foolish enough to think that this will reach the people who need to do so. I could wish for a future where everything I’ve talked about here exists only in history books, and the Jewish experience is no longer tied to feeling this pain, but that’s basically wishing for the moshiach, and I’m not going to hold my breath.

I guess I’ll end it with the thought that through all of this hate and pain and fear, we’re still here. And we’re still joyful as well. As much as so many people have tried over literally THOUSANDS of years to eradicate us, I’m still here, I’m still Jewish, and being Jewish still makes me happy.

Am Yisrael Chai.

[erisenyo]

Hey there, I know you probably meant well with the reblog on antisemitism but OP’s blog is full of zionist dogwhistle reblogs and I’m hoping that doesn’t align with your specific thoughts on this matter. I think it’s important to tread carefully around this discourse because the conflation of criticism of Israel’s genocide with antisemitism is regularly used to silence supporters of Palestine.

Hey anon - the post I believe you're referencing didn't say a single thing about Israel's genocide, unless I'm missing it?

It talked about the experience within the wider Jewish diaspora of antisemitism being dismissed, how this is happening more and more, and how Jews not being surprised by this fact. This something that I have both 1) seen within my own communities and 2) heard multiple different IRL Jewish friends express--particularly that they are not surprised to be dismissed and be told, functionally, that it's all in their heads, and 3) can see in your implicit assumption that any antisemitism Jews claim to be experiencing is actually just others responses to genocide denial, and therefore any reports of antisemitism are just silencing tools rather than genuine experiences with prejudice.

Anon, I agree it is important to tread carefully, which for me also includes keeping in mind the experiences and threats my own Jewish friends here in America have received, as well as Israel's actions. But I don't thoroughly review the blog of every single person I reblog, and certainly not for posts about antisemitism when I don't do the same for posts about Palestinian experiences. Maybe that means I shouldn't be reblogging posts about either, then? I tend to see "not educated enough to say anything" as a cop out (particularly this deep into things), but I'd accept that criticism here if someone (you?) could help me find it specific to this topic, as it feels counter to what I've seen and been able to find as the broader opinion/requests of the movement.

And I am struggling too with receiving a request to publicly reassure everyone that I find Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people reprehensible (my first such request!) only after reblogging one post about diaspora antisemitism. I reblog multiple posts about Palestinian experiences weekly--but I'm also reminding myself that just as I don’t thoroughly review the blogs of everyone I see on my dash, others don't either, nor do I think it's a reasonable expectation for how people use tumbr.

Thanks for writing, anon.