#but the overwhelming majority of Jews anyway

[a-s-fischer]

I saw a post by another Jewish person on this site that said Christianity and Islam stole their culture. That isn't a popular opinion among Jews is it?

I mean it's not an opinion, it's historical fact. But also most of us wouldn't care if they didn't blame everything bad about their appropriated and heavily altered cultures on us, and also spent over a thousand years each killing us for not going along with and joining their appropriated and distorted versions of our culture and religion. Christianity was a creation of the Roman empire and its religious system. Once it moved beyond a handful of Jews to a religion of mostly gentile converts, it changed rapidly into something that was only on the surface like Judaism. That superficial version of Judaism with Roman culture underneath is an example of how imperial cultural theft is not a modern phenominon.

Islam is a similar situation, in which a non-Jewish man built a new religion out of the bits and pieces he liked from both Judaism and Christianity, set out to create an empire for that religion, and when Jews had the temerity to not convert, to this new religion, he branded them as deceivers and traitors, and led a massacre of them in his conquered territory.

This happened long enough ago that generations upon generations have been raised in these cultures founded on appropriation, and most Jews would never think to say that these modern people are responsible for this appropriation or should give up their cultures. However, the murder and oppression both Islam and Christianity as institutions have inflicted on the Jewish people is made that little extra bit more galling by those original acts of cultural appropriation.

[perfectlyvalid49]

There is a difference between disrespected and being uncomfy and I appreciate your ability to at least see the nuance.

If you looked at the “show more” tab on the quotation link, it would have given you more options but I didn’t think I needed to explain that 🙃 The semantics of things seems silly after a point but I think we’re both still coming at a place of valid intention.

Similarly to some of my arguments it feels like you still neglect that history is full of things older and outside of the Jewish tradition (like Zoroastrianism, Phoenician/Canaanite tribes that were largely wiped out BECAUSE of tribal conflict that included a WIDE array of Jewish people up until, if I’m not mistaken, basically Babylon and even some of the literature around Ur and the Nile from how human became sentient has some oddly universal stories (forbidden fruit, the allegorical nature of the stars, the fall of man with Cain (farming) and Abel (hunter gatherer).

The point of this whole discussion stems from the argument from tradition which feels fallacious given how no one ACTUALLY claims anything after a certain point so why get your knickers in a twist to point out that, hey, maybe the nuance exists in ways that are legitimately concerning like why the IDF is systemically pulling fascist moves against Palestinians.

I appreciate your input nonetheless and think we largely agree, it’s just the gatekeeping piece that genuinely confuses me because it feels inherently oppressive to people who may think that the 40+ crowd who conveniently seem to be majority if not only men, get to dictate the narrative of how a specific religion operates, ESPECIALLY if that means *checks notes again* chopping a part of a baby’s dick off????

You're right, there is a difference between being disrespected and being un-comfy. I’m not un-comfy.

The “show more” tab under the famously inaccurate Google AI overview? Your argument for the reason that you can use quotes to paraphrase is that a hallucinating AI says so? I just want to be sure that’s your argument before I click the tab and check…

It still doesn’t say that. Like, that’s a bad argument because AI is not a valid counter to actual sources, but it’s also a bad argument because nothing in the link you gave actually said you could do what you did anyway. And then you tried to make me look foolish by implying that you need to explain to me that I just needed to click the “show more” tab. You might think we both have good intentions, but I am seriously doubting yours.

You’re shifting goalposts here. We started talking specifically about Jews and Jewish populations. I’m not neglecting the fact that history is full of things older than Judaism and outside of Judaism, they’re just simply not relevant to the specific conversation we’re having. And I’m not sure what you think I’m arguing from tradition, either. Unless you mean Jewish traditions themselves? I think it’s fair to say that our traditions are our traditions. If they need changing, that is for the Jewish community to decide amongst ourselves, not a conversation that you get to take part in.

I’m sorry you feel gatekept, but not everything in the world is available for you to take. Specifically closed religions, especially closed religions of minority groups, are not available to you. And I think this is a good thing. Jews are outnumbered on this planet 500 to one. If Judaism were an open religion, it would not be hard for a bunch of Christians to declare themselves Jewish, and then change Jewish practice to include Jesus. Like, to be very specific, there are more Evangelical Christian Zionists in the United States than there are Jews in the entire world. If they all declared themselves Jewish, but said they were keeping Jesus, the MAJORITY of Jews would be followers of Jesus. The gatekeeping is to ensure that changes to how we practice our religion and our culture come from us, and not overwhelming outside influences.

Circumcision is part of an important Jewish ritual. If Jews decide to stop observing that ritual, that decision needs to come from Jews, which you are not. Your opinion here simply doesn’t matter. I know that as a cultural Christian you need to feel centered in every conversation, but this one doesn’t involve you. In addition, the way you talk about what is really a beautiful ritual is disrespectful to the point of being dangerous. Christian obsession over circumcision has led to accusations of Jewish pedophilia and Jews doing satanic rituals with the collected foreskins, which have led to attacks against Jewish communities.

I’m sorry you’re not happy with your circumcision, though again, unless it was done as part of the Jewish tradition (and from what you said it seems like it wasn’t) then I’m not sure why you’re so hung up on Jews doing it. Why not start by advocating for non-Jews to stop doing it, as that seems like it would be more relevant to your personal trauma? Your obsession with the Jewish practice is antisemitic; you need to let it go.

[palestinegenocide]

Israeli genocide is ’embarrassing’ Biden, at last

The Biden administration’s disgraceful policy on Gaza is finally becoming a crisis. Brushing a genocide under the rug only works for so long. The world is appalled, and the Democratic Party base is appalled, and Biden is taking steps– rhetorically anyway– to try to distance himself from a policy of murderous recrimination he has underwritten since the October 7 atrocities.

First at the State of the Union Speech on Thursday night Biden criticized Netanyahu during a post-speech handshake with Colorado Senator Michael Bennet.

“I told him, Bibi, and don’t repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting,” Biden said. Then alerted that he was being recorded, Biden said, “I’m on a hot mic here… Good. That’s good.”

And outside the Capitol, demonstrators held banners saying “Biden’s Legacy Is Genocide.”

Then yesterday Biden went further. He gave an interview to a loyal Democratic Party journalist, Jonathan Capehart of MSNBC, and said Netanyahu “is hurting Israel” in the eyes of the world.

He has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas but he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions being taken. He’s hurting– In my view he’s hurting Israel more than helping Israel by making the rest of the world — It’s contrary to what Israel stands for, and I think it’s a big mistake. So I want to see a ceasefire. Starting with a major, major exchange of prisoners. For a six week period. We’re going into Ramadan, there should be nothing happening.

This may sound good—to those who are idealistic about Israel maybe, like Senator Bennet – but how does it sound to any one who cares about Palestinian human rights? More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed, the overwhelming majority civilians, in actions of pure rage and collective punishment. And as Biden was quick to assure Capehart, “I’m never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons.”

As Mitchell Plitnick wrote on our site of the increasing Israel-critical rhetoric from the Biden administration, it’s so much “theatrics.” The policy hasn’t changed at all, and it won’t even if the Good Cop Benny Gantz is at Israel’s helm, as Kamala Harris and Biden seem to prefer.

Biden could shut Israeli actions down in a minute. But he will only do lip service to the progressives because the Democratic Party elites are still committed to Israel. Several Congresspeople brought Israelis to the State of the union Speech, including Los Angeles Congressman Brad Sherman, who issued a statement of unqualified support for Israel’s slaughter of Gazans, in defiance of progressives, who are trying to “muddy our national discourse.”

As anti-Israel forces attempt to penetrate and muddy our national discourse, President Biden’s robust defense of Israel will serve as a powerful reminder to the many families of American and Israeli hostages who will be present for tonight’s Address, as well as to the world, that America’s bond with Israel stands unbroken, and our commitment to its right to exist remains unwavering.

And that guy represents Malibu and Studio City and Pacific Palisades! So screw the progressives.

Even NPR is telling us that Biden can’t walk away from the Jewish community politically, even if his base wants him to. Senior Editor Ron Elving:

Netanyahu has taken Israel in a particular direction that is not necessarily popular among American Jews, but which has alienated many people in this country in the Biden administration and elsewhere. And as a result there is a difficulty here that is really insurmountable for the Biden campaign.

While the New Yorker reminds us that Biden has not only the ability to cut off military aid to Israel, but he is required by law to do so, so long as it is preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. But he won’t do it. And it’s “collective punishment,” says Isaac Chotiner, and an embarrassment.

The idea that we’re giving massive amounts in aid to a country that is refusing our request to allow humanitarian assistance through so we have to airdrop food is embarrassing.

Embarrassing. That’s what we’ve come to. The superpower is embarrassed by its client state’s ongoing massacre of Palestinian civilians that shows no signs of stopping. The President is having to explain himself and distance himself from the Israelis.

I suppose we should be grateful there’s a political crisis at last. Though we are a long way yet from an honest examination of Zionism and its roots in the Jewish community and American policy.

[klett161]

In this Blog post I‘ll try to clarify whats currently going on Between Israel, Hamas and the Civillian population of Palestine and analysing It because most people get absolutly misinformed by Corporate media Propaganda, so let‘s get into It.

Trigger warning for basically every kind of Violence and dehumanization

Also this blog is in parts extremely Cynical and some parts are ironic in making fun of dumb people having even dumber opinion’s marked in red

Also just a Trigger warning for bad spelling

First of all for all, for people who still need the Clarification: The Palestine state does NOT equal Hamas the Hamas is a fundamentalist Jihadist terror group which engages in Barbarism they are in fact not a Based anti Colonialist movement. The Hamas is only holding Power in the Area known as the Gaza strip and has done so since 2007, the territory of Palestine is much larger than the Gaza Strip but because of actuality reasons im mainly focusing on Gaza in this post.

Also the Israeli state is not and never has been representative of the entirety of Judaism or even a majority of It. Critique directet at the Israeli state thus is not critique against Judaism and not Anti semetic. Calling everyone Anti semectic is just an defense mechanism of the Isreali state being called out on It‘s crimes. But It is also Important to remember that Anti Semitism is a real thing and Jews are disproportionately targets of hate crimes. Also disproportionately the targets of hate crimes are Muslims or just Arabic looking people. I can‘t believe I still have to say this but: No muslim peacefully practicing their Religion (wich is as in every Religion an Overwhelming majority) is at any kind of fault for what some deranged facistoide Terror group does.

So lets start of:

Although it is true that the renewed hostility’s of the last day’s were started of by the Horrific attacks of the Hamas it is all to often not at all or just as a side note mentioned that Israel has been Bombing the Gaza strip more or less consistently for years and years claiming to target underground tunnels or Hospitals in whom of course Hamas had weapon deposits or Rockets or whatever and that every Civillian casualty was just „Colleteral damage“. It‘s just a very convenient coincidence for Israel that those people who It want‘s exterminated from it‘s state anyway die in these bombings. But also part of the truth is everyone knows what has been going on in Gaza the last years but the media mentioned it maybe once every few months so It couldn‘t be that bad right? The truth is people and Goverments in the West just didn‘t give a fuck because there were far worse problems like, like the Economic growth going down by 0.5% My God how terrible! Western Goverments more or less directly enabled the ongoing Genocide with their outspoken support, full solidarity and weapon sells and funds for the Israeli state.

Now Religious fundamentalist terrorist cells like Hamas don‘t just happen, they require a breeding ground of despair and material insecurity which is undeniably the case in the Gaza strip. But in the case of Hamas it would have probably never had a chance to gain dominance over the Fatah If it would not have been funded by the Israeli state, no that‘s not a weird conspiracy it was literally admitted by several former state officials. So now you could just say that the Israeli state harmed itself by funding and building up Hamas but the existence of Hamas really is the best thing that could have happend to the Goverment of Israel, for now they have an enemy who’s violent and barbaric actions mirror those they commit(altough on a much smaller scale) thus (In the eyes of the Public) justifying even more violence against the Civillian population of Palestine and Gaza specifically. For Hamas it is the same thing, If it were not for the genocidal actions of Israel they couldn‘t legitimize their existence they couldn‘t legitimize their heinous crimes. So you could say that on both sides facist goverments of some kind are profiting of off fighting with eachother, you can really see that for the leaders of Hamas it is not an anti colonial fight by the fact that most of them are sitting around in Qatar. The losers on both sides being the Civillian population altough it has to be said that the Palestinian civillians have suffered and will suffer far more because the Conflict mostly takes place in their country not on the land controlled by Israel. So as much as Israeli state officials will in every statement say how much they hate the war and how shocked they are about Hamas killing Civillians (by which they of course mean white Isrealis or foreigners, Arabs don‘t count) so far it has been a best case scenario for them because it helps them to facilitate their power further and seemingly justifys them in their new colonial expansion more than ever backed by the public in Western countries and their own population.

As angry as all this shit may make you it is always important to remember to not fall in generalizations and blaming of entire group’s. Not all of the Israeli citizens are responsible for what their state does and no Palestinian civillian is at fault for what Hamas did, despite a lot of media reports claiming thats the case alla „Yea but they had ONE single election in 2007 where people choose the Hamas over Fatah (mind you this just happend because of Israeli funding) so they should be held responsible for everything happening since“ by the way more than half of the population in Gaza wasn‘t even of age and didn‘t have the right to Vote back then. But even If we ignored that the Election did just turn out the way It did because of Israel you would have to ask yourself why didn‘t the Israeli citizens who had FIVE elections since 2019 alone Vote differently or is this whole thing maybe not about Voter liability at all and just a way to dehumanize and legitimze the killing of Palestinians by letting people think that Hamas has the full and absolut support of the people? (But the Media surely wouldn‘t do this)

But not only is this claim widely accepted but people defending Israel also double down on it and are saying that „If they don‘t support the actions of their Government they could just overthrow it“ I don‘t even know where to start with this, first of all It’s actually not that easy to overthrow an Authoritarian Government which has the backing of the majority of regional powers and is armed to the teeth but even If we pretended like overthrowing the Government was an easy thing to do we could raise funny little questions such as: Why the fuck didn‘t Israel just overthrow their Goverment which is responsible for all of this in the first place? Or: Why didn‘t people in the USA just overthrow their Goverment when it Invaded Iraq or Vietnam which isn‘t even comaprabel because those thing lead to MILLIONS of dead people not a few thousand. But yeah I guess this standard just applies for people in Gaza and not for white people in the western World. Ok ok but let‘s say the people of Gaza overthrow Hamas and have a super duper Democratic state much more democratic than Israel and with more Human rights, do you really think Israel would give a fuck, the only thing that would realistically chance is that it would just be a little bit harder for Israel to justify their war crimes infront of the generall public but Israel has time and time again proven they don‘t care about condemnation of their war crimes and settler policy which basically go hand in hand. There are basically an infinite amount of times Israel has been condemned by the Un, it didn’t change anything. Israel didn‘t start Bombing and expelling because terrorists exist, terrorists exist because Israel started Bombing and expelling.

Other ridiculous claims to legitimise Israel are:

„BUT QuEEr pEOplE aRe LiTerALlY KiLeD IN GaZa“ ok and how is Israel (which itself does discriminate LGBTQ+ people) helping the situation by funding terror groups and Bombing and entire Region in to the Stoneage? Or could it be that you really don‘t give a fuck about Queer rights and just wan‘t to, again dehumanize and legitimize the Killing of Palestinian people in the Gaza.

And:

„But Jewish people lived their for longer they were just expelled by the Romans and only after that Arabs settled there“ ok and now what? Throughout history so many ethnic groups lived on so many different pieces of Land If you go by this principle you’d have to give the biggest part of Anatolia to greece because „Greek“ (in caption because back then ethnicity’s were much less uniformly defined compared to today) people were there before „Turks“ arrived from the middle of Asia and todays Xinjiang region so some of these regions you’d then have to give to Turkey and so on and so on I think you get the point. Also it is pretty similar to the Justification Russia used to kick of the Invasion of Ukraine.

I also wan‘t to Note that you may not have heard all of the listed points people use to defend Israel and probably heard some others I didn‘t, thats fine Im not determined to break down every single shitty Argument people try to justify the ongoing genocide with because it has the same pattern as pretty much all arguments trying to defend Facism. They throw so much shitty arguments at you faster than its possible to disprove them so that at the end something will stick. Of course they don‘t really believe in all of them, for example a lot of American evangelicals believe that Jews have to controll the Holy Land for the great rapture to happen in that all the Jews will be killed and only true Christian believers (they mean themselves of course) will get into Heaven but they know fully well how Antisemetic and badshit insane this sounds so they just use above mentioned Arguments.

Another point I wan‘t to talk about is the Media reporting and Hegemony of discourse which is of course highly dependent on the way the media reports. To make my point I just quickly wan‘t to break down some of the ways news shows like to frame the situation and what implicit Bias they carry. One very easy thing to do is just strait up ignoring things that happen to Palestinians and don‘t mention it at all or when they try not to be super obvious or to avoid allegations of biased reporting they mention like one minute that several hundred or thousand people died in an hospital explosion in Gaza and then talk several minutes about the Hostages taken by Hamas and their Family’s and the jobs and dreams these people had, first of all this leaves the audience in the assumption that because the segment talking about the Hostages was longer this topic is more relevant and second giving the people a real impression of how much a Human life is worth because every individual person has dreams hope etc. but when it‘s Palestinians that are targeted they just talk about numbers thus a large part of the Sympathy victim’s of Hamas (You know one dead man is a tragedy a million dad men are a Statistic) receive is not perceived for the Palestinians. Also as I write this, it isn‘t confirmed who blew up the Hospital but the assumption that it was the IDF which has been blowing up Hospitals multiple times to date and is currently Bombing more than ever before is likely to be true, so what does the news segment give us, it gives us only the assumption of the IDF which is of course saying that it was Hamas and leaving it with that, I don‘t think i need to break down how letting only one side talk about their perspective is manipulative. Also most media really likes to talk about how Israel is „fighting back“ so just narrowly focusing on what happend since the attack of Hamas a few days ago and leaving out years of Bombing, illegal settlements, killing of peacfull protestors and sieging of Gaza as a whole. So if you have the whole pretext you could also say Hamas fought back against Israel (which wouldn‘t be very helpful since AGAIN what they did is unjustifiabble) that would be much closer to the truth. Or a reporting of the BBC that I reposted a few days ago talking about Israelis who have been killed and Palestinians who have died in the conflict, implying that behind every Israeli death was an deliberate effort and Palestinians just so happend to die.

Who‘s having total Hegemony over discourse get‘s really clear if you talk about this conflict in literally any way that isn‘t directly what the Israeli state says, you are constantly asked to clarify that you are not apologizing Hamas, you point out the history of the conflict? Your justifiyng terror. You are saying that the IDF shouldn‘t kill civilians? Yeah but could you please distance yourself from Hamas? You are saying that Israel doesn’t have any right to exterminate Palestinians and ethnically cleanse their country? You are literally an Anti semite and clearly just trying to justify Hamas. And yes even in this Blog I have to condemn Hamas multiple times and will probably still be called Anti semitic, If public discourse would be sane people couldn‘t just say that they are in Solidarity with Israel and not point out that they condemn the ongoing Genocide and it would be Impossible for a Politician to say that Israels actions are appropriate. But in the world we live in it is not just basically Impossible for Politicians to say that they stay with Palestine but any position other than full and unconditional support for Israel is critically looked upon and you can probably hear a Voice in the backround of a press conference, asking: „so you publicly embrace Hamas?“. That about summs up the state of discourse at least in my and many other western countries and most online spaces, which are really dominated by western countries.

It all really is just the result of:

1. A new far right stronger than ever in western countries and bringing with them an environment in whom It‘s okay to talk shit about „foreigners“ (meant are of Course the scarry brown people not other whites even when they come from the other end of the world) and Muslims just for practicing their religion and using them as Scapegoats for everything bad happening. If you learned anything from History (which seems Increasingly uncommon) you probably heard of a group being treated in a similar way before. Of course some factors differ because History doesn‘t just repeat and I am definitely not saying that Gaza is literally a Concentration camp, but does It have to become that obvious for people to finally see that this is in fact an ongoing Genocide? Out of the Blue a something of the likes happening in Gaza would be unthinkable but if you have years and years of normalization of the mistreatment of Arabs and specifically Palestinians and Muslims and seeing people first of all always as members of a certain group(again only applies for Muslims or Arabs) is it really that surprising that we have reached a point were people can openly talk about having no sympathy for the Civillian victims in Gaza without lossing their teeth? (which of course I wouldn‘t suggest to do because muh violence bad)Also it should be noted that killing and smoothering Victims of war trying to escape the horrors has become a Normal part of EU border enforcement it is in fact so normalized no one ever talks about it, it is just accepted that people are going to die when they try to come here, they probably should have used a better Boat or something like that.

2. The deliberate effort of the Israeli state to blame all people living in Gaza for what Hamas did and cleverly using their Status as a Jewish state to smear everyone not supporting their genocide as a Nazi and Anti semite, going so far as to say that Palestine is the reason the Holocaust happend, thus proving that they really don‘t give a fuck about the History of Jewish suffering.

In the end I can say nothing but stay Informed by independent sources for example Indymedia, listen to the Victims and don‘t ever believe the Israeli state. Also stay aware of the fact that basically all media is owned and operated by some Billion dollar Conglomerate most of them don’t care about the truth but about you thinking what they want you to think. For everyone interested in the details of why media is so dishonest and biased just go read Manufacturing consent by Noam Chomsky or look at an summary of lt. And take everything you hear with a pinch of Salt.

How Israel helped to create Hamas: https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/hamas-israel-palestine-conflict/

[fromcydonia]

I mean if you actually want to talk about criticisms, we could talk about how poll after poll shows that an overwhelming majority of Israelis support the bombing of Gaza, even if they don’t support Netanyahu specifically. We can talk about how every Zionist on tumblr and Twitter is still spreading lies about UNRWA 6 months after they were debunked. But i also know that you won’t be willing to reckon with anyway of that, and unless you do, your thoughts are worthless on “xenophobia” directed at Israelis

did you block me and then came to my blog? lol

anyway, about the polls - here is one from 5 days ago:

you can translate yourself if you dont believe me but it says - are you in favor or against the current hostage deal? (that also brings the end of the war, this is what hamas asked in the deal)

64% are in favor, 21% dont know and 15% are against.

now lets talk about the war. 1200+ israelis died on 7.10, people were raped, burned to death, places were looted, people were beheaded, 200+ were kidnapped, even civilians from gaza invaded israel, kidnapped, looted, and lyched people. you can even watch videos of hostages entering gaza and civilians celebrate around them (in some cases, aroud their bodies)

and this is all from organization that only killed and kidnapped israelis before, and promised to do that again until all jews are gone from israel. do you really think people wont support a war against them? and i know you are talking about bombing gaza from above, and civilians casualties are horrible but first of all, i never see hamas say how many of the casualties are their members? and second, hamas put civilians in danger by using civilians places to store weapons, to have bases, to hold hostages (even force (?) civilians to hold hostages), they have tunnles underneath houses and even put mines in some of the houses (after the owners leave i guess)

so why would israel put in danger their own soldiers only because hamas uses their civlians to lure and kill soldiers? why do you think israelis would want to end a war while hamas is still a threat? i will tell you why, to return our hostages back, because we value life and we care for our own, and this is what you see in the picture above.

i wont lie, i argued with israelis before about things like killing babies and starving 2 million people - them saying those things is beyond bad. but first of all, you will find many palestinians that would say the same about us (doesnt make it better of course). second, many israelis dont support this kind of thing, and to say that we do, is to say we are all evil and that to kill us is the only option (dare i say, final solution?) for palestinians. third, because i see israelis as human beings, and know our history, i can understand why some say those fucked up things, just like i can understand why palestinians would say the same. we are all humans, we have trauma, we hate, we fear and it makes us say things we dont even realize what they really mean.

ok, second point, about unrwa.

first of all, twitter is full of stupid and racist people, and as i said in your post, there are stupid and racist people all around the world and they really like twitter. israelis are no different. second, what lies about unrwa? unrwa itself said they fired 9 people because they took part of 7.10, and this is not including the workers that already were killed. there are videos of unrwa workers on 7.10, one israeli hostage (a kis, i think 10 years old) said he were held by unrwa teacher, the idf found tunnels of hamas underneath unrwa buildings, israeli hostages said they were moved through humanitarian corridors that only unrwa supposed to use. and, lastly, unrwa is known to use pretty fucked up education materials. here is a video from 3 years ago:

so, im now asking you, do you want those children to study it's ok to die if it's because you kille jews? that death is the best thing that can happen? from what it seems, unrwa is trying to ready children to be fighters. unrwa is posioning those kids minds in order to ensure the palestinians will be forever at war, that they will keep dying because someone decided to teach them to choose war instead of peace. how can you support unrwa and say you care about paleatinians?

so yeah, i think you are xenopohic because you clearly prefer seeing israelis as monsters while you dont know what you are talking about or lie to yourself or others. if you want this war to end, you should start seeing both sides as human beings, you should understand there isnt a good side. both done evil things, both have innocent people, and both are victims of evil regimes. no side is going to just disappear, so you gotta pick, do you see us as humans, or docyou choose to support a war the palestinians cant win?

[krinsbez]

I’m going to take this opportunity to comment on one of the most frequent criticisms I’ve seen of the mutant metaphor and explain why I think it doesn’t work:

The Mutant Metaphor doesn’t make sense because Mutants *are* dangerous, because some mutants are hideously powerful, and some of those cannot control their powers, or will use them to harm people, and that therefore prejudice against mutants is justified.

This criticism doesn't work for three reasons. Firstly, it is has been repeatedly stated, that despite most of the panel time going to mutants who’s powers are suitable for fighting, they are a minority. The overwhelming majority of mutants are people like Beak and Maggot and Marrow and Tattoo, who’s “powers" are only marginally useful, and harmful only to themselves.

Secondly, while, obviously, real world oppressed minorities don’t have superpowers, it is a proven fact that people who hate will seize on any member of the group they hate having any sort of power, or being in anyway dangerous, and declare that this justifies oppressing them. Certain people will blather on and on about terrorist attacks carried out by Islamic fundamentalists, about the atrocities carried out by Mexican Drug Cartels. Do you think any of this makes oppressing Muslims or Latinos is “justified“?

And the same goes throughout history. Some Roma steal, and so some people say that makes it OK to treat them as subhuman. Some African tribes were cannibals, and the nations of Europe said that meant it was OK to conquer and enslave the entire continent (except Ethiopia). George Soros once profited from an international economic crisis, and so people will claim this justifies hating Jews. An outlier being potentially dangerous is one of the *favorite* rhetorical tools of the bigot to justify their hatred, and it is no more valid in the fictional world of Marvel Comics than it is in real life.

Thirdly, this is the Marvel Universe. For every mutant with “dangerous” abilities there’s at least dozen people with equally dangerous powers who aren’t mutants. People don’t fear and hate mutants because they have powers, they fear and hate mutants because someone somewhere birthed a meme that mutants are weird and creepy and freakish, and it metastasized. Everything beyond that? Excuses. Which is why, in-universe, you will see people denounce mutants as being ugly freaks, and also for being able to blend-in with the general population. Why you will see people ranting about how they’re going to replace humans the way we replaced the Neanderthals, and you’ll see people ranting about how Mutants are genetic aberrations standing in the way of mankind’s evolution.

It doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, no. Which is the point.

There are plenty of criticisms of the Mutant Metaphor that are valid, and legit, even if I don’t agree with all of them, but this one is just silly and wrong and I am really sick of it.

[elohim61]

 

 



What Are God’s Annual Holy Days?

PERSONAL FROM DAVID C. PACK, PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Does the Bible teach there are certain days that God made holy? If so, what are they? And are they still in effect? Did God only intend these special days for ancient Israel? Did Jesus abolish them and exchange them for popular holidays of pagan origin? Many millions observe Christmas, Easter, New Year’s, Halloween, Valentine’s Day and other supposed Christian holidays without knowing why—or where they came from. Most suppose they are found in the Bible because they see the masses keeping them. Surely hundreds of millions of Christians cannot be wrong.

Which days should you keep? Does it matter? Prepare to be shocked by what the Bible really teaches! Sadly, most never ask why they believe what they believe or do what they do. Few seek to understand the origin of things. Most accept common religious practices without question, choosing what everyone else does because it is easy and comfortable. Most follow along as they have been taught, assuming that what they believe and do is right. They take their beliefs for granted and never take time to prove them.

Jesus said this about the world’s popular customs and traditions: “In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men…full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:7, 9).

The Bible does mention Christmas and Easter—and other familiar holidays—but it bluntly condemns them as heathen customs. We will see the proof is overwhelming that these days are traditions and commandments “of men.” Great numbers keep them anyway, seemingly content to worship Christ in vain!

Since the Bible condemns these almost universally observed “Christianized” holidays of men, how did they come into popular practice? You must be willing to open your Bible and honestly accept what it says about men’s holidays—and God’s Holy Days. The world’s churches have almost universally taught that these annual Sabbaths of the Bible have been done away—that they were only for ancient Israel, or “the Jews.” Many have supposed that Jesus “nailed them to the cross”—with most everything else in the Old Testament.

The majority of people stoutly defend what they merely assume is biblical. They read with prejudice anything that contradicts their assumptions.

Seeking Bible Truth

If you are going to take the time to read this Personal, should you not at least do so with an open mind—and without bias? Ask God to guide you—to help you prove what He says in His Word. The Bible is “profitable for…correction” (II Tim. 3:16) for those willing to accept it—those truly wanting to serve and please God.

The Bible is God’s inspired Word—His written Instruction Book to mankind. It answers every important question in life and explains how to live—it reveals the road to salvation!

God commands, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15). He expects us to know His Word so that we can act on it.

Proper Bible study leads to approval from God. Both the Old and New Testaments state, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3).

The apostle Paul explained that people are the servants of whoever and whatever they obey: “Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16). People either serve and obey God, and are given eternal life (vs. 23)—or they serve and obey sin, and earn eternal death!

If God commanded certain Holy Days be kept, should you not be certain why you do not observe them? No matter how comfortable a lifelong practice may be, should you not base your decision to continue doing it on proof—hard evidence—instead of assumptions?

God says, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2). He commands, “Prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

Will you sincerely seek and tremble before the truth of God’s Word about His Holy Days—or go along with the masses and their traditions of men’s heathen holidays?

The churches of this world will often admit to making a half-hearted effort at keeping nine of the 10 Commandments. Typically, they acknowledge it is wrong to steal, kill, covet, bear false witness and commit adultery. They also admit that honoring one’s father and mother, avoiding idolatry and not taking God’s name in vain are good things. However, most professing Christians do a poor job of actually keeping these nine commandments and teach that Christ officially did away with them and kept them for us. But most will tacitly agree that these nine commandments are at least “nice principles.”

Consider. Exodus 20:8-11 shows Sabbath-keeping is the fourth Commandment—and a fundamental law of God! The Sabbath was hallowed—made into holy time—by God at Creation. He never authorized or hallowed Sunday, the first day of the week. Jesus kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16; Mark 2:27-28). So did Paul (Acts 13:42, 44; 17:2; 18:4), as did the New Testament Church. In Exodus 31, it was ordained forever and to be kept perpetually by all generations of God’s people.

Theologians and religionists have long taught that the true Sabbath of the Bible is the seventh day. Saturday, not Sunday, is the seventh day of the week. And the weekly cycle has never changed. However, the ministers of this world have carefully devised “explanations” that dismiss many clear scriptures about God’s plain command to keep His Sabbath. Instead of letting God’s Word change their beliefs to conform with His truths, they change the words or their meanings to make them fit their beliefs! They justify Sunday-keeping—even though God’s Word has never justified Sunday-keeping! The same is true of the annual Holy Days.

God has always said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8)—never, “Remember the first day (the pagan sun’s day) to keep it holy,” or authorized His Church or mankind to do this. Nor did He ever command or allow His people to keep numerous other pagan festivals and days of worship. He has always commanded against their observance, and the early New Testament Church kept God’s Holy Days for over four centuries—with its remnant still observing them today!

Christmas and Easter have nothing to do with God and are both condemned in scripture in the strongest possible terms. Our booklets The True Origin of Christmas and The True Origin of Easter teach much more about these holidays that men have used to replace God’s true Holy Days.

Examining History

Some important history. Many pagan festivals, including Christmas (the Saturnalia), Easter (the festival of Ishtar), Halloween, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day and worship on the day of the sun, were observed throughout the Roman Empire long before Christ’s First Coming, but by other names. The apostate church simply adopted them into practice and enforced them on all citizens in the empire through the vehicle of the civil government.

The most obvious ways the great false church system has thought to change—and counterfeit—God’s holy times and laws has been by replacing His Sabbath with the pagan sun’s day, thus altering His fourth great law (many speak of Sunday as their sabbath)—and by replacing His annual Holy Days with numerous pagan holidays practiced for centuries by the Romans and the Greeks.

This false system completely changed God’s way of marking time. It starts the year in the dead of winter, while God starts His year in the spring when nature is coming back to life. This church begins days in the middle of the night, while God marks days from sunset to sunset. It begins the workweek on the second day, Monday, while God begins the weekly work cycle on the first day of the week, Sunday.

Pagan Rome devised an unnatural calendar based solely on the sun, thus having varying lengths for its months, while God bases His calendar on the moon and starts months with each new moon.

God’s sacred calendar—generally referred to as the Hebrew calendar—has never been recognized by religionists, scientists, historians and educators. But it is the way God intended to mark and measure time. The Jews did not invent or contrive this calendar from imagination. Its principles go back to the first chapter of the Bible, where the sun and moon were appointed “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:14). No other calendar harmonizes the solar and lunar cycles. Only the Hebrew calendar sanctioned by God does this!

The whole world has been deceived into accepting these and other “changes,” and has been led away from the plain, clear commands of God’s Word. Billions have carelessly remained ignorant of God’s instructions, content to believe customs, practices, days and times that have been spoon-fed to them.

We will learn that obedience to God’s weekly and annual Sabbaths are intertwined—they cannot be separated. Though they stand or fall together, it is not the purpose here to prove which day is the Christian Sabbath. This large subject is covered thoroughly in my book Saturday or Sunday – Which Is the Sabbath? This book answers every conceivable question you could have about whether one must keep the Sabbath, as well as how to keep it. It is impossible to fully grasp the subject of God’s annual Sabbaths without also studying this book. You will also see the weekly cycle has been unchanged since Creation. The arguments and suppositions claiming God’s plain commands are no longer in effect equally apply to weekly Sabbath-keeping and annual Sabbath observance.

Some claim Colossians 2:16-17 does away with the Sabbath and Holy Days, but this is untrue. Others claim the annual Sabbaths were part of Moses’ law. They were not, because they were observed before Moses’ law of ritualistic orders had been given. Still others claim sacrifices were performed on these days—but Numbers 28:3 shows sacrifices took place every day of the year, and physical sacrifices are done away in Christ.

The Holy Day Chapter

So then, this all-important question now arises: What were the days that God made holy and commanded ancient Israel to observe? A little more critical background is essential to properly approach the subject of God’s seven annual Feast Days. They are introduced in Leviticus 23.

Leviticus 23 is often called the Holy Day chapter. It contains a brief description of each of God’s Holy Days—also called Feasts or Sabbaths, which we will see are interchangeable terms. We will later learn the meaning of these days.

Notice: “The Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say…Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations [commanded assemblies], even these are My feasts” (vs. 1-2). The weekly Sabbath is introduced as one of them in Verse 3: “Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.” Verse 4 introduces the rest: “These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons.” With one exception seen momentarily, Feasts and Sabbaths are the same.

Verse 5 reveals the first of God’s Feasts: “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover.”

Next, we see that the seven Days of Unleavened Bread are introduced. On these days, beginning the day after Passover, the Israelites were required to eat unleavened bread: “On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord : seven days you must eat unleavened bread…in the seventh day is an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein” (vs. 6, 8). The first and seventh days are both Holy Days.

Verses 9-22 give a more detailed description of the next Feast, called Firstfruits—or Pentecost, because one must count 50 days from the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread to determine when it should be kept. This day is observed in late spring. Now read: “It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering…shall you number 50 days…You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves…of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord” ( vs. 14-17).

Verse 21 explains that the Feast of Firstfruits is a commanded assembly and repeats for emphasis that it was ordained by God forever: “It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.”

This passage includes a second emphasis by God about the permanent establishment of these days so that none can misunderstand what “forever” means. Notice Israel was to keep these days “throughout your generations” (repeated twice). There are still generations descended from Israel (or Jacob) alive on Earth today!

The fall season includes the last four Holy Days, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets (also called Rosh Hashanah): “In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. You shall do no servile work therein” (vs. 24-25).

Next comes the Day of Atonement (or Yom Kippur), which is an annual Sabbath, but not a Feast. This was because no food or drink was permitted: “On the 10th day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls [go without food or drink]…you shall do no work…for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God…it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls: in the nineth day of the month at even [or evening], from even unto even, shall you celebrate your Sabbath” (vs. 27-28, 31-32). Again, notice Atonement was commanded to be observed “forever”—and “throughout your generations.”

Five days after Atonement is the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasts seven days and is followed by the Last Great Day, referred to here as “the eighth day.” Notice: “The 15th day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein…on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you…it is a solemn assembly” (vs. 34-36).

As we have seen, this chapter describes seven Feasts and seven annual Holy Days. Passover is a Feast but not a Holy Day. Atonement is a Holy Day but obviously not a Feast because no food or drink is permitted.

Next let’s read what God intended Israel learn from observing the Feast of Tabernacles: “You shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And you shall keep it a Feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations: you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths [temporary dwellings] seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know that I [God] made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (vs. 40-43).

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

Hey so obligatory "defend your personal beliefs to me, a random internet person" ask but: would you say your beliefs align with what the majority of Jews believe? If so, then what DO you believe about the Messiah if you don't mind me asking? Did the Lord ever send one? I'm really interested in religions, and I'm fairly ignorant about what modern practitioners of Judaism believe.

Hi there!

So just a heads-up, but I've definitely received plenty of driveby asks like this that I tend to take in good faith because I like educating people; however, I have the strong feeling at least one of the comments on this post is going to be "uhh, you know this person is trolling you, right?"

That being said, I have this rule I tend to observe in my life that is: don't ask me a question you aren't prepared to receive a Serious and Detailed answer to. Why? Because I believe you reap what you sow. If you (general) ask me (for example) a rude or nosy question, be prepared to receive an overly polite and intimate answer.

I hope you're not a troll, but if you are, bad news! Your questions are interesting and I feel like answering them seriously anyway.

Would you say that your beliefs align with what the majority of Jews believe?

No. And also yes. See the first thing you should know about Jews is that we like to disagree with each other, all the time, about everything. Well, just about everything. Virtually all Jews agree that messianic "Jews" (aka the Jews for Jesus people) are religiously Xtian, even if they have Jewish ancestry or even a Jewish upbringing. The only ones disagreeing about that are the aforementioned ethinically Jewish apostates.

So in that sense, yes. My beliefs are absolutely with the overwhelming majority on that particular issue. Other issues? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the thing in question and what group of Jews you are comparing me to. We'd be here all week if I listed every single Jewish belief I have and where it (likely) stacks up to the majority.

If so, then what DO you believe about the Messiah if you don't mind me asking? Did the Lord ever send one?

Here's a post that breaks down a lot of Xtian/Jewish differences, and also answers this a bit more generally.

As for what I believe personally? I don't spend much spiritual energy thinking about the specifics of Olam HaBa (lit. The World to Come, meaning the messianic age) or who the Moshiach will be. I'm a lot more concerned with the work of bringing the Moshiach rather than speculation on it. If we want to know, well? There's only one way to find out!

I'm really interested in religions, and I'm fairly ignorant about what modern practitioners of Judaism believe.

If you're looking for good general information on Judaism, Jewfaq.org is a great resource, along with My Jewish Learning, the Jewish Virtual Library, and Chabad's website. The best beginner book I always recommend is Essential Judaism by George Robinson.

[chicago-geniza]

Ranting to a friend about how Jacques Mairitan's Thomist philosophy influenced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and how the concept of human rights as defined under international law was threaded through with this genre of incohate interwar and immediate postwar Catholicism that you encounter in Mairitan's innumerable Polish acolytes, an overwhelming majority of them converted assimilated Jews like his wife (including a Catholic priest who was also a government functionary, an emigré, who was asked in which language he thought, the implied options being Polish or French, and like a character in an anecdote, replied at once: "Why, Yiddish, of course!")--and how it was especially fascinating when his Catholic turn came about after a failed suicide attempt, school of thought re: inert non-specificity, big-tent language so voluminous the tent can't be anchored down to any action points and it becomes a rainbow parachute held up by avatar-children over the world after its failed suicide attempt 1939-45. Anyway had to explain that I only fell down this rabbit hole because I have a weird fixation re: learning about anyone with my name famous enough to have a Wikipedia page in any language and found Raissa Mairitan

[spacelazarwolf]

anyway during the time the exodus is said to have happened, and during most of the time when this communal story would have started becoming part of ethnic identity, monotheism was not a thing. it wasn’t “my god is the only god” it was “my god is the best god and is gonna kick your god’s ass.” literally in the story of the exodus, and one of the most iconic scenes in the prince of egypt, the god of the hebrews battles the egyptian gods and wins. bc that’s how they believed things worked when this story was forming.

now in modern days, monotheist jews absolutely exist. but the overwhelming majority of jews do not give a shit what anyone else believes. we don’t proselytize. we’re not trying to get other people to believe in our god or follow our laws, because judaism is a portable peoplehood, not a strictly theistic religious order.

prince of egypt is not a christian movie. the exodus is a jewish story. it’s found in other religions, and can even have a heightened level of significance, like for black (specifically african american) christians. but it is a jewish story from jewish scripture written from a jewish perspective about jewish persecution. enjoy it all you want. but don’t go on about how much you love prince of egypt then erase the fundamental jewish spirit of it.

[anzu2snow]

Found a few Jewish apps a couple of days ago. I felt like I needed something more, so why not look for them? 2 apps are on daily mitzvot. There are 613 mitzvot or ‘commandments’. One of the apps called Mitzvot is very simple, and only has one a day. There’s no discussion or commentary on it. You can fave ones you like. Not sure if I’ll keep this one.

The other one is called DailyMitzvah and is put out by Chabad. There might be multiple ones a day (there has been so far), there’s a video discussing it, and extra commentary is written out. Much more in depth and interesting.

The last app I found is called Daily Aliyah. It breaks down the weekly parsha or Torah portion into daily bits. It does this with the haftarah and mishlei or proverbs, as well. Very handy. I can look at snippets each day of the parsha instead of try reading the whole thing in one day.

I also still have Sefaria which has daf yomi (lit. Page of the Day) or a daily reading of the Talmud. I might try to get back into that. It takes roughly 7.5 years to read all of the Talmud this way. I tried to do it when this ‘cycle’ started, but it seemed a little ‘dry’ at some point and I had a hard time focusing on it. Maybe it’ll be better now. Sefaria’s an amazing app itself. It also has pretty much all the Jewish religious texts you can think of. (I think it even has some regular stories.) The Tanach, Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Halachah, Kabbalah, siddurs, haggadot, etc. It also has the weekly parsha, Haftarah, Proverbs, daily Mishnah, daily Rambam, and daily Halachah. I tend to forget that. It also has study sheets for many things. So many things it can be overwhelming. I find it’s pretty cool how much is packed into it.

I’ve also gotten back into Shabbat . com’s (didn’t want the site popping up on here) app. It’s basically a Jewish social media platform. You can ask to be invited to someone’s place for Shabbat, or say you’re willing to host anyone in the area. There’s a dating side to it, they have profiles and posts like here, there’s a jobs’ section, and more. I’ve been posting my daily things I’m grateful for on there, too. They seem to really like it and look forward to it. The only problem is the app can be a bit glitchy, and after a certain amount of posts some of them disappear. I did read recently that they’re going to have a huge overhaul soon. Good. It needs it. I’ve noticed that the majority of people on there are some type of orthodox. As a Reform Jew, it makes me feel a little out of place. Even though I have been thinking about becoming a little more observant, it’s still a bit odd to me. Anyways, it’s nice to have a few seemingly good Jewish apps.

[evermoreholland]

Questions (Peter Parker x Jewish!Reader)

Title: Questions

Pairing: Peter Parker x Jewish!Reader

Summary: Peter has lived in a Jewish neighborhood the majority of his life, but he has never once tried to learn more about the people living there. That was until he met you.

Requested: No.

Word Count: 1.9k!

Author’s Note: This story is more of a platonic pairing. The reader teaches Peter about her religion because he’s curious. He watches the reader do certain things that she wouldn’t question, but he did because it was different for him.

I am Jewish but some of my facts could still possibly be incorrect. Feel free to correct me and leave feedback.

--

It was your first day at Midtown High and you were nervous. All of your life you have lived in a small town, but you’re family decided to move to a larger community. Your father was appointed to be the new Rabbi at the Modern-Orthodox synagogue in Queens. Although you were happy for him, it was hard to move to a big city. 

It seemed weird to your father at first that you were even going to Midtown. There were many Jewish schools in New York that you could go to. You had a love for science and your mother didn’t mind sending you. You planned study lessons with your father after school so you could still learn Judaic studies.

Your family was Modern-Orthodox. You kept Kosher and Shabbat, which are laws directly from the Torah. However, you didn’t keep all of the typical Orthodox customs. Your mother didn’t wear a sheitel (wig for hair covering), but instead, she would wear scarves or baseball caps. Sometimes she didn’t cover her hair at all. You did participate in all of the Jewish holidays, not just Hanukkah and Passover.

You got ready for school like you normally would. You woke up, you got dressed in your skirt and long sleeve top, and then you prayed. After that, you went to the kitchen to make breakfast for yourself and then prepared your lunch. You saw that your sister, Gilah, hadn’t packed her lunch yet. 

“Gilah, do you need me to help you pack your lunch?” you asked your younger sister. 

“Yes, please. Ima (Hebrew for mom) told me to ask you before we went to school,” she replied. Your sister was 8 and she didn’t know how to pack herself a well-balanced lunch, so you would usually have to help her out. 

You had 3 older brothers and one younger sister. Your brothers were in yeshiva (post high school program for Torah study) and they were out of the house so you took on the job of helping out your younger sister.

You packed lunches for the two of you, grabbed breakfast, and then made your way out the door to walk Gilah and yourself to school.

“Y/N, don’t forget that we need to call Bubbe after school to tell her about our day!” your sister said on your walk. Every day after school you would visit your grandmother and talk to her about your day. Since you moved, you would have to call her instead.

“I could never forget, Gilah,” you said. You dropped Gilah off at school and then made your way to Midtown. When you approached the building your first thought was: This school is huge. Typically, Jewish day schools are much smaller in size. 

You made your way in and honestly, you were a bit overwhelmed by the size of the school. You got your schedule and made your way to your locker. You looked to your right and saw that your locker neighbors with a brown-haired boy. A very cute boy. At least that’s what you saw from his side profile.

“Hi, excuse me?” you asked. Then the boy turned around and you definitely confirmed to yourself that he was cute. 

“Y-yeah?” he stuttered.

“I’m Y/N L/N. Ummm, I’m a junior and I’m new here. I was wondering if you could show me where the lab is?” you asked him. You were here a few minutes early. Doesn’t hurt to ask.

“Sure. I’m actually going there too. I’m Peter by the way. Peter Parker,” he said with a smile. You both then made your way to the lab for your first period class.

“So what made you move here?” Peter asked.

“My dad got a new job,” you said simply.

“What does your dad do?” Peter asked.

“He’s a Rabbi,” you said.

“So you’re Jewish? That’s so cool! Do you happen to live in Forest Hills?” Peter asked. Peter lived in Forest Hills which was mostly a Jewish neighborhood.

“I do actually,” you said.

“I live there too, but I’m not Jewish. I love my neighbors though. I even went to my neighbors Hanukkah party this year!” Peter rambled. “Sorry for rambling.”

“Don’t apologize,” you said and finally you were in the lab.

You were enjoyed Midtown. You liked the classes you were in and the students were really nice. 

It was lunch and you made your way to the cafeteria. You spot Peter at a table with his friends. He locked eyes with you and waved.

“Can I sit with you?” you asked as you approached his table. 

“Sure,” he said as patted the seat next to him. 

You pulled out your lunch bag and then pulled out your salad. Before taking a bite, you said a quick prayer and then ate. Peter noticed you mumbling to yourself.

“Did you say something Y/N?” Peter asked curiously.

“I was just saying a quick prayer. No biggie,” you said as you kept eating. Peter was curious as to why you packed your own lunch. School lunch at Midtown came for free with tuition. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you pack your own lunch?” Peter said.

“Oh, I don’t mind the question. I keep Kosher,” you said. Peter settled for that answer. He didn’t know anything about keeping Kosher, but he didn’t want to pry. He would just look it up later. 

“What is Kosher exactly?” Peter’s friend said.

“Ned! Can we not bother her about every little detail please?” Peter asked Ned.

“It’s okay to ask questions, Peter. In Judaism, people encourage us to ask. We are all about asking questions and learning more,” you said and then Peter urged you to go on.

“The word ‘kosher’ is Hebrew for ‘fit’ or ‘appropriate’, and kosher foods are those foods that are deemed fit by the regulations of kashrut, the Jewish dietary law,” you said.

“Is it really important?” Peter asked. He didn’t want to come off as rude, he genuinely wanted to know. 

“It’s actually one of the most important aspects of our religion. It’s a way to uphold the fundamentals of our beliefs,” you said. “There are specific foods that are deemed appropriate by kashrut such as land animals that have cloven hooves and chew their cud. We’re allowed to eat most birds. And also no shellfish,” you continued.

“So you can’t eat bacon?” Peter asked.

“Correct, pigs don’t chew their cud. Also, they’re super cute,” you said with a giggle. “There are many more laws involving Kosher, such as symbols on snacks and stuff, but I don’t want to bore you.”

“That’s really interesting. Some of my Jewish neighbors don’t do that though,” Peter said.

“That’s because everyone’s on their own level. Not all Jews are the same. Some can be completely secular and only celebrate traditional holidays like Hanukkah, others keep the Sabbath and Kosher and follow all of the laws and customs, and some are in between,” you said.

“What are some of the key fundamentals of Judaism?” Peter said. He wanted to know more. 

“Lunch break isn’t long enough for that, Peter. You could come over one day and we can have a discussion about it, if you want. Don’t feel pressured though. It’s a lot of information,” you said.

“You free today?” Peter asked. That questioned made you smile. This was all new to you too. All of your life you had Jewish friends so some of this stuff was hard to explain. 

“Yeah. I just need to text my parents to see if they’ll be home,” you said as you began to text your parents. They texted you back and they didn’t really want you bringing a boy home, but you convinced them.

“They gave the okay. I just have to pick up my sister from school, call my grandmother, and then you can come over,” you said.

Peter, Ned, and you exchanged numbers. Ned decided on not coming this time around, which was fine.

Peter was nervous about coming to your house. What if he said something offensive by accident? He also didn’t want to come to your house empty-handed but he didn’t know which Kosher symbols your family held. He decided on shooting you a quick text before going to the store.

Peter: Hey. I don’t want to come to your house empty-handed. What Kosher symbols do you follow? 

You read the text and smiled. He’s so sweet.

Y/N: That’s so sweet of you Peter. We usually get snacks with CRC, OU, and the k with the star around it :)

Peter: Ok thanks. I’ll be there soon.

You were excited that Peter was interested in your religion, but did he actually want to be your friend? Well, maybe he did. You didn’t really know.

He came to your house, treats in hand, and gave a light knock on your front door. He was met with what he assumes to be your mother.

“Hello. You must be Peter, come in,” she said with a welcoming smile.

“I brought you some coffee cake,” Peter said as he handed your mother the treat.

“I love this brand. Thank you, Peter. Y/N, come to the living room. Your friend is here!” your mom said.

“Hey Peter,” you said as you made your way to the living room.

“Hey,” he said.

“My dad should be home soon. He just had to go to prayer services at the synagogue,” you said.

Your father came home about five minutes later and he was eager to learn with you.

“Y/N, what books did you pick out for today’s session?” He asked as he made his way to sit by the two of you.

“Abba, I didn’t pick out any books today,” you said.

“Why not?” He asked.

“Well Mr. L/N... wait, or is it Rabbi L/N?” Peter asked.

“It’s usually Rabbi but whatever you’re comfortable with,” your father said.

“Well anyway, I came over because Y/N was teaching me about Judaism during school because I wanted to know more. We didn’t really finish talking about it,” Peter said.

“Why do you want to know more, Peter?” Your father questioned. 

“Ummmm, maybe it’s because I lived all my life in this neighborhood and I never once acknowledged their religion,” Peter said.

“Maybe that’s because you don’t care about the religion someone’s affiliated with, you just care about the person that they are,” you chi med. 

“I guess so,” Peter said simply.

“Why do you want to know more now?” your father asked.

“Because I met your daughter and I knew that I was going to be friends with the minute I saw her. I want to know more because it’s a part of who she is. I may not be religious but I want to know what makes Y/N the way she is,” Peter said. He was proud of his answer. You were proud of his answer. 

Peter and you got along pretty well after that. You didn’t only talk about your religion. You talked about each other. You realized you liked a lot of the things that Peter liked as well. You’ve been hanging out ever since the first day of school. You really fit in with Peter and his friends. Peter would come over twice a week to hang out with you and to do homework. Peter kept asking questions about Judaism. You were happy to answer. He stopped asking as much because Peter knew that your religion wasn’t the only thing that made you who you are. It is a big part of your identity, but not the only part. He then started more questions about you. You were definitely happy to answer those questions.

--

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[xhxhxhx]

Saw something in the further reading section of Michael Kulikowski’s Imperial Tragedy (Profile, 2019) today:

There are countless books on the fall of the western Roman empire, and more appear annually, with variable scholarly trappings but nearly all quite conventional. Still, ripping yarns and neo-Victorian analyses can be found in any bookshop. So, for those so inclined, can thinly disguised nativist tracts on how immigration (and ‘immigrant violence’) brought down the empire. To name names would be invidious.

I thought this was a dig at Peter Heather, Professor of Medieval History at King’s College London and author of The Fall of the Roman Empire (Oxford, 2005) and Empires and Barbarians (Oxford, 2009), so I looked it up and discovered that not only was I right, but Kulikowski has serious beef with the guy:

Peter Heather has been fiercely criticized by members of the so-called Toronto School of History. Michael Kulikowski, who belongs to this group, has accused Heather of neo-romanticism and of wishing "to revive a biological approach to ethnicity". Kulikowski claims that Heather "manifests a clear methodological affinity" to the 19th-century writer of the Goths Henry Bradley.

But Kulikowki’s beef is nothing next to the righteous fury of Guy Halsall, Professor of History at the University of York:

Guy Halsall has identified Peter Heather as the leader of a "counter-revisionist offensive against more subtle ways of thinking" about the Migration Period. Halsall accuses this group, which is strongly associated with University of Oxford, of "bizarre reasoning" and of purveying a "deeply irresponsible history". Halsall writes that Heather and the Oxford historians have been responsible for "an academic counter-revolution" of wide importance, and accuses them of deliberately contributing to the rise of "far-right extremists".

Halsall got so mad at Heather, first at the 2011 Leeds International Medieval Conference and then online, at his blog, that he threatened to leave academia entirely:

Well, it's more or less a year since I started doing this blogging lark 'seriously' (the inverted commas are obviously necessary).  And, as they say, what a roller-coaster of a year it's been.  I've shut down the blog twice, brought it back twice, come to the verge of formal complaints being sent to my university twice (once justifiably, once most certainly not), lost at least one friend, lost 99% of the respect I had for someone I had hitherto held in high esteem, quite possibly lost the chance of a job I wanted because of this blog, taken some pretty visceral abuse, and so on.  All good fun!

On the other hand I have learnt some lessons.  One is that even bastards have feelings.  Another is that if you have twenty-odd followers and maybe 100 hits a day, that (allowing for hits from people looking for something else, like Elizabeth Kostova's novel The Historian or ever-popular balding guitarist The Edge) does not mean that  only twenty or thirty people in the whole wide world read your blog.   Thus you need to be a bit more careful about what you say and how you say it.  I've also learnt that eminent historians don't always read what you write very carefully, and just how deeply-ingrained the elitist culture of the British historical profession is, as well as just how few principles are actually held by the overwhelming majority of the practitioners of said profession.  And this in response to something that I actually thought long and hard about how I wrote.

And as a result of all this I have realised that no good is going to come of me continuing to smack my head against the glass ceiling that those of us not from 'a particular socio-educational background' (you know the one) eventually run up against.  I have instead come to the decision, essentially, to give up on it and 'seek my fortune' elsewhere than in the confines of the academic career-path, as it is now constructed in the UK at any rate.*  I'm actually quite excited about this as I think it offers a lot of possibilities, creatively and ethically.  It's been a liberating decision.  Those of you who know that I set most store by the writings of those co-opted into the canon of the existentialists (almost none of whom ever called themselves by that name) will appreciate exactly why I am proud of this decision.

To some extent it makes up for the bad faith I showed in backing down and removing my post on why it matters to get angry about the lazy and irresponsible (indeed, yes, just downright knuckle-headed) way in which some historians in and/or produced by our most prestigious Thames Valley-based university write about politically and socially sensitive topics like migrations.

Halsall ultimately sanitized the 2011 IMC paper that started the war with Heather --  the neutered version is still up on his blog -- but the original was apparently quite something:

Perhaps unsurprisingly for those who’ve heard him speak or read him on the Internet, this was the one that really started the war. [Edit: and, indeed, some changes have been made to these paragraphs by request of one of those involved.] The consequences, if not of this actual speech, at least of its subsequent display on the Internet, have been various, unpleasant and generally regrettable, and I don’t want any of them myself.

Thankfully, the purged parts of the original were reproduced by some noble soul on the Civilization Fanatics forums before they were lost to the ages:

Thus we can have Ward-Perkins’ sneering parody of late antiquity studies and Peter Heather’s distortions of counter-arguments. In many people’s minds the choices before us are evidently, either, that nothing happened, or, that there was a huge catastrophe caused entirely by invading barbarians. Obviously this is not the case. Plenty of people other than me -- most famously, Walter Pohl -- have written about serious, dramatic change happening in the fifth century without blaming it on the barbarians and without denying that there were migrations in the fifth century. Yet this -- if I dare call it such -- third way seems nevertheless to be very much a minority position.

But I am not convinced that a simple lack of exposure to sensible alternatives really explains the continuing, fanatical devotion to the idea of the barbarian migrations, especially outside the academy.

I have recently said that:

“When a British historian places an argument that the Roman Empire fell because of the immigration of large numbers of barbarians next to arguments that the end of Rome was the end of civilisation and that we need to take care to preserve our own civilisation, when another British historian writes sentences saying “the connection between immigrant violence and the collapse of the western Empire could not be more direct” [a direct quote from Peter Heather’s Empires and Barbarians (Oxford, 2009)], and especially when the arguments of both involve considerable distortions of the evidence to fit their theories, one cannot help but wonder whether these authors are wicked, irresponsible or merely stupid.”

Obviously, these are not mutually exclusive alternatives.

Are these writers setting themselves up as ideologues of the xenophobic Right or have they simply not realised the uses to which such careless thinking and phrasing can be put? You can draw your own conclusions, although it is worth noting that Ward-Perkins has been happy enough to write on this subject for the neo-liberal magazine Standpoint, which regularly publishes pieces attacking multiculturalism. There comes a point when one has to admit that actually the most charitable explanation for all this really is that these writers are simply a bit dim.

Outside academic circles, it is certainly the case that the adhesion to the idea of barbarian invasion has a heavily right-wing political dimension. Apart from the barbarians’ role as metaphor, already discussed, it is worth, very briefly, thinking about the other reasons why people are so ready to pin the blame on the barbarians. Slavoj Zizek’s Lacanian analysis of antisemitism provides some valuable ways forward. Essentially, the barbarian, like the figure of the Jew, acts as a screen between the subject and a confrontation with the Real, which Zizek sees, slightly differently from Lacan, as the pre-symbolised; things that haven’t been or can’t or won’t be encompassed in a world view. Zizek showed that arguments that “the Jews aren’t like that” are almost never effective against anti-Semites because what real Jews (or actual immigrants, one might say) are like is not the point. Similarly, arguments about the empirical reality of the fifth-century cut little weight with those wedded to the idea of Barbarian Invasion. Just as the anti-Semite takes factual evidence as more proof of the existence of the international Zionist conspiracy, the right-wing devotee of the Barbarian Invasions sees factual counter-arguments as manifestations of the liberal, left-wing academy peddling its dangerous multicultural political correctness. I have read a great deal of this on internet discussion lists -- including a review of my own book, and one of James O’Donnell’s! Michael Kulikowski received a similarly-phrased review from a right-wing academic ancient historian.

The barbarian is the classic “subject presumed to”. The barbarian can change the world; he can bring down empires; he can create kingdoms. The barbarian dominates history. “He” is not like “us”, enmeshed in our laws, our little lives and petty responsibilities. The barbarians -- and you only need to read Peter Heather to see this -- are peoples with “coherent aims” (a quote), which they set out single-mindedly to achieve. No people in the whole of recorded human history have ever had single coherent sets of aims. Well -- none other than the barbarians anyway.

Halsall has never resiled from his belief that Heather was essentially a fascist, nor backed away from his commitment to resign from his post in righteous indignation -- maybe not in 2011, or 2019, but certainly by 2023 at the very latest:

My anger about all this is justly infamous but has been badly misrepresented.  I do think that some things are worth getting angry about, and the misuse of the Barbarian Migrations and the End of the Roman Empire to fuel xenophobia and racism, and the way some modern authors pander to this, is one such.  However, to look at the origins of this ire and animus, I invite you to compare my engagement with Peter Heather’s work in Barbarian Migrations, and its tone, with Heather’s engagement – if you can call it that – with my work, and its tone, in Empires and Barbarians.  I never expect to be agreed with; I do expect basic academic courtesy to be reciprocated.  If people see fit to treat me intellectually as a second-class citizen, the gloves will come off.  That may stem from my own biography as (unlike so many) a first-generation academic not educated at the 'right' schools and universities, but there we are.  I will be leaving the profession within the next four years (well done, guys) so I have nothing to lose by not apologising for that.

Kulikowski might have gotten in a good dig, but Halsall will always be a true master of the art of Being Mad Online.

[eraofstories]

Every year at Purim I think about bowing. More specifically, refusing to bow. 

When I was 15 I went on a youth trip to Europe. The group consisted of forty or so students, ranging in age from 14-18 (I think, maybe 15 was the lower limit?), all from RI, plus three teachers who were doing this to make some money over the summer basically, plus a European guide. . The trip started in Italy, and that’s the part that I always think of at Purim. We spent a lot of time in churches on this trip. Like, A Lot. And the thing you have to understand about RI is that it is a majority catholic state. I was one of two Jews in the group, and there were also a handful of protestants, but most of the students were catholic.

We started in Rome, visited the vatican, all that good stuff, and it was fascinating and exhausting in equal measure. I’m a giant nerd, so all this history and beautiful art was incredibly striking to me, but I also spent a lot of time feeling very much other. As the other students went around having meaningful emotional/spiritual/religious feelings about things I just kept looking around at the splendor, the excess and feeling a bit bitter tbh. We had to keep journals, and I wrote in mine, based on a conversation with that other Jewish kid (a Conservative boy who I think was named Jacob, or Joshua, unless it was something else entirely of course) as a couple of the protestants, that the Catholic church had had a shitload of money. I kept thinking about how they got that money, about crusades and forced tithes, and forced conversions (and pogroms and hatred and and and). 

Then we got out of the city, went up to Assisi. It’s a beautiful place, all mountains and beautiful old cobblestone italian streets. There’s a monastery and we got to hear a monk talk about what his life is like etc. We went on a tour, and eventually we were all led to pass through a little cottage that had belonged to St. Clair (I think? I can’t say that I’m actually particularly concerned about the saint’s name...) that they’d built a shrine/church around. And inside of this house there were places for you to kneel, to bow and pray to the saint. 

And everyone did. I didn’t realize what the other students were doing inside the house until I got inside. Until I got inside and realized that every single one of them was kneeling to this saint, as if that was a reasonable thing to do. The way everyone was moving it was clear that the expectation was that all of us would do the same. At least one of the leaders was actively kneeling in prayer herself when i entered. I stood frozen. I stared at the Jewish boy whose name I don’t remember, and he stared at me, our eyes wide and a little panicked. I don’t remember if we’d been told that we weren’t allowed to talk in the cottage/shack thing or if it just felt like it wasn’t allowed, but I do remember that we didn’t talk, and that those seconds felt long. I remember that we both shook our heads, a little panicked, and walked awkwardly around the other students, without kneeling for even a moment, and exited the other side, clearly more quickly than anyone else who had passed through. 

It was one thing to appreciate history. It was one thing to spend days feeling like the weight of the Vatican, of the Catholic Church was going to crush us the way it had crushed so many before. But we weren’t going to to bow to this human woman in prayer, no matter how ardently the other students and teachers and this monk all believed that she’d been touched by their version of G-d. That wasn’t on the table. That statue of the woman wasn’t G-d. She herself hadn’t been G-d even when she’d been alive. (Jesus wasn’t G-d either, catholicism wasn’t purely good and holy, the weight of all this stone pressing on us wasn’t going to force us to our knees.) 

I don’t remember what I said at the time. I think I must have said something along the lines of feeling that it wasn’t great to spring that kind of thing on people, that there should probably have been a warning. I was so stunned, so overwhelmed in that moment. I do remember one of the protestant girls who had sort of banded together with us before, when we were in Rome feeling the weight of Catholicism asking us why we hadn’t just kneeled and not prayed to the saint or whatever, after all, we could even have meditated on G-d and our own beliefs, that’s what she’d done and it had been meaningful and moving! I know that we stuttered out an explanation of how you don’t bow to people, you bow to G-d, you worship G-d, people had died for this principle centuries before I was even born, I wasn’t going to do it there. 

Whatever we said, I know that the teachers overheard us, because I remember one of them coming and talking to me later that night. The more time passes, the angrier I get about that conversation. She basically asked me what should have been different, suggested that me simply walking through was fine, I shouldn’t really be upset, it wasn’t like I was even really suggesting anything different that could have been done, you know Catholicism is really important to a lot of people and I should let them enjoy this stuff anyway, etc. The older I get the angrier I am at the idea that an adult looked at a fifteen year old girl who’d had a pretty stressful day at that point, who’d felt terrified and then forced to stand there, polite and silent while a monk blessed us all at the end of our visit, and thought that the right response was to scold me for having made other people feel weird about their religion. For having made other people feel awkward, just because there had been no warning at all, for acting like it had been a big deal in some way to be forced to walk through this shrine, and be the only ones to pointedly not kneel (before idols!), and really how hard would it have been to just be more calm about it all. 

I don’t know. I don’t really have a conclusion here. I just think about it this time of year, when we read about Mordechai refusing to bow to Haman. 

[andimthedad]

Road Trip: Westward Day 3: Walking tons, DC

This summer, the kids and I embarked on a 10,000-mile cross-country road trip from Washington to Maine and back. Along the way, we got a brief taste of America through landmarks and sights that represent our nation, for better or worse.

Read notes from every day of the trip:

Eastward: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Westward: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

And various posts from the FAQ.

For some reason, Tumblr posted these out of proper queue order.

–

Washington, DC

We had an entire day to spend in DC. Our hotel was less than 20 minutes from the White House, which is a good place to start a walking tour of key sights.

Rang the doorbell. Nobody home. Took a picture anyway.

We passed the Treasury Department as we walked around the White House:

“What do they do?” asked Beth, age 11.

“They manage all the government’s money,” I said. “They oversee printing it, collecting it, and so on. It’s like a bank.”

“So that building is full of money?” she asked.

“Nah,” I said. “It’s full of numbers.”

Our next stop was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It remains a moving tribute to these veterans. 

One arm of the Memorial points to the Washington Monument. The other arm points to the Lincoln Memorial.

While we were there, someone made a rubbing of one of the etched names.

I remember when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built in the early 1980s. It was designed by Maya Lin, an Asian-American undergraduate student, and selected by a committee from over a thousand submitted designs. The design was meant to symbolize a wound in the earth that needed healing, or that had become a scar, but it was very nontraditional and a lot of people didn’t like it.

“Why on earth would anyone have a problem with this?” asked Beth. “It has a cool meaning.”

I shrugged. “People wanted a traditional statue memorial,” I said, “so they added one of those too. I’ll show you.”

“After all the complaints, the committee in charge of the memorial commissioned this statue of three soldiers,” I said. “I think they hired the guy who came in second or third in the submissions contest.”

“How many people come to see these guys?” asked Luke, age 14.

“Not as many,” I said. “The wall is much more powerful and meaningful.”

We proceeded to the Lincoln Memorial.

This statue is 19 feet tall and always serious. 

Despite providing shade, the Memorial remains open-air, and it’s still pretty hot.  Minor practical note: the tiny gift shop off to the side has air conditioning.

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, you get a great view across the Reflecting Pool, to the World War 2 memorial at the other end of the pool and the Washington Monument in the distance.

Walking down to the other end of the pool, you then get the reverse view.

Did I mention it was sweltering crazy hot and humid that day? We had to buy Italian ices just to survive.

The National World War II Memorial is at the other end of the pool. I didn’t get a good picture of the entire structure, but here’s one from Wikimedia:

The water is relatively cool for dipping your toes into.

Next was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. One of their current special exhibits — free, in fact, if you just want to duck into the basement — is “Americans and the Holocaust.” It presents a multifaceted view of how America reacted to World War 2, Nazis, Hitler, Jews, and more. For example, the kids pointed out display with a couple of public polls taken in 1938:

Q: Do you approve or disapprove of the Nazi treatment of Jews in Germany? – 94% disapprove – 6% approve

Q: Should we allow a larger number of Jewish exiles from Germany to come to the United States to live? – 71% no – 21% yes – 8% no opinion

In other words: Americans overwhelming condemned the suffering of the Jews under the Nazis, but we also didn’t want to help the Jews escape it. 

Among various period newsreels playing, famous aviator Charles Lindbergh was recorded giving an “America First” speech on September 11, 1941, against the U.S. joining the war against the Nazis. He said the Jews were “agitating for war” against Hitler. Although it was “understandable” from their perspective, Lindbergh said those reasons were “not American.”

The exhibit also showed a clip from Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 movie, The Great Dictator, which he wrote and funded explicitly to criticize Hitler. Chaplin is mostly famous for his silent films, but this was his first “talking” movie. In it, he plays both a crazed Hitler-like dictator and a poor Jewish business owner who, by coincidence, look exactly alike. At the end, the Jew has to play the role of the dictator, and gives this surprisingly moving speech:

The Holocaust Museum also discussed the Japanese internment camps, in which the U.S. rounded up over 100,000 people of Japanese descent and “relocated” them into what some people have called concentration camps. The vast majority of these people lost their homes and businesses during this time. Apparently, after one Japanese internee was told they were put in the camps for their own protection, he responded, “If we were put there for our protection, why were the guns at the guard towers pointed inward, instead of outward?”

Next was the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. This is one of the few museums I remember visiting when I was a kid. There’s a lot of history there, like the Wright Brothers’ first airplane:

Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, in which he completed the world’s first solo transatlantic flight. And we had just encountered his "America First” efforts at the Holocaust Museum.

The Apollo Lunar Module LM-2 was meant as a backup to the first lunar module, but was never used except for ground practice:

SpaceShipOne, the first privately-owned spacecraft to actually make it to space:

“You have to understand something,” I said. “There are 20 Smithsonian museums and a zoo. We are really only seeing one. And there are a ton of other non-Smithsonian museums in DC. So, like pretty much every other place we’ve gone, we could spend a week or more here.”

We did walk past the Smithsonian’s modern art museum, the Hirshhorn. You can’t miss the car parked out front with a rock:

It’s “Still Life with Spirit and Xitle” by Jimmie Durham, and yes, the face is part of the art.

We then walked over the Museum of the Bible, a non-Smithsonian museum funded by the owner of Hobby Lobby and launched with some minor controversy. We were impressed with the multimedia presentations of the Stories of the Bible.

Beth asked, “What did you think of that?” — referring to the Museum of the Bible.

“I feel like they left a lot of things out of their presentation of the Old Testament,” I said.

“Did they say something wrong?” asked Luke.

“It’s more like… they deliberately left things out so people wouldn’t be confused by the complexity of Scripture.”

“That color-changing room was pretty cool, though,” said Luke.

“Yeah, I can’t remember what it was supposed to mean,” said Beth. “But I remember the room!”

By this time we were all really tired, and decided to Uber back to the hotel. We would get to the Capitol Building the next day.

–

Unless noted otherwise, all photos and videos are taken by the kids and I, and are shared under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.

[elohim61]

 

 



What Are God’s Annual Holy Days?

PERSONAL FROM DAVID C. PACK, PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Does the Bible teach there are certain days that God made holy? If so, what are they? And are they still in effect? Did God only intend these special days for ancient Israel? Did Jesus abolish them and exchange them for popular holidays of pagan origin? Many millions observe Christmas, Easter, New Year’s, Halloween, Valentine’s Day and other supposed Christian holidays without knowing why—or where they came from. Most suppose they are found in the Bible because they see the masses keeping them. Surely hundreds of millions of Christians cannot be wrong.

Which days should you keep? Does it matter? Prepare to be shocked by what the Bible really teaches! Sadly, most never ask why they believe what they believe or do what they do. Few seek to understand the origin of things. Most accept common religious practices without question, choosing what everyone else does because it is easy and comfortable. Most follow along as they have been taught, assuming that what they believe and do is right. They take their beliefs for granted and never take time to prove them.

Jesus said this about the world’s popular customs and traditions: “In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men…full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:7, 9).

The Bible does mention Christmas and Easter—and other familiar holidays—but it bluntly condemns them as heathen customs. We will see the proof is overwhelming that these days are traditions and commandments “of men.” Great numbers keep them anyway, seemingly content to worship Christ in vain!

Since the Bible condemns these almost universally observed “Christianized” holidays of men, how did they come into popular practice? You must be willing to open your Bible and honestly accept what it says about men’s holidays—and God’s Holy Days. The world’s churches have almost universally taught that these annual Sabbaths of the Bible have been done away—that they were only for ancient Israel, or “the Jews.” Many have supposed that Jesus “nailed them to the cross”—with most everything else in the Old Testament.

The majority of people stoutly defend what they merely assume is biblical. They read with prejudice anything that contradicts their assumptions.

Seeking Bible Truth

If you are going to take the time to read this Personal, should you not at least do so with an open mind—and without bias? Ask God to guide you—to help you prove what He says in His Word. The Bible is “profitable for…correction” (II Tim. 3:16) for those willing to accept it—those truly wanting to serve and please God.

The Bible is God’s inspired Word—His written Instruction Book to mankind. It answers every important question in life and explains how to live—it reveals the road to salvation!

God commands, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15). He expects us to know His Word so that we can act on it.

Proper Bible study leads to approval from God. Both the Old and New Testaments state, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3).

The apostle Paul explained that people are the servants of whoever and whatever they obey: “Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16). People either serve and obey God, and are given eternal life (vs. 23)—or they serve and obey sin, and earn eternal death!

If God commanded certain Holy Days be kept, should you not be certain why you do not observe them? No matter how comfortable a lifelong practice may be, should you not base your decision to continue doing it on proof—hard evidence—instead of assumptions?

God says, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2). He commands, “Prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

Will you sincerely seek and tremble before the truth of God’s Word about His Holy Days—or go along with the masses and their traditions of men’s heathen holidays?

The churches of this world will often admit to making a half-hearted effort at keeping nine of the 10 Commandments. Typically, they acknowledge it is wrong to steal, kill, covet, bear false witness and commit adultery. They also admit that honoring one’s father and mother, avoiding idolatry and not taking God’s name in vain are good things. However, most professing Christians do a poor job of actually keeping these nine commandments and teach that Christ officially did away with them and kept them for us. But most will tacitly agree that these nine commandments are at least “nice principles.”

Consider. Exodus 20:8-11 shows Sabbath-keeping is the fourth Commandment—and a fundamental law of God! The Sabbath was hallowed—made into holy time—by God at Creation. He never authorized or hallowed Sunday, the first day of the week. Jesus kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16; Mark 2:27-28). So did Paul (Acts 13:42, 44; 17:2; 18:4), as did the New Testament Church. In Exodus 31, it was ordained forever and to be kept perpetually by all generations of God’s people.

Theologians and religionists have long taught that the true Sabbath of the Bible is the seventh day. Saturday, not Sunday, is the seventh day of the week. And the weekly cycle has never changed. However, the ministers of this world have carefully devised “explanations” that dismiss many clear scriptures about God’s plain command to keep His Sabbath. Instead of letting God’s Word change their beliefs to conform with His truths, they change the words or their meanings to make them fit their beliefs! They justify Sunday-keeping—even though God’s Word has never justified Sunday-keeping! The same is true of the annual Holy Days.

God has always said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8)—never, “Remember the first day (the pagan sun’s day) to keep it holy,” or authorized His Church or mankind to do this. Nor did He ever command or allow His people to keep numerous other pagan festivals and days of worship. He has always commanded against their observance, and the early New Testament Church kept God’s Holy Days for over four centuries—with its remnant still observing them today!

Christmas and Easter have nothing to do with God and are both condemned in scripture in the strongest possible terms. Our booklets The True Origin of Christmas and The True Origin of Easter teach much more about these holidays that men have used to replace God’s true Holy Days.

Examining History

Some important history. Many pagan festivals, including Christmas (the Saturnalia), Easter (the festival of Ishtar), Halloween, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day and worship on the day of the sun, were observed throughout the Roman Empire long before Christ’s First Coming, but by other names. The apostate church simply adopted them into practice and enforced them on all citizens in the empire through the vehicle of the civil government.

The most obvious ways the great false church system has thought to change—and counterfeit—God’s holy times and laws has been by replacing His Sabbath with the pagan sun’s day, thus altering His fourth great law (many speak of Sunday as their sabbath)—and by replacing His annual Holy Days with numerous pagan holidays practiced for centuries by the Romans and the Greeks.

This false system completely changed God’s way of marking time. It starts the year in the dead of winter, while God starts His year in the spring when nature is coming back to life. This church begins days in the middle of the night, while God marks days from sunset to sunset. It begins the workweek on the second day, Monday, while God begins the weekly work cycle on the first day of the week, Sunday.

Pagan Rome devised an unnatural calendar based solely on the sun, thus having varying lengths for its months, while God bases His calendar on the moon and starts months with each new moon.

God’s sacred calendar—generally referred to as the Hebrew calendar—has never been recognized by religionists, scientists, historians and educators. But it is the way God intended to mark and measure time. The Jews did not invent or contrive this calendar from imagination. Its principles go back to the first chapter of the Bible, where the sun and moon were appointed “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:14). No other calendar harmonizes the solar and lunar cycles. Only the Hebrew calendar sanctioned by God does this!

The whole world has been deceived into accepting these and other “changes,” and has been led away from the plain, clear commands of God’s Word. Billions have carelessly remained ignorant of God’s instructions, content to believe customs, practices, days and times that have been spoon-fed to them.

We will learn that obedience to God’s weekly and annual Sabbaths are intertwined—they cannot be separated. Though they stand or fall together, it is not the purpose here to prove which day is the Christian Sabbath. This large subject is covered thoroughly in my book Saturday or Sunday – Which Is the Sabbath? This book answers every conceivable question you could have about whether one must keep the Sabbath, as well as how to keep it. It is impossible to fully grasp the subject of God’s annual Sabbaths without also studying this book. You will also see the weekly cycle has been unchanged since Creation. The arguments and suppositions claiming God’s plain commands are no longer in effect equally apply to weekly Sabbath-keeping and annual Sabbath observance.

Some claim Colossians 2:16-17 does away with the Sabbath and Holy Days, but this is untrue. Others claim the annual Sabbaths were part of Moses’ law. They were not, because they were observed before Moses’ law of ritualistic orders had been given. Still others claim sacrifices were performed on these days—but Numbers 28:3 shows sacrifices took place every day of the year, and physical sacrifices are done away in Christ.