#israel road trip

[zanepilled]

zane in dc

yesterday was the people's red line protest at the white house. ive been on a road trip from dallas to dc to participate. check out my other pics under the cut!!

[matan4il]

I just miss getting to travel through my beautiful country...

[londonfoginacup]

.

[teaboot]

Wait why were you in israel/palestine? Aren’t you canadian?

I am. A friend of my family was traveling from Egypt to Jerusalem on pilgrimage and someone who had reserved a spot in the group had to drop out, so there was a last-minute seat available and they asked me if I was interested.

Life is short, and it wasn't the sort of trip I'd be able to afford on my own in a million years, so I tagged along as the token agnostic.

And I'm glad I did, because a few months later some of the places we'd visited were leveled flat.

A lot of beautiful, rolling green hillsides are charred dust now, and good, kind people are dead.

Buildings we slept in are gone. Children who waved to us in the street are gone. Small shops and vendors and houses are gone. Old men gathered together to smoke and chat in little rooms by the streetside are gone.

Passing from Israel into Palestine was a visible, abrupt switch from a modern city not unlike Vancouver to a slum. Like some of the reservations I've been to here up north that go to shit sometimes, where the Chief and his family all have brand new BMW's and nobody else has had their plumbing fixed.

Buildings were repaired with minimal supplies, trash was gathered in the streets, and the roads were bare dirt for long stretches at a time. You could tell that this wasn't a place being treated kindly, but people were doing their best. Everyone we met treated us well. Everyone we met was kind, and welcoming, and generous.

One man I spoke with said he was hoping to come to Canada someday. Take his family and live here. He asked how cold it got.

I told him that their winter was like our summer. He didn't like that- said he didn't like being cold.

I told him to wait for summer, then, and he could visit with me. Told him everywhere he'd have to see when he arrived, all the best landmarks and museums.

The first bombs dropped before winter.

I don't know if he waited.

[galatictraveler]

I encountered this ibex in the Ein Geddy Nature Reserve in Israel last week. It's on the Dead Sea.

[octuscle]

With the help of Allah

Bosse had been on the road for three days. On the road on a trip around the world as a gift for his A-levels. In fact, he hadn't been given very much money. But his parents had generously allowed him to start his studies in a year's time. And until then, with a little help from his parents, he was allowed to do whatever he wanted. The original plan had been to fly to Istanbul and make his way from there to Cairo by bus, train or hitchhiking. The war in Israel had thwarted his plans and so he had flown directly to Cairo. And after a day at the pyramids, he was red as a sheet and he was sick of everything. To give his skin a rest, he spent a day at the big bazaar today. At least it was shady there. Even if it was unbearably hot. But the posts of the last few days had been very successful; initially only family, friends and maybe a few teachers had followed him, but the number of his followers was actually growing by a few dozen every day. Measured against the initial number of perhaps 200 followers, that was a huge success. And this success was to be further boosted today with a few reels from the Bazaar.

The Bazaar was overwhelming. Confusing, full of people and smells. A babble of voices in which only a few snatches of words recognizable as English could be heard. Bosse loved the bazaar. But he hated the rubbing of his rucksack on his burnt shoulders. Suddenly he heard something. Rather unconsciously. Something irked him… It was… Swedish! Someone was speaking Swedish! "Unge herrn! Kom hit, snälla!" Bosse looked around. There was no one far and wide who was blonde and over six feet tall. He was in a crowd of short, black-haired people. And yet he heard it very clearly: "Unge herrn! Kom hit, snälla!" It was quiet… Much quieter than the Arab yelling of the other traders… But it came from one direction. Clearly… Bosse wasn't sure whether he wasn't beginning to hallucinate amidst the vapors of tens of thousands of people and the scent of spices from 1,001 nights. But the voice became louder and clearer "Unge herrn! Kom hit, snälla!" And then he was standing in front of the stall of a merchant who was one of the hairiest men Bosse had ever seen. Not many merchants showed their shoulders here in the Grand Bazaar. And to Bosse's taste, this man had better not have done so either… But now he stood before him with his hairy chest, hairy shoulders, hairy arms and huge, impressive beard. "Young sir, it's good that you're here. May I grant you relief from your pain?" Bosse looked at him as if bewitched. The man, who looked as Arabic as one could look, spoke to him in Swedish as if he had studied in Lund.

"Young sir, you are not used to the sun. The sun is the Arab's friend. But the enemy of the men from the north. Buy one of my amulets, young sir! And your pain will be alleviated." The merchant took an amulet from a stand and placed it on Boss's shoulder. The feeling was wonderful. Coolness flowed through his skin. The pain of the backpack straps at least on one side of his battered body. "Young master, only 40 pounds. Not even ten crowns yet! And you will sleep the sleep of the righteous tonight. No pain. Young master, try it. And don't pay until tomorrow when it's worked. No risk, young sir!" Bosse didn't even think about paying tomorrow. Obviously this amulet was at least not harmful. He took a 50-pound note and gave it to the merchant. "Young sir. I'll gladly take the money. But allow me: this is the great bazaar of Cairo. You must haggle. This amulet would never have been worth more than 10 pounds." Laughing, he gave Bosse 30 pounds in change. Bosse hung the amulet around his neck, put the 30 pounds in his wallet and turned around to thank him. He almost collided with a giant of a man. He was in the coppersmith's alley. There was no one selling amulets for miles around. Bosse mumbled a "Maghfira" and set off in confusion. He walked deeper and deeper into the bazaar. No souvenirs or sweets interested him. He needed new shoes. Something more practical than his sandals. And if he wanted to visit the mosque later, he should get himself a prayer cap. The amulet on his chest felt great. And his skin changed from a glowing red to a rich olive color. He moved as confidently as a cat in the corridors of the labyrinth. This felt so familiar. He greeted a familiar face again and again. Every store he stopped in gave him a cup of tea. Rumors and gossip were exchanged. Besse overheard a lot on his way through the bazaar. And he knew that information had to be bought with other information. By the end of the day, Bessem was exhausted. The pedometer on his cell phone showed that he had walked almost 15 kilometers. But it had been worth it. He had done everything he had planned for his day off. He had fed his TikTok channel with all kinds of news. And all he had to do was survive tomorrow, Thursday, and then it was the weekend.

Essam's day started early. His father was one of the biggest traders of copper in the big bazaar. And even though he was the crown prince, Essam was actually nothing more than an errand boy and porter. But Essam loves the job. He loved the bazaar. You met people all the time. Acquaintances and friends. But also strangers who gratefully let themselves be led out of the maze for a few pounds. Essam was well known in the relevant channels. Those who found him and let him "rescue" them were sometimes allowed to return the favor in kind. Essam was still a boy. But his cock was that of a stallion!

Pics by @ki-kink

[bringherhome7]

Shir Yaron, 21, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while fleeing the Nova festival on October 7th.She attended the festival with her boyfriend, Dan Damari, and her best friends, Chen Ben Ami and Dude Turgeman. When the rocket fire began, they all fled in the same car. When they reached a junction near their homes, Hamas terrorists shot at them and murdered Shir, along with everyone else in the car.Their bodies were discovered the next day, lying in the road and full of bullets.Shir loved to travel, and she was supposed to begin a big trip with Chen to South America in November. She was a foodie and fan of the nature, with a love for extreme sports, desserts, and pastries.Her cousin, Gil, wrote on instagram, “How can I eulogize a 21-year-old girl???” And said they’d planned “so many places to eat, trips and hangouts.” Her mother, Ya’ara, also said, “Shir loved nature and trips, she loved to travel in Israel and in other countries, loved shopping, cafes, restaurants, she loved sweets and always had them with coffee.”Shir is remembered for her huge heart, her love for her family and friends, and her zest for life.May Shir’s memory forever be a blessing.

[capybaracorn]

‘Until death’: The Bedouin clan resisting violent settler displacement

The people of al-Muarrajat remain undeterred, even after a recent and disturbing settler threat on their lives.

Mughayer al-Deir, occupied West Bank – On January 23, the villagers of al-Muarrajat woke up to find three child-size burial mounds near their children’s school. The message was clear: Leave, or die.

According to Alia Mleihat, 27, from the village, the fake graves sent “intense fear, anxiety and terror” through the village – a group of 30 shepherding families, all related.

“The [graves] the settlers put in al-Muarrajat are a direct threat from these monsters [that] could be implemented today or tomorrow because whoever made them goes past the village every day,” she said.

But even after this latest settler threat on their lives, the people of al-Muarrajat are undeterred.

“Those who did this must be held accountable … we will remain steadfast on our land until death, this doesn’t frighten us,” added Alia.

“On the contrary, it calls on us to be even more steadfast.”

Homes in Mughayer al-Deir [Al Jazeera staff]

The last of the Bedouins

In a series of violent pogroms by settlers in the occupied West Bank’s Area C since the Israel-Hamas conflict started on October 7, nearly all the Bedouin villages east of Ramallah along the Allon Road – rough terrain seen as integral to annexation dreams of the Israeli right – were targets of forcible displacement by armed settlers, often wearing military uniforms.

Humanitarians on the ground at the time told Al Jazeera that five al-Muarrajat families left, with expectations of more to follow and that Mughayer al-Deir – situated even closer to Allon Road than al-Muarrajat – would go as well, completing the displacement of Palestinians in the area.

But, four months later, the people of al-Muarrajat and Mughayer al-Deir remain on their land.

According to leaders and members of these shepherding communities, they stayed despite dangers and restrictions to preserve their Bedouin way of life – and because they have nowhere else to go.

Ibrahim Mleihat, 58, known as “Abu Muhammad”, is the mukhtar, or chosen leader, of Mughayer al-Deir, about a 90-minute walk away from al-Muaarrajat on a hill with the Allon Road on one side and surrounded elsewhere by encroaching settlers, including the settlement of Ma’ale Mikhmas and the outpost of Mitzpe Dani.

Ibrahim Mleihat, known as ‘Abu Muhammad’, is the mukhtar, or chosen leader, of Mughayer al-Deir [Al Jazeera staff]

Abu Muhammad described how things began to deteriorate in Mughayer al-Deir three years ago as settler outposts first appeared during the prior Israeli government headed by Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett.

As happened in Bedouin villages elsewhere in Area C – land under Israeli military control earmarked to be negotiated in future peace talks – the harassment the Mleihat villagers had experienced for years escalated after October 7.

Settlers began surveilling them with drones, using loudspeakers to shout profanities about Islam or to amplify sounds to scare away their flocks, said Abu Muhammad and his son, Ibrahim Mleihat, 37. Armed settlers attacked them and stopped them from grazing their sheep on land they had used for years, penning them in.

Settlers also attacked Mughayer al-Deir families when they tried to access their only water source down the road – a trip made necessary because Israeli authorities prohibited them from piping the water directly to their community.

A Bedouin animal-holding pen that has been abandoned due to settler violence [Al Jazeera staff]

‘We are the government’

In Mughayer al-Deir, organised settler attacks reached a peak on December 28, said Abu Muhammad and Ibrahim. That morning, dozens of armed settlers in military uniforms and covered faces came to the village, invading homes and telling Abu Muhammad the villagers had to leave.

“This is our area,” they declared.

“We will never leave,” Abu Muhammad replied.

When some villagers defended themselves in their homes, settlers shot at the ground towards Abu Muhammad and his sons. As the situation escalated, he called the police.

“Don’t bother calling police,” a security guard from a nearby illegal settlement – an alleged ringleader of the attacks – told Abu Muhammad. “We are the government.”

When the police arrived, the settlers claimed it was the Bedouins who had attacked them. Abu Muhammad and five of his sons were arrested.

“Why are you arresting us while they’re attacking us in our homes?” asked a cuffed Abu Muhammad.

They were taken to Ofer Prison, where they were beaten and kept in cold cells with no water or food for long stretches, they said.

Villagers have been forced to buy additional animal fodder because settlers have prevented animals from grazing on traditional lands [Al Jazeera staff]

‘Grazing everywhere we now can’t’

The material and psychological state of the Mughayer al-Deir and al-Muarrajat families is deteriorating as their isolation continues, more than four months into the war.

Threatened with confiscations by settlers and authorities if they graze their sheep on traditional lands, the villagers only leave their land to get water from down the road or to buy fodder, Abu Muhammad says.

Typically, the rainy winter season provides grass for flocks to graze, saving lots of money. But, he says, they still buy one tonne of animal fodder every other day because settlers prevent them from moving about to graze.

“And then the settlers come onto our lands with their flocks, grazing everywhere we can’t go,” he said.

These burdens during what should be the most lucrative time of year are compounded by the strain on the occupied West Bank’s economy, which is forcing Palestinian families to spend money on basics like rice and flour instead of the cheese, yoghurt and meat the shepherds sell.

To remain financially afloat, families in Mughayer al-Deir are turning to loans out of desperation.

“Every household here now has debts that exceed 30,000 shekels (about $8,240),” said Abu Muhammad, whose community lives without running water and very limited electricity.

Struggling with the day-to-day of leading the community through this crisis, “I can’t even think of the future,” he said.

Animals kept penned up in Mughayer al-Deir [Al Jazeera staff]

The cost of surviving

The people in both Mughayer al-Deir and al-Muarrajat grapple with a lack of services on top of the economic situation.

Until recently, Alia Mleihat held regular school lessons for children in al-Muarrajat [Al Jazeera staff]

Until recently, the school in al-Muarrajat, which Mughayer al-Deir children also attend, was closed in the period following the October 7 start of the war. Alia Mleihat – who was self-taught in high school before attending the Open University in Jerusalem – would hold lessons with village children using books donated by activists.

“As Palestinians, our weapon is knowledge … with knowledge, we can convey our voice to the world,” she said.

In the middle of January, the school started again, but the children still face frequent closures and risks getting to school. Three out of 30 children from Mughayer al-Deir have already dropped out.

With the other Bedouin villages near the Allon Road now deserted or, in cases like Wadi Siq, even occupied by Israeli settlers, the isolation has cast a pall over the two remaining communities.

The attacks and restrictions have been especially hard on children. Ibrahim Mleihat has six children between one and 12 years old.

“We try to lie to the children: ‘Don’t be afraid, they’ll go away,’” he said. “But our children know we’re lying. They can see it in our eyes.”

In Mughayer al-Deir, villagers describe how children often discuss “Ameer, Jad’oun and Omer”, the Israeli security officers of the nearby Ma’ale Mikhmas settlement and the Mitzpe Dani outpost.

“The children dream that the [security officers] will kill them or take them away,” said Abu Muhammad.

A mother in Mughayer al-Deir described her six-year-old daughter to aid workers as intelligent and eloquent until the last settler attack, which struck her largely silent and unable to spell words.

Even under the traumatic, economically crippling situation they find themselves in, the Mleihat of Mughayer al-Deir and al-Muarrajat say they will not leave.

Abu Muhammad has heard from displaced communities how bleak their prospects are, struggling like the former community in Ein Samiya did, torn apart and scattered across Area B.

Such communities have found it impossible to keep up with their livelihoods as shepherds, the only option being to sell their animals and find jobs as labourers – at a time in the occupied West Bank when roads are dangerous, Palestinians have their movement further restricted, and the economy is in shambles.

And while some other communities had land elsewhere to flee to, Abu Muhammad emphasises that they simply do not have anywhere else to go.

Mughayer al-deir kids stand in front of settler outpost in background [Al Jazeera staff]

Though separated by a 90-minute walk or 10-minute drive, the people of al-Muarrajat and Mughayer al-Deir have gone months without seeing each other because of the settlers; one of Alia’s relatives had their car torched by settlers when they attempted to visit Mughayer al-Deir.

However, the physically isolated villages remain in constant contact, supporting one another as the only communities that remain in the area – and as family.

“I talk to them nearly every day about what’s happening there,” said Alia of her Mughayer al-Deir relatives.

“They’re brave people who defended themselves and stuck to their land.”

[whencyclopedia]

The Journeys of Paul the Apostle

The journeys of Paul the Apostle, as the New Testament relates in the Book of Acts, started with his conversion experience on the way to Damascus, after which instead of seeking to thwart the growing Christian movement, he helped spread it. His four journeys by land and sea across great lengths of the Mediterranean and over vast expanses of land in Asia and Europe totaled over an estimated 16,000 km (10,000 mi).

The Journeys of Paul the Apostle, c. 55 CE

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

Paul's First Missionary Journey

After persecution in Jerusalem, Antioch was one of the places to which Christians fled, and it was from there Paul began his first missionary journey. Annexed by Pompey the Great in 64 CE and made the Roman provincial capital of Syria, with an estimated population of 250,000, Antioch was one of the primary cities of the East, along with Alexandria and Constantinople. Located at the northeast end of the Mediterranean on the Persian Royal Road, Antioch benefited from its location at the end of the Silk Road and its proximity to Greece, Anatolia, and Italy. As Hughs and Jones mention, not only was "its wealth derived from being a center of civil, military, and later ecclesiastical administration of much of the Near East but also from its position on the commercial road from Asia to the Mediterranean" (103).

Besides its own wine and olive oil production and as a center for the fulling of cloth products, silk from China, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, dye-works from the Levant, and weaved silk from Damascus could all have found their way through Antioch for distribution throughout the northern Mediterranean areas. As it lay on the Orontes River and at the edge of a fertile plain, Antioch communicated commercially with the harbor of Seleucia 26 km (16 mi) downstream on the Mediterranean. As common travelers in ancient times hitched their rides on merchant vessels, the water portion of Paul's trip was aboard a cargo ship performing trade transactions. Thus, it was at Seleucia that Paul boarded a cargo ship to the province of Asia, stopping at the island of Cyprus.

Cyprus, with a prominent location at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, was also known for its wine and olive oil production. A scenario for trade would have been a combination of Eastern goods loaded alongside refined and agricultural products accumulated at Antioch. Then, with a stop at Cyprus for partial distribution, Cyprus' products would have been added for final distribution in Asia.

With fellow evangelist Barnabas and Barnabas' nephew, John Mark, Paul first landed at Salamis on the eastern end of Cyprus after leaving the port city of Seleucia and sailing west toward Asia. Like with many of his subsequent stops, Paul first visited the local synagogue, attempting a conversion of the Jews to Christianity. From Salamis, heading west, walking nearly the length of Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas came to Paphos, their point of departure for Asia. At Paphos, the proconsul Sergius Paulus would become a convert.

Paul the Apostle's First Missionary Journey (c. 46-48 CE)

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

Heading to Asia from Cyprus, Paul's ship stopped at Perga in Pamphylia, in southwestern Turkey today. From Perga, John Mark departed for Jerusalem as Paul and Barnabas pressed on into Asia. At their first stop in Antioch of Pisidia, at the synagogue, Paul preached the history of Israel as he weaved in the story of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, said to be a descendant of David, as the resurrected Savior, son of God. Though Paul and Barnabas initially gained Jewish and Gentile converts, a faction of opposing Jews expelled them from the city.

At Iconium, with similarly mixed results on learning of a plot to kill them, Paul went on to Lystra. As many in Lystra were worshipers of gods and their idols, Paul preached they should turn from worshiping "things" to worshiping the "living God" (Acts 14:15). When some hostile Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over, both groups stoned Paul. Thinking he was dead, they dragged Paul to the outskirts of the city. When some brethren came to retrieve the body, remarkably Paul had recovered and went back into town. The next day, Paul traveled east for Derbe. With his mission ending on a more positive note, large numbers rallied at Derbe to Paul's message. Deciding to head home, retracing their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, after appointing elders in each church, the apostles went on to Perga; then, after preaching there a bit, they boarded a ship for a short junket west to the port city of Attallia, then from there they sailed back to Seleucia, then traveled up along the Orontes to Antioch.

Continue reading...

[ofmdbigbang]

Title: a soul missing home Author: Aletea Artist: ezazahaz Beta reader: Caladria Main Characters: Izzy, Ed, Stede Other Characters: Frenchie Main Relationship(s): Eventual Izzy/Ed/Stede, established Ed/Stede Other Relationship(s): Rating:  Explicit Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Angst, Established Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet, Eventual Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet/Israel Hands, Bipolar Blackbeard | Edward Teach, Amputee Israel Hands, Mental Health Issues, Ableism, Mildly Dubious Consent, Dysfunctional Relationships, Miscommunication, Healing, Angst with a Happy Ending Warnings: Mental health, ableism, mild dubious consent Summary:

Ed and Izzy used to be the most important people in each other’s lives. But it’s been five years since they had a falling out when Ed began dating Stede, and things have changed. Ed and Stede are leaving town - for good. Terrified that they’re going to lose any chance to ever reconnect and repair their relationship, Izzy winds up on a road trip with them to their new home. Along the way, they learn they’re different people than they used to be, and struggle to not fall back into old patterns as all three of them begin to fall for each other.

Wordcount: 70,422

a soul missing homeArt Masterpost

[girlactionfigure]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF HAMAS MASSACRE

GRAPHIC CONTENT

LEE KERN

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT

My name’s Lee Kern. I’m 45 years old. I’m a writer from London. Having seen footage of some of the crimes commited by Hamas against Israeli civilians on October 7th, 2023, I flew to Israel and requested permission to join a press screening that included footage families have asked not to be released to the general public. This is not what I want to do with my life. I’m a civilian. I’m an artist. I have mental health to protect. But it became clear we’re experiencing Holocaust denial in live time. Those who wish to destroy Israel and hold ill feeling towards Jews are not my audience. They’ve embraced an anti-intellectuallism in pursuit of mendacious goals. But I still believe the civilised world holds an edge over those debilitated by hate and conspiracism. It’s for those that I write this, and also for the victims.

Below are the notes I made during the screening, which lasted forty five minutes. It starts off extreme and gets more extreme. I am remaining in Israel so I can interview survivors and those affected by the massacres. If you are able to support my trip and my work, please subscribe.

DESCRIPTIONS OF OCTOBER 7th MASSACRE

The following are descriptions of footage shot by Hamas terrorists on their bodycams and mobile phones. It also incudes footage filmed on dash-cams, CCTV cameras and by the victims with their mobile phones.

The footage starts with Hamas breaking into Israel. They are on trucks and motorcycles. They shout Allahu Akbar. Over and over again. Allahu Akbar. Their faces are beaming with joy. They’re so happy.

We see terrorists standing in a road in Israel. A civilian car drives towards them. They begin firing. There are masses of them standing in the road. A long line of men with rifles all shooting at one car. The damaged car continues to move, but slowly now. A terrorist gestures his hand at the vehicle - almost as if he’s pretending to be their friend - kindly asking them to slow down even more so he can shoot them. He fires more bullets at them. The occupants of the car - a man and woman - are dead. Their bodies are pulled out of the vehicle and dropped lifelessly into the road.

Read More: Here

[jewish-vents]

I have this friend who genuinely has the best of intentions. But she’s always had a problem with black and white thinking. The first alarm bell was when we went over what happened in a class of ours a few days after Oct. 7th, and she leaned over to me and asked, “who colonized who?” After that, her comments gradually started going from pro-Palestine to anti-Israel to just straight antisemitic.

At first, she started calling the war a White vs. Brown conflict rooted in White supremacy. I tried to gently explain why thinking like that could lead down antisemitic roads, and I thought she took it to heart.

Then, it turned into genocide and ethnic cleansing accusations. I was too shaken up to get many good points across, but she told me she had seen TikToks explaining how, “Israel was going to come over to the US and do what they’re doing to the Palestinians to African Americans.” This friend is Black and a very vocal activist. I could only stare at her in shock for a few moments before excusing myself.

A few more comments, gradually getting worse. I told her I didn’t want her bringing up Israel around me.

Finally, we went on spring break this year and I could not go a day without hearing more than one comment. This time just about Jews:

On a bus out of the blue, asked if Jews were allowed on the Titanic, because African Americans weren’t. I said I didn’t think so, but we looked it up and there were indeed some immigrants in third class. She said, “I was so offended when you said no. I know y’all were up there with the band.”

The two of us were eating lunch with another friend who joined us on the trip. Our friend was excited because she got an acting gig, but it required Polish accent work. I told her I can introduce her to some of my Polish family and they can talk for a while. The original friend asked if I really have Polish family. I started to tell her I have family from all over, but I can only get out, “Yeah! I have family from-“ before she interrupts me with, “Europe.” When I try to explain my Mizrahim family along with others scattered around the world, she replied that she’s doubtful and asks if I’m sure.

There are more examples, but the biggest one that comes to mind is when we were in Epcot talking about the flags. I (very hesitantly, I’ve learned my lesson lol) joke about expulsions, and say American is one of the only ones Jews haven’t been kicked out of. She tells me very confidently it’s because Jews benefit from American White supremacy because we’re all White.

I’m not trying to pit African Americans against White Jews, and I’m sorry if it comes across that way. It is just so frustrating and disheartening to see my friend who has always been so warm-hearted and well-intentioned fall for this kind of rhetoric.

.

[blueiscoool]

Roman Soldiers 1,600-Year-Old Oil Lamp Found in Israel

The lamp was used by Roman soldiers guarding a fort on the Scorpions Ascent; an identical lamp was discovered in the same spot 90 years ago.

Sixteen year-old Yonatan Frankel, a pupil from the Tamar High School in Hod Hasharon, was with his class on an annual field trip along the Scorpions Ascent in southern Israel. When his class stopped for lunch next to the Late Roman fort of Mezad Tzafir, Yonatan began to pick up rocks from the sand to look at them.

“One of the stones that I picked up was full of dirt. I shook it off, and suddenly I saw a design. Then, I understood that this was a man-made object and not just a stone,” he recalled.

Yonatan brought the lamp to his teacher, who showed it to their guide. The guide ensured that the find was transferred to the Sub-district Archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Southern Negev District, Alex Freiberg. Yonatan received a certificate of merit for his discovery and for good citizenship.

The oil lamp discovered at Mezad Tsafir was produced in Petra in Jordan in the 4th-5th centuries CE. When IAA senior researcher Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini saw the lamp, which was only partially intact, she was quite excited.

“Lamps of this type were uncovered at Mezad Hazeva, and also at Mamshit, Mezad Yotvata and Petra, but the lamp Yonatan found is identical to one discovered at in the same place 90 years ago (!) by archaeologist Nelson Glueck,” she said.

“We know that between the Nabataean-Roman town of Mamshit and the copper mines of Feinan (biblical Punon) in the Central Arava – not far from present-day Moshav ‘En Yahav, a trade route was in use in the 4th-6th centuries CE. In order to secure the shipments of copper, and possibly even gold from the mines, a series of forts were built between the head of the Scorpions Ascent and Mezad Hazeva, and Mezad Tsafir was one of these. Mounted patrols guarded the important road. It is easy to imagine the lamp lighting up the darkness in the lonely, isolated fort manned by Roman soldiers.”

[galatictraveler]

This is from Ein Geddy in Israel last week. I visited Israel, Palestine and Jordan all in one go.

[daloy-politsey]

On a cold and rainy November day, a 65-year-old American rabbi trudged down the muddy roads of a Palestinian refugee camp. When the rabbi and his colleagues stopped, refugees gathered around them in a scene of “disappointment, frustration, [and] despair.” Gaunt men and “children, big-eyed and thin,” walked up and clutched the rabbi’s raincoat. Several began chanting, in Arabic, “We want to go home!” Weary, broken women watched silently from their tents as rain and wind chilled their bare feet. Guilt overcame the rabbi. “In my deepest heart, I said the prayer of confession,” the rabbi wrote, referring to a prayer recited on Yom Kippur, the fast of atonement. “Anachnu Chatanu.” We have sinned.

One could imagine this scene taking place recently. Yet it was 1953 when Rabbi Morris Lazaron walked through the refugee camp—Shatila, located in Lebanon—where he witnessed firsthand the suffering of Palestinian families who had lost their homes during the war that accompanied Israel’s creation in 1948. The “illimitable misery” of the refugees, to use Lazaron’s words, had a decisive impact on the former head rabbi of the prestigious Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. After his trip, Rabbi Lazaron began calling on the Israeli government to recognize the right of Palestine’s Arab refugees to return to their prewar homes and urged the Jewish state to admit 100,000 of them into the country immediately.

[burins]

it's time for my big books of the year roundup! gonna do a separate post for graphic novels/comics bc there were simply soooo many of those this year. bolded are my particular favorites

JANUARY

The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability: For All of Us Who Live with Disabilities, Chronic Pain, and Illness by Cory Silverberg, Fran Odette, Miriam Kaufman (reread)

The World We Make by NK Jemisin

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (audio)

The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal

FEBRUARY

The Librarian's Guide to Homelessness: An Empathy-Driven Approach to Solving Problems, Preventing Conflict, and Serving Everyone by Ryan Dowd

Libraries and Homelessness: An Action Guide by Julie Ann Winkelstein

Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane (audio)

MARCH

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo (audio)

The Stars Undying by Emery Robin (audio)

APRIL

Babel: An Arcane History by RF Kuang (audio)

Get Inside: Responsible Jail and Prison Library Service by Nicholas Higgins

MAY

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K LeGuin (audio)

The Dispossessed by Ursula K LeGuin (audio)

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen (audio)

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins (audio)

Paper Bead Jewelry: Step-by-Step Instructions for 40+ Designs by Keiko Sakamoto

JUNE

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (audio)

Translation State by Ann Leckie

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

Happy Place by Emily Henry

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera

JULY

Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life by Alice Wong (audio)

SEPTEMBER

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson (audio)

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan (audio)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

NOVEMBER

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (audio)

Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh (audio)

Where the Line Is Drawn: A Tale of Crossings, Friendships, and Fifty Years of Occupation in Israel-Palestine by Raja Shehadeh (audio)

DECEMBER

The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane (audio)

Kissinger's Shadow: The Long Reach of America's Most Controversial Statesman by Greg Grandin (audio)

Golda Slept Here by Suad Amiry

The Trial of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

below the cut, some writeups for my faves:

Wolf Hall - it's not news but Hilary Mantel is among the best to ever do characterization in just a few sentences

The Future Is Disabled - emerging from the rage & fear of being disabled during COVID lakshmi piepzna-samarasinha never lets us forget the joys of disabled community

Libraries and Homelessness - this is partly a spite pick bc i HATED ryan dowd’s book so much. this is an empathetic and practical guide to providing services to unhoused patrons that encourages community partnership, is full of examples, and isn’t miserably condescending!

Underland - i liked this so much i wrote a cave scene in timkon road trip fic. The texture of the prose is delicious!

The Stars Undying - i don’t actually know the story of antony and cleopatra very well but this was a very tasty space opera with messy messy characters

The Lathe of Heaven - still thinking about this 7 months later! Every year I read a LeGuin and it knocks me on my ass for the rest of the year. The opening scene is one of the best things I’ve ever read. (I liked The Dispossessed very very much but I loved Lathe.)

Mimicking of Known Successes - delightful noir-flavored scifi, great worldbuilding and equally great exes.

Some Desperate Glory - do you ever leave a cult against your will, and also you’re the worst girl in the world! This one is for all the clementine kesh fans. Breakneck.

The Haunting of Hill House - this was a great year for me to read books written 50+ years ago. I tweeted about it when i read it but ooghhghhgh this book is devastating. What if you got everything you ever wanted and finally felt at home and everyone called it evil.

Where the Line is Drawn - this was my second book by Shehadeh and it never shies away from the thorniness and hurt inherent in human relationships formed amidst occupation. Really, really excellent.

Kissinger’s Shadow - concisely unravels the ways Kissinger’s legacy shapes every part of US foreign policy you’ve ever heard of. Also really gets at the paranoid ouroboros of Kissinger’s personal philosophy.

Golda Slept Here - the legacy of several Palestinian houses, told through an eclectic mix of personal narratives, photographs, and occasional poetry. Funny and angry and heartbreaking.