#no news unless Jews right?

[nimrochan]

Where were you for other suffering Muslims and Arabs around the world? Where was all the news and social media coverage and social justice warriors for the Chinese Uyghers? Where were you for the Syrians killed in civil war? Where were you when the US left Afghanis to fend off the Taliban by themselves? Where were you for the girls taken by Boko Haram? Where were you for the ethnic cleansings in Sudan? Do you even care that almost 400,000 people total in Yemen died?

Does no one question or find it weird why this ONE conflict is blown so huge on the news and social media compared to others?

Did you know that one million Iraqis (a staggering number) died after 9/11? And yet no one rallied for the death of all Americans?

If you are truly invested in the Israel-Palestine war, why didn’t you care about any of these other conflicts? Why weren’t you bombarded with information and posts about them? Why do you claim to care and yet refuse to understand Israel’s side or history?

Where were you for the Arab Bedouins obliterated by Hamas on 10/07 alongside their Israeli brothers and sisters?

Why didn’t you question any of it?

You don’t actually care. You just want to feel good about yourself.

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

BELIEVE JEWISH WOMEN

[humanbeanvitaminsea]

You know, I read a funny statement yesterday. (Funny in a wtaf way).

"The Farhud was nothing. It only lasted 2 days and was nothing to do with you being Jewish. It had nothing to do with us being Muslim. It was because you Jews were supporting the British. Most Iraqi Jews returned safely to their homes afterwards".

Right. Ah, that helpful clarification makes it okay then! Sorry, I didn't realise! I thought the Farhud was a result of deep rooted anti-Semitism. I thought that Rashid Ali was pro-Nazi. My bad. I thought the Farhud involved brutal pogroms against Iraqi Jews by the Muslim majority. Silly me! I thought Jewish bank accounts were subsequently frozen by the government and Jewish property and land confiscated. What a fool I was to believe that Jewish government officials were fired for being Jewish, laws were made against Jews being able to hold certain positions and professions and ultimately, Jews were stripped of their Iraqi citizenship and nationality.

How many Jews remain in Iraq today? Zero. Efes. Nada. Clum.

"Go back to where you came from!" "Free Palestine!"

Deniers can deny, but you can't silence the voices of the survivors.

In this video, Tal Oran interviews his 85 year old grandma, Miriyam, and his great uncle Uri, both Farhud survivors who fled to Israel in the 1940s.

Let's remember why Israel needs to exist as a Jewish state.

[justaholeinmysoul]

Despite what you think of Israel the left and the Internet being on the side of Iran, houti, isis, hamas, ayatollah etc and asking Israel to just NOT defend itself even in case of attack(as in stop being armed until there's no more idf or weapons not in this particular case) Is absolutely bollocks like are yall serious? ??

[indecisiveavocado]

an incomplete list of hate crimes in the past fourteen (14) days against jews not in Israel, in no particular order

A shul was defaced with swastikas (Minneapolis, US)

A shul was firebombed (Montreal, Canada)

An ATM dispensed antisemitic banknotes, complete with 'Fuck Jews' (Sydney, Australia)

Swastikas at public high schools (Virginia, US)

Antisemitic stickers at the Boston University Campus ("spreading" from Harvard)

More antisemitic grafitti (Indiana, US)

(or maybe 12) 5 antisemitic attacks in Zurich (Zurich, Switzerland)

(or 13) Swastika grafitti in Pittsburgh, where I live (Pittsburgh, US)

(or 14) A car burned and grafitti sprayed in another antisemitic attack in Australia (Australia)

(or 15) That Melbourne arson attack (Melbourne, Australia)

(or 16) Jordan Acker's home was vandalized (Michigan)

(or 17) The San Francisco Hillel was vandalized with antisemitic grafitti (San Francisco, US)

(or 18) An Israeli in California was wounded after someone DROVE A FREAKING CAR INTO THEM (California, US)

(or 19) Someone intentionally cut off the peyot of a Jewish boy in New Jersey, akin to ripping the hijab off a Muslim woman, only it takes a while for her to get another hijab (New Jersey, US)

Mind you, as far as I know, this was a relatively typical two weeks. Goodness knows there were many more that went unreported. And many of these were basically unreported in the non-Jewish news, because no one really pays attention unless it's something big, like arson. Imagine if some tailor destroyed the hijab of a Muslim girl after saying not to, as her mother begged for him to stop. National news, right? But if it's a Jew - no one cares.

But tell me more about how antisemitism isn't a big problem and I shouldn't worry again.

[spacelazarwolf]

so this is a trashfire for many reasons.

lack of historical knowledge and complete lack of perspective

israel was not created by britain. israel declared independence from britain. israel was not "designed to funnel jewish people out of all other countries." israel is not "puppeted by america for the purposes of colonizing southwest asia" and the insinuation that israel's goal is to colonize the entirety of southwest asia is actually a documented antisemitic conspiracy theory.

"Even before the State of Israel came into existence, Arab leaders accused Zionists of seeking to rule most of the Middle East," a secret Jewish plot to establish a "Greater Israel" extending from the Nile to the Eurphrates and the Persian Gulf, and south deep into Saudi Arabia. Albeit "farfetched" and a "calumny," this notion has "become so routinized and accepted" that it "now serves as the conventional wisdom in all the Arabic-speaking countries and Iran." Pipes 1998, 49, 69. This is one of two maps in the collection alleged to provide evidence of the "Greater Israel" conspiracy. (The other is ID #2411, "Jewish Imperial Ambitions In Palestine and Neighbouring Countries," 1967.) This map, "Dream of Zionism," shows Zionism as a giant serpent, its back decorated with a pattern of triangles described as "Freemasons Eye, 'Symbol of Jewry.'" The snake's circular outline marks the "Proposed Boundary of 'Greater Israel,'" an area including all of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the Sinai Peninsula; the Nile delta region of Egypt along the Suez Canal and northwest of Cairo; and virtually all of Iraq, including access to the Persian Gulf. It also includes a large portion of northwestern Saudi Arabia, a corridor well over 100 miles wide along the Red Sea, stretching south more than 450 miles from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Holy City of Medina. "Curiously," the conspiracy theorists "see Greater Israel including Medina but not Mecca; the oil fields of Kuwait but not those of Saudi Arabia; and more of Turkey than Iran." The State of Israel is identified as "Occupied Palestine." Pipes 62. This map first appeared in an English-language edition of the fraudulent "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" - the infamous blood libel against the Jewish people - published in Iran in 1985. Ibid. This version appears in a new edition, "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion," attributed to "The Representatives of Zion, of the 33rd Degree" and published in Kuwait by the "Scientific Research House." The estimated publication date is 2018. The current version of the map varies only slightly from that of 1985 illustrated in Pipes: the words "Symbol of Jewry" have been added in script beneath the legend "Freemasons Eye," and a partially legible signature ("Mir"?) appears at the lower right.

also i'm not sure what the intention was with bringing up the rwandan genocide because rwanda was colonized by germany and belgium, not the british. unless you think literally everything bad that happens in the world is tied to britain... which just so happens to be another antisemitic conspiracy theory that originated in the ussr. all the while jews were being demonized in the uk for being "communist sympathizers." because jews are the symbol of everything you hate, all the problems in your life. that is how antisemitism functions.

2. tokenizing jews for your own benefit

"i had followed [jewish blogs] in an attempt to better understand jewish concerns ... and i've been unfollowing them one by one ... i was getting genuine perspectives on issues i knew very little about - and now, for those blogs in particular, it's impossible to separate what might be a genuine concern verses wht's being weaponised to justify a settler state"

this is an open admission that you are only able to take in jewish perspectives from jews you agree with. and considering the ignorance that's rampant in the rest of the post, my guess is that what you saw was jews who were scared and angry at the way people acted after october 7th and the way antisemitism is rising, but the non jews you follow were insistent that those sentiments could not coexist with palestinian liberation. additionally, the fact you are unable to separate genuine concern verses "what's being weaponised" is your own problem, not ours. the way jewish pain is being downplayed, mocked, ignored, and demonized, the way people have insisted that any mourning for the victims of october 7th or concern for the hostages must be propaganda is antisemitic. and you are actively contributing to that, particularly by saying that western powers arresting people during protests "has been a setup from the beginning" with the very clear insinuation that it is "zionists" who are to blame for the setup.

3. you are really fucking entitled

you are a british goy (not a "goyim" btw, goy is singular, goyim is plural). you literally admitted that you "don't know how to talk about this with the tat and care [you] should be as a [non jew]" and that "certainly there is a degree in arrogance for [you] to talk about judaism as an outsider." and yet you wrote this whole post full of antisemitic conspiracy theories and antisemitic biases while claiming you know how to protect jewish people and while claiming that zionism is "the biggest danger to jewish people right now."

let us be very fucking clear. the biggest danger to jewish people right now is antisemites and the actions they choose to take, and the consequences of those actions.

you say that "if you tell the general public, who are very susceptible to the broader news cycle, that judaism and zionism is the same thing, they very well will be motivated to do antisemitic things, because they believe they are fighting zionism."

this has already happened and has been happening for decades. framing jews as zionists and demonizing zionism as a jewish ideology is not new. it happened all across swana, even before israel declared independence, including during the farhud which was a pogrom that occurred as part of the holocaust in iraq where jews were executed, beaten, and tens of thousands had to flee from government-sponsored persecution specifically and explicitly targeted at jews under the guise of "antizionism." it also happened in the ussr.

the desire to completely separate judaism from zionism as a jewish ideology is not out of concern for jews. zionism is a jewish ideology founded on one possible solution to global antisemitism, as an attempt to keep jews safe from constant persecution, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. it's not a solution you have to agree with, but trying to completely divorce it from judaism only opens the door for the very people you claim to be concerned about who will use zionism as an excuse to attack jews, as they have been for decades.

i have said it before and i'll say it again. zionism is one of the jewish answers to the question "what do we do with the jews?" historically, the answers gentiles have come up with have been "subjugate them, ethnically cleanse them, slaughter them, genocide them." so when you respond to that question of "what do we do with the jews?" with "i don't really care, but not that! and actually your jewish answer is what's causing this in the first place so really it's your fault!" it's kind of fucking bonkers to expect most jews to respond in any positive way. if you expect to have a productive conversation with zionist jews or with jews as a whole, you must present your own answer to "what do we do with the jews?" and if you're thinking "well how the fuck am i supposed to figure out a plan to get antisemitism all over the world to go away? that’s going to take too long!" you almost understand the point. the eradication of antisemitism is a global effort, and one that won't be achieved in our lifetimes. so the least you can do in the meantime is educate yourself, interact with jews in good faith, listen to jewish perspectives even if you don't agree with them, and realize that you are still going to have only scratched the surface.

so yes, you're right. it was extremely arrogant of you to post this, and you are an example of how ignorance breeds antisemitism among the uneducated masses.

[xclowniex]

A part of antisemitism which I think a lot of goyim don't understand is that when a person does something utterly vile and disgusting, that you hope and pray that the person who did the vile thing isn't jewish, because if they are, their vile behavior will be used to paint all jews as partaking in said vile behavior.

There is already enough antisemitic shit going around painting all jews as pedophiles, and today a news story broke (here in NZ) about a former political figure sexually abusing two teenagers.

And the political figure has name suppression, because in NZ, if you will face repercussions from the allegation of the crime which would put your mental health in a position where you would harm yourself, put you in a position where others would seek you out to harm you, or would make you unhireable, you get name suppression during the trial. This is to protect those falsely accused from having it affect their life. If you are found guilty, unless there is a threat to your life if you are named, you will then be named.

Current members of parliment get zero name suppression regardless of the crime as it is in public interest for everyone to know.

And because this political figure has name suppression, all people are left to do is speculate. Something which is safe to assume, is that it's a right wing former politician based on their lawyer.

And I'm just super worried that it's a Jewish person. We have had one jewish prime minister in my lifetime, John Key, who was a right wing politician. And I really hope it's not him. Antisemitism has increased by 600% here in NZ, and I can only imagine the rhetoric about jews that would be spread if the political figure is Jewish.

And I also feel guilty for this worry. As well, all crimes transcend ethnicity and religion and the main focus should be on the victims. However I'm just worried for my safety if people don't realize that, and start spreading antisemitic rhetoric.

And I know it's not unique to jews and antisemitism to worry about stuff like this. I just feel as if it's something a lot of goyim simple don't realize that we have to worry about.

[aestariiwilderness]

@miochimochi I see. Given that: you're not inclined to share any sources; you are denying historical and DNA evidence; you are flat-out denying the testimony and video evidence of and concerning multiple Israeli women and girls; the expressed prejudice in the implication that no matter what concessions Israel makes (i.e., the Gaza Strip) it will never be enough to make up for the crime of existing; the inability to recognize that the past treatment of a people/religious group -- remarkably similar to their vilification today -- might have some bearing on their current treatment; your denial of Israel's right to existence; your lack of meaningful rebuttal to any of my points or, apparently, investigation of any of my sources -- all of this indicates to me that further conversation would be, at the moment, fruitless for both of us. I'll be praying for you (genuinely :D) and I hope one of these days you're able to go back and look at the situation and the facts with a more open mind. If you'd like any of my sources in the meantime or tips on investigating the matter and the actual history for yourself, please don't hesitate to ask.

Remember folks, holding Israel accountable for the slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians is antisemitism and terrorism!

[vaspider]

So. Shit’s been uhhhhhhhh. Rough for us jews lately. And, yk, being a leftist jew lately has resulted in seeing people I trusted and spaces I trusted dive head first into full on antisemitism. I also know this is not really a new phenomenon, just the latest iteration in the patterns of the jewish experience. However, I’m a younger dyke and this is the first time in my adult life having to deal with this massive increase in antisemitism in my own community. I try and talk to people and educate them. Try and send resources too. Particularly “the past didn’t go anywhere,” by april rosenblum cause it’s so good on this topic. But, people don’t really tend to take me or other jews very seriously. So. I’m wondering. Younger queer to an older one. What ways, if any, have you found most effective at getting queer spaces to recognize the needs of jews and stand with us against antisemitism over the years? I recognize that there may not be much I can do, especially when trying to find new spaces. But for communities I’m already a part of, is there anything I can do to help them stand with us when we need it? And if so, what approaches have u found work best?

Can I be totally honest?

I haven't actually found anything that works very well unless people are already open to it working well. Unless people are already listening to us, a lot of people are so polarized and radicalized that it's ridiculous. I mean, we have people out here saying shit like 'don't pray in Hebrew,' and once you've hit that point, I don't know what else there is to say.

I have found that I'm usually better off making Jewish spaces more queer-friendly than queer spaces more Jewish-friendly. Maybe it's cowardly of me to not have the patience or strength to deal with how openly antisemitic a lot of queer spaces are right now, but honestly, I only have so much patience.

Eventually, people will be embarrassed of how they behaved, and try to pretend they didn't, and we'll make progress again, I guess. Until then, I'll talk to the people I can trust. I've learned there are a lot fewer of them than I thought.

[queertransetc]

Is it ok to convert to Judaism so I can work with Lilith without breaking closed practice rules? Ive been told only jews can work with her. I don't believe in the Jewish god but I believe in Her and feel a connection.

For starters, I don’t know a ton about Lilith, aside from yes, only Jews can work with her. I’m also no expert on conversion, as I’m not a convert nor have I been heavily involved in someone else’s conversion. For this reason, I’d like other Jews who see this, especially converts, to add in their thoughts on the matter. My answer is going to be relatively vague considering the question at hand

That said, I would be very wary of someone converting specifically for Lilith, especially if they don’t believe in any tenets of Judaism. You don’t believe in our god, not all converts do. But there’s so much more to Judaism that conversion requires beyond that belief. My question for you, anon, is what other reasons do you have for converting? If it’s only for Lilith, you don’t actually want to be Jewish. You just want access to a closed practice. Ask yourself: am I ready to join a new culture and ethnicity? Am I ready to face antisemitism? Am I ready to analyze the antisemitic thoughts and beliefs I already have and uphold? Am I ready to support a new community? Am I interested in adopting other beliefs and practices of Judaism?

Talking to a rabbi will likely give you even more questions you need to ask before you can know if conversion is right for you. As I said, I know relatively little about conversion, and I know nothing about you, anon. If you feel serious about converting already, tell a rabbi exactly what you’ve sent me, and ask to have a more in-depth discussion on your interest in converting. After getting to know you more, they’ll likely have a better answer on whether converting because of Lilith is appropriate or not

At the end of the day, I cannot tell you whether conversion is right for you. What I can say is that it’s a serious decision that takes a lot of time and hard work. Converting to Judaism is not something a rabbi will let you do unless they’re certain you are ready for all that entails

@ folks in the notes, if you intend to respond to anon’s message, please be kind and assume they’re asking in good faith <3

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

Where is your outrage for the kidnapped Israeli women???

No woman should be treated like that.

-Rape, murder and kidnapping aren’t justified resistance.

-Zionism isn’t evil , Israel isn’t going anywhere.

Watch the video. Call for their release

[luminouscanary]

i know the ending of fiddler on the roof leaves room for SOME hope; hope that the scattered jews can find some happiness in their new homes, hope that they were all able to leave anatevka without being killed, and hope that our main lead will be going someplace that, for a time at least, will be friendly to jews.

but a part of my heart hurts so deeply by the end of it all too. i think about my own family, displaced from their homes for fear of violence against them. i think about how many of us have families who have gone through that exact scenario. i think of all of us, shuffling outside in the snow, hoping to catch a boat to safety. i think of how many were turned away.

i think about how, maybe soon, i might be in that same scenario. how many of our people are facing that same fate right now. and how many are not lucky enough to simply be displaced. how infuriating it is, that everyone else can navigate life without considering these things, because they know or believe they know that they won't be forced out of their homes. i think of whether or not i can save my judaica, or my cat, without putting myself in danger.

but most of all, i think about how many goyim will watch that ending and never consider any of this, because unless jews are dead, nobody bothers to talk or think about us at all.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

So you want to write about a Jewish Ed Teach - a quick guide to writing a Jewish man of color, by a Jewish moc

Given Taika Waititi is Jewish, I am always so happy when I see fanfic authors writing about Ed being Jewish! We need more Jewish poc rep and I'm always happy to see it. That being said, I've also seen a lot of misunderstandings, so I wanted to to write up a few quick guidelines.

Disclaimer: I'm just one Jew with an opinion, and this is based on my own experiences! I'd love if other Jews, especially other Jews of color, in the fandom would like to chime in with their thoughts as well!

It is possible to be a Jewish athiest! Judaism is membership in a people, and belief in g-d is not required (and, in my community, it's even considered a very personal question!). Some of the most observant Jews I know are athiests; belief in g-d and level of Jewish observance are not directly correlated. Cannot overstate how common it is for Jews to not believe in g-d or go back and forth on the question.

On that note, there are different levels of Jewish observance. Every individual is different, but in general there's Orthodox (very strict), and then, way on the other side, there's Reform and Conservative (Conservative does not equal politically Conservative). Conservative and Reform are very similar, except the Conservative movement tends to be more observant of traditional Jewish law and uses a lot more Hebrew. If you live in an area without a lot of Jews (like where I live!), it's very common for Reform and Conservative movements to have a lot of overlap and collaborate on a lot of stuff together.

Not every Jew keeps Kosher, or keeps Kosher to the same level of strictness.

Synagogue services are not like Christian services, especially outside of holiday services. Ordinary Saturday morning services are often more like a group conversation as we try to work new meaning out of the Torah. The B'Nei Mitzvah, the big ceremony that marks a kid being old enough to participate fully in Jewish life, is more like "baby's first thesis defense" than anything else! There have literally been pauses in services I've attended before as someone ran to the temple library to check their sources.

Not all Jews speak Hebrew. Some Jews might not know any, some might be able to stumble through the more important prayers, some might be able to sight-read okay, some might only know religious words but not modern words, some might be fluent! Just about any level of proficiency is believable.

Ed's got a lot of tattoos! Tattoos are a big traditional Jewish no-no, but (again!) different movements and different Jews have their own opinions. I know a Conservative tattoo artist! It's not something that other Jews would comment on (unless they're just assholes) and it wouldn't make anyone kick him out of synagogue services (no joke, I read that in a fic once).

Hannukah is not the only (or even the most important) Jewish holiday; it's just the one most non-Jews know about. The two biggest holidays are Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. I think Ed's favorite holidays would be Purim (you get to wear costumes and put on plays!) and Passover (retelling of a story along with a big meal!).

Depending on the area and the Jewish demographic, Jews of color can sometimes feel uncomfortable in our own community, especially when other Jews automatically assume we must be converts. While this is a real issue, it is not something I want to read authors who aren't themselves Jews of color write about because it is a deeply inter-Jewish issue.

Depending on the community you grow up in, religious trauma isn't as common with queer Jews as it is with queer Christians. The Reform movement has been advocating for queer Jews since the 1960s (you read that right, yes). I'm not saying there are no queer Jews who have religious trauma, I'm just saing it's a lot less common, and I have always felt immediately accepted as queer in Jewish spaces.

The inverse is not true. Queer spaces are not always accepting of Jews (or of people of color, a double whammy!).

A few stereotypes to avoid: Jews are often stereotyped as being greedy and corrupt. Jewish kids are bullied by Christian kids because "we killed Jesus," when I was ten I had another kid ask to "see my horns." Always avoid comparing Ed directly to animals, especially rodents.

If you're a non-Jew looking to write about a Jewish Ed, I recommend doing some research. MyJewishLearning is a great website that's very accessible.

Every Jew interacts with our Judaism differently, so if you're writing a Jewish Ed, please take a moment to think about what it means for him! Membership in a community? Calming traditions that remind him of home, family, and community? A point of pride - we're a resilient lot! Even just a note in his background that he's not as connected to as he might like to be?

[spacelazarwolf]

wait you don’t have to believe in an anthropomorphic god in judaism? could you explain a bit if that’s alright?

my favorite way to explain the way jews feel about god is with the story of the oven of akhnai. basically, the sages are arguing about the halachic status of a new type of oven. there's a lot of debate and miracles to try to prove who's right, and eventually one of them is like "ok dude if ur right then god themself will say ur right." and god's like "ya ur right" but the other guy's like "fuck off god this isn't ur business." the torah is not in heaven. it's down on earth with us. we are the ones responsible for our laws and ethics.

a lot of jews i know don't believe in an anthropomorphic god. one of my rabbis believes that god is the oneness of the universe, which is an interpretation i really love. another one i love is that god is in the things we haven't been able to figure out yet, the laws of physics that don't make sense to us yet, the corners of the universe we haven't been able to reach, and the more we figure out the more we know god.

this is very different than what a lot of folks will recognize if they had a christian upbringing, because the christian god is very much seen as an authority figure, someone who is actively granting forgiveness and changing things on earth. so even for jews who do believe in something closer to what most gentiles will recognize as god, our priorities and relationship with god are still very different.

also slightly unrelated but i feel it's important to note that jewish laws were based on a time where we were a nation that was self governing, whereas with christian theology it was intended to be able to be integrated into other cultures and existing judicial systems easily because their goal is proselytizing, so god is their One Uniter. whereas there have been many services i've attended where the rabbis literally did not mention god once unless it was during a prayer or reading, which shocks a lot of ppl lmao.

[crimeronan]

guys. okay. rubs my temples.

i have blacklisted every word u can Possibly think of to block posts i do not want to see and somehow keep seeing them. so Please know that this is not a shit-starting post. hence why it's unrebloggable. because i legitimately just want to communicate to people in my immediate sphere.

it is... Not Acceptable Or Appropriate... to make/reblog posts referring to a collective of "jews" or "jewish people" in response to israel's genocide of palestine.

what i mean by this are posts along the lines of "what jews don't realize is-" "i wish american jews knew-" "can't wait to watch jewish bloggers come up with the worst takes imaginable-" etc etc etc.

it is similarly Not Acceptable Or Appropriate to refer to rabbis, synagogues, jewish practice, and other aspects of judaism/jewish culture as a monolithic hivemind that's loyal to israel. this includes "you're all being brainwashed by your rabbis/synagogues" "synagogues are zionist institutions" "stop speaking hebrew until your people stop committing war crimes" etc etc etc.

your kneejerk reaction (if u are a leftist goy) will likely be along the lines of: but it's simply like referring to a collective of british people or american people wrt imperialism, colonialism, and war crimes. you don't mean LITERALLY all jews, just like you don't mean literally all brits or americans.

this is unfortunately a false equivalence because of the antisemitic history and violence behind the idea of Monolithic Jews and Dual Loyalties. there is a quick overview of some of The Problems here; jewish scholarship and discussion of this is incredibly broad and varied... because jewish people are incredibly broad and varied.

like i'm fucking begging. you have Got to knock it off. i was gonna say something snide about how it's telling that i'm seeing a lot more posts About The Jews than about the fundamentalist christians who fanatically support israel's right-wing fascist govt, but like.... god i don't care i don't care i don't want to be writing this. It Just Sucks.

That's It. It Just Sucks

while i'm here, since i don't plan to talk about this anymore unless i have important resources to share: ACTUAL helpful things you can do are to keep an eye on the news and communicate with your own governments. for americans (just bc i am american) -- the biden administration has pledged to work with israel to allow humanitarian aid into gaza. it's important that the public pressure for that to happen continues & that the documentation of what's happening in palestine continues.

the more you guys turn your issue into an issue with "the jews" or "jewish people," the more time we're going to waste explaining why this is not acceptable or appropriate. which is frustrating because there is shit out there that Matters A Whole Lot Fucking More Right Now.

so keep talking about what matters. and please please PLEASE think for two seconds before you make any posts referencing jewish people.

[girlactionfigure]

The Jewish Queen

Esther was a Jewish orphan who became Queen of Persia and risked her own life to save her people from genocide.

After losing both her parents at a young age, Esther was raised by her older relative Mordechai. A beautiful young virgin, she was selected for the harem of King Achashverosh. Esther was forced to leave her home and community and move into the palace. Mordechai warned her not to reveal her Jewish identity. Each day King Achashverosh selected a different woman from his harem to spend the night with, and after Esther’s turn came, he was so smitten with her that he elevated her from concubine to queen.

Even in a non-Jewish environment, Esther found a way to live as an observant Jew. She became a vegetarian so she didn’t have to eat non-kosher meat, and she survived largely on fruit and nuts. Queen Esther arranged to have seven maids, each one working on a different day, so she could keep track of the days and observe Shabbat.

Desperate for news of Esther, Mordechai started hanging out right outside the palace gates. He overheard two guards plotting to assassinate the king. Mordechai told Esther and she told the king, enabling him to thwart the plot.

Meanwhile Mordechai incurred the wrath of grand vizier Haman, who was descended from Amalek, the mortal enemy of the Jewish people. Haman demanded that all subjects of the king bow down to him but Mordechai was the only one who refused to do it. Haman wore a pendant around his neck depicting an idol, and as a Jew Mordechai knew that he was absolutely prohibited to bow down to an idol. He took his orders from the King of Kings.

Enraged at the insult, Haman convinced King Achashverosh to kill all the Jews, and the king promptly selected a date for the genocide. Mordechai came to see Esther and pleaded with her to use her influence with the king to save her people. Esther explained that she is not allowed to approach the king unless she is summoned by him, and she hasn’t been summoned in 30 days, which indicated that she may have lost the king’s interest. It was the law that anybody – including the queen – who tried to speak to the king without an invitation is instantly put to death. Mordechai told her that the whole reason for her to become queen may have been for this moment, but if she didn’t step up, the Jews would find salvation from someone else. With the fate of her entire tribe on the line, gentle young Esther showed she had a backbone of steel. She said, “I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” She told Mordechai she would approach the king, and asked him and the Jews of Shushan to fast and pray for three days.

Clever and discreet, Esther knew how to handle King Ahashverosh. Instead of rushing in with her demand that the decree against the Jews be rescinded, she invited him and Haman to a party. At that lavish event, she invited them both to another party. Before the second party, Haman arranged for a huge gallows to be built, on which Mordechai would be publicly hanged. That night, the king had insomnia and was reminded that he never rewarded Mordechai for saving his life. He told Haman to parade Mordechai around town, dressed in royal finery, riding the king’s own horse.

At the party, Esther revealed her Jewish identity to the king, and begged that her people not be slaughtered. Haman desperately begged Esther for mercy and threw himself on her, but the king thought Haman was trying to assault the queen, and he ordered that the vizier be strung up on the gallows he had prepared for Mordechai. The king told Esther that unfortunately the edict could not be repealed, but after she cried from the depths of her heart for her people, the king allowed her and Mordechai to create a royal statement that gave Jews the right to defend themselves and kill anybody who tried to attack them. The statement was sent to all the provinces, and the Jews fought and defeated all those who rose against them.

Esther is a role model to Jews, especially those in the diaspora. Her story teaches that Jewish identity is eternal and internal. What happened to Esther is a Jewish parent’s worst nightmare – a young girl kidnapped from her home and her community, forced to marry outside her faith, trapped for the rest of her life in a non-Jewish environment where she was unable to eat kosher food, celebrate Jewish holidays, observe certain Jewish rituals or pray in community. Yet her Jewish identity remained so strong that she was fully ready to lay down her life for her people.

God is never mentioned in the Book of Esther, but it’s clear that the amazing “coincidences” in the Purim story are part of the Divine plan. Esther’s own name comes from the word Astar – hidden – because God is hidden, just as He often seems to be in our world today.

For maintaining her Jewish identity and saving her people, at great risk to herself, we honor Queen Esther as this week’s Thursday Hero.

Image: “Esther Before Ahaseurus” by Giovanni Andrea Sirani, c. 1635