#or because the jews want us to

[son-of-avraham]

I've been doing a lot of reflection as of late, especially after this past class.

This past class was about the Torah and Tanakh in general, and the way the rabbi talked about the commandments (specifically the ten commandments) has made me really reflect on how I interpret them, specifically the fifth commandment, or honoring your mother and father.

This is a commandment I have wrestled with for a long time - in fact, it brought me away from g-d at multiple times. I was severely abused when I was incredibly young by my mother, and I used to feel insulted at the implication that I were to honor her while she got to live a better life. It was hypocritical, in my eyes.

But this rabbi surmised that this particular commandment was because parenthood is an act of creation, something that is like the g-d from which we come from. My realization is this: I don't think we're necessarily meant to take even these commandments literally.

I this particular commandment is more of a call to honor creation - creation is a gift, and like any gift, many people simply will not like it and will discard it. The person who abused me created me, but she did not honor creation. She didn't honor me, but I can still honor it.

I have started to honor creation much more. I'm too young, too unstable, not mature enough to be a father (though I fantasize about it), but I create all the time. I create relationships, I create with my hands through crochet. I create memories, I create my world. And I can honor who I am and where I came from that made me who I am. I've been learning one of the mother tongues of my family (Italian, since part of my family originates there) and it was judaism that inspired me to do this.

I don't think g-d wants me to honor my abuser. I think He wants me to remember the Holy action of creation. When I am a father, that act of creation will be Holy, and indeed, I am already joyful about the thought.

I have seen many people struggle with this particular commandment, but I think this perspective helps me personally. I don't think I ever have to forgive my abusers (plural), and I don't think I am commanded to simply because they happened to be family. I am commanded to recognize the holy, to elevate the mundane. In doing so, I will remember g-d. Through creation, I honor g-d and everything he has done for us, for me, and for our collective people.

[etz-ashashiyot]

Guys I know things are really stressful and have been for a while now, but it only helps the antisemites if we are at each other's throats.

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

Hey major shout-out to my fellow trans Jews. This year has been hell and it's hard not to feel like we've been completely abandoned, betrayed, shut out, and made unsafe across the full political spectrum.

I'm so sorry; we deserved better. I hope you're okay and standing strong - we will get through this together 🕎 🏳️‍⚧️ ✡️

[sudokufriend]

i just really want all of you posting yourself crying and seething about the situation in ukraine to think critically for a moment. amidst the conflicts in ukraine and palestine, which sides did the media take in each? which sides were presented inauthentically? which sides were omitted from the narrative? as a result, can we trust western media - historically used as a propaganda arm to further neo-colonialist goals - to accurately give us the full picture? what do you see zionists saying about ukraine? do you find yourself agreeing (no matter how unwillingly) with their assessments? has the US historically helped countries that were visibly being oppressed? what assumptions might be at play here regarding a different leader’s aid to ukraine? what therefore might be different about this situation? what role might trump serve in US imperialism? politicians that have previously been reticent about palestine are reaffirming their commitment to ukraine. why do you think that might be? and finally, when you post pithy graphics assessing the situation in ukraine, what underlying motives and conclusions are you drawing from them?

[gxlden-angels]

You know the Bible does go kinda hard when you start to read it like a very rough draft of a Percy Jackson-like novel with too much world-building cause there was absolutely no reason for gayboy Jesus to do all that shit

[son-of-avraham]

You're anti-antisemitism because you know there are good jews who don't deserve antisemitism. I am anti-antisemitism because I know no jew deserves antisemitism. We are not the same.

(what you also don't know is that you aren't anti-antisemitism)

[anyoldfandom]

I think what needs to be addressed with Israel and Jewish supporters too that I haven't really seen discussed much is...y'all know we are subject to a lot of propaganda too, right? Like, obviously, that doesn't excuse excusing genocide. But like, a lot of Jewish kids aren't gonna know about this. A lot of Jews who don't go online aren't gonna know about this. It's just kind of weird to see that lack of understanding that a lot of us were raised on propaganda and our communities and the news, too, have plenty of handy lies.

I grew up being told Israel was full of no one but Jews. I grew up being told I had a literal birthright to be there - not just because it was holy, but because it was safe. That our people had faced attempted genocide over and over and over again. I grew up listening to Holocaust survivors, being forced to attend museums when I had already firsthand listened to the horrors from the mouths of those who lived it, being told over and over again by the world that at any moment, this could happen again. And by no means am I saying listening to survivors or visiting museums was propaganda - but you get how that scares a kid, right? You get that then, when you have a scared kid and then you tell them there is only one place on earth they'll be safe and no one's living there really, that you have a divine right to this safety, that they're going to latch onto that idea.

Again, none of this excuses the actions of adults, I guess it's just...idk, also weird to me? That that aspect isn't discussed, that that might contribute to why there are so many Jewish zionists. And more importantly, how that can be a way to fight against Zionism in Jewish spaces, especially since there's been a lot of acknowledgement of antisemitism in leftist spaces but...I'm not seeing as much discussion on how to fight it. On how that alienates Jews. It's just weird to me how so much more attention and interest will go to discussing why Christians might be Zionists, and trying to open the doors to goy and being more gentle with your discussions to them and dismissing Jewish Zionists as all evil when we (Jews, not Zionists) have been fed propaganda all our lives.

The most radicalizing thing to me, by the way, the thing that made me realize the propaganda was just that, was that they killed children. Adults could be justified and excused as Hamas, but children? There was no excuse. The stories from Palestinians came next, and they shocked me to my core. To hear the voices of people who have lost their loved ones - though we've also seen some nasty propaganda and false stories from Israel, too. I don't know if it'll work for everyone, but the reminder that children are dying worked for me.

[pacing-er]

This was genuinely a good post on ableism but can we PLEASE hold people accountable for casual antisemitism. Zionism is a Jewish word that is defined by JEWISH people. It calls for Jewish self determination in their homeland, not whatever else goyim have decided it means. The ongoing effort to bastardize Jewish terms and associate jewishness with genocidal violence is inherently antisemitic and it NEEDS to stop.

[jewishbarbies]

Dua Lipa has shared blood libel and misinformation many many times, and while that might not be “calls for the deaths of Jews” it QUITE LITERALLY has led to murder and violence against Jews, so yeah she and every celeb like her is complicit.

spreading blood libel has only lead to the deaths of jews. it’s so weird to me how many people are hung up on what I said as if I meant she got up on stage and said “all jews should die”, instead of a translation of what she’s actually said. perpetuating blood libel and using “from the river to the sea” means you’re calling for the deaths of jews, quite literally with that phrase. same with saying “death to Israel”, who tf do you think is dying? it’s not a government.

people don’t understand that their words have very clear and sometimes very vicious actions and it does us no favors as a society to sugar coat the correlation because of some dumbass’s semantics.

[nonbinary-vents]

just saw another glimpse of what the outside world really thinks of us and oh fuck I actually feel sick. Like I’m nauseous.

[rotzaprachim]

if you’re following me because I’m your good Jew. I am not your good Jew.

[megalunalexi-aesthetic]

THE ONLY REASON WE DON'T HAVE A PEACEFUL TWO-STATE SOLUTION IS BECAUSE PALESTINIAN LEADERS KEEP REJECTING EVERY OFFER

"My Displaced Family Explains Why Palestinians Have No 'Right of Return' (for some reason this one won't show a preview)

I might find more links when I don't have a massive headache, ugh

[gingerswagfreckles]

It's really depressing to watch your circle of allies get smaller and smaller and smaller as you realize just how many people are willing to cut you off and throw you under the bus if they think doing so might help them save themselves.

[rotzaprachim]

fundamentally a horror beyond words happened to my people and some people swore it didn’t happen and a bunch of other people who include also my people decided that terrible things would happen to civilians and idk how to be a part of my own culture atm in any way we should all be filled with shame I found out everyone hates Jews this week in particular white Americans I also found out there were Jews who would use what happened to us to commit ethnic cleansing everyone is screaming someone needs to die

[unopenablebox]

ugh i'm trying not to be a dick to my mom, who suffers enough. but i cannot believe she's decided to go in on "desecrating flags is a bad look for anyone" re: the student protests like a) that's obviously not the principle you're actually using to decide who and what to criticize here b) it's not desecrating a flag to take it down and replace it with another flag c) every time my parents say shit like this it makes me feel like maybe i alone retain memories of my family's beliefs and experiences during the bush administration, which is bad because i was like six at the time