#synagogue destruction

[bvthomas]

Praying for the Peace of Israel: A Call Beyond the Psalms

Introduction: A Longing for Peace When we open the Bible to the time of King David in the 10th century BC, we encounter a vision of peace that stirs the soul. In Psalms, we’re instructed to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6), a call rooted in David’s longing for a kingdom where God’s shalom—wholeness, rest, and righteousness—would reign. David dreamed of a land where “everyone would��

[artsyongallifrey]

Gotta occasionally post about antisemitism like rent-lowering gunshots so here's a periodic reminder that:

1. No one is saying you shouldn't advocate for Palestine. I'm also upset about the treatment of Palestinians and I really hate war. But harassing random Jews is not going to help.

2. If you could accept the fact that random civilizations do not represent their nation's government for every other country except Israel, you're being antisemitic.

3. Even if every single Israeli was completely, 100% on board with Netanyahu's bullshit (which they're not), that does not justify antisemitism. That does not justify October 7th. That does not justify pogroms. That does not justify the intentional destruction of synagogues. That does not justify the mistreatment of Jews anywhere.

4. Too many leftists are preoccupied with finding someone acceptable to hate instead of standing up for marginalized communities. Work on this, please.

I'm tired. I want peace. And I want antisemites to not fucking follow me.

[wordsmithic]

Ancient Greek Women Mathematicians you didn't know about

Αίθρα - Aethra (10th - 9th century BC), daughter of the king of Troizina Pitthea and mother of Theseus, knew mathematics in another capacity unknown to many. So sacred to the beginnings of the most cerebral science, Aethra taught arithmetic to the children of Troizina, with that complex awe-inspiring method, since there was no zero… and the numbers were symbolically complex, as their symbols required many repetitions.

Πολυγνώτη - Polygnoti (7th - 6th century BC) The historian Lovon Argeios mentions Polygnotis as a companion and student of Thalis. A scholar of many geometric theorems, it is said in Vitruvius' testimony, that she contributed to the simplification of arithmetic symbols by introducing the principle of acrophony. She managed this by introducing alphabetic letters that corresponded to each in the initial letter of the name of the number. Thus, Δ, the initial of Δέκα (ΤΕΝ), represents the number 10. X, the initial of Χίλια (Thousand), represents the number 1000 etc. According to Vitruvius, Polygnoti formulated and first proved the proposition "Εν κύκλω η εν τω ημικυκλίω γωνία ορθή εστίν" - "In the circle the angle in the hemi-circle is right angle."

Θεμιστόκλεια - Themistoklia (6th century BC). Diogenes the Laertius scholar-writer mentions it as Αριστόκλεια - Aristoclia or Θεόκλεια - Theoclia. Pythagoras took most of his moral principles from the Delphic priestess Themistoclia, who at the same time introduced him to the principles of arithmetic and geometry. According to the philosopher Aristoxenos (4th century BC), Themistoclia taught mathematics to those of the visitors of Delphi who had the relevant appeal. Legend has it that Themistoclia decorated the altar of Apollo with geometric shapes. According to Aristoxenos, Pythagoras admired the knowledge and wisdom of Themistoclia, a fact that prompted him to accept women later in his School.

Μελίσσα - Melissa (6th century BC). Pupil of Pythagoras. She was involved in the construction of regular polygons. Lovon Argeios writes about an unknown work of hers: "Ο Κύκλος Φυσίν - η Μελίσσα - Των Εγγραφομένων Πολυγώνων Απάντων Εστί". (The title translates to "The circle is always the basis of the written polygons" or so.)

Τυμίχα - Tymicha (6th century BC). Thymiha, wife of Crotonian Millios, was (according to Diogenes Laertius) a Spartan, born in Croton. From a very early age, she became a member of the Pythagorean community. Iamblichus mentions a book about "friend numbers". After the destruction of the school by the Democrats of Croton, Tymicha took refuge in Syracuse. The tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysios, demanded that Tymicha reveal to him the secrets of the Pythagorean teaching for a great reward. She flatly refused and even cut her own tongue with her teeth and spat in Dionysius' face. This fact is reported by Hippobotus and Neanthis.

Βιτάλη - Vitali or Vistala (6th – 5th century BC). Vitali was the daughter of Damos and granddaughter of Pythagoras, and an expert in Pythagorean mathematics. Before Pythagoras died, he entrusted her with the "memoirs", that is, the philosophical texts of her father.

Πανδροσίων ή Πάνδροσος - Pandrosion or Pandrossos (4th century AD). Alexandrian geometer, probably a student of Pappos, who dedicates to her the third book of the "Synagogue". Pandrosion divides geometric problems into three categories:" Three genera are of the problems in Geometry and these, levels are called, and the other linear ones."

Πυθαΐς - Pythais (2nd century BC). Geometer, daughter of the mathematician Zenodoros.

Αξιόθεα - Axiothea (4th century BC). She is also a student, like Lasthenia, of Plato's academy. She came to Athens from the Peloponnesian city of Fliounda. She showed a special interest in mathematics and natural philosophy, and later taught these sciences in Corinth and Athens.

Περικτιόνη - Periktioni (5th century BC). Pythagorean philosopher, writer, and mathematician. Various sources identify her with Perictioni, Plato's mother and Critius' daughter. Plato owes his first acquaintance with mathematics and philosophy to Perictioni.

Διοτίμα - Diotima from Mantineia (6th-5th century BC). In Plato's "Symposium", Socrates refers to the Teacher of Diotima, a priestess in Mantineia, who was a Pythagorean and a connoisseur of Pythagorean numerology. According to Xenophon, Diotima had no difficulty in understanding the most complex geometric theorems.

Iamblichos, in his work "On Pythagorean Life", saved the names of Pythagorean women who were connoisseurs of Pythagorean philosophy and Pythagorean mathematics. We have already mentioned some of them. The rest:

Ρυνδακώ - Rynthako

Οκκελώ - Okkelo

Χειλωνίς - Chilonis

Κρατησίκλεια - Kratisiklia

Λασθένια - Lasthenia

Αβροτέλεια - Avrotelia

Εχεκράτεια - Ehekratia

Θεανώ - Theano

Τυρσηνίς - Tyrsinis

Πεισιρρόδη - Pisirrodi

Θεαδούσα - Theathousa

Βοιώ - Voio

Βαβέλυκα - Vavelyka

Κλεαίχμα - Cleaihma

Νισθαιαδούσα - Nistheathousa

Νικαρέτη - Nikareti from Corinth

There are so many women whose contribution to science remains hidden. We should strive to find out about more of them! For more information, check out the books of the Greek philologist, lecturer, and professor of ancient Greek history and language, Anna Tziropoulou-Eustathiou.

[boreal-sea]

This is why I do not call for the destruction or dismantling of countries. This is why I am wary and judgmental of those of you who do.

You sound like my right-wing father. You sound like the worst of American society.

I grew up in the 90’s. I grew up during a military operation called “Desert Storm”. To most people, they know it as the Gulf War. I grew up with a military father. I grew up with right-wing rhetoric. I grew up with someone who called for the destruction of countries.

“Glass the Middle East and turn it into a parking lot” was a very common sentiment at the time, and not just from my father. By “glass”, people mean to bomb these countries (many of which are deserts) so brutally that the sand itself melts into glass.

It is a call for genocide. It is the call for the dismantling of entire countries because their governments were “too evil”.

(Of course, that’s just the line the public was fed. Behind the scenes, it was also largely about access to oil, and we all know that)

The Gulf War was specifically about Iraq, but let’s be clear: Americans did not give a fuck which country it was, “The Middle East” was talked about as a single entity that was evil because it was Muslim. The civilians of these countries were simultaneously evil guerrilla combatants (because they were Muslim) and victims needing “liberation” by Americans. American soldiers were described as bringing “freedom” to the poor oppressed ignorant people of the Middle East. My father still hates all Muslims to this day.

10 years later, 9/11 happened.

Time will never erase the stomach-clenching fear I felt. Not fear of Saudi Arabia. I was 17 by then and I knew better. No, I was afraid FOR them, because I knew what America would do, and I hated it. I saw the people all around me once again calling for the destruction of a country, a government, and deciding America had the right to do it. I watched people froth at the mouth and pound their chests the chance to attack another middle eastern country. Islamophobic propaganda was absolutely everywhere, and life in America for anyone even suspected of being Muslim was a living hell.

So do excuse me when I side-eye you as you call for Israel’s destruction. Excuse me if I roll my eyes when you claim Hamas are “freedom fighters”. Excuse me when I hear you spreading blatant antisemitic propaganda like it’s truth. Excuse me as I see you blocking Jewish students on campuses, attacking synagogues, and screaming antisemitic slurs at Jewish school children.

Because at the end of the day, all of you calling for Israel’s destruction sound like my father.. It doesn’t matter what your justification is. I just see the same hatred that has consumed Americans since the 90’s aimed at MENA countries. You’ve just moved on to the next target. I grew up with this hateful rhetoric and I REJECTED it.

Why have you embraced it?

“But this time the country we’ve chosen to hate and that we’re saying deserves to be glassed actually deserves it! This time the civilians really are evil!”

Yeah. Sure.

[avi-on-jumblr]

awful tweet warning:

Before I describe everything that's wrong with this tweet, let me transcribe Stephen Fry's words:

I am Stephen Fry, and I am a Jew. The great Irish thinker and writer Conor Cruise O'Brien once said that antisemitism is a light sleeper. Well, it seems to have woken up of late. The horrendous events of October 7th, and the Israeli response, seem to have stirred up this ancient hatred. It's agonizing to see all violence and destruction that is unfolding, and the terrible loss of life on both sides brings me an overwhelming sadness and heartache. But whatever our opinions on what is happening, there can be no excuse for the behaviour of some of our citizens. Since October the 7th, there have been 50 separate reported incidents of antisemitism every single day in London alone, an increase of 1350%, according to the Metropolitan police. Shop windows smashed, stars of David and swastikas daubed on walls of Jewish properties, synagogues, and cemeteries. Jewish schools have been forced to close. There is real fear stalking the Jewish neighbourhoods of Britain. Jewish people here are becoming fearful of showing themselves, in Britain, in 2023.

(Then it cuts off.)

For those who still don't know why this tweet was ignorant and inane, let me explain.

"To hear him conflate antiZionism with antisemitism has shocked me."

Guess how many times Stephen Fry mentions zionism? Zero! Guess how many times he mentions the country of Israel? Zero! (Unless you count "the Israeli response" which is unrelated to the existence of the country, or Zionism at all.) What this person is saying, is that they consider the smashing of shop windows, and the vandalism and marking of Jewish property, to be anti-Zionism. Considering they are an anti-Zionist, by following their logic, we can conclude that they not only believe this destruction and harassment is acceptable, but they believe it is ethical.

Further, they accuse him of showing no care for the Palestinians, even though he explicitly states that the loss of life on both sides brings him overwhelming sadness.

Finally, they accuse him of "[Centring] people in this country". It is disturbing that this person believes one cannot be concerned over two issues at a time. It perpetuates the idea that we can only talk about the "worst oppression" and talking about anything else means you are complicit in "silencing" someone else. If this were true, we would not be allowed to talk about Gaza either, or Ukraine, or police brutality, racism, islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and so on and so on, because clearly there are other issues with hundreds of thousands more deaths, and millions more displacements, so why bring attention to it ever?

Unfortunately, people are not talking about those countries, like Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Congo, and more, and anyone who does is spammed with "free Palestine" comments. In fact, the most I've heard people talking about Sudan is when these TikTok geopolitical experts attempt to spam the Palestinian flag and get it wrong.

This is not new. This is obviously not new. I have seen tweets like these every single day in the hundreds for the last 80 days. It is not surprising that people think smashing windows is "anti-zionism", nor that they think it good. It is not surprising that they hear a Jew speak, and experience shock and disgust, regardless of what we say.

I do wonder if they would regard anything short of a second Holocaust as antisemitism.

[notaplaceofhonour]

When Hamas themselves compares the student protests to the October 7th massacre by calling it the “Student Flood” (referencing their name for the massacre, “Al-Aqsa Flood”), and sees in them the destruction of Israel and its people, you don’t get to tell Jews we are imagining it when we see that they are violently antisemitic in nature.

We fully understand that the majority of students are not personally assaulting anyone, so you can stop waving that piece of rhetoric around like it means anything. Every single student at every single protest could be perfectly “peaceful” in the sense that they personally never lay a finger on another person, and the rhetoric & narratives being spun out of them would still be steeped in deeply antisemitic rhetoric & tropes that provide & launder justification for violence that make it considerably more likely that someone else will.

We understand this when the right wing does it. Most QAnon posters & members of right wing activist groups like Moms For Liberty or Gays Against Groomers aren’t actively assaulting Jews & queer people, or even directly saying they think all Jews & queer people are inherently evil (it’s just “the Cabal” & “groomers”). Hell, even most January 6th protesters weren’t actively committing felonies.

That doesn’t change the fact that their conspiratorial thinking is steeped in anti-queer, antisemitic, and anti-democratic narratives which provide motive for violence. When right wing “lone wolf” shooters shoot up schools & synagogues & mosques, we understand how the extreme rhetoric of their political spaces have led them to seeing their violence as completely justified & necessary. That is what stochastic terrorism is.

When calls for Global Intifada, more October 7ths, and Palestine “from the River to the Sea” are so ubiquitous that hardly a single protest can go by without them; when imagery of fighters with AK-47s keeps getting plastered around college campuses; when so many of the groups organizing these protests are spreading Khazar Theory, Blood Libel, and the like (and even those who don’t are linked arm-in-arm with those who do); when the core narratives at the root of the infographics shared in the movement erase Jewish history, monolithize Israelis, & misrepresent Zionism as something from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion; when their rhetoric provides justification for discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnicity, or nationality against Jews or Israelis; when Hamas sees these protests as not only advantageous to their regime, but a key part of its strategy, giving it the same branding as their massacre—you do not get to tell us they are not making us unsafe.

[girlactionfigure]

A Jewish youth carries the Star of David from the synagogue in Munich following its destruction on Kristallnacht in 1938.

Never again.

[bobemajses]

The Golden Rose Synagogue is one of the oldest synagogue in what is today Ukraine. Its builder between 1580 and 1595 was Yitzhak ben Nachman (or Izak Nachmanowicz), the local Jewish counselor of Stephen Báthory, Prince of Transylvania and King of Poland, and its master the Italian Paulus Fortunatus, who raised a large number of Renaissance buildings all over Poland and was known by his guild nickname Paweł Szczęśliwy (Paul the Fortunate). The synagogue was named after the wife of Nahman, Rosa.

In 1941 it was closed down and in 1943, at the liquidation of the ghetto, blown up by the German invaders. Its ruins have lain untouched ever since. After the downtown of Lviv was declared World Heritage (1998), the city authorities gave permission to a private investor to build a hotel on the property, which would have meant the final destruction of the remains. On an international protest, however, the permission was withdrawn. The site has since been waiting for a positive turn of its destiny behind a metal construction plank.

[xclowniex]

It's honestly a bit scary dating again as a jew.

I've come across so many people with "free Palestine" somewhere on their dating app profiles.

And whilst under normal circumstances, whilst I do have a bit of a visceral reaction to the slogan due to antisemites using it to be antisemitic, I like to be optimistic and assume that a person isn't inherently antisemitic as not everyone uses it to be antisemitic. I've met people who don't want the destruction of Israel and jews who say free Palestine. So I never want to assume.

However, what comes into play is that you typically put any politics you strongly agree with on a dating app so people who disagree with that see it and swipe left. An automatic weeding out. Any politics that you don't even want to entertain a person who disagrees with you on, you put in your profile.

So when someone is wanting to weed out anyone who disagrees with them about Palestine, I imagine doesn't want a peaceful one state solution or land for all, they want israel destroyed and jews to suffer.

Which has led to me the realization of "holy shit I may accidentally end up going on a date with an antisemite"

I've also had the wonderful experience of seeing someone who works at a different company but same office floor who has free Palestine in their profile, who I now genuinely feel unsafe being around. Like yeah there is a chance they will be normal about me being jewish and having family in Israel. But also, idk that as a fact and their bio seems to be leaning the other way from that. So now I make sure to avoid them in the elevator or bathroom as much as possible.

What has been a positive is my lesbian ass went on a first date with a woman and she asked me what I did this morning and I said I went to synagogue and she actually had a normal response. Later on in the date we were talking about family we had overseas and I mentioned I had family in Israel and again she was normal about it! She even kissed me a fee minutes later! This does give me some hope.

[jellybeanium124]

Helpful lists of questions for goyim when it comes to engaging with the Israel-Hamas war 🙂

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF WHEN A POST ABOUT THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR CROSSES YOUR DASH AND YOU WANT TO REBLOG IT:

Does this post link to a source?

If the post does link to a source, is it a credible one?

If the post does not link to a source, is there one screenshotted in the post that you can find? If so, please search out that source and read the entire thing in context. And make sure the source is credible. Ideally, if you decide to reblog it, add a link to the source.

Is the post just screenshots of tweets? If so, you probably should not reblog this. Posts that are just screenshots of tweets are a massive red flag. Do not believe something because it's a twitter screenshot. Frankly this rule is for everyone about everything all the time.

What is the tone of the post? Does it make you angry? If yes, this is a red flag. Exercise caution reblogging.

Does the post frame Israel as a uniquely evil country in need of destruction? Does the post treat Israel with different standards than those that are applied to every other country that has done horrible, horrible things, such as Russia, the UK, or United States? This is a red flag. If the government of Israel falls without some sort of transition plan, there will be Jewish genocide. Anyone advocating for a one-state solution either way is advocating for one group to get genocided. A two-state solution is the only possible peaceful end to this conflict (technically my opinion but I feel comfy stating it as fact).

Does the post treat Hamas as anything other than a terrorist organization? Do not reblog.

Is the post promoting Jewish Voice for Peace/JVP? Do not reblog. That organization is not Jewish and is antisemitic.

What is the focus of the content of the post? Is the post discussing reasonable paths to a ceasefire/peace? Is the post criticizing Israel's actions without using antisemitic stereotypes? Netanyahu is a disgusting fascist who I hate, but even though he is a terrible person you are not allowed to portray him as an antisemitic caricature. Similar to how you don't get to misgender shitty trans people, you don't get to be antisemitic towards shitty Jewish people (even if he's really, really shitty).

How does the post use the word "zionist?" Does the word have any coherent meaning in the post besides "person (often Jew) that I hate?" Does it treat zionists as a group of people who are disgusting and deserve to be murdered and/or raped? Does the use of the word "zionist" completely dehumanize the person/people the label is applied to into nothing more than evil that the Earth must be rid of? This is antisemitic. Do not reblog.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF WHEN YOU'RE AT A PRO-PALESTINE PROTEST:

Are people chanting antisemitic slogans such as "globalize the intifada" and/or "from the river to the sea" (these are both antisemitic you cannot remove the antisemitic meaning from them, they are both advocating for the murder of Jewish people, sorry, stop using them.)?

Are people comparing themselves to Palestinians in Gaza? (this is not a joke, I saw a video of a Columbia student who compared Columbia sending out fliers to leave or be suspended to the IDF dropping flyers in Gaza saying "the army is coming in 24 hours.") If so, they care more about fetishizing Palestinian pain and making themselves feel like noble victims than the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Are people harassing Jews? This includes: preventing them from getting to class, yelling things at them like "go back to Poland," and/or physically assaulting them.

Are people defacing Jewish property/monuments? Are people defacing synagogues? Businesses with known Jewish owners? Statues and/or memorials of/for Jews?

What is the purpose of this protest? Would you feel comfortable sharing opinions that differ from the majority? Would you feel comfortable engaging in a conversation about this issue with fellow protesters? Are any of you actually educated on the complicated and lengthy history of the Israel-Palestine conflict? Is the protest about a peaceful solution, or is it just making you angrier and/or more upset? Does the protest/your fellow protestors care more about freeing Palestine so that Palestinians and Israelis can live in peace, or about hating Israel and treating it like a uniquely evil country?

If people are chanting antisemitic slogans, harassing Jews, and/or defacing Jewish things, then this is an antisemitic protest. Do you want to be associated with these people and this protest? If your answer is yes, you are an antisemite-sympathizer, which is basically an antisemite.

MORAL OF THE STORY: antisemitism is all over this issue and it's easy to get more antisemitic and spread antisemitism because bad actors use this issue to indoctrinate people who start off just genuinely caring about the issue but are not educated at all about it or what antisemitism actually looks like. BE CAREFUL. All Jews want, all we've ever wanted, is to be left alone to do our thing. Random Jews are not at fault for the horrific actions taken by the Israeli government since the terrorist attack on October 7th. We support the existence of Israel, but we do not support all of the current government's actions. We are just trying to live. We want there to be a ceasefire now. If you actually read this whole thing, thank you. It means a lot to be listened to.

For those of you that made it to the end, I'll offer one last reminder and one last gentle suggestion.

My last reminder is: "it is not your job to finish the work by neither are you free to ignore it" is a Jewish passage I really like. I think in times like these, it is important to focus on the first half. It is not your job to finish the work. The fate of Palestine does not rest on your shoulders. It's ok. Take time to decompress and log off.

My last suggestion is: one of the biggest Jewish values is "tikkun olam," which means "repairing the world." I think all action when it comes to this conflict (and life in general) should be done with tikkun olam in mind. It doesn't hurt to ask yourself "is this action repairing the world, or further tearing it apart?" no matter what you're doing. Thank you for reading.

[mc-cookies]

Golems and Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

I did a writeup about how a character based on the Jewish folkloric golem might work in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy! It includes a short essay about the thematic implications of the golem, and a set of custom rules for living dolls made of unfired clay.

If you don't know what Eureka is, it's the first tabletop RPG by @anim-ttrpgs, an up-and-coming indie studio making carefully designed and rigorously playtested tabletop games outside of the D&D 5e ecosystem. Eureka is a system for stories where amateur investigators look into intricate and (sometimes deadly) mysteries, trying to get to the bottom of whatever conspiracy is at hand. It also has robust rules for a variety of supernatural phenomena that may or may not exist, letting players explore the thematic and logistical implications of people who are vampires, man-eating alien shapeshifters, supernaturally animated dolls, or a variety of other strange creatures. It's one of the best RPGs I've ever played or read, so if you're interested in finely crafted tabletop games, mystery and detective stories, social commentary on the rights of "unsavory" marginalized people, or just supernatural creatures that eat people, I'd recommend checking it out.

My writing under the cut!

(I wouldn't normally post my own long-form writing here, but I felt good about this and also couldn't pass up an opportunity to talk about Eureka. This isn't very polished, so ignore any typos or awkward wording, but feel free to check it out and give your own thoughts. Enjoy!)

Thoughts on golems in Eureka (Essay – Rules below!)

Contrary to how the word is usually used in English-language fantasy media, a golem in its original context is not just a generic term for any supernaturally animated artificial creature. (If it were, then it would be more or less synonymous with Eureka’s use of the term “living doll” to begin with!) Rather, it refers to a specific creature in Jewish folklore: a facsimile of the human form made out of clay, animated by various words of power placed in or on its body, acting as a source of protection and power for the impoverished and oppressed communities which created it. It is a servant which exists to meet a need of its community, animated by the power of God as channeled through the expertise of a meticulous member of the Jewish community. (Arguably the most notable difference from the genre fiction definition is this inherently Jewish perspective. The creation of a golem is a closed-practice, specifically Jewish tradition, and also, the tradition of Jewish mysticism implies high degrees of specialized knowledge – some written down in studied texts, and others discovered by training under a mentor or interacting with other Jewish leaders. In this way, the golem implies a degree of studiousness and community engagement on the part of its creator, both of which are heavily emphasized values in Jewish spheres.)

My analysis of the thematic role played by the golem is probably best represented in the best-known folkloric golem, the golem of Prague. In this story, a 16th century rabbi of the Prague synagogue creates a humanoid form from clay with the purpose of protecting the ghetto (in this context, the dedicated Jewish quarter of the city) from pogroms and other antisemitic attacks, animating it into a golem by inscribing holy words on its head or placing a scroll of those words in its mouth. Things go wrong in ways which vary from telling to telling, with a common version of the story stating that the golem becomes too dangerous and destructive, and the rabbi removes the inscription of the holy name to render the golem dormant (although rather than destroying his creation, he preserves it in the synagogue’s attic to be reanimated if it’s ever needed). In a fun bit of wordplay, some tellings describe the holy inscription as being the Hebrew word “emet” (“truth”), which is only one letter away from the word “met” (“dead”), with the idea that the rabbi deactivates the golem by erasing a single letter. More traditional interpretations would describe a formula consisting of various divine epithets, either instead of or alongside the previous method. In the Jewish mystical tradition, names of God are thought to be emanations of God’s own glory, and invoking their power in specific ways is seen as a way of causing things beyond the bounds of normal reality.

A few thematic points jump out at me about the golem, both from the story of the Prague golem and from the broader characteristics of the golem. One is the fact that a golem is implicitly lacking in personal identity. Golems are almost never named, and they have very little agency in their own stories – in almost every version of the golem of Prague, for instance, it is deactivated because it has gained too much autonomy. It fights the wrong people, uses too much force defending its community, or even just falls in love, and so it is too dangerous to keep around. Even the terminology being used implies this lack of identity, as it etymologically derives from a Biblical Hebrew term, used only once in the Tanakh, which describes the unfinished form of a human before God breathes life into them. A golem is not perceived as a fully formed individual, but rather as an extension of its creator, built by someone else’s will and discarded whenever it isn’t needed. To me, this has a high degree of relevance to the themes associated with Eureka’s living dolls, who often also grapple with defining their own identity and purpose in the absence of their original context. Their unique struggles evoke concepts of alienation and depersonalization, and I think a golem without a master would have to deal with all of the same issues on that front as they navigate life as a newly independent person.

Golems as a whole, and especially the story of the Prague ghetto, also raise another problem that can create thematic conflict for a character: in their attempts to defend vulnerable people in their community, they can end up making situations more dangerous, rather than helping to defuse them. When the golem of Prague rampages, in many tellings, it doesn’t fully stem the tide of antisemitic antagonism. Instead, it destroys more of the ghetto and allows the gentile population to create a post-hoc justification for their hatred of the Jewish community. In the context of Eureka, I think that this can be a powerful metaphor for how the fear of oppression can lead people to become paranoid, closed off, and destructive to themselves and others. A golem whose purpose is to protect and serve the people around them might want to do just that, but if they find themselves in a situation where superhuman strength and stamina can’t solve a problem, they may be in way over their depth, and they might accidentally harm other people when they try to navigate that. (My use of the phrase “protect and serve” here is no accident – one of many inspirations for this thematic element is people who call for increased police presence in their neighborhoods, even when those communities are more harmed by over-policing than they are by crime. Being afraid and wanting to support their community spurs them to action, but it also blinds them to approaches that don’t use force.) For example, one golem character I’ve come up with has had to flee her home and change her name because she saw someone being harassed, didn’t know her own strength, and intervened in the first way she could think of: violently. She was lucky not to be arrested.

To get a little bit more specific, this theme is most specifically inspired by my own experiences in discussions among members of the Jewish community, as the scars from millennia of marginalization, expulsion, and murder don’t fade quickly. Paranoia is a veritable norm even within our households and places of worship. In our homes, many of us keep passports readily available if there’s a need to escape or show identification, and during any prayer service at a synagogue, there will likely be armed security guards standing at the door. Many of us laugh about it, but there’s a degree of genuine fear that we can’t shake. Often, that fear is harmless, but it can get exhausting to live with, to say little of how it affects other people or how it can be weaponized by bad actors. One look at how the Israeli government seeks to justify its violence in propaganda makes clear that the generational trauma of Jewish communities can be exploited and warped as a means to justify some pretty awful things. The figure of the golem is, in a sense our communal power fantasy – it’s comforting to think that with a bit of ingenuity and some elbow grease we can design our own hero to protect us and help us thrive – but even that fantasy is not free of the reality that, like a superhero, a golem’s innate abilities just aren’t always enough to save everyone. (Indeed, this tension is part of what inspired the Jewish creators of Superman: he has superhuman abilities that he uses to protect vulnerable people, but not every problem can be solved by punching it, and with all his strength he has to be very careful not to destroy everything he loves. This has been noticed by a lot of people, and I’m far from the first to bring it up, but in particular I’d say this observation is borrowed from the excellent video essay “The Golem and the Jewish Superhero” by Jacob Geller on YouTube.) A golem being fleshed out as a character can really lean into that tension.

One more theme I want to bring up is not something I’ve come to any particular conclusions about – it’s really just a few spare thoughts I’ve had rattling around, and an invitation to look into this concept more. It comes out of my research on the development of the word “golem” in Hebrew and Yiddish, as the term has developed beyond just the connotation of a humanoid clay form. It can be a pejorative term like “fool”, but more interesting to me is its use in reference to embryos and pupas. This made me consider the transitory nature of the golem as a representative of change, which I haven’t seen explored very much in any stories out there. Not only has the word gained those connotations, but also, looking at the characteristics of the golem as a creature gives some more fuel to that fire. The fact that it’s generally made out of specifically unfired clay gives it the sense of being unfinished. Its nature of being created in its adult form from the very beginning means that it can display a childish outlook as a seeming adult learning about the world outside of its creator’s life. The story of the golem of Prague even has an ending hook entirely centered around the idea of the golem being temporarily disabled but capable of being reanimated if need be. This idea of a golem as a character with a unique capacity to adapt and change hasn’t been explored very much, but I think it could be interesting to consider.

The last thing I’ll leave here is thoughts on character creation beyond themes. In this document, I’ve included a custom set of rules to play a living doll made of unfired clay, which is the traditional material for a golem. This isn’t playtested in any way, but since Eureka doesn’t try too hard to be balanced around physical attributes, I think it should probably work fine – it’s more thematic than anything. To make a golem, the doll’s purpose should be external in some way, pushing them to help and support other people in their community, especially the most disadvantaged of them. In terms of backstory, the details of a golem’s past can be left fairly foggy if you’d like, but the one thing that can’t be skipped is that they were intentionally created by a Jewish creator invoking Jewish traditions. It’s fine to make a living doll that was animated in some other way, but the character would not be a golem in that case. It’s similar to how Eureka vampires must have some association with Christianity, not because non-Christian undead monsters can’t exist, but because outside of that context, the specific vampire mythos lacks any meaning. (Honestly, also, if you don’t have background information about Jewish life and culture, I would recommend asking someone who does to help with your portrayal.) Finally, in terms of giving a golem a hook to investigate a mystery, it could of course be anything, but there’s one aspect in particular that I would consider: in some versions of the Prague golem’s story, it protected the ghetto by looking into cases where Jews were accused of murder and finding the true culprits, thus clearing the names of the accused. Which is to say, there’s genuine historical precedent for golems investigating mysteries, and it often happens as a means of helping people who are falsely accused of a crime. That’s not mandatory, but it could be fun to keep in mind. Have fun, and if anyone ends up playing a golem investigator using these guidelines, please let me know!

Wet Clay Living Doll – Rules

A living doll made from earthenware materials that have not been hardened by firing. This variant was originally designed to represent the golem of Jewish mythology, but it could also be used to portray, for example, an unfinished art project or a proof of concept for another piece. Depending on their construction and the flexibility of the clay they are made from, they may be treated as jointed or unjointed.

Wet clay living dolls weigh more than twice as much as an average person of their size would. They cannot swim or float, and will sink to the bottom of any body of water immediately.

These living dolls take half damage from all weapons while they have at least 1 point of Superficial HP remaining. Damage from falling is unaffected. Wet clay living dolls are immune to electrical damage.

When a wet clay living doll encounters fire or high heat (in excess of about 500 ºC), their outer layer of clay is fired and becomes hard and brittle. When this happens, this living doll should be mechanically treated as an unjointed living stone statue. If another character has access to tools to chip away the outer layer and a large supply of wet clay to replace it, they can reverse this process with a Full Success on a Technology roll. Regardless of the result, this process will take 1 Tick of time and cause 1 Superficial Damage to the living doll.

Wet clay living dolls are easier to repair. Do not apply the -3 Technology penalty when restoring Penetrative HP.

Wet clay living dolls generally possess superhuman strength, but when they are hurt, they may lose chunks of clay that would otherwise generate weight and power. They have a +5 Contextual Bonus to Athletics and Close Combat, but for each point of sustained Penetrative Damage, this bonus is reduced by 1 point.

Given 1 Tick of time, appropriate tools, and a supply of clay, a wet clay living doll can alter their physical appearance and proportions. They cannot precisely change specific details such as facial features, but can make themselves larger or smaller, change their perceived distribution of fat and muscle, and change the shape of their body enough to be recognizably different. When a wet clay living doll attempts to alter their body, roll Technology.

Full Success: The living doll successfully alters their body to exact specifications. They are able to completely alter their facial features and/or specify a new height and body type, and even on close scrutiny they will not appear out of the ordinary.

Partial Success: The living doll mostly succeeds in altering their body, but they get sloppy. They take 1 Superficial Damage, and close inspection reveals that parts of their skin have abnormal marks and blemishes, but they are still able to make the changes that they hoped for.

Failure: The living doll struggles with even the most basic alterations, doing a messy and imprecise job. They take 1 Superficial Damage, and cuts and blemishes are visible across their skin. They also don't convincingly make the correct changes to their bodies, doing either too much or too little to differentiate themselves from their previous form.

[sefaradweb]

重建清真寺记

🇪🇸 La inscripción de piedra de 1489, conocida como "Registro de la Reconstrucción del Templo Puro y Verdadero" (重建清真寺记), se erigió en julio de 1489 en Kaifeng, China. Es una de las primeras inscripciones de la comunidad judía de Kaifeng y conmemora la reconstrucción de la sinagoga después de ser destruida por una inundación del Río Amarillo en 1461. Esta inscripción fue escrita por Jin Zhong, un judío de Kaifeng, y mide 60 x 30 x 5 pulgadas, hecha de piedra caliza gris oscuro. La inscripción describe tres temas principales: el origen e historia del judaísmo, las prácticas de oración y arrepentimiento, y la trayectoria del judaísmo en China y su relación con el confucianismo. Destaca cómo los judíos de Kaifeng se adaptaron a las costumbres chinas y cómo las similitudes culturales con la comunidad musulmana Hui a menudo llevaron a confusiones entre las dos. La inscripción también menciona figuras históricas clave, como el rabino Levy y los hermanos Jin, y detalla la integración de conceptos chinos y judíos, fusionando figuras como Pangu y Adán. La estela aún existe y fue trasladada a la Catedral de la Trinidad por la Misión Anglicana Canadiense en 1912.

🇺🇸 The 1489 stone inscription, known as the "Record of the Rebuilding of the Pure and Truth Temple" (重建清真寺记), was erected in July 1489 in Kaifeng, China. It is one of the earliest inscriptions from the Kaifeng Jewish community and commemorates the reconstruction of the synagogue after its destruction by a Yellow River flood in 1461. This inscription was written by Jin Zhong, a Kaifeng Jew, and measures 60 x 30 x 5 inches, made of dark gray limestone. The inscription covers three main themes: the origin and history of Judaism, practices of prayer and repentance, and the trajectory of Judaism in China and its relationship with Confucianism. It highlights how Kaifeng Jews adapted to Chinese customs and how cultural similarities with the Hui Muslim community often led to confusion between the two. The inscription also mentions key historical figures, such as Rabbi Levy and the Jin brothers, and details the integration of Chinese and Jewish concepts, merging figures like Pangu and Adam. The stele still exists and was moved to Trinity Cathedral by the Canadian Anglican Mission in 1912.

[mariacallous]

More than 50 rabbis and cantors, including leaders of some of New York City’s most prominent synagogues, signed an open letter Tuesday asking Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to protect immigrants from the Trump administration’s planned mass deportations.

The letter, the latest in a succession of recent statements by Jewish leaders opposing President Donald Trump’s policies, comes at an unprecedentedly fraught time in the politics of New York City and state. The Trump administration has moved to drop corruption charges against Adams so that he will be able to help the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

The arrangement has led to a cascade of resignations at top levels of city government and beyond along with mounting calls for Adams to resign — which he has rebuffed.

And relations between Hochul and Adams aren’t exactly tranquil. The evening before the rabbis’ letter was published, Hochul said she would be meeting with “key leaders” to discuss taking the step of removing Adams from office, which no governor has ever done in the state’s history.

Against that backdrop, the letter asks Adams and Hochul “to be the leaders we desperately need at this moment, and do all you can to resist Trump’s terrifying anti-immigrant agenda.” It does not reference the controversy surrounding Adams.

The letter calls on the mayor and governor to “restrict” immigration raids in schools and houses of worship, which are now permitted under new federal guidelines. It also calls on the leaders to refrain from sharing information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to not use jails to detain immigrants. And it hearkens back to American Jews’ immigrant heritage, particularly in New York, as well as past antisemitic persecution.

“We also know in our bones and from our modern history the danger of an unchecked xenophobic government scapegoating ‘outsiders’ to gain power, preying on a population experiencing hard economic times to gain support for a violent and destructive agenda,” the letter said. “We will not stand by while history repeats itself. You, our state and local leaders, must not either.”

The letter follows others signed by Jewish leaders or organizations opposing Trump’s or Republicans’ policies on transgender athletes, mass deportations, Gaza and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Jewish groups have also joined lawsuits challenging Trump’s immigration actions.

The letters signatories hail from the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, and include leaders of large synagogues such as Temple Emanu-El, B’nai Jeshurun, Ansche Chesed, Congregation Beth Elohim,  Forest Hills Jewish Center, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, Society for the Advancement of Judaism and others. Not all rabbis who signed appended the names of their synagogues.

The letter was organized by a consortium of progressive Jewish groups in the city, including Bend the Arc, the Jewish refugee aid group HIAS, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice,  New York Jewish Agenda,  the immigration advocacy group Never Again Action, the liberal rabbinic human rights group T’ruah and The Workers Circle.

[girlactionfigure]

🧵𝐍𝐨, 𝐈𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟕𝐭𝐡: 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭.🧵

Thread: The idea that Arabs loved Jews until the creation of Israel is a widespread and untrue myth. Many believe that Jews were welcomed and lived peacefully among Arabs until the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. This view is not only historically inaccurate but dangerously overlooks the long and painful history of Jewish suffering in the Middle East. Long before Zionism, Jews faced massacres, forced conversions, and expulsions in regions once ruled by the Arabs. In fact, Jews in the Arab world endured centuries of persecution under both Muslim and Ottoman rulers. Here’s a look at some of the most significant massacres and pogroms throughout this period, revealing the true story of Jewish life in the Middle East.

1. The Massacre of the Banu Qurayza (627 CE).

Long before Zionism, Jewish communities in the Middle East endured persecution, including one of the earliest and most harrowing incidents: the massacre of the Banu Qurayza in Medina during the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe in Medina, had entered into a pact with Muhammad under the Constitution of Medina, which allowed Muslims and Jews to coexist. However, during the Battle of the Trench, the tribe was accused of conspiring with Muhammad’s enemies, the Quraysh. After the Muslim victory, Muhammad and his forces besieged the Banu Qurayza’s fortress, forcing their surrender.

What followed was brutal. A tribunal led by Sa’d ibn Mu’adh sentenced all adult males of the tribe to death and enslaved the women and children. To determine who qualified as an “adult male,” boys were subjected to inspections for signs of puberty, specifically the presence of pubic hair. Those deemed adults were executed alongside the men. Historical sources, such as Ibn Ishaq and al-Tabari, report that between 600 and 900 men and boys were killed, their bodies dumped into trenches.

The Banu Qurayza’s women and children were sold into slavery, marking the total destruction of the tribe. This event illustrates the precarious and often deadly position of Jewish communities in the early Islamic period, long before the creation of Israel or the modern conflict in the region.

2/ Granada Massacre (1066) - Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain).

The first well-documented massacre of Jews in the Middle East dates back to 1066 in Granada, part of the Muslim-ruled Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). After a Jewish vizier, Joseph Ibn Naghrela, was blamed for the death of the Muslim king, the situation escalated. A mob of Muslims, inspired by rumors and political tension, attacked the Jewish population of Granada. Over 4,000 Jews were slaughtered in a brutal pogrom that saw entire families butchered, their homes looted, and their properties destroyed. This massacre was part of a larger pattern of Jewish scapegoating across Muslim-ruled territories during periods of political instability. The massacre marked a turning point for Jews in the Iberian Peninsula, with many fleeing to other parts of the Muslim world for safety.

3/ The Persecution of Jews in Yemen: 1165 to 1679

The Jewish community in Yemen endured centuries of brutal persecution, systemic discrimination, and forced displacement, with two particularly devastating events defining their history before modern Zionism.

In 1165, during the reign of the Muslim leader Abd-al-Nabi ibn Mahdi, Yemen’s Jews faces an ultimatum: convert to Islam or face death. This period marked one of the earliest recorded instances of mass violence against Yemeni Jews. Synagogues were destroyed, and Jewish religious practices were outlawed. While some Jews fled or were forcibly converted, others were massacred for refusing to abandon their faith. This event signified the precarious existence of Jews in Yemen, where tolerance depended on the ruler’s whims.

Centuries later, in 1679, the Yemeni Jewish community faced an even more catastrophic event known as the Mawza Exile. Under the rule of Imam Al-Mahdi Ahmad, all Jews were expelled from their homes and forced into the barren Mawza desert. The journey itself claimed thousands of lives due to starvation and disease. Those who survived the desert exile were not allowed to return to their homes for several years, and when they did, they found their properties confiscated and their communities decimated. This period permanently weakened the Jewish presence in Yemen.

Throughout these centuries, Yemeni Jews were subjected to the degrading status of dhimmi under Islamic law, requiring them to pay exorbitant taxes, wear distinctive clothing, and accept legal and social inferiority. Forced conversions, kidnappings, and violent riots were regular occurrences. Despite these challenges, the community persisted, holding on to their traditions and faith until most were ultimately forced to leave Yemen in the mid-20th century.

4/ The  Safed Attacks (1517).

In 1517, following the Ottoman conquest of the Levant from the Mamluks, chaos erupted in the  city of Safed, one of the holiest cities in Judaism. The transition of power unleashed lawlessness, and Jewish communities became an easy target for violence.

Led by rogue Ottoman soldiers and local mobs, the attacks on Safed’s Jews were devastating. Homes and synagogues were looted and burned, and many Jews were brutally murdered. The violence displaced much of Safed’s Jewish population, forcing survivors to flee to neighboring areas.

Safed had been a center of Jewish learning and spirituality, with a thriving community. The attacks disrupted this flourishing cultural hub and instilled fear among Jews living in Ottoman-controlled lands. This event was one of the earliest indications that even under the Ottomans, Jewish communities would face intermittent violence and persecution, often fueled by local unrest and anti-Jewish sentiment.

The Safed Attacks of 1517 were a sad reminder of how quickly Jewish communities could become scapegoats during periods of political upheaval, long before modern Zionism or the establishment of Israel.

5/ The Tripoli Pogrom (1785).

In 1785, the Jewish community of Tripoli, Libya, endured a catastrophic pogrom instigated by Ali Burghul, an Ottoman officer who temporarily seized power in the region. After overthrowing the ruling pasha, Burghul wanted to consolidate his rule by targeting the city’s vulnerable minorities, particularly Jews.

The violence against Jews was brutal and systematic. Jewish homes and businesses were looted, synagogues were desecrated, and many Jews were tortured or killed. The pogrom decimated the Jewish quarter of Tripoli, leaving countless families homeless and destitute.

While Burghul’s regime lasted less than a year, the damage to the Jewish community was profound and long-lasting. Survivors faced the daunting task of rebuilding their lives amidst persistent discrimination and insecurity. This pogrom was a stark reminder of the precarious existence of Jews in North Africa, where they were often targeted during periods of political upheaval.

The Tripoli Pogrom of 1785 shows you again, the centuries-long persecution faced by Jews in Arab lands, well before the emergence of modern Zionism or the creation of Israel.

6/ The Baghdad Pogrom (1828).

In 1828, the Jewish community in Baghdad, Iraq, was subjected to one of the most devastating anti-Jewish pogroms in Ottoman-controlled Iraq. Tensions between Jews and Muslims had been rising due to a combination of economic envy, political instability, and increasing religious intolerance.

The pogrom began when a prominent Muslim figure, incited by local political and economic disputes, spread false accusations against the Jews of Baghdad. Jews were blamed for a series of issues, including alleged economic exploitation and religious violations, though no evidence supported these claims.

A violent mob quickly assembled, attacking Jewish homes, shops, and synagogues. Many Jews were beaten, and several were killed in the streets. Property was looted, and entire neighborhoods were set on fire. The violence lasted for several days, and it is estimated that several dozen Jews were killed, with many more injured or left destitute.

The pogrom also resulted in mass destruction of Jewish religious and cultural landmarks in Baghdad, severely damaging the local Jewish community’s infrastructure. This event left lasting scars on the Jewish population, contributing to a growing sense of insecurity and vulnerability. While the situation temporarily improved, the event remained a painful chapter in the history of Jewish life in Iraq.

The Baghdad Pogrom of 1828 showed how easily Jews were targeted and scapegoated in times of political and religious tension, long before the rise of modern Zionism or the establishment of Israel.

7/ The 1838  Safed Pogrom.

The second major pogrom in Safed, occurring in 1838, further demonstrated the uncertain position of Jews in the region during Ottoman rule. This wave of violence took place during the Egyptian-Ottoman War, as Ibrahim Pasha’s Egyptian forces temporarily controlled Israel. When Ibrahim’s forces retreated from Safed, local Arab mobs, emboldened by the chaos and lack of authority, turned their fury on the city’s Jewish population.

Over several days, armed bands ransacked Jewish homes, robbed businesses, and desecrated synagogues. Entire families were beaten and humiliated, while women and children were subjected to horrifying abuse. Many Jews fled to the surrounding hills for safety, living in caves or shelters with little food or water, while those who remained in the city faced murder or severe physical violence.

The Ottoman authorities did little to restore order or protect the Jewish residents. The aftermath of the pogrom left the Jewish quarter of Safed devastated, with entire families displaced and ancient synagogues reduced to ruins. Survivors recounted harrowing stories of betrayal by neighbors who joined in the looting and violence. The 1838 pogrom was a traumatic event that further destabilized the already struggling Jewish community in Safed, leading many to consider emigration.

The recurring violence in Safed was a reminder of the vulnerability of Jewish communities in Israel long before the modern Zionist movement emerged.

8/ The 1840 Damascus Affair

The Damascus Affair of 1840 was a horrifying example of the blood libel myth, a baseless and antisemitic accusation that Jews murder non-Jews to use their blood for religious rituals. This particular incident unfolded in Ottoman-controlled Damascus and left a deep scar on Jewish communities across the region and beyond.

The tragedy began when Father Thomas, a Catholic monk, and his Muslim servant mysteriously disappeared. Almost immediately local Christian leaders accused the Jewish community of abducting and murdering them for their blood, supposedly to bake matzot for Passover. The accusation, entirely unfounded, unleashed a torrent of violence and state-backed persecution against Damascus’s Jews.

Under pressure from local Christian clergy, the Ottoman authorities arrested several prominent Jewish figures, including rabbis and community leaders. These men were subjected to brutal torture to extract confessions to a crime they did not commit. Torture methods included floggings, burning, and deprivation of food and water. One man, Isaac Harari, died from the torture, and another, Aaron Monshe Rehama, succumbed to his injuries shortly after being released. The torture yielded forced confessions that only fueled further hysteria.

As rumors spread, mobs looted Jewish homes and desecrated synagogues. The community lived in terror, with many families hiding in fear of further arrests or violence. The situation worsened when the Ottoman authorities imprisoned dozens more Jews, including children, in an attempt to pressure the community into “confessing” to collective guilt.

The Damascus Affair also had international implications. Initially, France supported the blood libel accusations due to the influence of local Catholic leaders. However, prominent Jews in Europe, including Sir Moses Montefiore, Adolphe Crémieux, and Salomon Munk, mobilized a vigorous diplomatic campaign to challenge the lies. They traveled to Alexandria and Constantinople, lobbying influential leaders like Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Sultan Abdülmecid I of the Ottoman Empire to stop the persecution.

Eventually, after months of pressure and mounting evidence of the absurdity of the charges, the surviving Jewish prisoners were released. Still, the community was left in ruins. The aftermath of the affair saw Damascus’s Jewish population diminished and traumatized. Many families fled, and those who remained lived under the shadow of renewed accusations.

The Damascus Affair exposed yet again the fragility of Jewish life under Ottoman rule and the enduring danger of antisemitic myths, this as well happened long before the creation of modern Zionism.

9/ The 1920 Nebi Musa Riots.

The Nebi Musa Riots, which took place during Easter week in April 1920, were among the first major instances of anti-Jewish violence in British-controlled Israel, occurring long before the establishment of modern Israel. The riots shattered the myth of peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs in the region and exposed the hostility Arab leaders harbored toward the growing Jewish community.

Nebi Musa was a Muslim religious festival traditionally marked by processions to a shrine near Jericho. In 1920, the festival coincided with Easter and Passover, bringing an unusually large number of Muslims, Christians, and Jews to  Jerusalem. Arab leaders, including Haj Amin al-Husseini (later notorious for his collaboration with the Nazis), used the occasion to incite the crowds against the Jewish community. They spread false claims that Jews were threatening the  Al-Aqsa Mosque and seeking to take over Muslim holy sites, a tactic that would recur in later decades.

The inflammatory rhetoric worked. On April 4, 1920, Arab mobs began attacking Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem. Armed with knives, clubs, and stones, they looted Jewish homes and businesses, burned property, and assaulted Jewish residents. Reports described horrific acts of violence, including the brutal killing of five Jews and the injury of over 200 others. Jewish women were targeted for sexual violence, adding to the community’s trauma.

The British authorities, unprepared for the scale of the violence, initially failed to contain the riots. British soldiers were criticized for their slow response, and some were even accused of sympathizing with the rioters. Jewish self-defense groups, including the Haganah’s predecessors, stepped in to protect their communities, marking one of the first organized efforts by Jews to defend themselves in modern Israel.

The aftermath of the riots further deepened tensions. Haj Amin al-Husseini, though implicated in inciting the violence, received a relatively light punishment and would later be appointed the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, a decision with disastrous consequences. Meanwhile, the Jewish community, already shaken from European pogroms, began to view self-defense as essential for survival in the face of local hostility.

The 1920 Nebi Musa Riots are a powerful reminder that violence against Jews in the Middle East was not a product of Zionism but a reflection of deep hostility toward Jewish communities.

10/ The 1929 Hebron Massacre.

In August 1929, one of the darkest chapters in Jewish history under the British Mandate unfolded in the ancient city of Hebron, where a long established Jewish community had lived for thousands of years. Hebron, considered one of Judaism’s four holy cities, was home to a mix of Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews, many of whom lived peacefully alongside their Arab neighbors, until incitement turned deadly.

Tensions had been brewing for months, fueled by false rumors spread by Arab leaders and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini. Claims circulated that Jews were planning to take over the Temple Mount and destroy the al-Aqsa Mosque. These fabrications were spread intentionally to inflame anti-Jewish sentiment and provoke violence.

On the 23rd and 24th of August, Arab mobs descended upon the Jewish community of Hebron, armed with knives, clubs, and firearms. The British authorities, overwhelmed and unprepared, failed to intervene effectively. Over the course of two days, 67 Jews were brutally murdered, men, women, and children alike. Victims were tortured, mutilated, and dismembered. Entire families were wiped out in their homes.

One of the most horrific aspects of the massacre was the betrayal by neighbors. Some Arabs, with whom the Jews had coexisted peacefully for years, turned on them.

The aftermath was devastating. The Jewish quarter was looted and ransacked. Synagogues were desecrated, Torah scrolls destroyed. Survivors were forcibly evacuated by the British, ending a Jewish presence in Hebron that had lasted centuries. The city, once a symbol of coexistence, became a stark reminder of how quickly incitement and hatred could shatter fragile relations.

The massacre was part of a larger wave of violence that also targeted Jews in  Jerusalem,  Safed, and other areas of Israel during the same period. It was not an isolated event but a symptom of escalating hostility toward the Jewish community, years before the establishment of modern Israel.

11/ The 1941 Farhud Massacre.

The Farhud, which took place on June 1-2, 1941, was a brutal pogrom against the Jewish community in Baghdad, Iraq. The violence erupted during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, fueled by Nazi propaganda and growing political instability. The Iraqi government, under the pro-Nazi Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, had recently been overthrown by the British, leaving the country in chaos.

Pro-Nazi mobs, fueled by years of antisemitic rhetoric, attacked Jews with brutal force. Over 180 Jews were murdered, and hundreds more were injured. Mobs looted Jewish homes, destroyed businesses, and desecrated synagogues. Women were raped, and many victims were tortured and mutilated.

The British and Iraqi authorities intervened after two days of unchecked violence, but the damage was done. The Farhud shattered the Iraqi Jewish community, marking the beginning of a mass exodus. By the 1950s, most of Iraq’s 150,000 Jews had fled, many of them to Israel.

The Farhud remains a tragic reminder of how quickly a Jewish community, with a history in the region spanning over 2,600 years, could be destroyed by hatred and incitement. It underscored the urgent need for Jewish self-determination, which Zionism sought to provide.

12/ Palestinian Collaboration with Nazi Germany.

During the 1930s and 40s, the Palestinian Arab leadership, particularly the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, formed an alliance with Nazi Germany. Husseini, who opposed Jewish immigration to Israel, wanted Nazi support for his goal of preventing a Jewish homeland. In 1941, he met with Adolf Hitler, where he expressed his admiration for the Nazis’ anti-Semitic policies and urged them to support the Arab cause against the Jews. Husseini also played a role in recruiting Muslim soldiers to fight for the Axis powers, including the notorious Waffen-SS. His collaboration with Nazi Germany, which included attempts to organize massacres of Jews in Israel, contributed to deepening the hostility and violence toward Jewish communities in the region.

Conclusion.

When I started studying and looking up these events, I was shocked by the crazy number of them. I had to choose from hundreds, if not thousands, of such atrocities throughout history. And knowing that each of these incidents means real people, Jewish men, women, and children, lost their lives or endured unimaginable torture, it broke my heart. It’s heartbreaking that, even today, we continue to prove, over and over again, how badly Jews have been treated, and how, in some corners of the world, there are still those who want us to endure even more suffering. The existence of Israel today is a direct result of all these painful events—a nation born out of the ashes of centuries of persecution. Israel stands as a shield, ensuring that Jews will never again face the horrors of those dark days. This history is not just a series of events, it’s a painful reminder of the resilience required to survive and the urgency of remembering so we can prevent such horrors from happening again.

Although not all of the events happened in the Middle east per se, all of them happened under Muslim rule. 

@AP_from_NY

[dchan87]

A year ago today, Hamas butchered 1,200 Israelis, triggering a war in Gaza and another one across Western institutions, campuses, and social media. At American Dreaming, we’ve extensively covered the discourse post-10/7, from the depraved joy the “decolonize” left felt at news of Jews being slaughtered, to the obscene double standards imposed on Israel, to the explosion of full-blown leftist anti-Semitism. We’ve published articles about the young progressives who hate Biden and love bin Laden, the disturbing redefinition of “genocide”, and the absolutely unhinged Western pro-Palistinian activist movement. And after a year of discourse, one thing has been made crystal clear: the political left has an anti-Semitism problem. Everywhere I looked, over these past 12 months, far-left protestors not only tolerated but actively propagated centuries-old anti-Semitism, including celebrating the October 7th massacre and even praising Hitler. It was equal parts disgusting and confusing. How could a movement that, in theory, is supposed to oppose bigotry and racism have so openly embraced it? How did we end up with left-wingers attacking synagogues, creating lists of Zionists, canceling events with “Zionist” participants, defacing Anne Frank memorials, and protesting Israel outside of Auschwitz? How could only half of young adults, by far the most left-leaning age group, disagree with the statement “The Holocaust is a myth”? How did we get to a place where good progressives openly display swastikas, tell Jews to go back to Europe, express the desire to gas them, and perform Hitler salutes? The rhetoric was much the same as it had been for centuries: that Jews are violent, bloodthirsty, imposters — not even Semitic, but a bunch of Europeans playing pretend. Demonstrators held signs with a Star of David in a trash can next to the words “Keep the world clean.” Classic anti-Semitic tropes like the blood libel resurfaced. All of this happened within far-left movements, who now sound eerily like the far right. It’s no wonder that far rightists blend right in at pro-Palestine protests. But why? Integral to the left’s worldview, elaborate theory aside, is solidarity with the underprivileged, be it the poor, ethnic minorities, LGBT people, etc. Logically, the left should be sympathetic to the Jewish people, given their long history of persecution. At a glance, there should be no reason for the hard left to behave functionally the same as neo-Nazis. And yet they do. 

Sadly, anti-Semitism, as one of humanity's oldest hatreds, has never been confined to any one ideology. To understand the history of left-wing anti-Semitism, we must first look back to before the concept of the political “left” even existed.

An Extremely Brief History of Anti-Semitism

In 132 CE, during the apex of Roman imperial power, the Bar Kokhba revolt broke out in the troublesome Roman-controlled province of Judea. Emperor Hadrian solved it with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. In an outright genocidal war, he utterly crushed Jewish resistance, slaughtering large numbers of Jewish civilians and devastating many towns and villages. The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE tends to be more remembered by Jews themselves as the beginning of the diaspora, but the events of 135 were when the Jews truly lost their homeland. Although a small population remained, most fled throughout the Middle East or Europe. 

Hadrian’s actions were not anti-Semitic per se — Rome was just as brutal to any rebellious subject — but it set the Jews up as a people without a land, a people with nowhere to go whose religion and customs made them visibly other. With the rise of Christianity, the relative religious tolerance typical to polytheistic societies faded away, and the Jews faced constant oppression, at best living as second-class citizens. Of course, Christians have a long history of treating their fellow devotees with murderous contempt if they happen to be the wrong kind of Christian. The massacres of the First Crusade that included Christians as well as Muslims and Jews, the expulsion of Protestants from France, the bloody Anglo-Irish conflict, the Anglican church's persecution of Puritans, and so on. Now imagine what it would mean to openly belong to another faith, one deemed heretical by the Church, the supreme arbiter of morality.

Jews were widely barred from “honest” work — leaving niches in fields considered less savory, like money lending, clerking, pawnbroking, and lawyering. Making the most of the niche they had been forced into by these discriminatory laws — although far from all Jews did such work — led in turn to the stereotype of Jews as greedy, bloodsucking parasites who hated and exploited honest Christians, which, of course, led to even more persecution. Jewish populations were expelled from countries multiple times, or faced savage butchery. There were the brutal Rhineland Massacres of the First Crusade in 1096 CE that saw 800 Jews killed, and expulsion from England in 1290, from France in 1306, and from Spain in 1492. It was a vicious cycle of violent intolerance. 

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

In the late 1700s, the birth of European liberalism changed everything. The French Revolution and Napoleon both offered a greater level of religious tolerance toward Jews, making new inroads toward coexistence. After Napoleon’s downfall, despite a rightward reaction, Europe slowly began to liberalize, incorporate Enlightenment values, and move toward democracy. By and large, Jewish people naturally drifted leftward — the monarchist right wing of the 1800s was no friend to them. When socialism made strides decades later, Jews were an influential part of the movement, such as the Bund, a socialist Jewish party in Russia. 

At the same time, many Jews were understandably fed up with the still-rampant anti-Semitism in Europe, and started to dream of returning to their ancestral homeland, and so began the seeds of modern Israel. 

So far, Jews seemed like natural allies to the left, as an oppressed, marginalized underdog if ever there was one. But anti-Semitism is a powerful, deeply rooted force. Vladimir Lenin forcibly dissolved the Bund in 1921, and all those who did not join the Communist Party were forced to flee abroad or face persecution. It only got worse under Stalin, who systematically eradicated Jewish influence wherever he could find it. His Doctors Plot, in which Stalin invented false charges of treason and espionage toward nine doctors, seven of them Jewish, resembled nothing so much as a classic anti-Semitic purge. Indeed, between 1939 and 1941, the Soviet secret police deported tens of thousands of Jews to Siberia and Kazakhstan. Despite Marxism’s pretensions to antiracism, Soviet anti-Semitism, from Party leadership down to the common comrade, was pervasive, and often intertwined “anti-Zionism” with negative stereotypes about Jews.

It was not until after the Holocaust had been exposed to the world that anti-Semitism finally began to become unfashionable, as humanity took a cold, hard look at the logical conclusion to such hatred. But anti-Semitism did not disappear from either end of the political spectrum.

In the 1960s, James Baldwin explained the pronounced anti-Semitism among the black community in the US, which he tied to attitudes of anti-whiteness and an oppressor/oppressed mindset. In the 1970s, influenced by Soviet propaganda, which relentlessly demonized Zionism and Jews, the Australian Union of Students, dominated by young Trostkyites and Maoists, began following suit on Australian university campuses. When Jewish groups protested, they were physically assaulted.

The ferocious “anti-Zionism” of the Western “New Left” was widely seen as a cover for Jew hatred. In Germany, far-left groups in the 1960s and 70s celebrated the deaths of Israeli civilians in terrorist attacks, engaged in anti-Semitic violence, and schemed to bomb a synagogue. In the famous 1976 Entebbe Raid — in which pro-Palestine terrorists hijacked an Air France plane at gunpoint, then released the non-Jewish and non-Israeli passengers to hold the Israelis and Jews hostage — two of the hijackers were German leftists.

Today’s left ought to be unburdened by such bigotries, at least in theory. Unlike their forebears from previous eras, they did not grow up in a social environment where racism was normal and casual prejudice ubiquitous. The average modern far-leftist is highly educated, affluent, and conscious of systemic biases. They ought to know better. So why don’t they?

Like any complex phenomenon, it has no single explanation. Unlike the far right, which has anti-Semitism encoded into its ideological genetics, leftism is not inherently anti-Semitic. But in true horseshoe fashion, they nevertheless end up in the same place.

The Horseshoe of Anti-Semitism

First, the political far left shares an uncomfortable number of basic assumptions about reality with the far right. Both believe that:

A class of moneyed elites control the government, and democracy is a sham maintained by these vaguely defined, malicious elites.

Proper far-left or far-right beliefs (depending) would naturally take root in society if not for an aggressive campaign of materialist propaganda pushed by these shady elites to distract the masses from realizing their true destiny.

Their cause is one that is so vital and so obviously true that any approach to further it is legitimate, whether that means lying, propagandizing, or committing violence.

The liberal West is evil, degenerate, cruel, and exploitative, and must be crushed at all cost to realize this vision.

This antisocial, conspiratorial worldview is inherent to the far left, to a greater or lesser degree. Name a popular myth about how the West is evil, and a leftist will believe it — whether it’s that the US invaded Iraq to steal oil, or that all Western economies are built purely on the exploitation of developing countries, or that our media and government is controlled by sinister three-letter organizations. Such a mindset is incredibly vulnerable to conspiracy theory — and all conspiracy theories ultimately come back to anti-Semitism. 

If you believe the government is controlled by moneyed elites and that the evil force of Zionism has its claws deep in the US government, then the leftist is already 90 percent of the way to being in full agreement with the Nazi. This is how we get university lecturers saying, “Zionists are straight Babylon swine [...] Zionism is beyond a mental illness; it’s a genocidal disease.” It’s how we get progressive screenwriters complaining that “the entertainment industry is ran [sic] by Zionists.” It’s how you get left-wing musicians like Eric Clapton saying, “Israel's running the show, running the world.”

Israel-Palestine is a Uniquely Sore Issue

Second, Israel-Palestine is singularly inflammatory. It takes every problematic tendency the far left already has — shallow performativity, radicalism, narcissism, subordinating truth to ideology, and viciousness toward perceived opponents — and dials it up to eleven. Palestine offers the leftist a classic oppressor-oppressed binary, one that fits the Marxist image of the world perfectly: a cruel, settler-colonialist nation, brutally oppressing a native population, neatly including a white-vs-brown layer of oppression. It also offers a religious layer, where Israel is painted as both a theocracy and a fascistic ethnostate no different from Nazi Germany.

Of course, there are many facts that one must ignore to believe these things. One must ignore that Israel began with legal land purchases, and that among both Israelis and Palestinians you can find people passing for white as well as people who would not. One must ignore that anti-Semitism is on the rise, and that 48 percent of Israel is of Mizrahi (meaning Middle Eastern) origin. One must ignore that Israel is a democracy with Arabs in its parliament, and that the Palestinians harbor many deeply regressive, misogynist, and homophobic values out of touch with modern progressivism.

The Left is Just Too Successful, But Still Needs a Revolution

Third, modern leftism is no longer the struggling worker’s movement it began as. In the early 1900s, the left struggled with real, material problems, such as genuinely unfair wages and labor power imbalances in which employers held all the cards. Protesting for better pay, fewer hours, and more benefits and vacation were real, concrete improvements to fight for. But with these and other battles won — with an eight-hour workday and five-day workweek, with vacation and sick days taken for granted, with LGBT acceptance and racial equality both legally enshrined and culturally mainstream, the modern left had to pivot. Their crusades became less about tangible change in the face of injustice, and more about an opportunity to display righteousness by advancing an incredibly shallow worldview divided between the morally pure and the wicked, with no in-betweens. The ethos of no bad tactics, only bad targets thereby became bad tactics and bad targets.

Jews Just Aren’t Oppressed Enough

Finally, the far left is captured by a narrative in which the underprivileged are the center of attention. There is a foundational leftist belief that the world right now is not only terrible, but actively getting worse due to capitalist exploitation. In this understanding of the world, everything is defined by class struggle between the wealthy, parasitic capitalists, and their victims, the workers, whose labor is exploited for pennies, deliberately keeping the lower classes down. 

When taken to its logical end, we are left with a movement that resents success. So where do Jews fit into this? Well, from this grievance-focused, eternally victimized perspective, the Jewish people are just a bit too white, a bit too financially successful, and a bit too well-integrated to be seen as truly oppressed. Rather they are seen as oppressors. Just as Asians are now “helping white supremacy” because they’re more financially successful than other groups on average, Jews are just not persecuted enough. The far left resents success, and the Jews have shown extraordinary perseverance in their achievements. Indeed, the archetypal Jewish businessman, lawyer, or doctor fits perfectly into the petit-bourgeoisie stereotype the far left so intensely loathes.

What’s left is a movement deeply committed to performative role-playing while eschewing achievable goals, pragmatism, and principles. It’s a dreadful state of affairs. There ought to be room for a left-of-center movement to express a sane pro-Palestinian worldview, but it’s been hijacked by radicals who are as ignorant as they are venomous. Any healthy, open society requires a variety of perspectives represented, but they need to be rooted in reality — not collective guilt, group resentment, and unhinged conspiracism punctuated with Hitler salutes.

In the span of one year, the anti-Zionist far left has done serious and lasting damage to themselves. If they are to avoid becoming simply an inverted variant of neo-Nazism, utterly fringe and dismissed, they must reckon with and expel their radicals, not celebrate them. Is protesting Israel worth trafficking in old anti-Semitic tropes? Is it worth lowering yourself to the level of a fascist? Is it worth an entire political movement with over two hundred years of history? Because if things continue as they are, the left will be left behind, with all sane and decent people having shied away in disgust. Perhaps that’s one faint silver lining of this past year, that the radical left have lunged toward their far-right counterparts on the great trash heap of history. It’s where they belong.

[whencyclopedia]

The Ancient Synagogue in Israel & the Diaspora

A unique and fundamental aspect of ancient Judean society in both Israel and the Diaspora, the ancient synagogue represents an inclusive, localized form of worship that did not crystallize until the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. In antiquity, there was a variety of terms that represented the structure, although some of these were not exclusive to the synagogue and may refer to something else, such as a temple. These terms include proseuchē, meaning "prayer house" or "prayer hall"; synagoge, meaning "a gathering place"; hagios topos, meaning "holy place"; qahal, meaning "assembly"; and bet kneset or bet ha-kneset, meaning "the house of gathering". The oldest term, proseuchē, originated in 3rd century BCE Hellenistic Egypt and clearly identifies a key characteristic of the structure: prayer. Although Torah reading set the synagogue apart from other public buildings or places of worship, much like the Temple before it, the Torah was not the only defining feature of the synagogue. Other distinctive traits included the activities that took place within them as well as the art and architecture of the structures themselves.

The Role of the Ancient Synagogue

Inscriptional and literary evidence suggests that judicial proceedings, archives, treasuries, prayers, public fasts, communal meals, and lodging for traveling Judeans were all associated with the ancient synagogue. The public reading and teaching of the Torah took precedence over all else by providing the liturgical activity that set the synagogue apart, but the synagogue was much more than a religious institution and must be considered as distinctly different from its predecessor, the Temple.

Following the destruction of the Second Temple and the rise of Rabbinic Judaism, a more democratic form of worship began to take root, as well as concepts such as urbanization and institutionalization, which spread throughout the Roman, and later Byzantine, Empire. With the end of the Second Temple period came the end of the practice of sacrifice, and so the reading of the Torah filled the void. As a result, the Ark of Scrolls and the Torah shrine developed, eventually emerging as the focal point of the synagogue, representing a symbol of survival and preservation. Nearly every ancient synagogue in the land of Israel yields traces and fragments of a Torah shrine, either in the form of a raised platform as a base for the aedicula, a niche, or an apse. This evidence demonstrates the significance of the Torah shrine as one of the few consistent features within the ancient synagogue. Yet the appearance of the Torah shrine was not the only emergent trait accompanying the rise of Rabbinic Judaism. Unlike the exclusivity of priestly-mediated ritual attributed to the Temple, the participants in the ancient synagogue were involved in the performance and conducting of ceremonies, reciting prayers, and reading from the Torah. A new participatory nature of worship was developing during this period, and it is preserved through the architectural remains.

As the rabbinic class rose in power, criteria that may be deemed "non-religious" began to fall under the control of the rabbis, and therefore, the "religious" domain. In terms of legal matters, Tannaitic cases may relate to settlements for divorce/widowhood, damages for public shaming, deeds dating on the Sabbath, and so on. Despite the fact that other venues were available for resolving legal matters, the rabbinic judges served as an alternate, and seemingly popular, venue. Generally, rabbinic legal activity revolved around property and family issues, which occasionally intersected with ritual law such as in Deut. 5-10 and halîsâ, a ceremony concerning the obligation of a man to marry his brother's childless widow. Quite simply, aside from the reading and studying of the Torah, the separation of religious and non-religious functions is not as clear as one may assume in terms of the activities performed in the ancient synagogue. Whether separate or not, both religious and non-religious activities attributed to the synagogue originated in response to communal requirements, differing in distribution throughout the ancient world with the exception of the study of the Torah, around which the synagogue's ultimate purpose revolved.

As a result of the Torah's dominance in synagogue performance, it seems only reasonable that it would become a popular motif with the rise of Jewish art in late antiquity, and in fact, the Torah Ark would become just that. Yet the Torah's dominance would be expressed by other means as well, such as with the development of the Torah shrine as the focal point and physical statement of Judean religious and historical lineage. Beyond the Torah shrine, however, the ancient synagogue would come to develop additional features and characteristics that reflected communal needs and practices, all of which are evident in archaeological remains.

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