#then how do Palestinian Jews exist

[hersheysmcboom]

That’s a good question, if Hamas really care about palestine so much, why don’t they ask for the doctors and journalists and the 700 children Israel arrested? Just more poof that Hamas have never have and never will care about the Palestinian people

this is who you make glib jokes about releasing. people who would do this again and have after being released from prison in previous deals.

our hostages should have been released oct 8 2023 with no prisoner exchange. fuck hamas. stop enabling them with gross jokes.

[butwhypants]

if your solution to the conflict in Israel/Palestine is the complete and total destruction of the Jewish state, you are in fact antisemitic and no amount of Kapo hand wringing will change that.

[worstloki]

Zionists will go “even Saudi Arabia and the UAE don’t support Hamas!” As if that is not telling on yourself. You are admitting you know nothing about the entire region. Your racist generalisations are not your downfall, the lies you are trying to support with no understanding of the genocide are.

[satoriberry]

person a: i hate zionists, they're so evil, they can die for all i care about.

person b: OH SO YOU HATE JEWS? YOU WANT TO ERASE JEWS DON'T YOU?

^ are some of you mentally challenged?

[jewishvitya]

A pro-Palestine Jew on tiktok asked those of us who were raised pro-Israel, what got us to change our minds on Palestine. I made a video to answer (with my voice, not my face), and a few people watched it and found some value in it. I'm putting this here too. I communicate through text better than voice.

So I feel repetitive for saying this at this point, but I grew up in the West Bank settlements. I wrote this post to give an example of the extent to which Palestinians are dehumanized there.

Where I live now, I meet Palestinians in day to day life. Israeli Arab citizens living their lives. In the West Bank, it was nothing like that. Over there, I only saw them through the electric fence, and the hostility between us and Palestinians was tangible.

When you're a child being brought into the situation, you don't experience the context, you don't experience the history, you don't know why they're hostile to you. You just feel "these people hate me, they don't want me to exist." And that bubble was my reality. So when I was taught in school that everything we did was in self defense, that our military is special and uniquely ethical because it's the only defensive military in the world - that made sense to me. It slotted neatly into the reality I knew.

One of the first things to burst the bubble for me was when I spoke to an old Israeli man and he was talking about his trauma from battle. I don't remember what he said, but it hit me wrong. It conflicted with the history as I understood it. So I was a bit desperate to make it make sense again, and I said, "But everything we did was in self defense, right?"

He kinda looked at me, couldn't understand at all why I was upset, and he went, "We destroyed whole villages. Of course we did. It was war, that's what you do."

And that casual "of course" stuck with me. I had to look into it more.

I couldn't look at more accurate history, and not at accounts by Palestinians, I was too primed against these sources to trust them. The community I grew up in had an anti-intellectual element to it where scholars weren't trusted about things like this.

So what really solidified this for me, was seeing Palestinian culture.

Because part of the story that Israel tells us to justify everything, is that Palestinians are not a distinct group of people, they're just Arabs. They belong to the nations around us. They insist on being here because they want to deny us a homeland. The Palestinian identity exists to hurt us. This, because the idea of displacing them and taking over their lands doesn't sound like stealing, if this was never theirs and they're only pretending because they want to deprive us.

But then foods, dances, clothing, embroidery, the Palestinian dialect. These things are history. They don't pop into existence just because you hate Jews and they're trying to move here. How gorgeous is the Palestinian thobe? How stunning is tatreez in general? And when I saw specific patterns belonging to different regions of Palestine?

All of these painted for me a rich shared life of a group of people, and countered the narrative that the Palestininian identity was fabricated to hurt us. It taught me that, whatever we call them, whatever they call themselves, they have a history in this land, they have a right to it, they have a connection to it that we can't override with our own.

I started having conversations with leftist friends. Confronting the fact that the borders of the occupied territories are arbitrary and every Israeli city was taken from them. In one of those conversations, I was encouraged to rethink how I imagine peace.

This also goes back to schooling. Because they drilled into us, we're the ones who want peace, they're the ones who keep fighting, they're just so dedicated to death and killing and they won't leave us alone.

In high school, we had a stadium event with a speaker who was telling us about a person who defected from Hamas, converted to Christianity and became a Shin Bet agent. Pretty sure you can read this in the book "Son of Hamas." A lot of my friends read the book, I didn't read it, I only know what I was told in that lecture. I guess they couldn't risk us missing out on the indoctrination if we chose not to read it.

One of the things they told us was how he thought, we've been fighting with them for so long, Israelis must have a culture around the glorification of violence. And he looked for that in music. He looked for songs about war. And for a while he just couldn't find any, but when he did, he translated it more fully, and he found out the song was about an end to wars. And this, according to the story as I was told it, was one of the things that convinced him. If you know know the current trending Israeli "war anthem," you know this flimsy reasoning doesn't work.

Back then, my friend encouraged me to think more critically about how we as Israelis envision peace, as the absence of resistance. And how self-centered it is. They can be suffering under our occupation, but as long as it doesn't reach us, that's called peace. So of course we want it and they don't.

Unless we're willing to work to change the situation entirely, our calls for peace are just "please stop fighting back against the harm we cause you."

In this video, Shlomo Yitzchak shares how he changed his mind. His story is much more interesting than mine, and he's much more eloquent telling it. He mentions how he was taught to fear Palestinians. An automatic thought, "If I go with you, you'll kill me." I was taught this too. I was taught that, if I'm in a taxi, I should be looking at the driver's name. And if that name is Arab, I should watch the road and the route he's taking, to be prepared in case he wants to take me somewhere to kill me. Just a random person trying to work. For years it stayed a habit, I'd automatically look at the driver's name. Even after knowing that I want to align myself with liberation, justice, and equality. It was a process of unlearning.

On October, not long after the current escalation of violence, I had to take a taxi again. A Jewish driver stopped and told me he'll take me, "so an Arab doesn't get you." Israeli Jews are so comfortable saying things like this to each other. My neighbors discussed a Palestinian employee, with one saying "We should tell him not to come anymore, that we want to hire a Jew." The second answered, "No, he'll say it's discrimination," like it would be so ridiculous of him. And the first just shrugged, "So we don't have to tell him why." They didn't go through with it, but they were so casual about this conversation.

In the Torah, we're told to treat those who are foreign to us well, because we know what it's like to be the foreigner. Fighting back against oppression is the natural human thing to do. We know it because we lived it. And as soon as I looked at things from this angle, it wasn't really a choice of what to support.

[favroitecrime]

Mhm anyway here’s a continuation of the list of crimes israel has committed and is currently committing against Palestine and Palestinians

(find the first two lists here)

bombed several more hospitals following that first hospital they struck

displaced nearly 90% of Gaza’s population

separated families by kidnapping and forcing the men and young boys to strip and taking them to an unknown location

tortured and numbered said men and young boys

several young boys and men have yet to be located and many had already been identified as very obviously not members of Hamas (as if that justified it in the first place)

several of the women and children who were separated are also considered missing

they’re starving Gaza and people have already started dying

they’re holding hostage ALL the humanitarian aid trucks near the Rafah border (which they control)

they’re bombing everywhere. even the South. they struck a hospital in Rafah yesterday. Rafah is the Southern most part of Gaza

they’ve forced people to drink contaminated water which is having horrendous effects on the people - children especially-

they’ve massacred refugees hiding in schools at point blank range, leaving their corpses to rot in piles

they’ve defied the international call for a ceasefire several times

they killed their own hostages because of their racism and pure hatred for Palestinians

they’ve kidnapped nearly twice as many people from the West Bank as they were forced to release during the hostage exchange

they’re spreading false propaganda about rapes whilst using false testimonies and digging up absolutely zero evidence

no seriously almost every article you’ll read they have absolutely no evidence besides ‘eye witness testimonies’ which is bs because anyone with sense knows those ‘witnesses’ weren’t there

pulled out that rape story mere days after Palestinians who were released from israeli jails reported on the horrific sexual violence they either bore witness to or were victims of

have stated over and over and over that they want to kill everyone in Gaza

have bombed the remaining Christian population in Gaza into a mere 700. there used to be thousands.

have bombed more Churches

shot a woman and her daughter in point blank range whilst they were in a Church bathroom in Gaza

are trying to spread a false narrative that there are no Christians or Churches in Gaza in hopes of continuing to parade that this is a ‘religious war’

Palestinian freedom fighters breaking out of Gaza and reclaiming their occupied territories. They’ve taken over israeli tanks and have chased out the settlers that were on that land. They’ve launched rockets everywhere and the iron dome has failed to intercept. This is about to mark a momentous event in history.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

[yeonslayjun]

Let's talk about the Genocide happening in Palastine

Honestly I can see how Hitler got away with the Mass Genocide of the Jews like LOOK AT THIS?!??!

History calls Hitler a dictator and the one who killed off Jews for existing and the world was not okay with it and it IS STILL not okay ( and be no means are jews responsible )

But now that we see History replay itself in the form of Israel against Palestinians what does the world say about The Palestinians? Violent, criminals, terrorists, they deserved to die.... HOW COULD THEY DO THAT??!?!

Kids are dying every single day, more and more footages are being released and STILL SO MANY CHOOSE to ignore them because well

"October 7 was devastating" and yes it was and by no means am I disregarding that but then, WELL WHAT ABOUT THE YEARS OF ATTACKING THEM?!?!? Oh my it seems they have selective blindness *surprised Pikachu face*

Look Hamas killed that's not okay and those are the only people they've killed. Hamas is NOT A TERRORIST organization they are the ONLY force the Palestinians has to fight against the Israel soldiers

If Hamas stop, Palestine will be no more. and that is EXACTLY why Israel wants to get rid of them, the only hope for the Palestinians

It is beyond my comprehension how even after seeing INNUMERABLE Children dying, Families and Bloodlines ERASED from existence, attacking HOSPITALS, attacking FOOD SHELTERS some people can still support Israel....

[fairuzfan]

This post is for the anon who sent me that video asking me to debunk it's claims so they can be better equipped against accusations of antisemitism.

Sorry, I won't post the video since I refuse to have that man on my blog but I can give you common Zionist talking points and the illogicality behind it.

To preface: most of the questions Zionists will ask you are a trap, and will make you fall into a "rabbit hole" (as I was once told when I was younger), as we try to apply their reasoning. My advice is to ALWAYS center the humanity of Palestinians. For example, when a Zionist says:

"Don't Jews deserve a homeland to be safe?"

It fundamentally ignores the core issue: Palestinians are being raped, murdered, and expelled from their homes so that the establishment of this so called "homeland" may exist. When people ask this to you, I personally advise saying something like:

Why must Palestinians suffer for the establishment of this homeland?

Always recenter to the issue at hand—the inhumane removal and treatment of Palestinians.

"Palestine belongs to the Jews and Not Muslims"

The whole premise of this claim is flawed—there is a weird tendency to equate Arab/Palestinian=Muslim when it just is like. Completely untrue. There are Palestinian Christians, Bethlehem is famously a Christian city, who have been there for centuries. There are Palestinian Jews, who have been there for centuries. There are Palestinian Muslims, who have been there for centuries. My grandpa told me stories of how he would turn on lamps for his Jewish neighbors in Al-Khalil (or Hebron) during Shabbat.

To claim that Palestine is EITHER Islamic or Jewish doesn't make any sense and completely neglects the fact that dissemination of culture has occurred for centuries, as well as the intermingling of people throughout generations. To somehow assert that for some reason, Jews and Muslims did not have ANYTHING to do with each other—did not create together, did not build families together, did not build culture together, all while being PALESTINIAN—is incredibly racist and nonsensical. "Palestinian" is not a religious identity—it's a cultural and ethnic one.

Also, it does not negate the core issue—Palestinians are being killed, removed, and tortured so that others can live on that land.

"Well what about [something about partitioning land]?"

Honestly like, who cares about the partitioning throughout the 1900 and early 2000s. Sorry, I'm not going to list the whole "partitioning" history nonsense. The whole reason "Israel" exists is because of a Mass Exodus, murder, and rape of Palestinians. Everything after that is rendered obsolete.

"Well, I heard Palestinians allied with Hitler"

I don't know how to tell you this but Palestine was under British Control. No they didn't.

"Israel withdrew from the Gaza and left them to themselves and they put Hammas in charge"

Oh yeah, Israel totally left Gaza, that's why Gazans' water, electricity, internet, and food is completely controlled by Israel (this is sarcasm, Israel still controls basic life in Gaza).

Go back to centering the idea that no human deserves to be shoved into an open-air prison, starved, and controlled. Did you know that the Zionist Entity controls the amount of water Gazans receive, as well as counting their calories to ensure they don't have enough energy on a day to day basis?

"I heard Israel asked Arabs to stay"

Show them these papers and videos when they say this:

If you can't show them these videos, check in the next point what to say.

"Well the Palestinians left of their own will in 1948"

Palestinians in 1948 didn't "leave." They had heard of how the Zionist Entity was slaughtering Palestinians en masse. Women especially heard stories of rape and sexual violence. They fled from *violence*. Again, from an earlier post, that this was a calculated effort on the Zionist Entity's part to try and get them to "leave" on their own and "abandon" their houses so that they can come in and say "hey, they left on their own so, we can come in and take their houses now."

Anyways, the idea that once you leave your house you can't ever come back to it is incredibly odd to me as an argument on Zionists' part. Like if you leave your house right now to go to the grocery store and you come back and see someone in your house and they're like "sorry dude, this is my house now, you left so that means you can't come back," you'd be like, "what the hell!" It would be even weirder if everyone agreed with the guy who took your house, which is what happened to Palestinians.

In Al-Khalil, or Hebron, Palestinians always have to have someone stay in their house or else a Settler will come in and take it from them. So it still goes on today as well.

This is not a point, but when that one person in the video said "Arabs lived under Israeli rule" and showed a clip of a bustling city with mountains, I'm pretty sure that was Amman, Jordan, not Palestine lol. Those buildings in the mountains look like how downtown Amman builds the residential areas. Could be wrong tho.

"There are no Jews living under Palestinian rule in Palestine"

What is this, some sort of gotcha argument? What are they trying to prove, the racist (obviously false) notion that Palestinians hate Jews as a whole? How do they know no Palestinian Jew lives in Gaza? Also, Settlers in Palestinian Territory exist??? I had never heard this claim before, its incredibly stupid lol. You're automatically a citizen of "Israel" if you're Jewish, whether or not you live in or outside of Palestinian Territories. So of course technically they don't live under Palestinian rule, they're granted full rights as an "Israeli" citizen automatically!

Go back to talking about the inhumane treatment of Palestinians, I wouldn't bring up the above counterpoint unless they really won't let it go since the main point is mistreatment.

"Why are Christians supporting Israel then, if it's a secular issue rather than a religious one?"

Well actually for a couple reasons:

Oil interests and regional control of goods (White People Supporting White People).

Weird fundamentalist ideology where they want to enact the second coming of Christ.

And finally because they are racist and don't think Arab Christians deserve to live. They literally bombed a 1500+ year church the other day. Why would (White) Christians cosign that.

Anyways, its a stupid argument again, because it forgets the core issue of Palestinians dying and being displaced.

In summary, always go back to the point of centering the Palestinians being displaced, tortured, and murdered, no matter the argument a Zionist gives you.

[fromgoy2joy]

I sat next to the protest today.

I wrote fan-fiction about two gay jewish dads raising children to the play list of the chant- "No peace on stolen land!" on an American college campus. It isn't a name brand one either, nor does it have any legitimate ties to Israel. The anger is just there- it has rotten these future doctors, nurses, teachers, and members of society.

I don't even know what to call their demonstration- it was a tizzy of a Jew hatred affair. At points, there were empathetic statements about Gazans and their suffering. Then outright support of Hamas and violent resistance against all colonizers. Then this bizarre fixation on antisemitism while explaining the globalists are behind everything.

"Antisemitism doesn't exist. Not in the modern day," A professor gloated over a microphone in front of the library. "It's a weaponized concept, that's prevents us from getting actual places- ignore anyone who tells you otherwise."

"How can we be antisemitic?" A pasty white girl wearing a red Jordanian keffiyeh gloats five minutes later. "Palestinians are the actual semites."

"there is only one solution!" The crowd of over 50 students and faculty cried, over and over.

"Been there, done that," I thought, then added a reference to a mezuza in the fourth paragraph.

Two other Jewish students passed where I was parked out, hunching and trying to be as innocuous as possible. We laughed together at my predicament, where I am willingly hearing this bullshit and feeling so amused by this.

"Am I crazy? For sitting here?" I asked them. My friends shook their heads.

"We did the same last week- it's an amazing experience, isn't it?”

We all cackled hysterically again. They left to study for finals. Two minutes later, I learned from the current speaker that “Zionism” is behind everything bad in this world.

Forty-five minutes in, a boy I recognized joined me on my lonely bench. He came from a very secular Jewish family and had joined Hillel recently to learn more about his culture. His first Seder was two nights ago.

He sat next to me, heavy like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. There was just this despondent look on his face. I couldn’t describe it anyone else, but just sheer hopelessness personified.

“They hate us. I can’t believe how much they hate us.” He said in greeting.

And for the first time all day, I had no snarky response or glib. All I could do was stare out into the crowd, and sigh.

[drowndrawn]

Lula compares Israel's attacks on Palestinians in Gaza to Hitler's killing of Jews

Brazilian president Lula (PT) stated this Sunday 18th that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war, but a genocide, and compared Israel's action to that of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler against the Jews.

“What is happening in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian people does not exist at any other historical moment. In fact, it exists. When Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” he said.

Asked about the Brazilian government's decision to be the new donor to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, Lula criticized the leaders of the countries that decided to suspend contributions. “When I see the rich world announce that it is stopping contributing to the humanitarian issue for the Palestinians, I wonder how much political awareness these people have?”, he said. “And how big is the heart of solidarity of these people who cannot see that in the Gaza Strip there is not a war happening, but a genocide?”

The president also questioned: “Who will help rebuild those houses that were destroyed? Who will repay the lives of 30 thousand people who have already died? 170 thousand who are injured. Who will give back the lives of children who died without knowing why they were dying? Is this enough to disturb the humanitarian sense of the planet’s political leaders?”

���It is not a war between soldiers and soldiers. It is a war between a highly prepared Army and women and children. Look, if there was an error in that institution that collects the money, find out who made the mistake. But do not suspend humanitarian aid for the people who have been trying to build their state for decades”, concluded Lula.

I'm actually quite proud of having voted for him. He was bold, Brazilian's newspapers are roasting him for saying the TRUTH, but is this kind of boldness that we need right now.

[queer-geordie-dyke]

This has been said ad nauseum, I know, but the thing I just *cannot* get over is how very quickly and easily the left as a movement abandoned its most basic principles:

“Rape is an abhorrent, violating crime and we must believe and uplift survivors” - until it is done to Jewish women and girls in the name of ‘resistance’ then it’s just fine and dandy, or we might not even believe you at all.

“An armed force invading and mass murdering civilians is a war crime” - until the victims are Jews and you’ve decided it’s ‘resistance’ and ‘you don’t get to criticise how they fight back.’ No, mate, the word you’re looking for is ‘pogrom.’

“Slavery is bad” - until it is Jews being held hostage in Palestinian homes and forced to work then it’s ‘they were treated well and fed, what more do you want?’

“Indigenous peoples regaining their ancestral homelands is a key part of decolonisation and is a worthy endeavour” - until it is Jews regaining the land of Israel after centuries of disenfranchisement then it’s ‘white supremacy’ and ‘colonialism’ and the most evil thing in the world.

“Collective punishment is bad, citizens aren’t responsible for the actions of their government” - until we can treat every single Israeli like evil incarnate and deserving of the worst abuse and treatment simply for existing.

“Oppressed people know their own oppression better than you do. Listen to them and don’t presume to know better about the issues they face” - until it’s Jews talking about antisemitism and then it’s ignoring them, talking over them and accusing them of weaponising their oppression to silence criticism.

“Abuse and violence against an oppressed group must be condemned wholeheartedly and we must stand with the persecuted” - until it is Jews facing a 400% increase in antisemitism - being spat at, beaten, raped, ostracised from public spaces, having their schools and synagogues targeted, and then it’s shut our eyes and ears and pretend none of it is happening.

“Queer rights for all” - until Israel dares to be a beacon of queer rights in the Middle East and then it’s ‘pinkwashing.’

Do you even hear yourselves? Do you even care that you are being breathtaking hypocrites? How do you expect anyone to ever take you seriously ever again?

[leunusualsuspect]

I’m so fucking tired of people being like

“Oh well a bunch of Zionists reblogged this, no more reblogging”

“Zionists are reblogging this. Suspicious.”

Do.

You.

Guys.

HEAR YOURSELVES?

This isn’t something that makes a damn lick of sense without the thought terminating cliche that “Zionists writ large support all actions of the state of Israel and the melting of Palestinian lives”

But who is a Zionist? Is it a person who labels themselves as such? Are they a Jew who is merely standing for their people? Because this shit is exactly how persecutors of Jewish people in the past operate. People were kicked out of their homes for being labeled “Zionists”. Had their property seized for being “Zionists”. Were POGROMED for being “Zionists”.

You don’t find it odd that so many people who do label themselves as Zionists are lock step with progressive politics in English speaking countries, and especially in the US? You don’t think that’s the least bit curious?

Hashem give me the fucking strength to handle the refusal to “talk to your neighbor”of these goyishe lunatics.

And BEFORE you jump down my motherfucking throat, I’m a non-Zionist only because the state of Israel exists. It’s here. Zionist dream realized. So I needn’t declare myself for an ideology that has ostensibly achieved its goal. But you must acknowledge that this choice of label is not how most Jews view Zionism. Hell, I still question it myself.

But if you choose to label me a Zionist because I want peace and coexistence for all peoples with historical, ethnic, cultural and religious ties to the land we refer to as Israel-Palestine and recognize the complete and utter impossibility of kicking anyone out, then fine.

Be a fool.

Feed the dogs of war.

Spare me your “I love Jews” michegas.

I’m eating another latke and holding my community and real allies tighter.

And just so you all understand this in English:

May all of your teeth fall out save the one that aches.

Shmucks.

[notaplaceofhonour]

I know it’s an old adage that Jews are the canary in the coalmine and that antisemitism is a sign of a society turning towards bigotry, fascism, & authoritarianism, but I don’t often see people explaining how this works, so let me give you just a couple examples:

Peeling back the layers of this post about Shaq participating in the “Stand Up to All Hate” campaign, what do we have? We have a Jewish philanthropist donating to youth sports programs and organizations that provide assistance for minorities & underserved communities in Israel (including Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians, women in very conservative Jewish communities that may not otherwise have the opportunity, etc.) to enter STEM fields, who runs a series of ad campaigns to encourage people to stand up to not just antisemitism but ALL bigotry. All of this gets cast as being “pro-genocide” somehow.

In the course of casting all of this as sinister & evil, who is affected?

a high-profile Black man is slandered

giving aid to Palestinians in STEM demonized

same with aid to Orthodox Jewish women in STEM

as is giving to children’s sports programs

even THE most milquetoast “don’t sit by idly when people around you are racist, homophobic, exist, etc.” message gets smeared as sinister

Taking a closer look at the rhetoric around “contextualizing” & “explaining” rape as “resistance” in the October 7th attacks, what do we have? A structure for rapists to excuse their violence is created. Jewish & Israeli victims are disbelieved The Palestinians affected by Hamas & similar orgs’ normalization of sexual violence are erased. Palestinians are presented as if they just can’t help raping.

Who is affected:

any violence no matter how depraved against Jews & Israelis is softened & excused

the experience of Jews targeted for sexual violence are sidelined & treated as a “natural” (and thus less awful) consequence of Jews oppressing Palestinians (DARVO)

Palestinian men are subjected to the racism of being treated as rapists by default

Palestinian victims of sexual violence are erased & equated with their abusers; their well-being is further endangered as their perpetrators crimes are softened & denied

rapists in leftist spaces now have a “oh but I couldn’t help it” card in their back pocket they can whip out at any time to dodge responsibility & make leftist spaces even more dangerous for the most vulnerable people there

On top of all of this, you then also have the red yarn “logic” of conspiracism that underlies all of this. Conspiracy theories do not exist in a vacuum; there is an underlying dislogic to them that makes believers in one more likely to believe in another (and another and another). THE best predictor of whether a person will believe a conspiracy theory is that they believe another conspiracy theory.

maybe it’s that this or that is a zionist plot now. but maybe you’ll be more inclined to believe there’s something dangerous about the polio vaccine. to support your fringe position, you need to grab hold of more reasons to bolster your opposition, unspool more red yarn. maybe it causes autism. maybe it makes you gay. nevermind that you just brought polio back too, now you’re trading in bigoted conspiracy narrative about the vaccine.

Maybe it’s not that; maybe it’s something else. But this vacuum of logic demands to be filled, and more often than not it does so by sucking in more and more fringe (and more and more bigoted) conspiracy narratives.

Antisemitism is a backwards logic, a conclusion in search of a reason, that builds itself to accommodate the desire to harm Jews. And as those pathways are built, they are used for a dual purpose to hurt other groups too. They spread out further and further and get used to pop up wherever the illogic of bigotry demands to.

You see this web of dislogic being constructed in the above examples—a sort of impromptu network of tunnels and jerry-rigged offramps that let them go offroading when the normal freeways of logic don’t take them where they want to go. You want to believe Shaq is shifty or the 🟦 is a (((Zionist))) plot? Time to build the path that will get you there. You want to believe October 7th was justified, but it fundamentally opposes every one of your stated values; time to build a new way in.

The main target is still Jews, but the rest of you get the splash damage.

[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.

[gryficowa]

You know what's fucked up? The law assumes that only Jews were the victims of fascism, which is why we now have the absurdity that if you are a fascist but also a Jew (Zionism in short), you go unpunished because you are a Jew, and those who are against you are anti-Semites

So yes, the anti-fascist law turns out to be a perfect loophole for fascists as long as they are Jews (And in Germany it's so absurd that Jews were beaten and attacked by the police for anti-Semitism, so yes, such a loophole in the law was used for this shit)

The law assumed that other victims of fascism do not exist, so they do not have to be as protected as Jews (And before anyone gets outraged, the point is that every discriminated group should be treated under the law in the same way as Jews, i.e. Queerphobia, racism , Islamophobia etc… were treated as seriously as anti-Semitism, and not treated as a "Joke") and this shows how defective our law is, unfortunately, the status quo will probably also be preserved, i.e. they will add another group and ignore the rest, and then the same loop will occur (It is a gloomy thought, but since they erase other victims of the Nazis such as Poles, LGBT+ people, Roma and people with disabilities, because they consider them less important than Jews in the fight against discrimination, then I'm sorry, but it sucks and this anti-fascist policy works shit)

So yes, the anti-fascist law has so many loopholes that it hurts, it just hurts on many levels, and the absurdity that Jews are beaten for anti-Semitism is proof of this, simply assuming that fascism is only swastikas and hating Jews is harmful on many levels, no, fascism is behavior, it is discrimination, dehumanization etc… The victims are not only Jews, and even then they were not the only ones

Zionism has exploited loopholes in the law to silence its opponents, and it's so disgusting it's nauseating

If the fight against fascism doesn't work because the fascist is a Jew, then you know that this anti-fascist policy is so full of loopholes that it doesn't care about fighting fascism, and it can just be exploited by fascists and people shoot themselves in the foot in this law, yes, we should fight fascism, but we should fucking teach what fascism is and how it works, not teach that only Jews are its victims, damn it

Because we have made Jews victims of anti-fascist law because they are anti-Zionists

If this is how the fight against fascism works, you know something has gone fucking wrong

Today, fascists choose easier targets (Because Jews are better protected by law, because attention, anti-Semitism is taken seriously, not as a "Joke" and that's the fucking difference) like LGBT+ people, immigrants, Muslims, black people, etc… because the law is full of loopholes and society continues to ignore the fact that this discrimination is a serious problem

It just sucks, you can be from a group that was a victim of the Nazis (I'm from Poland, specifically Kashubian, I'm aroace and I'm a person with ASD), and you will still be fascist in the eyes of the law because you are anti-Zionist, the law doesn't care about you because you are not a Jew who wants the genocide of the Palestinians and it is sick, it is simply sick

It's simply such a huge loophole in the law against fascism that now it is showing before our eyes how badly it was made and how people concluded that the victims of the Nazis were only Jews, so now that there is anti-fascist law, it only cares about Jews and so , about those who are Zionists, because they treat anti-Zionist Jews like shit (Germany, I remind you)

It's just sick, the whole law is so flawed and against the victims of fascism, even if they are not Zionist Jews, that it's insane

We would have to destroy the law and build it anew, but the question is whether this would not cause problems for future generations, because we would have to do it damn well and analyze everything, and there would probably be a fucking risk that fascism will find another loophole to its own advantage anyway

The very fact that this loophole was ignored for so many years is also terrifying, because what the Zionists did to the Palestinians from the very beginning is an indication that the law even then closed its loopholes and we are only seeing them now because we have greater access to information

The law also showed that this applies to white Jews, because Arab Jews are not taken as seriously, so don't expect anyone to care about anti-Semitism when you are not a European Jew, because you are an Arab and your being a Jew means nothing, and the law doesn't care about Arabs, so you're fucked

So yes, the loopholes in the law are most visible today and well, the very fact that they were ignored for many years is a long-term problem, and the Zionists have been taking advantage of this loophole for years to their own advantage

[edenfenixblogs]

2 am rant cuz I can’t sleep:

I’ve stated repeatedly that I’m pro-Palestine and pro-peace, so I obviously want a two sided, negotiated ceasefire and permanent peace for all. I’ve repeatedly stated that I do not condone the degree of heavy bombing taking place in Gaza.

But it’s currently 2:15 in the morning and I am haunted. I’m haunted by the fact that the world saw the brutal attack on Jews and celebrated. I’m haunted by the number of high l-profile celebrities who felt moved to speak out for Palestine — wearing flags and pins and signing demands for Israel to stop bombing, but who said nothing about the dead and tortured and kidnapped Jews.

Yes, what is happening in Palestine is and continues to be a tragedy.

But apparently what happened and is happening to Jews worldwide and Israelis of all religions simply isn’t. At least not enough of one. Not enough of one to move these high-profile folks to speak out for us. Not enough of a tragedy to say the names of the hostages, including one forced to give birth while kidnapped by terrorists. Not enough of a tragedy to condemn the violence happening against Jews. Not enough to speak out on behalf of a 20-year-old singer made to fear for her life because she dared to be from Israel and sing about her own trauma instead of, idk, bursting into flame or shutting up or whatever the mob wanted her to do.

No. What happens to us isn’t a tragedy. It’s a nuisance. It’s a nuisance to have to care about Jews. It gets in the way of everyone else feeling good about their “radical activism” and self-aggrandizing bravery. People of all levels and types of fame. All of whom say they only want peace and an end to pain. Yet when they mention pain, it’s always and only the Palestinian flag. When they want a ceasefire, it’s always an only in reference to Palestine. But they wouldn’t be caught dead asking for an end to Hamas or Hezbollah bombs or even acknowledging that they exist. All calls for peace involve asking Israel to lay down arms but no call for anyone attack Israel, Israelis, or Jews worldwide to do the same.

From large creators to small creators to people in day to day life, non-Jews around the world have made clear that it would be more convenient for them if we Jews just died. If we stopped ever defending ourselves or speaking up or being sad in public.

The vast majority of people speaking out would or will view this post as a justification of violence. But it’s not. It’s a condemnation of complicity from people who claim to care about peace. It is a condemnation of those who claim to be against antisemitism yet refuse to listen when Jews point out how they are contributing to and spreading more antisemitism. People and institutions worldwide have failed Jews everywhere.

Cats Blanchett

Mark Ruffalo

Billie Eilish

Viola Davis

Lena Heady

Susan Sarandon

Ava DuVernay

Hozier

Sara Ramirez

Annie Lennox

Cynthia Nixon

Angelina Jolie

Multiple UN groups and resolutions

College students and professors across the world

Friends I’ve had for 8 years who don’t even respond to messages that I have moved out of state or even spoken to me in at least five months

So many people who are so eager to read every bit of pro-Palestine news that exists and condemn every action from Israel.

And yet…

Before the bombings. Before the reprisals. Before all the violence from Israel: where were they? All these people who so desperately beg for peace (as defined by the end of Israeli aggression only): where were they when it was just dead Jews? Where were the Instagram posts and educational content and in depth analyses of Israeli trauma and history? Where were the condemnations of Hamas? Where were those who are moved to speak for anyone and everyone but Jews?

Are we really supposed to believe any of you actually want peace? When you chant for the globalization of terror tactics that traumatized a generation of Israeli Jews? When you fail to acknowledge Jewish history in any way except to minimize it?

Before the bombing campaign, where were the red carpet statement pins and gowns featuring Jewish stars?

How are we Jews anywhere in the world literally ever supposed to believe that you’re not actively cheering for our deaths? Maybe not in front of our faces, but certainly behind our backs. We know. We know you’re afraid to be less than tactful in front of us, but that you describe our rapes and murders and social exclusion and kidnappings as “unfortunate but necessary.”

I’m reminded of when Israel was first created. At a time where every Jew on earth was traumatized directly because the Holocaust firsthand, Britain left the territory of mandatory Palestine and the UN allowed for the creation of a Jewish state. And then proceeded to heckle the traumatized survivors for handling its creation poorly. The Nakba is a tragedy and an outrage and I’ll never deny that.

But…y’all are no different from the people who stood on the sidelines as Israel was first created. Why was it up to an actively traumatized people who had very recently (and after a continuous 2,000 year period of expulsions and pogroms and murders) been slaughtered on an industrial scale to somehow create a perfect and stable government in a land where people despised them?

The world needs to own up to the fact that everything that ever went wrong in Israel’s creation is a direct result of the continuous and still ongoing contempt for Jews by all the other countries that could have stepped in to help and provide Jews with a guarantee of safety at any time in the last 2,000 years in general but also since 1934 specifically. And you didn’t. Your great grandparents and grandparents and parents all didn’t do jack shit. And you are following in their footsteps. You are all doing just as they did: standing on the sidelines and heckling the Jews you don’t like for fighting back too aggressively.

But what exactly have you or anyone else done to help Jews in your communities or in Israel to not feel like caged animals forced to fight for survival? Like wild beasts you let loose for slaughter in a coliseum for your own enjoyment? At what point have you worked to provide Jews with other options? How have you made the Jews in your life feel safe or seen during this time? How have you started to deconstruct the harmful anti-Jewish bias you inherited from the people you love?

Is it ok that Netanyahu and the Likud government is bombing Palestine to the extent it is currently doing? Of course not. And I’ll never say otherwise.

But aside from yelling “hey stop it!” at Israel or “you’re complicit!” at Jews who fail to join your chanting, what exactly have you done at any point since this started to make the world safer for any of us?

Because from what I can see, the vast majority of you have done nothing. And every Jew I’ve spoken to in the last half a year has seen the exact same nothing.

Too many of you are too concerned with being on the right side of history. Most of you aren’t famous actors or musicians or whatever. Most of you are just people. History won’t remember you individually. Who knows what history will say about the movements of which you were a part? My guess is that you’ll be called passionate and outraged and sympathetic, but ultimately disorganized and misguided.

But you know who will remember you? Every Jew you’ve encountered since 10/7. We will remember each individual we saw who celebrated our death or ghosted us or made us feel unwelcome in our own lives.

We will remember you forever. And not fondly.