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fdelopera · 3 months ago

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First of all, I love your blog and I'm glad I followed you. Sending you support and comfort on this difficult day.

Second of all, I saw your tags about 10/7 being the Jewish people's 9/11 (which is true) and it reminded me of a thought that's been bouncing around my head.

I grew up in the greater New York area. 9/11 happened when I was in elementary school and I have very clear memories of the attacks and the aftermath.

For the first few days, people hoped that their loved ones in the twin towers had survived and we just lost. So they put up missing posters in New York City, eerily similar to the hostage posters we have today.

The main difference is that no one would have dared tear those 9/11 posters down.

Maybe it was different because the attack was right in the same city where those posters were put up, maybe it happened but the news didn't pick it up, maybe it's because I was a child then and I'm an adult now. 2001 and 2023-4 are practically different worlds.

Sorry for dumping in your blog, I've just been thinking about this for a while.

Thank you for your message. I love your blog too. And I'm sending you support and comfort, and solidarity! As dark as this last year has been, the thing that's gotten me through has been seeing other Jews fighting back against the antisemitic bigotry we face, and being a light to other Jews.

I was living near NYC during 9/11, too. I was living in New York State, about a half-hour away from the City by train. And I knew a lot of people in NYC who were there during the terrorist attack. I had an older friend whose husband was a firefighter — he wasn't one of the firefighters who died that day during the heroic rescue efforts, but he was part of the crew at Ground Zero in the months that followed, searching for bodies and cleaning up the toxic debris. I don't know what happened to him after that time, but I can only assume that he had the same life-long health complications that other firefighters did — the people who survived the attack but died slowly from the toxins they were exposed to at Ground Zero during the cleanup.

And I know exactly what you mean. The posters of the missing people that families put up, as the families searched desperately for news of their loved ones.

Those posters were sacred. No one in NYC would have DARED take a single one of those posters down.

In fact, no one in America would have dared desecrate one of those posters — and if they had, they would have been publicly shamed and shunned. Everyone across America knew about those posters. Everyone was rooting for the people on those posters to still be alive and to come home, no matter how bleak the chances were for their survival.

And so, it is DISGUSTING to see how fast goyim in the US have seemingly forgotten. These goyim in the US who have filled themselves with Jew-hate and twisted themselves into monsters — they truly revolt me.

Everyone in the US was affected by 9/11. And yet these goyim are now running around like a bunch of zombies, pretending that they have no idea what it's like to live through a terrorist attack. They're pretending like they've never seen posters with the faces of missing people who have been taken away by terrorists.

But we all know that they haven't forgotten. Not really. They’re just pretending that they’ve forgotten so they can have "justification" to sate their thirst for Jewish blood. These goyim are self-absorbed, egotistical monsters who hate Jews, and they want an "excuse" to celebrate when Jews are slaughtered.

Here's the reality — if terrorists attacked NYC again, a lot of these goyim would care about that.

And yes, there are many of them who are so depraved and so brainwashed that they would cheer as terrorists slaughtered their neighbors. They wouldn’t care — unless the terrorists murdered them and their family, of course!

But not all of these goyim are so far gone. Not all of them have descended that deep into the Hamasnik cult. And they would at least care about their lives.

And they would demand for the world to care, too.

And the world SHOULD care.

The world should ALWAYS care when people are brutally slaughtered by Islamist terrorists led by scum like Bin Ladin, Sinwar, Nasrallah, and fucking Ayatollah Khamenei who are trying to burn the world down for their own profit.

The memory of 9/11 should be multi-generational, like Pearl Harbor is. Parents should teach their children and their grandchildren about that day. Everyone should know about those posters. Everyone should know that when you see posters of missing people, you don't fucking rip them down.

And everyone should know that if you rip down posters of kidnapped Jews who have been taken captive by terrorists, that act automatically makes you the worst kind of monster. If you rip down the poster of a Jewish hostage, you are just as much of a monster as if you ripped down one of the 9/11 posters.

One thing I’ve learned about Jew-haters from studying the Shoah is that they do know right from wrong, and yet they choose to do wrong. They are cruel and monstrous, and the reason they attack Jews is for the perverse thrill it gives them. They are malicious. And most of all, they are pathetic.

They are filled with nihilism. That’s been another thing I’ve observed about Jew-haters. They are lazy and spiteful and jealous. And instead of working to make the world a better place for themselves and those around them, they want to rip it all down, because they feel that if they can't get what they want, no one else should have a day of comfort either.

They are attacking Jews because we are a source of good in the world. We are a source of light. They see our hope and our love, they see our connection to our 3500+ years of history, they see our determination to outlive our enemies, and they want to destroy that out of their own nihilism, bitterness, and selfish despair.

And we will survive every single one of them. Long after these Hamasniks are gone, long after the world has forgotten their names, we Jews will still be here.

We will outlive them. Am Yisrael Chai.

#hellochildrenoftheatom #jumblr #simchat torah pogrom #october 7 #september 11 #am yisrael chai #we will outlive them #NOTE: I report and block antisemites. Any antisemites who comment on this post will be reported and blocked. You have been warned.

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wormbraind · 9 months ago

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very long oc + worldbuilding talk bc im bored

noam: mentioned him in the 'give me your jewish ocs' post. he can use the senses of anyone who perceives him à la mama mathers but can't hijack them the same way. he also can't block them out, which is a nightmare for an autistic kid. he's not super friendly because of this.

ronnie: obsessed with all things 80s. it is her raisin detre. massive people pleaser to the point where she has a very fragile sense of identity. her power is being able to alter her own biology (think amy dallon <3) which she mostly uses to change her own appearance, and for a while she literally cannot control it--she will spontaneously alter herself to look like what she thinks someone wants her to look like

bee: adopted by doomsday preppers at a young age. she's good at survival stuff but not so much with people and has spent her whole life in a constant state of stress. she could use a comfy blanket and some hot chocolate methinks. i don't have a good power for her yet sadly

the idea is like. entity gets bored and starts fucking with people, giving them small glimpses of its cosmic knowledge. in trying to find the perfect balance between 'alerting people to its existence' and 'driving them to instantly have a heart attack from the stress' it creates a hierarchy of 'messengers'. think, like, angels in christianity (sorry jews idk what we have going on with angels). the more insane enlightened ones have more direct communication with it because their brains have been rewired to such an extent that they can understand each other better. they also have more powers and are less involved with earthly affairs, while the more normal messengers send information up the ladder while dealing with humans. a cult forms around them and society everywhere just Shifts to be based around them because of the amount of power they have but it also starts falling apart.

my beautiful main characters who i love dearly get involved with the cult and become part of a program where the entity experiments with giving people new powers. it can do some that are in the basic messenger package (limited flight, glowing, telepathy) but it wants to figure out more. my darling mcs are relative successes and shenanigans ensue

the powers are basically designed to make them dependent on the cult, where higher ups can limit/disable their powers and guide them on how to use them. they are purposefully meant to be awful to have.

#french? i don't even know her #my keyboard made me misgender ronnie....#ocs

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unhonestlymirror · 1 year ago

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Nadia Lipes:

"Okay, I'll give you a short text that you can safely send to your controversial callers. So short, so that they can read it in three seconds and not drown in sophistry and long, confusing historical facts.

1. Israel and Jews have existed much longer than Arabs, Muslims and whoever else they are on this planet. One could already come to terms with the idea that there will always be Jews, because if they did not exist, they would have to be invented. You have to blame someone for all your troubles. And Jews are convenient.

2. The Jews never left the territory in which Israel and Judah existed until they were destroyed by someone. Arabs, as a concept, appeared in the 5th century and in general it is a collective image. More than half of this image prefers a nomadic lifestyle, searching for a better life, jobs, etc. Some of these nomads at the beginning of the last century migrated closer to Jewish settlements in search of work.

Yes, you read everything correctly, it were the Arabs who came to the Jews to find work and not vice versa.

Jewish settlements were formed because Jews bought land from the Turks, to whom this land then conditionally belonged. Conditionally belonged because they seized it at one time. In general, over the last 2 thousand years, and even the last 200, someone has taken something from someone else. And the Jews distinguished themselves here too. They bought the land.

3. Jews lived with Arabs, sometimes amicably, sometimes not very well, in the 17th year of the last century, Turkey lost the war and its territories of the Middle East were divided by the victorious countries. The Israeli part went to Britain, and solely so that Britain could create two states. Arabic and Jewish. But Britain created only Arabic, and left the second part under itself. It began to incite the local Arab population, so pogroms like the Hebron one happened, but overall everything was calm. But despite the fact that it was the Jews who supported England in World War II, the local English authorities continued to prevent the creation of a Jewish state and fed and armed the Arabs. And Jewish refugees, of course, were not allowed in.

It’s as if you don’t live at home, which means the house is not yours, but in reality they simply don’t let you there. Even though you have documents for ownership.

4. In 1947, the world finally gave the green light and decided to allow Israel. And another Arab state. 28 purely Muslim countries were not enough. There was the need for one more. The Jews agreed and said, "Thank you anyway." But the Arabs were extremely against it. And together, they attacked what had not yet even become Israel. But they didn't succeed.

5. Muslim countries did not calm down and continued to attack Israel with enviable frequency. And Israel began to add territories with the same frequency.

The last time this happened was in 1967. But the neighbors did not calm down. And six years later they attacked Israel again. Six days were enough for them to understand the pointlessness of this initiative. But the Soviet Union, which sponsored the last two events, was offended by Israel. It was offended and invented Palestinians, who never existed, but they suddenly appeared, and in very noticeable numbers.

Nothing complicated, of course. We take any random Arab, a native of any neighbouring country, and say: Bro, you are no longer just an Egyptian or some Syrian. A proud Palestinian, different from others. Rejoice.

Here, take a bagel and a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Jews are the kind of people who want to be ahead of the rest of the planet, especially in the humane part, and if suddenly no war happened. We have to spend our time somewhere. And energy.

So they thought and thought and decided that hell with it. The Palestinians may never have existed, but we recognize them. At the same time, we will give Sinai to Egypt. Well, let them love us deeply because we are kind. And we will love the local Arabs too, you see, they will love us someday. Interestingly, the Jews succeeded with the Christian Arabs, Druze and Bedouins, and even Egypt.

But with the Palestinians - no.

And there's a reason for that.

The first reason was the Soviet Union, which was against it, and the second was the concerned world community, which, of course, never fell in love with Jews, it liked Jews of a different type, mainly this type is located in cemeteries, and it did not like living Jews very much. But the public is also fashionable and humane, and guilty of the Holocaust, so they can’t say straight to your face - well, I don’t like you. But they can support the myth of the proud people of Palestine, who are mocked by the Israelis. And of course, Jews and Israelis are completely different things. They are for the Jews, but against the Israelis. Because those are occupiers. Why are they occupiers? How are they occupiers? This is already unnecessary information. Occupiers because they are occupiers.

Israel was very upset by such a statement. Well, of course, they are a nation of artists, writers, doctors, inventors of a bunch of all sorts of humane and useful crap, such as Google Whatsapp, Facebook and so on, and here they are occupiers. And out of this frustration, Israel left Gaza. Completely. It left but left behind the infrastructure, such as water supply, sewerage, and electricity. As well as gardens, fields, and fully functioning million-dollar businesses such as Gush Katif greenhouses.

Where are they all now?

Israel, as we remember, withdrew from Gaza, continuing, by the way, to finance it.

But it was not enough for everyone. And most importantly, it was not clear how one could not love Jews now, if there seemed to be no reason for it. And they came up with an idea.

And they started firing rockets at Israel. At first, these were missiles from the very same water pipes that Gaza inherited, and then from somewhere, in the most magical way, under a complete blockade, real, super modern weapons began to appear among the Gazavat. And kilometers of underground tunnels.

They did not build any greenhouses, and they completely destroyed the Gush Katif, nor modern hospitals, because they went to Israel to treat complex diseases at Israeli expense, again, no modern schools, no universities, except those in which they learn to make bombs with missiles, aiming them at a target, etc., nothing has appeared in Gaza during the 20 years of freedom from Israeli occupation. Except money. Where did they get the money? That's right, from the world community. Where did they go? That's right, they spent money on building tunnels and rockets.

Well, as we know, after October 7, for a bunch of melee weapons.

In general, our relationship has looked like this for the last twenty years.

Gaza will shoot, Israel will respond, the world community will be outraged and Israel will stop responding. And everyone has long been accustomed to these entertainments and relaxed. They relaxed to such an extent that the Shabak was forbidden to tap terrorists' phones. Private life, prosecutor's sanctions, all of that.

Well, the Israeli part of the world community, which gave the Gazavat people work on their territory, took them to treatment, and was generally actively concerned about troubles, kept trying to reconcile the two entities with each other, forgetting the old folk saying - no matter how much you feed the wolf, it will still look to the forest. However, this public does not know russian. Maybe that's the point.

And then what happened happened. On October 7, a pack of well-trained Wolves entered Israel to sow death. And behind them, flocks of jackals, whom the world community calls the peaceful civilian population, passed through the holes of a very expensive fence, stuffed with electronics, but absolutely useless, as we see.

Again. Nobody attacked them. They were supplied with water and electricity, treated in our hospitals, given jobs, yet they came to sow death.

They did this in different ways. To be honest, having written a book about the pogroms of the Civil War, I didn’t think that the methods of death could surprise me. But they did it. They did it so well that hundreds of victims are still unidentified due to the lack of DNA in the ashes.

Hundreds of victims remain unidentified.

In super-technological Israel, which can grow gardens, square watermelons, and carrots in the desert in a year, which do not need to be washed and peeled.

Hundreds of victims have not been identified and hundreds of people have been taken captive. In a fucking captivity. In the 21st century. And no one knows where they are, our captives, 40 of whom are children. Not soldiers, not men. Children. And about 80 of old people. Including Holocaust survivors.

The world shook. For two days. And then, it started singing again about the disproportionate response. The ground operation has already been going on for more than a week. More than 30 soldiers have already died. And of course, there was another option for waging war. Carpet. But Israel can not do this. There are hostages there. Moreover, there are two types of hostages there. Some are Israeli, and others are the same civilian population, which is not peaceful at all, but they also have children.

So Israel walks through the land and loses its own children. And it does this so that those other children have a chance to survive.

Jews are such strange people.

#israel palestine war #hamas attack

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entropyblog · 6 months ago

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Goblins (Warcraft) are not Jewish-coded, they're Italian-coded.

This is a thing I've heard a few times, it's not that big of an issue but it is something that comes up if people talk about Goblins for long enough. The idea is that Goblins are, even implicitly or unintentionally, based on Jewish stereotypes. Particularly stereotypes of Jewish people having long noses and loving money. I'm going to make a good-faith assumption that the people who say such things are merely concerned about the spread of Jewish stereotypes, and if I'm being honest there is precedent for monsters being Jewish-coded. However, I'd like to argue that that's a very surface-level understanding and it's based on shallow observations. Perhaps you can blame Blizzard for making the connection so easy on-sight, but I'm going to argue that Goblins are more coded to be Italian than Jewish. If you're Italian or Italian diaspora I won't tell you how you should feel about it, I just think goblins are more closely related to you guys.

First off, the Jew-coding comes from the common tropes of Jews having long noses and being greedy, and Goblins have long noses and are greedy. That said, Italians have also been known for greed. For most of modern history Italy comprised of mercantile states known for sending merchants, mercenaries, and explorers all over the world. Italian merchants were so common across the world that they were even some of the only Christians many Muslim kingdoms traded with. Goblins are obviously the mercantile race in WoW, with the playable Goblins all being former CEOs.

Second, Goblin engineering seems very close to Italy's reputation for science and engineering. The most obvious example is the renaissance, but even later in history Italian scientists like Fermi have been innovative and vital. Italy is home to a lot of impressive craftsmen and engineers; Italy makes some of the most high-quality cars, glasses, appliances, and even glasses. Most of the glasses frames in the world are designed in Italy by the company Luxottica, which is very important to me because I have astigmatism. While Goblin engineering isn't known to be the best, they still make many of the most complex machines the Horde enjoys. As Italy is one of the most industrial countries in the world, Goblins are possibly the most industrialized race.

TW: I'm going to talk about gang violence in the next paragraph, if such topics bother you skip it.

Third, the Goblins have cartels like the Italians have the Mafia. For most of modern Italian history the main method of warfare was throwing mercenaries at a problem. The Goblins have this too in the form of cartels, who are guns-for-hire used to protect assets and destroy competition. However, unlike mercenaries these cartels also act on their own accord on occasion making them more like gangs than actual companies. Goblin lore is full of stories of cartel wars, which play out like mafia wars where cartels and their clients would enact sporadic and clandestine violence against other factions. In real life, many dispossessed Italians formed family-based gangs we now call mafias. Mafia wars also employ assassinations, kidnappings, extortion, property damage, intimidation, etc. Even today Italy is home to thousands of mafia members.

Fourth, hierarchy. In WoW Goblins are led by a trade prince, who's basically just the rich fuck who convinces the most other rich fucks to let him control things. This reminds me a lot of Italian history where many mercantile republics functioned the same way. You'd have an oligarchy made up of powerful dynasties, and they'd contort with other powerful factions in the republics to lead. While they aren't one to one, there aren't that many Jewish republics to pull from and the situation reminds me a lot of Venice. Italy is also a very corrupt country on average, meaning many Italian politicians usually happen to either be wealthy as a result of corruption, or got into politics independently wealthy and used their power to grow their portfolio. Berlusconi being the most egregious example.

Lastly, I want to touch on the fact that Goblins aren't as factional as other races. Remember, the Goblins we play in the game are just the Bilgewater Cartel members. There are Goblins in almost every city, within almost every faction, and they even set up their own communities like Booty Bay. This reminds me of how Italians have a large diaspora population. There are millions of Italians in America, Argentina, Australia, ect. This is for a variety of reasons, but because of this it used to be common for Italians to travel across the world and not have to learn another language since the diaspora would have their own "little Italy" district. There are even stories of American soldiers in Italy sneaking off to visit family, or Italian soldiers refusing to fight because they have family on the enemy side. It's less pronounced than it used to be due to mass media and assimilation, but historically Italy's massive misplaced population has been one of the main faces of Italian culture across the world.

After saying all this here's my second hot take; the Goblins aren't Jewish, but the Gnomes are. Just a quick rundown of similarities. Jews were anchored in the city and surrounding province of Jerusalem until the Romans forced them into diaspora, Gnomes were tied to the city of Gnomeregan until a war forced them into exile and diaspora. Jewish traditions usually venerate argumentation and debate, Gnomish hierarchy is meritocratic meaning the smartest gnomes leads. Because Jews weren't tied to the same financial restraints Christians and Muslims were, Jews were often given important offices to conduct business. Gnomes are great engineers and spies, so many Alliance kingdoms keep a few Gnomes around in case they need such help. Many important entertainers and businessmen were Jewish, and a lot of the most notable entertainers and businessmen in Azeroth (Darkmoon, Bizmo, Manastorm, etc). Again, not one to one but I think they're closer at least.

Also, let's note that this is all based on modern history. Goblins don't have a Roman Empire for example.

#world of warcraft #warcraft #goblins #gnomes #stereotypes #race coding #fantasy #mmorpg #jewish #italian #culture #video games #gaming

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teh-tj · 6 months ago

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Goblins (Warcraft) are not Jewish-coded, they're Italian-coded.

TW: I'm going to talk about gang violence in the next paragraph, if such topics bother you skip it.

Also, let's note that this is all based on modern history. Goblins don't have a Roman Empire for example.

#warcraft #world of warcraft #goblins #gnomes #stereotypes #race coding #fantasy #mmorpg #jewish #italian #culture #video games #gaming

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viki-field · 4 years ago

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Forgive us for our savagery

(a letter to the peace-loving world community)

Dear world community, that is currently wagging its finger at Israel and is suggesting the most extraordinary and at the same time genius solution for the current situation: “Stop shooting”! Looking at the history of Israel, I am impressed at your consistency in defending this principle.

In 1948, you drew a pretty line on a map that was supposed to separate Israel that belonged to the Jews and Palestine that belonged to the Arabs. You also drew the borders of Jerusalem that had a special international status. It was all so beautiful! You decided not to pay attention to the fact that Arab countries all around straight away said that they won’t tolerate a Jewish Israel. You continued to implement your peace-loving principles and withdrew your army.

You didn’t shoot when the armies of 5 different Arab countries first took over the land that was intended for the Arabs and then tried to destroy the Jews. Forgive us for the fact that the unreasonable and unwise Jews didn’t follow your recommendations and took weapons in their hands and defended every meter of land in order to build there their own country. If we would have just followed your example, then we wouldn’t have had Israel today and all the problems related to it. Forgive us.

Then there were years of long guerrilla warfare from Egypt and Transjordan on Israel territory. But TikTok and YouTube didn’t exist then and the information took a while to arrive in Europe. Probably when the information did arrive you oohed and shook your finger at someone. We just couldn’t see from here. Sorry for not noticing and fighting on our own.

Then there was the Suez crisis where Israel helped Britain and France not to get their own hands dirty and provided more of its own military than both of these countries combined. You shook your finger and threatened us with sanctions, and after that peacefully, how you like it, you brought your troops into Egypt to quiet down the situation there, but more importantly so that your tankers could safely pass through the canal.

In 1967 Egypt decided to get its army ready and attack Israel. They demanded that you got out. But you’re against violence! So you left. Because the most imperative thing is not to shoot! You showed us an example of how to avoid a conflict. Excuse that the unreasonable and slow Israel didn’t flee to another land, the same year Israel had to fight with Egypt, Iraq and Syria.

During that war, Israel acquired the Sinai Peninsula, Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Though it didn’t need that much territory. It just wanted not to have hostile armies gather around its cities.

Furthermore, the borders that you drew on the map in 1948, were erased long ago, and every year 10 to 15 thousand Arab “travelers” just randomly appeared here. Some of them brought explosives with them, but who knows maybe they wanted to stun fish. So essentially, we took a green marker and drew new borders and life got easier. However, you got heartbroken over the fact that we messed up your artwork. Sorry, we can buy you a new map.

Then there was the “War of Attrition”, ongoing terrorist attacks, the “Yom Kippur War”, you showed an example of peace and sat in Europe. You demanded of Israel to stop and not win that much. The only thing is when OPEC got mad at Israel and reduced its oil deliveries it brought a jump in prices all over the world. This, of course, was very bad, so you decided to show a special example of peacefulness. For the sake of peace during a UN meeting, you identified “Zionism as a form of racial discrimination.” Forgive us. Our Zionist Founding Fathers (whom you supported at the time) didn’t know about that.

As well, we had two wars with Lebanon. To start with, on the southern border with Lebanon, Syria established a whole mini-state (Fatahland). Israel arrived there and moved the Syrian army. Though as soon as Israel stopped its military actions you helped 10 thousand militants safely get back to their countries.

The only thing is, Israel stayed in control of the so-called “buffer” zone. This kind of Jewish impudence was outrageous, so in 2000 you forced us to leave. And then instead of the Syrian army, the border filled up with the Iranian Hezbollah. New fortifications and new weapon factories. No, you didn’t stay silent. You looked at Iran strictly and made them withdraw all of their foreign troops from their territory. “Ok!” they said and left Hezbollah on the border. And what can you possibly accuse Lebanon of?— they’re weak, they can’t control Hezbollah, therefore you decided not to pay attention to it.

Then, there was a new war, disarmament of the buffer zone. Then there was your cease-fire resolution! Thank you! You demanded to remove Hezbollah from that zone and reminded everyone that “This can’t happen again!” Moreover, at Israel’s request, you brought your troops and special people to, “observe the situation.” And they observed. They observed how Hezbollah resumed its activities there as well as new rockets flew towards us.

Oh yes, you constantly show us your peaceful and creative ideas. What wonderful conferences you have held, we even got to travel the world! The Camp David Accords, the Madrid Conference, negotiations in Washington, the Oslo Accords. And each one of them was a “breakthrough”, “step forward”, “unprecedented breakthrough.”... The only thing is in Gasa they considered the unprecedented breakthrough as a victory over Israel, and while riding this wave Hamas came to power (which you also recognized as a terrorist organization). But you are peace-loving, so you continued sending them help and finances. You saw how they made rockets and dug tunnels but taught Israel to stick with peace. Forgive us for restraining this activity even though you were mad.

I’m sure that now you also have a bunch of creative ideas on how to achieve peace. Thank you! Your example of peace-making on our land is outstanding! Your advice and examples — invaluable. Your resolutions are just the pinnacle of an imaginative style and meticulous phrasings.

Sorry that we’re so far behind you. Apologies for taking weapons into our own hands and trying to disarm Hamas that is bombing our cities. Perhaps it would have been easier for us to follow your example of peace if, for example, European cities were being bombed. Although, I think no, I think we are still barbarian people, and we will support an anti-terror group regardless of where it is located. As was the case when Israel assassinated al-Masri, al-Qaeda No.2. So forgive us for our barbaric ways. We will fight terror as we can.

#israel israelunderattack israellife israelinstagram israel2020 israeli ilm instagram news situation un nation united community peace peaceon

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jewish-privilege · 4 years ago

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...As an Ethiopian Jew living in America, it can be frustrating having to constantly feel like your identity is under suspicion by not only other Jews but also people who have absolutely no knowledge of Jews or Judaism. I’ve complained alongside my Moroccan, Yemeni, and Persian friends countless times about the different microaggressions and plain ignorance of our fellow Jews and non-Jews alike; this can range from a friend’s grandparent making an inappropriate remark to being held up at the airport as the TSA agent looks over your last name once again. I remember in eighth grade history class, hearing my teacher profess how “the Holocaust was stupid because Jews are essentially white.” As a young person who still had no clue how to react when an authority figure behaved ignorantly, all I could do was sit there in silence.

I will not be silent any longer.

For a lot of people, the idea of “Jew” equals “white,” and that leads to a range of annoying to downright insulting encounters while navigating the spaces where we should feel we belong.

In America, many of us are faced with the threat of anti-Semitism that scars the whole of our community, but we’re also faced with the ingrained and monstrous beast that is racism. It happens like this: You overhear terms like “shvartze,” the Yiddish word for black that is considered a slur against Black people, whispered while meeting a friend’s extended family. Your mother is harassed by a random security guard as she picks you up from working Sunday school at the J.C.C. The police harass you following a cousin’s bar mitzvah. These are just some of the forms of harassment that I and my loved ones have experienced in spaces where all Jews are supposed to be able to safely congregate. More often than not, members of our communities are put in precarious positions in regards to dealing with bigotry that presents itself in spaces meant to for all Jews.

...Ashkenormativity is a unique form of eurocentrism that has found its way into Jewish culture. In a twisted way, the “whiteness” that became a hallmark of power due to European colonialism has been able to become a boon for white-passing Jews, in particular Ashkenazim. While in much of actual Europe, anti-Semitism is so deeply rooted that even having white skin doesn’t necessarily enable you with privilege, in the unique case of America, it allows for a situational point of privilege that changes based on the whim of the majority. The same way that in so much of society, we have defined white people as the “default” person, a similar sentiment has translated into defining the Ashkenazi as the “normative” Jew.

For Jews of Color — some of whom are Ashkenazi themselves though still face racism based on the color of their skin — we are not only asking for our fellow Jews to use the privilege they do have in non-Jewish society to better the lives of others; we are demanding to be equal members of our own Jewish communities.

This is not only an American issue. In Israel, even though our Jewishness is no longer seen as a threat, we still face the brutal realities of racism. The slayings of Solomon Teka and Yehuda Biadga last year have caused widespread communal outrage and have brought to the forefront the issues of racism and police brutality in Israeli society. Out of the six Ethiopian Israeli men murdered over the last five years, only the death of one was prosecuted and the sentence only carried the weight of three years. It took until this past January for Haymanot Judaism, the religious practices unique to Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), to be fully acknowledged by the Chief Rabbinate as an authentic form of Judaism, despite the ruling of late Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in the early 1970s and decisions made in 2014 to recognize Haymanot Judaism. This means that for the last few decades, many Ethiopian Jews living in Israel either had to convert to Rabbinic Judaism or jump through hoops to be able to engage in major life events like marriage.

Systemic racism from both religious and policing structures in Israel have only worked to attempt to assimilate Ethiopian Jewry in a way that is grossly inappropriate. This includes incidents like the distribution of birth control to Ethiopian women without giving them full disclosure on the effects, throwing out blood donations given by Ethiopians, and sending Ethiopian teens off to boarding schools after settling into Israel. These were all on top of police practices like racial profiling as well as racism from fellow Israelis. Now we are seeing the younger generation taking an active and aggressive stance in protecting themselves and their rights as fellow Israeli citizens against the structures that their own parents couldn’t fight against.

The list of injustices goes on: Out of the many issues of disgusting racism that have occurred against the Mizrahi Jews, one of the most chilling is the disappearances of the over 1000 Yemeni children in the 1950s that until the last two decades went widely under-investigated. Systemic segregation was used as a weapon against many Mizrahi Jews who came to live in Israel. Segregation, religious intolerance, economic inequality, and harassment led to the formation of HaPanterim HaShhorim, the Israeli Black Panthers, in the ’70s to fight against the discrimination faced by Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews. Even today as society improves, there is an education and wealth disparity between Mizrahi and Ashkenazi Jews.

Historically, there has also been a bad habit of the Ashkenazim attempting to triumph their own traditions as greater or more authentic, leading to times when Ethiopian and Indian Jews have been pressured to “convert” as if they weren’t already Jewish.

Even the very way we define Zionism needs to change. Theodor Herzl, the Austrian Jew largely credited as “the father of political Zionism,” was an assimilationist. His viewpoint on what the Jewish state of the future would become was fashioned in a way that only took in the perspective of the non-religious Ashkenazim who frequented his circles. Herzl also supported the Ottoman government against the Armenian rebellion for independence, which resulted in the Armenian genocide.

The issue at the heart of the Zionism that dominates our culture is that the person who we are so quick to give credit to left out a huge portion of our people and didn’t intend on ever including us. Crediting a single person for the dream of Jewish liberation and sovereignty overlooks the fact that our culture, people, and faith thrives because of the fluidity and strength of our many traditions. We should instead credit our families, communities, leaders, and more importantly, ourselves, with the continued survival of our people.

We come from a tradition that calls for us to actively reinterpret what we were left to inherit. For our community to effectively come together, we need to have more hard discussions and push for change. At this point we should not have to ask; we demand our fellow Jews to give us an actual spot at the table.

#ashkenormativity #intra jewish issues #intra jewish racism #long post #erasure of jewish identity #erasure of jewish history #am yisrael chai #jewish self determination #holocaust denialism or revisionism #Beta Israel #Black Jews #anti black racism #erasure of black jews #zionism is not just for ashkenazi or white/white-presenting Jews

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inglourious-imagines · 5 years ago

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Hate Me, Love Me (Joe Liebgott)

Summary: Everyone thinks you and Liebgott hate each other and so do you. But especially after one heated argument, the sexual tension between the two of you is so obvious and the boys don't know if you're gonna kill each other or jump at each other.

Warnings: just heated argument I guess

Author's Note: I had so much fun writing this. Hope you like it! Also, feel free to send me requests any time about anything!

Taglist: @alienoresimagines @inallmylives

"Can you stop complaining and shut the fuck up?" Y/N almost growled at the Jewish boy as Easy Company was taken from the town Foy in trucks that were apparently too uncomforable for the man next to her. "Oh Y/N, don't tell me you'd cry," he stated and lighted a cigarette, "you're a big girl now." The blood in her veins was boiling and the others could see all the anger bottled up in her over the weeks but they were just having too much fun with her and Liebgott arguing so they just watched them with amusement. Y/N grabbed his cigarette right from his lips and took a long drag from it.

"That was my fucking cigarette. Can't you just let me enjoy at least a bit of a nicotine?" Joe frowned and looked at her annoyed. "Don't tell me you'd cry. You're a big boy now, Joe." Y/N teased him with a spiteful laugh and blew the smoke right into his face.

•••

Haegenau was quite a nice little town on a right side from a river whereas the left side was considered german, under enemy's control. That's why they wanted a night patrol in order to capture some hostages and take them back on the correct side of the river.

The night chosen for the mission was perfect for pilots - no fog or clouds, shining moon - but definitely not good for a patrol.

Y/N was supposed to assist Liebgott with a machine gun. She was disappointed it had to be him but lowkey glad she's not the one crossing the river. Well and Lieb was actually excited because he never declined an offer to provoke and tease her.

Joseph Liebgott didn't hate Y/N, didn't have absolutely anything against her. He thought she was one of the finest members of Easy Company, a brave female soldier with so much love, strength and darkness in her heart. All the boys loved her and he wasn't an exception, except for one thing - he had probably a little more affection towards her in him than anyone else.

Because of that, Joe got scared. He was now a veteran in the war, he knew how things work around here and therefore he also realised, it's not definitely a good time for emotions.

That's why they shared this love-hate relationship. Both of them knew they can rely on each other in the field, he knew she has his back, there was an absolute trust between them. But as soon as they got back from the front line or there was some kind of a break, the teasing and provoking began all over again.

•••

"All clear?" Richard Winters reassured himself before he let his men go. Even though they already had a new leader, it was still Dick Winter's Company.

Liebgott and Y/N positioned themselves with a machine gun ready to fire at any time. They were both realizing the proximity between them but neither of them broke the silence. Being on the front line again, they respected and admired the other one quietly.

•••

The first patrol was so successful, Colonel Sink wanted another one the other night with the same people. But Richard Winters was a smart man, as well as Lewis Nixon so faking a report was not a problem to them and Easy Company was allowed to have a full night sleep.

"Yeah and Y/N, can I talk to you for a second?" Nixon called out after Richard Winters dismissed them and left with Captain Speirs. "Of course, sir." she nodded and followed him out of basement.

"Leave the "sir" for someone else. I told you to call me just Lewis." Nixon laughed and handed her a cigarette. Y/N didn't use to smoke before the war and the first cigarette was given to her by the one and only Joe Liebgott. Every time she was smoking, the Jewish boy came to her mind and she couldn't help it.

"Hey! Are you listening, Y/N?" Lewis was waving with his hand in front of her face. His face was decorated with knowing smirk.

"What you smiling at, Nix?" Y/N teased him and playfully punched his arm.

"You two should have a real proper talk."

"Why should I start a freaking conversation with Joe?"

"I didn't say with who. You did."

•••

When Y/N came back to the other boys, she was highly upset that Lewis Nixon found out and that it was only her fault. What only made her angrier was that Lewis thought that they'd make a perfect couple, like Romeo and Juliet which was actually pretty accurate because Joe was a Jew and she was partly German. Her people hated his people, therefore it worked the other way around as well. This totally got her mad and she stormed out of the room to join the boys.

"No, you damn idiot! What are you even trying to say?!" Liebgott's voice echoed in the basement. His fists were clenched, his face red - partly because of his anger bottling up in him, partly because he knew Bill's right.

"You know damn well what I mean. You need to stop the game finally." Guarnere spoke surprisingly calmly and wasn't even offended by Joe's insult. Liebgott was simply hot-tempered and little did Bill know that he's the one telling the truth.

"What game?" Y/N interrupted and the whole room fell silent. Her eyes wandered from one man to another and questioning them.

Joe rubbed his eyes in annoyance, "Damn it! You don't need to know everything."

Y/N was already angry and this only added the oil to the fire. "Well, I'm sorry Mr. I'm-the-best-and-everyone-can-kiss-my-ass that I actually care!"

"Oh c'mon! Don't start with this. Go and chase Nixon and his dick for fuck's sake!"

"Really, Joseph? You're just jealous I'm not chasing yours."

No one in the room dared to say something in their matter. They were almost afraid to breathe. Their eyes were jumping from Y/N to Liebgott.

"Now I don't know if they're gonna kill each other or kiss each other." George whispered to Perconte and chuckled a bit.

"Hey, Luz! What's so funny about me and Joe's dick? Please, share your idea with us?" Y/N turned to him with narrowed eyes and her arms folded on her breasts.

"Nothing's funny about you or his dick." George mumbled and looked at the ground. He felt like he was caught red-handed.

"Really? But I heard you laughing. So tell us, don't be ashamed." she encouraged him with a devilish smirk.

"Can we please stop talking about my dick? Please?" Joe joined in slightly annoyed with the whole situation.

"Oh! Sorry, Joe!" she exclaimed with an obvious irony in her voice, "would you like to discuss this in private?"

The room was dead silent again. All eyes were on Joe when he tried to get out some words but he only managed to stutter, "W-what?"

"That's called a fucking sarcasm, you moron." Y/N rolled his eyes but added with a smirk after a few seconds, "But I'll take your 'what' as a no, okay. Thought we could have some fun." A wink was sent Joe's way.

"No!" he shouted probably way too quickly. He shrugged and took a few steps towards her. His usual cocky self was back. "You want to fight, girl? You'll follow me now to the empty room upstairs and there, I'm gonna declare a war."

"Eww!" George shouted, "get the hell out of here, we don't want to listen to your sugar sex talk."

#band of brothers imagine #band of brothers #easy company #joe liebgott imagine #joe liebgott #ross mccall #george luz #carwood lipton #bill guarnere #hbo war #war #fanfic #imagine #joe liebgott x reader #love #story #ronald speirs #richard winters #lewis nixon

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cobieeliseforsh · 4 years ago

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I'm getting pretty annoyed with the amount of bullshit in the media right now. I just read an article about the "antisemitic" conspiracy theory Qanon. Calling Qanon antisemitic is like calling the KKK a group opposed to the career of Will Smith - technically true, but clearly a small subsection of a greater whole.

So, to remedy this...

COBIE'S FRUSTRATED GUIDE TO QANON FROM SOMEONE WHO LOVES CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND WISHES THIS ONE WOULD FUCK OFF BECAUSE IT IS BORING AS SHIT BUT NOT FIZZING WITH ENERGY, EVEN ON A MOLECULAR LEVEL, BECAUSE IT IS A DUMB AND LAZY REHASH FROM THE 80S OR EARLIER!

PART 1: DA FUCQ IS QANON?

Qanon is a grooming organisation for the Christian Far Right Death Cult that has held the Republican party in its sweaty hands since the ascent of Reagan in the 1980s. They believe in some bullshit I won't reprint here because I have no intention of spreading their ideology, but if you've heard of the Satanic panic, this is Satanic Panic 2: Now With Pizza!

Qanon is, by definition of their own supporters attacks on Muslim terrorism, a terrorist organisation. And, though it seems impossible, they're stupidier than ISIS ever were, because at least there was some twisted logic behind ISIS: poor young men fighting revolutionary wars against what they see as corrupt and immoral authorities and ideologies is nothing new. Qanon is literally the powerful declaring war on those without power out of fear that those without power (Satanists) live only to physically abuse their ugly, fat, prejudiced, stupid children. Despite the statistically most likely people to abuse them being them themselves, and there being plenty of evidence that many of these hypocrites have done that in the past (numerically many - one thing I believe Qanon followers on is that the majority are gullible Maud Flanders types, so statistically it won't be that many).

Donald Trump supports them over the "violent" Antifa (Antifa haven't killed anyone since 1993 (and that was a suicide), aren't actually an organisation, and are against facism, which Trump also claims to be against), despite Qanon followers carrying and firing weapons regularly, having shot up a pizza place in a terrorist act, refusing to wear masks, and other acts of violence designed to terrorise people.

PART 2 WHO DO THEY HATE?

Um... like, 98% of people.

Qanon is primarily an Apocalyptic Christian Far Right Death Cult. They believe in what they call SRA (Satanic Ritual Abuse) which happens at such a low frequency as to make it as serious a problem as being invaded by pookas. You might find anecdotal evidence here and there, but the majority of cases are hearsay spread by people who weren't there who were a part of or raised by people who were a part of the Satanic Panic. If you hear about it, it's likely bullshit. Just look at the West Memphis 3: accused of Satanic Ritual Abuse, they were sent to prison for wearing black clothes and being teenagers without any evidence. Now, whoever killed those boys is still loose, because Qanon, like all right-wing groups, is about being obeyed, not about justice.

So, with Satanic Ritual Abuse being fucking vapour, they can accuse ANYONE. And if there is no evidence, they cry COVER UP. There is no way, at all, to prove this mindset is wrong as it always self corrects, because being religious in origin, it is driven by BELIEF, not evidence.

So, whoever they believe is evil, is, as far as their reality tunnel goes.

Muslims? Evil child abusers. "But there is no evidence of that. In fact, the Muslim community is actually very protective of their children and other children. They're amongst the kindest people you can meet, even if their political leaders in their own countries are jerks." Well, says Qanon, that's because their community covers up the abuse. There wouldn't be any evidence. But my cousin went to school with a girl who was groomed by a Muslim. It's clear it is something all Muslims do. "But that's stupid. That's like saying that because Ted Bundy, a heterosexual white Republican, murdered loads of women, all heterosexual white Republicans want to murder women!" Now, says Qanon, you are just being silly. Besides, I believe Muslims are bad and Republicans aren't. You can't question my beliefs.

But we can, and we should.

Qanon followers use this vague structure to create complex webs that link up various conspiracy theories, but they aren't a complex web. They're just a list of petty grievances they have from living in their own personal echo chamber.

They hate women, they hate girls, they hate boys who don't conform to their expectations, they hate men who vote left-wing, they hate gay people, bi people, really anyone who isn't heterosexual, they definitely hate trans people (see: trans people want to use bathrooms to abuse children as merely an extension of the Satanic Ritual Abuse claims), they hate people with coloured hair, bright clothes, they hate Jewish people, they hate Muslims, they hate anyone from a fringe religion that doesn't look right, they hate foreigners, black and brown people... anyone they define as different. And to back this up, they claim to be "the majority" being dictated to be a "minority" - they aren't. They're a minority of gobby cunts, a Karen of Nazis (Karen being the best collective noun to describe these childish crybabies who were so desperate to remain in a state of childlike innocence they embraced both religion and then keep insisting their imaginary friend, Jesus, is following them everywhere, like a psychotic stalker ghost).

PART 3 WHERE DOES THEIR BULLSHIT COME FROM?

This is probably the most important part. Not what they believe, but where these ideas come from, and why they aren't new.

Qanon is a mixture of young-and-edgy YouTube/8chan influencer, white supremacist religious manipulation, pro-Capitalist Protestant religious "life is shit, embrace misery" ideology, pedophile hysteria, and "we hate the idea people have rights because we're power mad, but we're going to frame this as a backlash, normal people making their voices heard, a culture war, or whatever else we can rebrand PREJUDICE because even we don't want to admit we are bigots".

So, first of all, the angry white online teenagers: have always existed, will always exist. Their parents don't give a shit about them unless they cause trouble. So, they learn quickly that the best way to get attention is to cause trouble, which leads to kinship with other troubkemakers, forming an echo chamber of escalating troublemaking. But they're also angry, and often poor (in their eyes, or in actuality), so they're drawn to outrage, and like causing it. They're attracted to movements like this because they believe it's a chance to get some attention, someone to notice them.

And who notices them? White supremacists are always on the lookout for recruits. They feed their need for outrage and attention by misrepresenting everything. They take puff-piece news articles and shoddy journalism and further twist them into movements around positions that have no basis in reality. Vaccines? Designed to hurt you. "Uhhh, no," you say. "That's literally the opposite of what a vaccine does." I don't believe that, they say, and you can't question my beliefs. BLM? Terrorism. "No, they just want to not be shot." No they don't, they want to take over and put the Jews in power, and you can't question my beliefs! "You have no evidence!" COVER UP! they scream.

So it goes, so it goes.

Meanwhile, the Protestan work ethic of, "If you didn't suffer, you don't deserve it," goes on and on. They believe that shit things just happen, you can't stop them. Capitalism is founded on this very, very relugious principle: work should be pain for it to have value. This justifies promoting assholes, and making things difficult. But it also promotes the idea that you can't do anything to combat inequality, as that is natural, and you can't do anything to stop bad things happening, they always will, so why try? This lends Qanon a specific pattern: complain, do nothing, complain nothing is being done, still do nothing, repeat. It's wrong to intervene, you see. This allows them to say racism is bad, but God wants us to suffer so we deserve phony-heaven, a paradise they think is built on bricks of human misery... does that sound glorious to you? And if you have something, clearly you did suffer to get it, and so you are worthy, which is why Trump is a hero to them and they believe his every utterance of verbal diarrhea about him being persecuted (to be fair, he is, but he deserves it because he's lazy and incompetent).

Pedophile hysteria is also generally religiously motivated. Children should be protected, but they are not innocent angels. I've worked with children. Some are nice, some are sneaky, some are violent bullies, and so on. The one thing that unites all children is that they are ignorant. That's why we send them to school. And there are people who want to prey on children. The world we usually use to describe those who most often hurt, abuse and damage children is, "family". Promoting the idea of gangs of rampaging pedophiles snatching children into vans and harming them in shadowy rooms, or murdering them in some Satanic ritual, is laughable compared to the epidemic of children being harmed by those parents terrified the pedophiles are out there. Such fear motivates them to do untold harm to children, restricting their freedoms and their growth, teaching them that all sex is bad so they never enjoy it, forcing them to be things they aren't, and turning a blind eye to obvious abuse because those doing it are not the model of abuse being put out by the press and Internet communities. In that last way, Qanon is a driver of child abuse: it actively encourages Apocalyptic Christian Far Right Death Cult members to nit even ask the obvious question: if Epstein was abusing kids, and Epstein was hanging out with Trump, was Trump maybe involved in some way?

And then there is just the prejudiced crowd, most notably the American-exceptionalism delusional whack jobs. Let me be clear, all forms of exceptionalism are prejudiced, as they suggest that those who are exceptional are better and mire deserving than others, and the real world does not contain such hierarchies, just stuff that happens until it stops happening. A monkey may be the alpha, but one day they won't be. It's not a hierarchy, it's just a thing that happens that we project a power structure onto. Who knows what monkey culture is like? Maybe to them deference is more honourable and respected than being in charge. No-one has asked monkeys for their views of ideology or power structures.

This often manifests itself in ideas of, "We shouldn't be ashamed!" and that movements they don't like are, "Against us!" Well, if you're setting out to hurt people because you believe you are better than them, you should be ashamed. That queer Pakistani girl you keep out of college could have been the one to cure cancer! She might have had the unique perspective to make that breakthrough. And, yes, some of us are against Qanon, because Qanon is hurting people. That is the point of the movement: to harm its enemies, by denial if freedom all the way up to outright murder. It isn't a Pride parade or BLM demanding equality and an end to deaths, its a hate movement driven by a desire to punch down, and ultimately perpetuate the very system that isn't even working for those who follow its own ideology.

It's based on fear of the new, even if that new place is better than the old one, change can be scary. They think equality will hurt them, the way collective bargaining would hurt them. But we don't live in a system where resources are so finite you have to do without, we live in a system where resources are finite but we throw away an excess because capitalism couldn't make rich people richer by giving it to those who need it, so they dispose of it and introduce scarcity to drive up the cost. Working together would force them to stop doing that, which is why movements like this exist: to perpetuate a form of exceptionalism more like a cult, where only the leaders reap the rewards.

PART 4 WHAT IS THE END GOAL OF QANON?

It doesn't have one.

Qanon is a right-wing movement. Right-wing movements are about winning arguments now, and then feeling smug, even when the damage is undone later. It's about a sense of self-satisfaction, and not anything else.

Plus, Qanon has so many stake-holders who hate each other that the movement will eventually descend into cannibalism as all these things do.

Finally, being primarily religious in its design, it won't take long for many religious types to realise Q is kind if a God-like figure, a false idol, and when that happens, plenty if their leaders will become worried that their followers are so focused on Q they might "stray from the path" of donating all their money to their church.

Unless it turns out that Q is Q from Star Trek, in which case their end goal is to test Jean-Luc Picard.

PART 5 SHOULD WE FEAR QANON?

Nah. It's a group of fringe lunatics whose time in the spotlight will be fleeting. As I've already said, even their ideas aren't original - this is the Apocalyptic Christian Far Right Death Cult version of Fortnite stealing dances: everyone goes crazy about it for a bit, but it's so insubstantial in its original form, nevermind the cover band version, that almost all people with a lick of common sense will dismiss it. Plus, it doesn't serve any agenda: Trump could easily find himself on the receiving end of it, that one Qanon politician just elected will likely be marginalised the moment Trump vanishes, and having a single person won't sway any votes in such divisive times, which means they'll be proclaimed ineffectual soon enough, and with Epstein it is already showing that it isn't something which helps the powerful, meaning a lot of people who do have secrets will want it gone sooner rather than later lest it bite their own hands. Plus, they are actually harming people - and say what you like about the Republicans, they don't tend to respond well to the PR disaster of groups they side with directly attacking or killing people unless they are their own ACAB stormtroopers.

Plus, it's a bunch of saddos on the Internet. Chances are if you see someone screaming about Qanon and waving around a gun, they'd have done the same and screamed about lizards had it never got started.

PART 6 WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Stop giving them attention. This is one of the most BORING conspiracy theories ever created. Seriously, since 9/11, conspiracy theories have really gone downhill. They used to be about aliens and subterranean kingdoms, and now they're just attempts to misdirect pedophile hunters from the right-wing types who have covered up child abuse, and tie it to phony "think of the children" and "Satan is out to get us" religious hysteria.

With covid-19, the press is having a very slow news cycle, so they're desperately grabbing at anything that can drive search engine algorithm clicks to their sites, so they're covering Qanon because they've seen it trending. I doubt most people involved with it really believe in it, but it is so directionless that it wouldn't matter if they did. Qanon Con would descend into bloodshed fairly quickly because everyone would be angry and arguing that the tater tots are secret SRA code for cannibalising children or that it reveals that Hilary Clinton buries children beneath fields of potatoes. It's stupid, the people involved with it are stupid, and the bigger question is what they believe that led them to this:

Disenfranchisement. Having to respect the beliefs of others. Prejudice. Anger.

Well, boo-fucking-hoo. If these shitbags actually want to stop harm to children, maybe stop supporting gun rights so kids aren't being gunned down in schools, and black kids don't keep getting gunned down everywhere. Until you do that, Qanon, you're the child abusers.

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safetypinkerton · 4 years ago

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Hollywood Propaganda by Mark Dice

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hollywood-propaganda-mark-dice/1137833508

Christianity Under Attack

In order to destroy America, the conspirators are determined to eradicate faith in God and dismantle organized Christianity. Attacking Jesus and Christianity is a sacrament in Hollywood because the far-Left hates Jesus and everything He stands for. It’s not an overstatement to say that many in key positions of power in the entertainment industry (and politics) are Satanists who will someday openly embrace Lucifer as the rebel angel kicked out of Heaven for defying God.

“I’m glad the Jews killed Christ,” ranted comedian Sarah Silverman in one of her comedy specials. “Good. I’d fucking do it again!” she declares, as her audience agrees in laughter.158 While accepting an Emmy Award one year Kathy Griffin said, “A lot of people come up here and they thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. He didn’t help me a bit…so all I can say is suck it Jesus! This award is my god now!”159

I’m not saying people shouldn’t be able to make fun of Christians, but no mainstream celebrity would dare make such insults or jokes about Muhammad because Muslims (and Jews) are vigorously protected against any criticism or mockery and only wonderful things can be said about them. Even a slightly edgy joke ignites a barrage of attacks with cries of “Islamophobia” or “anti-Semitism” and gears start moving in the well-funded and massive smear machines like the ADL and the SPLC which quickly move to destroy the person’s career before they can utter another word.

Hating Christians is almost as necessary as believing in climate change if you’re going to be a mainstream Hollywood celebrity. There are very few open Christians in Hollywood, most of them are has-beens like Kevin Sorbo and Kirk Cameron who have been basically blacklisted since being open about their faith.

Kevin Sorbo was banned from Comicon because he’s a conservative and “pals with Sean Hannity.”160 He and other Christian actors are stuck doing low budget films that get little attention. They’re allowed to exist (for now) as long as they never point out the Bible’s teachings on homosexuality. Only watered down and generic Christian messages are allowed to be said.

After Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and happened to discuss his “spirituality,” many online began attacking him for being a Christian and attending a church. Actress Ellen Page (a lesbian) from the X-Men and Inception tweeted, “If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed. Being anti LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop.”161

Singer Ellie Goulding threatened to back out of her scheduled performance at the 2019 Thanksgiving NFL halftime show if the Salvation Army didn’t pledge to donate money to LGBT causes. She got the idea after her Instagram comments were flooded with complaints from her fans because the Salvation Army was sponsoring the game to announce their annual Red Kettle Campaign (bell ringers) fundraiser for the homeless.162 Since the Salvation Army is a Christian charity, Goulding’s fans freaked out, accusing them of being “homophobic” and “transphobic.”

They quickly bowed to the pressure and “disavowed” any anti-LGBT beliefs, which basically means they’re disavowing the Bible because even the New Testament denounces homosexuality in Romans 1:26-27 and 1st Corinthians 6:9-10. Many critics claim that only the Old Testament does, but the Book of Romans makes it clear that just because Jesus came to offer salvation doesn’t mean God’s law regarding homosexuality changed.

The Salvation Army also removed a “position statement” from their website that had made it clear “Scripture forbids sexual intimacy between members of the same sex,” and replaced it with one saying “We embrace people regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”163 One of the world’s largest Christian charities whose very name “The Salvation Army” refers to the salvation of Christ, cowardly bowed down to the Leftist activists out of fear they would be branded “homophobic.”

Christians are easy targets since they’re much more passive than Jews and Muslims when attacked, and Hollywood loves to stereotype them as a bunch of superstitious bigots who don’t know how to have fun. In the rare case that there is a movie favorable to Christianity that gets widespread distribution, that too is attacked.

Passion of the Christ was deemed “anti-Semitic” because it depicts the story of Jesus’ arrest, sham trial, and crucifixion.164 It was the most popular film about the events to be made and wasn’t a straight to DVD release like most others. With Mel Gibson behind it, the film became a huge success, which caused a tremendous backlash.

The ADL [Anti-Defamation League] denounced the film, saying it “continues its unambiguous portrayal of Jews as being responsible for the death of Jesus. There is no question in this film about who is responsible. At every single opportunity, Mr. Gibson’s film reinforces the notion that the Jewish authorities and the Jewish mob are the ones ultimately responsible for the Crucifixion.”165 That’s because that’s what happened!

Technically, the Romans did it, but at the behest of the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem at the time. The Bible makes it very clear what led to Jesus being crucified. Pontius Pilate is quoted in Matthew 27:24 saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” and “It is your responsibility!” meaning the Jewish Pharisees. They were the ones who conspired to have Jesus arrested and killed for “blasphemy” and being a “false” messiah. Pontius Pilate even offered to release Jesus, but the crowd demanded he release Barabbas instead, another man who was being detained for insurrection against Rome, and for murder.166

A critic for the New York Daily News called The Passion of the Christ, “the most virulently anti-Semitic movie made since the German propaganda films of the Second World War.”167 Many others angrily denounced the film when it came out in 2004. Some in the media even blamed it for a supposed “upsurge” in anti-Semitic hate crimes.168

When the History Channel miniseries The Bible was released in 2013, the same cries of “anti-Semitism” rang out.169 The New York Times opinion editor Bari Weiss went so far as to say that it’s a “conspiracy theory” that Jews killed Jesus.170

Even though most Christmas movies aren’t overtly Christian and instead focus of the importance of families reuniting and spending time together, that doesn’t mean they’re not going to come under attack. As the war on western culture continues, the Marxists have set their sights on Christmas too.

Online liberal cesspool Salon.com ran a headline reading “Hallmark movies are fascist propaganda,” and complained they promote “heteronormative whiteness” because there aren’t enough LGBT characters or people of color in them.171

“Hallmark movies, with their emphasis on returning home and the pleasures of the small, domestic life, also send a not-at-all subtle signal of disdain for cosmopolitanism and curiosity about the larger world,” Salon said, “which is exactly the sort of attitude that helps breed the kind of defensive White nationalism that we see growing in strength in the Donald Trump era.”172

The article went on to say that because the Hallmark Channel airs so many Christmas movies, it is promoting, “a set of patriarchal and authoritarian values that are more about White evangelicals defining themselves as an ethnic group, and not about a genuine feeling of spirituality…The very fact that they’re presented as harmless fluff makes it all the more insidious, the way they work to enforce very narrow, White, heteronormative, sexist, provincial ideas of what constitutes ‘normal.’”173

The article wasn’t satire. Salon.com has a deep-seated hatred of Christianity, conservatives and families, and is another cog in the Cultural Marxist machine working to destroy the United States.

Comedian Whitney Cummings was reported to the Human Resources department of a major Hollywood studio after she wished the crew of a TV show she was working on “Merry Christmas” when they wrapped up for the year. She made the revelation while speaking with Conan O’Brian the following December. “Last year, I was working on a TV show, [and] got in trouble with Human Resources for saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to an intern,” she began.174

Conan asked her if she was being serious and she said it was a true story, elaborating, “I was leaving, like on the 18th or whatever…and I was like, ‘Bye guys, Merry Christmas.’” When she returned from vacation after New Year’s she was called to HR and scolded. She joked, “I don’t even care how your Christmas was. It was just a formality. It’s what you say when you leave.”175

Conan O’Brien then replied, “In these times we’re in, that could trigger someone or offend them if it’s not their holiday.”176 She didn’t say which network it was, but she’s been involved with some major shows like NBC’s Whitney (where she played the main character), as well as the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls, which she created and was a writer for.

While today it may seem impossible that Christmas movies may become a thing of the past, nobody could have ever guessed that reruns of the classic Dukes of Hazzard would get banned after the Confederate flag was deemed a “hate symbol” in 2015, or that Aunt Jemima pancake syrup, Eskimo Pie ice cream bars, and Uncle Ben’s Rice would be deemed “racially insensitive” and pulled from production a few years later.177

Once someone reminds liberals that the word Christmas is derived from Christ’s Mass and that it is actually a commemoration of the birth of Jesus, they may finally go over the edge and deem Christmas just as offensive as Columbus Day or the Fourth of July. And with the Muslim and Sikh populations increasing in the United States, the American standard of Christmas music playing in shopping malls and retail stores all month long every December may one day come to an end because it’s not “inclusive” and leaves non-Christians feeling “ostracized.”

#hollywoodpropaganda

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qaraxuanzenith · 5 years ago

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Steven Grant Rogers, zt”l

Steven Grant Rogers, zt”l: A life in three and a half parts

Note: I wrote this due to a conversation with @dawnfire360 about representation in media. Captain America was a character created by two Jews, modelled in a Jewish archetype (“little guy from Brooklyn”), and created to fulfill what was, at the time of his creation, largely a Jewish fantasy (punching Nazis in the early forties). The fact that he was established canonically as Irish Catholic (if I remember correctly) seems less a factor of authorial intent and more because they doubtless thought (and most likely correctly) that a Jewish superhero would not sell, and would not reach the audiences they wanted to reach. This fic reimagines him as the same guy, but also Jewish, and observant. Glossary and explanatory notes for the Hebrew and Jewish references are at the end of the document.

Prelude: Baruch atah Adonai, mechayeh ha’meitim.

They had explained to him, of course, the science of how he was still alive, how his augmented body and the extreme low temperatures of his resting place in the Arctic had conspired to create a natural cryogenic effect, freezing his body in the state it was while preserving his life as he slept.

He understood - some of it, and he believed the rest, but still, he could not stop himself from thinking about Olam HaBa, from thinking me’ayin l’t’chiyat ha’metim min ha’Torah, thinking v’rabim m’y’sheinei admat afar yakitzu, thinking there is no reward for the righteous or punishment for the wicked in this world, only in the world to come. In many real ways, this was, after all, his world to come.

There was a matzeiva for him. It took him some digging (not literally, thank goodness) to find out about it, and it took time for SHIELD to be convinced enough of his stable mental and physical health to let him go without a babysitter, and more time for him to make his way to Brooklyn unnoticed, but there it was, in the Jewish cemetery, right beside his parents’ graves. There was no body, of course, but he knew, already, that that was not uncommon, for those who had been lost in the war. And there it was, engraved in stone:

Steven Grant Rogers, z”l שלום מתן רוג'רז ת.נ.צ.ב.ה. July 4, 1918 - 1945 כ"ז תמוז ה' תרע"ח - ה' תש"ה

Somehow, seeing his grave made all of this more real, rooted him in the reality of 2011 in a way that none of the pamphlets, books, or museum exhibits had managed to do.

May his soul be bound up in the bundle of life. Perhaps it was that traditional prayer that had come true, that had bound him to life as he lay frozen in the Arctic. The thought made him smile.

It was a simple stone, just his name and approximate dates and the typical caption, and he wondered how they had scrounged up the money to pay for it, and on whose initiative, with both his parents already gone and even Bucky already lost to him in the chill mountains. But then, that was what a Chevra Kadisha was for, wasn’t it? To give burial rites to the orphaned soldier boys, fallen a long way from home.

The air was crisp, and a little cold, this time of year, but that thought warmed him, too, to realize that even at the bottom of the Arctic, with everyone he loved already dead before him, he had been included, held close, by the holy community - to remember that he was still, after everything, a part of a holy community.

***

Read in the Google Doc (with Hebrew and Jewish terms hyperlinked to their glossary entries), or

1: Peoplehood

This had been his fight. It was his fight, it was personal in a way that most of his tussles with bullies were not. That was his response whenever Bucky gently tried to dissuade him from trying again, after being turned away from the enlistment office for the dozenth time, “Really, Stevie, they’re not going to change their mind, and there’s plenty good you can do from here, instead of trying to get sent to the front with bad lungs and a bad back and none of the common sense you shoulda been born with.” He would point out that this was his fight, and there was nothing Bucky could say to that.

Because everyone knew what it was like for Jews in Germany in the thirties and forties. (No, they did not know, how could they know, they had no idea, not by a mile, not by a hundred miles, and by the time they did, it was late, so late, and they would ask themselves, how could they not have known.) But they knew that it was bad, and getting worse, and Steve couldn’t - he couldn’t just let that stand.

So of course he was eager to fight, not just to fight but to fight for something, and this was his fight, im ein ani li, mi li? Of course he jumped at the opportunity, offered by Avraham Erskine, to be something greater than himself, to be truly able to help his people, help everyone, im ani l’atzmi, mah ani?

There was no hesitation when he heard that Bucky’s unit was taken, only the immediate need for action, and the action to match it, and im lo achshav, eimatai?

They’d been together, their Commandos, for a year before they heard about the camps - it was almost that long before anyone heard about them, and then more time until the news trickled through army base to army base, reaching them when they returned from the field.

The thing about Bucky, a thing he loved about Bucky, was that he didn’t need to say it, to ask it. He returned to the tents, his stomach still churning and his mind reeling from the unthinkable images, the nauseating reports, and Sergeant Barnes was there, explaining that he had already spoken to their men, told them that this was something the Captain needed to do, and they with him, on no general’s orders, in much the same way as he had come for them.

When he had gone on his own for the 107th, against orders, he had returned to a commendation, and carte blanche to form his own team. When he came back from this, he received a reprimand, and grudging agreement to look the other way, just this once, and a warning not to do it again.

Of course, he thought, his mask a warm and ever-present reminder of the compromise it represented, in replacing the kipa he would normally have worn.

Of course they did it again - but not as often as any of them thought they should. They still had official missions to complete, important ones, that could not, should not, be neglected. And renegade rescue missions took time to arrange, and to plan; he couldn’t in good conscience lead his men in blind, so he had to rely on what information Peggy could drip to him, on where to find the next camp they would hit and what to expect there; and he had to wait for arrangements to be ready, usually visas or a plane or once, memorably, a boat, thanks to Howard, for getting the people to safety afterward, because these were not soldiers who could simply be reabsorbed into the nearest army base, and there was no use in rescuing them only to abandon them once more to the jaws of death.

And there were so many stragglers, each time - the very old, and the very young, and those simply too sick or too weak to flee unaided. And their ragged survivors needed Steve to translate and reassure them, needed every scrap of protection they could offer, until they reached whatever escape route Stark had magicked up, so that they could not send a soldier to go back and set charges and run out of range before detonation, which meant that they could not even blow the camps up when they left.

And there were so damn many of the camps.

When Steve made his descent, months later, into the Arctic, words of Torah rising unbidden to his lips, it was with a clear conscience, and only three regrets.

First: that he had promised Peggy a dance, and never delivered on it. Not that he desperately needed that dance, but he wanted to be a man who kept his word.

Second: that day with the train and the snow and the cliff. It had haunted him every day since, constantly revisiting it, asking himself what he should have done, how he could have done things differently, done things better, how he could change the outcome, so that he could stop Bucky from falling, could save him, could be the one to fall, instead.

Third: that there were so many camps that he had not gotten to, and so many that he had not gotten to in time. That he was only one man, and, with all his strengths and limitations, he had not prevented millions of his people’s lives from being snuffed out. This thought, especially, would stay with him when he awoke.

***

2: Ritual

The year is two thousand and eleven, and Steve Rogers wraps a set of 80-year-old tefillin on his arm and forehead - the same pair that he received for his Bar Mitzvah, back in a different time.

He had mixed feelings on getting them back, when Fury and Natasha took him to unlock an old SHIELD vault so that he could sift through and reclaim those of his belongings that had not already been snapped up by museums and heritage foundations.

Part of him was relieved to find them waiting for him, because it had sentimental value and because the thought had occurred to him, incongruously, that even in this new world’s economy, they would cost a lot of money to replace.

He was impressed that it was even still usable, almost as well-preserved as he was; apparently a sealed, oiled canister was for ritual items of leather and parchment what Arctic ice was for super-soldiers. It had knocked around at the bottom of his bag throughout the war, mostly unused, because a soldier could not be expected to keep his thoughts pure from distraction in wartime, and because, most mornings, there simply was no time. It was all he could do to say Brachot as he dressed, with maybe a rushed Amida afterward, without taking the time to painstakingly wind and unwind his tefillin.

He was a little guiltily thankful for the nondescript bag, in army khaki, that held them; no complicated questions from Fury as he leaned into the vault and slung it onto his shoulder, scooping up the rest of the dregs of his former life in a second, swift motion.

Mostly, though, there was a bitter sense of recognition. Every shred of what was left of him, after his plunge into the Arctic, had been picked and squabbled over by the government, by the museums, he had had to fight even to get Bucky’s dog tags back, which rightfully should have been sent straight to his sister, but this - this lay pristine and forgotten at the bottom of a vault.

And why not? he thought bitterly. Without it, he was the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, all-American hero. And oh, he had seen and seethed at the encyclopedia articles, the exhibit captions about him, Steven Grant Rogers, born to European immigrants… “European immigrants,” when they - and he - would have been beaten up by the real Europeans for claiming the name for themselves, as though they would have abandoned their identities wilfully like that. Rogers’ father, who changed the name from the Russian Ruzhgies… and no, that wasn’t right either; it was from Yiddish, from Roiskies, but heaven forbid they say that of Captain America, better to imply a nonexistent Russian origin than to let him be a Jew.

A wave of outrage, of fury, rushed through him, that this important part of his identity had been swept under the rug for seventy years, denied, ignored, locked away like it was America’s dirty little secret.

He wondered if any of the biographers had found their way to the little matzeivah in Brooklyn, beside the stones for Sarah and Joseph Rogers, with his Hebrew name and of blessed memory, and decided to leave that detail out of their work; or if there was a book out there that revealed the truth of him; or if no one but he had ever made it that far.

The year is two thousand and eleven, and Steve Rogers wraps strands of leather around his arm that are almost as old as he is. He is Captain America, and he has always stood for America, for freedom, for the power of the individual - and he does, still - but he has always stood, too, for the holy words written in ink on the scraps of parchment contained within the little black boxes whose fraying leather straps he winds around his arm, whispering prayers to himself, and for all that they represent to him. He thinks that, maybe, it is time to share that with the world.

***

3: Homeland

The Rogers household had never emphasized any particular need to visit, or live in, the Promised Land - but then, there was no State of Israel when Steve was growing up in the twenties and thirties.

Oh, that had been a fascinating few hours of research and reading, as he supplemented his catch-up course on everything he’d slept through. Nat and Sam were great, really, at filling him in on all sorts of pop culture and scientific advancements, but they didn’t know every facet of him yet, and there were some things which if he wanted to know about them (and he did), he would have to seek them out himself.

It was his private reading project, modern Jewish and Israeli history, and in reading about Israel, Steve felt invigorated. Motivated. Filled with purpose, for the first time in so long. America didn’t need him the way it had seventy years ago; he had been relegated to being a symbol, shunted off to dance attendance on politicians in costume, like back in his USO days. Here, though, was somewhere that he could make a difference; he could do something, he could help people, he could…

...He could probably create an international incident, he realized, as the thought turned cold and soured, fracturing, perhaps permanently, the good terms of an allyship that had lasted for almost as long as he’d been frozen. And it would be the biggest Chillul Hashem, Captain America apparently defecting to fight for a foreign power; he would reinforce every nasty stereotype he’d come up against as a boy, particularly the doubt as to whether Jewish loyalties could ever be trusted.

He had chosen to become Captain America. It had fallen into his lap, a little, but he had chosen it; and he could only fight for another country if his government loaned him out, such as through the Avengers Initiative, or at least if the hearts of the American people were with him.

A visit, at least, he could manage, though by the time it came to fruition, that, too, had become another political sideshow, complete with presidential photo-op in front of the Kotel, Steve sweltering in full costume.

The president had a schedule to stick to, though, and Steve managed to stay longer, on his own, just a visitor walking the footsteps of his forefathers. Without the president glued to his side, he travelled out of costume; he wore a quiet button-down shirt and became practically invisible, and he bought - to his endless delight - a Captain America kipa. He wore it for the rest of the trip.

He visited holy sites, places of Biblical significance; he hiked in the North and dove deep, deep, deep in Eilat, because he could.

And he went to Yad VaShem, because he needed to see, needed to revisit this worst part of what he failed to fix during his war. He walked himself through the solemnity of it, through the images which were no less sickening with age, the stories that were somehow worse now that he knew the full extent of it.

But he ended his self-guided tour on a hopeful note, an uplifting note, because his feet took him to the wall dedicated to the Righteous Among the Nations, and he read through the lists and lists of names until he found a familiar set of nine names, beginning with ג’יימס “בקי” ביוחנן ברנס and continuing through all of his commandos. There, staring at a stretch of wall that notably did not list his name, was where Steve had felt the most seen in over seventy years, because whoever wrote these names here had known very well who they were and what they had done, and they had done enough research to know, for once, that שלום מתן רוג’רז had no place on a list of those “Among the Nations.”

Before he left, he quietly found a curator who both recognized who he was and was not overly impressed by him, and asked her to add one more name to that particular part of the list. Peggy’s and Howard’s roles in their unsanctioned missions had, by necessity, been kept secret, but enough time had passed, Steve thought ruefully, because he was tired of bitterness, that it wouldn’t count as treason anymore. He wondered what Sharon would think about accepting this posthumous honour on behalf of her aunt. He wondered what Tony would think, about not being called upon to accept it on behalf of his father, for the same reason that Steve had smiled not to see his own name on the list.

He left the monument to the dead he could not save, feeling if not uplifted, then at least satisfied with a job ably done, and he took himself for a run through the city, to shake off his last gloomy thoughts about the dead. He walked through David’s city all the way out to the ruins of Jehoiakim’s palace; from the Jewish Quarter to the site of an historic battle in 1948, history that he had slept through. He slowed to make his way through the shuk, buying impossibly cheap candies, dried fruits, nuts, pastries, falafel, to feed his superhuman body, as he fed his soul on the smells, the sights, the sounds of haggling and cheerful shouts - the scenes of his people, comfortable in their own skin, in their own home.

His return flight marked the first time he managed to sleep on an airplane since before he went down in the Arctic. About an hour before landing, he left his seat and joined the makeshift minyan near the back of the plane, and wrapped his eighty-year-old tefillin as he greeted a new day.

******

Glossary and explanatory notes:

zt”l - short for zecher tzadik l’vracha, “the righteous person of blessed memory” - written after the name of a very righteous deceased person. Sometimes pronounced “zatzal,” sometimes read aloud as “zecher tzadik l’vracha.”

Baruch atah Adonai, mechayeh ha’meitim. - Blessed are You, Lord, who revives the dead. From the Amida (see below), part of a longer prayer said three times a day in Jewish prayer.

Olam HaBa - The World to Come (as opposed to Olam HaZeh, This World), the term is Jewish texts for the heaven-like world that righteous people enter after death.

me’ayin l’t’chiyat ha’metim min ha’Torah - “Whence is [the source] for resurrection of the dead in the Torah?” - a quote from the Talmud, in a passage discussing Jewish beliefs about afterlife and the prayer quoted above.

v’rabim m’y’sheinei admat afar yakitzu - “and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken” - quote from Daniel 12:2, appearing to foretell a resurrection of the dead and quoted in the Talmud as a proof-text for that idea

there is no reward for the righteous or punishment for the wicked in this world, only in the world to come. - another quote from the Talmud, reinforcing the concept of the World to Come (“Olam HaBa”) as a response to the problem of why good things happen to bad people and why bad things happen to good people.

Matzeiva - literally “pillar” in Hebrew; used to refer to a tombstone or similar memorial for the dead.

z”l - short for zichrono l’vracha, “of blessed memory” or “may his memory be for a blessing,” typically written after the name of a deceased person. Usually read aloud as “zichrono l’vracha,” sometimes pronounced as “zal.”

שלום מתן רוג'רז - Shalom Matan Rogers - written as Steve’s Hebrew name. Steve, though a common enough name in Jewish circles, has no direct Hebrew equivalent, so I got to play around with it. Shalom starts with the same letter, and I felt it was apropos for our weary super-soldier to have a name that means “Peace.” Matan is a Hebrew boys’ name that means “Gift,” so I felt it was a good equivalent to Grant. Rogers is transliterated (though see discussion of his last name below).

ת.נ.צ.ב.ה. - short for tehei nishmato tzrurah b’tzror ha’chayim, “May his soul be bound up in the bundle of life,” usually written on Jewish tombstones and occasionally in other contexts after the name of a deceased person.

כ"ז תמוז ה' תרע"ח - ה' תש"הa- 27 Tamuz, 5678 - 5705 - The Hebrew dates for Steve’s birthdate (yes, I looked up July 4, 1918 - note that the Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar don’t match up, so 27 Tamuz is not the 4th of July every year; most years, Jewish!Steve would be celebrating his Hebrew and English birthdays on different days) and assumed year of death. Rather than research or guess a rough date for when he touched down in the Arctic, I decided that - probably like many people murdered in the Holocaust and soldiers who died fighting in WWII - whoever made his tombstone only put the year of death, since they didn’t have the information or resources to pinpoint the actual date of death.

May his soul be bound up in the bundle of life. - See above; Steve is reading and mentally translating this line from his tombstone.

Chevra Kadisha - Aramaic, literally “Holy community” - used to refer to the group of people, required in every shul/synagogue/Jewish community, who voluntarily see to the community’s dead. Typically this entails cleaning, dressing, and burying the body, which would not have been necessary in Steve’s case, as no body was (obviously) recovered; however, because he had no living relatives at the time of his reported death, it would also have fallen to them to take care of his tombstone and any prayers of memorial/mourning.

im ein ani li, mi li? - “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” - first third of a famous quote from Hillel (a first-century Jewish leader foundational in forming Judaism as we know it), found in the Mishna (text that is the precursor to the Talmud).

Avraham Erskine - using the Hebrew pronunciation of Abraham Erskine’s first name to emphasize the fact that it is a Jewish name, and this commonality would not be lost on Jewish!Steve

im ani l’atzmi, mah ani? - “If I am [only] for myself, what am I?” - second third of the famous quote from Hillel.

im lo achshav, eimatai? - “If not now, when?” - final third of the famous Hillel quote.

Kipa - small circular cloth head covering that observant Jewish men wear, often worn at all times. Can be worn in addition to, or substituted by, another head covering such as a hat or helmet.

words of Torah rising unbidden to his lips - this alludes to the precept, which Jewish children are taught from a young age, that one should say the first line of the Shma (an important prayer said twice daily and taken from the Torah, affirming one’s faith in a singular God and one’s connection to Jewish peoplehood) at the moment of one’s death. Although I also like to imagine that other Torah quotes would have been rising in Steve’s mind at the time, as well.

Tefillin - A Jewish ritual item, used by Jewish men over the age of thirteen. Tefillin is a plural noun, and they are often also referred to as a “set” or a “pair” of tefillin. It consists of two pieces, each with a black box of hardened leather containing pieces of parchment with specific passages from the Torah written on them, and black leather straps attached to the outside of the box. One piece is wrapped around the left arm, with the box positioned on the upper arm; the other piece loops around the head, with the box positioned on the forehead and the straps dangling down at the back of the neck. They are “wrapped” (the term commonly used for donning Tefillin) at the start of the morning prayers on a regular day, with certain blessings and verses said as one puts them on, and unwrapped at the end of the morning prayers. Tefillin are considered holy, and one is supposed to keep one’s thoughts pure and focused on prayer while wearing them (if a person needs to duck out during prayer to go to the bathroom, they must remove the Tefillin and put them back on when they return). They should also be handled respectfully, and with care, due to their holy status. Because of the requirements in making Tefillin (the leather parts must be made from the hide of a kosher animal, and the passages must be hand-written by a trained scribe, in special ink, on parchment made from the skin of a kosher animal), Tefillin are fairly expensive.

Bar Mitzvah - Aramaic, literally “a son of the commandments.” Refers to a Jewish boy’s 13th birthday (or the celebration of that birthday), at which point he becomes responsible for his own fulfilment of all the relevant commandments in Judaism. This is the age when an observant boy would receive his first set of Tefillin.

Brachot - literally, “blessings.” Used here (and commonly) to refer to Birkot HaShachar, “The Morning Blessings,” a set of blessings said at the beginning of morning prayers, and which can be said while getting dressed.

Amida - literally, “standing.” Name for an important prayer said in every Jewish prayer service (usually three times a day), so called because it is said while standing, with the feet together in one spot. (Also known as Shemonah Esrei, “Eighteen,” for the eighteen-or-so blessings that make up the core version of this prayer.)

Roiskies - I took some liberties here, because Rogers is not a common Jewish name. There is, however, a very historical trend of Jews with very Jewish-sounding names changing their names to very non-Jewish names, with a common first letter or sound, upon immigrating to the US, which is what I have to assume happened in the case of Jewish!Steve’s parents. Roskies / Roskes / Rosskies is a common enough Jewish name, and one with a close enough sound that Joseph might reasonably have changed his name from that to Rogers. Unfortunately, I have not been able to source the meaning of that name (if any Roskies know what their name means and want to help me out, I would welcome that). I added the i to make it the variant Roiskies because of my best guess as to the name’s origins - that the first part comes from the Yiddish rois, meaning pink or rose (see also: common Jewish names with that root such as Rosen, Rosenberg, and Rosenstein).

of blessed memory - see z”l above; Steve is remembering and mentally translating that text from his tombstone

Chillul Hashem - literally “Desecration of the Name [of God],” used to refer to any action that, when performed by a Jewish person, would make the Jewish God, Judaism, and/or the Jewish People as a whole look bad. Acts of Chillul Hashem are forbidden in Judaism.

the Kotel - literally “the Wall,” short for Kotel HaMa’aravi, the Western Wall (the still-standing western retaining wall around the area of the Jewish Temple that formerly stood on the Temple Mount).

a Captain America kipa - see above about what a kipa is. Captain America kipot (plural of kipa) do exist.

Yad VaShem - the Holocaust Memorial museum in Israel (its name is taken from a line in Isaiah, promising a lasting memorial for all the righteous who die without children to remember them; roughly, “yad vashem” means “a monument and a name”)

Righteous Among the Nations - a list maintained by Yad VaShem, of all the non-Jews who saved Jewish lives during the Holocaust. They give recognition to the honorees on the list (or their descendants) when new names come to light.

ג’יימס “בקי” ביוחנן ברנס - Hebrew transliteration of James “Bucky” Buchanan Barnes

Shuk - market, here referring to the popular large open market in Jerusalem.

Minyan - literally quorum, referring to a group of 10 or more Jewish men for prayer, as many prayers are only said (in Orthodox circles) when a minimum quorum of 10 men are gathered together. Can also refer to the prayer service taking place when this quorum is gathered. On flights between Israel and North America in either direction, there are usually enough Orthodox Jewish men for a makeshift minyan to gather (preferably somewhere unobtrusive) for morning and/or evening prayers at the beginning/end of the flight (depending on the times of takeoff and landing at the origin and destination locations, respectively).

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eldunea · 5 years ago

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havin some thoughts for an HP AU discussed with @diamontha

mom honerva is the world’s most famous alchemist, dad zander is an auror. honerva originally lived in the united states and her claim to fame is discovering the fifth element in alchemy--but she had her discovery stolen from her by an american wizard. that guy then turned around and accused her of trying to steal his idea, and the general american public believed him. dumbledore, however, believed that honerva had been wronged, and offered her a job teaching alchemy as an elective at hogwarts where she would be respected. that’s how the family ended up in the UK.

as an indigenous person he’s damn good at wandless magic because FUCK THAT BULLSHIT JKR CAME UP WITH WHEN SHE SAID INDIGENOUS WANDLESS MAGIC WAS “LESS PRECISE.” she already stated that wandless magic was more powerful than wanded magic, but then all of a sudden when poc use wandless magic the wand version is better? THE FUCK? anyway yeah, his parents would have trained him in it since he was a little kid and when he finally got his wand he was like “tf is this european bullshit?”

speaking of his wand, it’s yew and dragon heartstring, 11.5″, flexible. his original wand was cherry and dragon heartstring, 11″, flexible.

as an indigenous jewish woman honerva’s plan living in the united states was that she wanted to homeschool lotor--she didn’t want him to go to ilvermorny because she went there herself and she was always haunted by the fact she wasn’t allowed to use or learn her peoples’ magic. zander, an okinawan at mahoutokoro, agreed that the japanese wizarding school was no better. his parents were really nervous about sending him to hogwarts but since honerva was now a professor there she could make sure her son got the education that he needed.

he’s an unregistered animagus--a fox--and he doesn’t plan on getting registered anytime soon. his patronus also happens to be a fox.

he has an enchanted tallit (some reform jews have tallit) that’s basically his conscience. there was a legend of a prayer shawl that came to life and stopped a man from sleeping with an escort so lotor’s would be just like that--it would try to stop him from doing all the questionable, sometimes petty shit that he likes to do.

he has kova at hogwarts with him.

he loves muggle science? so much? his mom wanted to be an astrophysicist on top of an alchemist and even tried going to muggle college for it but given her background and the time period she didn’t get far. she taught him all about science and he just has this childlike wonder for it. don’t take him to a muggle science fair, he’ll blow his cover blabbing about how much he wishes he had access to things like that.

he wants to be the first wizard in space. yes, really. when he saw a video of neil armstrong’s moon landing he broke down crying saying, “what’s the point of all this magic if it can’t take us to the great beyond?” that night when he lay in bed, he had an awakening and was like, well, it CAN take us to the great beyond, we just have to TRY! and that’s it, that’s how he formed his dream. god bless his soul

there’s nothing more he loves than muggle parents of wizard children/muggles married to wizards because they have knowledge of both science and magic just like him. when diantha first takes him home to meet her muggle parents he just? he just gets so excited?? he loses his shit in the best possible way like “oh my god, is that a real vacuum cleaner? can i see the inside of your TV? CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW TO GO TO SPACE” he’s like an excited puppy, losing his mind over all the muggle tech in their house. dia please keep your boyfriend under control

speaking of smartphones, he loves smartphones holy shit. the first time he held one it was like indiana jones holding the golden idol in raiders of the lost ark. he called it “magic in your pocket” and said as much to the confused muggle who first gave him their smartphone to look at. when he gets older he buys every single version of the iphone as soon as it comes out and has them all in a case on his fireplace.

he loves muggles so much despite being a pureblood……he’s fascinated with their world and sometimes wishes he could have a muggle parent or grandparent so that he would know more about them. unlike canon lotor who is biased against humans bc they don’t have (much) magic, HP lotor will fight anyone who says muggles are inferior to humans. he thinks it’s so incredible how much they’ve accomplished despite having no magic, and that if anything, they’re the ones who are better than wizards.

he’s also really against the whole “hiding magic from muggles” thing because 1) it’s a white thing; many POC cultures around the world openly tolerated magic before white colonizers forced their witches and wizards underground and 2) he’s firmly resolved that there’s nothing wizards can do that muggles won’t be able to figure out eventually. in the immortal words of the muggle author arthur c. clarke, magic is just science that they don’t understand yet.

for all his knowledge about muggle science though, he is comically bad at blending in with muggles. like……this level bad. he just--he just doesn’t understand them at all. poor boy. hopefully he’ll learn.

and some biographical notes in a more chronological order--

when he first went to hogwarts he was the spirited, somewhat mischievous kid on the train who wanted to get to know everybody, share his sweets and talk about all of the things he’d already read in the textbooks. everyone pegged him for a ravenclaw or maybe even a hufflepuff, but literally as soon as the sorting hat touched his head it screamed “SLYTHERIN,” shocking everyone who got to know him.

being in slytherin might have been the best match for his personality (intelligence mixed with ambition) but oh boy it was not a fun time. fun fact i hc “mudblood” is referred to mixed race people as well as half-muggles and muggleborns so he was definitely called that a lot. being the only indigenous, the only jewish and one of the few POC in the house was also really difficult--he felt isolated and alone a lot of the time because even among the people who fervently defended him he felt like they didn’t understand him.

at some point (haven’t decided what) he went back to the united states to visit some relatives and was caught up in an attack on a synagogue.

he was shot in his right arm (not his wand arm), so he drew his wand and killed the gunman using the killing curse--in front of a room full of muggles. he managed to get himself to an american wizarding hospital, but was dragged out of his hospital bed by american police while still recovering from the gunshot wound and extradited to the UK, where he was immediately flung into azkaban.

though he had acted in self-defense during a hate crime, he was expelled from hogwarts and given a life sentence; he was told he was lucky that he didn’t get the dementor’s kiss. he managed to escape during one of the numerous mass azkaban breakouts that subsequently happened canonically, and was in hiding before being one of the slytherins who participated on the side of good in the battle of hogwarts.

i think i read somewhere that canonically, all students who participated in the battle of hogwarts were pardoned for any crimes committed in the past but i can’t find that source. but what i can find is that lucius malfoy was 100% pardoned for defecting from the death eaters to protect his family so like……if an old white fantasy fascist can get pardoned for all of his murders by defecting last minute to the right side, a teenage brown jew can also be pardoned for killing to defend himself. fight me

he and diantha hated each other at first--he thought she was stupid and she thought he was a total prick. but before the battle of hogwarts the two of them made up and she kissed him, knowing it might be her last chance to do so before either one or both of them were killed.

originally he wanted to be an auror like his dad, because all he wanted was to go beat up bad guys. but after the trauma of the war against voldemort he decided it would be better for him to not fight people or put himself in traumatic situations anymore, and wanted to focus on being the first wizard who went to space. though most wizards thought he was crazy, slytherins are amazing with the art of persuasion--he managed to talk a good number of people into getting behind his project, which is now pretty much crowdfunded.

oh, and one more note about honerva: she finally managed to achieve her dream of being an astrophysicist, so now she’s well-known in both the wizarding and muggle communities as a prominent scientist and she is 100% behind lotor’s project to put wizards in space. happy endings for everyone.

#alma te anul; the history of self. || HEADCANON #headcanon. || HARRY POTTER AU #diamontha

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miairviin · 5 years ago

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Icb liebe dich, Berlin

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day to all! Yesterday was the start of my second intra-European adventure: Berlin, Germany!

I arrived later last night and met up with a couple of my friends from Greece who had arrived earlier that day. After successfully navigating Berlin’s public transportation system, we headed to the hostel. From there, we went just a few doors down to a restaurant called Aufsturz for some authentic German food. My first meal was jägerschnitzel and Berlin truly came out swinging in regard to its culinary wonders. The jägerschnitzel was thin breaded pork with a mushroom cream sauce over a bed of German noodles. It was the perfect meal for someone who had just gotten off of an airplane.

The next day, the four other girls who came to Berlin with me woke up at 9 am for a free walking tour the hostel helped set up for us and some of its other guests. We began our tour in the city center of Mitte at the beautiful Brandenburg Gate, a place I had been looking forward to visiting since I first booked my flight. This gate has had a very long and very tumultuous past. It has come to represent a changing Berlin. The gate was one of many just like it, and they were all commissioned by the Prussian King Frederick William the II in an attempt to make Berlin “the Athens along the spree.” This explains why so there are so many elements of Greek architecture throughout the city. There have been two world wars, including Hitler’s dictatorship, bombings, battles, and political demonstrations galore. All of the other gates have since collapsed, but not the Brandenburg Gate. Though it has undergone a few alterations, the Brandenburg Gate stands tall, a symbol of pride and resilience which has come to define Berlin.

Our next stop was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. I knew that Berlin was a city that was rich in history, but I was not prepared for the beautiful ambiguity of this particular site. The artist who designed the memorial refused to give an explanation as to what the meaning of the 2,711 cement blocks of varying heights set up in a grid could be. In fact, the memorial takes up an entire city block downtown. That is how much importance the German government has placed on educating the world on its history. Our tour guide encouraged us to walk through and draw our own conclusions, to decide what message it was trying to send to us. As I meandered through the blocks, I felt so many different things. The blocks began short, just below my waist. There was even a humble bouquet of flowers resting on one of the first few blocks a visitor must have left. But within a few seconds, the blocks were high above my head and I could not see to my left or to my right, only forward. You were always visible from the outside of the memorial to the passing foot traffic, but in the memorial I felt anxious. Within a few minutes, I lost my group and it was just me and the seemingly endless rows of cement blocks. Though terrifying and at times frustrating, this really gave me time to consider my tour guide’s challenge to decipher the meaning for ourselves. I decided that the memorial was trying to tell us about the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Even if the lesson only lasted a few minutes and came nowhere near the intensity of the real Jewish experience. Much like the memorial’s blocks did not begin tall, the Holocaust did not happen over night. It was a gradual process of dehumanization beginning with boycotting jewish shops and ending with genocide. Though at times it felt like the Jewish struggle was invisible, it wasn’t. Other Germans knew, other countries knew, and other people knew of the atrocities being committed against the Jewish people and yet no one ventured into the grid to help. When you’re in the memorial, it’s easy to get lost, to lose your friends, to lose your bearings, to feel anxious. I cannot pretend I am able to even imagine the anxiety and fear that was felt by sisters separated from brothers, children from parents, and wives from husbands during this incredibly dark and irrationally evil time period. Our tour guide added to my analysis by saying that there was a quote describing the Holocaust as a bureaucratic duty rather than a truly insidious endeavor carried out by insidious people. Perhaps it is harder to rationalize this idea of someone being so brainwashed by their government they are willing to sentence millions to death in the name of patriotism. Either way, I felt as though it was an interesting point to include, especially in today’s growing political unrest. The memorial is just one of the many ways Berlin has refused to let its dark past define the city. Rather, history is embraced alongside the present and the two combine to form the ever changing Berlin.

Our next stop was a perfect example of how Berlin has handpicked what history it has decided to preserve and what to ignore. In a humble car park, about eight meters below our feet was the bunker where Hitler killed himself after realizing the war was lost. Just outside the bunker, children and old men fought to protect a dying Germany but not because they still believed in it; because they were literally fighting for their lives. Conversely, Hitler, who was on a wild cocktail of drugs, was busy committing suicide because he knew, like everyone else, the Germany he was fighting for was long gone. It was interesting to see the Berlin reaction to dealing with this bunker was to turn it into a functional space: a car park. Again, this is one way Berlin has selected the history they want to breathe life into and remember forever versus the history that deserves nothing from us. If not nothing, than a car park.

We continued on to places like Checkpoint Charlie, where West Berliners were eventually granted access to the East. There was a part of the Berlin Wall standing outside a cafe we stopped at. Berlin has a subtle tribute to the old wall in the form of a narrow strip of cobblestones running across the city along the same line where the Berlin Wall once stood. Another example of a memorial in plain sight are the golden stumbling stones that make appearances all over Germany. These stumbling stones became a part of Berlin when a citizen independently began installing golden plaques in between cobble stones on the sidewalk. The stones are meant to signify the last known residence of Jewish families that were taken away during the Holocaust. Each stone is engraved with a name, a year of birth, and if known and applicable, the location and year of their death. The head rabbi of Munich refused the installment of these stumbling stones. Her rationale is that people will step on them and that would be incredibly disrespectful. Our tour guide offered the interpretation that they force you to stop, and bow your head to not only to read the information on the stone, but also in reverence. It’s chilling and disorienting to think that today I was walking the same street as someone who decades ago, was being torn from a life they knew intimately and thrust into a world of terror and uncertainty. It’s impossible. Absolutely impossible.

We ended our tour, and stopped in for some more authentic German food. I dined on a sausage in curry ketchup and for dessert, apple strudel, a Berlin experience just as high on my list as the Brandenburg Gate. It was DELIGHTFUL. The cream was sweet, the apples were crisp, and the dough was soft. I know I will think of that dessert often. I can only hope I can find something like it back home when I return to the states.

We ended our night with a stroll along the East Side Gallery which displays murals commenting on social and political themes on what was once the east side of the wall. If it wasn’t for the cold, I could have spent hours walking along this open-air art gallery. Each mural had so much to say, and I felt so lucky to listen to whatever message the artist was trying to deliver. I also felt grateful they were able to share it with me. For so long, east Berlin had been subjected to communist rule where any misstep outside the party norms could mean death. Here, artists were able to express so many things from love to the disdain of racism to history to female empowerment to intersectionality to the need for environmental consciousness. The East Side Gallery had no shortage of conversation pieces or thought provoking images.

I close this entry with icb liebe dich, Berlin because there are no other words. I love you, Berlin is the only thing on my mind as I write this. The energy of the city is so youthful, so vibrant, so bold. Just like it’s food, people, architecture, and history. The energy is tangible here, racing through the streets like a pulse and heartbeat. Everyone seems to be moving, but moving towards something great importance. There’s a purpose. They’re here for a reason. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings in this truly mythical place.

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dfroza · 5 years ago

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John Parsons shares from this week’s reading

of the Torah (Jews read through the writing Together to renew each year by “rewinding” to the book of Genesis) about Abraham sending a man to find a wife for his son Isaac

John Parsons of [Hebrew for Christians] relates the significance of our Hebraic roots to faith in the New Covenant of grace in the Son

John’s post:

Shavuah Tov, chaverim! Last week's Torah reading (i.e., Vayera) recounted how the LORD was faithful to Abraham and Sarah by miraculously giving them a son (Isaac) in their old age. Nonetheless, Abraham faced his greatest test of all by being asked to offer up his promised child as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah, the place of the future Temple. On account of Abraham’s willingness to obey, the LORD promised that He would multiply his offspring as the stars of heaven and that in his seed (singular) all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

This week’s parashah, Chayei Sarah - the "life of Sarah"- begins (paradoxically) with the account of her death (at age 127), and tells how the first great matriarch of the Jewish people was buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, a burial site which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite for four hundred shekels of silver (Gen. 23:1-20). Since the account of Sarah’s death is given just after the account of the near-sacrifice of Isaac (i.e., the Akedah), some of the sages link the events together, suggesting that the shock of the loss of her beloved son at the hand of her husband was just too much for her to bear...

After Sarah was buried in Hebron, Abraham sought a wife for his son by commissioning his servant, Eliezer (whom Abraham had originally thought would be his heir), to solicit a wife for Isaac from among his relatives living in Mesopotamia (and not from among the Canaanites). Eliezer (i.e., אֱלִיעֶזֶר, lit., “My God will help”) then set out on the 550 mile journey to Haran (also called the City of Nahor and the place where Abraham’s father died), taking ten camels laden with gifts in search of a suitable bride. Providentially, and in answer to his prayer, as soon as Eliezer reached the city of Nahor he encountered Abraham's grand niece Rebekah drawing water at a well, where she graciously provided water for him and for his ten camels, thereby confirming that she was God's choice for Isaac. [Hebrew for Christians]

11.17.19 • Facebook

and a set of earlier posts about the seeming contradiction of God’s character to request such an act of Abraham:

Our Torah for this week (Vayera) gives the account of the terrible test given to Abraham when God asked him to offer up his son as a sacrifice (see Gen. 22). The apostle James later said that Abraham was "justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar" (James 2:21), whereas the apostle Paul seemed to say just the opposite, that Abraham was not justified by works (see Rom. 4:1-3). So is there a contradiction here in our Bibles regarding the idea of “justification”? To answer this first understand that when James said that Abraham was justified "by works" he was referring to the work of faith and certainly not to the works of the law (מַעֲשֵׂי הַתּוֹרָה), since the Torah explicitly prohibited human sacrifice (Gen. 9:5), and furthermore the Angel of the LORD restrained Abraham's hand during the great test of faith (Gen. 22:12) thereby indicating that it was not God's will (i.e., Torah). On the other hand, the apostle Paul's seemingly contrary statement that Abraham was not justified by works refers to Abraham's unwavering trust in God's promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens (Gen. 15:1-6). There is no real contradiction, then, since the two apostles were referring to two different episodes in their discussion of justification. Faith and works are two sides of the same coin: true faith will show up in your life and character. As Yeshua said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the One whom He has sent" (John 6:29).

The life of faith is inherently paradoxical, as Kierkegaard noted: "Ethically speaking, what Abraham planned to do was to murder Isaac; religiously, however, he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. In this contradiction lies the very anguish that can indeed make anyone sleepless. And yet without that anguish Abraham is not the one he is. Neither would faith be what it is." Although Abraham understood that God must be obeyed, he also understood that human sacrifice was immoral, and hence his struggle represented the collision between the imperative of reason and the imperative of faith. Choosing to heed the voice of reason (i.e., the "ethical," the "universal") over the personal voice of God created a state of "fear and trembling" and a sense of being unable to communicate his passion and mission to others. [H4C]

As Kierkegaard further commented: "Faith’s conflict with the world is not a battle of thought with doubt, thought with thought. It is a battle of character. The person of faith is a person of character who does not insist upon comprehending everything. Now comes the conflict. The world insists that to believe what you cannot comprehend is not only blind obedience but obscurantism, stupidity, and so on. The world wants to alarm the believer against such foolishness. This is precisely why faith is a task for the person of character."

11.13.19 • Facebook

The near-sacrifice of Isaac establishes that God does not want us to sacrifice ourselves on the altar, but rather to identify with the appointed sacrifice of the lamb given on our behalf... Isaac pictures the identification process. First he completely submitted himself to God's will by being bound as a sacrifice. Once that decision was made, God intervened by providing the ram caught in the thicket, which represented the "binding" or identification of God's sacrifice for him (Gen. 22:13). Just as the lamb was identified with Isaac, so Isaac was identified with the lamb. Likewise, Yeshua died in your place so you can identify with his death for you, trusting it as your atonement provided by your Heavenly Father. Your union with Yeshua means that his death was your death: "For you have died, and your life is hidden with Messiah in God" (Col. 3:3). Likewise, his "life after death" (resurrection) is your eternal life: "When Messiah who is your life appears, you also will appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:4). Baptism symbolizes your identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua as the Lamb of God sacrificed on your behalf (Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:4). Just as Isaac descended from the altar in newness of life, so we are made new creations because of the sacrifice of Messiah: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

Of course we cannot crucify ourselves, but we trust that God finishes the work of Yeshua on our behalf... We "reckon" ourselves crucified with Messiah and trust in his work of salvation performed for our personal blessing. As it says: "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Yeshua the Messiah" (Rom. 6:11). Only after this can you present yourself as korban chai (קָרְבָּן חַי) - a living sacrifice - for God (Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:5).

There aren't two gospel messages: one for the sinner and the other for the saint... The message of salvation is always "good news" to those who are sin-sick and riddled with guilt and shame, and it is always "bad news" for those who deny their inner condition before God and believe that they can justify themselves. We never get beyond the call to "repent and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). We don't "get saved" in order to follow the path of self-righteousness; we get saved to be witnesses of God's righteousness... We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). [Hebrew for Christians]

11.14.19 • Facebook

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