#yom kippur is also coming up

[stevenssticks]

just to let y’all know i’ve been sick and exhausted from school so idk how active i’ll be

[the-library-alcove]

An updated Antizionist Bingo Card

Came up with this after reading the "debate" between Hen Mazzig and Kei Pritsker.

Explanations under the cut

Settler Colonialism Canard: Portraying Israelis as White Europeans who can just "go back to [their country of origin]", and stating that no matter where within the region they live, even if far inside the 1947 Green Line, they're "settlers" and thus deserving of death. Even if they're babies.

Blood Libel Canard: "Israelis deliberately target children to kill them", or anything to do with calling Israelis bloodthirsty, killing people to harvest them, depicting them as vampires, bathing in blood, or otherwise engaging in ritualistic slaughter of human beings, especially children.

Celebrating the deaths of Israeli citizens: Straightforward and very popular. It should be especially apparent when said Israelis, or Jews in general, are living outside of Israel, and people are pleased to see them dead. There have been multiple examples in just the last few weeks--a car accident in NYC killed several Jews, including children, and was celebrated, and there were two brutal murders in California, also celebrated.

"We have Token Good Jews!": Tokenization in the classic sense, being used to hold up as a shield against accusations of bias. (Very often these individuals turn out not to be Jewish as well)

Historical Revisionism of Israel's founding: Fairly straightforward, in terms of misrepresenting or distorting (or straight up lying) about the events of the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 and the founding of Israel.

Inflating the death toll, or other disregard for actual Palestinian lives: according to the official count by Hamas' own governmental apparatus, approximately 50,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip between October 2023 and April 2025, including of natural causes. Anyone claiming that the death toll is an extreme undercount or citing higher numbers essentially wants there to be more dead Palestinians in order to blame Israel. Also qualifying are those who dismiss or demean the anti-Hamas protests happening in Gaza.

Historical Revisionism, 1948-2006: Covers lying about or distorting the Six Day War, The Yom Kippur War, the First and Second Intifadas, the return of the Sinai Desert to Egypt, the status of the West Bank, the peace accords during the 1990s, or the Gaza pullout, among other topics.

American-centric view of the conflict: Covers, among other things, "Palestinians are like the Natives in the US being kept on reservations, or like Latinos trying to enter the US being kept behind a border wall, and the Israeli government is like the Republicans, only Jews!", or other such comparisons where the speaker is trying to impose their own outsider perspective onto the conflict.

Genocide Canard: Any accusation that Israel is genociding the Palestinians. Quite simply, if Israel was genociding the Palestinians, none of them would still be alive.

"But Israel/Zionism!" in unrelated topics: Discussing antisemitism in the US or elsewhere in the world? Discussing Jewish history, traditions, culture, theology, or other aspects of Judaism? Just existing as a Jew? And someone brings up Israel or Zionism in an effort to derail or force an answer? Here.

"Israel killed its own people on purpose.": Comes in two general flavors--either claiming that 7/10 was a false flag attack, or accusing Israel of deliberately targeting the hostages in order to kill them.

Celebrating or mythologizing Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Houthis: They're terrorist groups backed by Iran to stir the pot and instigate conflict; they're responsible for incredible amounts of death and misery, and are not plucky freedom fighters, much less La Resistance.

"I'm antizionist, not antisemitic": The universal clarion call, usually invoked right before saying something incredibly Jew-hating.

Historical Revisionism, Pre-1948: The largest historical revisionism category, but breaking it down could be its own bingo card. Anything from "There were never any Jews in Palestine before 1948" to appropriating British Palestine Jewish culture and innovations for the Arabs, to the Happy Dhimmi myth, to claiming that the Jews did not originate in the Levant... all of it qualifies.

Israel is solely culpable for Gaza's standard of living: In 2006, when Israel pulled out of Gaza by treaty, there were three dozen hospitals, a power plant, a desalination plant, and lots of other infrastructure present. Now, water and power are rare, and the reason the pipes are gone is not Israelis--it's Hamas digging them up to use as rockets. And the hospitals, schools, and other civilian infrastructure were used to launch rockets out of, making them valid targets. But apparently it's just easier to blame Israel than Hamas for violating the rules of war.

"My acts of violence are free speech, your speech is violence.": An extremely popular double standard, where Antizionists will excuse any and all hateful rhetoric, hostile environments, or actual physical violence against Jews as "acts of free speech", but Jews protesting these behaviors are engaging in violence.

Ethnostate/Jewish Supremacy Canard: There is no definition of Ethnostate that fits Israel that doesn't fit a majority of other nations in the world, rendering the fixation on Israel to be a clear case of double standards, and the accusation of Jewish supremacy is just projection.

Apartheid Canard: Non-Jewish citizens of Israel have full equal rights; this is not equivalent to South African apartheid in the slightest, unless the accusers are saying that the Palestinians are actually Israeli citizens instead of being foreign nationals--and if that is the case, then I would ask them if they have the same rights in another nation that they're not citizens of.

Jews don't get to define antisemitism: Fairly straightforward; any attempt or effort by a non-Jew to claim that something isn't "really" antisemitism falls here.

ZOG Canard: "Israel/Jews/AIPAC/etc own/control the US government/media/economy/banks/etc". I.e "Jews run the world from behind the scenes" accusations.

Historical revisionism, 2006-Present: Anything that tries to rewrite history regarding Gaza, the stalled peace process, the conflicts, the rockets, the Iron Dome, or even Netanyahu's corruption all fall here.

Dual Loyalty Canard/Diaspora Jews are valid targets: "All Jews, aside from our Good Tokens are Evil Zionists beholden to Israel and thus valid to harass or kill".

Accusations of Indiscriminate/Wanton/Cartoonish Cruelty: To hear some antizionists talk about Israelis, they're so evil and sadistic that they by all rights should be in some Game of Thrones-style narrative, where kicking puppies is just part of the morning routine. Israel bombs hospitals/universities/schools/daycares/mosques/etc, apparently just for the chance to be evil and cruel, instead of the reality of "Hamas deliberately puts its weapons and fighters there to use civilians as human shields". This is tied to the Blood Libel narratives--especially when claims come of Israel deliberately targeting children--but is distinct enough on its own to merit its own box.

"No True Pro-Palestinian Activist would...": Just a No True Scotsman claim, and yes, yes they would. We have citations. And please don't try to claim that they're mentally ill, either.

Redefining Words, NewSpeak-style: A lot of words get redefined in this conflict; Genocide, Apartheid, Zionism, and Settler-Colonialism are all major enough to get their own boxes, but they're not alone. Pulling from another post of mine, here are some examples:

Humanitarian Aid becomes Manufactured Famine.

Borders become Concentration camp walls.

Suicide bombers become heroes.

Rape becomes Resistance.

Civilian Evacuation becomes Ethnic Cleansing

Unwilling Human Shields become Brave Martyrs

Indoctrinated Child Soldiers become Adorable Spirit Of Resistance or Murder

People returning to their native homeland become Colonizers

Hostages become Prisoners of War

Anti-Rocket Defense becomes a Tool of Genocide

Surrender becomes Ceasefire

Civilians become Acceptable Targets

[some-israeli-guy]

I want to take a few minutes to talk about my connection to Israel, as a Jew. I want to do that because some people desperately need to understand this, and also I'm procrastinating on uni homework.

Some years ago there were calls to return artifacts from the British Museum to the countries they're from. I know Britain pretty much went anywhere and took anything they wanted, but it got me thinking about cultural identities and their connection over time.

The middle east was home to some of the world's most ancient civilizations, and I'm sure most people living there could trace their lineage back to those civilizations (theoretically of course, we don't have data going that far). But how are they related to them? Do modern day Iraqis have any connection to Babylonians? They don't have a common language, religion, holidays, costumes… there is no cultural connection there. Babylonians happened to live in the same place, but other than that…

But this is not the case for Jews. Wherever Jewish people ended up throughout time, we kept a direct connection to ancient Israelites. I speak the same language they did thousands of years ago, I celebrate the holidays they celebrated. Our holy book is localized to Israel. We have holidays where we use local flora as decorations. We remembered our home, wherever we were, and waited to return.

The city I grew up in has flooding every winter. The whole area does (the Sharon region). It's because it used to be a swamp. There are 3 limestone ridges blocking the rivers from getting to the ocean, and when the early Zionist pioneers bought lands in this area (which were uninhabited swampland at the time) they had to open up tunnels through the limestone and drain the swamps before people could live here.

Why am I telling you this? Because we already did it before. Ancient Israelites already dug tunnels and drained swamps and lived here. There was a prayer during Yom Kippur specifically for the safety of people living here. All of the towns in the Sharon were razed by the Mamluks in the 13th century, and it became a swamp again. Until we returned.

To anyone who call us "colonizers": These "ancient" Israelites don't just share a religion with us, they ARE us. We were expelled from our homeland, but we kept our identity, we refused to let go, we kept wishing to come back home. We were always indigenous to Israel. We don't belong anywhere but here.

And now they're are trying to tell us that some people with a name invented by Rome to erase Judea and Israel, with a religion and language from Arabia, who didn't have a distinct cultural identity other than "Arab" until a few decades ago, belong here more than we do? I don't think so.

[steveyockey]

I paid $5 to access séamus malekafzali’s latest substack on palestine, here’s the full text,

It is easy to be lulled into a state of complacency, even with military occupation.

Israel’s occupation of Palestine has gone on longer than many of us on Earth have been alive, now going on 75 years. The levels of that deplacement, blockading, and violence have ebbed and flowed over years and decades, but that hand around the neck has always remained, even if how much it constricts has a tendency to loosen and tighten. Over 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel this year in its occupation. News bulletins of them dying, oftentimes teenagers, come up through the headlines of Palestinian newspapers and channels as often as the weather. These deaths at the hands of Israeli security personnel are not isolated incidents, with soldiers materializing on roadsides and at checkpoints as unfortunate coincidence. They are constant spikes in the waveform of an incessant low-grade hum of humiliation, imprisonment, and destruction that has made daily life a forced agreement to constantly exist on the precipice of death.

This framing is not meant to be a tired retread of the conflict between Israel and Palestine or the nature of the Israeli occupation. This is meant to be a bulwark against the inevitable framing of this latest battle unfolding around Gaza, as it will appear in the Western media in the days to come.

There is a tendency, a deep-set one, to report Israel and Palestine as two countries that are on roughly the same playing field internationally, as you might report on a war that might involve Israel battling against a place like Jordan or Egypt. This kind of coverage obscures how deeply interlocked Israel’s military operations are with the fabric of the Palestinian society.

In the West Bank, settlements and checkpoints have made Palestinian land into a kind of comical archipelago, where in addition to being separated from Gaza by a huge land border, they are also separated from traveling to communities only a stone’s throw away from them without going through significant anguish. In Gaza, while no Israeli soldiers walk the streets, all their land borders are essentially sealed, their ports almost completely blockaded. Israel’s continued occupation has been so pinpoint and precise that its planes have gone as far as bombing bookstores, and its restrictions did not let up even when the COVID-19 pandemic reduced one health organization to carrying only as many tests of the deadly disease as could fit in a car.

This is not a matter of moral justification; one does not need to constantly busy themselves with having to make a full ideological conversion before understanding this. This is a matter of cause and effect.

What is the logical expectation, regardless of politics, ideology, culture, and creed, when a population of people is thrust into conditions that can only be described as an open-air prison, where every individual is a criminal in the eyes of the military occupying power regardless if they pick up a rifle or not, because there is supposedly always the threat that they will one day?

These are the basic conditions that have preceded the initiation of Operation al-Aqsa Storm this morning. As dawn broke on the morning of October 7, only one day after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, launched a military operation of unprecedented scope in its history. Hamas fighters would not only attempt to enter Israeli territory proper with ground troops, already in of itself an intensely bold action (though not without precedent in the past decade). This operation would be a combined incursion into Israel by both land, sea, and even air. Ground forces would cut the border fence into settlements surrounding Gaza, speedboats would make landings in southern Israel, and fighters from a newly-inaugurated paraglider division would fly over the border fortifications and then further inland.

Threats of an invasion of Israeli territory proper have been a staple of speeches from Hamas and Hezbollah and groups like it for years. There was a long-standing perception by outside observers that it was fanciful. An intentionally lofty piece of propaganda that fires up supporters while the real military wheeling and dealing is done under far more subtle and controlled terms, as with most militant organizations. After all, no Israeli-administered town, the ones occupied in Palestine during the initial 1948 war, had ever been taken in any war against the Jewish state since its creation, even by a combined force of multiple Arab national militaries.

That notion now can no longer exist.

At sunrise, Hamas fired a gigantic barrage of rockets into Israeli territory, a staggering 5,000 in the first wave alone. As Israeli military and police forces were distracted by fires and rocket destruction in residential areas of the country, Palestinian forces in Gaza proceeded to make their primary move.

After the sun rose, Hamas cut through the border fence surrounding Israel and sent both fighters on foot and on motorcycles into Israel. Images released by the group seem to tell a story in frozen figures. Israeli soldiers, strewn dead, caught by surprise, one having even rushed out so quickly that he put on his military gear but no other clothes except his underwear. An even grimmer story could be found in one of the IDF military dormitories, where an entire room full of soldiers had been massacred, only having perhaps seconds earlier gotten the alarm that Hamas had breached the perimeter, many of them seemingly mid-way through getting out of bed.

From there, Hamas made unprecedented move after unprecedented move. Hamas fighters moved as far north into Zikim, built on the former Palestinian village of Hiribya, and moved as far east as Ofakim, built on the former hamlet of Khirbat Futais. The Erez Crossing, for years the only legal border crossing that Israel operated with the Gaza Strip, came under full Palestinian control. Sderot, a city where Israelis had once gathered on couches dragged to high peaks to watch the bombardment of Palestinians, now found themselves facing down Palestinian fighters in their own streets.

An additional shock would come in Israel’s initial response. Amidst cataclysmic scenes like hundreds of ravers in the desert near Gaza fleeing on foot, neither the Israeli president nor the prime minister spoke in those early hours in the morning.

The Israeli high command, despite the continuous insistence of Palestinian factions that they would one day attempt to take the fight into Israel itself, had become complacent. They, like many observers of Israel-Palestine, believed the occupation they had constructed could go on forever, unburdened by the need to adapt. Israeli soldiers after all were now more used to sniping reporters and unarmed protesters than engaging in military conflict. Entropy was what was propelling the military occupation complex of the Jewish state, not a wholly active effort.

Despite an ungodly amount of Western military equipment, highly advanced anti-aircraft systems programmed to shoot down thousands of rockets, an international reputation for tenacity and strategic knowhow, and multiple victories against Arab nations again and again and again, all of it ended up being useless against a Hamas fighter flying in on a box fan and a parachute.

This failure is two-fold, and both are closely related. One is the expectation that things could go on as before without addressing the root of the issue (that being a military occupation of an entire state), and the other in expectation that those being occupied had no capacity to learn from experience how Israel’s military strategy operates, people who could then going on to capitalize on that knowledge.

There is a fundamental flaw in the perception of Western powers toward the Middle East in general and Arabs in particular that because the groups fighting with Israel or the United States are irregular, bereft of highly professional uniforms and dedicated gigantic military headquarters, that they do not have the same ability to strategize and to confront the forces that are occupying their countries. Flashes of how faulty this thinking is rear their head again and again, from Iraq to Afghanistan and everywhere in-between and around, but still the idea, unspoken as it may be, remains that they are fundamentally unequipped compared to the might they are fighting against. But Hamas has military strategists of its own, ones that understand the asymmetric situation they are dealing with, and ones that understand what the actual capabilities of Israel are, versus what their perception is.

The perception of Israel’s invulnerability versus what has actually been displayed today could not have been more different. Instead of being forced to immediately pull back, in essence making today a raid, Hamas has instead actually contested several Israeli settlements, which are still being fought over at time of this writing many hours after the initial incursion from Gaza began. A single Israeli soldier captured and held in Gaza used to capture the Israeli imagination for years; now there are believed to be not only tens of soldiers captured by Hamas, but tens of Israeli civilians as well, all now being held within the Strip. Hamas has also brought Israeli military vehicles back into the Strip, the novelty of working IDF equipment now under Palestinian control a source of celebration within the territory. Over 100 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the first day of Hamas’ attack, and nearly 1000 injured, a shocking early casualty count in an ongoing conflict where casualties on the Palestinians’ side are usually far more lopsided.

Israel’s response so far to Hamas’ operation has been to escalate rhetorically, with Netanyahu now calling this a war, and escalating its usual military strategy with Gaza, with carpet bombing now on an intense, concentrated scale. At the time of this writing, almost 200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in only a few hours, with that number expected to rise significantly in the days to come. Already, news has come in of Israeli planes having leveled Gaza’s second-largest building, the Palestine Tower, which housed a plethora of media offices, in scenes reminiscent of Israel’s bombing of another tower block of media offices in 2021 that infamously took out the local bureau of the Associated Press.

As fighting continues into the night in ways never seen before since 1948, the question remains: after all these decades, why now?

The ostensible justifications of what the clincher was that sparked this operation are innumerable, but two appear to be most clearly illuminated: the recent increased activity of far-right Zionists at the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem (hence the name of the operation itself), but just as well the indications that the Saudi Arabia and Israel may be close to a normalization deal, which would be the largest such development in the Abraham Accords yet. Hezbollah mentioned this operation as being a “message” and a “decisive response” to Arab nations pursuing the idea of normalization with Israel. Still, it is important to recognize that pinning the undertaking of a completely gigantic operation of this scale as just a simple message to Saudi Arabia would be reductive. As the Los Angeles Times’ international correspondent Nabih Bulos says of the matter:

“To pretend that Hamas did this to be a spoiler of KSA-Israel normalization is just downright epic in its navel-gazing nonsense.”

What is important to always return to is that eternally governing line above everything: the low hum of constant occupation, and who has been causing its spikes. Israel’s government, its most far-right in its history, has been on the warpath almost immediately from its inauguration, with figures like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, now thrust to the forefront, doing everything large and small to provoke a Palestinian response. The hope is that the inevitable Palestinian response can mobilize the Israeli society, that it can be swiftly defeated by the Israeli military, and that the Israeli state can use such an opportunity to impose its sovereignty over what little of Palestine governed by Palestinians remains, and perhaps even what lies beyond it.

But that formula relies on the Palestinian side only accepting being provoked, themselves having no strategy of their own outside of firing rockets and yelling on television. Military occupation breeds a feeling of annihilation, but that annihilation is enclosed with it inevitable feelings of rabid and desperate hope, inspiring within irregular groups desires to try things never tried before. These are not always guaranteed to be successful: one may look at Aleppo when rebel groups managed to come together and break the siege on the city in the final stages of the battle, only for it to fall in the months to come anyway. Nevertheless, there is a real perception within Israel, communicated out to the world by its media and by its intelligentsia, that it is a nation on the verge of internal collapse, brought to the precipice by far-right forces it has let fester for decades without envisioning its eventual conclusion.

What does looking at how Israel is faring now communicate to Palestinian factions in Gaza? What do young people in Gaza, who make up 47% of the Strip’s population, imagine might lie ahead for them as they see these events unfold? What does a Hamas fighter imagine might be possible when, as the writer Josef Burton says, he exits a 25 by 7-mile space he’s never left in his entire life?

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

here's a fun fact: there were 114 jews in sunderland in 2001 (this was the only year i could find census data); the chances that roy billetted with a jewish family are like. vanishingly small. and i don't think he was canonically intended to be jewish but if there's no jews in a story i will add them (add us), and i really do think there's something about the alienation of growing up jewish away from any sort of jewish community that's very resonant with his arc. because he moves hours away from home and then he loses his grandfather — loses the person who was implied to be his primary caregiver, who had things left to teach him and never got the chance: how to ride a bike, but maybe also how to set a seder plate and build a sukkah and taper off caffeine the week before yom kippur once he's old enough. you can't pick up judaism through osmosis, is the thing, not unless you're around other jews. so he grows up five hours away from home and the school holidays, the holidays from football, never line up with his holidays so he doesn't celebrate; starts to forget what he would have been celebrating, or how. but then he comes back to london and phoebe's shit dad fucks off for good, and his sister decides they're going to raise her jewish. and it's fucking awful, having to learn his own culture from books and from his sister, pushing down the resentment that it's ingrained in her the way it isn't — the way it maybe never will be — in him, but he doesn't want phoebe to grow up feeling the way he did. and so he learns.

[incomingalbatross]

Gravity Falls, the first year after canon:

Kids start school basically as soon as they get home. Wendy and Co. go back into high school. Dipper starts boxing lessons at a local gym.

Stan and Ford get the Stan O' War II operational around the end of September, making a detour to sail south and see the kids before heading to the Arctic. Meet the Pines parents! (I really wanted them there for Thanksgiving, but I couldn't justify delaying their voyage by a whole three months. And end of September situates their sailing right after Yom Kippur, which from my limited understanding seems nicely symbolic.)

The kids + parents spend Thanksgiving with their dad's side of the family. May involve a belated realization that no one told Grandpa Shermie he has two brothers again. Oops? Situation is rectified.

Through the Magic of Christmas and a fortuitous run-in with Santa, Stan and Ford unexpectedly get to go home for Christmas! They even get to visit Piedmont and (with the kids) Gravity Falls before they zip back to their boat. Lots of reunions. This is also when Soos and Melody announce they've just gotten engaged. :)

Spring is less eventful in terms of California-Oregon-Arctic traffic.

The second school lets out, the younger twins are racing the older ones to Oregon. It's a photo finish probably. Everyone crowds into the Shack, which is fuller with Soos and Abuelita there, but it's also full of secret rooms and a floorplan that makes no sense, so it's fine.

Stan and Ford's birthday is on June 15!! It is a Very Big Deal. Dipper and Mabel go all out on the party planning, though they keep it mostly confined to the Shack crew.

Somewhere in here (maybe at the start? maybe in the middle?) Dipper and Mabel's parents come up for a couple weeks of vacation. It's a little disorienting for everyone, but they learn to love the town and Mabel and Dipper love getting to share it with them.

Soos and Melody get married on July 13 - Melody is making a Statement with that choice of date, which Soos understands and is overjoyed by. Half the town is at the wedding and all of it is at the reception (even though anyone not on the limited guest list has to pay admission. Stan is weeping with pride).

McGucket uses his new wealth to throw a ludicrously wild and extravagant shindig for the town on the date of the traditional Northwest party.

Despite the reach of NMAT, everyone feels unsettled on the anniversary of Weirdmageddon. People end up congregating in the town square in the evening. Wendy and her gang start a bonfire, people start bringing out food, and suddenly people are singing apocalypse folk songs? Trading stories? It's a whole thing in the end, but it helps people make something fun out of their memories.

The summer ends on a better note for the whole town, though, with a blow-out party to celebrate Mabel and Dipper's fourteenth birthday. This year their parents come up to give them company on the trip home, so they get to be there for the party too!

[magnetothemagnificent]

A cool Dvar Torah I read:

Parshat HaChodesh, the New Moon, and Eclipses!

This Shabbat we read a special section from the Torah called Parshat Hachodesh. It is the story of the Mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, that we track, observe and celebrate the new moon each and every month. Since the day that G-d commanded Moshe regarding this Mitzvah, two weeks before the grand Exodus from Egyptian slavery, we have kept a close eye on the moon, looking out for that celestial monthly moment of rebirth that G-d showed Moshe that early evening in Egypt. In the Torah, our holidays - Passover, Sukkot, Yom Kippur etc. - are prescribed to happen on a certain day following the new moon: "the fifteenth day after the new moon", "the tenth day after the new moon" and so on. Meaning, that if we wish to celebrate these festivals, we need to keep track of the lunar cycle, even if no one else on Earth gives it a second thought. Along the way, the Jewish people have come to identify with the moon. We can empathize with the moon's ups and downs, so similar to our own history. One moment we're shining bright, the next moment we're so oppressed and persecuted that casual observers have often written us off, predicting our extinction, G-d forbid. And yet the next moment, to their disbelief, we're back, reborn out of the darkness, and growing stronger every day. It's notable that G-d interrupted the flow of events leading up to the Exodus to tell Moshe about Rosh Chodesh. Not only because it seems to be unrelated to what was happening then, but also because by giving that Mitzvah right then, it meant that it would given in Egypt, the darkest spiritual locale in the world. G-d could have waited a couple of weeks until we were out of that spiritual wasteland and told us about Rosh Chodesh in the desert. Why the rush? * Everyone's talking about the eclipse happening Monday afternoon - The Great North American Eclipse. It's a major event that will have millions of people looking up to the Heavens, an event that will not happen again in the USA until 2044. Now, solar eclipses only happen around the new moon. Monday night and Tuesday, Jews will observe Rosh Chodesh. And not just any Rosh Chodesh, but the annual Rosh Chodesh of all Rosh Chodeshes - the first Rosh Chodesh of the year. This means that Monday is the day before rebirth, the day when the moon is at its very lowest, darkest point, the moment that symbolizes the most difficult, challenging times of the Jewish People. And so it turns out that precisely in its smallest, weakest moment, the moon looms largest: it can even eclipse the mighty light of the sun. Is this not our story exactly? Is this not precisely why G-d told this to Moshe in Egypt, in our place of misery and suffering? During the last new moon of our centuries-long sojourn in Egypt, G-d shows Moshe the truth about the miracle of Jewish rebirth and eternity. In the place of our pain, before the redemption, in the midst of the uncertainty, G-d stops everything and tells us to look up at the moon, see our story in the moon's story, and discover in the moon a solid friend, an eternal gentle reminder that it will be okay, that no matter what, Am Yisrael Chai forever. And better yet, as Monday's eclipse shows, our darkest moments are when we shine brightest and loom largest, as we begin the great turnaround, the journey from darkness to light. This Monday will be the 3,336th anniversary of the day G-d showed Moshe the moon. How perfect. During these painful days of antisemitism, the sun, 400 times bigger than the moon, is eclipsed by it. Far from tottering or faltering, the Jewish People are stronger than ever. Precisely when casual observers report us missing, that's when we shine. L'Chaim, brothers and sisters. Our best days lay just ahead. So in the words of the Lecha Dodi which we'll all be singing in just a few hours: "Wake up, wake up! Your light is coming, rise and shine! Time to wake up and say your song, because G-d's glory is revealed upon you."

by Rabbi Eli Friedman, Chabad Calabasas CA

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from EcoWatch:

In 1979, when President Jimmy Carter famously unveiled 32 solar panels on the White House roof, he remarked, “A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”

Despite his reputation as an often ineffective president, he had an enormous effect on the environment as an advocate for clean energy, protecting lands and regulating toxic chemicals.

Jimmy Carter was an early adopter of clean energy in an effort to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil following the oil crisis that preceded his presidency. Four years before Carter took office, the member nations of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries placed an oil embargo on the U.S. and several other western nations in response to their support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. As a result, the price of oil rose by more than 300%, while American dependence on foreign oil was simultaneously rising. 

After Carter took office, he responded by creating the U.S. Department of Energy. One of Carter’s major goals for the agency was to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels by pushing for the domestic production of energy. While this push wasn’t perfect — part of his solution for the complex crisis included propping up domestic coal power — it was also a first-of-its-kind endorsement for clean energy, championing sustainable sources like solar and nuclear. “No one can embargo the sun,” Carter once said. “No cartel controls the sun. Its energy will not run out. It will not pollute our air or poison our waters. The sun’s power needs only to be collected, stored and used.”

In 1979, a second oil crisis hit, this time spurred by the decline in oil trade in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Carter responded by laying out plans to expand renewable energy sources and made a pledge that 20% of American energy would be produced by renewable sources by 2000, but was voted out of office before many of these plans could come to fruition. 

Carter also protected far more land than any U.S. president in history. In 1978, he advocated for the National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA,) which aimed to protect vast amounts of Alaskan wilderness from commercial use and destruction. After the bill failed due to a last-minute filibuster, Carter used executive authority to protect more than 56 million acres of Alaskan wilderness, designating those lands as National Monuments. This action alone would more than double the size of the National Park system.

In December of 1980, roughly six weeks before Carter left office, ANILCA was debated again in Congress, and passed. Upon Carter’s signature, the law became the most expansive federal protection of American lands in history, granting protection to more than 157 million acres of Alaskan wilderness, which included further protections for much of the land Carter had protected two years prior. Of those 157 million acres, it also designated nearly ten million acres to the National Wildlife Refuge System, more than nine million acres to the Wilderness Preservation System, and more than three million acres to the National Forest System.

[mariacallous]

Moroccan Jews are well-known for their love for all things sweet, and are famed around the world for their spectacular Mimouna parties to celebrate the end of Passover. With elaborate pastries and cakes, it comes as no surprise that this community has a wonderful array of dishes that are served during Passover as well. 

Pellebe is a sponge cake flavored with orange blossom water and citrus zest, and then soaked in apricot syrup. This wonderfully light and airy cake is traditionally served by Jews in Morocco during Passover. Some bake the cake with the apricot halves and almonds gently placed on top of the cake, which gives a wonderful tang or with a layer of jam sandwiched between the middle. In this recipe, I slowly cook tinned apricots until they break down to make a delicious compote to serve on the side, but you could serve the whole apricots on the side if you prefer.

“Pellebe” is a Judeo-Arabic word used by the Jews of Morocco, who mainly hail from Spain. As well as for Passover, this popular cake is often made for birthdays and other celebrations throughout the year. It is often layered up with the orange marmalade called ma’azumor and sometimes also topped with meringue, making it extra decadent! Some start or finish the Yom Kippur fast with a slice of the cake and a coffee that has sweet egg cream added — and any leftovers are, of course, served as a breakfast cake, I see no better way to start the day! 

This recipe substitutes potato starch and egg whites for the traditional wheat flour to keep within the Passover kosher rules. They give the cake a light texture, with the wonderfully fresh syrup keeping it moist and giving a unique flavor. You can use almond flour for a gluten-free cake, which can be served all year around. 

Notes:

Ideally, the syrup should be left to soak the cake for 1-2 hours before eating.

The cake can be stored in an airtight container for a few days but hold off pouring on the syrup until the day of serving. 

You can find the rose-shaped pan used in the photos on Amazon.

[keshetchai]

I think a huge problem in internet Judaism (also sometimes irl!) discussions is often that we're so focused on fighting or pushing back on misconceptions, Christian normativity, and distorted Christian ideas about our theology — that sometimes in the pursuit of this, we forget to approach a more complicated internal reality, or we overlook parts of our own religion while trying to not assimilate.

Things like the Talmud talking about Yom Kippur being a happy day. A lot of folks were surprised and didn't know there's a huge tradition that YK is supposed to be a positive holiday and many Jews observe with joy. Then some folks went on to elaborate that if someone wished them a happy Yom Kippur and they were Jewish it was fine, but if they were gentiles who simply didn't know anything and didn't bother to learn, then they were annoyed by the lack of care re: cultural nuance or whatever.

But like...of all the annoying christian-normative bullshit that exists — someone trying to wish me a happy holiday on a holiday that is noted to be solemn AND positive, but not really knowing anything about my religion — that doesn't really make a list of things I have time to be mad about! Or even irked by!

There's a lot of ways in which people are shitty and careless or make it obvious they consider our non-christian holidays an annoying quirk they have to acknowledge, but "happy yom kippur!" Is not one of them. Sometimes I just have to remind myself that I want other people to assume the best of me, even when I am the one who is socially awkward or ignorant, or stumbling around just trying to be an okay person. And sometimes I am the clueless one who has only a shallow understanding of someone's interior life/culture and I said/did nothing actually offensive but treated the situation the same way I treat similar ones in my own life because everyone has cultural blinders somewhere.

So sometimes, I have to look at other people doing The Thing and ask myself if it's at all malicious or harmful, and if it ISN'T, shouldn't I assume the best of another human bumbling around like I do all the time? "Hey thanks. Yeah I had a meaningful holiday."

Likewise, YES, we do have a history of wrestling with G-d and pushing back and asking questions and so on, but no, stiff-necked isn't wholly complimentary, it's...frequently the opposite of that. And the knee-jerk reaction is often to push back against Christianity and Islam vilifying Jews and their stubbornness/failures/wrongs in the Bible. Which is totally reasonable, there's a huge history of a theology of antisemitism and blaming there that impacts us today.

HOWEVER, we can push back against the antisemitic theologies and interpretations of these stories without necessarily having to recharacterize everything beyond recognition?

Yes, Abraham yelled at G-d that one time, and it was great. It may have even been a test of Abraham. Yes, Israel wrestles with G-d. Yes, the Jews in the desert complain to Moses they are dying of thirst and ask what was the point of leaving Egypt if they should only die while wandering instead?

Great. Love that. BUT ALSO: yes stiff-necked is not always a compliment. Yes, the Israelites struggled and made mistakes, and are utterly and painfully human just like people are today. Flawed. We are not so stiff-necked as to say we have not sinned!

Is anything as scary as a group that admits no flaws? No errors of judgment? Never questions themselves or learns from past mistakes? Idk to me, it's all very "with great responsibility comes great accountability, and power isn't the point here." Yes? If we take pride in the moments of arguing and the pushing back, then by that same token, we have to own the failings just as much to learn from. The relationship between G-d and Jews is a two way street.

It's not a failing to be an imperfect human, but it would be a failing to screw something up and then never admit it or keep doing it when you can change.

Idk I just...there's got to be ways we can dig into meaty and interesting stuff without having to constantly be like "just because some ancestors screwed up and G-d was angry at them doesn't mean you can say Jews lost the love of God and the covenant and were replaced you absolute weirdos."

[botaniqueer]

Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah are coming up and I have a lot of intense feelings about it wrt western imperialism and the people of my own ethnic background supporting.

I think I’m going to sunset the Magen David and stop using it for good and for Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, I am renewing my anti-capitalist principles and swearing service to colonized peoples everywhere, and these things will be like mental teffilin to me.

Indigenous folks here stopped using the whirling logs after the Nazis used it for the swastika, so I figure it’s my turn to give up a symbol. We also have a lot of symbology to draw from so we can just keep making more, but I think the star is spent.

[eretzyisrael]

hilzfuld

This is the day!! I truly believe that if there’s any day of the year that truly represents Israelis and the Jewish people, it’s Purim.  Everywhere you go in the country, and I mean everywhere, all you see are people smiling, dressed up, going to door and delivering packages full of candies, snacks, and drinks.  Somehow on this day, all differences and arguments melt away. In fact, on Purim in Israel, you’ll see endless chareidim, ultra orthodox, dressed up as soldiers, and secular Israelis dressed up as chareidim.  There’s no other day like it.  Actually, there is. The only other day on which the entire country is one is Yom Kippur.  What’s interesting is that Purim and Yom Kippur share the same root. That root is also in the word Perurim, which means crumbs, like bread crumbs.  Just like each crumb by itself is not whole until they all come together to form a slice of bread, so to every individual in Israel is not whole until we all come together and form a family.  If you ever want to see what Israel is REALLY like, how everyone here is truly a family, come visit on Purim. Walk around, wish people a happy Purim, and watch how, no matter who that person is, no matter how different they are than you, they smile at you and wish you a happy Purim back.  On Purim, the only anger you’ll see are people telling others that they didn’t invest enough in their costume.  On Purim (and Yom Kippur), we are reminded that we are all bread crumbs individually, but together, we are strong, resilient, and unbreakable!

[phoebe-delia]

can you tell us more about your Jewish Harry hc? Was Lily Jewish? Was James Jewish? Did he convert? I just wanna hear more 🥺 🤲🏽

Hi!! Sure, I'd love to! Thank you for asking. I'm not sure I've gotten this question before so please excuse the long rant this is about to be lol.

CW: mention of canon child abuse, mention of food-related trauma

I want to say, before I begin, that this is all based on my personal experience with Judaism and is my personal headcanon for a Jewish Harry.

In my headcanon, both Lily and James were Jewish. I think Petunia converted to Christianity for Vernon, and she didn't care about Harry knowing anything about his parents' faith. So Harry had no idea he was Jewish until he got to Hogwarts and someone told him and he was like, "Wait, really?"

Still, I think he doesn't really explore his Judaism while he's at Hogwarts. Hermione is Jewish, and she tells him she'd be happy to answer any questions he has about it, but IMO he doesn't really think about it. He celebrates Christmas with the Weasleys every year at Hogwarts and will do so for the rest of his life. I think he's too caught up in Voldemort and trying not to die.

But after Hogwarts, Harry finally has time to learn more about his family, including their faith. He asks Hermione for help, and she's so happy to teach him things; major holidays, traditions, culture, etc.

Harry ends up living in Grimmauld Place after the war. He goes through some boxes and finds an old menorah and a book full of his parents' handwritten recipes for things like challah, rugelach, latkes, matzo ball soup and so much more. He calls Hermione and she comes over once a week and they cook together.

She teaches him about Shabbat (the prayers, the candles, etc). Harry actually likes it and he celebrates Shabbat every Friday night with candles and challah.

Hermione also takes him to her synagogue for the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—the Jewish New Year and day of atonement respectively). Harry appreciates it, but he doesn't go back after that. He wants to explore the faith on his own.

(I also think he doesn't fast on Yom Kippur; I imagine that would be really triggering for him since he barely got to eat as a kid).

Draco is really supportive, too, when they get together. He doesn't know much about Judaism, but he loves learning from Harry. They end up celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas every year.

That's pretty much it! Thank you so much again for asking, this was fun!!

[blueshistorysims]

Late August 1937, Henford-on-Bagley, England

When they returned from India at the end of August, everything went right back to routine; Byron in his library, the children playing, and everything else that happened at Walshstone Park. 

Eleora was pleased to see a letter from Albert, who’d also taken his children to India that July. His wife Odette had been unable to come, too heavily pregnant with their third. She had been counting down the days to hear from her brother’s family with the news of another niece/nephew. 

Her brother and sister-in-law had another son, a little boy named Samuel. His brother Victor, who was now in school, was very pleased with a brother while their older sister Marie-Louise had wanted a sister. 

Along with the news, Albert had sent an invitation for the family to come for Yom Kippur, eager to show his nephew and niece their new townhouse in Paris, as well as to meet little Samuel. 

“Byron?” Eleora asked, entering the library when she finished reading the letter.

He looked up from his book. “Hmm?” 

“Albert sent a letter. They had a boy, named him Samuel.”

“I bet Odette is quite tired of all of her children looking like Albert.”

She chuckled. “He’s also invited us to spend Yom Kippur at their new house in Paris. I know it would mean the children would miss school, but they’ve never been to Paris before, and I want to meet my nephew.”

Byron nodded. “I have no objections.” He stood up. “I must be in London tomorrow.”

“But we just returned!”

“But I am one of the few people in the Foreign Office that reads and speaks Japanese. We’re to discuss what’s happening in ShangHai with the Japanese ambassador.”

“Is it as bad as they say?”

He pursed his lips. “Yes, but I cannot say more. …Ever since the military fanatics took over the Japanese government… I don’t know what will happen in the Far East.”

beginning/previous/next

[stinkysam]

Peter Parker - I never lost hope.

Warning : none

Genre : fluff

Synopsis : “pt 2 of tasm!peter x reader where they're both heroes?? maybe them talking again and finally starting to get along well again” - anon

Reader : gender neutral (you/yours)

A/N : Part ONE

Even though Peter didn't respond to your messages, you continue to send him texts through the years. Mainly for new years, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, Passovers, birthdays and christmases. And a bit randomly at times.

Then one day you saw him at your door. He was in his spider suit, his mask off, sweaty and disheveled.

You didn't have the time to say anything that he had wrapped his arms around you, squeezing you tightly.

Shocked, you slowly responded to the hug, your hands holding his arms.

“Peter ? What's going on ?” You said, gently pushing him off of you to make him talk.

“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” He started. “I should've answered your texts.”

“What ?” You shook your head, not understanding. “You're mad so-”

“No ! I mean, yes, I was mad at first, then it was just… pettiness and I didn't know what to answer so it was easier to ignore them.”

You stared at him, unsure of what to say.

“W- what happened ? Why are you here ?”

“It's… complicated.”

You frowned, not understanding.

“I went to another universe…” He started. “Saved Max and doctor Connors and a bunch of other villains from other mes, oh, and I also saved MJ, she's the love of one of mes’ life. Saving her really did something to me. Magic is real. And one of mes got stabbed but it's not his first time which is a bit worrisome-”

You stared at him, as if he's told you he went to another universe and that magic is real- oh, wait, that's what he told you ! You blinked incredulously, trying to follow his rambling, putting your hands on his shoulders to slow him down.

“What ?” He asked, almost out of breath.

“What the fuck ?” You whispered, still shocked.

“Yeah ! I know !” He nodded excitedly before continuing. “Peter 2, the other me, and Peter 1 too, actually, made me realize I didn't have to be alone and that it was worth trying to fight for the people we love and I love you, you're my best friend and I shouldn't have been mad at you for trying to look out for me and-” He froze as you hugged him, your head resting on his shoulder.

“I'm sorry… For Gwen.” You said quietly.

He wrapped his arms around you, holding you tightly against him as you could finally give him your condolences face to face.

“I'm glad it's not a ‘I told you so’” He joked and you kicked his knee. “It's… okay. I've made my mourning. It wasn't your fault but mine. You tried to warn me-”

“I don't care ! I should've been there to help you protect her !”

“No, no. You said it. It's impossible to constantly watch after one person. It's paranoid and unhealthy.”

“But maybe I could've helped change that.” You said, letting go of him.

“Maybe, or maybe she still would've died. You don't know.”

“But still-”

“No ! Stop it !” He grabbed your face, stopping you from talking more. “Thank you for being there for me even if it was from afar. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you. I should've answered your messages. I shoul-”

“It's okay.”

“No it's not ! I've been the worst best friend ever but I'm here to make up for it. Will you forgive me ?”

“Of course I forgive you !” You said, wrapping your arms around him once more. “You're my best friend.”

Peter smiled, hugging you again.

“Thank you for all your messages.” Even though he didn't want to admit it at the time, seeing them really helped him feel cared for and important.

You patted his back gently, before pulling away.

“Of course. I never stopped caring about you.”

“Thanks, man. It meant a lot. I promise I'll be here for you.” He said and you smiled.

“Wanna come in ? Instead of talking by the doorstep ?”

“Yeah… I'd like to.”

[girlactionfigure]

🇮🇱 IDF REPORT REVEALS CRITICAL FAILURES IN INTELLIGENCE AND RESPONSE TO HAMAS'S OCTOBER 7 ATTACK

🔴 This week, IDF Chief of Staff LTG Herzi Halevi addressed commanders, discussing the lessons from the October 7 attacks. He stressed the importance of inquiry and learning from past mistakes, referencing the Yom Kippur War as an example of delayed reflection.

Halevi acknowledged the difficulty of admitting failure but emphasized that facing it directly strengthens both individuals and the organization. "Since October 7th, 2023—Simchat Torah—I make sure, every single day, multiple times a day, to look failure in the eye. And I tell you: do not try to forget, do not look away. Not from a place of weakness, but with immense strength—because that is how we will become stronger."

He highlighted five guiding values for the inquiry process: truth, transparency, practicality, responsibility, and camaraderie. He stressed that truth must always come first, even before camaraderie, as "camaraderie can be restored; truth is much harder to repair."

Halevi praised the courage of soldiers, female observers, and commanders who made critical decisions and continued fighting despite being wounded. He reiterated his personal responsibility as IDF chief on October 7, stating, "My responsibility is mine. I was the commander of the military on October 7th, and I have my own responsibility. I also carry the weight of all your responsibility—that, too, I see as mine."

As Passover approaches, he urged all IDF personnel to take ownership of their roles in strengthening the military for the future, saying, "See this as ours. Because the work will be better that way."

🔴  The IDF has released its findings on the failures leading up to and during Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack. Around 5,000 Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others. The military was overwhelmed, with bases near the border overrun, the chain of command broken, and intelligence warnings misinterpreted.

The IDF’s investigations focused on four key areas:

1️⃣ Misjudgment of Hamas’s Intentions – The IDF wrongly believed Hamas was uninterested in large-scale war, that its tunnel networks were degraded, and that Israel’s high-tech border fence would prevent infiltration. This perception was far from reality.

2️⃣ Ignored Intelligence Warnings – Military intelligence had received multiple indications over the years of Hamas’s plan for a large-scale attack. Despite knowing by April 2022 that Hamas was preparing such an operation and that by September 2022 it had reached 85% readiness, officials dismissed these threats as unrealistic.

3️⃣ Failure to Act on Warning Signs – On the night before the attack, the IDF identified five unusual Hamas activities but did not consider them indicators of an imminent assault. Years of false assessments led intelligence officials to miss the warning.

4️⃣ Command and Control Breakdown – The IDF’s Gaza Division was effectively defeated for several hours on October 7. The General Staff did not realize this in real-time, leading to poor situational awareness and a delayed response in blocking the invasion.

❗ The findings highlight severe miscalculations and failures in intelligence, preparedness, and response, leading to the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians in history.