#but i will never understand why the zionists believe that they have the right to drive out the Palestinians and terrorize them

[t4tdykes]

z.ionism in the tags, tbd

#at this point #you have to wonder just how sacred this land really is to you if you're willing to do this much crime directly against g-d on and over it #i am studying quite a lot right now & reading a LOT about the zionist perspective bc it's an integral part of the books we are given tbh #and so much of the phrasing is about this yearning for what sounds like a completely understandable thing but the thing about it is #it's ancient and it's an ideal and the world has changed *so much* since that yearning took root #when it says we are meant to yearn for a return to isr.ael it makes so much more sense to conceptualize that as The People(hood) #it is *understandable* after everything that the people have been put through over history to want a safe returning point! yeah! #How Ever!!!!!!!! #in what FUCKING WORLD does it make sense to create an environment like this out of that place? to exemplify hypocrisy? #in class we literally study and talk so much about all sorts of historical events that are so similar #and about how amazing it rly is that the torah never actually shies away from the wrong that the ancient ppl have done #because it takes accountability in ways no other holy book does and it says ''we cannot ever do this again. we must never do this again.'' #how the fuck are so many people blind to the fact that this is the exact same thing as a Lot of the shit we already understand as wrong #i am just. beside myself constantly at the double standard it puts a sadness in my *bones* it makes me feel ill #the way the perspective is presented is absolutely like... you can see Why a lot of people attach to (and fall for) it. #it's presented in an appealing and touching and personal and *necessary* way. that is how it's phrased. #but it cannot possibly overshadow the reality of what's being done on that soil right now and what is happening to another People. #sorry but i cannot believe this is what my g-d wants. #a.txt #zionism tw #world #antizionism is not antisemitism! js!!!!

[sayruq]

Hamas propaganda is so much more effective than Israeli propaganda despite not having the support of seemingly every western news organisation. It's simple, clear, cohesive, easy to understand, and therefore believable.

For example, Hamas will film themselves handing over healthy looking hostages to the Red Cross and then interact with them right before they leave to show how friendly the captors and captives have gotten. You watch the videos and you understand everything that is being conveyed immediately.

And it worked. Even the people in my life, who aren't watching the conflict as closely as we have, have seen these images and have spoken in varying levels of surprise at how 'nice' and 'hospitable' Hamas was to the hostages. Keep in mind that these videos came out after weeks of billions of people witnessing the brutal and systemic murder of Palestinian people. The contrasting gentleness of the hostage exchange stood out greatly.

Israeli propaganda is chaotic, it conflicts itself, it's complicated. Look at this for example

In order to explain why the hostages were so friendly with their captors, first, it was because the hostages had Stockholm Syndrom. Naturally, social media, their second greatest enemy, was awash with people refuting the existence of such a syndrome. So, it became that the hostages were actually being held at gun point. While, there were guns present during the hostage handovers, no one was pointing them at hostages in the videos that we all have available. No one was being hostile either. Now, we have the sedative explanation which again can be easily refuted by the videos we all have access to because the hostages didnt seem particularly drowsy. So, we have hostages with Stockholm Syndrome, who had guns pointed at them, and who were sedated. That's just too much. How can Stockholm Syndrome coexist with being held at gun point in front of the Red Cross? Why would they need to threaten the hostages if they're sedated? Which explanation can the average zionist go with? Which one can a neutral party accept?

The same goes for the war propaganda. On one hand you have American officials insisting that Israel would never harm Palestinian civilians on purpose but on the other hand, you have soldiers filming themselves shooting recklessly and with wild abandon into thin air with the implication being that they're battling off screen Hamas. You also have Israel insisting that hospitals, schools and refugee camps are secret Hamas bases but all we are seeing is civilians getting murdered in protected areas. When it comes to war reports, they can't decide if they've killed 1,000 or 5,000 Hamas fighters. No wonder even Israeli commentators have given up on the promise of the complete eradication of Hamas.

The Palestinian resistance have also released war propaganda. Simple, well edited videos showing their fighters actually battling Israeli soldiers and tanks, sometimes very up close. The videos are similar despite featuring different confrontations in the battlefield over a period of time. It's easy for anyone to spot an Al Qassam or Al Quds video. It's even easier to accept their daily war reports because we've seen them back up their claims. The numbers they give are consistent with their capabilities as well as various indicators such as Israel being forced to decommission their older tanks for the war in Gaza. Would they be doing that if they weren't losing their top line tanks fast?

Many zionists have spent the past 2 months confused as to why the whole world has seemingly turned against Israel. I'd point the finger at Israel if I were them, both due to its actions in Gaza and its inability to continue fooling the world.

#yemen #jerusalem #tel aviv #current events #palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #news on gaza #palestine news #news update #war news #war on gaza

[fairuzfan]

I have concern that I may still be technically zionist despite claiming to be pro-palestine. This is because I knew very little about Palestine when October 7th happened, so in the time since I have been reluctant to have a stance on a two-state or one-Palestinian-state solution. I know now that almost all of Isreal is stolen land and recognize Isreal only exists due to colonialism, it took me a long time to learn that but I know it now. Before I knew that, I knew that regardless of the prior history that in current day Palestine is being subjected to a genocide. However, I struggle with politics and therefore struggle with understanding how a one-Palestinian-state could be achieved and have concern about what would happen to any genuinely innocent people who live in Isreal. To be clear, Isreal as a whole is guilty and I just have concern about what will happen to the portion of people in Isreal who are just as horrified as the rest of the world at what their government is doing. I do not personally know any Palestinians, so I have not known who to talk to about this especially since I do not want to overstep in any way. Theres more context I could provide but I wont because this is roughly the gist of where I am currently at when it comes to my concerns about whether or not I am still zionist. Do you have any reccomendations as to what I can do about my concerns? I am not sure whether or not I am overstepping right now by asking you this, but I do not know any other Palestians on a personal level that I can go to.

hey thanks for sending this in. i think we all have zionist biases that we have to unlearn, even i catch myself falling for it sometimes. so it's not necessarily a moral failing if you're trying to undo the zionism you've been taught. thanks for trying to undo it!

i do want to correct you a bit thought, in that *all* of israel is stolen land because israel is a settler colonial society. until it is relabeled as "Palestine" it can't not be stolen land.

I guess my advice is that you read scholarship and perspectives on palestinian thought and heritage. i can't tell you what a free palestine will look like but i can tell you what i imagine it to be. but what i can tell you is that the state of israel is fully intent on erasing all traces of palestinian life no matter what.

i guess i can tell you why "two state solutions" don't really work because there is no.... prevention of settlement building in the west bank and they'll never really promote *not* settling in the west bank. like i really cannot imagine a world where there aren't settlers on palestinian land no matter the case. and that's even not allowing palestinians the right of return to their homes and expecting them to give up what they dedicated their lives to. many palestinians in the west bank and gaza are themselves refugees because they were displaced in '48. so no matter what, palestinians will always get the short end of the stick and told to "just deal with it."

plus, why are we concerned with the supposed future danger towards israelis when the current, very real danger towards palestinians exists? shouldn't we prioritize actual events over hypothetical ones? why should we concern ourselves with the future when for palestinians its not a guarantee? i have no idea what's going to happen to gaza, for example.... shouldn't we prioritize that gaza lives on today?

i think i would question why you think israelis are inherently in danger in a one state solution? like do you assume that palestinians will all universally commit violence on all israelis? is it because you believe that hamas wants to kill every single israeli jew no matter what? if so, i think that's where your problem lies — in the assumption that peace can only be achieved through segregation just in a lighter form (because the state of israel relies on segregation as a principal of its existence as a jewish state). what about the palestinians who fear living side by side with the same people who raped, tortured, and murdered them for 75 years, or advocated for their deaths? aren't they inherently in more danger?

i mean palestinians have consistently been painted as the villains for more than 75 years. like in every aspect. i think to really truly be antizionist you need to prioritize palestinian concerns and worries over israeli ones because of how.... unwilling much of the world is to even consider them.

approaching zionism from an idea of an inequality structure is also necessary — rather than assuming its a one off system, we examine it as a perpetuation of multiple types of systems of inequality embedded into one. i recommend the institute for the critical study of zionism (click) for more information on this. There's also this book by Ismail Zayid written in the 80's (click) about the longtime violence the ideology of zionism has done to multiple communities, not just palestinians.

Here's a great reading list by palipunk about different aspects of palestinian thought and culture (click). i suggest looking through them to help decolonize our way of thought.

i might add on to this later if i think of something else to say.

[weirdmageddon]

i posted this on twitter also but it’s still eating at me. i’m so fucking embarrassed to be jewish rn. i dont want to be associated with this ongoing bullshit from israel. why do we need our own state. theyre just making every jew across the globe look bad in general even though many of us are conflicted about zionism and the legitimacy of israel as a state

people have hated jews throughout history for no fuckin reason but now israel exists but now its like. GIVING people reasons to hate us as a group. note that i DON’T conflate zionism with jewishness, but a lot of people in the world don’t know the difference because theyre uninformed and been dripfed cultural antisemitic tropes their whole life and that’s the scary part is them falsely putting two and two together. like what the fuck israel stop youre just putting fuel on the fire for people around the world to hate an entire group of historically persecuted people if youre being this shitty with your insane colonialism and apartheid like……I Want No Fuckin Part Of This. you’re spelling our own doom. you cant just swoop in and go “mine now” and then oppress the people you took land from under a regime without my blood boiling at the injustice no matter WHO you are. even if my lineage is tied to you. so when news outlets support israel it doesn’t feel like they have the best interest of jews as a people in mind. it’s in the interest of a zionist ethnostate and whatever that christian zionism belief is about the jewish people returning to the holy land as prerequisite for the second coming of jesus. its not like they care about us as a dispersed ethnocultural group, it’s all for that religious narrative that a bunch of people in the US are backing.

saying you want all jews to die is antisemitic. beating someone up because they’re jewish and no other reason without knowing their views is antisemitic. criticizing human rights violations perpetrated by israel and the belief that one group deserves more rights another is not antisemitic. and the fact that israel has the ability to pull that antisemitism card in response to criticisms of the violations they commit because their state is the “jewish homeland” drives me fucking insane. take fucking accountability for your actions. and yes, there do exist full-on anti-jewish groups in the middle east that go beyond hatred of israel’s policies and existence as a state and i’m tired of people pretending there aren’t in fear of appearing to seem like they support the state of israel. on the other side of things many people overestimate this by fearmongering and saying EVERY arab is out to get jews worldwide, telling people like me “they want YOU dead”. this is not the belief every person in the middle east and it really rubs me the wrong way that people group millions of individuals into all-encompassing lumps like this. many people there do understand nuance of this political situation.

even if i have that “right of return” by israeli law or whatever, i don’t feel obliged to it; it does not register as fair. why do i have a “right of return” when i’ve never even been there in the first place while palestinians who have homes there can’t return to them? what’s the basis for that? substituting objective reality with an imaginary reality? i don’t think like that. i can hypothetically come and go whenever i please but palestinians are severely limited in mobility? what makes me more entitled to that land than the people who lived there for centuries? nothing that comes from natural law thats for sure. it’s all artificial and inflated.

but at the same time i also dont want to be the target of antisemitism and caught in the fray just for being ethnically jewish. once people start calling for the genocide of entire groups we’ve got issues (and you better believe this absolutely applies to the palestinian victims in gaza too), because people who dissent to the violence perpetrated by the loudest are caught in there with the people who are perpetrating the violence. lack of nuance. people conflating israel and its zionist apartheid policies with jewish ethnicity and culture worldwide. other people conflating being terrorist anti-jew with muslims worldwide (like that 6-year old palestinian-american boy that was just stabbed to death in chicago). scary times man. but as a jew i can’t just opt out of this if it’s how i was born as. i don’t have control over that. but i can control what i think and what my beliefs are

#israel palestine conflict #israel #palestine #what i feel is right most strongly resonates with secular humanist philosophy #never really found the right way to explain my worldview until i read about it

[koheletgirl]

Would love to hear about how you became an anti Zionist!

before i get into this, i'd like to direct you to some of @jewishvitya's posts: [x] [x] [x]. i think their perspective is more relevant to the current situation than mine, and they address issues that i won't get into here because they had no personal relevance to me and you asked about me.

so my family is considered left-wing in israel. my parents voted for ha'avoda (israeli labor) in most elections i can remember, my mom even went "as far" as voting for meretz (as far as jewish parties go, they're the furthest to the left. still zionist though. didnt get enough votes to get into the knesset in the last elections). i grew up mourning rabin, hating bibi before i even knew who he was, believing that the settlements are the source of all israeli wrongdoings. in 2005 people would put ribbons on their cars – green if you support dismantling the settlements in gaza, orange if you're against it. we had a green ribbon. my family talks about the two states solution, about going back to the '67 borders. my grandmother jokingly calls herself a "leftist traitor", because that's how the right labels them.

i grew up with these values. i was taught to value human life, i was taught that all people were equal, i was taught that nationalism and imperialism were wrong. we weren't afraid of talking about the occupation. we weren't afraid of calling israeli fascism what it was. you might have heard about the democracy protests that have been happening in israel in the past year; my parents went every week.

i think this is why it took me so long to break out of my zionist worldview. people talk about zionism as if it's explicitly genocidal and built on racial supremacy, and i understand why (and agree with this to an extent), but you have to understand how absurd this idea sounds to people like my parents. they don't think zionism is the issue, they think the israeli right is. they acknowledge the evils of the settlers in the west bank, but they would never consider themselves settlers. it's very easy to see the wrongness of a person going to someone's house and violently kicking a family out of there because they believe it should belong to them (not a hypothetical, this is happening in the west bank as we speak); it's a lot harder to think that maybe everything you were taught to believe about your own right to be here was a lie from the beginning.

and that's the problem, that it is a lie. we are literally taught there was nothing here. swamps and malaria and sand and sand. the zionists built a civilization out of nothing. that's the story, that's the myth.

another aspect of this that's essential to acknowledge is the dehumanization of palestinians in israel, which is still prevalent in leftist circles, despite taking a different form. the israeli left Loves to make the distinction between palestinians and "israeli arabs" - a term that some people that i have met have used for themselves, and i am not the right person to speak on (i'm sure there's nuance here i'm unaware of). these people don't think of themselves as racists. they don't mind arabs in general, they only mind "the arabs who want to harm us". and it's so easy for them to pat themselves on the back because they have plenty of arab friends and they actively oppose the goverment's racism; but they all draw the line when it comes to palestinians. to them, once a person calls themselves a palestinian, it means they believe jews have no right to exist here. it means their existence is at odds with their own. they don't see palestinians as people, they see them as an agenda.

i was going to add a bit about how the israeli left's aversion to religion (which stems from the influence orthodox jews currently have on israeli law) plays into this, but this is getting really long.

anyway. for me, it wasn't a revelation as much as it was a willingness to open my eyes to the fact that everything i had been taught was a lie. it was always there, this doubt, this uneasiness. i knew that there were a lot of people over the world whose opinions i generally agreed with – except when it came to israel. it just took me a really long time to be able to doubt Everything.

because that required tearing down everything my worldview was based on, everything i had believed in, and it was scary. it's a very, very difficult thing to do. not knowing what to believe is horrifying. realizing you have believed in lies your whole life is horrifying.

but at some point i had to ask myself: how can i hate everything this country stands for, and not doubt what it's taught me? how can i know what i know about the idf, and still believe it's acting humanely? and the thing is, i still don't know what to believe a lot of the time. i still doubt everything, all the time. i'm critical of all of my beliefs, and i think it's good to be. but i listen, and i look, and i feel, and above all i try to be compassionate. and there's only one stance you can take here if you value human life above all else.

here are some israel-based organizations that influenced my political views and i recommend checking out (even though i have my disagreements with them): b'tselem, standing together, breaking the silence, mesarvot

#ask #anon #israel #mmm idk what else to tag this #i had to stop myself at some point but know that obviously there's a lot more to it than what i sad

[edenfenixblogs]

Reminder! But be aware that many Jews use the term Zionist/Zionism in a way that you do not understand it/are not familiar with! Many Jewish people who you would define as Zionists and/or people who have all the same politics as you may:

1. Call themselves Zionists because it is a term with deeply individual meanings for many Jews

2. Not call themselves Zionists, but bristle at hearing the term “Zionist” be used as a pejorative because the history of the word Zionist being used as an antisemitic dogwhistle in leftism, communist Russia, and Arab extremist organizations (and because I am Jewish and on the internet I will state explicitly that no, of course I do not think all Arabs are extremists. I do not think all Muslims are extremists. I do not tolerate Islamophobia in any way on my blog or in real life. If I see a single even somewhat questionable instance of maybe Islamophobia in any replies here, you will be blocked and reported. I am taking the time to educate about Zionism as a dogwhistle, because I have chosen to tolerate a certain amount of feedback as a Jewish person. I am neither Arab nor Muslim so it is not my place to extend an olive branch of understanding regarding Islamophobia to you nor do I have any interest in doing so. I wholeheartedly condemn anti-Arab and Islamophobic hatred. As we all should)

3. Actively call themselves anti-Zionists because they define the term Zionism in a way that includes occupation, genocide, and expulsion

4. Actively call themselves anti-Zionists but still believe that Jewish people as an ethnoreligous group are inherently indigenous to the lands around Jerusalem while ALSO considering Palestinians to be indigenous to that same land.

5. Actively call themselves anti-Zionists because they oppose the formation of any religious state whatsoever, but still believe that Jews deserve to reside where they are right now without forced expulsion.

For non-Jewish people using the term anti-Zionism, I urge you to really think about what Zionism actually means to you as a term. Like what do you think that word is? What kind of person do you think a Zionist is? What assumptions are you making in the use of that term and is it fair to expect every Jewish person to agree with that definition and why do you feel that way?

And before anyone comments on me or makes assumptions about my stance.

I do not call myself a Zionist!

I deeply oppose the current government of Israel. I had the opportunity to go on a birthright trip to Israel, and declined to go because I do not support the subjugation of Palestinians. I also chose not to go, because at the time there was a spate of bus bombings. I have family in Israel that I have never met and cannot meet because I refuse to go there out of both personal fear AND political unrest AND political/moral opposition.

I support sovereignty and equal rights and liberation and self determination for all Palestinians. I believe Palestinians are indigenous to the land.

I also believe Jewish people are indigenous to the land. Since Hadrian’s expulsion of the Jewish people from Israel/Judea in 135 and the resultant formation of Syria Palestina, there has been no place that Jews have existed that has considered them foundational parts of society or that has not expelled us. We have always been considered settlers. There is no other place in which we could even conceivably BE indigenous besides the levant. I believe that the “whiteness” of modern Jews of European descent is a product of millennia of expulsion, resettlement, and relocation. I know for a fact that PoC Jews have also REMAINED in the region since the expulsion in 135 and if they’re not indigenous to there, then who on earth is?

I believe that indigeneity does not expire. I believe that the fact that Jews sing daily prayers about their history in Israel/the levant is pretty strong evidence that Jews all over the world have never lost their connection to the region. I believe that two thousand years is a long time.

I believe that it could not matter less whether Jews or Palestinians were there “first.” What matters is the strong cultural ties BOTH cultures have to the levant. What matters is that civilians have a safe government that they can trust not to commit genocide against them. To expel them from the land of their ancestors. To banish them to settlements.

I believe colonialism is wrong. I believe imperialism is wrong. I believe there’s even more I need to learn even after living in this conflict and diaspora my entire life. I do not believe that the land that exists there right now needs to be called Israel. I only believe that there needs to be safeguards in place at a governmental level that explicitly protects the sovereignty, safety, and legitimacy of Palestinians and the Jews who live there. There must be guardrails to prevent genocide against both groups. There must be some formal institutional mechanism to ensure the safety of both parties.

I believe that none of these ideas are in conflict with one another.

Anyone telling you that the solution is straightforward is lying or has plans to harm a large number of people. You are not special. You did not invent the perfect idea that no one thought of that magically solves the issues of statelessness, fear of displacement, expulsion, or genocide. If your plan only involves helping one group without regard to the needs of the other, it is a bad plan. If you don’t believe that Jews should be expelled from Israel, is that Zionism? If you believe Jews should have self determination and representation within government that protects their interests, is that Zionism? Even if the same self determination and representation exists for Palestinians? If you are a hardcore anti-Zionist and believe that Jews do not belong in i/p at all, where do the Jews go?

Where are the Jews indigenous to that isn’t Israel? Where do they go. Europe doesn’t want us. The rest of SWANA doesn’t want us. We certainly are not indigenous to the Americas. It’s been awhile since there were expulsions from Asia (as far as I know), but they did happen there. And Asian countries have very rich indigenous histories of their own that we have no place in. The United States is increasingly violent to us and is certainly nobody’s idea of a Jewish homeland.

If your argument against Zionism is that Jews don’t belong there, where do we belong? If your argument against Zionism is that Jews don’t deserve to ever leave diaspora and should not have self determination or protection, why not us too? Again, I have no desire to go to Israel!!! I have actively rejected offers to visit Israel!!!

I don’t call this set of beliefs Zionism. I don’t believe there is a term for this set of beliefs. But someone else might disagree. And that’s the point. I’m not shaming anyone who does or does not call themselves a Zionist.

#Zionism #antizionism #anti zionism #just be aware #calling yourself antizionist #may alienate Jews who agree with every single thing you have to say #even about Israel! #because you are working with different definitions #and they don’t know if antizionism to you means that you support Palestinian liberation #or if it means you support stripping Jewish Israelis of current protections under law #or if it means you want a new state entirely #it’s not really a useful term imo #I’ll probably take this down #because the internet is allergic to nuance #and is convinced that just because some things are fundamentally wrong #like genocide and apartheid and occupation #not everything has a fundamentally and objectively correct solution #life doesn’t work that way #again #for the millionth time #I am not a Zionist #I just refuse to condemn the whole term and anyone who uses the term #based solely on one interpretation of its meaning #it is a Jewish term #why are non-jews always trying to define Jewish terms

[alcestas-sloboda]

I see so many reflections today from different people: someone woke up from the explosions, some from a phone call, some woke up and saw hundreds of notifications from different telegram channels. It is still so unimaginably bizarre. I have no ability to put into words the feeling of your world falling apart and we didn’t even understand half of the danger that was surrounding us. We were so damn close to disaster with half of Europe believing that nothing good will come out of it.

Ukrainians didn’t care what Europeans thought though, I personally saw news pieces about "Russia will take control of Kyiv" a lot later, somewhere in May, when Ukrainian military took control over the north of the country. And I’m so eternally grateful to every Ukrainian who made sure that all this "experts" sat in those flashy studios red from guilt. I’m grateful for my life, I’m grateful for our Ukraine. She persist. She is still the love of our lives. She’s hurt and devastated but she lives despite all the attempts to destroy her. Same as us. Somehow still here.

Yet I feel more detached from the western world than ever and I’m so fucking jealous of you all. It’s not even about the rockets or shakheds - somewhere along the lines you accept the fact that you may die in any moment - it’s about normal things like your Twitter feed that doesn’t look like a necrology, military terms that don’t make any sense to you, your city that doesn’t stop everyday to mourn the dead, you don’t feel guilty for trying to live a normal life while your classmate, who wanted to be a director, posts stories from the trenches. All of that and more. I’m not even entitled to my emotions because there always will be someone who says that my country is not suffering enough. I no longer react to comments like this as emotionally as I’ve done before but it is still so bizarre to see stuff like that from people whose countries have always been the one to inflict suffering on others.

I may sound mean or sarcastic or whatever but there is so much negativity inside of us that was put there by people like I’ve mentioned above that it is going to be released from time to time. "Your country shouldn’t exist", "Only 9 thousand killed", "You all are nazis/racist/zionists/any of the -ist terms" - yet you should always react in a constructive way because the moment you let your emotions go, you are the worst person on the planet. But who am I kidding, some people here do believe that we are. There is a thousand bad people with sketchy patches in a 40-million country and suddenly "That’s why I no longer support Ukraine". Well, honey, that means you never did. Because Syrian flags were quickly replaced with Ukrainian ones and just as quickly with Palestinian. It’s not about the "Support the oppressed", it’s "Anything to not feel guilty" because then you’ll find the reason to hate Palestinians, just as you did with us. If only you cared about the problematic shit happening in you country as much as you care about our political and social life.

But there are people who still are there for us. Countries that are still here. We may not say it as often but we are thankful. So very thankful for everything you’ve done and are doing for us. Thank you for hearing us and uplifting our voices.

Recently one of the most beautiful people here have lost her life defending me and you. She was always in my notes, always making sure that we didn’t feel uncomfortable even if she of all the people had all the right to be upfront about her thoughts and feelings. I don’t think I will ever get rid of the feeling of guilt. She was there while I wasn’t. She said to mourn her through anger. Anger towards the oppressor. Anger that should be directed into something useful: donations, sharing info, contacting your MPs and so on.

The soldier‘s death is not something out of ordinary during the war, it’s not considered a war crime but what if half of the army are civilians? Volunteers who left their homes to protect them. What if the soldier was a teacher, a poet, an actor, an IT-specialist, a scientist, what then? Isn’t it a tragedy? My country is loosing yet another generation of beautiful talented people and it makes my view of the future even darker.

But what can I say? I’m still here. My country still stands. Ukrainian air defence is doing everything possible and impossible to protect the lives of the civilians. Ukrainian military is still the only thing keeping us all alive. Heroes, titans, gods. Glory to them. Eternal glory to those who lost their lives defending Ukraine.

To Ukrainians: якось буде, прорвемся.

#reflection I guess

[punkass-diogenes]

Zionism isn't what people think it is (it's worse)

Note: this was not written by me. It was taken from here.

I often get the impression that most people discussing the Israel-Palestine issue have done very little research into the history of Zionism, the history of Palestine, the history of the Jewish Diaspora, or the history of the State called Israel (henceforth called Medinat Israel). It can lead to very frustrating discussions where nobody seems to understand why the other side won't agree with them or change their mind or even empathize with the other position in the slightest.

You often encounter liberal American Jews who say things like "I am a Zionist, but I oppose the occupation, and the Likud government, and believe in separation of religion and State, and support equal rights for Palestinians, and even right of return of Palestinians... but I'm a strong Zionist like I really believe in Zionism" and it begs the question "what do you think Zionism means then?" Likewise, you sometimes encounter anti-zionists, like myself, who seem to have no idea why so many Jewish people moved to Palestine, or why these holocaust survivors keep electing fascists, and then we'll say ignorant things like "they should all move back to Europe" which basically immediately tells whoever is listening that you have no idea what you're talking about.

For a full-disclosure, I'm an anti-zionist, I do not believe in Zionism. I think Zionism is the golden calf of our day and has turned many Jews away from Judaism and towards a fascist nationalist worship of the State. I think Medinat Israel is an awful racist apartheid state and needs to be abolished and replaced with a secular bi-national state with equal rights for all and a right of return for Palestinians in diaspora, and that the funds used for Aaliyah programs should be diverted to helping any Palestinians who return to re-settle in the new state, ideally on their original lands which had been taken from them only a generation or two ago. I also believe in freedom of movement, that is unethical to displace someone from the place where they were born, and that there should be no enforced demographic proportions or attempts to affect who has the majority at any give time. I even think it's maybe possible for a one-state solution to still provide a safe refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in very hostile countries without privileging Jews over Palestinians; though right now I think it honestly makes more sense for us to encourage them to settle in like, New Jersey, which is honestly objectively safer for Jewish refugees than an active war zone like Palestine.

And that last part might confuse some people. How can you be an anti-zionist and also believe that Palestine can be a safe refuge for Jewish refugees? and that would be because most people don't understand what Zionism means.

Terminology

Here's some terminology:

B'nei/Beney Yisrael: This means "The Sons of Israel" and has referred to the Jewish people for thousands of years. In many languages, this is just what you call Jews. Yisrael/Israel, on its own, for thousands of years, just meant "All the Jewish People." In Jewish liturgy, any time "Yisrael" shows up it's not referring to the Land of Israel and certainly not the State of Israel, it just means "The People called Yisrael."

Bene Yisrael: This refers specifically to the Jewish diaspora in India and Pakistan, the many Jews who, upon being expelled from Judea by the Romans, headed east and settled in the Indian subcontinent. After the partition of India and the movement of Pakistan and India towards being states defined by being Muslim or Hindu, most Bene Yisraeli Jews feared persecution and moved to Medinat Israel, the US, or other British Commonwealth countries.

Benai Yisrael: This spelling generally refers to Samaritans, who are a different ethnoreligious group in the Levant region, mostly Ha'aretz Yisrael, who were never expelled and do not consider themselves Jewish though they do claim to also be descendants of the ancient Israelites, just a different tribe than the ones who became the Jews.

Bnei Isro'il: This refers specifically to the Jewish diaspora in a part Central Asia that is now within Uzbekistan, they are a subset of Mizrahi Jews called the Bukharan Jews. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union shit got really difficult for them and most of them moved to Medinat Israel or to the United States.

Beta Israel: This refers specifically to the Jewish diaspora in Ethiopia, who have always faced a lot of racism from other Jews and were more separate from the other diaspora groups because of it, thus their version of Judaism is more different than Ashkenazi or Sephardic Judaism (though it's still very much valid Judaism!!). This racism is, of course, because Beta Israeli Jews are Black. Ethiopia was kind of a rough place to live what with WWII and the famine and the wars, so Beta Israel actually was really interested in leaving Ethiopia more-so than most other diaspora groups. The Ethiopian government, however, for a long time, prohibited Jews from emigrating from Ethiopia. During the Ethiopian Civil War in the late 20th century, things got worse, with the Ethiopian government becoming increasingly hostile to the Jewish population in retaliation for horrible human rights abuses enacted by Medinat Israel, even though the Jews in Ethiopia had nothing to do with it what since they were living in Ethiopia and not allowed to leave the country by the same government attacking them. In response, Medinat Israel evacuated nearly the entire Beta Israel community to Palestine through an elaborate MOSSAD operation; and since then, some have moved to the United States. Once in Medinat Israel, they have faced lots of racism including coerced sterilization by the government; with many Beta Israeli women saying that they were told by immigration officials they would not be allowed to immigrate unless they agreed to being injected with a long-term contraceptive drug.

Ha'aretz Yisrael: This refers specifically to The Land of Israel, regardless of who is living there now or what the current government is. It's where the Kingdom of Israel from the TaNaKh supposedly was though the exact borders are under dispute. It's also where we all originated, albeit over 1800 years ago (and you can tell by looking at us that all of us are of mixed heritage now, no matter what anyone claims). This land traded hands between various empires constantly who all liked to change the name, so Jews just refer to it as Ha'aretz Yisrael rather than trying to keep up with what we're calling it these days according to whoever most recently conquered it. Traditionally, there is a prophecy that someday in the distant future, when there is no more war or hunger, a messiah will come who will lead all the Jews in diaspora back to Ha'aretz Yisrael and then all the dead will come back to life and everyone will be immortal and it's basically the closest thing Judaism has to an afterlife; and most Jews don't even believe this anymore. Some Jews believe that we explicitly should not preempt this and should avoid living in Ha'aretz Yisrael before the messiah comes.

Medinat Yisrael: This means "The State of Israel" and refers specifically to the government, the State, that has been established in Palestine, which named itself "Israel." It didn't ask us all if we wanted them to use the name that traditionally referred to the entire ethnic group as the name of their government but that's what they decided to do and now we're stuck with it. More abstractly, it can refer to the idea of "A Jewish State" of a non-specific location, it just so happens that the one that exists is also in Palestine.

Israelis: People who have been born in Medinat Israel, or have become Israeli Citizens through immigration, regardless of if they are Jewish or not. This includes Israeli Arabs and Israeli Palestinians.

Israelites: The ancient people of the Kingdom of Israel as featured in the TaNaKh who Jews, Samaritans, the Banu Israil Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh, the Knanaya Christians in Kerala, the Lemba people in Zimbabwe and South Africa, some Pashtuns, some British Nationalists, some French Nationalists, some Scandinavian Nationalists, some Kurds, some Japanese Nationalists, the Black Hebrew Israelites in the United States, and the Mormons in the United States all claim ancestry from. Genetic testing has shown evidence that Jews and Samaritans (discounting recent converts) probably do actually share a common ancestor that lived where the Kingdom of Israel was around that time but like, that's so long ago we really can't say anything for certain.

Sabra (pl. Sabrim): Jewish people who have been born in Medinat Israel; which is what a lot of people mean to refer to when they say Israeli.

Aliyah: When a Jewish person immigrates to Medinat Israel, they call it "making aliyah." Someone who has made aliyah becomes an Israeli but not a Sabra.

Anyway, that's all super easy to remember right? So here's the misconception: Many people believe that Zionism is the belief that B'nei Yisrael should live in Ha'aretz Yisrael but actually Zionism is the belief that B'nei Yisrael should live in Medinat Yisrael, which happens to be located in Ha'artez Yisrael but it didn't necessarily have to be. Zionists, in turn, have helped Bene Israel, Bnei Is'roil, and Beta Israel emigrate to Medinat Yisrael (among others in B'nei Yisrael). Benai Yisrael was already in Ha'aretz Yisrael before the Zionists established Medinat Yisrael in Ha'aretz Yisrael. Simple, easy to remember.

Could You Please Say That Again in English

There is a misconception that Zionism is the belief that Jews from across the diaspora should all live together in the Land of Israel, AKA where Palestine is now. They might even think it's just the belief that the country called Israel should be allowed to exist at all, and that the Jews who live there should be allowed to continue living there. But that is not what Zionism is.

Zionism is the belief that Jews should live in a Jewish State, which is to say, a nation-state that is majority Jewish and controlled by Jews and only or primarily Jews1. It is explicitly and openly a colonialist venture. The Zionist movement originally didn't even care if the proposed Jewish State was in Palestine, although it was definitely always their top choice.

Theodor Herzl was the father of modern Zionism as we know it. In his manifesto, Der Judenstaat, Herzl talks about how establishing a Jewish state would be this magnificent replication of European colonialism and would elevate the Jewish people to the level of the Western Civilizations. He proposed that the Jewish state be established in.... Argentina! Well, he also proposed Palestine, but he thought Argentina might be more practical.

In fact, here's all the locations that Zionists proposed might be good places for The Jewish State to be established:

Grand Island, Erie county, New York

Uganda

Palestine

Argentina

Siberia

Crimea

Cyprus

Kenya

Manchuria

Madagascar

British Guiana

Ohio

Ethiopia

Tasmania

The Polish provinces that had previously been annexed by Russia

Jordan ("Eh, close enough to Palestine?")

Saudi Arabia

The Dominican Republic

Greece

Albania

Australia

Eastern Prussia/AKA what is now that weird exclave of Russia.

Kiryas Joel, New York

Quebec

Alaska

Vietnam, which was actually offered to David Ben-Gurion by Ho Chi Minh himself, which supposedly David Ben-Gurion dismissed by just saying "for obvious reasons, this was unacceptable."

G... Germany... Just... right in Germany... which I'm sure all the Jews would feel very safe doing.

There are many flavors of Zionism, certainly. Liberal Zionists believe in having a liberal democratic capitalism state. Religious Zionists who basically believe David Ben-Gurion was the aforementioned messiah. Labor Zionists who believe that the Judenstaadt should have socialist collective farming or something. The current flavor of Zionism that dominates Israeli politics and is the ideology of the ruling Likud party is Revisionist Zionism which believes first and foremost in having a strong military to defend the Jewish State, that "the ability to shoot" is the most important thing, and that the Jewish majority in the Jewish state must be maintained through violence in order to keep Jews safe. They are also territorial expansionists and believe that Medinat Israel and Ha'Aretz Yisrael should map 1:1 to the fullest extent, which is to say, they believe in annexing Palestine, and chunks of other neighboring countries as well. Likud also came into power by assassinating a sitting prime minister, which is cool. They'll claim that they're not responsible but the assassin was a member of the Likud party, so, like, take that as you will.

Let me be clear, all flavors of Zionism are colonialist ideologies, but the Revisionist Zionists are downright fascists. The Irgun, the armed militia that the Likud party grew out of, openly praised Adolf Hitler and said that they would only fight the Nazis because they are antisemitic and a threat to Jewish people, not because they disagreed with anything else that the Nazis were doing. They said that the anti-semitism of Nazism was the "shell" that they would discard, but they would keep the "Anti-Marxist Kernel" which they admired in Nazism. Here is a citation for this because I know many people might struggle to believe this, but it's in like the first thirty pages of this book.

I do not believe that all the Jews currently living in Medinat Israel should be deported, especially not the sabrim or the refugees whose entire communities moved there looking for a place where they wouldn't be persecuted. I think it's always wrong to displace people from where they were born, whether they be Jewish or Palestinian, and that it's important for people to accept refugees and immigrants. But I don't believe in Zionism, because I do not believe in a Jewish State. I do not believe in maintaining a Jewish majority. I do not believe in ethno-states or theocracy or ethnotheocracy. I do not believe Jews are entitled to owning all or any of Ha'aretz Yisrael and I do not believe Jews should be aspiring to replicate Western Colonialism. In fact, I believe that colonizing and displacing the Palestinian people from their land is morally wrong and contrary to the ethics of Judaism. Thus, I am anti-zionist.

Zionism is not believing it's OK for Jews to live in the State of Israel; or that it would be cool for Jews to live together in our ancestral homeland; it's believing that Jews should control a State of Israel as a privileged class with a unnaturally maintained majority. Zionists believe Jews will never be safe unless we control the government to exclusions of everyone else. I disagree. I think diversity is good and it's possible to live in harmony with other peoples. The Zionists disagree with me. I think they're racists and, these days? mostly fascists.

OK so, wait, how the hell do so many Jews believe in Zionism then? Most Jews are pretty anti-fascist given the whole holocaust thing, right?

Here's the thing that I think a lot of people miss. Most Jews living in Medinat Israel didn't really have a choice, and they have nowhere to go back to either. Before WWII, Zionism was not very popular. You can find so many historical documents of Jews making fun of Zionists as "wanting us to waste a lot of money and go die in the desert." Jews across the diaspora weren't exactly doing stellar but for most of them, they were living in society and the way the Zionist framed things (whether or not it was true) was that settling Ha'Aretz Yisrael was gonna be this whole colonial venture of building up new cities from scratch and working the land and farming and being survivalists and shit. When everything is already so precarious, why risk what you do have for a hypothetical thing that sounds exhausting and risky?

But in the mid-20th century, well, their hands were forced. The holocaust happened, and entire communities were wiped out. The Lithuanian village my great grandmother's family was from? After they left, the holocaust killed 100% of the Jews living there, and then the Soviet Union displaced all the Lithuanians, demolished all of the buildings, and just built an entirely new settlement with new people living there. In fact, they did this to the entire Marijampole metropolitan region. The Marijampole region as my great grandparents knew it is just gone. Lithuania once had some of the most Jews in the entire world, with some parts like Majiampole being super-majority Jewish. Of course the Jews in Marijampole didn't find Zionism particularly appealing, they already had their majority Jewish city, why build another one? In the year 2000, there were only 3600 Jews left in all of Lithuania. The city of Minsk in Belarus? It was once 55% Jewish, and no, Zionism wasn't very popular. The Nazis killed 90% of the Jews living in Minsk. The rest of the Jews all emigrated to Medinat Israel or the United States. Minsk is now less than 1% Jewish. Minsk is where my grandmother's parents had been born, but the Minsk they knew is gone entirely. After the Nazis killed all the Jews, and WWII destroyed most of the city, the Soviet Union basically just built an entirely new city and settled new people there who weren't Jewish.

And what were the Zionists doing at this time? They were evacuating refugees. When the Nazis are on your trail, you don't really ask where you're going. The Zionists said "Hey, looks like living in Europe isn't going so well for you, wanna come settle Palestine with us?" and the Jews of Europe said "SURE, FINE, GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, ASAP." Remember, the argument of the Zionists was "Jews will never be safe if they don't control the State" and now were extending their hand presenting themselves as the only way to escape the holocaust. Remember, also, that a lot of countries were refusing to take holocaust refugees, or setting very limited caps on how many they would take. The Zionists said "come here, all of you, no matter what."

A lot of the state-building the Zionists were doing was before the holocaust, and they were certainly building popularity the further they got along, but the holocaust was when their huge population boom happened, it was when they hit critical mass, it was when the majority of Jews came to sympathize with the Zionist project. The holocaust became the perfect example for the Zionists to use to argue that the Judenstaadt is necessary. This was a rhetorical trick. If you read Der Judenstaadt this was never the original concern of Herzl. Herzl believed that the Jewish State should be a technocracy run by corporations using Jewish immigrants as cheap loyal workers to turn a profit. But, hey, Herzl didn't foresee WWII.

Now, all that? That's just the Ashkenazi Jews and some Sephardic Jews. But let's talk about the Mizrahi Jews. The Mizrahim are the Jews who didn't travel too far from Jerusalem after the Romans expelled us. They lived in the Middle East, Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Egypt, even Palestine (it's not like the Romans were still keeping us out forever.) Under most Muslim governments, Mizrahim were given the status "people of the book" and considered a sort of protected second-class citizen. While not as privileged as Muslim citizens, they were still able to attain a pretty comfortable and stable middle-class life. Again, why would Zionism appeal to you? Sure, you weren't top of the food chain, but life was fine enough.

But when Medinat Israel declared independence and started pushing out all the Palestinians, all the neighboring Muslim nations were outraged (and rightfully so!) Unfortunately, they retaliated against the Mizrahim who lived within their borders, who had nothing to do with Medinat Israel but were blamed for it anyway. Many Jews were downright expelled from these countries, or were forced to move to Medinat Israel through negotiated "population exchanges" where Medinat Israel deported thousands of Palestinians to neighboring countries who in turn deported an equal number of Jews to Medinat Israel. This is a violation of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

This same story is repeated throughout the world. Once the State of Israel was established, people could finally tell the Jews to "go back where you came from." Entire communities emigrated, whether to flee existing persecution, new persecution that is arguably the fault of the Zionists, or were just absolutely terrified of being next, after seeing what was happening in the rest of the world.

If you tell most Israeli Jews to "go back where they came from" the question they'll ask back is "and where exactly is that? Is that not here? Because those other people told me to go back where I came from and sent me here." They'll say "you're insane, why would I do that, did you see what happened to us there?" They'll say "The place I'm from doesn't exist anymore. It was destroyed. Everybody left. It's gone." They'll maybe even say "I'd love to, but I'm not allowed to."

Here's another way to think of it: The Israeli Jews are like a child who was beaten growing up and grows up to be violent and angry and to believe that being strong and intimidating is the only way to protect themselves. They are fiercely loyal to Medinat Israel because it took them in when they lost everything. They believe the fascist Likud narrative because to many of them, it is their own lived experience. They thought they would be safe, then they faced violence, and then they were forced to flee. Medinat Israel was the only guaranteed safe place to go. Perhaps you could try to emigrate to Canada or the United States but passage wasn't guaranteed and that would still be colonizing someone else's land. Medinat Israel guaranteed they would be brought in and even given help to settle. It was a deal they couldn't refuse. And besides, haven't the Jews always lived on someone else's land? Weren't they always unwanted wherever we went? What was different this time in that sense? How were Palestinians different from Germans or Ethiopians or Moroccans? The Zionists would say: "The difference is this time we are stronger than they are. This time we will be in charge."

And it is sad. It is horrible. It is tragic. It is miserable that so many people who have been the persecuted minority themselves would turn to becoming the oppressor. That victims of genocide and displacement would turn to genocide and displacement as what they believe is the way to protect themselves. And they are wrong, too. This is not necessary. The violence is not necessary and is evil. Palestinians and Jews have so much in common culturally, spiritually, even genetically. We could have lived together in peace and become the best of friends. If only the Zionists had been willing to live together in peace. But peace is not possible within their ideology. The Zionist ideology is inherently one of state violence. There is no way for one ethnic or religious group to control a state without persecuting a minority, and forcing them to remain a minority through violence. Zionism is the belief that Jews cannot be safe unless Jews have a monopoly on violence within a given region.

And what of the Jews in diaspora who support Zionism? The Americans and Canadians and Argentinians and Brits who do not wish to move to Medinat Israel but support it in everything it does uncritically? The younger Jews, the fourth or fifth generation immigrants, we don't have much attachment to whatever shtetl or city our families came from, it's easier for us to see the horrors and evils of Zionism for what it is. But for our grandparents and great grandparents, they remembered those shtetls and cities, they had family and relatives there, and they listened on the radio as all of those people died, as their old world was destroyed completely. Nobody wanted to talk about Marijampole or Minsk to me. They are gone. It's best not to ruminate on them. Jews have been displaced every generation with no attachment to where we were, I was told, so why does it matter.

To these Jews, Medinat Israel represents having one place in the entire world where the Jews are safe. One place that will always accept them as refugees if America or Canada or Argentina doesn't work out.

It is an unfortunate and tragic reality that most people will put their own safety and needs over the safety and needs of others when they feel that they are under threat. The place of empathetic breakdown is that at some point you say to the true Zionist "Don't you see that what you're doing to the Palestinians is wrong?" and the true Zionist says "Yes, it is wrong, and it is also necessary for us to survive and that is more important."

And they are wrong. Had the Jews fleeing to Palestine just treated the Palestinians with respect and dignity, as equals who deserved this land, as the owners of this land who had a right to it, then Jews would actually have been safer. Solidarity is safer than animosity. Palestine was a former British colony achieving independence for the first time in centuries. The Jews and Palestinians could have worked together to rebuild a new country based on mutual respect and dignity and solidarity.

But, alas, that is not their mentality. Their mentality is one of a beaten child. And so seventy years pass and you ask the American Jew living in the suburbs of New York "do you support the State of Israel? Are you a Zionist?" and they say "Uhh... I guess I'm a Zionist. I don't really know the history. But I want the Jews there to be safe, that's important to me. They shouldn't have to leave."

Zionism isn't just colonialism, it's worse, it's millions of historically persecuted people turning to fascism because of generational trauma. It demonstrates that just because someone is from persecuted minority, doesn't meant that violence and power can't corrupt them just the same.

Because the Zionists have convinced us that those are the only options, that co-existing is impossible, that friendship and solidarity across differences is impossible. Zionists created a narrative that if the Jews do not hold absolute power, then they'll have to leave. But it's not true. They are wrong. Peace is possible, if we can just believe in it, if we can loosen our grip on power, if we can be willing to pay reparations. I truly believe that that is possible.

In-turn, anti-zionism is not the belief that Jews shouldn't live in the Land of Israel. It's the belief that Jewish people shouldn't be trying to establish an ethno-state or replicate colonialism.

#zionism #israel #palestine #jewish

[fairuzfan]

you didn't actually answer my question , Temple Mount is the most ancient and holiest site for Jewish people -- the Dome of the Rock & Al-Aqsa Mosque were built hundreds of years later on behalf of the Umayyad dynasty's conquest. you mentioned in your response a massacre that happened centuries later, which does not relate to the fact that Jews cannot pray at this site (their utmost holiest site before even the existence of Christians or Muslims). how is "temple denial" something that I made up when you can research it right now and see what it is and that it exists? I ask because this seems to be actually a blind spot for many non-Jewish people simply because it doesn't affect them. I'm not intending to be argumentative and I am sorry if my English is bad in getting across

I'm sorry for being argumentative but a lot of the time, whenever Palestinians are asked about temple mount, there's an implication that Palestinians are colonizers and don't deserve to be on the land. Israelis, if they could, would completely ban Muslims from AlAqsa despite it being the third holiest site in Islam.

AlAqsa is probably the most important national symbol of Palestinians, often thought to be the last straw for Palestinian heritage. So much of our culture has been robbed from us, and (primarily muslims) believe that the demolition of AlAqsa, which is, as Mohammed ElKurd puts it, is one of the last places in all of Palestine where being Palestinian is not criminalized would be a fundamental loss we would never recover from, equivalent to losing our Balad.

I bring up the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre because there are no restrictions for extremist settlers legally — they operate as an arm of the state and in some cases are encouraged to committ these acts. The "Apartheid Law" basically enshrined that settlements are a national value for Israel. This means that there is no safe haven for Palestinians legally. They're in constant danger of getting kicked out of their home or getting arrested for existing. I cannot emphasize enough how Palestinian freedom is so restricted with the explicit intent of pushing them out of the land.

Temple denial as a concept (after looking it up) seeks to paint Palestinians in a fundamentally bigoted and violent light. Palestinians are not allowing Jews in AlAqsa not because they hate Jews, but because that opens the way for settlers to become violent around AlAqsa, which a lot of the time is already happening. I suggest reading "Why Do Palestinians Burn Jewish Holy Sites? The Fraught History of Joseph's Tomb" (sorry the link is not linking, but you can look it up on the palestine institute webpage). It discusses the use of history as a colonial tool. Here's an excerpt:

It is one of many shrines across historic Palestine – now split into Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza – that has been re-invented as exclusively Jewish, despite a long history of shared worship among Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Samaritans that goes back centuries. And the reason it has been attacked has almost nothing to do with religion, and much to do with how the Israeli military and settlement movements have used religion as a way to expand their control over Palestinian land and holy places.

And a second excerpt describing the political use of religion:

But the claims of biblical archaeologists had a strong role in how the Zionist movement would come to understand and conceive of the landscape.6 As European Jews migrated to Palestine in the first half of the twentieth century, they drew upon biblical archeology's claims. They adopted archeologists' claims that Palestinian holy sites were directly linked to ancient biblical figures. In many cases, they focused on occupying those sites in order to legitimize the colonial endeavor by giving it a sense of deeper history. In many cases, this would mean evicting the Palestinians who actually frequented these holy sites.

And what Palestinians are afraid of:

In 1975, the Israeli military banned Palestinians – that is, the Samaritans, Muslims, and Christians living around the site – from visiting, a ban that has remained in place until this day. [...] Unsurprisingly, the ban has ignited intense anger over the years. This is true particularly given that frequent visits by Jewish settlers to the shrine are accompanied by hundreds of Israeli soldiers, who enter the area and run atop the rooftops of local Palestinians to “secure” the tomb. As a result, Joseph's Tomb has increasingly become associated with the Israeli military and settlement movement in the eyes of Palestinians. Its presence has become an excuse for frequent military incursions that provoke clashes and lead to arrests and many injuries in the neighborhood. Some fear that Israelis will attempt to take over the shrine to build an Israeli settlement around it. This fear is not unfounded, given the fact that Israeli settlers have done exactly that all across the West Bank in places they believe are connected in some way to Jewish biblical history. The notoriously violent Jewish settlements in Hebron, for example, were built there due to the location of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in that southern West Bank town. Following the initial years of settlement, settlers even managed to convince Israeli authorities to physically divide the shrine – which is holy to local Palestinians – and turn the whole area into a heavily-militarized complex. Other shrines have become excuses for the Israeli military to build army bases inside Palestinian towns, like Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem – which is surrounded by twenty-foot high concrete walls on three sides to block Palestinian access. The village of Nabi Samwel near Jerusalem, meanwhile, was demolished in its entirety to provide Jewish settlers access to the tomb at its heart.

I'm not denying the temple mount is there. I'm just saying that history has been manipulated to erase centuries worth of cultural heritage through scholarship and Palestinians are protective of their most important symbol of resistance and life. Even you saying "Islam and Christianity came after Judiasm" is a dogwhistle for me, because a lot of the time extremists say that to completely erase AlAqsa as an important site to Muslims and intending to deny the site as a shared worshipping site that is quite important to Muslims. Just because Islam came after Judiasm, does that mean it's not legitimate as a religion itself? Islamically, Islam is a continuation of Judiasm, so we don't deny judiasm is important to AlQuds. We just are so concerned with losing our national symbol that we're so protective over it.

Now I bring up the massacre at ibrahimi mosque because, like mentioned in the excerpt above, Palestinians are afraid something like that will happen again. There's no protections for Palestinians, and most of the time they're denied from praying in AlAqsa themselves by Israeli authorities. Israeli settlers themselves come in and disrespect AlAqsa, and as I mentioned, extremists plan on demolishing AlAqsa to build a Third Temple. The Massacre at the Mosque paved way to the "Jews Only" streets I mentioned, including the militarization and basically a complete upheaval of normal life for Palestinians. I suggest looking into how terrible the situation in AlKhalil is, and that arised directly from the massacre.

You cannot separate this issue from the colonial implications of the last safe haven in all of Palestine being open to Israelis. Now when Palestine is free, I doubt there would be restrictions. But right now, there are and to pretend Israelis don't pose a threat to Palestinians fundamentally, would be erasure of the colonization of Palestine.

I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but even if AlAqsa was built hundreds of years after, it doesn't change the fact that RIGHT NOW Israelis have privilege that Palestinians do not. As soon as that privilege is no longer there, then we can talk about allowing Jews there. But until then, Palestinians are constantly in danger of settler violence and to take away a space (which, Ibrahimi Mosque was one of those sites before Palestinians were massacred) is frankly, an insult and a denial that Palestinians themselves are colonized.

I suggest looking at the links I provided earlier for more in depth analysis. I'm going to reiterate: the only reason it's illegal is because Palestine is colonized and this is our last safe haven that we even aren't completely allowed from entering ourselves.

Most Palestinians are quite heated about this topic. It genuinely is considered one of our last national symbols (so not just religious but also political and cultural), which means that having that taken away (which extremist settlers plan on demolishing it completely, and if they're allowed in, then there are no restrictions on their behavior) would be tantamount to losing our balad, or nation. I've heard Israelis call AlAqsa terrible names over the years and some fully intend on demolishing the site. Even within Israeli politics, it is a genuine goal for some people, including Ben Gvir, so most believe that opening the door for settlers (who are the ones who want the destruction of AlAqsa) would be equivalent to giving it up. You can't ignore that when talking about AlAqsa and the laws surrounding it. The primary reason for this protectiveness is political and cultural.

#palestine #the second intifada happened because ariel sharon forced his way in for political reasons #palestinians were so angry and took it as an insult (which it was) that the second intifada happened

[trainer-blue]

there are three terms i see being thrown around in a ton of posts "supporting" palestinians that don't actually apply. if you're someone who calls israel an apartheid colonial state committing genocide and you either actually believe it or have seen those terms often enough to copy them yourself, i encourage you to think a little more deeply about what these words mean:

apartheid:

this term isn't one that you use for just any form or extent of racial discrimination. i have never seen anyone use this term in reference to the united states, and i think everyone reading this can acknowledge that racism is extremely prevalent and systemic here. in fact, i've only ever seen this term used in regards to south africa and israel. if you use it about israel, think about what policies are in place that make it an apartheid state in your view, and then think about whether any other country in the world has comparable ones. if so, why is israel considered apartheid when others aren't? here is some information about the term and why it does not apply. why israel isn't an apartheid state arab political parties and participation in israeli government

colonial state:

to most people, colonization involves taking land from indigenous peoples so that people who are not indigenous to the area / have no ancestral ties to that area can control it instead. colonial settlers could, in theory, return to a country of ancestral origin in which they would be a cultural majority or be safe and not expect to be subject to hate crimes because they are of majority status. one can acknowledge that palestinians have been displaced without it being colonialism. jewish people are indigenous. yes, even the white ones. no, not all jews are white. if any of these claims seem far-fetched to you, or you don't understand how jewish people can be indigenous to israel, i recommend reading these posts: jewish indigeneity from an archeological perspective history of jewish presence in israel

genocide:

"the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group." if israelis-- even the israeli government, which even "zionists" consider right-wing, fucked, and nonrepresentative of their values-- wanted to wipe out palestinians, we would have seen very different actions from them throughout history. one can acknowledge and mourn the loss of innocent palestinian life during wartime without framing it as something it's not. growth of palestinian population rates

"why does it matter what terms we use? isn't it GOOD to exaggerate or use buzzwords to catch people's attention? how else can we make people understand the true plight of palestinians?"

there is no reason to use terms that don't apply, actually. when so many people parrot these terms without understanding whether or not they're accurate:

1. this actual situation gets muddled, leading to people who have done no research of their own jumping to pick sides because they think they’re rallying against "the new nazis." These people may then support Hamas as “freedom fighters,” attack Jewish people around the world, and celebrate the rape, torture, and death of Israeli women and children because they’re “complicit in colonial apartheid genocide” and no longer considered human.

2. you imply that it is impossible to care about or support civilians affected by war if they’re NOT victims of genocide, colonialism, or apartheid states. Why do you need to rely on these terms to feel empathy for palestinians? If you acknowledged that they’ve been displaced by other indigenous people and are being killed in and affected by war, would your fervor for their cause die out? if so, is that a reasonable response to the realization that the real world isn't cut and dry, and not every conflict has a completely evil side and a side that is completely innocent?

3. ACTUAL instances of genocide, apartheid, and colonialism get watered down. I’ve seen people compare this to the Holocaust, calling Jewish people Nazis. Look back at the resource I linked to above. When you compare steady growth of Palestinian populations with the brutal erasure of ⅔ of the jewish population in europe, you are not only overexaggerating current events, but you’re also saying that the holocaust wasn’t all that bad, actually. To weaponize a people’s own genocide against them is. Gross. Especially when recent events have been catalyzed by Hamas beheading and burning babies–rather reminiscent of the Holocaust–and when people continue to deny that the 10/7 attack even took place. Also. rather. Reminiscent of non-jewish refusal to believe accounts of concentration camps.

similarly, when you water down terms like “apartheid” to mean any form of inequality for racial minorities, you deny the realities of apartheid south africa and imply that that’s “pretty much the same” as racism experienced in other countries around the world

hamas calling for jewish (NOT ISRAELI) death

perspective on equating israel to apartheid south africa

thank you for reading. this is not a call to abandon support for palestinians. this is a call to think about the terms you use and the misinformation you've seen.

#jumblr #i/p #tw genocide #tw holocaust #tw current events #tw rape #tw child harm #tw child death

[thelittlepalmtree]

Hey y'all, expecting Jewish folks to speak out against Israeli occupation has the same energy as expecting Arab folks to condemn 9/11. Let me give you some examples of when it is and isn't appropriate:

Antony Blinken: US Secretary of state. Has Jewish ancestors. He is one of the main people in our government in charge of policy. Not only should he be asked about the conflict he is a person who can make change and has power. He is also expected to have a competent knowledge of the situation, history, and current data. He should be questioned and criticized. However, there should not be the underlying assumption of Zionism due to his heritage. He has actually been more supportive of Human rights in Gaza than Biden has.

Gal Gadot: Gal Gadot served in the IDF and currently lives in Israel. She has posted multiple times in support of Israeli occupation. Her Instagram is currently chock full of pro-Israel posts. It is completely fair to question her stance on the Palestinian lives lost because she is actively discussing this conflict. Again, though, her status as Jewish should not mean that she is evil or inhuman. She should be evaluated on her statements not her heritage.

Natalie Portman: Made the movie Freezone about the issues between Israel and Palestine in a way that was very humanizing to both groups. She has an Israeli father and has spoken to the UN about the need for a peaceful solution. She supported Israel after the October 7 attacks but has been noticably silent since them. It is appropriate to question this silence and even criticize it, but it's not fair to paint her as a zionist who has never cared for Palestinians when she has been critical of Israel in the past.

Sarah J Maas: Jewish. Visited Israel once. Literally has not spoken about her experience in years. Has never made any comments about the occupation or Israeli policy. To be honest, probably doesn't know anything about it. There's absolutely no reason why anyone should go to her for any political opinion she is deeply unqualified to make any kind of statement. You shouldn't be asking her for one.

Taylor Swift: Not Jewish. Knows nothing about this. Is just rich and famous. We have no reason to believe she has any understanding of this conflict. Not only should she not be asked for a statement, it would be deeply irresponsible for her to give one as she is neither a stakeholder in the area nor an expert in its history.

Now if you're full of rage because you read this and you think you're somehow saving Palestinian lives by commenting on all of Taylor Swift's Instagram posts, let me give you another ego hit. I'm Egyptian. I am not a direct stakeholder, but obviously, Egypt has a long history with this conflict and currently borders Gaza. Not only that, the US government essentially provides money to Egyptian dictators that they use to imprison public critics in exchange for Israeli security. My family members in Egypt run the risk of imprisonment if they speak ill of the government and the US government facilitates this in order to protect Israel's apartheid state. So I do not make this post because I believe Israel to be good. I think that when we resort to antisemitism, we delegitimize our cause.

I understand that you are angry. I understand that it feels like Israel gets away with so much. That doesn't mean antisemitism is okay. Racism is still bad when it's in service of what you think is a just cause. Dehumanization is still bad when it's being done against people who dehumanize others. It is easy to blame random people you know who actually have zero power here. It is hard to accept the people who have the most power (Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu) are unreachable because of their own horrible convictions. It is hard to accept we (Americans) have all accepted and contributed to a system in which the majority of us are powerless. It is hard to accept your own powerlessness. But that is what you must do.

You cannot do anything but bear witness.

#palestine #israel #free gaza #taylor swift #sarah j maas #natalie portman #gal gadot #antony blinken

[thefairfolk]

No-one is tripping up over themselves idolising Iran. They still have the right to defend themselves against the brutal Israel attack. Even if they suck (not arguing with that) it's still a good thing that they defended themselves AND that they targeted political power and not civilians.

Hi, anon, thanks for this.

Let me explain why I disagree, bit by bit:

I have indeed seen people idolise Iran, going so far as to say that any country attacking Israel is 100% in the right at the moment. This is false, since to say such a thing would disregard the atrocities committed by the Islamic Republic against its people. (Note that I am doing my best to separate the IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) with Iran. I don't believe in a political faction when my country is so fraught, but rather the people.)

Yes, Iran does have a right to defend itself. In the comments of another post, talking with another Iranian in Persian, I mentioned that there's nothing wrong with political revenge done right. This was not done right. If you consider the meagre amounts of weaponry and finances Iran has stockpiled (which has been at an all-time low since Ahmadinejad, which would take too long to explain here), then this "defence" was much too extreme. Why? Because, if Israel chooses to retaliate, and it very well might, Iran could be at a severe disadvantage, especially if the US even slightly gets involved. And I say if, because Biden will likely choose to stay out of it in order to not have a tumultuous time in the office. The best case scenario for a retaliation from Israel would be if they hit a few military bases, possibly in the far south where ships are stationed, but we cannot calculate those possibilities accurately considering the way Israel treats its enemies.

Iran did target areas of political or militaristic power, I never said it didn't or that that was the issue here. The large scale of attack/defence in and of itself could pose as a huge problem to Iranians far, far more than Israelis. Isn't that ironic and awful?

As for anyone, whether if it's anon or someone else, who still thinks this is okay for Iran to do, let me ask you this:

If Russia bombed Israel, would you forget the Ukrainians? Would you ignore that and heap praises on Russia for attacking a Zionist state in self-defence?

I do hope not. Because in such a simile, the IRI is Russia, and we (innocent people) are like Ukrainians.

I understand that seeing that someone has finally worked up the guts to land a solid hit on Israel must ignite both hope and satisfaction, but remember that this someone is a government we cannot trust, even if you ignore the atrocities against women (I will always pray for Mahsa, Nika, Sarina, and so much more), children (Kian and the Afghan boy without a wish, you are in my heart), men (the innocents sent to the gallows because they wanted a better life), and so, so many others. Even if you ignore all of them (and that's just those from last year!) there is so much other trouble like economy, natural disasters, and pollution in Iran. From every angle, this government is destroying its land and its people.

I know you, and likely many others, are quick to clarify, "I think it's good that Iran did this- I don't support the government though!"

I'm sorry, but it's not enough. It is not good that Iran did this. Whatever the damage to Israel, if (and I wish it's an "if") that country retaliates, Iran will suffer ten times the amount.

#iran #israel #homeland stuff

[kokonutcat]

That's not right. Not fucking right and I can't be silent about this

I’m a fandom blog but before all a human person with opinions, feelings and critical thinking and there’s things that can’t be ignored

Yes, I'm talking about Palestine

I need to talk and at the same time I don’t have the words. I can’t stop thinking about it and what’s happening right now feels unreal. It’s not new at all unfortunately but still.

Right now, in 2023 they (the zionists) allow themselves to do ethnic cleansing like this with the western governments supporting them. And I don’t understand. Why they do that? What are their intentions? What do they want to achieve at the end and why? What do they feel when they’re committing all those massacres? What do they feel too when they cut access to water and electricity to a whole population?

I got it they’re white supremacists. They haven’t changed. There’s not bigger failures than them. But what will they do and what will they feel too once they eventually erase all the Palestinian population?

It’s sickening, to say the least.

The medias constantly showing us only one side like if they have something to hide, blaming the Hamas for anything and using the antisemitism excuse when we criticize isr@el also have their hands covered in blood.

I don't know what I should say about the victims. Feeling sorry isn't enough, as I said above I just don't have the words when I think about everything they've been through. I already saw disturbing videos… They’re losing everything. I truly feel guilty to ever have complained about my life.

We should never end talking about this, it’s the best way we can defend the Palestinian cause. And no it FUCKING DOESN’T makes you "too political". You don’t have to be an actual activist or to have a phd in political science to speak out against isr@el’s crimes, and against all the ones who are participating in this. You don’t have to do rant posts, even if you only reblog it’s better than nothing.

I hope this will never be just a phase or a trend people will move on from after some weeks. We should continue to speak the truth to not let all this zionist propaganda win. I believe we can do it.

This lasted enough time and it needs to stop.

#palestine #free palestine #gaza #death to israel #death to zionism

[thepaintpirate]

This is for my lovely friend @ohmybard

You seem to really enjoy going on people's posts and being an outright hypocrite. You say you don't like being harassed but you come out on every post that is talking about Taz's post and say the same things. Repeatedly. And you don't listen or read well to understand: I don't hate Taz, I do not support those who are being awful to him.

Actors and those who are in positions of social sway have a responsibility to truth and to know that they affect people. Taz made a mistake, as I've stated, and people have taken it very badly. I literally told you I don't believe he should be harassed but he should take some time before coming back and addressing what's happened.

People DO confront political leaders as they have done with Rishi Sunak here in the UK, his stances make him incredibly unpopular and so hopefully this should effect his next election campaign. Joe Biden should also be affected because of his stance, his popularity is rapidly declining. The Prime minister of Israel, Israeli politicians and celebrities that all share a Zionist belief are all being addressed constantly because IT WILL CAUSE AN EFFECT. we do address them, if you even bothered to look you'd know. Hundreds and thousands of people every day even go out to protest, myself included as I'm near the capital of my country, just to say f u to the politicians that make terrible decisions for us.

I do not demand an apology from Hamas because quite frankly, they're preoccupied trying not to get fucking killed. Why should I go after them, the ones who are starving and have no internet most of the time because of Israel, and expect a response? Whose people suffered long before their formation? They began because Israel are aggressive and seek to own a land they have no right to. They'd kill anyone to do it. Instead, Israel can be spoken to and shamed because they HAVE internet and their lack of response is telling. I try to keep this channel rather calm but people like you who refuse to actually read test me.

I literally said he's human too, we all make mistakes. I am as informed as I can be with the knowledge I have access to in a country that loves to censor things, and that Taz has deleted his post. He is a poor dude, but he's made mistakes and EVENTUALLY he will need to speak about them. I'm repeating myself now how funny because I sort of have to because you won't read every time I say the same thing.

Also calling me trash too on my post? I believe you've blocked me as I can't see it now (how strange considering I should've done that as you're the one seeking a fight with me?) Stop being so childish and actively trying to start problems with people on here who are discussing an actual issue. My responses are neither entirely negative or positive and I try to see everyone in a light where they're not guilty until I know everything. If Taz decides he will never respond or posts support for Israel then shit, but it will effect this community and his image as someone who represents One Piece on a globally recognised stage. He made a mistake, hopefully he'll see that and with this silence then I believe he already has. It will take time, I'll wait.

So long and short, why don't you just stop spamming people with your nonsense and see that we're not saying this because we are spiteful evil people. People on here do it because it is relevant.

Goodnight, I hope you have a nice weekend.

#one piece #one piece live action #taz skylar

[bxbatea]

i'm sorry if this seems insensitive but can you please tell me what a Zionist is? I've seen things about them all day but I genuinely don't know what it is...

Hello, thank you for asking! I do not consider that an insensitive question at all. In times like this, I believe it is always good to ask questions if you do not understand something. Plus there may be a lot of confusing terms flying around, it's never a bad thing to further educate ourselves. :)

Zionism: is a political and national movement which aims at creating and sustaining a Jewish state in the Middle East.

So a "zionist" is basically any individual who believes in "the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel." (as stated in the google definition).

You might be wondering why this is problematic, here is some additional information.

A brief History

In 1897, Theodor Herzl was a man who formed the World Zionist organisation. It was his belief that the only way his people could live in peace was to have their own country. In Europe it was a difficult time for Jews to live in due to anti-semitic sentiments rising.

Palestine was chosen. The saying: "A land without people for a people without land," quickly spread.

However there was an issue, Palestine was not a land without people. A majority of the population consisted of muslims, christians and a smaller number of Jews, who lived together peacefully for centuries.

One of the significant turning points in history, followed the horrific events of WWII and the Holocaust. The number of jews flocking to occupied Palestine increased. Western countries began backing the idea of a Jewish state in Palestine...

Midnight May 14 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed a new state of Israel.

May 15 1948, marks the 'Nakba', or "catastrophe" in Arabic. Refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians.

Palestinians from a 1.9 million population were made refugees beyond the borders of their state

Zionist forces had taken more than 78 percent of historic Palestine

They ethnically cleansed and destroyed about 530 villages and cities, killed about 15,000 Palestinians in a series of mass atrocities, including more than 70 massacres.

While the 15th of May is the official day for commemorating the Nakba, Zionist groups had begun the process of Palestinians long before.

In fact, by May 15, half of the total number of Palestinian refugees had already been forcefully expelled from their home.

Israel for 75+ years, continue to eradicate and ethnically cleanse the people of Palestine. Even to this day.

On predominantly Western media outlets, I've seen Palestinians in interviews have to constantly justify their right to exist.

They have to justify their right to live. No one should ever be put in the position whereas they have to justify their entire existence.

However I cannot stress enough:

Being "anti-zionist" is not the same as being "anti-semitic"

Anti-semitic: Refers to the hostility, prejudice or discrimination against Jewish people.

Sources:

The Nakba did not start of end in 1948.

About the Nakba, United Nations.

Zionism explained.

I hope this was of some help. Please bear in mind this is only a condensed version of the historical records of Palestine and its people. I encourage anyone who sees this to continue researching, please continue to listen and amplify Palestinian voices!!!

This is a list of journalists and voices on the situation within Palestine and Gaza on Instagram, some may have already seen floating around!

Currently, Israel has cute off their communications from the rest of the world. To my knowledge, from this list, Roshdi Sarraj is among the 29 journalists killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes. May his soul rest at peace.

#free gaza #palestine #free palestine #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #gaza strip #gaza #save gaza #justice for palestine