Hey, I'm sure you've been inundated with hateful messages since a fairly large blog pointed you out as a proud zionist. I don't think that's helpful for anyone and it speaks poorly of those who sent it. I'd like to ask you some questions though, and I won't call on you to answer them publicly but you may wish to reflect on them in private.
First, do you believe all the citizens of Palestine are guilty for what Hamas has done? If so, I might ask you why collective punishment was outlawed under the Geneva convention.
Second, why did the Israeli government need to make up a story about 40 beheaded babies, and why is that now debunked story worth so much more than the babies that have been killed by bombs or starved to death in Gaza now?
Third, why might the people of Gaza support Hamas? Even if you believe every single Palestinian does, why would such an awful terrorist group be so popular? Do you believe it is because they are just savages, frothing at the mouth to kill Jews and queers?
Fourth, what justifies the Nakba of the last century, the killing and displacement of 750,000 people?
Fifth, what of the documented cases going back decades of Israeli soldiers killing journalists, medics, and peaceful protesters, including non-Palestinians like Rachel Corrie? Why do you think she protested so vehemently?
Sixth, if you believe Israel has the right to reclaim the homeland of two thousand years ago, do you believe Native Americans have the right to violently take the land of the USA?
Finally, why do you think the Israeli organization Breaking the Silence exists, and what do their testimonies mean to you?
I see you enjoy Percy Jackson; those books were very dear to my heart when I was younger, specifically the messaging of compassion for others and standing up against unjust systems. There is no angry message that anyone could send that will make you change your mind, but I hope this, sent in good faith, might help you at least reflect.
Imma answer out of order, going from stuff that's related to the war, to stuff related to the conflict, to stuff pretty unrelated
Hey, I'm sure you've been inundated with hateful messages since a fairly large blog pointed you out as a proud zionist.
So that's what happened! that explains it, thanks
First, do you believe all the citizens of Palestine are guilty for what Hamas has done?
I guess you mean the civilian population as Hamas never declared independence. I do not consider them all guilty, but I consider many responsible, so let's break it down:
Guilty: any hamas memeber, any person who helps hamas (funds, weapon stashes, kindapee holding) and any person who volunteers or sends volunteers or incourage volunteers to serve as human sheidls. all of them are directly guilty
Responsable: reponsable is those who could have responded but don't. those who had information about the war and didn't share it with Israel, anybody who knows the location of kidnappees, terrorists or weapon stashes, etc.
The remaining, mostly children, are neither guilty nor responsible, and I am sorry they are in the crossfire. I wish hamas surrenders soon, but I am not very hopeful
why collective punishment was outlawed under the Geneva convention
collective punishment is outlawed because hurting those who aren't guilty is not okay, any child can tell you that. but this war isn't collective punishment. on the contrary: hamas members use the immence humanitarian support for the civilian population in gaza to remain afloat.
Second, why did the Israeli government need to make up a story about 40 beheaded babies
let's begin by saying that many babies were brutally murdered on Oct. 7, just so nobody gets any ideas
beheading specifically? well see, I was one of the people talking about the beheaded babies, so while I can't speak for my government, I can speak for myself
This was at a time things were pretty uncertain, and It wasn't clear what had and hadn't happened, and an esteemed journalist from abroad had made the claim, not the government, who only defended it. It felt like the horrors we saw were denied before we even got the moment to mourn for them. this is one of the few times in this war that Israel had shared false information, so I can see how one might get caught up on it, but this is 1 detail which was wrong, a few days after the horrific massecare.
babies that have been killed by bombs or starved to death in Gaza now?
I didn't see any proof for starvation, though I wouldn't be very surprised (even though gaza now gets almost twice as many humanitarian aid as it did on Oct. 6, much of the support goes to hamas, so maybe it did happen). About the bombs? I am not very glad about gazan babies and children dying by bomb strikes, but with all due respect, I prefer that the soliders we send into gaza stay alive than gazan children, so if a trapped house with a hamas base and a few children is standing, I prefer we bomb it than risk the lives of our soliders. you may disagree, that's an opinion, but I have friends in gaza at the moment, and I cannot go to another funeral, my heart has had enough
Third, why might the people of Gaza support Hamas? ... why would such an awful terrorist group be so popular?
For the same reason the rest of the arab world and some of the western world does: they kill jews. every time hamas does a terror attack, it's value in the polls skyrockets all over the middle east. they like to see dead jews. I genuinly wonder what other reason could it be in your mind? hamas and groups like it operated from before 1948, they are terrible for every infrastructure and chance for peace one might ever wish for, they call for the creation of a palestinian state on the entire land west of the jordan river, and for an Islamic caliphate, if you belive it's about land you understoon nothing
Even if you believe every single Palestinian does
Well, here is a poll from after Oct. 7
tell me yourself
Do you believe it is because they are just savages, frothing at the mouth to kill Jews and queers?
I do not think of them as savages, (hamas are worse than that, the rest are just misled by an awful culture that's filled to the brim with fundamental islamism), but yes, absolutly, they like hamas because they kill jews. they prefer them to fatah because fatah dares to talk with Israel. they support terrorist attacks, by the majority, they share candies when jews are slaughtered, yes, they like hamas because it is the main palestinian group killing jews.
Finally, why do you think the Israeli organization Breaking the Silence exists, and what do their testimonies mean to you?
This is the easiest question you could have given me, thank you. BTS, the extreme-left organization that supposedly devotes themselves to testemonies about IDF misconduct, are cowards.
I have seen their testemonies, and I have reviewd their cases, and I have 2 problems with them:
they generalize specific cases. one of their favorite stories is the story of how once a few soliders (I think in Hebron) were on duty on the time of the world cup, so they evacuated a family from their house for that day, confiscated their TV, and watched the game, what they tell you is that it's a common occourance, what they don't tell you is that It happened once, and the soliders were heavily (though not heavily enough) punished
they prefer to act as social justice warriors than doing the hard work. BTS has dozens of cases of solider misconduct, but many of them has never seen a court, military court or general court. they gather a bunch of evidence, and instead of acting as an increadible organization that keeps the sanctity of the weapon and take misbehaving soliders to court, they exagurate and publish those stories abroad, to get a pat on the back, give bs for antisemites to spew, and leave the soliders out in public. Instead of making both palestinians and israelis secure (because I don't want the guy who thought he can take sombody's home to watch the world cup to walk with me on the street either), they prefer getting a bit of praise from the enemies of the country and leave things be
>Sixth, if you believe Israel has the right to reclaim the homeland of two thousand years ago, do you believe Native Americans have the right to violently take the land of the USA?
That is less like '48 and more like the bar-cokhva revolt... there is an empire there and not an ungoverened body, the violence comes from the people and not the colonising force etc. but let's answer this quesiton anyway because of all of your questions, this one made me think the most
Yes and no. If the first people of the american continent wanted to reastablish governence they never had over empty streaches of land to have it, this is insane. But if the first people organized in a movement to reclaim some of the USA and establish independent states where they once lived, and at first tried a peaceful solution for years, I think I'd support their struggle, yes. That said, it would be suicidal. the time we tried to do something simmilar (the bar cochva revolt) it ended in 2000 years of diasporah, so while I'd support the cause, I'd not support a war against nuclear america, and neither would I support giving back times square or D.C, a settlement would have to be reached. I think many americans would support it as well, particularly from the left
Fourth, what justifies the Nakba of the last century, the killing and displacement of 750,000 people?
I think you were lied to about the nakba... the "nakba" is the event in which right after the establishment of Israel (the day after) a war broke out with 7 arab armies attacked the newform state. in this war, the arab leaders of the time told many arabs in the area to evacuate and return after the war is done and there are no more jews in Israel. in the mixed cities fights broke out, and the army that got there first expelled the population they didn't support (Hadera went jewish, Hebron went arab). lastly, a few (though very few) operations under plan D got arab out of their homes. remember: the jews in the entire arab world, including judea and sameria, got the same treatment, often worse. now for those so called "refugees" (calling the decendent of a person fleeing from a war he started and getting a foriegn ID or returning to live in the same land under a different governance "refugee" is absurd. by that defenition I am a judean-polish-czechoslovakian refugee, even though I was born here) that UNRWA talks about now? they don't have "a right to return" any more than a roman or greek person does. the latest coloniser thinks they can get special treatment. for their property? they can get compensation once the entirety of europe and MENA gives Israel the tens of bilions of dollars worth of property that was stolen from them in '39 and '48.
Fifth, what of the documented cases going back decades of Israeli soldiers killing journalists, medics
I have seen none, I have seen, many, MANY, cases though, of "medics" and "journalists" with guns and suicide bombers.
and peaceful protestors
whats peaceful to you? throwing rocks at soliders? many die from these attacks each year. crossing the border? that would get you arrested or killed in any country except in europe
Rachel Corrie
Well, I am sorry that she died, there certainly was a better way to deal with the situation. The supreme court of israel (which is very left leaning) determined that her actions constituded an act of war and such the soliders are not guilty. I disagree, but you cannot pretend like this is either A. a common occourance or B. a clear case of non-violent proccess. her actions were, and I quote the surprmeme court:
I see you enjoy Percy Jackson; those books were very dear to my heart when I was younger, specifically the messaging of compassion for others and standing up against unjust systems.
Well, I see percy jackson as more about acceptance and breaking cycles of violence, but idk. I do think we should stand up against bad systems, and believe me, I could fill a book with the troubles that I have with the IDF. it often puts things under the rug, sacrafices Israeli lives to look better, and many other problems, but I don't think it is unjust. on the contrary, I think any army in the world, and epecially the US's one, would have flattned gaza on the 8th. the IDF is the most moral army in the world (it is the only one even trying)
Hope you agree with me, and even if you don't, how did you say? "I hope this, sent in good faith, might help you at least reflect"
This is the first civil ask I got since, I think, december. thank you for being civil
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There is a massive historical discourse issue when it comes to Israel-Palestine and yeah it pisses me off, firstly as a Jew, second as someone who is pursuing a degree in Jewish history.
You can see a part of it by looking at the historical narrative presented by a very popular source, DecolonizePalestine. This source has been shared widely by celebrities, by activists. It has been quoted to me on this website. It was even in the instagram bio of one of my TA's. It is considered a helpful and trustworthy source on Israel-Palestine.
The website has a Palestine 101 section, which includes this helpful module:
okay lets take a look:
I've never heard of the Peselet tablet, so let's do a quick google.
Huh. That's weird.
There actually is a 3,000 year old Egyptian tablet (stele) that talks about the levant though.
Oh no! Anyways. Lets move on:
I'm sorry but how do you mention the Assyrians without mentioning that they destroyed the ancient Kingdom of Israel. And the Persians without mentioning that they allowed for the end of the Babylonian exile and the building of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem . And the Romans without mentioning what they named their province in the levant. Judea. This is where the name "Jew" comes from. There isn't a J in Hebrew.
wait the ottomans???? We already got to the Ottomans??? We just skipped literal centuries.
There's clearly a narrative being created here, not by the inclusion of historical facts, but rather the purposeful omission of historical facts. No serious scholar would be able to discuss the history of the levant and COMPLETELY LEAVE OUT THE JEWS.
This is the dominant historical narrative in discourse on Israel-Palestine and it is harmful. Not only because its untrue, but because it involves the destruction of Jewish history and the right of Jews to steward our own history.
Where we come from is and has always been a huge part of Jewish identity. I cannot stress this enough. It is wrong and yes, it is antisemitic to warp and erase Jewish history for your own political purposes.
and here's what gets me: it is completely unnecessary.
You can recognize all the horrors that the zionist movement and Israel has inflicted upon Palestinians without denying Jewish history. You can demand Israel take accountability and stop what it is doing without denying Jewish history. You can advocate for Palestinian freedom, statehood and self determination, without denying Jewish history.
But people don't want to *just* do that. In the minds of many, the only acceptable Free Palestine is a Palestine Free of Jews or Jewish autonomy.
And for that, fuck you. Palestinians are indigenous to the levant. They know their history and where they come from. Jews are indigenous to the levant. We know our history and where we come from.
No one is going anywhere.
Be better.
Free Palestine and Am Yisrael Chai.
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I wish it were better known and appreciated that the majority of non-Mediterranean European ancestry in Ashkenazim mostly comes from people who willingly converted to Judaism, even despite great personal risk. As we've learned from genetic studies, most of these people were women; over 90% of male Y-chromosomal lines are from the Middle East and Mediterranean while about 60% of female mtDNA lineages are.
These European women and men knowingly chose to become Jewish despite the fact that they would be persecuted for it, that they and their children would be subjugated to exclusionary laws, and that they could lose their reputations and standing with their former communities. They could and were at certain times even executed for becoming Jewish or having romantic relationships with Jews, and would be murdered in pogroms like the 1096 Rhineland massacres because they were Jews.
This man's name is lost to us today, but he became Jewish and remained Jewish in a hostile environment where there were zero benefits in wider society for doing so. With the recent massacres looming over his head, he was even anxiously considering the possibility that he might someday kill himself rather than give up his identity as a Jew should a mob come for him and demand he convert to Christianity.
Of course at times they weren't even given the option to convert/be baptized into Christianity. They were massacred along with the other Jews of the community.
When it was discovered that Marina Davidovna Surawicza had converted to Judaism in the 18th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, she was arrested, tortured, and eventually executed.
The same thing happened to Maryna Wojciechówna and Paraska Daniłowna, both of whom were executed during the same time period because they converted and married Jewish men. They arrested Maryna at her own wedding.
I understand the frustration, grief, and anger in posts where people respond to the deep, longstanding mire of antisemitic rhetoric that people use to hurl primarily at Ashkenazim to delegitimize them and their heritage because of their history in Europe. I understand what it is to watch people spin narratives out of misapplied discourse about modern conceptions and racial politics in countries like the USA, especially when those narratives become the foundation for excusing or promoting dangerous misinformation, violence, and hate against Jews just because some of their recent ancestors lived in Europe and may have had on average lighter skin, hair, and eyes, (none of which are exclusive to Europeans or to America's present conception of "white people.") I understand what it's like facing an onslaught of ignorant and false statements designed to delegitimize, deny, and accuse Jews for Bullshit Reason #263434.
I just want you to know that you have ancestors like Marina and the man from 11th century Germany whose name we'll never know, people with an extraordinary amount of bravery and personal conviction who chose to be Jewish despite knowing that they would be oppressed and perhaps even killed for it.
Do not let antisemites make you feel ashamed that these people are part of Am Yisrael.
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