#and gal served in the idf enough said | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

meyhew · 8 months

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I never said genocide was a "little thing" or that I was okay with it and support it. What I have been trying to say that I'm against antisemitism, also that there a lot of celebrities who are Jewish, Gal Gadot being one of them. And you realize that it's mandatory for anyone who's from Israel to serve time in the IDF, right? So obviously, Gal had no choice in the matter, there was nothing she could do about that. But even so, how can you or anyone else possibly think that kidnapping, torturing, maiming, sexual assault, rape, and murder is any way, shape, or form okay? Those things aren't and never will be acceptable, and I will never justify or support such actions.

u are blocked for a reason yet u keep coming back to make a fool of yourself. but i have a habit of proves bitches wrong so lets have it

the last ask u sent me said, "...life's just too precious to cancel everyone over every little thing and to pass up watching good content just it features a celebrate that did something I didn't approve of" in which the words "little thing" refer to these celebrities' support of israel. which is at best complacency with genocide and at worst unequivocal support of it.

you wanna talk to me about gal gaot? about having "no choice in the matter"? that's the same rhetoric soldiers used in nazi germany when they were helping exterminate jewish people. it's the same rhetoric american soldiers used when they were bombing people in iraq and afghanistan and when they were torturing innocent civilians in abu ghraib. everyone always has a fucking choice. whether or not they make the right one depends on the person because even a select few in israel have refused to join the idf. sure they faced some jail time and whatnot but at least their conscience is clear that they haven't participated in actively killing palestinians. and just for argument's sake say that gal gadot would've been killed had she not served. she doesn't have to be fond of the idf now. she doesn't have to praise the idf now. i've seen accounts of many former idf soldiers condemning what that military does because they now recognize it's morally abhorrent. what's stopping gal gadot from condemning the idf for dropping white phosphorous on palestinians and testing new chemical weapons on them?

and as far as the "kidnapping, torturing, maiming, sexual assault, rape, and murder" is considered... all of that is happening, yes, and has been happening for decades but to palestinians. until you can provide actual evidence that this has been happening to israelis, i will not believe you and i will not care about it. because all israel and its citizens have done is fucking lie and lie and lie about their experiences, whereas everything the palestinians have endures has been documented by them. you want to talk about the kidnapping and torture? let's talk about the thousands of palestinians that are in israeli captivity for the crime of existing. countless palestinians who die in captivity because israel won't let them have any defense. you want to talk about maiming? i can pull up far too many photos of children that have been dismembered and disfigured because of israeli airstrikes. images that will never leave me. you want to talk about sexual assault and rape? we can talk about the many instances of israeli forces raping palestinian women. you want to talk about fucking murder? if the thousands dying every day isn't enough let's talk about what happened yesterday. let's talk about israeli targeting and killing the family of al jazeera bureau chief, after the US warned the network to tone down its coverage of what's happening. which is sort of similar to what the US did to tareq ayyoub during the iraq invasion. same fucking playbook.

every single deplorable action you try to pin on palestinians will point only at israel. you only have these things to talk about because israel has committed these atrocities. you have no proof that palestinians—hell it's not even palestinians as a whole or even their "government." it's hamas—have done anything you claim. you have no proof. the hostages that were released proved you wrong. why else did israel not want them speaking publicly? every single hostage that has been released by hamas has said the same thing: they were treated with respect and all their basic needs were cared for. meanwhile you have israeli officials going on record promising to flatten gaza into a graveyard. go fuck yourself

#u send me anything else i will delete it. i sincerely do wish you The Worst <3 #gaza #palestine #israel

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thesinglesjukebox · 6 years

Video

youtube

NETTA - TOY

[5.00]

She won Eurovision, but can she win us over?

Jessica Doyle: True story: twenty years ago I got back to Grenoble, after a weekend away with the other kids in my study-abroad group, to find my (Orthodox, Lubbavitcher, Sephardic) host mom grinning. "Israel won Eurovision," she explained. Last I heard at least one of her four kids had moved to Israel with their families; and I worry sometimes, in the face of no direct evidence whatsoever, that such a move had more to do with increasing anti-Semitism in France than with their personal circumstances. (Reading this, written in 2012, made me simultaneously nostalgic and sad. But there's still a Chabad in Grenoble, yay!) And now there's "Toy," which is too gleefully, deliberately mindless to lend itself well to a Zionist analysis -- and God bless, at a time when even poor Natalie frickin' Portman can't pass the Zionist-Enough test, that somebody decided Israel was confident enough to risk a Eurovision anthem that didn't lend itself well to a Zionist analysis. And God bless all those European voters who were willing, at a time when the personal has to be political (and when Lorde's camp apparently can't tell the difference between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem), to forget about boycotting, divesting, and sanctioning for a moment and cluck along. [7]

Jonathan Bogart: During the final ceremony, I thumbnailed Israel's entry as "Meghan Trainor meets Reggie Watts," an uncharitable but not inaccurate reading of Netta's gleefully unhip beat-box looping grafted onto proudly full-figured but otherwise embarrassing empowerment anthems. (I should perhaps have added Beth Ditto for sheer vocal power.) But it was the Wonder Woman line that made me pause, because Israel's soft-power propaganda campaign has had its clearest advocate over the last several years in Gal Gadot. Like Gadot, Netta served her mandatory term in the IDF; unlike her, she served exclusively in military bands. It would be foolish to reduce my response to Netta entirely to her nation's crimes (if it came to that, few of us could escape judgment), but I can't help wondering how complicit she, and all of us (I saw Wonder Woman opening weekend), are. [5]

Leonel Manzanares de la Rosa: I love the fact that Netta's "Toy" won Eurovision, yet I hate the idea of Israel hosting next year. The most brilliant track conquered Europe, rightfully, but I have a huge problem with my favorite music event of the year taking place in an apartheid state. That being said, there's so much going on in the song, and it's all so freakin' exciting, I don't know exactly where to begin. Okay, the song is built around a vocal looper, and Netta's incredible acrobatics, chicken noises, percussive clicks and sheer rhythmic brilliance, but there's also a bona fide ethno-pop banger underneath, in which we can hear her deliver all sorts of ear-catching melodies (even going full Migos flow for a while). And just because she's that much of a badass, there's a full-on dabke break at the beginning of the second verse, a homage to the rich musical traditions of the Levant. "Toy" is a work of genius; both accessible and experimental, both ethnic and cosmopolitan, in line with contemporary trends, but compositionally in a league of its own. It was the best song, by far, in Lisbon, a clear pre-show favorite, and it took the crystal microphone. It's also a well-deserved fuck you to last year's winner Salvador Sobral's tone-deaf, unfortunate "fireworks vs. feelings" statements; not only because Salvador himself hated the song, but because Netta is indeed an incredibly accomplished musician, and however funny and bubbly "Toy" is, everything about it is as "real music" as that jazz interval show with Caetano Veloso in the Grand Final. Last year I mentioned how the contest will still be a big, beautiful, camp, queer party, and that music can be fireworks, feelings, and fun. "Toy" is all that, and much, much more. [9]

Katherine St Asaph: Douze points to... takes! So many separate vectors for takes that the intended #MeToo take doesn't register at all. Or any song. [2]

William John: The zany affectations and gurned squeaks bring to mind the way in which Björk is conceptualised by those who've never before heard a Björk song as the embodiment of unexplainable eccentricity. But the more obvious reference point for "Toy" is the singer previously of Karmin (who, as an aside, is now masquerading in blackface under a new nom de plume). In the same way that Karmin's showy YouTube cover clips endeavoured to reduce rap to a game of tongue-twisters, performer Netta here overwhelms her song's attempt to champion autonomy with garish, irritating theatrics. [1]

Will Adams: The studio version of "Toy" is a stormer, zooming from section to section with off-the-wall production so fast it's hard to keep up with. We've got Pikachus and teddybears and iPhone dings and Netta's committed performance all leading up to an uplifting breakdown that quickly swerves into Arrested Development-style mockery of the stupid boy. The song itself is great. But Eurovision songs don't exist in a bubble; they incorporate staging, choreography, styling choices, the pressure to play to juries and audiences' expectation of what Eurovision "zaniness" looks like. And so we get bullshit like the Netherlands's tone-deaf entry and Israel's Stefani-esque grossness. The problem here is that it's 2018 and people are still trotting out that old "what's WRONG with paying tribute to OTHER cultures it's not offensive it's BEAUTIFUL" chestnut. And in a year that was very subdued by Eurovision's standards, it's too egregious to ignore. [6]

Iain Mew: When TV commentators on the semi-final promised upcoming chicken noises, my thoughts turned immediately to Wang Rong. Little did I realise how apt that would prove, with the performance of "Toy" being every "check out this Japanese/Korean/Chinese pop culture, it's so WTF!" article in stage form, but this time skipping the need for anyone East Asian to even be involved. There could be something in separating out "Toy" from its staging, up to the point of Netta explaining that "Baka is also 'stupid' in Japanese" and the realisation that treating Japanese as interchangeable with animal sounds is integral to the song too. [2]

Edward Okulicz: Netta is a superlative performer, and "Toy" has an actual message, but it's taken a really weird, silly song, musically, to bring both of those out. The way she clucks out those syllables while throwing in actual words between the clucks is evidence of impressive verbal dexterity. She's all sing-song in the pre-chorus, and spitting fire in the actual chorus, so it's not just dexterity, it's ability to switch acting personas so playfully that's also astonishing. The song makes me like Netta. But I don't love the song itself, because the chorus with its "boy/toy" rhyme feels very childish and I keep waiting for the string swoops to turn into "7 Nation Army" -- now there's a killer bootleg waiting to happen. As frequently occurs with Eurovision songs, the on-stage production had some questionable aesthetic choices, but I can't say I've ever seen a performer on stage quite like her. [5]

Alex Clifton: God, it's nice to have a fun winner for the first time in a few years, isn't it? Don't get me wrong -- I liked Portugal's song last year, and "1944" is a gorgeous song loaded with pain -- but I come to Eurovision for silly, fizzy pop. "Toy" is an earworm for the ages that makes you want to dance, and also feels welcome in the age of #MeToo. "I'm not your toy" is a sentence I've thought as I've dealt with boys who somehow forget that women have interiority and lives not related to them, but rarely have I felt it as joyfully as when Netta yelps it. Empowerment songs are weird because for all the inspiring lyrics, they rarely have the actual undercurrent of power that should accompany them. Thankfully, Netta's got charisma and force and sells this both as a dance song as well as a warning to the guys who may try to cross her. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#Netta

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evilwickedme · 7 years

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I'm not Jewish but I had a question about anti-Semitism. If you're not up for the emotional labor of answering that's cool but I saw a post that compared seeing the Wonder Woman movie to supporting facism and that seemed wrong to me, but I'm not sure I know enough about the nuances of the situation to express why. I was wondering if you could help me understand if that's a bad comparison and why? If not I totally understand.

hey anon, great question. short answer: yes. long answer: abso-fucking-lutely. longer answer:

hell yeah, comparing seeing the wonder woman movie to supporting fascism is terrible. here are a list of posts I’ve seen in this context:

a literal blood libel on gal gadot, comparing the way she looks at chris pine to the way she might look at palestinian children before she eats them

the amount of times I’ve seen people say she supports killing palestinians because she opposes hamas, or saying she was a combat soldier, if I had one cent for every time I’d probably get a seven-digit check along with my actual paycheck on monday

comparing israel to the apartheid, fascism, or the nazis isn’t new, but hey, it’s always good to see it on my dash, ffs

so here’s why all of that is fucking bullshit.

1. we’re going to start with the convenient timing of all of this. see, you may not remember this, but gal has already been wonder woman before - in the dc film batman vs. superman. arguably, one of the worst films of all time, but she still had a relatively large part in it, appearing in at least a quarter of the movie’s scenes if not more. she also had a large part in a fast & furious movie, which I haven’t watched, so I can give no commentary on it. and in that movie earlier this year, keeping up with the joneses. all of these movies had moderate to starring roles by our favorite amazon, gal gadot. all of them went unbanned in arab countries, unprotested by palestinians and tumblr and the antisemitic left. would you like to guess why?

see, here is this movie, starring a woman, who is good, and strong, in that order, who saves the day, who isn’t sexualized, who is a goddamn hero, who isn’t joss-whedon “strong” but rather compassionate AND goddamn powerful. and imo - and other people on this agree with me - that fucking scares people.

people don’t want to support wonder woman. but since there’s nothing wrong with the movie itself - sans the car that appeared out of nowhere - they have to find something else to latch onto. and oh, how convenient, gal gadot is in this movie, and she’s jewish and israeli, so she’s double evil, let’s get people to avoid this movie that way.

to clarify, I don’t think everybody doing this is doing it maliciously. I think it’s understandable for a palestinian to not want to go see a movie with an israeli in it. especially if they’re told that gal gadot was a combat soldier who killed palestianians herself, who wanted to join and joined willingly. it’s understandable if somebody who doesn’t actually know much about the situation - who gets all their information about israel from tumblr and other leftists gentiles - hears the literal lies and antisemitic bullshit and believes it, because, funnily enough, the sjw movement has completely skipped us and many times fucked jewish people over. so again, it’s understandable. but there’s a reason the controversy is only surrounding the movie led by a woman who is actually everything tumblr claims to want - and that is plain old sexism.

2. let’s address the idf, mmkay? the idf is mandatory service for all citizens. that’s right! every 11th and 12th grader in israel misses at least a dozen days of school to go to various army bases till they decide where you’re going to go once you enlist. some people, like myself, get a special permit not to enlist - but it is very, very rare, and very difficult to obtain even if you have good reason for it - they dragged me around for a whole year, from city to city, until they finally issued me mine. not enlisting means jail otherwise. so gal gadot enlisted in 2004 when she was 18, like the rest of us, sure. but she didn’t choose to. and she didn’t join the combatant forces. she didn’t even go to the ever-popular intelligence units. she was a fitness instructor. she helped people get in shape. (sidenote: גל, אם את רוצה לעזור לי להכנס לכושר, תשלחי לי הודעה.) in addition, gal gadot is a fierce feminist, who shows up to premiers in flats cause her back hurts, who posts pictures of herself with her husband wearing no make up, who became wonder woman for her daughter.

but what about that three year old facebook post???? you mean, the one where she writes she supports the israeli troops in their efforts against hamas? people write about it as if it’s one of many posts she’s written about killing innocent palestinians. and just to clarify: that’s the only fucking post. and hamas is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization. it uses human shields and schools as centers for their activity on purpose. saying you’re angry at her for supporting her troops - as if you’d say anything like that to a retired american soldier for saying they support their troops, as if you’d dare - in the face of a battle with a literal terrorist organization - what could possibly go through anybody’s head that would make that sentence logical.

not to mention, she’s said repeatedly that she wished there was no need for the idf, that she wished that there could be peace. hey, I feel the same way. but the political situation doesn’t work like that. and so she supported eliminating hamas, a terrorist organization, and people actually hated her for it. literally what the fuck.

3. is israel apartheid or fascist? no. does it have problems with racism, and serious problems at that? hell yes. but we’re not fucking apartheid.

4. and finally: the antisemitism. because… dear god, the antisemitism. I’m going to break this down from the most “innocent” to the absolute worst.

wonder woman is white feminism - jewish. people. aren’t. white. they can be converts, or identify as white for other reasons - but antisemitism is racism against jews, aight? is that clear? the white/poc dynamic that is the common theory in america right now doesn’t work with jewish people. pale ashkenazis like gal gadot are not poc, but not white either, because white people were our oppressors for literally thousands of years, they raped us and killed us, and equating us with our oppressors is fucking antisemitic. see the first link for more detail on that.

a blood libel is a blood libel is a blood libel. for those of you who don’t know, blood libels are among the oldest forms of antisemitism. a blood libel is an accusation, specifically against jews, of killing non-jews, with little to no evidence, as an excuse to prosecute jewish people and kill them. the most common form is the claim that jewish people kill children, either to serve the devil, to use their blood for a matza or otherwise religious sacrifice, or even for fun. when searching for the blood libel I had seen - which thankfully, I couldn’t find - I found this post. this is an example of a blood libel torn apart. and just to clarify, ffs: yeah, claiming she killed palestinians and put notches on her gun is fucking antisemitic, especially when she did none of the above. it’s a classic blood libel, it’s literally garbage, and don’t fucking perpetuate it.

my personal favorite antisemitic trope is the elders of zion. saying every jewish person or israeli has connections to the people who secretly control everything!!!!! we’ve never been oppressed, we’re just pretending to be while secretly running the antisemitic media, the antisemitic american government, and of course, the ever popular antisemitic idea we run the banks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!! here’s a secret: gal gadot, beyond voting, has no connection to the israeli government, or to any policies it has, racist or otherwise. she’s an actress, for god’s sake.

and the worst of it. comparing israel to nazis. comparing jews to nazis. comparing the magen david (aka the jewish star) to a fucking swastika. all the height of antisemitism. people on this site so conveniently forget that the nazis targeted jews more than any other group, that we still haven’t reached pre-wwii numbers, that around half of all jews worldwide live in israel, and that, ffs, we aren’t a fascist government, we’re the only true democracy in the middle east. call it pinkwashing or brainwashing, call it whatever you like, I call it antisemitism, because we’re not fascist, and we’re definitely not fucking nazis.

and once again, I’d like to remind you that even though I myself am open to talking about my opinions cause I can’t fucking shut up, asking every jewish person to talk about israel and its actions is fucking racist as fuck.

tumblr: don’t ask every muslim person to immediately denounce isis, a terrorist organization that literally kills other muslims!!!

jews: aight, don’t ask us to denounce the only place where it’s even a little safe to be jewish -

tumblr: what???? no!!!! no way!!! here’s a jewish person, if you’re not explicitly for the destruction of israel and extremely vocal about it, you’re literal garbage!!!!

essentially.

anyway, so to summarize: yes, anon, your instinct was right. wonder woman is feminist as fuck, intersectional as fuck, and a great fucking movie which I’ve already seen twice, and not going to see it because of gal gadot, who is a literal sweetheart, makes me go:

#antisemitism #wonder woman #ww #wonder woman movie #dc #jewish #judaism #ip conflict #israel #anonymous #ask #(i have a lot of jewish memes. maybe i should make a post.)#jew tag

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phoukanamedpookie · 7 years

Text

HaShem deliver me from Tumblr’s tendency to reductive arguments.

I am by no stretch of the imagination a pro-military person. I personally find large groups of people with access to guns and other powerful weapons a huge detriment to peaceful resolution of conflict.

That being said, I draw a clear line between an organization and its leadership and the grunts who have to work there because they’re drafted or because it’s the only way to escape poverty. I don’t have the option of being simplistic or reductive about this. Most of my extended family is current or former military, and a whole generations of men in my family are Vietnam vets or Korean War/World War II vets. (I’m an odd non-veteran duckling among my folks.)

It’d be more than a bit hypocritical of me to say “Boooooo!” about Gal Gadot when people in my family who have served in the US military* have actually been in combat, and I certainly haven’t thought of or spoken of them as evil for it. From what I know of their experience, it was horrific enough without me getting up on my high horse talking about what they woulda coulda shoulda did.

That doesn’t mean I support how the government deploys the military. That doesn’t mean I agree with everything soldiers and former soldiers say and do. Overall, I’m a big-ass hippie who believes in giving peace a chance, and I’m appalled by how often governments make dick-measuring contests with people’s lives.

At the same time, I know that soldiers are often put in a shitty situation they didn’t create, so unless they go out of their way to do something heinous (like Abu Gharib), I’m not going to go out of my way to call soldiers corrupt or abusive. If I’m not calling it out when it’s my family, I’m not going to call it out when it’s someone else’s.

*If I put the IDF and the US military on opposite sides of Anubis’ scales, the US military would break that fucking thing.

#about eshu #antisemitism

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folktaylor · 7 years

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I'm really bothered. I loved Wonder Woman but like my family is trying to say I lack ethical standards because she served in the idf and we're Arab. Like, you have to be able to separate artist and art otherwise you can't enjoy things. Plus, she was required to serve, she didn't volunteer. Idk. Like it's giving me anxiety. It kinda ruined the good day I was having. Ugh.

i'm going to be honest - im not informed enough right now to give an opinion. i know a little bit but not enough to take a one side or the other stance.i mean i do disagree to an extent with the 'separate the art and the artist' thing bc ppl need to be held accountable for their shit like i can't willfully separate johnny depp's abuse of his wife and his movies or woody allen's sexual assault of minors from his films etc.people do have to be held accountable for their choices but as i said im really not informed enough about gal to take a stance right now. based on what i know, her service WAS mandatory and she never fought a day in her life. people can't necessarily help where they're born and what they're born into. that's not a choice.

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soapberryspringsrpg · 7 years

Photo

Alia Oren ║ Naga ║ Taken ║ Gal Gadot

Introduction

Like many others of their species, Alia’s family was fiercely protective of nature, with water being their element of choice. It was no wonder, then, that they appointed themselves guardians of Tiberias’ many hot springs – rumored by the locals to have magical, curative powers – and planted their roots there. By the time Alia was born, her family had set up a chain of spas along the Sea of Galilee, each location right by a bubbling hot spring.

Alia grew up in a very insular community: she mostly stuck with her family and other nagas within the community, though she did befriend mermaids and selkies as well – especially the ones who would swim by the hot springs every so often and say hello. She had very little experience with humans, as her relatives were too overprotective of her and never left her alone with the human clientele of the spa, though she had observed enough of the humans’ utter disregard for nature to form an unfavorable opinion of her own.

Until this point, Alia would have been happy living the rest of her life in Tiberias with her family and friends. This all changed when she was eighteen and conscripted into the military. Joining the IDF wasn’t something she would have chosen for herself, but it opened her eyes to a whole new world: she found that she could tolerate – and even like – certain humans, formed a camaraderie with many of her fellow recruits, and through hearing their stories, she learned that there was so much more out there in the world than what she’d been told all her life.

After serving for three years, she and a couple of other soldiers in her unit traveled the globe for a year, stopping in far-flung destinations and tending bars or waiting tables to foot the bill for their misadventures. During this time, she thought a lot about what she wanted to do in the future: having seen what she’d seen in the past few years, she knew that she wouldn’t be happy running the family spa – there was so much else out there for her in the world. What she did know, however, was that she was still passionate about the environment. So after some soul-searching, she returned to Israel and started volunteering at an environmental NGO.

Her work with the organization put her in touch with many people from around the world, and also took her to different destinations – all in the name of working towards environmental sustainability. It wasn’t long before she tired of the bureaucracy, and it was then she decided to take off and travel again: this time alone, and for a few years. As before, she supported herself by taking on odd jobs here and there – usually, she found herself behind the bar, mixing drinks and listening to people’s problems. There was something calming about it that she liked.

When she grew weary of the constant travel, she looked up various supernatural safe havens she could settle down in – and that was when she stumbled upon Soapberry Springs. Her first stint in the town lasted only a month or two before she was called back to Israel due to the unexpected passing of her mother: something that she’s still trying to wrap her head around. She stayed with her family for a few more months, helping out in the spa where she could, but once everyone had their bearings and things were running smoothly, she decided to head back to Soapberry for a fresh start.

To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken? “Oh, god, I don’t think I’ve controlled anything at all! I’ve tried to control things every now and then, but that doesn’t usually work out so well, so I like to just sit back and see what happens. Good things come to those who wait – oh, god, I can’t believe I just said that, but it’s true, isn’t it? And I’m happy with how my life’s turned out so far.”

What are you most grateful for? “All the opportunities I’ve had up till now. I think everyone’s shaped by what they go through, and I’m the same way – I’m glad I went to the military even though I was against it at first: I learned so much from my friends there, and I’m sure I would never have left Tiberias, or have seen the things I’ve seen, if not for that.”

#sbsalia #takenfemale #sbsallt #sbschar #naga*

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hanorganaas · 7 years

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Part 1/2 Hi! I just wanted to thank you for what you said in your Israel/gal gadot post. As an Israeli living in the US, it's always been hard for me to explain why the Israeli army is different than the US army. I also wanted to point out that not every Israeli must serve in the IDF. Before Israelis start training, they go through a process to see where they'll fit in best and to see if there's a medical issue or something. My brother's best friend was exempt from the IDF because of asthma.

Part 2/2 I also have a cousin who was exempt, but she fought her way into getting drafted. I got exempt from serving, but can’t staying in Israel longer than a year (or I’ll get drafted). It’s not necessarily every Israeli citizen MUST serve. There are regulations and such. I hope I’m explaining correctly -_- Anyways, sorry for the long comment, but it always makes me happy to see support for Israel, so thank you!! Much love from one Jewish girl to another

Ah thanks for clearing up the serving thing when it comes to health issues and other things, but I assumed it would be the case for there as well as the United States. But as you said before some Israeli immigrants to the USA do eventually to go back and serve, either out of religious duty or to help out their friends. One of the male soldiers in my birthright group immigrated to Chicago but when he graduated high school decided to go back and serve. And then we have the other half like my ex boyfriend who had the option to go back and serve but knew he wouldn’t emotionally be able to do it [he actually told me he had a month limit each time he vists Israeli family members I guess its more flexible]. But again thank you for giving me some clarification cause I know alot about Israel from Birthright and Hebrew School but not that much.

Hey I am always here to support my fellow Jews, especially the ones who believe Hanleia is a goregous couple, especially those in your situation who came from the motherland and have to see such ugly discourse without fact. As questionable as some actions could be [like with every other country], I had the fortunate of going twice and it’s a beautiful country and hope to go back some day [maybe if I am rich enough own a house in Elliat for vacay X3]. It’s part of my life and history so I am always going to at least stand by it in its existance.

Shalom and lot’s of Han and Leia love my friend!

#anon #nor talks to followers #israel #gal gadot #israel discourse #pro israel doesn't equal pro murder

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tootyfrootycasbooty · 7 years

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idk about gal's support of the occupation or anything like that, but it is a requirement to serve in the IDF once you're 18 if you're israeli. she didn't have a choice about that, at least

i know that, but her support is literally on social media it's not hard to find. the language she used was enough for me to know i can't support her as a figure! like i said it's just my view, it's not the fact alone that she served or is israeli

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pocinperioddramas · 7 years

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Haha whoops, I forgot to say that if you want sources for any of the stuff I mentioned I can track them down for you - the comments were just way too long already. (Thanks again for the thoughtful, civil conversation. I'm trying to find a non-patronizing-sounding way to say I was nowhere near as mature and self-aware as you in high school and I can't, but I swear I don't mean it that way, I just admire that. It took me way longer and I'm not even sure I'm there yet.)

So to start with I’m glad you’ve put so much thought into this. I personally as kind of uncomfortable bringing it up, as I *know* I’m not super well-informed on Israel, but I didn’t feel I could say nothing. With that knowledge in mind, I tentatively support a two-state solution - I’m not sure whether it’s relevant if it could *realistically* happen without further bloodshed - if it TECHNICALLY could, that’s probably what matters. (I’m maybe not expressing myself well - it’s like how a lot of things in Canada/USA which are technically possible are realistically less possible because of conservative obstruction, but we still aim for them.) Or even just… LESS bloodshed then right now.

There’s a post going around that GG posted on fb that’s getting a lot of flak, but the actual post specifically condemns Hamas, not Palestine, and her statements in the post support coexistence - and, yes, young IDF soldiers, but military service is compulsory in Israel - I know I feel for any young people drafted or convinced into combat. Like - it’s still okay to have an issue with her support of the military (although, like I said, her service wasn’t a choice and she wasn’t in combat), but a lot of the problem I think is that her service in/support of the Israeli military is being scrutinized and condemned, while celebrities like, say, Adam Driver, who supports the American military HARDCORE, like, complete with fundraising and stuff, go completely unscrutinized and uncondemed despite the US military’s own horrible track record/activities.

Last thing I think - it’s been my understanding that the creation of Israel created so many problems due to mistakes/racism/anti-Semitism by Western powers, and not Israelis or Jewish people in general. I don’t know how accurate that is - but it complicates the idea of Israel as ‘colonialist.’ (Although obviously the affect on Palestine has been… unjustly detrimental, to put it obscenely mildly.) I’d feel way more comfortable letting a Jewish person speak on this.

I know you’re looking for a mod - have you considered looking for a Jewish perspective, not specifically, but maybe as a desirable thing? Erm. Sorry for length, I didn’t intend for that number of replies. Thanks again for giving this so much thought. (VERY different experience from the last time I sent a blog I like a message like that tbh.)

Hello again, thanks for all your replies! :) I will respond to all of them here, by the way, for easier reading and so there will be not too many replies in that one post alone.

I understand your point about a realistic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not being that relevant as of now, as that wouldn’t be very easy especially if there is still obstruction from self-interested parties, and you make a fair parallel to the situation there in Canada and the US. So yes, at the very least, less bloodshed than before would be something to aim for, which will hopefully eventually lead to the war’s end and full peace at last.

I saw a screenshot of that post - that was the very post for which people began truly disliking and condemning Gal for since it’s so explicit in its support of IDF. She brings up Hamas in that post - but Hamas can be interpreted as either a fundamentalist group of terrorists or a grassroots organization of freedom fighters, depending on your views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict/war in Gaza. To be honest, I don’t know what my stance on Hamas is yet, as I’ve read contradicting information about the group and I don’t know what to believe as of now. But there is apparently one falsehood that Gal perpetuates about Hamas in that post, whether or not you believe them to be terrorists or noble freedom fighters - she says that Hamas is using Palestinian women and children as human shields, something which has apparently already been disproven by a number of major news organizations (see here and here for more information).

Here’s an important quote from the 2nd article I linked that I find relevant:

“Speaking up for the Palestinians does not mean you are supporting Hamas or even are anti-Israel. It is just impossible to ignore the facts. In this so-called “war” there are way more people dying on one side than the other. And most of the people dying are civilians. Not only that, but hospitals and schools are in the cross-hairs, too. Yes, any nation reserves the right to defend itself. But is this really self defense or a variation of Florida’s barbarian “Stand Your Ground” laws played out on a global scale?

The other thing that bothers me about Gadot’s stance on the conflict is one of the hashtags she uses: #weareright. That hashtag is buttressed by other, more palatable ones like #freegazafromhamas and #coexistance (sp), but it still oozes with the kind of nationalism that leads to the kind of escalation that will ultimately make everything worse for both sides.

Here’s the thing. When you have hundreds of people — most of whom are women and children — dead and hospitals and schools destroyed, no one is right. War is terrible and awful. Not a spectator sport. Supporting one’s country does not mean you have to also support what that country is doing, especially when so much death and destruction is the direct result of those actions.

The fact that Gadot will be the real life embodiment of Wonder Woman for generations to come is what makes this all so ironic. Maybe not as ironic as casting, say, Ted Nugent as Batman, but still. Wonder Woman is supposed to be an ambassador of peace. Of course, she’s also an Amazon warrior who isn’t afraid to take up the sword against evil, but Diana of Themyscira only goes to war for those who cannot fight for themselves.

Is it possible that, were Wonder Woman real, her view of the conflict in Gaza would be filled with more compassion for the oppressed? Isn’t that the kind of justice that a character like Wonder Woman is supposed to inspire?”

As the quote points out, even though she says she supports coexistence in her hashtags, she uses the hashtags #weareright and #loveidf at the same time. I am aware of her history as a soldier serving in the IDF and I’m also aware that in Israel, serving in their military is compulsory, so I do not really condemn her for that. But the fact is that she remains an active supporter of IDF when she doesn’t have to be, because as far as I know, it isn’t compulsory for Israeli citizens to actively show their support and love for the IDF like through social media (unless it is, so please correct me if I’m wrong there - because I don’t know enough about Israeli laws and policies on that front). After her service in the military, she could have just remained quiet and not necessarily have been so public about her support of the IDF (but then that might have been a whole other can of worms as she would be condemned for her silence on the issue, for it could be viewed as being still complicit in the oppression due to her not speaking out on it).

I didn’t know about Adam Driver (who, like Gal, also served in his country’s military, although this time it wasn’t compulsory and thus it is less understandable and he actually served in combat too from what I’ve researched now), and in that area, I think you’re right. That is a troubling phenomenon, and thank you for pointing that out. I first knew of him through “Star Wars”, but I didn’t care much about him (and still don’t) because I like the lead actors - Daisy, John, and Oscar (whose character is not really a main protagonist as of now but Poe is more important to me than Kylo Ren anyway) - much better, and he really didn’t stand out as anything special to me although I suppose he was a good actor too. That’s the thing with US-centrism (and West-centrism in general) - these Americans think their country is too good and progressive to be oppressive to other nations and countries. And in this situation, I do think that it’s more likely than not a case of implicit anti-Semitism (and perhaps even a little sexism) and so-called liberals feeling high and mighty about themselves because they condemn one form of oppression perpetuated by a non-Western country while ignoring the oppression perpetuated by their own country.

I will tread more carefully now where Adam Driver is concerned, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I will boycott “The Last Jedi” and Episode IX. I have never had plans to watch any of his other movies and TV shows (and this just solidifies my stance to not watch them at all), especially ones in which he is the main character, and while he has a significant role in the sequel trilogy, the movies have been more focused on at least Daisy and John (and now Oscar and Kelly) and that is what I’m focusing on too. But I understand that would be a problematic stance to take, as it reminds me of the time people urged others not to boycott “Suicide Squad” so as to show support for the relatively unknown actors of color there for whom these people were afraid that their careers would end and be wasted if SS was a financial flop and the time people also urged others not to boycott “The Get Down” so as to also show support for the relatively unknown actors of color (mainly black, Latinx, and Afro-Latinx) who still deserved it despite people’s legitimate concerns about Jared Leto’s creepy behavior and the allegations of sexual harassment/assault against him and the issue of Herizen Guardiola being a child predator. Rest assured, I will think on that and reevaluate my stances, and I totally understand people who will not watch or who will boycott “Star Wars” due to Adam Driver’s presence and I will not condemn them for that.

For your last point, while that may have been the case at the beginning and that may be somewhat understandable (and I’m not fully convinced), that doesn’t account for all the atrocities that Israel has committed against Palestinians, especially at present. I doubt all of the cruelties they inflicted were a result of mistakes or US anti-Semitism - it’s far too many to all have been the product of mistakes, and they are still doing it now so yeah :/ However, I do understand that Israel owes a lot to US support and the US should be called out as vocally for its continued support for Israel, but there’s a line from this article which I linked to before in my previous response that I think we should consider: “Israel is an extension of US imperialism, doing its dirty work of intimidating regional enemies with periodic military aggression and a rogue nuclear arsenal. The US has no special interest in oppressing the Palestinians, but they are powerless enough to be expendable in the Great Power game.”

It may not be the best parallel to make, but this kind of reminds me (not specifically referring to you or anyone else, sorry if it comes off that way) of our current situation in the Philippines - how our president, Rodrigo Duterte, tries to deflect US criticism of his bloody war on drugs and the thousands of extrajudicial killings and murders that have happened in the course of this war by retorting with call-outs of US imperialism and colonialism in the Philippines in the past (although US imperialism still definitely affects our country at present, but Duterte usually cites things like atrocities committed by the Americans during the Philippine-American War and the American colonial period). Duterte’s call-outs are valid in that the US is still messing us up well into the present and they’ve never really apologized, and the US needs to acknowledge that too, but two wrongs do not make a right. Besides, there are plenty of Filipinos who criticize Duterte and his policies too, so that doesn’t mean all criticism of him is automatically invalid (which it’s still not, even from the US or Americans) because most of it (actually, from what I have seen, Filipinos are the most vocal) comes from the US. (And yes, for those who are curious, I am mainly anti-Duterte [but that doesn’t mean I oppose all his policies, for some do make sense, but in general, he has a terrible track record especially when it comes to actually serving his people as it seems he’s actually killing off a lot of them and violating their human rights as well] - though that doesn’t make me a yellowt*rd or a supporter of the Liberal Party/P-Noy/the Aquinos and the Cojuangcos as many Duterte fans are so fond of making false dichotomies - so if there are Filipino followers out there whom we call DDS (die-hard Duterte supporters), you can unfollow me.)

But it is in no way the fault of Jewish people in general at all - only the fault of the Israeli government, the IDF, and the people who actively continue to support them. Not all Jewish people are Israeli and there are in fact plenty of Jewish people who are anti-Israel (I’ve found more websites now like the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and Jewish Voice for Peace), so if anyone is blaming them for what is happening in Israel and Palestine right now, they can sit their anti-Semitic asses down and shut up.

I think we could also consider that Zionism may be to Jewish people as the Q word is to LGBT+ people and the N word is to black people - it may be an inherently flawed ideology that is only theirs to reclaim and call out if necessary, so as I said before, this means we should be more careful when it comes to using the different terms involved in this issue.

Finally, for the mod/admin thing, I am considering it - that’s actually a good idea. Preferably Jewish people of color would be good, but if there are white Jewish people who wish to join and contribute to this blog, I will consider them. I will be editing my PSAs about admin applications soon in that case, but that isn’t final yet.

Also, I understand that there are people who do tend to respond to criticism like that aggressively, and while there are some situations - depending on the issues being criticized - where that’s an okay way to go, it doesn’t always help.

And yes, sources would be good too, so thank you in advance :) Thank you for that too - I’m rather flattered. I do think I could be even more mature as I don’t consider myself that mature yet, like if you knew me personally, but thank you anyway :) I hope I was able to make more clarifications too, and that we understand each other.

-Admin Dawn

#theserpentsadvocate #answered ask

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computersystemsdesign · 7 years

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Expo-ditious: My Week In Israel at the ByNet Expo

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending and speaking at ByNet Expo in Tel Aviv, Israel. As i mentioned in my preview article I had hoped to use this event to talk about cloud, HybridIT, and SolarWinds' approach to these trends; to meet with customers in the region, and to enjoy the food, culture, and weather.

I'm happy to report that on all 3 fronts, the trip was a resounding success.

First, a bit of background:

Founded in 1975, ByNet (http://ift.tt/2cReu2Y) is the regions largest systems integrator, offering professional services and solutions for networking, software, cloud, and more.

I was invited by SolarWinds' leading partner in Israel, ProLogic (http://prologic.co.il/) who, honestly, are a great bunch of folks who not only know their stuff when it comes to SolarWinds, but they also are amazing hosts and fantastic people to just hang out with.

Now you might be wondering what kind of show ByNet (sometimes pronounced "bee-naht" by the locals) Expo is. Is it a local user-group style gathering? A tech meet-up? A local business owners luncheon?

To answer that, let me first run some of the numbers:

Overall attendees: 4,500

Visitors to the SolarWinds/Prologic booth: ~1,000

Visitors to my talk (~150, which was SRO for the space I was in)

The booth was staffed by Gilad, Lior, and Yosef, who make up part of the ProLogic team. On the Solarwinds side I was joined by Adriane Burke out of our Cork office. That was enough to attract some very interesting visitors, including the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Orbotec, Soreq, The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Hebrew university, Mcafee, and 3 different branches of the IDF.

We also got to chat with some of our existing customers in the region, like Motorola, 3M, the bank of Israel, and Bank Hapoalim.

Sadly missing from our visitor list (despite my repeated invitations on Twitter) was Gal Gadot.

But words will only take you so far. Here are some pictures to help give you a sense of how this show measures up:

But those are just some raw facts and figures, along with a few flashy photos. What was the show really LIKE? What did I LEARN and SEE and DO?

First, I continue to be struck by the way language and culture informs and enriches my interactions with customers and those curious about technology. Whether I'm in the booth at a non-US show such as CiscoLive Europe or ByNet Expo; or when I'm meeting with IT pros from other parts of the globe, the use of language, the expectations of where one should pause when describing a concept or asking for clarification, the graciousness with which we excuse a particular word use or phrasing - these are all the hallmarks of both an amazing and ultimately informative exchange and also of individuals who value the power of language.

And every time I have the privilege to experience this, I am simply blown away by its power. I wonder how much we lose, here in the states, by our generally mono-linguistic mindset.

Second, whatever language they speak, SolarWinds users are the same across the globe. Which is to say they are inquisitive, informed, and inspiring in the way they push the boundaries of the solution. So many conversations I had were peppered with phrases like "Why can't you" and "When will you be able to".

I love the fact that our community push us to do more, be better, and reach higher.

With that said, I landed on Friday morning after a 14 hour flight, dropped my bags at the hotel and - what else - set off to do a quick bit of pre-Shabbat shopping. After that, with just an hour or two before I - and most of the country - went offline, I got myself unpacked and settled in.

24 hours later, after a Shabbat spent walking a sizeable chuck of the city, I headed out for a late night snack. Shawarma, of course.

Sunday morning I was joined by my coworker from Cork - Adrian Burke. He and I spent the day being shown around by ProLogic's Gilad Baron who took us on a tour of Jerusalem's Old City, served up some of the best food the city had to offer, and generally kept us out of trouble.

And just like that the weekend was over and it was time to get to work. On Monday we visited a few key customers to hear their tales of #MonitoringGlory and answer questions.

Tuesday was the ByNet Expo show, where the crowd and the venue rivaled anything Adrian and I have seen in our travels.

And on my last day, Wednesday, I got to sit down in the ProLogic offices with a dozen implementation specialists to talk some Solarwinds nitty-gritty: topics like the product roadmaps, use cases, and trends they are seeing out in the field.

And, after a bit of last-minute shopping and eating Wednesday night, I was packed and ready to head home Thursday morning.

Other assorted musings:

On Friday afternoon, about an hour before sundown, there is a siren that sounds across the country, telling everyone that Shabbat is approaching. Of course nobody is OBLIGATED to stop working, but it is striking to me how powerful a country-wide signal to rest can be. There is a cultural value in that which we do not see in America.

It is difficult to take seriously a 67 yr old Israeli taxi driver screaming into his radio at people who obviously do not understand him. I managed to hid my giggles but it was a challenge.

Traveling east is hard. Going west, on the other hand, is easy.

You never "catch up" on sleep

Learning another language makes you much more sensitive to the importance of pauses in helping other people understand you.

Everything in Jerusalem is uphill. Both ways.

On a related note: there are very few fat people in Jerusalem.

Except for tourists.

Orthodox men obviously have had their sweat glands removed, or have personal air conditioners installed under their coat. Yes coat. In May. When it's 95 degrees in the sun.

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