iphnh

[iphnh]

when a man does something wrong, whose fault is it?

a. his mother

b. “society”

c. every woman who will never have sex with him

[iphnh]

How to spot Liberal Zionist Propaganda 101

This post is by no means exhaustive at all. There are many Liberal Zionist talking points but these are just some of the most common ones. While on the surface they seem a little naive and hopeful at best, they are very much harmful. If you claim to be an ally to Palestinians, this post is primarily for you!

For starters, liberal Zionists will often try to both-sides the issue of Palestine, talk about how it's complicated, they'll claim that the conflict hurts both Israelis and Palestinians, how the only way forward is one where Jews and Arabs "just need to get along," amongst other things. They also often like to centre themselves, even when acknowledging Palestinians as the victims of Israel or this "conflict." From time to time, they also like to engage in tokenising certain Palestinians whose views tend to more or less align with theirs. Here are some common arguments you may hear from them:

1. Any form of justifying Israel's existence or claiming that the only solution is two states

It does not really need to be said why justifying Israel's existence is harmful but justifying its continued existence also means legitimising Israel's land theft, its expulsions of Palestinians, and its ongoing harm to Palestinians and other populations. Reducing any sorts of “solutions” into a binary is unhelpful. Needless to say, a 2ss would not even address any legitimate concerns Palestinian have, such as the right of return, and would only legitimise Israel’s colonialism. Talking about a two-state solution also implies that the root of the conflict lies in Palestinians not having their own state rather than being an occupied people. It is very much also possible to construct a paradigm where Jews and Palestinians both live together on the same land as equal citizens that doesn't involve two separate states, much less an ethnostate.

2. Security for Israel could only come through peace

This is a similar talking point to the one above. Not only does it centre Israeli safety and security above Palestinian liberation but it mistakenly assumes that once Israel makes peace with Palestinians, it'll achieve security. The reality, however, is that Israel's imagined security has quite often come at the expense of peace. In fact, "peace" has just acted as nothing more than a smoke-screen for Israel to carry out its expansionist policies, particularly in the West Bank. When liberal Zionists talk about peace juxtaposed with Israeli security, they're talking about attaining a negative peace rather than a positive one.

3. Israelis are not their government.

This point does nothing to actually help Palestinians. It is also an incredibly tone-deaf thing to say when Israel has targeted many Palestinian civilians by having alleged proximity to Hamas, such as being family members of militants or leaders (inc. children!), civil servants in a Hamas-led government, or even any male above the age of 15 they consider to be a potential combatant! It also deliberately erases Israeli civilians' support of and culpability in Israel's actions towards Palestinians.

4. Netanyahu and/or the Israeli right are the source of conflict.

While it is true that things have gotten inadvertently worse under Israel's various right-wing governments, they are not the source of conflict, but rather a product of extremist nationalism and Jewish supremacy perpetuated by the system. Both the 1967 occupations and settlements were undertaken under centre-left governments in Israel, and Israeli policy under non-right wing governments has been just as harmful towards Palestinians and has paved the way for where we are today. Blaming Netanyahu just also obscures the violent nature of Israel's military occupation over Palestinians which long precede him coming into power.

5. Netanyahu and Hamas are two sides of the same coin

I don't think I've seen any allies give validity to this claim but it's an extremely reductionist claim and is sort of similar to the one above. Groups like Hamas are merely a response to the Israeli occupation while Netanyahu is a byproduct of it. While some Israelis may see Hamas or their actions as an "obstacle to peace," Israel's actions and policies long pre-date Hamas and how Israel is currently responding to Hamas is no different to how Israel has engaged with Palestinian militant groups in the past, regardless of political affiliations or political goals. It is also important to note that Hamas has agreed to the establishment of a state along 1967 borders while Netanyahu aims to prolong the occupation and empower the settler movement (some of whom are part of his coalition government) as much as possible.

6. Israel is not a settler-colonial state.

While it is indisputable that Jews have historical connections to Palestine, that doesn’t automatically make you Indigenous or negate Israeli settler-colonialism. Colonialism in particular describes a relationship of exploitation. There are many cases of this, but we most clearly see this in the West Bank where Israel exploits natural resources on occupied Palestinian territory for its own political and economic gains. In terms of settler-colonialism, it is widely known that Israel expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to make way for Jewish refugees and migrants to the new state of Israel, and is still actively facilitating Jewish migration to Israel today while denying Palestinians their right of return.

7. (X) doesn't help Palestinians.

It is not up to anyone to determine whether certain tactics or strategies are helpful or not. This point only seeks to discredit pro-Palestine organising. Only Palestinians get to decide what is actually helpful for the cause or not.

8. Any sort of Hamas-blaming.

On the surface it may seem like there’s nothing wrong with this, but this point is often harmful and usually lends itself to right-wing talking points because its objective is to deflect blame away from Israel. Certain arguments blaming Hamas also aim to minimise Palestinian suffering perpetuated by Israel. It also paints Israeli violence as retaliatory to Palestinian violence which only obfuscates Israel’s (and by extension, the US’) role in its state military apparatus and the differing power dynamics between Israelis and Palestinians. In other contexts, this point seeks to also legitimise certain opposition, such as the Palestinian Authority. Hamas-blaming also tends to sometimes lead to racist diatribes about Palestinians and their culture.

9. Al-Jazeera is not a credible news source.

Al Jazeera is a news source like any other. It has varying editorial policies and therefore will have equally good reporting on certain issues while having terrible reporting on others. The difference is that Al-Jazeera's news on Palestine is credible because it comes directly from their Palestinian reporters on the ground and first-hand eyewitness accounts. Western news sources are no more or less credible than al-Jazeera. Compare this to CNN, NYT, and any other Western news sources where Palestinian voices are often entirely missing from the narrative.

10. Overemphasis of antisemitism on the left

Antisemitism is a real issue and has the potential to fester in left circles if not directly addressed head on. Combatting antisemitism is extremely important, however, it is not an issue exclusive to the left. There is also a double standard in that no one expects Zionists to call out Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. Certain accusations of "antisemitism" also seek to distract from what's going on in Palestine by making it about Jewish comfort and feelings. Combatting antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab racism etc is always important as the basis of good politics.

Last but not least, be wary of native collaborators or any sort of normalisers! They are Palestinians or Arabs who try very hard to appeal to Western liberal consensus and can end up perpetuating a lot of harm to the cause and/or other activists. You will know them when you see them.

#genuinely shocked at how tumblr is more insufferable than twitter when it comes to Palestine #on every other issue imaginable Twitter is more insufferable by miles lmao #free palestine

[iphnh]

I hate Americans memefying Trump and other similar political figures like "Omg he's HILARIOUS he should be a stand up comedian not a president" literally I've never seen Trump say anything worth rolling on the floor laughing over and I honestly think you all should just find actually funny and comedic people to befriend irl instead. If Donald Trump is one of the funniest people you love to laugh at then something is clearly wrong

#get em again for me

[iphnh]

seeing someone supporting female separatism is so important to me idk why... maybe cause my family comes from a place with strict laws against divorce and abortion?? whatever it is idc cause like :(((( its just so important and good and im so mad when people think of it as inherently bad. like even if i dont identify as a woman anymore (im afab but nb), im still one legally, and i have a lot of sisters, so sometimes its nice to sleep well knowing that they have the ability to separate themselves easier thanks to people like you supporting it is so amazing :(((

Aw thank you, anon--I appreciate the kind words, and the time you took to write this message.

Yes, separatism benefits all women, even women who will never be separatists (the same way no fault divorce laws/abortion rights benefit all women, including women who will never get a divorce or an abortion).

I'm happy that separatism is a comforting thought for you, especially since a lot of people have such a negative reaction to it 😭

I wonder, anon, did you always like the idea of separatism, or did you need convincing? If you needed convincing, what do you think finally convinced you?

#anon ask #female separatism

[iphnh]

Sometimes I get tired of the way people talk about alcoholics etc like "They're just poor and sick people and you can't be a moral person if you don't support them" because guess what these alcoholics have families and people involved in their lives who already support them and get nothing in return. These people have families who are also poor and are even more poor because they need to enable the alcoholic's habits and not abandon them. Like it pisses me off sometimes when people paint it as a classism thing or whatever because the poor widdle drunk you sympathise so much with has a mother and possibly kids or sth who are just as disenfranchised and whose entire lives are sucked dry because of this one piece of garbage person. But it's always the alcoholic who people want to advocate for and tell everyone to be understanding of.

#!!!!!!!!!!

[iphnh]

"i love being a girls girl 🌸🩷" you tormented amber heard.

#cannot think about amber heard for more than 2 minutes without tearing up

[iphnh]

me when I'm defending myself against terrorists

#free palestine #radfems please interact #radfems please touch #thinking about how journalists got brutally killed/imprisoned for leaking photos like this during the Iraq war #meanwhile Israeli soliders just. voluntarily upload it to their own social media pages with their legal names #the Hague is too good for them

[iphnh]

A Palestinian woman in tears after Israeli occupation forces demolished her house and barn in Northern Jordan Valley. Palestine is now a days exposed to Polar Trough, the weather is very cold and these people have become homeless and no other place to shelter them, 10 December, 2013.

#what can be said that hasnt already been said a million times 😔 #what will it take #free palestine

[iphnh]

#we are literally in hell

[iphnh]

genuinely, what is this logic

Every time I log into this godforsaken app, there's someone crying about how Israel should be allowed to kill, maim, and torture Palestinian children indiscriminately and with impunity because (*check notes*) of crimes that Germans committed.

I am once again asking: why does Arab antisemitism justify Palestinian genocide but European antisemitism doesn't justify German genocide?

#then kill germans 🫶 #someone find me an unhypocrticial zionist for the love of god

[iphnh]

Every time I log into this godforsaken app, there's someone crying about how Israel should be allowed to kill, maim, and torture Palestinian children indiscriminately and with impunity because (*check notes*) of crimes that Germans committed.

I am once again asking: why does Arab antisemitism justify Palestinian genocide but European antisemitism doesn't justify German genocide?

#at least be consistent! #if one genocide justifies another then honestly the first one should be Haiti genociding Fra--[gunshot]

[iphnh]

what you need to understand is that textile work is basically the closest i have seen to Real Magic and the reason old ladies in quilting spaces are either the grumpiest or the most whacky cheerful people you'll ever meet is because they're basically wizards who have studied the ancient crafts too long

#the first 'computer' was a loom :)

[iphnh]

Favorite zionist is the one that posts "u can support palestinian self determination and support israeli self defense. Both people deserve to be on the land not one over the other" and then two minutes later reblog like revisionist history denying palestinian connection to the land and how there is no palestinian history or something like palestinians didnt exist as a people until the 1960s and were a "kgb" invention. Before 1948 Palestinians existed on the land and had villages and had weddings and interfaith celebrations and communities with schools, shops, theaters, and cemeteries. What villages existed under tel aviv? quick. Who lived there and what connection do they have to the palestinians on the land today? The lack of awareness is hilarious

#free palestine #when MLK said the white liberal is a greater stumbling block to freedom than the KKK he was telling the truth

[iphnh]

When I was in ninth grade I wanted to challenge what I saw as a very stupid dress code policy (not being allowed to wear spikes regardless of the size or sharpness of the spikes). My dad said to me, “What is your objective?”

He said it over and over. I contemplated that. I wanted to change an unfair dress code. What did I stand to gain? What did I stand to lose? If what I really wanted was to change the dress code, what would be my most effective potential approach? (He also gave me Discourses on the Fall of Rome by Titus Livius, Machiavelli’s magnum opus. Of course he’d already given me The Prince, Five Rings, and The Art of War.)

I ultimately printed out that phrase, coated it in Mod Podge, and clipped it to my bathroom mirror so I would look at it and think about it every day.

What is your objective?

Forget about how you feel. Ask yourself, what do you want to see happen? And then ask, how can you make it happen? Who needs to agree with you? Who has the power to implement this change? What are the points where you have leverage over them? If you use that leverage now, will you impair your ability to use it in the future? Getting what you want is about effectiveness. It is not about being an alpha or a sigma or whatever other bullshit the men’s right whiners are on about now. You won’t find any MRA talking points in Musashi, because they are not relevant.

I had no clear leverage on the dress code issue. My parents were not on the PTA; neither were any of my friend’s parents who liked me. The teachers did not care about this. Ultimately I just wore what I wanted, my patent leather collar from Hot Topic with large but flattened spikes, and I had guessed correctly—the teachers also did not care enough to discipline me.

I often see people on tumblr, mostly the very young, flail around in discourse. They don’t have an objective. They don’t know what they want to achieve, and they have never thought about strategizing and interpersonal effectiveness. No one can get everything they want by being an asshole. You must be able to work with other people, and that includes smiling when you hate them.

Read Machiavelli. Start with The Prince, but then move on to Discourses. Read Musashi’s Five Rings. Read The Art of War. They’re classics for a reason. They can’t cover all situations, but they can do more for how you think about strategizing than anything you’re getting in middle school and high school curricula.

Don’t vote third party unless you can tell me not only what your objective is but also why this action stands a meaningful chance of accomplishing it. Otherwise, back up and approach your strategy from a new angle. I don’t care how angry you are with Biden right now. He knows about it, and he is both trying to do something and not doing enough. I care about what will happen to millions of people if we have another Trump presidency. Look up Ross Perot, and learn from our past. Find your objective. If it is to stop the genocide in Palestine now, call your elected representatives now. They don’t care about emails; they care about phone calls, because they live in the past. I know this because I shadowed a lobbyist, because knowing how power works is critical to using it.

How do you think I have gotten two clinics to start including gender care in their planning?

Start small. Chip away. Keep working. Find your leverage; figure out how and when to effectively use it. Choose your battles, so that you can concentrate on the battle at hand instead of wasting your resources in many directions. Learn from the accumulated wisdom of people who spent their lives learning by doing, by making mistakes, by watching the mistakes of their enemies.

Don’t be a dickhead. Be smarter than I was at 14. Ask yourself: what is your objective?

#bloglikeanegyptian is a cold glass of water in this desert of takes I swear to god

[iphnh]

Is it more extremist to kill yourself or someone else?

I think that question is really at the heart of all this discourse about Aaron Bushnell. Some people very clearly think that it is less extreme to kill someone else, and that is why they are more disturbed by Aaron Bushnell's actions than they are by the tens of thousands of American troops who answered Israel's call to partake in genocide.

#rip aaron bushnell #free palestine #and all the people saying 'oh aaron should have just deserted the army (and thereby accepted imprisonment & torture instead)' like.....ok #thank you for your input

[iphnh]

why do I see people acting like Aaron Bushnell's self-immolation in protest is particularly disturbing? I know we have all seen nearly limitless physical violence inflicted on Gazan people's bodies and none of that at any point appeared to generate this level of absolute handwringing theatrics. This is not a good look for many people.

#rip aaron bushnell #free palestine

[iphnh]

“In my own case, I had to train myself out of that phony smile, which is like a nervous tic on every teenage girl. And this meant that I smiled rarely, for in truth, when it came down to real smiling, I had less to smile about. My ‘dream’ action for the women’s liberation movement: a smile boycott, at which declaration all women would instantly abandon their ‘pleasing’ smiles, henceforth smiling only when something pleased them.”

— Shulamith Firestone, The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution (via liberatewomyn)

#oh shulamith firestone we're really in it now #reading list