#In order to have any and I mean ANY Jewish connection

[charliecharlston]

my biggest gripe with the pro palestinian movement is the lying. you can have empathy and feel remorse for gazans without lying and peddling every antisemetic trope in the book

you can realise that palestinian arabs did not kindly welcome jews who made aliyah before and after the shoah, they are not indigenous or the canaanites, they have been violent against israelis and jews, a lot of them do support hamas, the nakba was a war started by palestinians that they lost to israel, the palestinian national identity is reactionary to the israeli national identity, palestinians are not genetically distinct grom other arabs in the middle east, palestine is literally a colonial name given to the land by the romans to mock the jews living there to sever our connection to the land and STILL have empathy for palestinians. you can realise that they arent a perfect innocent victim and still have empathy for them. the source of their suffering isnt israel or jews, its the antisemitic and imperialistic goals of islamist leaders AND STILL. FEEL. REMORSE

if you need to distort the history of this land and its people and use antisemitic tropes in order to support palestine, you are the fucking problem!!!!! arabs are to the middle east what white people are to the west, and they are not victims just be they face oppression if they live in the west. go speak to any person from the indigenous populations of the middle east and levant and they can tell u all abt what islamism and arabs have done to them snd their families if u refuse to believe us sneaky lying je- i mean zionists. oh wait, its gonna be so hard to do that bc the arab world is doing everything in its power to kill them all

tl dr, you dont need to lie to have empathy for palestinians. you can accept the dirty past of palestinians (just as many israelis still love this country despite it flaws, less then pretty history and incompetent, corrupt government) and still empathise and believe in their self determination alongside jewish and israeli self determination. the need to lie, distort and discredit the jewish and israeli story shows your true (antisemetic) colors

(this is a rant from feb that u put on my insta story, thought it should be seen here)

#ישראבלר #leftist antisemitism #טאמבלר ישראלי #jewish #ישראלים #יהדות #antisemitism #israel #i/p #i/p war #i/p conflict #i/p stuff

[is-the-fire-real]

When I was last on tumblr, it was ten years ago and one of the biggest faux pas you could commit was incorrect tagging.

It was Literally Colonialism to use a tag that was For Certain Oppressed Groups. The actually-autistic tag was created because allistics "took over" the autism tag, and this/other tags became heavily policed by users to make sure they remained a "safe space".

I remember seeing countless posts about how autistics would never be safe if we didn't have a bubble to protect us from interacting with allistics. The same went for tags about transliness and queerness. The going approach used militarized and hyperbolic language to characterize and other folks who weren't in the community: autistics (the group I had the most direct experience with) were attacked by allistic invaders who violated and conquered autistic tagging systems.

The "Literally Colonialism" isn't a joke. I saw plenty of suggestions that to even use a tag which was perceived as being "not yours" was colonization of ideas and thoughts. To be allistic, have an opinion on autism, and tag it as "autism" was held up as being exactly the same as the behavior of empires and nation-states.

Obviously, I don't entirely agree, and don't think this particular hyperbolization is helpful for advocacy or for dialogue. But I do find it interesting how, in the decade since I was last here, it seems to (mostly) still be true that you should only use certain tags if you have a particular identity...

... unless you're not Jewish, in which case feel free to use any and all Judaism-related tags and break the system's meager functionality for Jewish people.

As someone who is using Tumblr to connect to online Judaism, it's daunting to see how many posts under "judaism" are by non-Jews screeching about Israel. Seeing non-Jews openly talk about they tag their posts with gore, rape denial, Holocaust denial, October 7 denial, and other deliberately-triggering material with Jewish-themed tags specifically to make Jewish users of Tumblr feel unsafe. Reading them telling each other about how this is advocacy, this will absolutely win the war for Gazans, and how anybody who blocks them (in order to make sure the tags can actually work as intended) is a genocidal coward. Using that self-same militaristic language to describe their activities, only instead of criticizing, they're bragging.

It's, uh, kind of fucked up.

Imagine going to the actually-autistic tag and finding nothing but a wall of allistics claiming that they've victoriously conquered the tag from those inhuman monsters pretending to have problems when other Real People are the ones who are suffering. I think we would all intuitively understand that this would be Wrong. Even if there was some supposed outward justification for being mad at certain autistics, we would understand that holding all autistics everywhere responsible for it is wrong. That breaking a community's ability to talk to each other is wrong. That trying to trigger people and then telling them to commit suicide is wrong.

And we'd also understand, or come to, that the very action of going "This community I'm not part of doesn't deserve to have this tag, I'mma take it back, or at least ruin it so no one else can have it" is an expression of privilege. It is wrong, and it is immature, and it is cowardice.

These smug, self-involved, active attempts at causing harm make no sense at all if seen as advocacy; they help no one, advance no cause, stop no Zionists (whatever that means) from expressing themselves online.

They only make sense when seen as Jew-hate.

#judaism #jumblr #antisemitism #jew hatred #leftist antisemitism #antisemitism on tumblr #guess i'm ready for the anon hate to come rolling in #is-the-fire-real original #jew by choice

[edenfenixblogs]

Thank Your Jewish Friends Trying to Educate You Right Now

If you’re a leftist, and you have had a Jewish friend reach out to you to try and tell you that you’ve said something alarming or harmful or antisemitic: listen to them, learn, and say thank you.

I am VERY lucky in that all the friends I’ve personally reached out to have taken the opportunity to learn and grow and adjust their behavior. I have never told them that they should not advocate for Palestine. I have told them I want to advocate for Palestine WITH them, but I need to feel safe in order to do so. I need to feel like the people I’m advocating with don’t want me and my loved ones dead. Thank HaShem that they have listened to me. From the bottom of my heart, my friends are a blessing.

But I’ve seen an incredibly disheartening number of fellow Jews who have had the opposite experiences—being expelled from their queer communities and activist communities and book clubs and any space they once found community. This is horrid but it’s especially horrid for Jews. It’s a reminder that we are only accepted if we conform. We are only accepted if we accept abuse. Our presence is always tolerated, never wanted. Our views are not to be trusted. Our opinions are always suspect. Our motives are always sinister. Our acceptance is always conditional. And I think that hurts even more for us than you’d imagine, because our own spaces are no longer safe. We are already in diaspora. And now our synagogues and homes and other community buildings are being vandalized and attack. We are cut off from our own cultural community and now many of us are being cut off from our personal communities as well. It is a loneliness that most people outside of a diaspora will never know.

Im willing to bet that if you have/had a Jewish friend who you considered close but who seems to have disappeared from your life, it’s because you either didn’t reach out to them after 10/7 or you have failed to acknowledge the stochastic threat to Jews or the Jewish connection to Israel. Why is it important that you do this? Because we are your friends and loved ones. And when friends and loved ones tell you they are hurting, you should listen. When you say you care about someone, you should be willing to listen to them when they say you’re hurting them and then you should apologize. It is more hurtful than you can possibly imagine to watch people you thought cared about you decide to listen to people across the world who they have never met rather than simply have a conversation with a friend, because they assume that friend will dismiss the pain of Palestinians.

Many of you are assuming what your friends are feeling about Israel and Palestine, but you haven’t actually asked them. Many of you think that expressing sorrow for Israel or jews in the world, that means we cannot care about or want a better future for Palestine.

If you are lucky enough to have a friend who has tried to reach out to you, that means they are willing to forgive you for neglecting them in this time. They are willing to talk with you and try to explain their emotions in good faith. They want to find a way to advocate for progress with you. They want to keep you in their lives. They want you to understand our culture and history—not at the exclusion of anyone else’s culture and history—just at the inclusion of our own.

Because here’s the other thing: they won’t forget that you denied them understanding and respect and the benefit of the doubt. That’s not a threat. That’s a cultural feature of Judaism. We have famously long cultural memories. We remember the people and places we can trust and those who refused to give us peace and safety and basic kindness. We remember the people who targeted us, your friends and loved ones, simply because other Jews who we have never met behaved in ways you don’t understand and of which you don’t approve. You are blaming the sins of others on people you claim to love.

If someone is giving you the chance to undo the damage you have done on this, you should take it. And if you have expelled Jews from a space you once shared or failed to acknowledge their pain in this time—find them and apologize.

I am not Muslim, but I wouldn’t doubt that something similar is happening in Muslim spaces. Islamophobia and antisemitism are at terrifyingly high levels right now. And if you think you can’t support Jews without condemning Muslims or you can’t support Muslims without condemning Jews, you’re not only part of the problem—you’re the biggest part of the problem.

What we all need right now is unity, peace, solidarity, understanding, and education above all else.

#jumblr #antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #islamophobia #jewish muslim solidarity

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a message from Yahya Sinwar (the Hamas leader inside Gaza) was passed to Hamas leaders who live outside of it, and the essence of that is not to worry, because Sinwar believes they have Israel exactly where they want it. In other words, when Hamas is estimated by Israel to have at least 12,000 of its terrorists killed, and despite the fact that they could stop the death of Gazans by releasing the Israeli hostages and surrendering, Sinwar doesn't see any issues with where the war is at. I think the most important part is this: "According to the report, Sinwar also told the Hamas officials that the terror group is prepared for Israel’s expected operation in Rafah, the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city, and is relying on the high civilian death toll reported by the Hamas-run health ministry to cause enough global outcry that Israel is forced to withdraw" (my emphasis). At what point do people realize that they are serving the interests of Hamas' mass murderers, kidnappers and rapists?

A few days ago, I wrote about the attempt to allow aid trucks into northern Gaza directly from Israel, instead of bringing it to the south, and waiting for Gaza-based elements to deliver it to the north. This means an escort of Israeli soldiers is accompanying the trucks. This is the route the aid trucks cross:

Today, these aid trucks were stormed by a huge crowd, and according to the IDF, many people died from pushing and trampling (at the link you can see aerial video footage of the stampede), not an unheard of phenomenon when a huge herd of people all rush in at the same time. On top of that, some Gazans were also advancing at the soldiers securing the aid trucks. The soldiers felt undr threat, and they opened fire at those charging at them, but according to their estimate, this accounts for only 10 of the dead. Still, you can count on the anti-Israel crowd to adopt a narrative that, immediately and without investigation, calls this a massacre and blames every single death on Israel, not on Hamas, which started the war that made even aid supply into a dangerous and complicated situation.

Here's a reminder that even in the middle of the war, when no one is paying attention to it, Israel continues to demolish illegal homes built by Jews. But you're never gonna hear about it, not even during more normal times, because it doesn't fit the anti-Israel narrative, so anti-Israel sources will only ever tell you about it, when Israeli demolishes illegal homes built by Arabs.

As threats to British Members of Parliament (MPs) are rising due to threats from the anti-Israel crowd, the UK has allocated bodyguards to some of them, along with 31 million pounds designated for the security of British democracy. If some of the most powerful people in Britain are that scared, what do you think Jews there are going through? Indeed, today we heard that 72 million pounds are meant to help secure Jewish centers and institutions in the UK. The problem is that until the root of the problem will be tackled, this is just taking care of the symptoms, instead of curing the disease.

Israeli security forces have stopped two Palestinian cousins, one 17 years old and the other 29 years old, from carrying out an independent terrorist attack. I refer to such attacks as independent in order to point out that they're not a part of some greater plot, unlike every single terrorist attack on Oct 7, which were all interconnected, and rocket attacks since, which are launched as a part of the war that Hamas started waging against Israel. However, some of these attacks ARE connected to Hamas. Apparently, these two cousins contacted Hamas in Gaza to get help in committing their intended crime.

This is 59 years old Michel Nissenbaum.

He made alyiah on his own from Brazil when he was 13 years old. Friends say that coming to Israel saved him. He worked in hi-tech, as well as a tour guide, and volunteered with Bedouin kids. Here he is with one such group:

On Oct 7, Michel heard that the Re'im IDF base was under attack from Hamas terrorists. Knowing that his granddaughter was there, visiting her dad, Michel decided to go there and get her out. While he was making his way to the base, he stopped responding to messages. His granddaughter was rescued from the place hours later, but Michel himself had disappeared. He's believed to be kidnapped in Gaza, but his family is scared, because he wasn't spotted in any of the pics or vids released by Hamas.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

#israel #antisemitism #israeli #israel news #israel under attack #israel under fire #terrorism #anti terrorism #hamas #antisemitic #antisemites #jews #jew #judaism #jumblr #frumblr #jewish #israelunderattack

[jewish-sideblog]

Boozhoo, I'm an indigenous American who loves the phrase "decolonization is not a metaphor" as an easy way to refer to laws and social changes to return sovereignty to indigenous peoples, but it's getting harder and harder to see that phrase (and other things relating to decolonization) be weaponized against Jewish people.

I've seen a lot of antisemitic nonsense from non-Native people, twisting around decolonization efforts in the Americas to justify violence against Jewish and Israeli people, but I've also seen it coming from other Native people who should KNOW better than to be spreading hateful lies like that. Seeing other Natives spread racist and antisemitic denials of Jewish connection to the Levant and Jerusalem especially, while pushing race science that hurts ALL indigenous people, is terrifying.

I believe in Palestinian liberation and the end of the violence in Gaza. I also believe that Jewish people deserve to live on their ancestral homeland safely if they so choose and that they should be able to live in the rest of the world without the threat of antisemitic violence. These things are not mutually exclusive.

I hope you have a good day.

Shalom! Thank you for sending an ask that I'm happy to receive. Those don't come in often!

It's difficult to see people of any indigeneity-- Palestinian, Jewish, Anishinaabe, hell, even Ukrainian-- acting like we don't all share the same struggle against colonialism, coloniality, and imperialism. Our struggles are one struggle because of our differences, not despite them, because our struggle is against those who would force us to accept assimilation and homogeneity. The fact that some of us can't see that? It's the result of colonial tactics.

One of the things that drove me to embrace Critical Theory and study sociology, instead of just "being a leftist", was that every year I saw people say:

"Fuck Christopher Columbus! Happy Indigenous People's Day!"

And the order of those phrases means everything to me. It's so clear that many people value the destruction of what they hate before they value the protection of those they purport to respect. You see this again with people who say "Fuck Nazis!" but never follow up with "Protect Jews". For many, it's not actually ever been about decolonization. It's simply been an excuse to justify violence against the forms of colonialism that negatively affect them.

I wish you peace and safety, חבר. In both the dark times of today and the dark times of the future. Your people and mine have both survived what was thought to be the impossible. Both of our people will live to see the future, despite whatever odds we may encounter.

[creekfiend]

Hey, do you have family in Israel? Do you know whether they are alright?

sure, I do. in my experience most American Jews have family in Israel. When my family left their village in what is now Belarus, half of those leaving came to the US and half went to Palestine. (and those who remained were killed and that village does not exist anymore) I am not in close contact with the Israeli side but I expect I would have heard something if any of them had been hurt. Josh has much closer Israeli family as his brother Yoav and nieces/nephews all live there but they are also fine to my knowledge.

I appreciate the check in, but I will be perfectly honest with you that while it hurts my heart immensely that so many Israeli civilians have been killed, right now I am primarily concerned about the millions of people in Gaza without electricity or running water who have been ordered to evacuate or get exploded but who have nowhere to go. I am very, VERY concerned about the statements being made by the garbage fascists in control of the Israeli government right now openly stating their genocidal intentions on a scale that we haven't previously seen.

we are all triggered and traumatized as hell about everything, and by we I mean Jews, and I think it's understandable for us to feel that way. but I also am struggling a lot with the degree to which many of my fellow American Jews are making this ABOUT our big feelings of fear and anxiety. I understand that anticipating things becoming More Dangerous is something all Jews have had to do constantly forever. I understand that "position of relative privilege" is something that's extremely conditional for Jews and something that can be taken away at the drop of a hat. but... I don't know. I've been trying to think of anything coherent or helpful in any way to say for the past several days and coming up short. it's a nightmare. But it would be disingenuous to deny that it's a nightmare for me in ways that are removed pretty significantly from the ways in which it is a nightmare for other people.

my family is fine. I understand and empathize with the sentiments of "but what if my family becomes NOT fine?" especially when this is the largest mass killing of Jewish civilians since... well. and I am also enraged and terrified by the comfort with which many leftist gentiles seem to be practically celebrating those deaths. but I'm really preoccupied by the fact that millions of people and their families in Gaza are Not Fine in a huge and terrible way right now as we speak. this is not to say that it is a contest, but if I am doing triage, it is very clear to me whose leg is more broken right now. While acknowledging, again, that we are in a scary place globally regarding antisemitism.

Angry Jew on fb has been posting a lot of stuff that really speaks to how I am feeling right now. devastated by the horrible ways some of my people have been killed, and devastated also that inexcusable violence is being done, essentially, in my name. I hate to talk about this publicly because I also fucking wish American gentiles would kind of shut up about it a lot of the time, to be honest. and I hate feeling like I am giving anyone ammunition in their weird ideological internet fights about having The More Correct Opinion in the hypothetical trolley problem-ass situation that so many of them act like this is. the refusal to learn about any specifics of the situation in favor of just deciding it must be exactly like some other unrelated geopolitical issue that they feel they have a better handle on, and then just... overwriting the reality of the situation so that it matches up with what they are comfortable imagining in their heads. I have had to unfollow and block a lot of people lately.

I mostly talk to my safe Jewish and Muslim friends about this. and select few safe non-muslim gentiles.

Right now I am grieving for many reasons. Since you asked me about my personal connection I will tell you the main things I remember learning and feeling about this growing up. I've never been to Israel. Not close enough to my family there to visit, although my dad did, & never comfortable with programs like Birthright. I remember in the 90s my dad, who was an administrator at the school of Public Health at the local university, was helping put together programs that would bring Israeli and Palestinian universities and public health groups together to work on universal public health issues like helping ppl stop smoking, vaccination, etc. it was going really well at the time. he was going over there a few times a year to coordinate with the people running the programs there. he was really optimistic about it, & several other similar programs. this was back when Yasser Arafat and Yitzak Rabin/Shimon Peres were having a lot of talks that were seemingly productive and hopeful. like obviously it was hardly a golden age but it seemed like maybe Israel was moving away from violence. and then 9/11 happened and everything exploded and all the little programs simply disappeared and my dad never went back to work with anyone. and then fucjing... Netanyahu. and it seems like since then everything only gets worse and worse and further and further from anything other than horrible violence, and that devastates me

In high school I took a Mideast Civ class and one of my fellow students was a kid whose parents had been expelled from Palestine during the war and fled to America. what I remember being struck by when he talked about this was how his family's story was so similar to my family's story and a deep sense of shame and anger that people who had undergone what my family had could then make his family undergo the same thing. That's still a pretty big part of how I feel. I don't accept that that kid's experience was necessary to keep me or my family safe.

I'm just a guy. I try my best to learn as much as I can and listen to a large variety of people connected to this so I can have a more holistic view of things. I'm not making this post rebloggable for obvious reasons but since it's here on my blog, for anyone reading who is also feeling despair, here's some organizations that are good to follow & support if you are able (non-exhaustive obviously)

synagoguesrising.org Synagogues Rising is a coalition of leftist synagogues in the US who advocate for Palestinian liberation and who are currently begging the US government to work to deescalate military violence and provide humanitarian aid to people in Gaza

refuser.org Refusers Solidarity Network is a group advocating for Israelis who refuse to serve in the military as conscientious objectors

map.org.uk Medical Aid for Palestinians living under occupation & as refugees

Genuinely, thanks for asking about my family. if you also have family in the area, I hope they are also alright.

I want everyone to be alright. I know this is a lot of big baby feelings and no particular political ideologies or solutions and that's because I'm just one fucking Jew and I'm not an activist or a revolutionary and I kind of feel a bit like other online people could stand to admit more often that they're also just some guy and also not activists or revolutionaries. I sure have beliefs and I sure feel strongly about them, but man, right now I just want to express grief & anger & worry about how awful this government is and how many people they're going to kill and how much I wish it was not happening

my family is Ok.

eta: I'm reading this back and realizing that as a response to this ask it makes it sound like I'm saying that inquiring about the well-being of someone's Israeli relatives is like, inherently devaluing the well-being of other ppl and I very much am not saying that and do not believe that. I'm just enormously emotionally dysregulated and this got me kind of stream of consciousness about all of the things I have been chasing around in my brain about this.

#jewish #long post #israel palestine tag

[adhdnojutsu]

Uchihas are Jew-coded

Preface: I'm Jewish. As with all marginalized minorities, outsiders are welcome to listen, ask questions etc. but not talk over or goysplain us. This applies especially to challenging our indigeneity. Which is not in "Gobacktoeurope"...

Obito

I first started headcanoning this after seeing Obito's Kamui dimension. His panic room looks a lot like the Holocaust memorial in Berlin.

He also said this to Rin:

Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a): “Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.'

Tikkun Olam: if I ruled the world...

Jews have a collective imperative of Tikkun Olam, aka fixing the world. Obito's and Madara's drive to do so means little on the face since many anime villains have this goal, but given the previous things mentioned, this looks like part of a pattern. Itachi and Sasuke, too, wanted to shoulder the weight of the world to make it a better place. Even if it meant the whole world hating you - like the whole world has hated and still hates Jews.

Let's delve deeper into that hatred, shall we? The anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that we secretly run the world is directly tied to our imperative to fix it. You can't fix anything without power and influence. In fact, the whole notion of Tikkun Olam being our job, may strike Gentiles as conceited and inspire hatred. Obito and Madara needed to "run the world" in order to "fix it" and were happy to accept that this meant being hated.

This "Jews control the world" conspiracy theory connects seamlessly to Konoha's suspicion of the clan conspiring to take over and using the Sharingan, a trait unique to the Uchiha, to control tailed beasts in order to execute such a take-over. Kotoamatsukami is the ultimate parallel to Jews secretly controlling the media, and with them, public opinion (but not in our favour?).

Just like the Sharingan, Jews have, or are accused of having, singular qualities that facilitate our rise to power. This is because Judaism is a closed (ethno)religion and opting in (converting), having interfaith families etc. is discouraged. In some ultra-Orthodox communities, this is taken quite far... Let's just say that Uchiha wives, too, take their husband's last name, but Mikoto Uchiha looks like Sasuke looks like Izuna... go figure. Of course, in the case of Jews, this quality is not so much a gate-kept genetic trait, as a gravitation towards intellectual and influential professions passed down through generations. This is a direct result of anti-Semitic policy though: often being excluded from handicraft etc, Jews shifted the focus to administrative, financial and legal sectors. Jews are also traditionally studious, so our apparent domination of the Noble Prize is a result of this.

But no matter the cause of our success in certain areas, it would obviously have Gentiles eyeing us with suspicion. Why is a single ethnoreligious minority so prominently represented in positions of influence and acclaim? What might we be plotting? Why shouldn't we be plotting, since we ARE - allegedly - conniving, manipulative and greedy? Better get rid of us. Remember: Nazis hated Jews and were scared of arts and literature. Being Jewish and being an intellectual are, if you ask anti-Semites, shortcuts to power. You know who else hates books and Jews? Every single terrorist organization, be it Taliban, Hamas, ISIS,... Anti-intellectuals are often anti-Semites. Education is power. Jews love education. Terrorist regimes hate smart subjects. Ignorance is cheaper than bullets, after all.

Ghetto Uprising/Beware the Beginnings

The clan suspected the compound was just the beginning. Although the discrimination the Uchiha actually suffered - a compound, which all the other clans got, too, and surveillance - was not comparable to the Warsaw Ghetto or any other real world segregation, Fugaku and other clan members expected it to take a turn for the worse if ignored. And in order to prevent another Holocaust, you must recognize and fight the beginnings.

These beginnings are upon us once more. Anti-Semitism has been skyrocketing, and blaming Israel, a single, far-away country, is dishonest, considering:

Palestinians have massacred Jews decades before there even was a state of Israel; what Nakba was their excuse in 1922? What Nakba was there in Iran?

Jews are entitled to Israeli citizenship, all moving expenses paid, so why do many live in Diaspora? Could it be that they do not wish to be involved with the state of Israel? So why take it out on them, unless one already hated Jews?

The most recent rise in anti-Semitism didn't follow Israel's bombardment of Gaza, but the DAY of Hamas' mass rapes, mutilations, torture, and murder of 1000+ Jews on October 7. People who don't usually praise children, including those of "colonizers", getting slaughtered and mutilated, suddenly praised exactly that. These people have always been anti-Semitic and found an excuse to be loud about it by weaponizing Palestinian suffering, which they only care about because Jews are the culprit. Proof: Houthis are starving Muslim children in Yemen, China oppresses Uyghur Muslims, Assad gassed Muslims, America bombed Muslims for 20 years, but - crickets. Think about it.

Likewise, the Narutoverse counterpart of the Nazis or Hamas, Tobirama and his acolytes, have found many a lazy excuse, most notably the Kyuubi attack. They suspected an Uchiha, and little did they know they were right, except, just like Netanyahu and the people under his command, a single deranged Obito did not represent a critical mass of Uchihas. And yet, the clan, just as world Jewry, faced collective punishment. The Narutoverse Nazis were frothing at the mouth for an excuse for decades, and notable Uchiha individuals kept delivering, not least because their own incompetence, just like Netanyahu's, allowed things to get that far to begin with.

Isobu

Doesn't Isobu look a lot like shellfish? And isn't he why Rin killed herself? Rin was Obito's everything and she died because of this monster. Not that it was Isobu's fault, but still. Jews aren't allowed to eat shellfish. Obito has every reason to hate shellfish for the mere memory that stuff evokes. I know it's a bit of a reach, but again, patterns.

Dress Codes

For a proud, prominent clan with a bit of a superiority complex for their gate-kept characteristics, the Uchiha sure dress very modestly, the women even more so. In fact, they might just be the least flashy of all Konoha communities. The muted colours and baggy cuts scream "modesty". If you've ever wandered an Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood, you'll see the women tend to wear long, plain skirts, long, tight sleeves, ultra-conservative shoes, and plain, long or covered hair.

Mikoto fits right in, but so do other Uchiha women. Izumi is a bit "daring" with her sleeveless look, but her overall style still fits. Nobody in that clan seems to have much vanity, while the general population of Konoha and the Narutoverse at large, is a lot more individualistic.

"This guy just slaughtered the whole police force, let's throw a kunai at him and see what happens" bless her little heart

Flag Infestation

Uchihas have no chill when it comes to plastering their logo everywhere in their compound. They were driven out of the general public and are doubling down on pride as a result. Same applies to Jews in the safety of our indigenous homeland (the Jewish Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem predates Islam, born in modern Saudi Arabia, by many centuries, so don't Gobacktoeurope me).

Oh, and a Nazi found an excuse to ghetto them up, assigned some of them authority to keep their own in check (Sonderkommando/"Konoha" military police), then got rid of them all and managed to sell it as a necessary evil.

#uchiha clan #uchiha #uchiha obito #uchiha itachi #itachi uchiha #obito uchiha #izumi uchiha #mikoto uchiha #sasuke uchiha #judaism #jewish people #jewish history #leftist antisemitism

[queen-mihai]

An interesting thing about how much more flexible people are than businesses or governments is that

Businesses and governments all still operate on 80s and 90s thinking speed.

What does that mean?

Let's say a certain company gets caught using slave labor. They know this will damage their brand, so they try to cover it up. They do a big flashy ad campaign and maybe release a new product they've been holding just for a moment like this.

Now in the 80s and 90s, this would work. It might be 20 years before someone makes the connection to what they're doing and by then, they won't have to change a thing because they've retired 2 ceos since then and the one who was in charge in the "slave labor" days has died.

In the interim, they can silence any critics as just "working for the enemy" or "disgruntled employees", blow them off, hold their hands over their eyes, and continue like nothing happened.

They're still trying to do that today.

Some company is backing a literal ongoing genocide. We call them out on it and they try to silence critics as just "being antisemitic" (Jewish people want the genocide to end) say we're "siding with terrorists" (we want people to have peace in their homes), try to dehumanize Palestinian people in order to make genocide sound "Ok" (it's NOT. Permanent ceasefire NOW) Hold their hands over their eyes by trying to, say, include isreal in eurovision (I am still informing EVERYONE I know not to watch a single SECOND of eurovision) and trying to continue like nothing is happening. They think we're stuck with them.

The thing is, we're not.

We are much faster than them. We are much more flexible than them. We are much smarter than them. And by the time they even gather the info to assign members to the committee to investigate whether they're "on the right side of this whole Palestine thing" their stock ticker will have plummeted through the toilet because we've already decided they aren't worth purchasing from or using EVER AGAIN

And I just think that's magical.

[gaelic-symphony]

hi!! :)

i hope this isn't weird, but i love reading your posts about judaism to learn more from it. i don't follow any religion but i love getting to know them from people who do

and if you don't mind me asking, what are your favourite things about it? <3

i hope i have expressed myself well and you don't mind this 🫶🏼

I actually love this ask, and I'm so glad you sent it! There are so many things I love about Judaism, it would take me forever to come up with a list of them, but here are a few of my favorites:

I love our everyday rituals. I love keeping kosher and going to the kosher supermarket. I love that every time I eat or go grocery shopping, I'm affirming my connection to my people and my ancestors. I love that we have blessings for the most mundane human activities like washing our hands. I love ending every week with Shabbat. I love how it gives us a day to rest and reflect and be thankful before we start a new week, and I love having the weekly marker of Shabbat to track the passage of time. I love that you don't have to subscribe to any particular version of Jewish theology or believe that we do these things because Hashem commanded us in order to participate fully in these rituals. You can do them just because you find meaning in them. You can do them just because you're proud to be Jewish and follow the traditions of your ancestors.

I love our holidays. So many of them commemorate our survival against those who tried to wipe us out: Purim, Chanukah, Passover. Every year, we tell the story of our peoples' perseverance. We reflect on the strength and courage of generations of Jews before us that allowed our continued survival into the present day. Other holidays are seasonal markers of time. Tu B'Shvat is a little over a week away, and it's our "new year for trees," the time of year when the earliest trees start to bloom in the Land of Israel. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mark the end of the old year and beginning of a new one, and give us the chance to leave our mistakes of the past year behind and learn from them moving forward as we start fresh with a brand new year. Sukkot is a traditional celebration of the annual harvest. And other holidays, we're just so happy to be Jewish that we need to throw a party about it! Shavuot celebrates the Israelites receiving the Torah from Hashem at Mount Sinai, and then we celebrate the Torah again on Simchat Torah, when we read the very last verses of the book of Dvarim and start all over again with Bereshit.

I love our music. Our daily prayers are set to music, with special nusach (melodies) for Shabbat and holidays. When we read from the Torah or the books of the prophets, we chant the words to the same melodies our ancestors have done for centuries. We sing as a way to connect with each other and with Hashem. We sing the psalms of King David, and we sing wordless melodies we call niggunim. We've developed our own styles of secular, non-liturgical music and dance: klezmer and canciones, the horah and the Yemenite step, and many, many more!

I love our scholarship. Our scholarly tradition is one of questioning and arguing, neither of which are viewed negatively in Jewish tradition! We love to ask ourselves "what if" and "why," and the point isn't so much finding a singular answer as it is the process of engaging with the text. Does it really matter as a real-world issue whether there are any Pokemon that would be kosher to eat? Of course not! But that's exactly the type of thing we love to argue over, and if the ancient rabbinic sages like Hillel and Akiva and Rashi and Maimonides were alive today, I guarantee you they would have opinions on the matter.

I love our joy. There is so much joy that comes with being Jewish, a joy we feel just for being alive against all odds. Most of our prayers are not asking Hashem for the things we want, but thanking Hashem for the things we have. We have a brachah we say specifically to thank Hashem for the opportunity to fix what is broken in this world. Our history has rarely been a happy one, but we have always found reasons to rejoice. We danced and sang and celebrated our holidays and life events even in the Warsaw Ghetto. This past December, during one of the saddest, heaviest, and scariest times for our people since the Shoah, Jews all over the world celebrated Chanukah like we always do. In the midst of our mourning, we found joy. Literally and figuratively, we came together as a tribe to create light in the darkness.

#asked and answered #anon #jumblr #jewish #jewish positivity #jewish joy

[wortsandall]

Jake Lockley-the lies we tell ourselves au

buckle in, this one's long next

my biggest inspiration for this whole au was this man right here. mostly from reading fanfiction and thinking-who is this man to me? and noticing the pattern that jake had become kind of one note.

the fanon jake lockley had become a kind of stereotype-the rough macho man, slinging Spanish and banging ladies-and rarely did I see anything go past those interpretations. now there's nothing really wrong with that and I don't mean to shit on anyone's perception or enjoyment of the character.

in the show, the only things we know are that

he fronts in violent moments to get marc and jake out of a bind

he speaks spanish

he has to be the one who asked the woman out at the museum

and thats exactly why we get the jake that we often see.

personally, I just wanted to explore beyond that. maybe as a black person as well i found that one note portrayal to almost be in poor taste and starts to infringe on some Latino stereotypes even if it's not purposeful. (again you do you. and I don't mean to speak over any Latino voices who may feel differently)

but jake to me can go so much deeper than that. the framing of him as the "violent" alter is so harmful when it comes to D.I.D. we all remember split. those that are uninformed about disorders like D.I.D usually don't see the harm that can come in that kind of portrayal or can be dismissive. I don't have D.I.D myself, but I do have an unfinished psych degree focusing on abnormal psych and dissociative disorders and a LOT of free time.

my main point being that I didn't want jake to just be the violent alter. it was so obvious to me that jake engages in violence as a form of protection. and that alone brings so much more depth to his character. jake only fronts in the show to get them out of a dangerous situation. and when he doesn't have to kill-he doesn't. like with the kid.

so jake immediately screamed protector to me. and the violence that comes as his form as protection is the most effective that we've seen. it's not about making sure that marc feels okay with what's been done or happy. it's about keeping them physically safe.

tw for discussions of abuse, bullying

the show shows us that marc, and in extension all the boys were abused by their mother. it may be jumping to conclusions but my next thought would be that's where jake gets the violence from. and I don't mean that he enjoys it or wishes to hurt people like he was hurt as some sort of outlet. but that now they get some kind of control over when and how they are hurt.

to make some more leaps, I thought that it's not far-fetched to believe that there could be bullying in their childhood due to potentially being seen talking to themselves. or if I wanted to make it sadder, for being both Jewish and Latino. I've seen my fair share of mixed people being forced to "pick" one or being ostracized for not fitting in the way they are supposed to.

hell, I'm fully black and have had to deal with not fitting the standard due to the way I speak, or dress, or what music I listen to, etc. if something like that was going on, I can imagine dots being connected. that in order to be left alone-violence can actually be the answer.

my mom beats me -> I tend to stay clear of her as much as I can -> these kids are bothering me -> I can make them steer clear of me

and if I'm hurt -> then its my choice -> a side effect of being in a fight -> not something done on purpose to me

I imagine that's jakes origins. he's not great for anything else in his eyes, that's all he's used to. marc wouldn't register these fights as anything abnormal. marc sees himself as broken and angry, and even as a child I think that's what he would boil these fights down to. he wouldn't remember the specifics of it-just the aftermath. feeling so angry then nothing but seeing the bully on the ground holding his nose. and just fill in the blanks for himself.

as a physical protector, jake's concern is physical safety. as they get older and they end up in psych wards or other mental facilities after their dad's growing concern about the out of character behavior. (steven, not knowing how to be covert) jake would be more aware. they are in this strange place, away from what's familiar and being treated like an invalid.

I think jake would front much more often, even if he's just watching from a corner of marc's mind. he'd be used to that kind of hyper vigilance. I don't want to demonize mental health facilities, though I know that a lot of them can be very harmful. but I don't think marc would be the one causing "trouble" in there, nor is steven.

this is where the other alters that I want to add for this au to come in. where marc remembers these wards as no big deal and steven has zero memory. but jake remembers more of the unpleasant aftermath caused by outbursts of a different alter leo. I'll get into him and what I imagine his character to be in a different post but just know that this is leo's origin: the wards they were in and out of as a teenager.

I think that once they left, they weren't fully an adult. maybe 17, about to turn 18 but marc hits the bricks. tired of his mother's abuse and his father's enabling of it. I imagine that in those couple months before 18, marc would rather be anywhere else. and jake would be the one helping with that, guiding marc without him realizing. turning them away from potential areas of danger, fully fronting in order to fight off a robber. I don't think this would be a long period-maybe a month or two. and that's why marc thought they could just leave until the military. (jake, tired of being the one to watch marc's stupid ass would wish that marc had just toughed it out at home until their 18th birthday. their mother was a known danger, the streets are not)

joining the military and everything after is mostly marc. jake only fronting similarly to the show, in life and death situations. steven and the other two alters wouldn't be fronting at all. and in these long year periods is where I think jake's role would change slightly. as marc learns how to better protect himself on his own, jake would become more of a gatekeeper. maybe not a great one, still concerned more about their physical safety than anything else.

"survive. don't die." that's jake's priority. so in these combat scenarios it is impertinent that alters who can't fight, won't. in this sole endeavor, he becomes a gatekeeper. anything that might trigger steven and the others gets heavily locked down. he has a tight hold on the front, making sure only he or marc could possibly do it. I can't imagine he'd be able to keep that tight hold at all times. maybe there's small moments where their guard is down and any of the others could front for a moment. but for the most part, he's successful.

and when he gets tired of this, maybe the others are starting to front more or marc's fatigue starts to impact him, he makes the decision that in order to stay alive, they have to go. and that he's the one who tried to leave in a fugue state.

we all know what happens next and fast-forwarding through that, jake has less of a need to front. marc has the suit now. but jake is still a gatekeeper. marc's belief that steven and everything that came with that was over is partly due to jake keeping them all neatly held back and marc unaware.

due this backstory of jake's I don't imagine him getting out much. he hasn't had time for much else and doesn't know who he is outside of protecting them. after their mother's Shiva, I think jake would be the reason why marc and steven's life start to recombine. that he'd notice how shaken marc is after her death and know that it's not a problem that he can fight. so steven starts to front more, taking the brunt of these emotional moments. jake takes an even further step back, thinking steven has his role. as a caretaker and emotional protector this would be good for marc.

in this relative calm, where marc is trying (and failing) to balance his life and steven's, jake has a lot of time on his hands. maybe he watches how marc crafts a fake life for steven and thinks that it'd be nice to have one of his own-but not know how to go about it. he's never really been a person. in his eyes. he doesn't know how to be. so maybe he takes a small step on asking out the woman at the museum (I can't remember her name or if it's ever been mentioned, sorry)

thats the last part of fanon jake that I would like to dissect. I know in the comics I've read (and its only the 2016 and 2021 ones I apologize for that) there are references to this "woman-loving" personality. there are scenes where marc, steven, and jake are all talking and jake is in a club environment with dancers. and for me, it's never read as him being some kind of playboy hounding or thirsting after woman. in most of these scenes, jake is namely talking about finding community and people to care for in the rougher crowds. the crowds that might frequent these types of areas and crowds.

that's what I'd like to focus in on. jake may be a part of a system but it is a fairly isolated one. and part of that is due to his choices, but that doesn't mean he can't yearn for community. jake would be around during the time that marc was with layla. I imagine he'd probably have fronted a number of times as well. jake wouldn't know to navigate more emotional and intimate moments making him uncomfortable around her. he's covert enough to pretend to be marc in day to day scenarios, but not this. at the same time he'd see the way they interact and clearly love each other and become envious. so when he gets a chance, he tries it out for himself. though he never gets to go on that date.

all this to say jake lockley is aroace. he wants connection, community, family. due to circumstances both in and out of his control he'd never experienced that. and the couple times he has, it's been in a romantic sense. so he tries to copy that, thinking maybe that will be the key. but it isn't. he doesn't need that. he just needs some form of intimate connection to help him learn and remember how to be human. not just as a weapon, not just as a human shield. but as a person with his own wants and needs and personality outside of what the system wants.

that's my jake lockley.

the lies we tell ourselves au masterpost

#tlwto au #moon knight #moon knight thoughts #moon knight system #moon knight comics #jake lockley #jake lockley meta #marc spector #steven grant #my writing #current wip #writers on tumblr

[thoughtfulfoxllama]

Ok, so it's Fast Sunday in my Ward, and I'm eating Graham Crackers in my In-Laws Ward Lobby, so let's talk about Fasting

Fasting in Mormonism is pretty basic: no food or drink for 24 hours or 2 meals. I never said basic was simple though, so let's deconstruct that

For one, why is it 24 hours or 2 meals? Are we supposed to only eat 2 meals a day? Honestly, I have no idea. Pres Joseph F Smith moved the Church's Fast Day to Sunday (it was Thursday before then) in the early 1900s, and defined a fast as evening to evening. So, maybe the idea of 2 meals or 24 hours is whether you eat Dinner before you start your fast or not (in 1976, Pres Nelson wrote an Ensign Article, where he said that Fasts should be 2 Meals, with no indication of 24 hours, meaning that, to him at least, Evening Meals should not be skipped)

Next, what's considered "food and drink?" Does water count, for example? Everything I've found says "it's personal." In Utah, the custom is to not drink water, but in order to understand what's allowed, we must look at the purpose of fasting. The Purposes of a Fast are increased spiritual connection & to help the poor and needy through increased empathy (encouraging is to help them) and generous fast offerings. If you ask me, not drinking water is counterintuitive to the first purpose. So, I understand the traditional LDS Fast to deal with Calories & Pleasure. If you can, abstain from food, and liquids aside from water. If you can't (for example, I need to eat with my medicine), then eat plain foods as needed

But, we're not the only Faith that requires Fasting. How do they do it (there's definitely more, but these are the ones I'm familiar with):

Judaism: Judaism has several fast days. In addition to optional fasting on Mondays, Thursdays, and the day before the start of the month, they have 6 main fasts. 4 of them are from Dawn to Dusk, but the 9th of Av Fast & Yom Kippur fasts are from Sunset to Sunset, with an abstinence from all Food and Drinks (with additional abstinence from Leather Shoes, Bathing, and Sexual Relations on Yom Kippur). And since Yom Kippur is tomorrow, I wish a Meaningful Yom Kippur to any Jewish People who come across this post before the fast

Islam: In Islam, they have the Month of Ramadan. During this month, Muslims will abstain from all Food, Drink, Tobacco, Sexual Relations, and Sinful Behavior (such as swearing) during daylight hours, instead replacing them with Prayer & Study of the Quran. They also have 2 meals, one before the fast, and one after

Christian: Christianity has so many branches, so obviously has the most distinctions. Many Christians practice a Eucharistic Fast (where they fast before taking the Eucharist, or in Mormon Terms, the Sacrament). Early Christians would also fast on Wednesday & Friday, to commemorate the Betrayal & Death of the Savior. There are also 2 seasons of fasting: Lent & Advent. Lent begins with a fast from all Food and Liquid (known as a Black Fast) on Ash Wednesday, and ends with a Black Fast on Good Friday. During Lent, Christians abstain from a certain bad habit they have (such as smoking), and are expected to increase their Prayer, Study, and Alms (or Fast Offerings as we'd call them). On Fridays during Lent (as well as all Wednesdays & Fridays in Orthodox Christianity), they participate in a Lesser Fast, where one lessens food intake (2 small meals during sunlight hours) and only need abstain from Olive Oil, Dairy Meat, and Fish until sundown. There's also the Daniel Fast, which was a diet where only Kosher food could be eaten, but now refers to only eating Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, Pulses, Nuts, Seeds, and Oils (for the Lesser Fast & the Daniel Fast, that's just being Vegan. So I guess Vegans really are holier than I /j)

Faith of the Seven (A Song of Ice & Fire): I know it's not a real religion, but it came to mind when typing. Whenever Priests in this religion saw the need, they would fast from everything except Bread & Water. (Warning, if done for 40 days straight, this can lead to death and being known as a fanatical king)

Long story short: don't judge how people fast. Not everyone fasts the same way, or even can. I fast from everything except water. I also fast at the New Moon. But if you can only handle a Daniel Fast, then as long as you use it as an opportunity to serve your fellow man (direct service or fast offerings), and come closer to God, that's what matters

#mormon #lds #tumblrstake #queerstake #fasting #mormon fast #fast sunday

[fairydr3ams]

Marauders OC — Esther Lacroix

❛𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝒉𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝒉𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑒 𝐼𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝒉𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑒❜

ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆

☾︎⋆͙̈𝑴𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕's oc☆˚ ~ Don't steal or copy

. ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆ ་ ˖ . ֺ ָ ֙⋆

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

⋆⭒˚.⋆NAME

☞ Esther

The name Esther is the natural continuation of the Hebrew אֶסְתֵר Ester, the protagonist of the eponymous book of the Old Testament. According to the book, Esther was a young Jewish woman named Hadassah, which means "myrtle" in Hebrew. The name Esther was imposed on her when she entered the harem of King Ahasuerus. A Targum of the Jewish tradition explains that she was more beautiful than the "star of the night".

In Hebrew, Esther means "I will hide myself". In the Bible, Esther hides her Jewish identity until the moment she must ask the king to save the Jews from the imminent massacre ordered by Haman.

Many studies have also found a connection between this name and that of the Babylonian deity Ishtar, the goddess associated with the planet Venus. Ishtar or Ištar is known in the Jewish community as Ashtoret, whose etymology is still unknown.

Another hypothesis about the origin of this name associates Esther with the Persian term sitareh, which means "star". In this case, it would have the same meaning as the names Stella, Astro, and Tara.

The girl's parents did not choose this name on a whim; the choice is due to the main meaning of the name. Esther means "star," a celestial body that shines with its own light, because it is made of incandescent matter. The name was chosen because the girl represents, in the eyes of her parents, the light of their family, a unique light given to her by nature itself, which also enhances not only Esther but also her family and lineage.

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

⋆⭒˚.⋆ LAST NAME

☞ Lacroix

A very ancient family that adopted its coat of arms before the 13th century. It is found in different epochs and in different locations. This family is recorded in the "Armorial Général," which demonstrates that previously and even now it is distinguished by its undeniable valor; nobility is also evidenced through documents passed down through generations over time.

As you can well understand, the girl's family is a fairly wealthy family that has not had any economic problems of any kind for centuries. The members of the Lacroix family have always been very close-knit, and that is unlikely to change. Follow the family's rules, and you will always be helped and respected, both by its members and by most people. Among family members, there has never been a very strong bond of genuine love; what keeps the family very united is mainly belonging to the same lineage of wizards for centuries; the same magical blood runs in their veins. It would be dishonorable for the family to hate each other.

Furthermore, as you may have guessed from the surname, Esther's family comes from France. Some of her relatives stayed there while the other part went to live in the United Kingdom.

⋆⭒˚.⋆BLOOD STATUS

☞ Pure-blood

As mentioned earlier, Esther's blood status is pure-blood. The term Pure-blood is used by wizards and witches to indicate a member of the magical community in whose veins flows exclusively magical blood because there are no ancestors with non-magical lineage. Some Pure-blood families can trace their status back many generations, denying ever having Muggle relatives, such as the House of Black. But, just as there were never exclusively Pure-blood families in the past, there are none in the present either. They have simply erased Muggle and magical from their family trees. Those who consider blood purity so important usually hide Muggle ancestors, clinging tightly to magical inheritances.

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

⋆⭒˚.⋆HOUSE

☞ Gryffindor

Gryffindor is one of the four Houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is named after its founder, Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. Gryffindor instructed the Sorting Hat to choose students who possessed what he considered to be the noblest qualities such as courage, kindness, and determination. The house symbol is a lion, and its colors are gold and scarlet. The house ghost is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, also known as "Nearly Headless Nick".

Gryffindors are brave and noble of heart. They love to uphold justice and seek out challenges, which often leads them into trouble. They are also known for their loyalty, courtesy, and respect.

The Lacroixes who have attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have always been sorted into Slytherin (except for one of Esther's aunts who was sorted into Ravenclaw and a few other ancestors sorted into Gryffindor), so you can imagine the disappointment of Esther's parents when they found out that their beloved daughter was a Gryffindor.

At eleven years old, Esther was still somewhat impressionable, so when she was sorted, she was initially angry with herself for disappointing her parents. However, she soon realized that the Sorting Hat had made the right choice. Why? Because Esther felt at home with the Gryffindors, she felt good, she felt comfortable, and moreover, she had also met a lot of nice people.

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

⋆⭒˚.⋆AGE

☞ September 22nd 1960

Esther was born on September 22, 1960, so her zodiac sign is Libra.

The Libra sign is one of the cardinal signs linked to the equinoxes and solstices and is in full equinox in autumn. It is an air sign in which mental stimulation prevails over emotions and the practical side of life. It literally marks a demarcation on the path of the seasons' evolution, a necessary passage to enter winter, a period of hibernation, calm, and peace.

Those born under the sign of Libra have a specific purpose in life: to bring peace, create balance and harmony by offering their help impartially without seeking anything in return and without prejudice. They dislike chaos and disorder, love art, especially the beautiful and elegant kind. Those born under the sign of Libra are very discreet but like to be appreciated and attract admiring glances. Despite their amiable appearance, always smiling...making a Libra angry is like throwing gasoline on a fire.

Esther's behavior often reflects many of the same characteristics of Libras, although there are differences.

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

⋆⭒˚.⋆ FACECLAIM

☞ Alice Pagani

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

⋆⭒˚.⋆ PERSONALITY

☞ calm, passionate, ambivert...

Esther is reserved but she isn't afraid to stand up for her values when it is something that she cares deeply about.

She is humble, receptive, and trusting. She places a strong emphasis on maintaining harmony and avoiding conflict.

She can be very versatile and is often seen as easy-going. Supportive and accepting, her presence is often found calming by others.

Another aspect of the girl's character is her simplicity. By "simplicity," it means that Esther doesn't need much to have a good time or be happy. It's a side of her character that hasn't changed much over the years. Give her a book, let her play music, let her spend time with friends, or lie on the grass to admire the sky, and Esther will be the happiest girl in the world. In short, simple activities that she greatly appreciates.

One aspect of Esther's character that has changed over the years, however, is her self-confidence and discretion. Esther is not 100% extroverted, but she has made progress since her first year at Hogwarts, that's for sure. She's not the type of person who tends to seek attention or the type of person who is shameless, and she probably never will be. Let's say she knows how to be discreet just right. She's no longer as shy as before; if she has something to say, she says it without hesitation, and if she wants to talk to people she doesn't know, well, often it's the same thing. Despite her calm aura, when she's with her friends, she knows how to have fun. She never does extreme or reckless things, but if there's a prank to be played, for example, she almost never refuses.

Now, let's move on to Esther's flaws, because yes, no one is perfect. One of her flaws is having difficulty admitting her own mistakes or simply admitting on being wrong. Obviously, if the situation gets out of hand or if guilt overwhelms her (which happens most of the time), she apologizes. She doesn't like to argue, that's for sure, but if she gets angry, she does it properly. Especially because she has a lot of pent-up anger somehow.

An issue with Esther is that she doesn't talk much about her problems or feelings. If she does, she uses sarcasm, which doesn't help people understand whether she's feeling well or not. Often, Esther keeps everything inside. She doesn't want to bother people with her moods and problems. On the other hand, she avoids the topic because, most of the time, she does not know why she feels a certain way and doesn't know how to express what she's feeling. Besides, her pride prevents her for showing herself in a position of relative weaknesses (aka, exposing her feelings gives her the same symptoms as someone who's about to throw up).

Esther has another aspect of her character that can be seen, at the same time, in both positive and negative ways. The girl could do anything to protect the people she cares about, especially her friends. What's negative about it? The fact that by "anything," it means both right and wrong things.

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⋆⭒˚.⋆ BACKSTORY

❝𝑊𝒉𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎 𝑘𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝒉𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝐾𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑟𝑦 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑖𝑔𝒉𝑡 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝐼𝑠 𝑎 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛❞

As a child, Esther was always a lively person, enjoying simple pleasures and appreciating the little things, in short, a normal child who dreamed of a world full of kindness and flowers, where one could have fun and live in peace. You might think she was naive, but after all, she was just a simple child who was unaware of all the violence that existed and still exists in both the magical and Muggle worlds.

As she grew up, she slowly began to realize that the world wasn't such a perfect place after all, but rather, it had many imperfections; imperfections caused by both wizards and Muggles, who sometimes let themselves be carried away by hatred, envy, anger, and who all too often made irreparable mistakes...

The upbringing she received from her parents was very strict. They made her understand what was right and what was wrong according to them and their values and all that without any delicacy: "Behave this way"; "Don't do this anymore"; "Don't let others walk all over you, instead, walk over them"; "If it's not perfect, it's not good enough."; "Perfection is required, not asked".

These were phrases they repeated to her constantly.

Despite this, Esther was okay with it at first. It seemed almost normal to her, or at least, her parents made it seem that way. They love her, that's not the problem, but they're not the typical parents who say "just try, if you fail it's okay, there's always next time," or "don't worry, we're here if you need us," but rather, they're the type of parents who educate you to be perfect in every way, no failures, etc. They demand perfection and adherence to rules.

Her parents love her in their own way, and Esther knows this; that was enough for her at first, but now she realizes that the love her parents have for her is suffocating. Toxic because they leave her no choice; toxic because slapping her is the easiest option to show her they disagree with her behavior and choices. Toxic also because Esther loves her parents and wants them to be proud of her; toxic because Esther finds it extremely difficult to distance herself from her family even if it's for her own good.

❝𝑊𝒉𝑒𝑛 𝐼'𝑚 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝐼'𝑚 𝒉𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝒉𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑊𝑖𝑠𝒉 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑠𝒉 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑒❞

She can't distance herself from them permanently, and that's why, to at least get away for a while, the girl often spent hours in the large garden of the mansion where she still lives. She doesn't do anything particular; she just stays there with her wolfhound dog, Argo, looking at the sky, having fun with him, writing, and drawing. This is one of the things that hasn't changed in Esther's life; she still does it, finding it relaxing, as if it were a little journey back to her childhood where her childlike eyes didn't see the complexity of the world and still had everything to discover.

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⋆⭒˚.⋆ CURIOSITIES

◈Perfection

As mentioned earlier, the girl was raised to settle only for perfection, not for mediocrity, not for satisfactory, but only for perfection. She was taught that everything she does must be flawless; if she doesn't do something well, she must try and try again until she feels she has achieved her goal. This mindset is part of the girl's routine, especially in the academic aspect when it comes to grades. She must not settle for a satisfactory grade but must always aim for the best.

◈Music

Esther knows how to play the piano; she started when she was a child. The choice was made by her father, who thought that being able to play an instrument was, after all, a necessary richness.

Playing an instrument is one of the few decisions made by her parents that the girl has liked. Playing allows her to release her emotions through music rather than words, which makes everything simpler.

◈Pets

The girl has always lived with animals, whether it's owls, owlets, dogs, cats, etc. It goes without saying that Esther would be willing to die for her animals.

At school, she brought her owl, Zeus, who keeps her company and brings her letters from her family (not that they write much, of course; most of the time it's just to get news).

Initially, Esther wanted to bring her dog Argo with her, but even though he's a very calm and obedient dog, the only problem is his size. Unfortunately, he's not a small dog, and with much regret, she had to leave him at home with her parents, who aren't that present since they both work at the Ministry.

◈Family

Esther is starting to grow tired of her family, unfortunately. She can't distance herself from them permanently, but she's trying one step at a time. First with Quidditch, then with friends her parents don't approve of and, the night before the start of her final year at school, by cutting her hair.

◈ Books

Esther and books are a love story that will never end. She loves reading; it's a way to escape from reality, and she adores it.

◈Bilingual

As mentioned earlier, Esther's family is French. Growing up, Esther's parents spoke to her in both French and English, so the young Gryffindor can speak both languages.

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⋆⭒˚.⋆ QUIDDITCH

☞ Chaser

Chaser is one of the positions in Quidditch. The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal.

The choice to play Quidditch was one of the first things decided exclusively by Esther. She loves Quidditch and could spend hours on her broomstick. For her, this is also a way to escape from reality and problems. Flying gives her a sense of freedom, and playing Quidditch allows her to have fun. She is an excellent chaser, especially because she trains a lot.

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⋆⭒˚.⋆ PET

As a pet, Esther brought her owl, Zeus. He is a calm, haughty, and very friendly animal (with her at least). He is quite wary of other people, not because he is afraid, but only because for him, his owner is Esther and no one else.

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⋆⭒˚.⋆WAND

Wood: Alder.

Alder wood is inflexible; however, the ideal owner of a wand made from this material is often not stubborn and obstinate but rather helpful, respectful, and very likable. While most wand woods seek an affinity with the character of the one who will serve them best, alder is an exception because it seems to be attracted to a nature that, if not opposite to its own, is certainly very different. When an alder wand is successfully matched, it becomes a wonderful and loyal companion. Among all wands, this one is most suitable for non-verbal spells: hence the reputation for being suitable only for witches and wizards of higher level.

Length: 12 1/2 inches.

Many wand makers match the length of the wand to the height of the wizard or witch, but it is an approximate meter that does not take into account other important considerations. Indeed, while longer wands may be suitable for tall wizards, they are attracted to people with a strong personality and those who practice a grand and dramatic style of magic, just as shorter wands choose those with some lack of personality rather than those who are shorter than average. Well-proportioned wands, on the other hand, favor elegant and refined spells.

Core: Dragon heartstring.

Generally, dragon heartstring cores produce the most powerful wands and the most spectacular spells. Dragon wands learn faster than other types. Although they may change allegiance if the new owner wins them in battle, they always form very strong bonds with the original owner. They are the easiest wands to convert to the Dark Arts, although they are not inclined to do so spontaneously. Dragon heartstring cores also represent the core most prone to accidents, due to their volatile nature.

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

⋆⭒˚.⋆BOGGART

A Boggart is a magical creature that can take on the form of whatever the approaching wizard fears most. No one knows what a Boggart looks like when it is alone. It is also a non-being. Feeding on the fears of its victims, Boggarts fear laughter; therefore, the most effective weapon against them is the Riddikulus spell, which transforms the Boggart into something amusing. Company can be useful against a Boggart because, hearing different fears, the shape-shifter cannot decide which form to take. Third-year students learn how to deal with a Boggart in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Esther has a moderate fear of the dark, bees, needles... These are common fears, but ones she can perfectly live with. However, her main fear is to disappoint her parents and friends. Esther's Boggart is the people she cares about the most, telling her she hasn't done enough for them, that they're disappointed in her, that they want nothing to do with her anymore. Esther's fear is not only to disappoint these people, but also not being able to help or save them.

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

⋆⭒˚.⋆ PATRONUS

☞ Fox

Esther is capable of producing a full Patronus. Of course, this achievement was reached after training several times. She loves perfection after all. You may also wonder what her memory was that allowed her to produce a Patronus... it might seem trivial, but her happy memory is simply her as a child playing with her dog in the large garden of her family's mansion. A simple memory, but one that symbolizes a lot of happiness, a feeling of carefreeness, and unique freedom for her.

The girl's Patronus is a fox. The fox has always been recognized as a cunning animal that sneaks into henhouses to kill chickens, nourishing only on their brains, but this seems to apply more to the mustelids than to the fox. However, it represents cunningness used for personal purposes to defend one's life or will, especially if used negatively and selfishly. The fox stealthily hides from the hunter's eyes, blending in with the environment. Its physical agility and speed have symbolically represented the quick thinking of clever and astute people who know how to take advantage of ideal situations to fulfill their desires without others noticing.

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

⋆⭒˚.⋆ OPINIONS

In 1977, the wizarding world is in the midst of a magical war. The Ministry of Magic is under attack by Voldemort and his followers, and fear is an emotion that almost everyone begins to feel.

The one who must not be named is behind this war. Rising to power during the 1970s, Voldemort has managed to gather many followers, most of whom (if not all) come from Pureblood families influenced by Voldemort's ideas, namely, the return to a "clean" magical community, not tainted by the presence of Muggle-borns or Half-bloods.

What does Esther think of all this?

It's quite simple: it annoys her. She can't understand why there are people who agree with what Voldemort says. She can't fathom how someone could be so morally decaying as to think they're better than someone else simply because of having "pure" blood while others do not.

Fear is the most difficult emotion to handle. Pain can be cried out, anger can be shouted, but fear silently grips the heart and doesn't easily let go. People change with fear; they can do foolish things. Perhaps people become followers of this dark wizard out of sheer fear or simply because they share his ideas.

On the other hand, Esther must acknowledge that she is also worried about what is happening. She fears for her friends, for the possibility that Voldemort might win this war, but she's also concerned because she knows it's only a matter of time before her family gets involved in all of this (and not on the right side).

──────⊱◈◈◈⊰──────

Just knowing Esther's opinions on the situation reveals where she stands. As you may have gathered, the girl would rather be run over by the hogwarts express than be on Voldemort's side. Esther's ideas are not compatible with those of Voldemort and his followers and never will be. Will they?

The problem that arises for the girl, however, is primarily that of her family. If her family were to side with the Dark Lord, what will Esther do? Will she be forced to join them too? She doesn't want to and will never join if she can help it, so a solution has been brewing in the young girl's mind for a while now: leaving home. How? She doesn't know. She wouldn't want to put her friends in danger by running to their homes, and besides, she doesn't want to leave her dog with her family, that's for sure. She hadn't talked to anyone about it until the first day of school. She woke up early in the morning and, before catching the train, sent a letter to her aunt about it. She'll find a solution, or at least try. It's better to get away from potential danger before it's too late.

⋆⭒˚.⋆ RELATIONSHIPS

As mentioned earlier, Esther is no longer as shy as she used to be, so she has no difficulty making new friends. When you get to know her well, you realize she's a bit different from when you first met her, obviously not in a negative sense, on the contrary. When Esther is comfortable with people, she's much more spontaneous in her words and actions, she allows herself to express her opinions and feelings and she allows herself to relax for once in a while.

As for the "romantic" aspect of relationships, it's a more complicated matter for the girl. First, she's read too many books and seen too many movies, so her standards are so high that she doesn't even understand them. She's aware it's ridiculous, of course. Second, when it comes to flirting or similar things, Esther becomes clueless. Let me explain with an example. If someone flirts seriously with her, Esther doesn't get it. She's not doing it on purpose, poor thing; it's just her brain that can't process that information. Third detail. Esther has never had a boyfriend because when she likes someone, that person doesn't feel the same way. When someone likes Esther, it's never someone she likes, which is quite irritating and sad at the same time. One thing you can be sure of, though, is that when Esther loves, she does it with her whole being. Body, soul, thoughts, gestures...

◈ Friendships

☞James Potter

Since they're both on the Quidditch team, Esther and James have been friends for years. They knew each other even before joining the team, of course, but playing together has strengthened their friendship. Esther is relatively more serious and calm than James, but it must be admitted that her friendship with him has changed her a bit, especially regarding her shyness. Needless to say, James is outgoing. Esther wasn't, but James has helped her open up more to others. They spend a lot of time together, even now, which is why Esther has "adapted" to her best friend's outgoing nature. Thanks to James, Esther has also been able to meet Remus and Sirius, two people she cares deeply about.

☞ Remus Lupin

Remus and Esther are quite similar in some respects, so they agree on almost everything, spend a lot of time together, borrow books from each other... Esther is very comfortable with both Remus and the other Marauders; they all know each other quite well. With Remus she could spend hours simply staying in silence and relaxing, his presence comforting her as much as it comforts him.

☞ Sirius Black

How can one be friends with James and not be friends with Sirius Black? It's impossible. Those two are like brothers; if you're friends with one of them, you're friends with the other.

Sirius is a flirt, everybody knows, and Esther finds his behaviour in general rather funny. The two are always playfully bickering, exchanging sarcastic comments, just genuinely enjoying their friendship.

The thing that strengthens their relationship however, is also the fact that they have a few things that are similar in their upbringing and they both know that, if one of them needs to talk, the other will always be there to listen, because, in the end, who can understand them better than they do one another?

If we sum up, we can say that the moment she set a foot in the train to start her first year at Hogwarts, was the moment she met these troublemakers and the moment they all became inseparable ever since somehow.

☞ Marlene McKinnon

Esther and Marlene are the classic best friends you can see in movies and read about in books. In some respects, they're opposites; for example, one is blonde, the other is brunette; one is always full of energy, the other is calmer, more chill... Despite these small differences, Esther and Marlene are very close, both from mutual affection and the secrets they share

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◈ Family

☞Mother

Claire Lacroix (née Fournier)

☞Father

Thomas Lacroix

☞Aunt

Mary Lacroix

As mentioned earlier, everyone in Esther's family ended up in Slytherin except for some ancestors and her aunt. Mary Lacroix is the aunt in question who was sorted into Ravenclaw. She is the younger sister of Esther's father. She's somewhat the black sheep of the family because she's always been rebellious and has never respected the "ridiculous" traditions imposed by her parents; moreover, she is the only one who distanced herself fully from everything relating to her family. She moved to London as soon as she turned 18 and now works at the Ministry as well. She's a bit of the stereotypical rich, single, young aunt. She hardly ever talks to her family; the only occasions they see each other are family dinners and parties (like Christmas or some birthdays - and it's even rare to see her in such events because either she wasn't invited or simply refused to come).

☞Grandpa

Jean Lacroix

☞Grandma

Sybil Lacroix (née Grantham)

#marauder era #marauders #marauders era oc #oc #roleplay oc #roleplay partner search #roleplay partner wanted #roleplay #original character #remus lupin #moony #james potter #moony wormtail padfoot and prongs #prongs #young sirius black #sirius black #sirius orion black #padfoot #marlene mckinnon #lily evans #regulus black #sirius x oc #james potter x oc #remus x oc #rp #rp oc #atyd #atyd marauders

[breelandwalker]

heyyy, good natured question here: because i kind of think ignoring how incredible the tarot system built by waite is, just because it uses symbols from different religions is quite limiting. when i compared pre waite decks to his creation there really is s lot that doesnt quite have as much meaning. i feel like a lot of the pre golden dawn decks are more focused on mundane and fortune telling. while waites system is actually very mystical and its more of a system than what ive observed otherwise. this is just my own pbservation but i wonder what you think about it. i of course would neever propose any deck to a person who feels uncomfortable with what it depicts, especially when it concerns religions. but i feel like a lot of the new hip and aesthetic tarots kind of miss out on a whole lot of mysticism, symbolism and meaning. they become a bit watered down if you know what i mean? wonder if anyone else feels this way

Oooo, let me get my Witchstorian hat....because there is some TEA here.

The association of tarot cards with various types of mysticism goes back to 18th-century France. The decks existed in Italy before then, as playing cards for various types of trump-style games, some of which are still played on the peninsula today. A French scholar by the name of Antoine Court de Gebelin, who is considered the grand-daddy of many later occultist philosophies, published a piece in 1781 on the allegedly-ancient origins of the symbols on tarot cards. He claimed that Ancient Egyptian priests had encoded their sacred text, The Book of Thoth, into tarot cards and that if a person knew how to read the symbols properly, they could unlock all of human knowledge.

Fun Fact: Gebelin knew precisely jack shit about Ancient Egypt. The language on the ancient papyri hadn't even been translated yet when he put forth these ideas (and once it was, none of it supported his claims). But Gebelin was very popular and he was a white guy in colonial academia, so nobody was asking inconvenient questions.

The same year, another French guy wrote an essay that posited that one could map the 22 Major Arcana cards onto the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This eventually led to members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn creating the Rider-Waite deck with Hebrew lettering and the tetragrammaton, because they were Ob.Sessed. with Jewish mysticism even though none of them were actually Jewish.

The Order created the first modern standard set and the rules for reading them in 1909-1910, and these were later expanded upon by Eden Gray in the 1960s, which gives us the tarot as we know it today.

There's a lot more to the story of tarot than this, but that's the TL;DR version of how the cards became mystical and why some decks include Jewish symbols. Which, quite frankly, they shouldn't, mystical associations or no.

If you're interested in the full story, you can check out the August 2021 episode of my podcast, Hex Positive - "The Trouble With Tarot." I wrote it in response to a then-prevalent argument that tarot originated with the Romani people and that the use of the cards was culturally protected. (Spoiler alert: they didn't and it's not, but I do address the connection in the episode.)

Personally, I don't feel like artistic decks water down the practical use of the cards anyway, but I do find that people connect more strongly to some decks. I love my Visconti-Sforza deck with its' classical artwork and old symbols, and I love my Golden Nouveau deck with all the flowery, flowy paintings. And I learned to read on the Faery Wicca tarot deck, which is exactly as fluffy and ridiculous as it sounds, but I love that one too.

So really, I think it's all a matter of personal preference. If the artwork and symbolism in a deck doesn't resonate with you, that's probably going to feel kind of useless to you personally. But somebody else might pick it up and go, "Wow! This is exactly what I've been looking for!" and have great success with their readings. To each their own.

Hope this helps!

#12thcup #tarot #divination #witchblr #witchcraft #Witchstorian #Hex Positive #Bree answers your inquiries

[edenfenixblogs]

Look what Google just recommended to me!!!!

I already own (and love) Shabbat and Portico.

But I am OBSESSED with the rest and must acquire them immediately.

Top of my list is Love Japan because LOOK AT THIS BEAUITFUL BOWL OF MATZO BALL RAMEN!!!!!

We hear a lot about Jewish people in Europe and MENA, but we do not hear a lot about Jewish culture as it blends with East Asian cultures, and that’s a shame. Not just because it erases the centuries of Jewish populations there, but also because there are plenty of people of mixed decent. People who may not have come directly from Jewish communities in East Asia, but people who have a Japanese Father and a Jewish Mother, for example. Or people in intercultural marriages. These are all real and valuable members of the Jewish community, and we should be celebrating them more. This cookbook focuses on Jewish Japanese American cuisine and I am delighted to learn more as soon as possible. The people who wrote this book run the restaurant Shalom Japan, which is the most adorable name I’ve ever heard. Everything about this book excites and delights me.

And of course, after that, I’m most interested in “Kugels and Collards” (as if you had any doubts about that after the #kugel discourse, if you were following me then).

This is actually written in conjunction with an organization of the same name devoted to preserving the food and culture of Jews in South Carolina!

I’m especially excited to read this one, because I have recently acquired the book Kosher Soul by the fantastic, inimitable Michael J. Twitty, which famously explores faith and food in African American Jewish culture. I’m excited to see how Jewish soul food and traditions in South Carolina specifically compare and contrast with Twitty’s writings.

I’m also excited for all the other books on this list!

A while ago, someone inboxed me privately to ask what I recommended for people to read in order to learn more about Jewish culture. I wrote out a long list of historical resources attempting to cover all the intricate details and historic pressure points that molded Jewish culture into what it is today. After a while I wrote back a second message that was much shorter. I said:

Actually, no. Scratch everything I just said. Read that other stuff if you want to know Jewish history.

But if you want to know Jewish culture? Cookbooks.

Read every Jewish cookbook you can find.

Even if you don’t cook, Jewish cookbooks contain our culture in a tangible form. They often explain not only the physical processes by which we make our meals, but also the culture and conditions that give rise to them. The food is often linked to specific times and places and events in diaspora. Or they explain the biblical root or the meaning behind the holidays associated with a given food.

I cannot speak for all Jews. No one can. But in my personal observation and experience—outside of actual religious tradition—food has often been the primary means of passing Jewish culture and history from generation to generation.

It is a way to commune with our ancestors. I made a recipe for chicken soup or stuffed cabbage and I know that my great grandmother and her own mother in their little Hungarian shtetl. I’ll never know the relatives of theirs who died in the Holocaust and I’ll never meet the cousins I should have had if they were allowed to live. But I can make the same food and know that their mother also made it for them. I have dishes I make that connect me to my lost ancestors in France and Mongolia and Russia and Latvia and Lithuania and, yes, Israel—where my relatives have lived continuously since the Roman occupation even after the expulsions. (They were Levites and Cohens and caretakers of synagogues and tradition and we have a pretty detailed family tree of their presence going back quite a long time. No idea how they managed to stay/hide for so long. That info is lost to history.)

I think there’s a strong tendency—aided by modern recipe bloggers—to view anything besides the actual recipe and procedures as fluff. There is an urge for many people to press “jump to recipe” and just start cooking. And I get that. We are all busy and when we want to make dinner we just want to make dinner.

But if your goal isn’t just to make dinner. If your goal is to actually develop an understanding of and empathy for Jewish people and our culture, then that’s my advice:

Read cookbooks.

#Judaism son #Jewish culture #Jewish cuisine #culinary tradition #culinary history #foodways #cultural preservation #tangible culture #jumblr #Judaism #food #cuisine #kugel discourse #Jewish joy #jewish positivity #Jews around the world #East Asian Jews

[matan4il]

Hello. Can I ask why everybody is calling Israel a "colonial" state? Because it annoys me very much when I see that for three main reasons:

1. My country was a former member of the British colonial rule. Do you know what happens when a country gets colonised? Every bit of the wealth generated went to the Crown, every political decision had to be approved by the Crown, laborers were exploited as much as possible, my people were directly under the orders from a British Monarch who actively hated them. The economy was in shambles after we got independence. As far as I know, since the state of Israel was created, it does not answer to any foreign country (the UN is not a country). How is this a European 'colony'?

2. Most(All?) people who immigrated to Israel were refugees. If Jewish people living in Europe did not have any ties to the land of Israel and were completely 100% European, why were most of them killed horrifically during the Holocaust for not being the right race? Why does nobody talk about the expulsion of Jews from the surrounding Arab countries? Where should these people go?

3. People also seem to forget that governments can be stupid. Just because they are the ruling party does not mean they're capable of making sound decisions for their people. Even a non-colonial government makes bad decisions. If you can separate Trump from the rest of the US, why can't you do the same for Israel?

I do not want to reduce the suffering of the Palestinian civilians. However using the wrong terminology is not the way to help these people. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm really tired of this 'colonizer' takes.

(I hope I made my point clear as English is not my first language?)

Hi, lovely Nonnie!

Please, your English is great! I would have never guessed you're not a native speaker. :D

And you are absolutely right about every single point. Also, my heart goes out to you! I'm so sorry that your people have also suffered due to colonialism. I'm sending you BIG hugs!

Colonialism is what destroyed my people. After our homeland was repeatedly colonized, the Roman colonizers went even further than previous regimes, and expelled most of our ancestors from this land (a small Jewish minority wasn't, and that's why there has been a documented continuous Jewish presence in Israel for over 3,000 years). The expelled Jews became a spread out minority in other countries. With such small numbers in each country, it was easy to vilify us, we were vulnerable to every attack, with hardly anyone defending us, and no real option to defend ourselves. The Holocaust happening to us is directly linked to this way that we were forced to exist for almost 2,000 years in the diaspora.

Meanwhile, our land continued to be repeatedly colonized by different regimes. Each one did exactly as you said, exploited our country for their own benefit. The Ottomans, as just one example, cut off so many trees to build the Hejaz railway (which connected today's Syria to today's Saudi Arabia for the purpose of Muslim pilgrimage to the Saudi mosques), that the Land of Israel went through a desertification process. When Jews started returning in substantial numbers (because in small ones, there were always individual Jews who tried returning to our ancestral land), we did exactly what native populations try to do, restore the land, through continued research and development, to its pre-colonized state.

That's on top of the fact that, as you mentioned, we don't answer to or serve any European (or western) country. Colonies serve a metropole, but there is none for Israel. It's just our country. It's just the place where we live, even when it's incredibly difficult, because it's our ancestral homeland, which we've returned to, after our ancestors prayed for that for almost 2,000 years.

You're also spot on about the fact, that Jews were always discriminated against and persecuted in every country in the diaspora (with a few exceptions in South East Asia, the most important one being India). We were treated that way precisely because there was a historic recollection that we are foreigners. That we were south west Asians, living as a minority in countries that never truly wanted us, like Norway, or Spain, or Morocco. That's why it was so easy to kill us in the Holocaust. That's why it was so easy to expel us from Arab countries. Because we were never truly accepted by the locals.

But even after expulsions and surviving the Holocaust, there are so many places in the world Jews could have turned to! Places where there would be less resistance to us forming a country. Yet, the overwhelming majority of Jews rejected such suggestions. If they hadn't, then we would have truly been colonizers. But that's not what we yearned for. We always dreamed of returning to our homeland, so eventually it became evident to everyone that there's only one real option for a Jewish state, and that is in the Jewish ancestral land.

The reason why people claim that Jews are colonizers of their own land (some deny all historic ties Jews have to Israel, despite every piece of evidence to the contrary, while others acknowledge the Jewish history of Israel and the continued Jewish presence there, but claim that it's been so long ago, it doesn't count anymore. I've never seen any other native group being told that there's a time limit on their native rights. Have you?) is because it allows a narrative that once again vilifies Jews.

When the worst thing Jews could have been was of an evil religion, they described us as evil in religious terms (accusing us of having killed Jesus, and accusing us of using the blood of non-Jewish kids to bake a special kind of bread meant for religious purpose). When the worst thing Jews could have been was of an evil race, they described us as evil in racial terms (describing us as being sub-human, and accusing us of wanting to take over the world, to destroy it for the rest of the human race). Now that de-colonization is such a powerful (rightfully so) narrative, the worst thing Jews can be is evil colonizers... So guess what we're suddenly described as? Evil colonizers, who plot, steal, abuse and genocide another population (when in reality we consented to coexist with it 76 years ago).

I hope that sort of answers it? Basically, it's the newest form of the same age old antisemitism. Find the worst thing Jews can currently be, and depict them as that.

Thank you for seeing past the vilification! It means a lot. I'm sending you lots of love! xoxox

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[shadeslayer]

lets be clear here. its not about whether jews have an ancestral claim to the land. this isnt indigenous vs settler because jewish people have no history or ties to the region. the reason the state of israel and the ideology of zionism is not (and can never be) about jewish self determination is because the foundation of the zionism is, in the words of theodor herzl (regarded basically as the father/creator of zionism) himself, "a colonial project." as in its about coming to land already inhabited, forcibly removing the inhabitants, and settling there, and this is reinforced by his approach of england for help in this (not palestine! bc there is no interest in peace with palestinians, which is why nothing but the dismantling of israel wholesale will fix this) because "it is something colonial." (source 1, source 2, source 3)

the palestinians are not indigenous to the land of what is right now called israel purely because they have always, unwaveringly forever been there, its because they were living there when zionists came to implement the settler-colonial project of the state of israel. indigenity is not mystical claims to a land and ancestral ties that the settlers do not have and makes them inherently the morally correct owners of the land, its that they were literally the inhabitants of the land that people (settlers) forced them out of in order to live there themselves (to settle). the decolonize palestine project is correct:

If we reject the “we were there first” argument, and not treat it as a legitimizing factor for Israel’s creation, then we can focus on the real history, without any ideological agendas. We could trace how our pasts intersected throughout the centuries. After all, there is indeed Jewish history in Palestine. This history forms a part of the Palestinian past and heritage, just like every other group, kingdom or empire that settled there does. We must stop viewing Palestinian and Jewish histories as competing, mutually exclusive entities, because for most of history they have not been. These positions can be maintained while simultaneously rejecting Zionism and its colonialism. After all, this ideologically driven impulse to imagine our ancestors as some closed, well defined, unchanging homogenous group having exclusive ownership over lands corresponding to modern day borders has nothing to do with the actual history of the area, and everything to do with modern notions of ethnic nationalism and colonialism.

this is something i had trouble understanding for a long while, because i know of the jewish history in palestine, and i was thinking of indigenous as simply "the people who were there first" and settlers as the unconnected people coming into the land - because this is the common understanding pushed when it comes to indigenity and is echoed in much of the phrases im familiar with with native american activism ("we were here first" "land back" "first americans" "the originals" ..) especially in discussions of land and connection to land, where settlers have no history or ties to the land other than their colonial project. zionists may have ancestral history/ties to this land but that doesnt make them the indigenous people in this situation, they are still settlers despite their history with the land.

because its not about "who was here first" its about the violence needed to make settler-colonial projects happen. ethnic cleansing, apartheid, & genocide are natural components of a settler-colonial project. the violence of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide on the palestinian people is what this issue is about, and is what means israel should not and cannot exist. because the foundation of the state of israel and the foundations of zionism are predicated on violence - they depend on the expulsion of the palestinian people

#anompolili #ive been rolling this around in my head a lot lately and it finally clicked just right for me last night so i just wanted to like #put it in words #unrebloggable because i really dont care to get into any sort of debates or have this breach containment yknow. but yeah