#Jewish goyim solidarity

[stephobrien]

Is your pro-Palestine activism hurting innocent people? Here's how to avoid that.

Note: If you prefer plain text, you can read the plain text version here.

Over the last few days, I’ve had conversations with several Jewish people who told me how hurt and scared they are right now.

To my great regret, some of that pain came from a poorly-thought-out post of mine, which – while not ill-intentioned – WAS hurtful.

And a lot of it came from cruelty they’d experienced at the hands of people who claim to be advocating for Palestine, but are using the very real plight of innocent Palestinians to harm equally innocent Jewish people.

Y’all, we need to do better. (Yes, “we” definitely includes me; this is in no small part a “learn from my fail” post, and also a “making amends” post. Some of these are mistakes I’ve made in the past.)

So if you’re an advocate for Palestine who wants to make sure that your defense of one group of vulnerable people doesn’t harm another, here are some important things to do or keep in mind:

Ask yourself if you’re applying a standard to one group that you aren’t applying to another.

Would you want all white Americans or Canadians to be expelled from America or Canada?

Do you want all Jewish people to be expelled from Israel, as opposed to finding a way to live alongside Palestinian Arabs in peace?

If the answer to those two questions is different, ask yourself WHY.

Do you want to be held responsible for the actions of your nation’s army or government? No? Then don’t hold innocent Jewish people, or Israelis in general (whether Jewish or otherwise), responsible for the actions of the Israeli army and government.

On that subject, be wary of condemning all Israeli people for the actions of the IDF. Large-scale tactical decisions are made by the top brass. Service is compulsory, and very few can reasonably get out of service.

Blaming all Israelis for the military’s actions is like blaming all Vietnam vets for the horrors in Vietnam. They’re not calling the shots. They aren’t Nazis running concentration camps. They are carrying out military operations that SHOULD be criticized.

And do not compare them or ANY JEWISH PERSON to Nazis in general. It is Jewish cultural trauma and not outsiders’ to use against them.

Don’t infuse legitimate criticism with antisemitism.

By all means, spread the word about the crimes committed by the Israeli army and government, and the complicity of their allies. Criticize the people responsible for committing and enabling atrocities.

But if you imply that they’re committing those crimes because they’re Jewish, or because Jewish people have special privileges, then you’re straying into antisemitic territory.

Criticize the crime, not the group. If you believe that collective punishment is wrong, don’t do it yourself.

And do your best to use words that apply directly to the situation, rather than the historical terms for situations with similar features. For example, use “segregation,” “oppression,” or “subjugation,” not “Holocaust” or “Jim Crow.” These other historical events are not the cultural property of Jews OR Palestinians, but also have their own nuances and struggles and historical contexts.

Also, blaming other world events on Jewish people or making Jewish people associated with them (for instance, some people falsely blame Jewish people for the African slave trade) is a key feature of how antisemitism functions.

Please, by all means, be specific and detailed in your critiques. But keep them focused on the current political actors – not other peoples’ or nations’ political or cultural histories and traumas.

Be prepared to accept criticism.

You probably already know that society is infused with a wide array of bigotries, and that people growing up in that environment tend to absorb those beliefs without even realizing it. Antisemitism is no exception.

What that means is, there’s a very real chance that you will screw up, and get called out on it, as I so recently did.

If that happens, please be willing to learn and adapt. If you can educate yourself about the suffering and needs of Palestinians, you can do the same for Jewish people.

Understand that the people you hurt aren’t obligated to baby you. Give them room to be angry.

After I made a post that inadvertently hurt people, some were nice about it, and others weren’t. Some outright insulted my morals and intelligence.

And I had to accept that I’d earned that from them.

I’d hurt them, and they weren’t obligated to be more careful with my feelings than I had been with theirs.

They weren’t obligated to forgive me, trust me, or stop being mad at me right away.

I’ll admit, there were moments when I got defensive. I shouldn’t have. And I encourage you to try not to, if you screw up and hurt people.

I know that’s hard, but it’s important. Getting defensive only tells people you care more about doubling down on your mistake than you do about healing the hurt it caused.

Instead, acknowledge that they have a right to be angry, apologize for the way you hurt them, and try to make amends, while understanding that they don’t owe you trust or forgiveness.

Be aware that some antisemites are using legitimate complaints to “Trojan horse” antisemitism into leftist spaces.

This is a really easy stumbling block to trip over, because most people probably don’t look at every post a creator makes before sharing the one they’re looking at right now.

I recently shared a video that called out some of the Likud and IDF’s atrocities and hypocrisy, and that also noted that many Jewish people are wonderful members of their communities.

I was later informed that, while that video in particular seemed reasonable, the creator behind it is frequently antisemitic.

I deleted the post, and blocked the creator. I encourage you to do the same if it’s brought to your attention that you’ve been ‘Trojan horse’d.

EDIT: Important note about antisemitism in leftist spaces:

While it's true that some blatant antisemites are using seemingly reasonable posts to get their foot in the door of leftist spaces, it's also true that a lot of antisemitism already exists inside those spaces.

This antisemitism is often dressed up in progressive-sounding language, but nonetheless singles Jewish people and places out in ways that aren't applied equally to other groups, or that label Jewish people in ways that portray them as acceptable targets.

If you want to see some specific examples, so you can have a better idea of what to keep an eye out for, I suggest reading this excellent reblog of this post.

Fact-check your doubts about antisemitism.

Depending on which parts of the internet you look at, you’ve probably seen people accused of antisemitism because they complained about the Likud and/or IDF’s actions. So you might be primed to be wary, or feel unsure of how to tell what counts as real antisemitism.

But that doesn’t mean antisemitism isn’t a very real, widespread, and harmful problem. And it doesn’t mean many or even most Jewish people are lying to you or being overly sensitive.

So if someone says something is antisemitic, and you aren’t sure, I encourage you to:

A. Look up the action or thing in question, including its history. Is there an antisemitic history or connotation you aren’t aware of? For best results, include “antisemitic” in your search query, in quotes.

B. Understand that some things, while not inherently antisemitic, have been used by antisemites often enough that Jewish people are understandably wary of them. Schrodinger’s antisemitism, if you will.

C. Ask Jewish people WHO HAVE OFFERED TO HELP EDUCATE YOU. Emphasis on WHO HAVE OFFERED. Random Jewish people aren’t obligated to give you their time and emotional energy, or to educate you – especially on subjects that are scary or painful for them.

@edenfenixblogs has kindly offered her inbox to those who are genuinely trying to learn and do better, and I’ve found her to be very kind, patient, reasonable, and fair-minded.

Understand that this is URGENTLY NEEDED.

In one of my conversations with a Jewish person who’d called me out, they said this was the most productive conversation they’d had with a person with a Palestinian flag in their profile.

THIS IS NOT OKAY.

I didn’t do anything special. All I did was listen, apologize for my mistakes, and learn.

Yes, it feels good to be acknowledged. But I feel like I’ve been praised for peeing IN the toilet, instead of beside it.

Apologizing, learning, and making amends after you hurt people shouldn’t be “the most reasonable thing I’ve heard from a person with a Palestinian flag pfp.”

It should be BASIC DECENCY.

And the fact that it’s apparently so uncommon should tell you how much unnecessary stress and fear Jewish people have been living with because of people who consider themselves defenders of human rights.

By all means, be angry at the Likud, the IDF, and the politicians, reporters, and specific media outlets who choose to enable and cover up for them.

But direct that anger toward the people who deserve it and are in a position to do something about it, not random people who simply happen to be Jewish, or who don’t want millions of people to be turned into refugees when less violent methods of achieving freedom and rights for Palestinians are available.

Stop peeing beside the toilet, people.

#I/P #I/P conflict #I/P war #Israel #Palestine #Gaza #free Palestine #Israel Palestine conflict #Israel Palestine war #Jewish goyim solidarity #choose peace

[edenfenixblogs]

For a friend who wanted links to some posts I made about antisemitism, allyship, and how to support Palestine without being antisemitic—which is both possible and easy to do!

How do you know if you’re antisemitic?

How to be a good ally for Jewish people. I responded to a wonderful ask from @faggotry-enjoyer about how to be a better ally and to discuss Israel/Palestine with people who are inclined to distrust Jews due to unexamined antisemitism.

Important post about the dangers faced by Jews as an extreme minority. There are good examples in the reblogs and replies and tags—both of great ways for non-Jews to provide support as well as if antisemites denying their own antisemitism. Therese even one example of ways Jews can and do disagree with each other while remaining respectful without delving into antisemitism OR Islamophobia OR denying the rights and dignity of Palestinians. Jews can do this and so can non-Jews. But that can’t happen if people hate us too much to listen to anything we have to say.

The emotional toll of antisemitism on Jewish people.

Example of the death threats we get that are designed to make us look like bad guys.

If Jews can learn about the Holocaust in detail before we even reach the age of ten, you can and should too.

Don’t trust people who rely on bad sources. People do make genuine mistakes. Here’s an example of bad faith link sharing. Especially when Reblogging things. Even I don’t have time to always check every source in a post. Also, it’s possible that a link seemed legitimate when it was originally posted but the source is either no longer trustworthy or the OP got better at assessing sources. If an error in their original sourcing is pointed out, they should correct it publicly. If they are sharing a link as an OP they should always take time to be as responsible as possible.

There are plenty more posts under my #leftist antisemitism tag to look into about a variety of ways that antisemitism manifests in left wing circles.

Allies, please reblog with any posts you think relevant for a someone new to dismantling their antisemitism.

#antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #media literacy #master post #resources #Jewish goyim solidarity #israel #frequently referenced #start here #jewish palestinian solidarity

[cryptyid]

I think something folks are missing is that a lot of, if not most of, people in the activist sphere are perfectly aware of the antisemitic undertones, messages, and individuals within their movements.

They just don't really care.

Antisemitism is seen by most left-ish goyim as a lesser prejudice, something that's not really an important issue. So when someone they're organizing with harasses, assaults or vandalizes random Jews, Jewish-owned businesses, JCCs, or shuln, they're perfectly happy to brush it off. It's a minor blemish on what they feel is a noble and righteous movement, not a big deal overall. You can point out the ways in which they are harming Jewish people and communities by spreading antisemitic talking points and obvious lies all you want, but they're still just going to reply with a non sequitur about Palestine.

The students at Columbia are perfectly aware of the naked hatred of Jews on display in the off-campus solidarity demonstration outside the gates. They are aware they are creating an environment in which the majority of Jewish students do not feel safe or comfortable being on campus.

They simply do not care.

#maybe I'm off base here #but this has very much been my experience #jumblr #antisemitism

[tikkunolamresistance]

We’re Tikkun Olam Resistance, an anti-Zionist Jewish organisation dedicated to dismantling the Zionist movement and reclaiming Judaism. This is a space for conversation, education, community and solidarity.

We are anti-Capitalist, anti-Imperialist, pro-Palestinian and Communist.

Here you can access our Revolutionary Resources, our other socials and our anti-Zionist Torah Study group!

— Revolutionary Resources?

It’s a resource Google drive full of PDFs, web archives and other useful tools for you to revolutionise your thinking! We currently only have resources in English, but we’re working on getting translations in more languages!

— Torah Study?

Our anti-Zionist Torah Study group is for Jews, people in the process of converting and people who are just starting their journey. All information is on our Patreon, with the option take a paid subscription that we will donate to aid Gaza, Palestine every month! Evidence will always be posted.

— I’m not Jewish, can I interact?

Of course! If a post is only for Jewish people, we’ll tag with ‘nonjews dni’. It’s okay if you interact accidentally! It happens. If you’re goyim (non-Jews), please tag accordingly :)

“None of us are free, until all of us are free!”

#intro #antizionist jews #resources #hi

[crunkcommie]

PLEASE READ THIS.

as a jewish person in america, i find myself fearing for the safety of myself and my fellow jews.

antisemitism is undeniably on the rise.

we are not overreacting. and anytime we speak out against modern antisemitism, we're told we are.

please, for the love of g-d, listen to jews and educate yourself.

here are some websites i find helpful, especially for goyim looking to educate themselves.

antisemitism education

symbols of hate

glossary of extremism

antisemitism online

jewish solidarity (carrd)

antisemitism activism (carrd)

fight antisemitism (carrd)

if you have any other resources, please share !!!

#jumblr #jew stuff #goyim #antisemitism #antifascism #leftism #holocaust #jewish #jews of tumblr #jewblr #judaism #activism

[determinate-negation]

a friend told me I shouldn't support JVP because they have non-Jewish members. but its leadership is Jewish, it is informed by Jewish values, and I think most of the non-Jewish members are spouses or family of Jewish people...idk man it really unsettled me, he dismisses their activism because "they're not really Jewish" or "talking over Jewish people" (as if the Jewish people are a monolith) and I got to be honest it's really fucking with me. I don't know what to say to him. I tried changing the subject to something non-JVP and explained that, regardless of the organizations protesting, I couldn't support the forced displacement and murder of Palestinians by Israel and he said "maybe we (goyim) don't get a say in this". I really do think he is trying to approach this as someone who opposes anti-semitism but I think US liberal identity politics/something similar are preventing him from thinking critically. I don't know what to do or say to him anymore.

its a bullshit mentality u see from a bunch of liberals that already undermines any real attempt at like solidarity and mass movements and a unified theory of changing the world. i cant be bothered with it anymore. also i cant tell if im just reading this wrong but if your friend isnt jewish as well this is an even more bizarre position to argue

[jewfrogs]

i really resent the suggestion that goyim (of any kind, as a singular homogeneous entity?) are incapable of accepting or living in peace with jews because of the implicit legitimacy it lends antisemitism but also because it is profoundly ahistorical. jewish identity and relationship to our neighbors has rarely been simple but never universally negative and erasing the solidarity and connectivity we built with various peoples in various places and times is appalling. all part and parcel of the negation of the diaspora i suppose

#ribbits

[a-and-b-snz]

It's a video game. You don't have to agree with J. K. Rowling, but a video game is not going to hurt you. Let people enjoy things.

Antisemitic hatecrimes are steadily rising. I don't know how it is in your country, but in mine, democracy is crumbling and descent into fascism has already begun. Anti-Jewish ideology is becoming more and more normalised in western society, and whilst that's due in part to the persistant neonazi presence, it's also thanks to the subtle, insidious nods to it in media for mass audiences to passively consume.

As a Jewish woman, I have a vested interest in not being scapegoated and dehumanised, because I'm sure you can recall the last time that came to a head. The very same antisemitic imagery that H/ogwarts L/egacy presents, of greedy, scheming, hooked nosed creatures who seek to bring death to innocent pureblood children, was immensely popular in Germany in the lead-up to the holocaust. And here it is, cropping up again! I can't speak for all Jews, but I for one am terrified for what the future might bring.

I'm so sorry that me being vocal about this obvious antisemitic analogy is of mild irritation to you. It must be such an inconvenience every time you have to listen to whiny, annoying Jews like me, begging you to show solidarity with our plight. You guys are real the victims here, you're so right!

H/ogwarts L/egacy is a kill-the-Jew simulator. If you still don't understand how that is the case, I'm happy to explain it to you again, but in the mean time, I will not be apologising for my stance on this. I am sick and tired of seeing goyim wallowing in self-pity over this issue right now. You claim to be allies to the Jewish community but you can't even boycott a fucking video game.

TLDR: Yes, a video game can hurt me. Fuck off.

#if you genuinely see no problem in people playing a fucking kill-the-jew simulator then please block me #you are not welcome on my blog #it genuinely makes me sick to think that this might be one of my mutuals who sent this in #i just wanna be safe man. i just wanna have a fun time talking about da snz #but instead i have to defend my right to feel unsafe when the people around me care more about their own fleeting interest in a video game #than they do about my safety and existance as a human being

[2goldensnitches]

So the wizard terf game is making the rounds on social media and this will be a swing into the hornet’s nest but what isn’t these days:

Jews obv didn’t choose to portray ourselves as evil greedy hook-nosed childnapper monsters, antisemites did. HP didn’t invent that—centuries of antisemitic art popularised that image and smug gamerbros trying to argue that we’re making things up and snidely saying shit like “omg you’re just seeing things!! If you see this clearly dehumanising derogatory picture as a jew that’s telling on yourself :))))” is actual gaslighting. Goblins were already a thing before in anglo european folklore but HP and co chose to give worse traits like making them exclusively bankers prohibited from participating in wider society and resentful of being a legal underclass destined to live in servitude towards their oppressors (and now we can add kidnapping gentile—i mean, wizard kids to the list, fantastic). Rowling was somehow keen enough to include a bunch of educated references to latin, greek, classical mythology, and the set designers meticulous in how they crafted the costumes and wands, and set locations in buildings featuring real gothic architecture, but they somehow didn’t consider the optics of Australia House’s giant star on the floor when they used it for their goblin bank :))) This shit’s deliberate. If not rowling then also Warner, when Troy Leavitt stated himself that they knew about his youtube channel and didn’t care, and that he wasn’t fired from the project, he chose to leave (but he’s still promoting the game)

On the other hand the hysteria surrounding the antisemitism in the game feels so forced and fake lmao. where is this energy when real flesh and blood jews get hatecrimed? Where was the interest in being an Ally™ before? This is one of the most useless displays of “solidarity” i have ever seen and, in my honest opinion, a way for casually antisemitic goyim to expiate themselves for their usual silence and apathy. The same people crying about how awfully antisemitic the evil racist terf game is being are among the first to yell (or at least laugh about) FREE PALESTINE when jews talk about antisemitism, agree with stuff like the khazar myth and deny jewish history, mock jewish culture, share lizard jokes and agree with literal fascists about us. People only seem to care when pop culture trash like marvel or harry potter are involved and it’s a safe, lazy, and half assed way of getting to be preachy and sanctimonious about what good people they are without putting in any actual work into it

#antisemitism #goyim gonna goy #crying over 3d models but staying silent when real people get shot in front of a synagogue is peak two faced insincerity y’all can choke #if this is what it means to show allyship then i don’t want it lmao kindly shove it up your asses

[stephobrien]

Is your pro-Palestine activism hurting innocent people? Here's how to avoid that. (Plain text version)

I kept getting "needs pt" tags on the original post, so here's the plain text version:

Over the last few days, I’ve had conversations with several Jewish people who told me how hurt and scared they are right now.

To my great regret, some of that pain came from a poorly-thought-out post of mine, which – while not ill-intentioned – WAS hurtful.

And a lot of it came from cruelty they’d experienced at the hands of people who claim to be advocating for Palestine, but are using the very real plight of innocent Palestinians to harm equally innocent Jewish people.

Y’all, we need to do better. (Yes, “we” definitely includes me; this is in no small part a “learn from my fail” post, and also a “making amends” post. Some of these are mistakes I’ve made in the past.)

So if you’re an advocate for Palestine who wants to make sure that your defense of one group of vulnerable people doesn’t harm another, here are some important things to do or keep in mind:

Ask yourself if you’re applying a standard to one group that you aren’t applying to another.

Would you want all white Americans or Canadians to be expelled from America or Canada?

Do you want all Jewish people to be expelled from Israel, as opposed to finding a way to live alongside Palestinian Arabs in peace?

If the answer to those two questions is different, ask yourself WHY.

Do you want to be held responsible for the actions of your nation’s army or government? No? Then don’t hold innocent Jewish people, or Israelis in general (whether Jewish or otherwise), responsible for the actions of the Israeli army and government.

On that subject, be wary of condemning all Israeli people for the actions of the IDF. Large-scale tactical decisions are made by the top brass. Service is compulsory, and very few can reasonably get out of service.

Blaming all Israelis for the military’s actions is like blaming all Vietnam vets for the horrors in Vietnam. They’re not calling the shots. They aren’t Nazis running concentration camps. They are carrying out military operations that SHOULD be criticized.

And do not compare them or ANY JEWISH PERSON to Nazis in general. It is Jewish cultural trauma and not outsiders’ to use against them.

Don’t infuse legitimate criticism with antisemitism. By all means, spread the word about the crimes committed by the Israeli army and government, and the complicity of their allies. Criticize the people responsible for committing and enabling atrocities.

But if you imply that they’re committing those crimes because they’re Jewish, or because Jewish people have special privileges, then you’re straying into antisemitic territory.

Criticize the crime, not the group. If you believe that collective punishment is wrong, don’t do it yourself.

And do your best to use words that apply directly to the situation, rather than the historical terms for situations with similar features. For example, use “segregation,” “oppression,” or “subjugation,” not “Holocaust” or “Jim Crow.” These other historical events are not the cultural property of Jews OR Palestinians, but also have their own nuances and struggles and historical contexts.

Also, blaming other world events on Jewish people or making Jewish people associated with them (for instance, some people falsely blame Jewish people for the African slave trade) is a key feature of how antisemitism functions.

Please, by all means, be specific and detailed in your critiques. But keep them focused on the current political actors – not other peoples’ or nations’ political or cultural histories and traumas.

Be prepared to accept criticism. You probably already know that society is infused with a wide array of bigotries, and that people growing up in that environment tend to absorb those beliefs without even realizing it. Antisemitism is no exception.

What that means is, there’s a very real chance that you will screw up, and get called out on it, as I so recently did.

If that happens, please be willing to learn and adapt. If you can educate yourself about the suffering and needs of Palestinians, you can do the same for Jewish people.

Understand that the people you hurt aren’t obligated to baby you. Give them room to be angry. After I made a post that inadvertently hurt people, some were nice about it, and others weren’t. Some outright insulted my morals and intelligence.

And I had to accept that I’d earned that from them.

I’d hurt them, and they weren’t obligated to be more careful with my feelings than I had been with theirs.

They weren’t obligated to forgive me, trust me, or stop being mad at me right away.

I’ll admit, there were moments when I got defensive. I shouldn’t have. And I encourage you to try not to, if you screw up and hurt people.

I know that’s hard, but it’s important. Getting defensive only tells people you care more about doubling down on your mistake than you do about healing the hurt it caused.

Instead, acknowledge that they have a right to be angry, apologize for the way you hurt them, and try to make amends, while understanding that they don’t owe you trust or forgiveness.

Be aware that some antisemites are using legitimate complaints to “Trojan horse” antisemitism into leftist spaces. This is a really easy stumbling block to trip over, because most people probably don’t look at every post a creator makes before sharing the one they’re looking at right now.

I recently shared a video that called out some of the Likud and IDF’s atrocities and hypocrisy, and that also noted that many Jewish people are wonderful members of their communities.

I was later informed that, while that video in particular seemed reasonable, the creator behind it is frequently antisemitic.

I deleted the post, and blocked the creator. I encourage you to do the same if it’s brought to your attention that you’ve been ‘Trojan horse’d.

EDIT: Important note about antisemitism in leftist spaces:

While it's true that some blatant antisemites are using seemingly reasonable posts to get their foot in the door of leftist spaces, it's also true that a lot of antisemitism already exists inside those spaces.

This antisemitism is often dressed up in progressive-sounding language, but nonetheless singles Jewish people and places out in ways that aren't applied equally to other groups, or that label Jewish people in ways that portray them as acceptable targets.

If you want to see some specific examples, so you can have a better idea of what to keep an eye out for, I suggest reading this excellent reblog of the original post.

Fact-check your doubts about antisemitism. Depending on which parts of the internet you look at, you’ve probably seen people accused of antisemitism because they complained about the Likud and/or IDF’s actions. So you might be primed to be wary, or feel unsure of how to tell what counts as real antisemitism.

But that doesn’t mean antisemitism isn’t a very real, widespread, and harmful problem. And it doesn’t mean many or even most Jewish people are lying to you or being overly sensitive.

So if someone says something is antisemitic, and you aren’t sure, I encourage you to:

A. Look up the action or thing in question, including its history. Is there an antisemitic history or connotation you aren’t aware of? For best results, include “antisemitic” in your search query, in quotes.

B. Understand that some things, while not inherently antisemitic, have been used by antisemites often enough that Jewish people are understandably wary of them. Schrodinger’s antisemitism, if you will.

C. Ask Jewish people WHO HAVE OFFERED TO HELP EDUCATE YOU. Emphasis on WHO HAVE OFFERED. Random Jewish people aren’t obligated to give you their time and emotional energy, or to educate you – especially on subjects that are scary or painful for them.

@edenfenixblogs has kindly offered her inbox to those who are genuinely trying to learn and do better, and I’ve found her to be very kind, patient, reasonable, and fair-minded.

Understand that this is URGENTLY NEEDED. In one of my conversations with a Jewish person who’d called me out, they said this was the most productive conversation they’d had with a person with a Palestinian flag in their profile.

THIS IS NOT OKAY.

I didn’t do anything special. All I did was listen, apologize for my mistakes, and learn.

Yes, it feels good to be acknowledged. But I feel like I’ve been praised for peeing IN the toilet, instead of beside it.

Apologizing, learning, and making amends after you hurt people shouldn’t be “the most reasonable thing I’ve heard from a person with a Palestinian flag pfp.”

It should be BASIC DECENCY.

And the fact that it’s apparently so uncommon should tell you how much unnecessary stress and fear Jewish people have been living with because of people who consider themselves defenders of human rights.

By all means, be angry at the Likud, the IDF, and the politicians, reporters, and specific media outlets who choose to enable and cover up for them. But direct that anger toward the people who deserve it and are in a position to do something about it, not random people who simply happen to be Jewish, or who don’t want millions of people to be turned into refugees when less violent methods of achieving freedom and rights for Palestinians are available.

Stop peeing beside the toilet, people.

#I/P #I/P conflict #I/P war #Israel #Palestine #Gaza #free Palestine #Israel Palestine conflict #Israel Palestine war #Jewish goyim solidarity #choose peace

[edenfenixblogs]

Let’s put some numbers to Jewish fear right now.

In news that I’m sure will thrill all antisemites, it would take startlingly little effort to foment widespread violence against us and cause another genocide of the Jewish people.

I have had many fellow Jews express to me how overwhelming it is to see the rising antisemitism. I have seen many Jews express fear at being drowned out of public, online, and IRL spaces due to dangerously violent vitriol.

I have also seen people who claim to advocate for Palestine—especially western leftists—openly mock Jews who express this fear.

Finally, I and my fellow Jews have often expressed that, while we wholeheartedly support Palestinian freedom and self determination, it is exhausting to have to say so repeatedly, especially when we are trying to advocate for ourselves. This is not due to any latent or widespread hatred of Muslims, Arabs, or Palestinians. It is because we are an extremely maligned and marginalized minority that is fighting to be heard against strong, hostile forces that at best wish we’d shut up and at worst want us eradicated from the planet.

There is a disconnect about how much harm people can do to Jews by spreading antisemitism and refusing to dismantle their own internalized antisemitism—and everyone has internalized antisemitism. It is one of the oldest forms of prejudice in the world and is found in almost every single culture. It is as, if not more, pervasive than white privilege. Yes. You read that right. And if asked to elaborate, I will provide numbers on that to the best of my ability. For the purposes of this post, however, I want to focus on the global distribution of religious groups only.

Specifically, this disconnect is between Jews who are fully aware and feel the affects of this damage and goyim who simply do not comprehend our marginalization.

To help, let’s put some numbers to this. In this post, I’ll be using the Pew Research Center’s survey and findings on the Global Religious Landscape. This is the most recent data from a reputable source that I could find which surveyed every world religion at the same time. While the Jewish population has grown slightly in the intervening years, so have most (if not all) other religious populations around the globe. I wanted to use figures measured at the same time to avoid bias for or against any religious group.

For the purposes of this post, I will not be discussing folk religions or other religions. This is not because they are not important. This is because they are not a monolith and individual folk religions and other religions may have even fewer adherents per religion than Judaism. I am currently only focusing on religions and religious groups who have more adherents than Judaism.

In descending order of adherents, there number of people in the world belonging to these groups:

2,200,000,000 (2.2 Billion) Christians

1,600,000,000 (1.6 Billion) Muslims

1,100,000,000 (1.1 Billion) Religiously unaffiliated people

1,000,000,000 (1 Billion) Hindus

500,000,000 (500 Million) Buddhists

14,000,000 (14 Million) Jews

Reduced to the simplest fractions there are:

1100 Christians for every 7 Jews

800 Muslims for every 7 Jews

550 Religiously unaffiliated people for every 7 Jews

500 Hindus for every 7 Jews

250 Buddhists for every 7 Jews

Combined, there are 6,400,000,000 non-Jewish people in religions or religious groups (including religiously unaffiliated people).

This means that for every 7 Jews there are 3200 people in religious groups who outnumber us.

Jews are 0.2 % of the global population.

When we tell you that hate is dangerous, it is because…

It would only take 0.21% of 6.4 Billion people to hate us in order to completely overwhelm and outnumber every single Jewish person on the planet. In other words, only 67.2 out of every 3200 people.

And given how violent and aggressive people have become toward us in recent weeks, that doesn’t seem far off.

No, most Christians, Muslims, Atheists/Agnostics, Hindus, and Buddhists do NOT hate Jews.

But if even 0.21% of them do hate us, Jews are at a legitimate and terrifying risk of ethnic cleansing and genocide.

It is not possible for Jews alone to fight this rising tide of hate. There simply aren’t enough of us. And many of us are too scared to tell you the truth: if you don’t vocally and repeatedly stand up for Jews (and not just the ones you agree with) you will be complicit in the genocide that follows. Police your own communities.

Nobody acting in good faith is asking you to abandon Palestinians or their fight for self determination and equality in their homeland. All we are asking is for you to learn about antisemitism, deconstruct it in yourself, and loudly condemn it when it occurs in front of you. We are asking you to comfort us and not run away when we are scared or even angry at you. Because a lot of us are angry with you, because we are extremely scared right now and many of you are not helping us. Many of you are actively and carelessly spreading dogwhistles that further the global rise in hatred against us.

You can support Palestine AND avoid Islamophobia WITHOUT making antisemitism worse. But you can’t stop antisemitism by staying silent in the face of it. And if you don’t speak up, you will get us killed. Silence, in this case, is quite literally violence.

Many of us have armed guards posted at our synagogues and schools and community centers because of this. I certainly had times where my synagogue and school had to have armed security for our safety.

The only reason more of us haven’t died already is because we have millennia of experience in confronting this kind of hatred and guarding against it.

But in pure numbers, if you don’t speak up for us now, we don’t have a chance at survival without support.

So, what can you do, specifically?:

* Make a stand or public statement about condemning antisemitism without mentioning another group. Acknowledge Jewish fear, pain, and current danger without contextualizing it in someone else’s. It could literally be something as simple as “Antisemitism is bad. There’s never a reason for it. I won’t tolerate it in presence in real life or online.” If you cannot bring yourself to publicly make this statement, you should have a serious look at yourself to understand why you can’t.

* Learn about the six universal features of antisemitism and the many, various dog whistles affecting the global Jewish community

* Do not welcome people who espouse rhetoric that includes any features from the above bullet point in your community unless you are able to educate them and eliminate that behavior.

* Check in on your Jewish friends, regularly and repeatedly. Do not wait for them to reach out to you. They are scared of you. Even if you don’t have the emotional space to have conversations about antisemitism. Just send a message once in a while, unprompted, “Jfyi, antisemitism still sucks. I support you.”

* Redirect conversations about which “side” is “right” to how to attain peace. Do this by saying that this line of argument is not conducive to peace, and link to a well-respected organization not widely accused of either antisemitism or Islamophobia that is devoted to achieving a peaceful resolution, increasing education, or providing humanitarian aid to relevant affected groups—including Jews, Israelis, Palestinians, Muslims, and Arabs. You can find over 160 such organizations at the Alliance for Middle East Peace https://www.allmep.org/

* Look to support experienced groups without widespread and verifiable claims of prejudice against either Jews or Muslims or Arabs or Palestinians. Many of these organizations can also be found at the AllMEP link above. Avoid groups on the shit list as well as unproductive and harmful movements.

* Do not default to western methods of political demonstration. Specifically, protests are not useful in attaining peace in western nations at this time. Israelis and Palestinians can and should protest to the best of their abilities in Israel and Palestine so as to pressure their own governments. However, protests in western nations have proven to be poorly regulated and to further the spread of bigoted rhetoric and violence against Jews, Muslims, Arabs, and Palestinians. Furthermore, there are nearly as many Palestinians in the world as there are Jews. It is extremely easy and common for the voices of bad actors and bigots on all sides to completely drown out Jewish and Palestinian voices and concerns at these events.

* Spend more time listening and learning than speaking and acting. Anyone who tells you this conflict is simple is someone who is lying to you. Take the time to learn the ways in which your actions and words can get people hurt before joining the fray.

* Stop demonizing Zionism as a concept, even if you disagree with it. Understand that it is a philosophy with many different movements that often conflict with each other. The Zionism practiced by Netanyahu and the Likud party is NOT representative of most Zionists or interpretations of Zionism. It is an extremist form of Zionism known as Revisionist Zionism.

* Don’t deny Jewish indigeneity to the levant. It doesn’t help Palestine and hurts Jews by erasing our physical and cultural history as well as erasing the Jews who remained in Israel even through widespread diaspora.

* KEEP THE HOLOCAUST OUT OF YOUR MOUTH

Things That Are Always OK

* Denouncing Antisemitism loudly and publicly

* Denouncing Islamophobia loudly and publicly

* Telling your Jewish and Muslim and Arab friends you support them and won't abandon them

* Elevating the work of respected, widely accepted people and organizations devoted to attaining peace for all, rather than just one group of people.

* Develop media literacy

* Understand what aspects of the current western leftist movements Jews are criticizing, rather than assuming our criticisms are motivated by hatred for Palestine or Palestinians.

* Expressing sorrow for civilian deaths regardless of religion or nationality.

* When you are not Jewish and you share a post about antisemitism from a Jewish person, please say you’re a goy. This isn’t because you’re not welcome to share. This is because it is indescribably comforting to know we aren’t just talking amongst ourselves and screaming into the void. Let us know you are supportive of us. It doesn’t mean that you or we hate Palestine or Palestinians or that we oppose their full and equal rights in our shared homeland.

#antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #israel #Palestine #Zionism #anti zionisim #jewish muslim solidarity #Jewish goyim solidarity #media literacy #responsible advocacy #direct action #life under stochastic threat #I dare a goy to reblog this challenge

[puzzle-paradigm]

Ok I don't make posts like this that often, but this got on my nerves. I saw someone posting about this as a positive, and I want to explain why this:

Is bad allyship.

I think it breaks down to two things: IGNORANCE/APPROPRIATION and PERFORMATIVITY.

First, IGNORANCE/APPROPRIATION:

I put these two together because I honestly feel that in this case, and in many cases, ignorance is the vehicle for appropriation.

First, and most obviously, goyim putting up mezuzoht is appropriative, just like if they were wearing a talis or a kippah. Jewish customs, dress, rituals, whatever, are not for goyim to do (unless invited, like if you were asked to come to a Pesach seder). Full stop. Jewish customs aren't there for people to just decide to do.

With mezuzoht specifically, many goyim don't know what they actually are. A mezuzah consists of two parts: the scroll and the case. The part you see, which is usually decorative, is the case:

They can look pretty much any way, but have the letter "shin" on them. They serve as the casing for the scroll:

which contains the most important prayer in all of Judaism. I hope that is enough to clarify why it's inappropriate for goyim to put up mezuzoht (I'm aware they'd probably only be putting up an empty case which. Seems very symbolic of the nothing of this "activism").

PERFORMATIVITY

Oh boy is there a lot I can point to here.

First: Why do you think antisemitism is "a good chance" to teach your kids? What is good about it? Why do you need a "good chance" to educate them about it instead of just... educating them?

Second: Who asked you for this?? Why is this your method of (lukewarm, milquetoast) "activism"? This isn't what Jews want. This isn't what we've very vocally asked for. This is nothing.

Third: What does this accomplish? "Solidarity"? How? And how does that do anything? You can "Show solidarity" all you like, but it isn't the same as taking actual steps to actually help Jewish people (not to mention it doesn't address where the actual antisemitism they're talking about is- since they said it was at their child's school).

CONCLUSION

This is empty, meaningless "activism". It's entirely performative and fully uneducated. It means nothing and does nothing. Yes, antisemitism is "your problem too" (and what awful phrasing that is), but it's your problem because you should care about Jews, not because you've intentionally played martyr and made yourselves victims of hate crimes.

#judaism #antisemitism #long post #i've seen this with kippot and magen davids as well #all of this applies to that #sorry if it's ranty or like #out of what i usually present #but i'm so done with this crap being presented as if it's good #and as if solidarity actually means anything

[widthofmytongue]

This Elul, I have had some struggles. Not as major as some in the past, but in particular I have been dealing with more than a little antisemitism at work. It's been hard to prepare myself for forgiveness, forgiveness for others and forgiveness for myself.

But in the last couple days, the final days of 5783, I've had some exchanges that have reaffirmed in me a sense of community and good will.

First, a comrade in my union meeting, while discussing plans for an upcoming strike, said almost verbatim:

'If I am not for myself, then who is for me; and if I am for myself alone, then what am I; and if not now then when?'

I laughed aloud at the wisdom of our ancestors and almost exclaimed 'Rabbi Hillel!' - in a union meeting of 30+ goyim. And this comrade, ready to walk out and picket at the very end of our strike mandate, is also a goy. A learned goy, yes, but even so, could she have known what she was saying? The solidarity manifest to me then is hard to describe.

Then I asked a Hindu colleague if she celebrated Christmas, as part of the antisemitism I've encountered at work of late has related to insistant and I think assimilationist plans for an office Christmas party which would prevent me lighting the menorah for Chanukkah. The week of Rosh Hashanah seems an odd time to plan Christmas, but eh. I thought the Christian hegemony may have impacted my Hindu colleague as well. She responded:

'I put up lights, but it's not a big deal. What's really important is Diwali! It's a great time for family, a festival of lights.'

I smiled and told her, 'yeah, we got one of those too'. Even as a lonely Jew in my workplace, I am not alone.

Then, on my way home, some random teenagers smiled and shouted at me in the park, asking excitedly if I'm Kurdish. I realised they noticed my keffiyeh, and told them it's Palestinian, which excited them more as they shouted over one another in Arabic, asking if I was Palestinian then. I told them I'm Jewish, but that's kind of the point. I joked they could call me keffiyeh kinderlach, and told them it's funny they thought I was Kurdish, as I had just been speaking about Öcalan earlier. Just hearing someone twice their age and white speak the name Öcalan filled them with joy, and we exchanged shouts of 'Free Öcalan!' back and forth as I left to catch my train home. 'The revolution has always been in the hands of the young'.

But then, perhaps most importantly, I was telling comrade @derdra recently that I am rather isolated as a Jew where I am, as the only temples in my vacinity are currently occupied by a music school and a rail station outbuilding. Days later, unprompted, she shared with me a post she made that reminds me of a lot of important truths. Many of these truths I think are particularly important to keep in mind during Teshuvah, but I'll let them speak for themselves. The message I want to leave here is twofold: you're never alone when you say you're a Jew - though we're miles apart; and always remember, our holiest mitzvah is to heal, ourselves, our community, and our world.

So have a sweet new year, comrades, and together we can make a sweeter world.

#shanah tovah #rosh hashanah #original

[cock-holliday]

see now "the out group should be free to make commentary on the in group experiences" is all well and good until white people start talking over POC about racism or goys start talking over Jews about antisemitism, both of these astoundingly common. I've seen the way minority voices get silenced by people who never lived through these things have a negative impact.

This argument can be made for people who may actually be in the in group unbeknownst to the listener, but not legitimate for people who don't know what they're saying.

Hi thank you for repeating back to me exactly what I said.

I didn’t say the out group can talk out of their ass and the in-group has to be silent about it. I said one, yes, you can’t always identify who is and isn’t part of the in-group. ALSO, the in-group is not a monolith and sometimes members of the in-group are extremely at odds with what helps the in-group.

AAAAND sometimes members of the out-group, through education, experience, research, knowledge, can be a helpful account. It is important that this voice supports what some voices in the in-group says. Amplifying and crediting in-voices as much as possible.

Talking over ≠ speaking with.

Naturally, because there are members of the group who hold fuckshit views, an outsider who supports others in that group will appear to be “speaking over” the asshole.

The way to determine where the outsider perspective is “talking over” or “throwing in support” is to actually listen and analyze what is being said.

Goyim who challenge Ben Shapiro’s alignment with white supremacists are not by virtue of Ben being Jewish “talking over Jewish voices.”

A man critiquing Tomi Lahren’s rehetoric isn’t “talking over women.”

A cis person challenging Caitlyn Jenner’s support of Trump is not “talking over trans people.”

Yes there is an issue of majority voices talking over minorities, AND concurrently there are allies voicing solidarity. I don’t want allies to sit meekly with their hands in their laps waiting to nod along to any and every person in my minority group, I want them to understand the struggle and be able to articulate the points not just go along with whatever I or anyone else says.

#ask #anon ask

[underestimated-heroine]

Stance & Resources on I/P

*Firstly want to acknowledge that I am not an expert or spokesperson or “real” voice on Israel/Palestine, just someone who is trying to improve at effectively helping during an ongoing crisis. All I care about now is helping while doing as little harm as possible and learning. That said, I am pro-Palestinian liberation, believe in critical solidarity, do not view the need to fight rising antisemitism as a "distraction" from talking about Palestine any more than it is ever a distraction to confront violent hatred and dual loyalty.

Orgs to help Palestine) (Standing Together, org I’ve seen several Jewish and Palestinian activists ask us to support in this)

(history primer, more, PDF of “Orientalism” by Edward Said & Audiobook) (What is the Nakba?) (Wikipedia page on criticism of Israel).

Antisemitism won’t beat Islamophobia or vice versa and this isn’t a “remember the value of a two-way conversation” situation; “If it’s not helping, shut the fuck up.”

(on our approach to our conversations about I/P),

(Types of Zionism, What is Zionism & What is Anti-Zionism? [less than bare minimum required reading, fr…also fellow gentiles/goyim let’s please read about Dual Loyalty and more resources to help us avoid antisemitism in our activism)*

#posts i actually wrote #i/p #palestine #gaza

[determinate-negation]

thanks for all the resources you’ve shared, I also really appreciate the perspectives on your page. honestly it sickens me that a lot of these soft zionists will plead jewish-muslim solidarity but not even reblog or acknowledge palestinians on the site while you can see all their bullshit in their post likes like “ugh icb they’re blaming a hospital bombing on us again! rip tho. goyim do not interact you don’t understand this complex and nuanced conflict”

(sorry for the rant… im just rly disgusted by these ppl)

thank you. lmao i think i know exactly the type of bloggers youre talking about even tho im not following or seeing their posts. i really hate most of “jumblr” lol its mostly obnoxious libs who view everything from a fandom perspective of 2014 social justice and a lot of them have had me blocked for years. its really tiring to see right now while israel is committing war crimes especially though, like have some fucking perspective