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apteryxdrake · 11 months

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a post (rant?) about antisemitism as it's happening rn plus resources on antisemitism and judaism → → →

disclaimer: hi, this is a post about antisemitism from a non-zionist, diasporism-neutral jew. it barely mentions and is not intended to justify at all the current massacre and ethnic cleansing that israel is actively inflicting on both gaza and the west bank. it is not meant to be whataboutism. it is not meant to take your time and energy away from palestine. if you don't think it's appropriate to post about antisemitism right now, you do not have to read this post. and if you want to make this about current events, please consider making your own post instead.

anyway.

it's especially useful to educate yourself on antisemitism at times like these, because both christian zionists and white supremacists abuse jewish fear during times of rising antisemitism. they do so to assert that jews are unsafe living anywhere outside of israel. the effect of this is twofold: 1) getting jews out of their countries, and 2) bolstering israel. by learning about actual antisemitism and thus making the (online) movement less hostile for diaspora jews, you actually weaken the power israel wields when it calls every accusation against it antisemitic.

with all of that being said, this post is solely meant to...

present the current state of how antisemitism is discussed and trivialized by both staunchly pro-israel jews and gentile antizionists on social media.

be a plea to learn about judaism and what antisemitism so you can say "antizionism, and particularly my antizionism, is not antisemitism" with more confidence.

to provide resources for those who are interested in educating themselves on both judaism and antisemitism (i will cherish you forever if you do that).

each of these will be more or less marked with a green header below. if you get bored (this is a very long post) feel free to just skip to the end and watch the two videos i linked. those are the main resources.

bonus disclaimer: before you comment that a person of arab heritage (not all such people, no broad strokes here, im talking about a given individual) can't be antisemitic because they're a semite too, shelf that argument and read this article about how antisemitism as a word was constructed to solely apply to jewish people.

okay. no more disclaimers. this is going to sound like exasperated ranting, but that's because it is. because that's the level to which i need you to hear this. alright? alright. thanks.

let's get into it.

what kind of rhetoric is being thrown around?

i think that this image from user @/castlelad is a good appetizer.

but let me describe this shit to you in detail.

i have seen leftists in relevant tags say the most antisemitic (again, not anti-israel, genuinely textbook antisemitic) stuff and then decide for themselves they aren't being antisemitic, instead of listening to the concerns of jews— even antizionist or nonzionist jews— aka the people who understand this form of oppression best. they'll reproduce rhetoric out of the protocols of the elders of zion to imply they think all jewish individuals (israeli or not, zionist or not, sometimes these words are used but it's clear they don't mean arab israelis or christian zionists too - only jews) are collectively responsible for the entire israeli government & its rotten reign of terror in gaza and therefore, that we are now bringing and historically must have brought all of the antisemitism we have ever faced down upon ourselves. that is like using the dogwhistle '109 countries.' that is textbook n@zi shit.

i have seen people bring up the holocaust in their anti-israel rhetoric. and at the same time, they will never show any amount of care toward jewish people who are not already conveniently dead. these are people who openly admit they didn't even know about the number tattoos in the camps— they use our trauma as a rhetorical tool.

i have seen people say the mere idea of the jewish diaspora is israeli propaganda, despite the concept of exile being core to much of judaism for at least 2000 years before israel's founding. and in the same breath, gentiles they tell israelis (when they clearly mean jewish israelis, sometimes only calling them jews) to "go back where they're from." that's rich when you consider that the countries from which many mizrahi jews were expelled won't accept israeli passports, and that back in the 1900's, europeans were tripping over themselves to tell jews to Go Back To Palestine - hell, did you know balfour also signed a paper restricting jews from entering england? he had shitty plans in mind for all of us, jews and palestinians alike. and i really need to emphasize, this is not meant to imply at all that the specific way jews returned to their ancestral homeland in the 1900's was moral or acceptable in the least, considering that led to the nakba and ongoing tragedies. but to say "jews, go back to where you're from" says a lot about how you don't understand our history.

i have seen people justify the antisemitic beliefs they admit their communities have, asking: but how can you expect us not to believe antisemitic things when jews are all rich? when they're all white and living in hollywood? can you really blame us for hating you and thinking you run the media when you're the only ones who mourn israeli jews "dying" like all the newspapers are? can you blame us? can you blame us?

(in case you need emphasis: every single claim listed above is false and deeply antisemitic.)

and following all of aforementioned offenses, such gentiles won't only decide for themselves they aren't antisemites. sometimes they'll say they'd be proud to be called antisemitic because that means they're doing good work against (((zionists))) — despite the fact the majority of zionists are actually evangelical christians.

and thus the people whom antisemitism doesn't affect define it to mean nothing. it's insane. and it's even more insane that calling that out will have people calling you a zionist.

antisemitism is not a Damned Spot, at least it isn't if you choose to educate yourself.

genuinely. try to absorb this.

i understand that staunchly zionist jewish people will throw around accusations of antisemitism online like confetti, and that shit embarrasses me BAD. but not every accusation of antisemitism against antizionist rhetoric is a The Boy Who Cried Wolf scenario. especially when jews who actively share news from gaza and want to see the palestinian people liberated tell you about it. hell, if it's a jew simply calling for a ceasefire, their concerns about antisemitism are trustworthy— much more so than those who believe israel can do no wrong and think that criticism of israel is a personal attack.

and having said something antisemitic doesn't make you lady macbeth, okay? it doesn't mark you with some ultimate evil Damned Spot you need to clean from yourself or else be damned as an inherently evil jerk forever. it just means you have some unexamined biases like everyone does in a world rife with hate and white supremacy. you don't need to feel bad you didn't know. but you should take a few steps and learn.

to refuse to learn is worse than having made an offensive remark.

resources to learn about judaism and antisemitism.

at the bottom of this post i'll add two videos i think you can watch. but i also want to say: it can't be just that. okay? your education should start there and i'll be pleased if that's all you do now but it should not forever remain only that.

think: have you ever seen a large activist account on instagram, twitter or wherever else count antisemitism among the hatreds from which collective liberation will free society? have you ever seen such an account advocate for you to educate yourself on our culture(s)?

it's unlikely at best. it's messed up.

so step up and humanize and add depth to the jew in your head. to help, here are some suggestions! click anything that strikes your fancy, but remember that the main request i am making is to watch the two videos at the end of this post - everything else is just extra!

learn abt our holidays so you can say more than happy hanukkah once a year. ones id recommend learning about are tisha b'av, purim, the high holidays and sukkot. there's also shabbat!

learn about our music. ashkenazi klezmer & yiddish protest songs! beautiful songs in ladino that mix old spanish with turkish! songs in yemenite hebrew, from a unique group who lived there for thousands of years! jewish songs from kerala, from central asia, from africa!

learn about the feminine divine presence of god (shekhina) and lady wisdom!

learn the jewish answer to a question no one asked: why do humans have cupids bows, or the indent right above the lips? it has to do with the angel lailah. she's pretty interesting.

learn about our traditional clothing, from europe to yemen.

if you like swords, check this out! there's also this page which has more about protective amulets, and this one about incantation bowls.

learn about how judaism defines satan, maybe? we also have plenty of demons in our mythos, though they aren't talked about as often as angels.

this reminds me, another interesting topic is the afterlife. its developed a lot throughout jewish history, but isn't as meaningful in the grand scheme of things like heaven might be to christians. there's also uniquely jewish ideas about the end of days or apocalypse.

on a lighter note: if you like math, learn about gematria!

for all the library nerds out there, learn about genizahs. we love our books so fucking much that when they start to fall apart, we wrap them in a white burial shroud and bury them, similar to a funeral.

learn about the history of ashkenazi jews as they relate to the concept of whiteness. learn the fact that not all jews are what you'd categorize as white (did you know that there used to be a jewish community in china?)

learn about the golden age of jewish culture in spain AND learn about things like the mawza exile, dhimmi status and the farhud.

learn about the rhineland massacres and inquisition while you're at it.

on a happier note, learn about folktales. there's also this pdf with the original stories which inspired fiddler on the roof, and this one about the infamous town of fools, chelm.

learn about our languages and our diverse ethnic subsets, and the history of jews in the places to which you trace your own heritage!

put in the effort. put in the effort. and we'll start to believe you when you imply that you understand who we are, and what prejudice against us looks like.

anyway. thanks for reading. here's the videos.

youtube

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