ashkephardi

[ashkephardi]

Having a thought about how I have seen, recently, so many people insisting that things like posters about the hostages and marches for the hostages in the disapora are a sign of like. Some kind of conspiracy or manipulation.

And how all of these people who think that this is just Jews doing the Jew Thing of Manipulating People and Lying to Get What We Want... Know absolutely NOTHING about us.

The thing I wish every goy would understand. Is that Jews are a people, and we are one people. Every Jew on this earth- whether I know them personally or not. Whether I agree with them or not. Whether I like them or not. Is my FAMILY. All Jews are one people, one family. When one Jew is hurt, we all hurt.

"Until we are all free, we are none of us free" is a quote I see used all the time (or some variation of it). And the quote is from Emma Lazarus. She was speaking about assimilated Jews who were ignoring Eastern European Jews, who were being murdered and tormented in pogroms. Which was unacceptable- because this is how Jews work, as a people.

We are all one people. We are all family. When one Jew is attacked, we are all attacked. When one Jew mourns, we all mourn with them. We are a people bound by a deep sense of connection and love for one another.

So when Jews in the diaspora are talking about the hostages, about the war. About Israel and Israelis. I need you all to understand that this is not simply politics to us. This is not just a political discussion that we are detached from.

This is our family. These are our loved ones and our people. The Jews of the world are one family, and we all must love and look out for one another. THAT is why Jews in the diaspora, and in America, where I am from. Care so deeply. Because those hostages are our family. They are our people. It isn't political manipulation. This isn't some kind of Jewish Sneaky Conspiracy.

It is a family. Begging for the safe return of their loved ones. Begging for the lives of their kin.

[ashkephardi]

So apparently breaking into a synagogue and vandalizing torah scrolls is not antisemetic according to London police?

Like I'm sorry but out of every attack on jews and jewish institutions recently, how is this one not labeled antisemitic by police????

[ashkephardi]

Pride Mezuzahs

If I forgot your flag, tell me. Happy pride to the Jews in my phone.

[ashkephardi]

^^^ this literally would have me fearing for my life, especially as a disabled person who goes to lots of doctors and hospitals

We can talk about how there’s definitely a racism/Islamaphobia issue in a lot of Jewish communities without…*flips through notebook* literal saying Jewish people should assimilate and give up their Jewishness (ie cultural genocide)

These antisemites are getting way too comfortable and I don’t like it

[ashkephardi]

This is your daily reminder that if you are jewish and live in an area with a decently sized jewish community (especially an orthodox one) and you are struggling

YOU CAN GET HELP

Speak to the rabbis of the shul/shuls

There are Gamachs for food, clothes, medical tools, judaica, furniture etc and most of these places will either be free or pay what you can

Many shuls give out packages of expensive specialty foods that you may need for yomim tovim like wine and matzah.

If you need money for rent, medical costs, school etc shuls will raise tzedaka for you if you reach out

Many communities have people in them who do car repair, home repair, plumbing etc and if you ask the rabbi those people may do that work for you at a decreased rate

There are specialty organizations if you need help with mental health services

If you need help with post mortem care for a loved one or elder care

SPEAK TO A RABBI

REACH OUT

YOU ARE NEVER ALONE

[ashkephardi]

I’m seeing a lot of people claim that the remaining hostages, by virtue of being IDF members are not hostages but prisoners of war. Which, fine, you can make that argument. But if that was the case, under the Third Geneva Convention, prisoners of war have very specific rights, including not being held in close confinement, not being tortured, getting adequate food and water, being given access to medical treatment, being allowed contact with the outside world and their loved ones, and of course visitation by the International Red Cross.

Not a single one of these conditions has been met. They aren’t prisoners of war. They’re hostages. And the International Red Cross doesn’t care about Jews.

[ashkephardi]

surreal but not surprising to see goyische Americans go "Oh no, WWIII is about to break out, I'm gonna die 😰" after two years of them telling American Jews that we're "overreacting" and "making everything about ourselves" as hate crimes directed at our community skyrocket, most recently with two people being murdered outside a Jewish museum and peaceful Jewish protestors being set on fire.

come complain to me after you've received a string of emails detailing the stringent security measures your vulnerable community is taking to protect itself

[ashkephardi]

A lot of people think emunah means “believing in G-d.”

It doesn’t.

In Biblical Hebrew, emunah has almost nothing to do with belief as we think of it today.

It’s deeper. More human. And far more beautiful.

A thread 🧵👇 

1/ When we hear “faith,” we think of mental certainty—an internal conviction that something is true.

But Hebrew doesn’t work like that.

Hebrew words aren’t definitions. They’re verbs. They describe movement. Relationships. Action.

And emunah is no exception. 

2/ The root of emunah is אמן (aleph–mem–nun).

You might recognize it from:

→ אמן (amen) → אומן (uman, craftsman) → אימון (imun, training or practice) What do they all have in common? They’re not about belief. They’re about dependability and faithfulness. 

3/ An uman, a craftsman, is someone reliable. Someone whose work you can trust.

Emunat itchem (שמות 17:12) — Aaron and Hur supported Moshe's hands “with emunah.” They didn’t “believe” in his hands. They held them steady. That’s emunah: steadiness. support. trust. 

4/ So when we talk about having emunah in Hashem…

…it’s not about proving G-d exists.

It’s about living as if He’s trustworthy.

→ I lean on Him. → I depend on Him. → I walk with Him even when I don’t have answers. It’s a relationship, not a proof. 

5/ The Rambam does speak of knowing G-d’s existence. But that’s yediat Hashem—knowledge.

Emunah is something else entirely.

It’s the faithfulness of a spouse, a friend, a child—who stays in the relationship even when it’s hard.

That’s the emunah G-d wants from us. 

5/ That’s why Hashem is called “El ne’eman”—a faithful God (Devarim 7:9).

Not just true. But loyal. Steady. Present.

And when we’re asked to have emunah—we’re being invited into that kind of loyalty in return.

A mutual trust, forged over time. 

6/ This means:

🔹 You can have emunah even when you doubt. 🔹 You can have emunah even when you’re angry. 🔹 You can have emunah even when you don’t understand. Because emunah isn’t about being sure. It’s about staying close. That’s faith, Jewishly. 

7/ And maybe that’s why we say “Amen” at the end of every blessing.

Not “I agree.” Not “I believe.” But: “I affirm this with trust.” “I stand with this.” “I am with You, Hashem.”

That one word is an act of emunah. 

8/ So next time someone asks if you “believe in G-d”…

You can answer like a Jew:

“I trust Him.” “I walk with Him.” “I’m still here.” That’s emunah. ❤️‍🔥 

End 🧵

[ashkephardi]

I used to sorta' like Qasim. He's knowledgeable, and sharp- so this is particularly disappointing.

This is misleading on several levels.

"Iran has no nukes"

Technically correct, but deceptive.

Iran has enriched uranium to 60% purity, just short of weapons-grade (90%), and per the IAEA, has enough fissile material for several bombs if further enriched.

U.S. intelligence confirms Iran could build a bomb within weeks if it chose to.

"Iran never attacked the USA"

Straight up false.

Iran-backed proxies have killed over 600 U.S. troops in Iraq using advanced IEDs

Soleimani directly oversaw these militias. Iran also backed the 1983 Beirut bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines.

"Iran offered to revive the deal"

Misleading. Iran demanded all sanctions be lifted before compliance, violating the JCPOA’s sequencing. Talks have stalled repeatedly over Iranian non-cooperation

"Iran allows full IAEA inspections"

False. Iran has denied access to key sites and disabled surveillance cameras since 2021.

"No approval from Congress"

True, but a legal gray area and common for presidents to do through broad Article II powers for such strikes.

Here's just the times Obama authorized strikes in/on sovereign nations without prior congressional approval:

1. Libya (2011)

Operation Odyssey Dawn / NATO Operation Unified Protector

Objective: Stop Gaddafi’s assault on civilians during the Arab Spring.

No Congressional approval; justified under humanitarian intervention and UN Resolution 1973.

Widely criticized for exceeding the 60-day limit of the War Powers Resolution.

2. Pakistan (2009–2016)

Drone strikes targeting al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives.

Conducted without the consent of Pakistan's Parliament or judiciary.

Not formally approved by Congress.

Included the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.

3. Yemen (2009–2016)

Drone and airstrike campaign targeting AQAP (al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula).

No Congressional authorization for strikes inside Yemeni territory.

Often coordinated with Yemeni government, but with inconsistent legal clarity.

4. Somalia (2009–2016)

Airstrikes and special operations against al-Shabaab militants.

5. Syria (2014–2016)

No explicit AUMF covering Somalia.

Legal rationale extended from 2001 AUMF for al-Qaeda affiliates.

Airstrikes against ISIS beginning in September 2014.

No Congressional authorization specific to Syria.

Justified under the 2001 AUMF against al-Qaeda, even though ISIS had split from al-Qaeda.

Rashid's narrative collapses under scrutiny. It weaponizes moral outrage by omitting critical facts, flattening decades of Iranian aggression, and falsely portraying Trump’s controversial (but not unprecedented) strike as genocidal warfare.

Trump may well have been wrong, but this is a shit argument he knows is shit and is deliberately deceptive.

That makes this propaganda.

[ashkephardi]

As I was pondering the recent development of western leftists now supporting the IRI because they are at war with Israel, thus abandoning the actual people of Iran to this brutal regime, and their earlier abandonment of Ukraine in favor of Russia, and their support for the Houthis, Hezbollah, and even in some cases the Taliban, I was trying to figured out how the hell one gets there from the starting place of supposedly supporting human rights. And the only unifying thing I can figure out is that it seems to come down to supporting anyone and any group that acts in opposition to "the West."

But why?

What's wrong with "The West"™️? What sins have been committed in the West that haven't also been committed in the East (and in plenty of cases are actively still ongoing)?

Because to my recollection, the problem that leftists theoretically have with the West is that it has been built on and amassed wealth based on colonialism, imperialism, slavery, wars of aggression, genocide, and mass human rights abuses. Many take issue with Christianity (particular in its evangelical fundamentalist iteration) as a major driving force and weapon of Western imperialism.

Those are all objectively terrible, horrifying things and good reasons to hate the West and Western hegemony — you won't get any disagreement from me there! However, none of that, no matter how deeply baked into the DNA of the West it may be, is (a) inherent to the West, or (b) unique.

In fact, the East is full of (and in large part also built on) colonialism, imperialism, slavery, wars of aggression, genocide, mass human rights abuses, and fundamentalist, expansionist religions. All of these same issues exist there too! The groups and countries western leftists are stanning are themselves guilty of these same things! So where is the value in being anti-West when the East contains the same problems?

I know I'm asking a dumb question here but: have the people supporting these groups actually thought through why they're so anti-West lately? Because I really don't think they have. There is nothing ontologically or uniquely evil about the West; if the justification for hating the West and everything that flows from it (or that they associate with it, correctly or not) is this list of egregious evil acts, surely they should hate any country or group that engages in that same evil act, no?

And I realize that there are a large number of this sort of person who are just ignorant of history and the facts on the ground outside of the West, or they have been made aware and choose to ignore it as "propaganda" or lies. Even if we rule those people out, I've encountered folks who still just have a burning hatred for the West even if they have accepted the reality of atrocities outside the West committed by non-Westerners against other non-Westerners. And that's something I just truly do not understand; like what's up with that? What gives?

[ashkephardi]

remember last year when a cleric claimed that genies had been used to strike Hezbollah and Nasrallah?

we’ve got part 2!

[ashkephardi]

American leftists got told “THIS group of Jews is ok to hate!” and went full Nazi against all Jews in under 3 years.

You would not have hidden Jews in your attic in Nazi Germany because you would not hide a “Zionist” or Israeli in your attic today! You would not have spoken up if your Jewish neighbors were attacked by locals wearing swastikas because today you remain silent (or even cheer) when Israelis and American Jews are attacked by people yelling “free Palestine”!

The Germans who saved Jews did so even though everyone was telling them there were evil Jews out there killing babies and controlling the news. Germans who defended Jews did so even though their friends who found out shunned them, smeared their names, and ejected them from their communities.

Not all of the Germans who didn’t defend Jews were Nazis. Most of them just stayed quiet. They didn’t want to become social pariahs. They didn’t want to risk their own lives.

You will lose friends if you speak out against antisemitism. You will lose friends if you condemn these attacks. But you’ll make friends too, if you reach out. You won’t be alone. You can leave this hate behind.

[ashkephardi]

thank god for jason isaacs.

plain text:

Your parents ended up emigrating to Israeli in 1988 when you were in university. You wore a yellow pin honoring the October 7 Israeli hostages at The White Lotus premiere in February. I always wear it if I’m on a red carpet and a press line.

Public sentiment on Gaza seems to have shifted a lot since then. I wonder where you are right now on the issue? Where I am is either a full magazine or no comment about it, because two or three sentences in a profile are not enough to deal with the issues. I wear the hostage pin because there are innocent people who were taken from their homes. Most of them are peace activists who lived in border communities where they were ferrying sick kids to hospitals and working with people from Gaza constantly. There are Holocaust survivors, there are children who were taken, there are people being starved and tortured and raped who have no access to the Red Cross. People are rightfully talking and thinking about all the civilians that are in danger everywhere else. But those people in tunnels, it’s now 600 days they’ve been there, they’ve been forgotten entirely. And so I wore the pin once and the hostages’ families got in touch with me and they thanked me enormously. I now am aware that they are watching me and that it matters to them. If my son or sister or daughter or father was being kept in a tunnel somewhere and weighed 25 kilos now, or may have been strangled or shot, and it felt important to me that some actors somewhere wore the yellow hostage pin, then who am I to not wear it?

So when it comes to more nuanced arguments about Netanyahu and the right-wing lunatics in the cabinet, or whether the IDF is or isn’t doing things, or this new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is or isn’t handing out food correctly, or whether Hamas’s press releases should be printed as fact, and whether there aren’t journalists in there — there are so many complicated arguments. It isn’t a place to dip one’s toe or to have a simple quote on it. What I wish for everybody, obviously, is peace. Who doesn’t? I don’t know anybody, apart from the extremists on all sides, who want either continued war or tension.

The argument that you make for the ribbon is a humane one. Why don’t you think more actors have worn them? Because just for wearing it, I’ve been called a Zionist baby killer, a Zionazi. Even a yellow hostage pin for innocents is deemed political, which it isn’t.

[ashkephardi]

Hen summing up what I was trying to say here much more succinctly.

in addition:

[ashkephardi]

[ashkephardi]

[ashkephardi]

I'm really sick of the "[x] was promised to them 3000 years ago" brand of antisemitism. Since when was making fun of other people's religious beliefs and cultural identity okay? It's not funny and its basically the antisemitic equivalent of "I identify as an attack helicopter" can you at least come up with something more original.