sjacik

[sjacik]

seeing mutuals who reblogged every single "gaza" scam money request and "14,000 babies will starve to death in 48 hours" because "I'd rather give them the benefit of the doubt in case it's real" afraid to reblog anything about antisemitism because they "don't know the context" and "might get it wrong" and "don't want to amplify because what if the victim is a Zionist and the incident therefore might have been motivated by anti-Zionism not antisemitism" or they haven't "thoroughly vetted OP's account to make sure that they have never said anything objectionable in their entire life"

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I don’t ever doubt that saying what I say and standing where I stand is the right thing to do but I do often feel like I’m standing on an island as everyone goes crazy around me, and daily people I respected and thought better of board the hate train and swallow the propaganda whole. And being a lone (or one of them) dissenter in a crowd, one can’t help but fleetingly think ��Am I the crazy one? What am I missing?”

The answer, of course, is no. I’m not. I’d rather be absolutely alone and reviled for my convictions than gleefully plunge myself into perpetuating one of the oldest and most vile bigotries just to be comfortable and liked.

[sjacik]

I would like to get you started on the word ”phylactery” because english is not my first language nor am i jewish and the first and only time i ever heard the word was in dnd so i’d like to know more if you’re willing? No worries if not

Verdict: Jew-ish/It’s Complicated

In essence, yes.  “Phylactery” is the English translation (via Greek) for the Hebrew word Tefillin (the leather arm-and-head amulets worn during morning prayers). So yes, “Phylactery,” as a word, is Jewish in origin.  But it’s not our word, anymore than any other translated term.

However, there is also massive amounts of deeply-baked-in antisemitism within the D&D canon (the total appropriation of golems, for example), so it’s one of those things that makes me, as a Jewish D&D player, extremely uncomfortable.  I mean... an evil spellcaster’s soul-jar basically being, from the original versions of the game, “a small sealed box with arcane writing on the inside” and using the name for a Jewish prayer item that just so happens to be a small sealed box with Hebrew text on the inside?  That’s hellaciously antisemitic, at least in my opinion.  

Of course, ask three Jews and get six opinions, so your mileage may vary; some people shrug and just say “It’s also an old-timey word for generic amulet”.  And honestly, a lot of us are more offended by the treatment of golems by D&D, because a being that was originally created in folklore by those of us wanting a protector against those who would harm us... is now a “generic fantasy monster”. 

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I gotta be careful on the clock app because I just saw a guy be like

“Do Israelis know they’re at war? Why are they at the beach when they’re actively being bombed?”

My “good sir” they’re always being bombed. This is a fucking normal Tuesday. They’re very well aware they’re at war. And they care - but they also just want to go to the beach.

Like fuck, do you think they don’t care or are stupid? They’re not. Like people can still do normal things during war.

This is also not a unique phenomenon. This isn’t something that happens just in Israel.

[sjacik]

images taken at the Skirball Cultural Center

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just saw a birth announcement thing that was like "3 inches went in. 19 inches came out" and i am on the floor in tears i'm laughing so hard what is wrong with heterosexual people

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music festivals looking like this now:

foul. death to half the world’s jews, the one jewish state, and the only majority jewish army in the world?hmmmm lmao okay we see you.

also with chants like this, i don’t want to hear a single thing from pro pals about bombing iran or death counts or “genocide.” the call is coming from inside the house, you fucking hypocrite buffoons.

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The fact that animals that care for their young will sometimes adopt others' lost or orphaned young to raise along their own is just funny to me. I know that it's all hormonal and there's no conscious thought involved in it, but the internal logic of it is so funny.

"Baby = success. More baby = more success. I have one baby and I found four other baby. I have five baby. I am being so fucking successful right now."

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Happy 99th Birthday to a legend 💙

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We call on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce this rhetoric and reject of all forms of hatred.

[sjacik]

religion?? in my religious music??

[sjacik]

I want to give this more nuance than it’s being given. I don’t necessarily think it’s fair to label Bob Dylan - or anyone - as a Zionist, unless they’ve made it clear that it is a term they identify with and are comfortable using. if they do, that’s fine, the majority of the Jewish community does in one way or another, but that doesn’t make it simplistic. it can, and does, represent a spectrum of ideas. therefore, if someone has never publicly used it, it feels odd to ascribe it to them, as each individual may understand it in a unique way. that’s part of the problem with the non-Jewish flattening and demonization of it - it’s not their term, it’s a cultural and intracommunal one. caring about Eretz Yisrael, understanding Jewish history and ties to the land, loving the people of Israel, and supporting Medinat Yisrael’s existence (including hope for its betterment and future), aren’t necessarily determined by political ideology, and certainly aren’t determined by any government. this is a complex issue, and Dylan himself has a complex relationship and connection to both his Jewish identity and to Israel itself. he has rejected BDS, so you’ll find a number of things online referring to him as a “Zionist” in a defamatory sense, and calling him a supporter of war crimes (needless to say, that’s a deranged and bigoted take). he has visited Israel and proudly supported Jewish causes because it’s an inextricable part of his own identity. individual Jews and Jewish artists have the ability to express these concepts themselves, if they so choose.

Your latest album, Infidels, is hardly subteen fodder. Some critics have even detected a new note of conservatism in some of the songs -- even outright jingoism in "Neighborhood Bully" in which the metaphorical subject is said to be "just one man" whose "enemies say he's on their land." That's clearly a strong Zionist political statement, is it not?

You'd have to point that out to me, you know, what line is in it that spells that out. I'm not a political songwriter. Joe Hill was a political songwriter; uh, Merle Travis wrote some political songs. "Which Side Are You On?" is a political song. And "Neighborhood Bully," to me, is not a political song, because if it were, it would fall into a certain political party. If you're talkin' about it as an Israeli political song - in Isreal alone, there's maybe twenty political parties. I don't know where that would fall, what party.

Well, would it be fair to call that song a heartfelt statement of belief?

Maybe it is, yeah. But just because somebody feels a certain way, you can't come around and stick some political-party slogan on it. If you listen closely, it really could be about other things. It's simple and easy to define it, so you got it pegged, and you can deal with it in that certain kinda way. However, I wouldn't do that. 'Cause I don't know what the politics of Israel is. I just don't know.

So you haven't resolved for yourself, for instance, the Palestinian question?

Not really, because I live here.

Would you ever live in Israel?

I don't know. It's hard to speculate what tomorrow may bring. I kinda live where I find myself.

At another point in the song, you say, "He got no allies to really speak of," and while "he buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied...no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side." Do you feel that America should send troops over there?

No. The song doesn't say that. Who should, who shouldn't -- who am I to say?

Well, do you think Israel should get more help from the American Jewish community? I don't want to push this so far, but it just seems so...

Well, you're not pushing it too far, you're just making it specific. And you're making it specific to what's going on today. But what's going on today isn't gonna last, you know? The battle of Armageddon is specifically spelled out: where it will be fought, and if you wanna get technical, when it will be fought. And the battle of the Armageddon definitely will be fought in the Middle East.

Do you follow the political scene, or have any kinda of fix on what the politicians are talking about this year?

I think politics is an instrument of the Devil. Just that clear. I think politics is what kills; it doesn't bring anything alive. Politics is corrupt; I mean, anybody knows that.

I mean, I don’t align with the Armageddon stuff myself, I really loathe the interviewer’s phrasing of “Palestinian question” (just terrible for every reason), and I condemn the violent actions of settlers (which have been horrific and abominable, up to and including the sick crimes of the past few days), but the main takeaway is that Bob Dylan didn’t want to make this music about politics, it’s about a spiritual connection and artistic framing for him.

this is an interesting topic, and in many ways a quintessentially Jewish one (ie: three opinions, contradictory emotions, encouragement of questions, metaphors of language, etc). thus different listeners glean from the music what they want to glean - and that was exactly Dylan’s intention, and should be the purpose of art, that it transforms for each individual and carries different resonances and meanings. instead of slapping a label on it to define it one way, allow it to be open, in heart and mind, in a way that music often singularly achieves.

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if there's one thing i appreciate about americans, its that they are DELIGHTED by "american love burger" jokes. they cant get enough of them! much like how they cant get enough of burger……

[sjacik]

#vent okay but can we talk about the awkward silence and the way leftists get uncomfortable when i mention anything to do with my (((culture))) like yes im making challah, yes i lit candles... why does that bother you so much? why do leftists get so uncomfortable when i talk about my experience being jewish????? (its rhetorical because unfortunately i know why) like im in a gc with around 5 leftists (non-jewish ofc) and quite literally every time ive mentioned something like rugelach and they asked what it is, or i said i was making challah and they asked what is is and ive told them, or them talking ab golems in fantasy and me saying hey those are from jewish folklore, they literally every single time either dont say anything or change the subject.

tbh the ignoring honestly just feels worse than blatant antisemitism, like damn sorry for existing as a jewish person!!!! the indirect silent antisemitism is what pisses me off the most. and its not like them not knowing my cultural dishes or history is what bothers me, im more than happy to educate ppl! its the fact that they'll be, for over an hour non-stop, talking in the gc and then when i mention something to do with being jewish, the entire gc will go dead silent and not talk till someone changes the subject or they'll skip over my msg!!! being jewish and trying to exist in non-jewish spaces is so fucking hard and i am tired!!!!!!!

(this is also why dating as a young person is so fucking scary cause literally everyone in every political side hates jews and i feel like im only ever going to feel 100% safe in a jewish relationship but i also live in an area where i am 99% sure my family are the only jews and its sooooo fucking isolating. and also the nearest shul [which is quite far away btw like i have to train for over 2 hours to get there] only has old people or like extremely young people, even on holidays!!! i even went there for rosh hashanah and not even one njb my age!!!! [also all the honey cake was gone by the time i got through talking to everyone who greeted me and im still upset ngl] i also had to change unis cause the only uni nearby was flying the palestine flag everywhere and saying genuinely the most awful fucking things ab jews and israel(is) and i couldnt go there without having a panic attack so now im doing online uni and i literally never leave my house and i feel like im going a little insane #nothavingagoodtime)

#iamnotproofreadingthiscauseiamtiredandhungryandmildlyupset

thank u for coming to my ted talk

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I’m literally on thr verge of tears

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being a queer person engaged to a jew, both of whom hold moderate-left views, feels very politically isolating right now. every day i wake up to my friends and people i follow posting about palestine with no regard given for the israeli hostages, no thought spared for the rampant antisemitism plaguing the world. i miss being able to talk to my friends about the world at large but it seems like every conversation will turn into hamas propaganda eventually.

sometimes it feels like jewish spaces online are the only place where i can be surrounded by like-minded people (mattxiv has infected most queer spaces to be violently anti-israel), but i never want to overstep and intrude given that i'm just a jew-in-law.