#I don't think you've actually ever talked to a european to be honest. the only people who will claim that racism isn't a thing are literally

[meezer]

as opposed to americans, who have historically been extremely accepting of both poc and "different types of white"

[vergess]

Choosing you as the most likely to give a honest and detailed answer. Feel free to delete, however.

When people are calling Israel a colony, what do they mean? The way I understand that word, a colony is land, controlled by some other country that's elsewhere and run by citizens of that country. That doesn't seem to be the case here, since most Israel citizens are only citizens of Israel, not something else, and there's no "main" country they're representing and can return to. Or are people using "colony" metaphorically here?

Before Tumblr mobs me - I don't like Israel and don't support it.

Israel began as a British colony of Palestine in the post WW1 era, around 1920. The people responsible for the genocide are almost entirely of European origin who were moved to Palestine after WW2 (in the 1940s and 1950s) to avoid returning to the homelands where they'd been given up to the nazis by their neighbors.

Today, however, the bulk of the colonization effort is managed by the US military industrial complex.

Now, there are many other people living in Israel, of many faiths and many ethnicities. The Israeli people, be they Jews or otherwise, are also not fans of the genocide, in much the same way the American people are not fans of US genocides.

But the israeli government exists almost entirely as a puppet for US and European colonial goals, and has done since the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin in the 90s.

Prior to that, there was a brief period wherein the rightfully elected leaders of Israel sought peace in the region after throwing off the shackles of British colonialism, which again founded the country and only "ended" (on paper) in the 1950s.

Israel has been a colonial effort for about 2/3s of the century it has existed, including today.

Now, this is a simplified explanation, of course. For example, although it was was a colonial effort, the "return" of Jews to their "homeland" was also a refugee effort, and a repatriation effort.

Jews never really "stopped" being indigenous to the levant even in diaspora. This is extremely obvious if you've ever lived in a Jewish neighborhood, but may come as a shock to a lot of people used to thinking of the assimilated mask Jews wear in Christian societies as our "true" selves.

My family were nondiasporic Jews until me, which I gather is an... unusual perspective that many people don't see often. You'll have to take me at my word, I think, because it's difficult to explain. But Jews never actually "became white" the way people so desperately want to believe. Some jews learned to pass for white, yes, but that isn't the same thing.

Jews, even the Ashkenazim (the "white european" ones) have a right to return home the same as anyone. And not just because I'm a fan of open borders.

But here's the deal.

Mizrahim (Jews who remained in the middle east rather than living in diaspora) are literally treated as inferior, as "arabs" (a colonial term) regardless of religion or ethnicity. To be a Jew is not enough. You have to be the right kind. This is true of other Jews of Colour in Israel as well, often to an even greater extreme, as any Ethiopian Jew in Israel damned well knows.

This also... well, I've talked about it a bit before, but this summary is also casting a very cruel light on the concept of Jewish citizenship being automatically granted in the case of Jewish descent. Which isn't fair of me at all.

In a world without all the goddamned genocide, having a reduced immigration process for the children of emigrants is perfectly fucking common and normal and many countries do it, including the US.

And this also doesn't touch upon the critical political reality that Israel exists as a place for bigots to throw their jews away instead of straight up killing us.

So, okay, this got away from me.

Basically, Israel as a state is a colony of the US (today) and UK (historic), which is armed almost entirely by the US, and which attacks targets the US deems "of interest." The fact that the colony is populated by repatriated indigenous peoples doesn't really change that.

If anything, it deepens the horror, because many of the Jews involved in the genocide against Palestine genuinely (and fairly) believe that this is the last place on earth where a Jewish person can reasonably expect religious safety. Genuinely, and fairly, believe that it's a choice between "the genocide of all Jews globally or the elimination of a single '''Arab''' city."

They're wrong, but not irrational.

In a way, the existence of global antisemitism is the justification that fuels the ongoing palestinian genocide.

Though in practical terms, it is "fueled" by US weapons. The US wants to own Israel and use it as a launching off point for US violence in the region, without the US having to take the blame.

"See? It's all just poor, innocent Israel defending itself*!"

*(entirely with US weapons and often on US orders, often with weapons given to Israel rather than purchased, solely to further destabilize a religiously and financially significant region and furthermore to instill a sense of fear of Israel's neighbors and gratitude to the US)

For another example of a colony-of-the-repatriated, you can check out the history of civil war in Liberia, after the US just dumped a bunch of freed slaves there instead of killing them. Unsurprisingly, it went fucking Badly. However, because Liberia was not considered a "valuable" colony, less study tends to be done into the complexities of that.

Or, I mean, there's always "the life history of Osama Bin Laden" which is kind of like a one man speedrun of what the US is doing with all of Israel.

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[mermaidsirennikita]

Weekly Book Recs: 10/20-10/27

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

I liked The Ex Hex--and I liked this one even more. Pair a prickly man who likes to wear vests (and one time, a sweater vest) with a wild woman who thinks he's the most boring thing ever? Yes. It begins as a rival witch store thing, and spins into a mystery with some fairly high stakes. The entire time, it's funny, light, and sexy. (Yes, she does ride his face in the back of a truck at one point. Yes, it's great.) These are the perfect Halloween season romcoms, and this one puts the talking cat forward.

Saint by Sierra Simone

If Priest is this erotic operatic angstfest and Sinner a surprisingly sorrowful titillationfest, Saint is a truly reflective, emotional piningfest. Aiden Bell, erstwhile monk who really, really struggles with still being in love with his ex-boyfriend Elijah (this is not aided by the fact that they end up touring European monasteries together) is longing. Longing for Elijah, longing for God, longing for a purpose that will keep him from falling back into the black pit of depression. I don't know if any book I've read before has better described depression, in a way I truly related to. I will say--this is gorgeous and hot and swooningly romantic and surprisingly funny at points, but it is very honest about mental health, so handle with care.

Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks

I've been wanting to read Maya Banks for forever, and I wasn't disappointed. This is a well-written (and surprisingly sweet) medieval romance, centered around a hero who is actually a lot gentler than I expected, and a heroine whose deafness has led everyone to believe she is "daft". There's a really lovely romance between the two of them, with Graeme so determined to be ethical and not touch his wife, despite how attracted to her he is, because he doesn't actually believe she can consent. Whereas not only can Eveline consent--she super, super wants to. Graeme was great; Eveline was even better, a really fab heroine who absolutely made the book.

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare

I always forget just how good Tessa Dare is at her job until I read another Tessa Dare. She's just good! She's fucking good--great, really. Few authors hit the sweet spot between humor, heat, and emotion that she does. And this is her debut, which I've seen her poke fun at on social media. As a writer, I get that, but it's really quite strong and already has the distinct "Tessa" voice. It's hilarious and it's sexy, and has just the right sprinkling of angst to keep it from being boring. The plot is pretty simple--brother's best friend sort of helps our heroine make the guy she thinks she's in love with jealous. But Lucy is just such a batshit heroine, constantly driving Jeremy insane with her tendency to get into trouble--and her tendency to give him a massive boner, frankly. If you need something that will make you smile throughout--and then throw in a... sickeningly hot pair of angry sex scenes.... look no more, you've got it here.

Highlander Most Wanted by Maya Banks

Oof, this one is a lot--and I'll tell you right now, recovering from rape and abuse (neither by the hero) is a big part of the plot. Genevieve is a wounded and deeply lovable heroine; after reading two Maya Banks books back to back, I'm really impressed by how she writes heroines especially. And so far, both of the heroes I've read by her have been loving and fierce but gentle with their women. It's a unique take on a medieval hero. It's somewhat light on plot and big on character development, a romantic book about recovery and coming to terms with the past.

[filmnoirsbian]

It's hard to talk about my faith as a Christian without sounding like I'm trying to convert people. They seem to think that all Christians are inherently oppressive and when I try to explain how missionaries also do good, they don't listen. Do you ever feel like you aren't allowed to discuss your faith?

Firstly, I don't believe that missionaries do good. To deny the irreparable harm and cultural genocide that missionaries have done to so many vulnerable communities across the world is to deny reality. Somewhere along the line, the concept of "spreading God's word" began to mean only "proselytize" rather than "take the love and kindness for your fellow man that god taught you and spread that by helping others and living good lives." Doing good because you want something is not actually doing good. Transactional goodness is not godly.

Secondly, if you're having trouble discussing your faith without being accused of proselytizing, maybe reconsider the way you talk about Christianity with non-Christians. I am always honest and open when discussing my faith and I've never been accused of trying to convert someone--largely because I genuinely believe that faith is an inherently personal thing and that the act of converting to a different religion is something that you should not be persuaded or led into, but instead a decision that you must come to on your own.

Thirdly, it's impossible to argue that Christianity has not been used as a tool of oppression via european colonialism, predominantly in the west. But in those conversations, it is important to highlight the persecution that black and brown Christians suffer all over the world, especially in the south east, the levant, and north africa. These are people who are almost always forgotten by the west, and should always be part of the conversation regarding religious persecution.

It's true that many people--both conservative Christians and atheist leftists--need to learn how to discuss religion in a more respectful way. Sometimes I find myself having to explain my faith (& religion in general), but I typically view these conversations as a good test of my own reasoning, rather than growing defensive. What do I believe? Why do I believe it? How can I reconcile what I've been taught with who I am? I think it's good to ask yourself these questions every once in a while, if only to strengthen your beliefs and your relationship with your god(s). Believing in something unquestioningly just because you were raised with it is never going to give you the joy and comfort of knowing that you came to your belief system willfully. The goal, in discussing religion, should never be to convert the other person to "your side." It should simply be to leave feeling that you've both reached a higher level of understanding. Religion exists for many reasons, but one reason that crosses through every religion is to offer us an answer.

I hope this helps 💝