#and i never claimed that i speak hebrew

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

Big news! The US, and right after it, Canada, Australia and Italy, as well as the UK and Finland, have ALL frozen their financial support of UNRWA, following evidence presented to them that some of the UN agency's employees participated in the Hamas massacre.

To add to the news, this is NOT the first scandal involving this agency. UNRWA facilities have been continuously used for terrorist activity, UNRWA teachers and employees have been repeatedly called out for their support of antisemitism and terrorism, the same goes for UNRWA textbooks and schools, where antisemitism and terrorism are encouraged. It's even been asked why UNRWA still exists. Palestinians are the only ones who get their own refugee agency. Every other refugee, from every other country in the world, including ones suffering far greater humanitarian disasters, are treated by the general UN refugees agency, UNHCR. And unlike UNHCR, UNRWA does not look to solve the plight of the refugees it claims to help. If it's not enough that it's unclear why should Palestinians get their own agency, and why does it perpetuate the problem of Paletsinian refugees rather than help solve it, or why is there a separate definition for Palestinian refugees than for all other ones, Palestinian refugees also get more funding (through UNRWA) than any other refugee in the world. Just to highlight the absurdity, celeb millionaires Bella and Gigi Hadid, and their millionaire father Mohamed, are all still considered Palestinian refugees according to UNRWA's definition, despite obviously being well integrated into other countries.

Something I wanna add is about proportions within the UN and UNRWA employment. Globally, the UN says it directly employees 37,000 people. UNRWA's website says over 30,000 people work for it, and most are Palestinians, "with a small number of internation staff." That means UNRWA seems internation and impartial thanks to being counted as a UN body, but in reality, it is a Palestinian orgnization. It could never be impartial, like it wants to appear. But then it gets quoted endlessly by other UN bodies, as if UNRWA's data is impartial and reliable. It's been said more than once that many Hamas members are also employed by UNRWA, and in fact, Hamas has already voiced its displeasure over the funding to UNRAW being stopped. If Hamas is unhappy about it, when Hamas has been killing its own population, that says Hamas has its own vested interest in this organization.

Funding for UNRWA has been frozen before, but then restored. So that's not a solution. This time, the UN should be pressured to dismantle UNRWA, and move Palestinian refugees to the same definition, the same budget and the same kind of care and solution granted to all other refugees under the UNHCR.

Just a reminder that thanks to the anti-Israel demonization, Jews are not safe anywhere. In London, three people were recently attacked for simply speaking Hebrew. So here's your reminder that Hebrew is the native language of Jews, there are many Jews who try to learn and speak it, and targeting people for just speaking Hebrew is by its very nature antisemitic.

A new study shows that about half of the Israeli citizens evacuated from the north are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. I don't know of a similar current survey regarding the Israelis evacuated from the south, but given the massacre they survived, one can only assume the situation among them is even worse.

These are Lior (right) and his 79 years old dad Chaim Perry (left).

Lior's brother was murdered during the Hamas massacre on Oct 7, and his life long peace activist father Chaim was kidnapped. Lior was asked today what he thought of the International Court of Justice's call yesterday for Hamas to return all of the Israeli hostages, immediately and without any conditions. He said he also calls for the same thing, and it's about as effective.

This is Irena Maman.

She's a resident of the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, but when most of its people were evacuated, Irena refused to. With her husband's help, she's still working as a tailor, and inviting soldiers who need their uniforms fixed to come see her, offering her work to them pro bono.

These are Aviad (left) and Gideon ("Gigi," right) Rivlin.

Four Rivlin brothers went to the Nova music festival together, Aviad, Gigi, Yochai and Yinon. When the terrorist attack started, they were giving the wounded water. At a certain point, they dispersed, with each brother running in a different direction. Aviad and Gigi did not survive. In an interview, their father said he's stopped asking himself why did he lose two sons, and started being thankful for having gotten two back. Gigi was named after his uncle Gideon, who was murdered by a terrorist from Gaza.

May their memories be a blessing.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[iamdronegirl]

Purest Puzzle,

Don’t address me as Hermione, or must I actually curse you for my intentions to be clear?

Did you know that Tom means ‘innocence,’ or ‘purity’ in Hebrew? I find that delightfully ironic.

You seem keen on gaslighting me into thinking that you weren’t, in fact, hiding behind a bookshelf whilst staring at me. Perhaps you should grab a dictionary on your next impromptu trip to the library. On second thought, to save you the effort…and the next victim, “to pursue or approach stealthily,” is the definition you’re looking for.

It’s alright, I won’t tell anyone that you like stalking girls. You don’t have to talk your way out of it, but would it really hurt to put a bit of effort into the things you do?

Regarding the sweet offer from your letter, I wouldn’t dare lean on you, Head Boy, because you’ve got so much product in your hair that I’d probably slide right off.

You say I’m brash and yet you’ve already called me an abomination! I didn’t know strawberries were so aversive to you. I’ll have a chat with the house-elves and ask if they wouldn’t mind mixing tiny bits of fruit into your every meal.

Also, waffles distribute the syrup better. Pancakes are glorified sponges.

If you were my ‘cup of tea,’ I would be dead from poison intake. You are diplomatic in the way of a politician, I suppose. Clever, however? Still debating. Then again, you never claimed that you were those things, only that you preferred them in your company.

I’m thrilled to meet these impressive friends of yours after the holiday. Fingers crossed they’re the ones who might find my nature charming.

Don’t worry about speaking with Dippet regarding my OWLs, I wouldn’t want to take time out of your busy schedule of skulking about the castle. What were your exam scores? Whatever they were, I’m planning to surpass them. When we take the NEWTs, perhaps we can have a proper rivalry. A very distant, very unacquainted, lonesome rivalry, of course.

I asked you to leave me be, and yet I’m writing you another letter. I’m afraid that my pride won’t allow you to remain unchecked. As you said yourself, don’t write such a terrible letter to which I have no choice but to respond.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! In two days, you can put the coal in your stocking to good use, rather than casting all those incessant warming charms on yourself.

With indifference,

HG

FF: “This is how you lose the time war” by @fleabagshair

AI-art by Your Journey , commissioned by me

[fayoftheforest]

human kite & antisemitism

In the notes of my recent meta on Vampire Kyle AUs, a user reflected on how similar antisemitic stereotypes might overlap with his TFBW character as well. Since I also have some thoughts on this and enjoyed putting together the last lil post I thought I’d do another on this subject too :) 

South Park Fandom Wiki states that Human Kite is heavily inspired by Superman, “being a faraway alien with the ability to fly and to shoot lasers out of his eyes, even wearing a costume with the color red, yellow, and blue and a symbol in his chest to match.”  I think this is pretty cool! Superman was created by Jewish immigrants and is very Jewish-coded in his origin story, being “a refugee with the Hebrew-inspired name ‘Kal-El’ who escaped a dying world and fought Nazis during World War II” (JewishUnpacked). I don’t know if Tratt were aware of these roots, but either way, I think it’s pretty neat :)

South Park Fandom Wiki also claims that Kyle playing an alien character “may be a reference to how Adolf Hitler did not consider Jews ‘human.’" This is. Uh. Less neat.

Similarly upsetting is the name itself, Human Kite, which is a play on words with the horrific ethnic slur “kike.” American Jewish Committee posits that the term “is derived from the Yiddish word for circle, ‘kikel,’ a reference to how Jewish immigrants at Ellis Island signed their entry forms: a circle as opposed to an X, which Jews associated with the cross of Christianity. Immigration officers described those who signed forms with a circle as ‘kikel,’ eventually being shortened to ‘kike.’”

Did Matt and Trey really create his entire character just so that Cartman could call him Human Kike that one time? I can’t say for certain, just in the same way I don’t have a direct quote from them confirming the reasoning behind their selections of names for Kyle and Ike. But I can tell you that if you put ‘em together and you get… yeah. Yep. “Kike” again. Thank you, Tratt, very cool 👍Get a new joke maybe :/

Now, let’s talk specifically about his laser powers. Up until researching for this meta, I had presumed that Kyle’s ability to shoot lasers from his eyes was a direct reference to the Jewish Space Laser conspiracy popularised to the public by terrifyingly influential political figure Marjorie Taylor Greene. In 2018, Greene wrote a Facebook rant speculating that the California wildfires were caused by a giant laser floating in space, owned by the Jews. Very normal thing to believe :|

However, during my research, I realised that these timelines did not match up. As mentioned, Greene’s rant was shared in 2018, but didn’t go viral until 2021. Meanwhile, South Park’s The Fractured But Whole was released way back in 2017! What I had initially assumed was another antisemitic reference is in fact just a dreadful and ridiculous coincidence. Nonetheless, It’s still a commonality that’s worth pointing out, I think.

Just as an aside, I’d like to take this opportunity to give a shoutout to cousin Kyle’s version of Human Kite. Everything about him is an egregious Jewish caricature, from his irritating, snivelling voice to his long list of health issues. It’s not my fault that the limited Jewish gene pool has fucked me over, Tratt! Leave me alone! A meta about antisemitism within Cousin’s Kyle characterisation would be a mile long, so I’ll spare you that for now.

Anyway, what does this all mean when we’re creating fan content around TFBW? Must we just chuck the Human Kite persona into a blender and never speak of it again? Not necessarily. Speaking as a Jewish fandom member, I quite enjoy reading and writing Human Kite. It’s a fun character to play around with! Despite his unfortunate roots, I don’t believe including him is innately antisemitic. It just depends on how you go about doing it! If he’s not secretly running the world, controlling the banks and Hollywood, or consuming the blood of innocent Christians, you’re on the right track. 

You could even go for a little meta-commentary and acknowledge the antisemitic coding within the text! Here’s an example of how I did that in my upcoming TFBW reality swap fic (don’t question why there’s two of everyone, it makes sense within the text lmao)

“Wait, you’re telling me in an alternate reality we’re all aliens?” Kyle gawks at this funhouse-mirror version of himself, who’s busy gawking right back. “No, Kyle, just—just you,” Kenny says. “Oh.” Kyle narrows his eyes. “You know, it’s difficult not to interpret this with antisemitic undertones.” “What, like the Jewish Space Laser conspiracy?” Cartman asks. Mysterion frowns. “Jewish people have space lasers in your universe?” “No,” Cartman sighs and shakes his head forlornly, before muttering, “it’s a made-up rumour to perpetuate mistrust and hatred towards the Jewish community.” “Alright, don’t sound so disappointed,” Kyle huffs. “Guys!” Stan says. “Can we not start this argument again?” “I never said it was a cool rumour, Kyle!” Cartman snaps defensively. “Obviously it’s super harmful and whatever. All I meant was that it would have been cool if it were real. Because, like, space lasers are awesome! Right?” He looks to Kite, apparently presuming that they’re an authority on the matter. “Um.” Kite blinks, then says hesitantly, “I can shoot lasers… from my eyes. And once I did sort of fly up into space and magnify the lasers to destroy Chaos’s tin foil factory. So, uh. Does that help?” Cartman’s face lights up and is split in half by an enthusiastic grin. “It helps a lot, actually.” Kyle groans and pinches his nose. “You have no idea how much education you’ve just undone, dude.” He opens his eyes to glower at Kite. Kenny glances at Chaos. “Tin foil factory?” Chaos waves a hand dismissively. “Outsourcing proved more efficient.”

There we go! A lighthearted little nod, which acknowledges potential antisemitic readings of Human Kite, without justifying or excusing it. It’s not at all necessary when creating fan content around Human Kite, but just know that that’s an option to you, if you so choose. Just make sure antisemites are the butt of your joke, and not Jewish people, lmao.

I’ll finish up by returning to my general sentiment that I held in my Vamp!Kyle post. If you conduct your creations with a basic level of awareness and self-reflection, you’ll probably be alright. Just stay in the know, and you’re all good to go 😎

[disparition]

I see a lot of articles and public posts these days about “your Jewish friends” and how we all supposedly feel.

I was raised in a secular American Jewish family. I have never been to Israel. I don’t speak Hebrew. No one in my immediate family is a supporter of Israel, as far as I am aware in every discussion I’ve had with them, they are appalled by the actions of Israel and have been for decades. 

But that’s not the case with my extended family. In fact even discussion of the subject has torn parts of my family apart and some folks are no longer speaking with each other. Which was already the case well before the current increase in violence. 

And it's not the case with my circle of friends and colleagues. Many Jewish peers of mine - past and present - are espousing views that do not represent me in the slightest, some of which horrify me, and which often claim to represent me. They don't.

To some Jewish people, I’m probably considered a “fake Jew”. I don’t really give a shit. I hate purism in all forms anyway. Judaism is and always has been a major part of my identity, and my ethnicity, and that’s not going to change because of anyone else’s opinion, or by how anyone reacts to mine.

I have a lot of complicated thoughts about the existence and history of Israel, just as I do my own nation - America - both nations built on stolen land, both nations’ very existence a product of settler colonialism. 

But right now I’m not doing a deep dive into the history. I just want to say something really simple:

If you consider yourself Jewish, and you are appalled by the actions of Israel - whether the Netanyahu government specifically or deeper into history - if you are confused and horrified by nationalism, by state violence, or if you feel that you aren’t “truly” Jewish, or if you feel alienated from your peers or community because you have any or all of these conflicted feelings, please know this:

You are not alone

[xclowniex]

"Jews" are not the enemy, but those who justify an ethnonationalist state. Look at all the Jewish people on the left speaking out against your bullshit - oh yeah, except you claim we "Aren't real jews".

1. Please provide me where I have ever said or endorsed a post which said that anti zionsist or non zionists jews are not real jews, as I do not think that and have never said that.

2. Israel is not an ethnostate. Ethnostate is defined as a state which limits citizenship to one ethnicity or a state where one ethnicity dominates others.

In regards to citizenship laws in Israel, automatic citizenship applies to jews who can prove heritage and children born in Israel and has at least one parent who at the time of birth has Israrli citizenship.

Naturalization aka non automatic citizenship is open to anyone who has been living there for 3 years with a residency visa and can show proficiency in Hebrew aka the main language spoken.

So obviously it doesn't fit the definition of only one ethnicity being able to gain citizenship.

Whether or not it counts under the definition of one ethnicity dominating others depends on what you count as dominating.

Israel's population is 73.2% Jewish. 21.1% are non Jewish Arabs. 5.7% are classified as other. Those stats are from December 2023. (Source)

If you classify that as an ethnostate, then so is New Zealand as 70.2% are European as of the 2018 census. (Source) However, New Zealand is factually not an ethnostate.

If over 25% of Israel's population is not Jewish, it is an ethonsate? Cause most people would look at those figures if they were for others countries and not Israel and go no.

Further more, this study here, goes in depth on Jewish make-up besides Jewishness. Eg, Arab jews, USSR jews, African jews, etc. All of those jews in Israeli count as just Jewish unless specified otherwise by said jew.

3. Jews across time have and will continue to disagree on matters. Jews have and will continue to disagree on zionism and if its good, bad, neutral or something else. All Jewish opinons are valid. Like I said, I do not think someone is any less a real jew for being antizionist or non zionist.

[androgynealienfemme]

"The main justification for invalidating butch-femme is that its an imitation of heterosexual roles and, therefore, not a genuine lesbian model. One is tempted to react by saying "So what?" but the charge encompasses more than betrayal of an assumed fixed and "true" lesbian culture. Implicit in the accusation is the denial of cultural agency to lesbians, of the ability to shape and reshape symbols into new meanings of identification. Plagiarism, as the adage goes, is basic to all culture.

In the real of cultural identity, that some of the markers of a minority culture's boundaries originate in an oppressing culture is neither unusual nor particularly significant. For instance, in the United States certain kind of bead- and ribbon work are immediately recogniziable as specific to Native American cultures, wherein they serve artistic and ceremonial functions. Yet beads, trinkets, ribbons, and even certain "indian" blanket patterns were brought by Europeans, who traded them as cheap goods for land. No one argues that Indians out to give up beadwork or blanket weaving, thus ridding themselves of the oppressors symbols, because those things took on a radically different cultural meaning in the hands of Native Americans. Or consider Yiddish, one of the jewish languages. Although Yiddish is written in Hebrew characters and has its own idioms and nuances, its vocabulary is predominantly German. Those who speak German can understand Yiddish. Genocidal Germanic anti-Semitism dates back to at least the eleventh century. Yet East European Jews spoke "the oppressors language," developing in it a distinctive literary and theatrical tradition. Why is it so inconceivable that lesbians could take elements of heterosexual sex roles and remake them?

*

It is June 1987, and I am sitting in a workshop on "Lesbians and Gender Roles" at the annual National Women's Studies Conference. It is one of surprisingly few workshops on lesbian issues, particularly since, at a plenary session two mornings later, two thirds of the conference attendees will stand up as lesbians. Meanwhile, in this workshop the first speaker is spending half an hour on what she calls "Feminism 101," a description of heterosexual sex roles. Her point in doing this, she says, is to remind us of the origin of roles, "which are called butch and femme when lesbians engage in them." She tells us the purpose of her talk will be to prove, from her own experience, that "these roles are not fulfilling" for lesbians. She tells us that the second speaker will use lesbian novels from the 1950s to demonstrate the same thesis. And, indeed, the second speaker has a small stack of 1950s "pulp paperbacks" with her, many of them the titles that, when I discovered them in the mind-1970s, resonated for me in a way that the feminist books published by Daughters and Diana Press did not.

I consider for several minutes. I'm well versed in lesbian literature, particularly in the fifties novels, and don't doubt my ability to adequately argue an opposing view with the second presenter. I am curious to see if she will use the publisher-imposed "unhappy ending" to prove that roles make for misery. I also decide I'm willing to offer my own experience to challenge the first presenters conclusions- though I'd much rather sit with her over coffee and talk. She is in her midforties and, although she claims to have renounced it, still looks butch. Even if she speaks of roles negatively, she has been there and I want to hear her story. Then I look around me. Everyone is under thirty. There are a few vaguely butch-looking women present who'd very likely consider themselves to be as androgynous as everyone else, and not a single, even remotely femme-looking women besides myself. I recall Alice Walker's advice to "never be the only one in the room." Quietly, I get up and walk out. I go to no other lesbian presentations at the conference."

“Recollecting History, Renaming Lives: Femme Stigma and the feminist seventies and eighties" by Lyndall MacCowan, The Persistent Desire, (edited by Joan Nestle) (1992)

[juana-the-iguana]

Navigating media during war

Here are some tips to navigate the conflict without a paid subscription. Disclaimer, I am based in the United States and this advice is for people in the US. These tips may apply for all wars, but I wrote this with the Israel-Hamas conflict in mind.

My qualifications: I am a reporter who has worked on both local, state, national and international stories. I have covered breaking news, and have done enterprising news and investigative journalism. I will graduate with a MA in Journalism in a month. 

Reasons to question my authority: I have less than five year of professional experience. I have never reported on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or anywhere else in the Middle East. I speak neither modern Hebrew nor Arabic. 

Moving on:

The best tip I can give you is pick a few good news sources and wait two days after any given event or incident before claiming to understand what happened.

In the United States, our news industry is incentivized toward breaking news, which means that organizations sometimes air information without having time to thoroughly fact check it. This becomes especially evident in times of war, when it is hard to obtain information and even on-the-ground reporters don't have the full picture of what's happening.

You are not going to find a perfect news organization. They're all going to fuck up in some capacity. If you have a strong stance on this issue, you're going to be more sensitive to those mistakes and real or perceived biases. (And, for the record, it is possible for one organization to hold multiple biases depending on the time of day, presenter and facet of the war being discussed.) That's why it is genuinely important to consume multiple news sources.

So if you're wondering why I chose these sources it's because a) they're free, b) they issue corrections when they're wrong and c) they do not engage in disinformation.

In no particular order: BBC, Reuters, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, AP. You should not rely on only one of these. You should fact-check these against bias sources that don't outright lie. 

Now onto the sources you should avoid. Let's get into disinformation: What is it? 

Disinformation is the intentional spreading of false information. It's lying. Misinformation is inaccurate information that is spread around, but not done with malice.

All news organizations have misinformation at some point. You should NEVER trust a news organization that engages in disinformation, about anything, unless several years have passed, the people responsible for the disinformation have been thoroughly purged from the group and they cite every goddamn thing they said.

The two big organizations I recommend avoiding because they engage in disinformation are Fox News and Al Jazeera.

Fox News lied about the 2020 election in the United States and actively contributed to an attempted insurrection. Al Jazeera is an arm of the Qatari state and has lied repeatedly about, well, just about everything of interest to the Qatari government, but especially Israel. They have made several highly consequential lies in this ongoing conflict that have had tangible, catastrophic consequences on the entire globe. 

Advocacy groups are not news outlets.

Also, don't trust terrorist organizations. Yes, the UN, WHO, Amnesty International and pretty much every NGO under the sun and the vast majority of news organizations cite them, but that's not because they're reliable, it's because they're the only group releasing information from Gaza.

You shouldn't take the IDF at face value either, but if what the IDF is saying is verified by the US, EU and/or other reliable, third parties, then that information is probably true. 

No news source is perfect. That's just a fact. I cannot stress the importance of looking at multiple sources.

Here are some things to look out for when watching/reading the news.

- If a news source is attributing facts to two different sources, ask yourself, "why?" Information is hard to come by. Sometimes one source doesn't report everything you want to know. But sometimes you know your source is unreliable, you don't have any alternatives, so you want to distance yourself from that. What does this look like? 

You might see people cite two sources to report death counts in Gaza: the Palestinian Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, and Save the Children which analyzes information about the number of children killed. Save the Children gets the estimated number of deaths from Hamas. 

- Does it make sense to have this information at this time? If there was an explosion and a government states that 500 people died in it, well, how much time did it take them to count those bodies? Does that sound feasible?

- When you're listening to eye-witness interviews, do their perspectives or narratives match up with the physical scenes you are seeing? They might not be lying, it could be a miscommunication, but for the context it is presented in, it might not be accurate.

Language to look out for:

Occupation, blockade, siege, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, ethnic cleansing, legitimate military targets and apartheid are all distinct things. All of them, with the exception of apartheid, have specific legal definitions. If people are using these things interchangeably, maybe they're sharing opinions. That doesn't mean that what they're saying isn't valuable, but it does mean that you probably shouldn't cite them when debating international law.

Now let's elaborate on "occupation" for a second. Egypt occupied Gaza from 1949 to 1967. Then Israel occupied Gaza until 2005. In 2007 Israel started the blockade on Gaza and last month, after the 10/7 massacre, they started a siege. As noted above, these are distinct things.

If people are talking about occupation or settlements in the context of this conflict it means either one of four things:

- They are talking about the West Bank, which is under occupation and where settlements do exist

- They are talking about the history of Gaza pre 2005

- They do not know that Gaza isn't under occupation and that there are no longer settlements there (which means that they are not an informed source)

- Or they assume the entire Israeli state is occupying Palestine which, whether you like it or not, is not factually or correct

Just because something feels wrong doesn't mean it is illegal. Occupations, blockades, sieges, the use of white phosphorous and bombing areas where you know there are civilians are all legal in certain contexts. 

Legality might not matter to you personally, but when you're watching the news and trying to assess who is sharing facts and who is sharing opinions, you should keep this in mind.

Other notes:

- Rockets need fuel. Ventilation systems in tunnels need fuel. 

- Movies and tv shows are filmed in Gaza and the West Bank. If you see a photo of someone in a body bag texting or women laughing while painting a baby doll red, it might be a behind-the-scenes video from one of those things.

- There are a lot of AI generated pictures being used, especially in propaganda. Count fingers, arms, legs and look at backgrounds to see if what you are seeing makes sense. But for the love of god, if you don't like something, that doesn't mean it's AI.

- There are a lot of photos circulating from past wars. Be careful before you reblog. Reverse Google image search is your friend. 

- If you are not sure if something is real or not, wait a week. If the US, EU and dozens of journalists say it is true, believe it.

Finally, social media. When is it appropriate to use social media for news?

News aggregates are usually okay. I'm talking places like r/worldnews. They are pulling from other news organizations, so they can repeat those flaws, but they give you a mix of headlines from multiple sources. And they'll very often post large parts, if not the entirety, of articles from sources from the New York Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal that have paywalls in the comments. But also beware the comments because they can be disgusting.

Social media is also very good for sharing the individual human experience. The issue with that is that you can't always vet the person on camera or being spoken about, so they could be lying, spreading misinformation and it isn't the whole picture. 

This needs to be said again and again: social media dehumanizes people. You know this, but you will fall victim to it anyway. Your algorithm will do its best to show you the best versions of the people and groups you like, and the worst versions of the people and groups you don't like to make you feel justified in adopting dehumanizing beliefs. 

For anyone interested, I'm going to update the list of news sources I think are trustworthy in the next few days. I've found a few small, independent and/or foreign outlets that use open source intelligence (OSINT) in their reporting and they seem pretty reliable to me, but I want to vet them a bit further.

EDITED: Removed the name of a news organization that I previously said I thought was reliable. They did not issue a correction after uncritically repeating Hamas's lie that the al-Ahli hospital parking lot bombing was an Israeli airstrike that killed 500 people, and spent days repeating these false claims as if they were fact.

[millenniumproductions]

If it does pass through

I just wanted to say... Thank you. For following me, for liking my writing, my stories, and speaking with me.

Growing up, I didn't exactly have a lot of friends, only two. One just left me behind without ever telling me why, and the other was moved away from me, and I didn't get to properly say goodbye.

I met and became mutuals with SO MANY amazing artists and writers on here, and in a way... It filled that friendless void in my heart.

Fun fact: I never told any of my family members about this account or my Ao3.

Mostly because of the fact that my Dad and his girlfriend are both Trumpers and hate ANYTHING LGBTQ and Democrat related.

And I have to admit... I was like them at first.

But then I realized that I was Bisexual and Asexual, and I saw with all of your guys' posts that Trump wasn't this "American Hero" that my father claimed he was.

This site also helped me with my writing skills. I'm not like NOVELIST level yet, but I've DEFINITELY gotten better than when I constantly had to do essays during my middle and high school years.

I actually picked out the name "Millennium Productions", because I used to dream of becoming a Youtuber and wanted to make AMVs due to them being my favorite kind of videos at the time.

I'm honestly on the verge of crying as I'm typing this because... It feels like that healed up part of me is gonna break again if this stupid KOSA thing does go through.

I'm gonna turn twenty-one in September, meaning I'll technically be considered a "real" adult, so I don't know what'll happen after that, and I'm HONESTLY scared.

SO MUCH SHIT happened in like the span of a month.

I might reblog more stuff from my Likes because I want to at least give the people I admire on here more attention if I can.

But if this is the last time we end up seeing each other, then I have this to say:

FUCK KOSA

FUCK AI ART

FREE PALESTINE

FREE GAZA

VOTE FOR CORNEL WEST BECAUSE HE MIGHT BE OUR ONLY HOPE

FUCK BIDEN

FUCK TRUMP

FUCK NIJISANJI

FUCK PR*SHIPPING

FUCK INC*ST

FUCK P*DOPHILIA

FUCK PREDATORS

DON'T LET THEM SILENCE YOU NO MATTER WHAT THEY TRY TO DO

KEEP DOING WHAT YOU LOVE

By the way... I wanna leave you with something personal if I never come back.

My middle name... Is Miera.

It means "giving light" or "shining" in Hebrew.

Finally, to all of the artists and writers who inspired me this past year and all of my followers...

THANK YOU.

[kittenwithabass]

source

These are 2 slides from an instagram post by Gen-Z Aotearoa, a New Zealand (Aotearoa) based organisation of "Gen-Z activists". There are more slides not in the post, you can find them at the link above. ID in alt. I'm a member of gen z from Aotearoa and was about to apply to join their communications team just 15 minutes ago, right before I saw this post.

Anybody seeing this probably already knows/agrees with everything I'm about to say. This post claims that the Houthis are rebels and supports them, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah. How do I even begin to describe how much this pains me to see? The Houthis are absolutely not "rebels". They are a terrorist group. Their flag says curse upon the Jews, and since I know these people don't care about us, it also says death to America. How anybody can claim that the Houthis are rebels or freedom fighters when the exact opposite is true, when you can tell this is not true from knowing any single thing about them? I'm clueless.

And I absolutely shouldn't have to explain why Hamas are terrorists. Not after they violently raped and murdered over a thousand Israelis and kidnapped 200 more. Not after they killed my friend. They murdered my friend and filmed it while laughing. And this is just on October 7th; not even including all their atrocities before and after that single day.

It baffles me, really. How can a group that claims to be "activists," go and spout such lies? This helps no one. It doesn't help Palestinians, all it does is give you fake internet points and scare jewish people.

I'm Jewish. I'm proud to be Jewish. But I'm scared. Terrified. I've done everything I can to avoid being clocked: I stopped speaking Yiddish and Hebrew, I changed my phone contacts to English (they were all in Hebrew), I never tell anyone irl that I'm Jewish, I hide my siddurim when people come over. I'm white-passing enough. Surely there's no way for someone to clock me as Jewish, and yet. I'm so scared. I can't leave my house. All my friends don't care at best, cheer on Hamas at worst. I want to take down the mezzuzah on the front door. Even online I can't escape antisemitism, this is the first time I've used tumblr in days. My friend's favourite rapper is a nazi. I log onto instagram and the first thing I see is that post and my friend posting violent antisemitism on its story.

I don't know what the point of all this is. I think what I'm trying to say is, if you're an "activist," why are jews scared of you? Shouldn't you be trying to protect minorities?

And to be perfectly clear, this is an issue of leftist antisemitism. My country recently elected our most conservative government in decades. I am scared of them as a queer person. I am scared for my Maori and poc friends. I am not scared of them as a Jewish person. Who am I afraid of as a Jewish person? My friends. People I've marched with at pride. The leaders of the left leaning parties.

Listen to my goyim, and listen to me clear: SORT YOUR SHIT OUT.

[docholligay]

Doubt

 This is what I read/talked about for Shavuot, as according to my congregation's tradition of sharing teaching and ideas with each other. Because it was made for a Jewish audience, and made to be spoken instead of written, it may come off as different or less smooth than some of my other writings. But I know some of you wanted to see it, and I hope it's interesting enough. It's based on the reading above. I considered recording me speaking it instead but then, well, didn't. 

The Hebrews wandered the desert for forty years, never knowing where they were going and when they would get there. 

I never understood why God laid such a punishment on them, when I was a child, for being cautious, for being afraid. Forty years, because you know your enemy is bigger and stronger than you? My mother had always told me that to be wise was as important as being brave, and I was confused. 

When I was a young woman, I embraced this idea that the weak will roam, and only the strong, those who believe that they can fight against the impossible will claim the land that was promised. The Torah turns as we do, sometimes, reflecting different facets in the light we put it in, and in my youthful anger I found a flame to illuminate my belief. 

I am no longer young, and I know the truth now. 

God made them wander around the desert for forty years so every Jew would understand what it was to be lost. 

“Doubting is but the forefront of faith/a faith in an infinite growth of an unbounded creation.” 

I don’t know if you’ve ever read that during our silent prayer, there are more than a hundred other things you could choose, and so maybe none of you have. But I’ve read this so many times,because I have wandered the desert for the past few years, and doubted. 

I have been in the desert, and I cannot reach water, but I doubt that I can never reach it. That is not a fact, that it is hopeless. And so I keep walking. Doubt is not only the rejection of success, but the rejection of failure. Doubt is to give over the idea of certainty, and open yourself to possibility. 

“A doubting age is one of restlessness” and I have been that. I ran around Europe for a month, and the US another month, and I was looking for different things all of them. Looking for water, and sometimes I’d find it in the London fog, and Louisiana's thick swamp. Sometimes all I was there to do was wind my hands around the bars of a Holocaust memorial, where even in death they still weren’t safe, or run my hand over a plaque to a community razed to the ground, only those brass letters holding it to the earth. 

“Discontent with what is current; Doubt is an idea that is still alive.” 

I don’t know if any of you have ever seen the movie Dogma, and, if you haven’t, I’m not sure most of you would particularly enjoy it, but there end of it has a woman who has encountered angels, demons, and God herself, asked by a forgotten disciple, if she believes. 

“No,” she says,having seen the near end of the creation, “but I have a good idea.” 

My faith began when I learned to doubt. When I let go of the idea that someone had to know, and looked instead at the rabbis and scholars who have made up what we are disagreeing, the folks I see arguing with passion in Torah study, and even as I lay in bed reading the Talmud, arguing with myself, that is when I was able to feel the fire that lit the inside of the temple, and my offering to be burnt on the altar was that I do NOT know. 

But I have a good idea. And it is alive. And it is learning. And God wants me to doubt Him. Or Her, if this author follows the position of Rabbi Kevin Smith, and in doubting God I will not be sure that I am unequal to the task of this study, of this life. I must doubt that this stone is to be picked up at all, and I must doubt that I cannot take the load of this one. 

“To doubt that the past has uncovered all things/is to express faith/that many things are still to be uncovered.” 

When I tell most people, outside of these walls, that I have had a crisis of belief for the past few years, they struggle to believe me. I pray every morning, I have Shabbat dinner every Friday, I study Torah and Hebrew and Jewish philosophy, and all this is true. I seek because I have not found. I think I’m finally learning that faith is not a destination, it’s a journey, and doubt must come with you, because doubt is hope that things do not have to be the way they are right now. 

That’s what it means to be Jewish, to doubt everything because then we can create anything. We can pursue justice, and doubt that it cannot be caught. We can repair the world, and doubt that it will only break again. 

And if it escapes, we will pursue again. If it breaks, we’ll fix it, and we’ll continue to doubt that it’s the end of it. Or at least that’s what it means to me, now. 

Because we have faith that there is ever more to do. That there’s things that haven’t yet begun to grow for the harvest, that there’s rain that hasn’t yet fallen on the dry land, and that every hole I have buried a piece of my heart in, I have to doubt it’s a grave. Maybe it’s a seed. What the fuck do I know? I don’t. I don’t know that I want to anymore. 

“To doubt that we have grown / to our full stature and knowledge / is to express faith that we may develop / into beings of such power and dignity / that we cannot as yet imagine what shall be.” 

I have started to find the beauty in being lost. Just another Hebrew, wandering the desert. When I was young, I burned hot, and the Torah told me exactly what I wanted to hear, because I had certainty in what I knew. It tried to whisper things I did not know, but I refused to doubt that I did not already understand. I stayed in the same place, and I was never lost, and all it did was carve out a rut that God has commanded me, us, everyone, to pull ourselves out of. 

It’s my birthright and my privilege, not to know where I’m going. Not to know who I will be when I reach there. I look back on the path I have tread all around this world, these past years, and I see a woman filled with fire, a woman filled with dust, a woman who is welding away the steel around her soul to create a place where things can live. I do not understand anything, anymore. I don’t know where I’m going, or how I’ll get there. 

And that means I could go anywhere. 

[beautifulpersonpeach]

wait you are korean ?

***

It’s not something I advertise but yes. African too. Mostly fluent in the three biggest European languages but can read and understand Korean, Yoruba, Ewe, Hausa, and to a much smaller extent, Hebrew courtesy my sister-in-law. Since I’m already giving you my bio, Anon, I might as well add that I’m female, queer, and occasionally anti-America but always pro-murder-beheadings-sodomy-untold evil upon-Putin. And because I’ve gotten asks from people unsure how to address me re: my race, background, and culture, I don’t highlight my background often because (1) it’s often not relevant to the conversation, (2) I don’t want people sending me things to translate for them (the fandom already has many wonderful translators, please use them), and (3) …who actually does that? Just going around announcing what they are. Because I kid you not, I’ve actually gotten an ask from someone trying to pick apart my posts before to clarify whether I’m queer, Korean, Black, a woman… demanding that I assert and announce whether I’m any of those things. And that’s just weird.

I’m going on a bit of a tangent here but this just reminded me of something.

A couple months ago I got an ask from someone asking me to confirm something their ‘Korean oomf’ told them about jikook and Jimin. It was nonsense of course, but I didn’t say that at first. I instead asked that person for the source, to allow me speak to their ‘Korean oomf’ on Twitter. Just from the text and the way the grammar was written I could tell the person was a fraud. Scrolling back enough and cross-referencing their username confirmed it. They were a white person pretending to be a 22 year old Korean girl who knew someone that works in BigHit on Twitter. When I confirmed what they were for myself, I went back to the Tumblr person who sent the ask initially. I told them to avoid people who claim to be Korean telling them this or that, to instead stick with known ARMY translators (even solo stans have known legit translators who are actually Korean. At least I know PJMs and MYGs do so they have options too), and pay the most attention to what the members themselves say. They are very consistent. I’m saying this as someone who has seen a lot of idols - one thing about BTS is that all seven of them are very consistent. If you’re just noticing something about a member, I’d say you never really paid attention to them before. Anyway, in both their strengths and weaknesses, BTS are consistent, so listen to them and think for yourself rather than what some self-proclaimed Korean person on the internet is telling you.

I don’t write what I do here to convince anybody. But it’s not escaped my attention that, at least in jikook spaces, people place a premium on what Korean people think. On how k-jikookers feel, and that a good compliment here is to have a Korean joker acknowledge your blog, comment, or point. It stands to reason to some extent since Korean is very nuance-dependent and cultural cues and knowledge is important, but I also see how that deference is ripe for abuse. So, I’m not mad when people occasionally send me asks questioning why I write things or what I mean exactly though I think I’ve been clear, because it shows me people are still thinking critically about the media they consume. No matter who it’s from. I don’t respond because I don’t feel the need to defend myself to anybody, but I overall appreciate the sentiment behind that anon being questioning in the first place.

At the end of the day, I hope the strengths of my arguments can remain no matter my identity. And that we’re all spending more time actually having fun rather than engaging in tedious discourse.

Lol. Soapbox moment over. More fun asks please.

[matan4il]

hi feel free to disregard this if you need to (I only thought to ask you because of your update posts), but someone I know was sharing something about Israel killing a reporter's family (they were claiming it was an intentional act). their source (some guy on insta) seemed questionable and I was having trouble finding anything that confirmed or denied it (as a deliberate assassination of the family, not whether or not the family died). do you know anything about it or have tips for sifting through information?

thank you whether you answer this or not

Hi! No, please don't hesitate to ask me anything. Sorry it took me a moment, I tried looking into it, and I didn't find anything serious confirming it, other than social media content. So this seems for now to have the same reliability level as the rest of Hamas' reports.

But I do know Israel doesn't intentionally target civilians no matter what. Just today the IDF showed it made over 5.98 million direct calls to Gazan civilians, to warn them and get them to evacuate. And that's just one of many means of communication used to warn and hopefully save civilians. I know anti-Israeli activists like to assume the worst about Israel's intentions (I would love to have their apparent powers of mind reading), but no country spends that amount of money on warning civilians, unless it's actually interested in... not killing civilians.

I also did my mandatory service in the army, I know how we were instructed to strive to defend our population as much as possible, while minimizing any harm to civilians on the other side as much as possible. I remember detailing to a friend from San Diego once how many things an Israeli soldier has to do before they can open fire at a suspect (for example, we had to learn how to shout our warning in Arabic, to make sure that there aren't tragic miscommunications because suspects don't speak Hebrew). And it's the fact that I was there, on the ground, I saw with my own eyes how much the IDF tries to avoid harming civilians, that makes me so certain. People will go, "How can you blindly believe Israeli generals?" and I'll be like, "I don't, I know what Israeli sergeants drilled into our heads repeatedly."

But I'll add to that another point. Unlike the claims made by propagandists, it doesn't actually serve Israel to kill reporters. I know anti-Zionists like to claim that Israel is doing it to silence their reports, but the truth is that, the international outcry over even one journalist who was just claimed (not proven) to have been killed intentionally caused Israel more damage than anything she could have reported. Which is exactly why accusations are made immediately by anti-Israelis. Even if they're never proven (as in her case) or they're disproven (as in the case of the al-Ahli hospital explosion), it doesn't matter. The immediate damage is done, the monstrous image of Israel as bloodthirsty is already cemented in some people's minds, and then they never hear anything to the contrary, or if they do, they no longer believe anything that exonerates that "monstrous" country.

Lastly, I'll add that "journalism" is a term that should be taken with a grain (or even pint) of salt in this context. Nothing is reported from Gaza without the approval of Hamas. Even if Israel intentionally killed every "journalist" there, the messages coming out of Gaza would be exactly the same, because they're the only ones approved by Hamas. Those terrorists would just find someone to put in a "press" vest and stand in front of the camera, delivering those messages. So, anyone who tells you Israel has any reason to kill these journalists, either doesn't understand the reality of Gaza, or is intentionally lying.

I hope this helps! Take care, I hope you and yours are all good! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Emily Schrader

Lucy Lipiner is no stranger to antisemitism. A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, she was forced to live through one of the worst atrocities to ever take place in human history. Yet her lived experience still hasn’t prevented the torrent of antisemitic abuse that she, and all Jewish people, currently are experiencing on social media – in particular on Elon Musk’s “X” (formerly known as Twitter). This week was no exception.

“I was appalled at the rise in antisemitism that seemed more blatant – less hidden than in the past and more like what we had seen before the war in Europe. … I felt, as a survivor, compelled to speak up,” she told Ynet.

And she has definitely spoken up. Lipiner regularly uses social media to call out Holocaust denial and revisionism, using her own personal story from Nazi-occupied Poland, as well as her own collection of family photos from the Holocaust, to share the truth.

From taking on former UFC fighter Jake Shields for spreading antisemitic conspiracies to calling out anti-feminist right-wing pundit Pearl Davis for her antisemitic song, to exposing the antisemitism in UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s tweets, Lipiner is extremely active in the conversation on the X platform.

Lipiner considers anti-Zionism a form of antisemitism.

“I also thought the rise of BDS was simply a veiled form of antisemitism in the guise of anti-Zionism, which increasingly felt like nothing less than today’s version of age-old hatred of Jews,” she said.

This week, when she published a post on X about the anniversary of the lynching of Leo Frank, she was met with a massive onslaught of white supremacist antisemitism in response. The result was a community note – a fact-checking tool meant to add context to tweets - which incorrectly stated that Leo Frank, the victim of the lynching, murdered and raped a 13-year-old girl. In fact, Frank was wrongly convicted for the rape and murder of Mary Phagan, in a case that is widely believed to be permeated with blatant antisemitism akin to the Dreyfus affair.

“I tweeted about the 108th anniversary of the lynching of an innocent Jewish man Leo Frank who was accused of murder amidst a horrifically antisemitic community environment. His lynchers were never brought to Justice. A community note says it all: antisemitism is still alive and kicking today,” she said.

Beyond the community note, the responses to her tweet were also antisemitic. One comment read: “Gee it’s almost like they were kicked out of 109 countries for a reason…” Another: “You don't have to be in colonized Palestine to defend the indefensible, you simply have to be a zionist.”

While hundreds pushed back and eventually the X platform removed the community note, the evidence of the antisemitic mob remains. Lipiner said that she routinely receives ugly antisemitic threats and messages in her private messages on social media as well, including users mocking her with Holocaust jokes about gas chambers.

“Hate-filled trolls seem to enjoy engaging with me. Mostly they deny the Holocaust ever happened or diminish it, compare it to other events- or a favorite of trolls is to co-opt the term Nazi, using it to describe Israel and its right to defend itself against terror,” she said.

In another message, Lipiner shared with Ynet, an X user wrote to tell her that she is “not a real Jew” and that “the Torah says the Jews were and are a black race of people. You're not black so stop spreading lies to the public. …We are sick and tired of you stealing our history.” Not the real Jews is a phrase most commonly used by Black supremacists – including Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam and the Black Hebrews movement - claiming Black people, and not Jews, are the true chosen people of God.

Yet in the face of such vile conversation, Lipiner isn’t backing down; instead, she’s doubling down.

“The trolls honestly don’t bother me. I’ve dealt with so much worse, and I guess I must be relevant,” she joked. But she is concerned about the level of vitriol on social media, in particular X.

[whatevergreen]

A 2008 (pre-election) Huff Post interview with Jewish-American author Adam Mansbach includes this:

Prof. David Browmich argues that Israel has outgrown its cultural history of victimization to become the chief oppressor of the Middle East, including a nuclear terror that might invade Iran. Do you feel this fear of a literal end to the Jews raise its head in macro or micro form in your novel?

"There's hardly a word about Israel in this novel, although certainly the past specter of an end to the Jews, and the seemingly-perpetual fear of a future one, give the title its bite, make people frown or laugh or shoot me a quizzical look when I tell them what my new book's called. Personally, my Jewish upbringing, such as it was, did not include Hebrew school, which from what I can gather is where a lot of kids first get indoctrinated with the idea that as a Jew you're supposed to love and defend (with words, if not actions) the state of Israel. My family was very secular; my parents sent me to the So You Think You Might Be Jewish Sunday School and Grill out of guilt, and I got kicked out of it for singing "Livin' On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi into a mic at an all-school assembly when I was supposed to read a prayer. This was my way of acting out my anger toward my racist Jewish History teacher, who liked to tell us kids stories about the Great Jewish Exodus. You know, the one from Roxbury in the 1950s, when the blacks moved in.

When the word got out that I was publishing this book, I started getting invited to Jewish conferences, retreats, etc - which was weird, since this is third novel and nobody had ever considered me a Jewish writer before, except for the white supremacists who tried to get all my speaking gigs for Angry Black White Boy canceled, and accused me of "masquerading as white." From what I've been able to discern in the past year or two, going to all these events, the dominant concern among the Jewish generation in power seems to be that young people aren't participating enough in Jewish life, and through apathy, intermarriage, nonobservance, the Jews are going to wither and disappear. It creeps me out to be in a room full of Jews in which racial purity seems to be an agreed-upon goal, though I certainly understand where it comes from.

What bothers me most, though, is the mix of naivete and cynicism with which the young demographic is being courted; the underlying goal seems to be Jewish marriage/procreation/participation, but it's couched in all these other terms, disguised inside all these clumsy maneuvers. It's like, "What do young Jews like these days? Pancakes? Okay, we'll have a pancake breakfast, and hopefully Isaac's hand will brush against Rachel's while they're both reaching for the maple syrup, and we'll get some babies out of this."

Where do you stand on the idea of Israel as a religious homeland for Jews, as well as its geopolitical realities, which are more bloody and less romantic?

"I don't claim to be an expert. I haven't been there. But the notion that a Jewish life is worth more than a Palestinian one seems to underwrite so much of what's happening, and so much of the conversation about Israel in America's Jewish community, and that is deeply troubling. The things I read and hear from friends who have traveled in Israel and Palestine leave me with no doubt that an apartheid-like situation is in effect, and that is unacceptable.

I think there's a lot of willing suspension of disbelief on the part of American Jews about the actions of the Israeli military. People don't want to accept that they would do the things they do, so they decide they don't do them, or that they must have their reasons and delving into them isn't necessary -- and this is among the same people who would never dream of giving a pass to Bush, people outraged about Darfur and Gitmo and every other outrageous thing happening on the world stage. To me, one of the strengths of Jewish culture is the fact that everything is constantly scrutinized and discussed and argued over. Questioning and dialogue and vigorous study are the things I connect with: the notion of a Talmud that literally has no margins because every possible inch of space was covered in a multi-century discussion of life and law. So Jewish group-think frightens me; Jewish dogma without counter-dogma frightens me. I think that the Jews should have a homeland, yes -- but I also think it's fascinating that some scholars and rabbis believe that homeland is intended to be a state of mind, that some believe the greatest sin possible is to claim that homeland by force, and that several different homelands for the Jews have been proposed in this century alone. The "if you don't love Israel you're not a good Jew" mentality really bothers me. As does, I suppose, the notion of a "good Jew."

You're steeped in black culture but Jewish. How has the relationship changed over time in your mind, and what do you think having a black president during a time of Israel's geopolitical ascendancy will do to it?

"Perhaps no two ethnic groups in America share so unique, intimate, and checkered a past, politically and artistically, as blacks and Jews. I thought it was interesting that Obama touched on the fraying of relations between the two communities in his big speech on race, but I also thought his decision to essentially elaborate on his rejection of Minister Farrakan because of Farrakhan's alleged anti-Semitism was more in line with the reasons black-Jewish relations have suffered than with any attempt to mount new dialogue. It was red meat for Jewish voters. On the Jewish side, the problem with black-Jewish relations is that a handful of ill-advised and highly objectionable statements made by a few prominent black leaders in the mid-eighties have never been forgotten. And they should be. Yes, Jesse Jackson once referred to New York City as 'Hymietown." Yes, Al Sharpton could have conducted himself better during the Crown Heights riots. But these incidents happened twenty years ago.

Not only have Sharpton, Jackson, and even Farrakhan (whose outreach to the Jewish community over the last ten years has been considerable, if seldom-reported) moved on, but so has black leadership. Obama's candidacy and the emergence of hip hop generation leaders and grassroots political organizations prove that the civil rights generation is no longer in the driver's seat. Yet, these figures remain central in the collective Jewish memory - fixed in history, reduced to their offensive comments, and treated as proof of black anti-Semitism. Why? Because it provides an excuse for Jewish disengagement -- emotionally, practically, financially -- from the continuing struggle for equality. It allows Jews to disinvest in the black community and the legacy of progressive work that blacks and Jews once shared.

One of the most fascinating stories of the 20th century, and one that I try to tell in The End of the Jews, is how both Jewish assimilation and Jewish self-identity have relied on the immutability of black Otherness. As the Jews have become whiter and richer, we've also gained the ability to engage in the same kind of complacency and hypocrisy that has long characterized the rest of white liberal America. Jews can now lament racial injustice without either fighting or acknowledging the ways in which it benefits us. The post-World War II Jewish credo has been to 'never forget,' and maintain eternal vigilance against the smallest rustling of anti-Semitism. I understand that. But I also lament that fact that whenever something does happen, regardless of whether the offensive speech or action stems from true malice or ignorance, whether it is repented for or not, the gates come crashing down, and dialogue is considered anathema. I think it's time to really rethink this, especially given the tremendous attacks that civil rights and civil liberties have taken under this president (Bush)."

.

Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/is-this-the-end-of-the-je_b_119055

(All the interesting sections are above regarding Israel, Zionism, Palestine, and race. I wouldn't bother with the full article unless you have an ad blocker, as advertising actually obscures parts of the text. Of the above sections.)

[kvaradonaa]

It's always exciting to read people's headcanons 👀

I'm so sorry I let this rot in drafts! I assume it was about my tags to this post, so I'll share some general characterisation headcanons. Obviously, while they're inspired by numerous articles and interviews, they're still my fictional headcanons, not facts about Sheva (unless I say otherwise). Under cut for lenght, not for any sensitive content.

1. He is surprisingly sensitive about self. He takes criticism badly and gets really defensive about it. He doesn't like being teased and made fun of either.

2. Despite that, he is still a people pleaser kind of guy. It's mostly fear of consequences. Him, and even more so his parents, grew up knowing that even saying the wrong thing can have terrible consequences. So, quite often, he'd just let others walk all over him (and try not to cry about it), because he is scared of crossing them.

3. Unless he knows he can do what he wants without consequences, of course. I mean, in real life, he did throw tantrums at his coaches from time to time. He definitely can be a bit toxic sometimes.

4. Speaking of throwing tantrums, he generally tends to have a rather childish way of expressing strong emotions, from anger and sadness, to happiness even. Not because he is childish in general, but because he never really learned a way to express them as an adult. Perhaps he felt like he was never allowed to.

5. Others don't seem to mind that very much. In real life, Ancelotti once described a situation in which Sheva banged on the door to his office, whining "You left me on the bench. You were wroooong." and honestly? From that description, he didn’t seem to mind, he found it funny and endearing even. So I guess there's something about him that just sparks some protective instincts in people.

6. He really likes to feel special. I imagine his self-esteem is surprisingly low for such a successful person, or rather it's really unstable. Sometimes he feels like he deserves special treatment. Sometimes he needs constant reassurance.

7. Related to the previous one, he gets way too excited about all the tiny signs that make him seem like he was chosen by fate, born to do great things, etc. etc. The way he, in real life, was excited about number seven in Hebrew 😂. (And the fact that he didn't choose it himself? But was given it by his teammate? And it's "sheva"! Must have been fate.)

8. All those headcanons might make it seem like I think he's a horrible person. Maybe in a way he is, but mostly he's just so lost, shaped by his experiences (maybe that's a thing for another post?).

9. In real life he claims he values freedom very much. In my headcanon it's a bit more complicated. He likes to believe that whatever he does is his own personal choice, but he finds safety and comfort in having others make decisions for him. But when he needs space, he's going to make it obvious... By not interacting with anyone.

10. Despite claiming to be a shy little boy that doesn't like luxury very much, he does like it very much. Maybe not in an obnoxious show-off way, but he likes designer clothes and expensive trips... and rich friends who can sponsor such lifestyle. Somehow he's always known how to get the latter.

[aguineapigcouldntdothis]

I didn't want to derail your very lovely post with something I understand is a personal choice and doesn't really matter, anyway, but I'm wondering while we're on the subject of you-don't-have-to-do-it-all, why are we taking on extra things that God never asked us to do—like not taking the word g-o-d in vain?

That's not God's name, that's a signifier that didn't even exist when the command was given. It's not the name we aren't allowed to say. It's like writing H@shem or the Al-ighty. It seems like a Christian influence.

this is a really good question and it pretty much boils down to not erasing His name. there are so, so many interpretations of everything in judaism, including how we address g-d in writing. the beautiful thing about this religion is that we can choose what resonates with us and not be judged for it. what it boils down to is not that we shouldnt write g-d's name, but rather that we should not deface or destroy it. if one of His names, rather than a signifier, is written out, then there is always a chance of it being erased. however if He's just alluded to then that problem is avoided. the same concept doesnt really apply to speech bc when you say something out loud it's there for good and there's no going bac

i no longer write out g-d and i use words like Hashem or Him as signifiers as a sign of respect because names have power. I only use the word ad-nai during prayer and i make sure that when i speak to g-d, rather than just about Him, i do so intentionally and with a proper focus.

there are also jews who write out g-d in full and those who switch between methods. those are absolutely valid ways of writing His name as well, but the "-" or Hashem would be the most common ways to refer to Him. what is not common is a religious jew writing out g-ds name or any signifier referring to g-d without some reason or forethought put into it no matter what format they choose. very rarely is it just put down on paper with zero reason.

also btw not taking g-ds name in vain is a honestly huge deal in judaism, but that's actually a completely different concept. the english translation really doesnt explain this concept very well imo, and it is absolutely hard to explain a very non-christian idea in a language influenced by Christianity. in short, not using g-ds name in vain is about avoiding cruel actions that desecrate his teachings. some examples would be using g-d's name and social influence to collect money that is claimed to be for donations but is actually for yourself, using your status as a leader (such as a rabbi) to abuse children, abusing your spouse, etc. g-d's name is a very powerful tool that holds so much meaning and using it for personal gain or to hurt others is what we as jews avoid.

i can sort of understand why this may seem like its influenced by Christianity. its not, the concepts of not taking His name in vain are totally different in those two religions, but these are very very difficult conversations to have in english. hebrew is genuinely the best language to discuss judaism in because it has words and phrases for concepts that just dont exist in English. sometimes close comparisons are all that's there and those can be extremely far off as well.

i dont usually do this but this is long as fuck so:

TLDR: a lot of jewish people use signifiers to refer to g-d so any words used to refer to Him cannot be erased. not taking the l-rd's name in vain is in regards to not using his influence to cause harm or for personal gain.