#tl;dr if you celebrate the murder of jews *because* they are jews you are an antisemite - end of story

[fdelopera]

Yo Gentiles! Looks like I'm going to need to give some of you a crash course on what antisemitic language looks like, because I've been seeing entirely too much of it from some of you here on Tumblr.

Now, I think it's time for a Jewish history lesson, because I've been seeing way too many Nazi-related conspiracy theories going around. If you hear contradictions to the basic information that I am about to share (i.e., if you hear someone saying that the Jewish people are "a race that originated in Europe"), it is likely that you are hearing a white supremacist, anti-Jewish conspiracy theory.

So, here's the basics of Jewish history. Jews are indigenous to the Levant have been there for thousands of years. The Levantine people that Jews descended from have been in that area of the Levant since the Bronze Age. Jews as a distinct people have been there since the Late Bronze Age. Before it was Palestine it was the Kingdom of Judah, then Judea, and then Judaea, and that is literally where we are from. The word Jew means "a person from the Kingdom of Judah." The Romans renamed the area Syria-Palaestina (which they borrowed from the Greek name Palestina) in the 2nd century CE after destroying the Second Temple in Jerusalem and leading another campaign to try to eradicate the Jewish people (guess what, we're still here, motherfuckers).

And even after the Romans tried to annihilate us, even after they scattered many of us into European diaspora, many Jews came back, again and again over the ages, and there have nearly always been Jewish communities in the region throughout history.

And if you come for me or try to dispute any of this history with white supremacist bullshit, I am a Jew who has studied way more Jewish history than you. And as politely as possible, you can take your white supremacist conspiracy theories and fuck off into the sun.

Okay, with all that out of the way, let's get into it!

Gloves are coming off, because this is just a sampling of the Nazi dogwhistles I've been seeing here on Tumblr about the Jewish civilians who were tortured, murdered, and worse:

- If you say shit like, "The Jews got what they deserved"...

GUESS WHAT? You're talking like a white supremacist, and you need to fucking check yourself.

- And if, on the other hand, you say shit like, "The reports were probably overblown. I think those were paid actors. I don't think those Jews were murdered. No Jewish children were killed. No Jewish bodies were desecrated" blahblahblah...

GUESS WHAT? You get to sit with the Nazis at their table for lunch.

- If you tell Jews "go back to Europe where you came from"...

GUESS WHAT? Not only are you telling the descendants of Jewish refugees to go back to the Spanish Inquisition, the Russian pogroms, and the Nazi gas chambers, as I explained in this post, but you are also repeating a white supremacist conspiracy theory about the origins of European Jews.

Jews are a Levantine people from the area of the Middle East currently called Israel (formerly called the Kingdom of Judah, and then Judea). While there was some emigration to Europe during the late Roman Republic and the early days of the Roman Empire, the first mass migration of Jews to Europe was a forced migration. Gentiles from the Roman Empire dragged us there as captives after 70 CE, the year Rome destroyed the Second Temple.

- And if you're telling yourself that there are "good Jews" and "bad Jews," and those Jewish civilians were "bad Jews," so they deserved to be tortured and killed...

GUESS WHAT? You're spouting white supremacist ideology.

Antisemitism takes a long time to deprogram.

A lot of gentiles grow up with anti-Jewish ideology that they have never questioned.

And a lot of Christians are kept ignorant about Jewish history because preachers and priests fear it would make Christians question the many inaccuracies in the Bible.

But the first step in noticing antisemitic beliefs is to notice when you start singling people out *because* they are Jewish.

And I have been seeing some of you gleefully celebrating the murder of Jewish civilians *because* they are Jewish.

And that is antisemitism.

That is one step closer to the next generation of Jews getting shoved into the gas chambers. And there are only 16 million of us left in the entire world. We're 0.2% of the world's population. And we cannot afford another Holocaust.

And if your response to me saying that is, "Well, those Jews deserve it."

Guess what. You are making it easier for Nazis and white supremacists to spread hatred and commit acts of violence against Jewish people. And you will have to live with that blood on your conscience.

So...

If you are a gentile, and you see other gentiles repeating these kinds of white supremacist dogwhistles about Jewish people, here's how you can help:

1. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Help them direct their focus away from attacking random Jewish people online and towards helping Palestinians.

Actions that people can take right now are contributing to verified charities and relief organizations that help the people of Gaza. Some organizations that are verified by CharityNavigator.org and CharityWatch.org are:

Anera (92% rating on Charity Navigator)

Palestine Children's Relief Fund (97% rating on Charity Navigator)

Doctors Without Borders (98% on Charity Navigator)

2. Call that shit out. Tell people that they're being antisemitic, and explain that Jew-hatred is dangerous to Jewish people. Antisemitism gets Jews attacked and it gets Jews killed. In the US, many synagogues require round the clock security to protect against white supremacists who want to murder Jews. In Pittsburgh, my old home town, a group of Nazis from north of the city planned the murder of Jewish congregants at Tree of Life Synagogue, and so far only one of them (the gunman) has been arrested and convicted of the murders. The others are still at large.

3. Explain to them that it is antisemitic to celebrate someone's death *because* they're Jewish. ALSO, it is antisemitic to blame a random Jewish person for the actions of ANY government, whether that be the Israeli Government or the US Government.

4. Explain to people that they're not going to solve this conflict by posting antisemitic statements and memes online. All they will do is alienate the Jewish people in their lives and make those Jews feel scared and unsafe. And they will contribute to this current wave of antisemitism.

Antisemitic hatred doesn't help Palestinians. All it does is put Jewish people around the world in danger.

[frida-kahl-of-the-rocky-horror]

Antisemitism is evil

Genocide against the Palestinians is evil

If you disagree with either of these, please leave my page

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further Reading:

Yes it’s a Genocide

TL;DR: there are many classifications of genocide, and one of such classifications is ethnic cleansing. Israeli military and government forces claim they are doing a Nakba 2. The first Nakba is the definition of ethnic cleansing, by UN definitions, which is a form of genocide. Israel has admitted that they are committing genocide.

No criticizing Israel is not antisemitic

TL;DR: if criticism of Israel or being pro Palestinian equates being antisemitic, then here is a list of raging antisemites (direct quotes included): Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein (is Jewish), Stephen Hawking, Frida Kahlo (is Jewish), Noam Chomsky (is Jewish), DJ KHALED, Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Carter, Ben and Jerry (the ice cream people), Bernie Sanders (is Jewish), and Susan Sarandon.

Why Israel hates Palestinians (and why it’s unjustified)

TL;DR: Early post Zionist radical philosophy was to get back at the Germans and kill 6 million Germans senselessly for their systemic murder of Jews. This was rejected by Israel, but this thought process and reaction to historic European antisemitism was channelled into mistreatment of Palestinians. Europe is to blame yet Palestinians are the ones suffering,

I am very well read

TL;DR: Someone called be a slur and told me to pick up a book, I responded with a list of books which I read, a good chunk of which are from pro Israel Zionists and anti Israel Jewish and Palestinian academics

Antisemitism Post #1

TL;DR: a critique of white leftists who thing all Jewish people must categorize themselves as “good Jew” or “bad Jew”. Ethnonationalism like Zionism is dangerous but so is bigotry such as antisemitism. I also use my personal story of hating Belgians.

Antisemitism Post #2

TL;DR: if you replace “Israeli” with any other ethnicity or nationality and it’s bigoted, then your statement is antisemitic. If your statement isn’t bigoted and a rightful criticism of government or military positions and actions, it’s not antisemitic. It’s not antisemitic to criticize a genocide.

Patriotism vs Nationalism vs Jingoism

TL;DR: A Patriot loves their country, she celebrates when it does right and criticizes it when it does wrong. A Nationalist loves their country, she celebrates it when it does right and ignores when it does wrong. A Jingoist loves their country (or at least a specific version of it), celebrates when it is right and when it is wrong, because their country is unable to do wrong in their eyes. Everything can be justified.

Antisemitism Post #3

TL;DR: the Jews don’t control Hollywood.

Rebutting the “It’s Complicated” Claim

TL;DR: it’s not complicated, it’s apartheid

Antisemitism Post #4

TL;DR: Israel is Antisemitic, non Ashkenazi Jews frequently face discrimination, especially in Netanyahu’s Israel, but it’s always been this way with Yiddish language bans, forced sterilization of Ethiopian Jews, and European supremacy in all corners of government

Extremism is Sometimes Justified

TL;DR: one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter, and if you claim all extremism is bad, you support European colonial control of Africa, Haiti, the USA, and so many other evil regimes.

Yes Israel is a Colonial Project

TL;DR: Direct sources from the founders of Zionism calling the creation of Israel a colonial project and referring to Palestinians as the indigenous peoples who are in the way

Continued:

In a few months more journalists have died in Gaza than in WW2.

Gaza: Israeli company plans luxury beach side Apartment on the ruins of Gaza

A Message from a Palestinian Friend

People who are not Israeli or Palestinian are allowed to engage in discourse on this issue, especially Americans

Goat Jewish Boi Slays

The Post that Blew Up

Debunking idiotic Israeli arguments

Where’d you Come From, Where’d you Go

USA is the most diverse country on earth

Direct quote from an Israeli cabinet minister calling this conflict a war on Gaza not a war on Hamas (what happened to the plot??)

I love Jewish men who love humanity

Israel doesn’t care about peace

[half-sassed]

It’s that time again.

Springtime. The Paschal season. Aviv.

The season of rebirth, renewal, and too much bleeping rain.

The time of flowers blooming, bears waking, trees budding, eggs hatching, and Jews frantically cleaning their homes and screaming this crucial message into the void:

No, Christians, you should not have Passover seders.

"But why?” comes the eternal reply. “The Old Testament is part of our tradition too! Jesus celebrated Passover! Why can’t we?”

Read on, and I’ll tell you.

Well, for starters, there was no such thing as a seder in Jesus’s day, because the Second Temple was still standing. In those days, Jewish Passovers followed the guidelines set forth in the “Old Testament”, which mostly focused on 1) avoiding leavened foods for seven days, 2) slaughtering, roasting, and eating a sacrificial lamb at a first-night-of-Passover ceremonial meal that also included bitter herbs and unleavened matzah bread, and 3) seven days of additional animal sacrifices. That’s it. No fancy prayer service around the family table. No seder plate. No Four Questions, four cups, four sons, or...well, anything with the number four, actually. Rabbi Hillel liked to make his ceremonial lamb dinner into pita wraps, because he was generally full of great ideas, but that was the closest to the modern-day seder anybody got back then. For Jesus and his buddies, Passover was just flat bread, bitter herbs, and a literal heap of dead animals--with the dead animals being the primary focus of ritual and prayer.

So why did those customs change?

Necessity. The only place those sacrifices (or any sacrifices) were allowed to take place was at the Temple in Jerusalem, which worked out great while there was a Temple in Jerusalem. It did, however, pose a slight problem to Jews trying to follow God’s commandments after the Romans destroyed that Temple and kicked almost all the Jews out of their homeland in 70 C.E., about forty years after they crucified Jesus. (Long story short, the Zealots launched a military revolt that failed so hard, it’s still screwing the Jews over two millennia later. And then we tried to fight the Romans two other times, and failed even harder. Good times.) Most of the major sects of Judaism that existed at the time were completely centered on Temple sacrifices and Temple worship, and they died out fairly quickly. The exception was a certain sect mentioned repeatedly in the New Testament, which not only survived but blossomed, becoming the root of the Rabbinic Judaism practiced by more than 99% of Jews today:

The Pharisees.

That’s right: the recurring villains of the New Testament, the very Jewish group Christians usually deride as an obsolete example of inflexible religiosity disconnected from true faith, were in fact the group that managed to adapt to a Temple-less existence by shifting the focus from sacrificial rituals to prayer and study. (Admittedly, the Jews had already done this once during their 70-year exile to Babylonia following the destruction of the First Temple in 587 B.C.E., which is how the Pharisee sect came to exist in the first place. This time around, though, the problem was a lot more permanent.) This deviation from the written Law was justified by a belief that, along with the written Law, God had also given Moses an Oral Law, which was passed down, expounded on, and added to by generations of Jewish scholars. Between 200-500 C.E., those centuries of oral tradition and rabbinic rulings were written down, debated, and codified into the Talmud, the basis of most modern-day Jewish rituals. Among the many rituals prescribed by the Talmud was a replacement ritual for the first-night-of-Passover roast lamb sacrifice of old: the unique prayer service/Torah study/ceremonial meal known as the Passover seder.

The budding sect of Christianity, on the other hand, found its own solution to the “no more Temple” problem by claiming that Jesus’s death was the ultimate sacrifice rendering all further sacrifices unnecessary. This solution required Christianity to break completely with Judaism (human sacrifices and God having human avatars are both very big no-nos in Jewish thought), but it freed Christians to develop their own distinct religion with non-Jewish attributes, rituals, and values, rather than remain the minor sect of Judaism they’d begun as. In the decades after the destruction of the Temple, Christian leaders began preaching the doctrine of supersessionism, which claimed that Jesus had rendered Jewish law null and void (and continued Jewish practice, by extension, rebellion against God). That idea became foundational doctrine in both the Western and the Eastern Church, to the point of excommunicating Christians who promoted observance of “Old Testament” festivals and traditions and even going so far as to move the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday to avoid any hint of “Judaizing.”

The Talmud, needless to say, was never part of Christian tradition. In fact, Christian leaders repeatedly censored the Talmud because they considered parts of it to be blasphemous against Jesus and Mary--the earliest known incidence of this being in 521 C.E., only a few decades after the Talmud was finalized, though the heyday of Talmud censorship, bannings, and outright Talmud book-burnings at the hands of the Church was from 1239-1775 C.E.--and claims that the Talmud allowed Jews to treat Christians as subhuman were commonly used to incite Christian populations to attack Jewish communities. (Sadly, this particular antisemitic canard is still around today.) Christian leaders also spread lies about Passover rituals in particular, most notably that the unleavened matzah bread eaten on Passover--the one part of the original tradition Jews could still observe without the Temple--was made by mixing flour with the blood of Christian children the Jews kidnapped and murdered for that purpose. (Yes, that one is still around, too.) Jews in Christian countries managed to uphold their rituals and to preserve copies of the Talmud only at great personal risk and in defiance of Christian persecution.

So, tl;dr, what exactly is the problem with Christian seders?

The seder ritual was a replacement for the rituals of Jesus’s time. It was not part of his religious practice, nor of any of his followers. As such, the common claim by Christians that they hold Passover seders because “the Last Supper was a seder” is bogus. If you want to recreate the Last Supper, you’d better start learning how to ritually slaughter sheep.

The rabbis who devised the seder ritual represented the very same sect of Judaism Jesus repeatedly feuded with. Not wanting Jesus’s followers to take part in Pharisaic rituals is probably one of the very few things those rabbis and Jesus would both have agreed on.

Literally the only historical connection Christians have to the seder ritual is that your ancestors repeatedly tried to stamp it out, which is absolutely not grounds for you to claim it as part of your tradition. If it were up to Christianity, the seder tradition wouldn’t have survived long enough for modern-day Christians to appropriate.

The seder ritual is the Jewish solution to a specific theological problem (no Temple = no sacrifices) that Christianity has already solved in an entirely different way. Divorced from that background, the seder has no meaning. Easter is your seder, Christians. Jesus is your seder. That’s why your ancestors stopped celebrating Passover in the first place!

Stripping a Jewish ritual Christians had no part in creating--but a big part in suppressing--of its Jewish content and making it about Jesus instead is outright telling Jews that we’re doing our own religion wrong and our faith has no value beyond being a prelude to yours (even when, as here, the ritual in question DIDN’T PREDATE CHRISTIANITY). Which is something Christianity has been claiming for millennia, true, but taking it to this extreme is blatantly antisemitic and we’re tired of it.

Now that you know better, what can you do?

Reblog this post. Share it on other sites too, if you’d like. It won’t do much good if only Jews ever see it.

If your church, family, or other Christian gathering is hosting a so-called “seder,” don’t go! Better yet, explain to them why what they’re doing is antisemitic and appropriative. Christians who appropriate Jewish rituals are far more likely to listen to other Christian voices than they are to listen to Jews.

However, if a Jew invites you to their Passover seder, go! It’s part of the seder tradition to open your doors to guests, and being invited to take part is an entirely different animal than taking without permission. Plus, legit seders are awesome.

Have a happy Easter!