Zionists want you to conflate Judaism and Zionism. Zionists want you to believe that Judaism cannot exist without Zionism and that all Jews are Zionists. Zionism would have Jews believe that a Jewish state is the only way that they can be safe from antisemitism and will point to any instance of antisemitism as proof that Zionism is the solution- so Zionism wants gentiles to be antisemitic in their support of Palestine. They want you to conflate all Jews with Zionism and the state of Israel, and they want you to treat all Jews regardless of political affiliation as the face of Israel. Antizionist Jews exist, and incidences of antisemitism ostensibly acting against Zionism will not help dismantle the forces propping Zionism up.

Don't do their work for them.

After weeks of watching the violent protests for Hamas. The defacing of monuments. Calling for genocide. Actually physically attacking Jewish people and their supporters. The outright ugliness of it all because antizionism is just antisemitism folks..

It was refreshing to see the March for Israel today in Washington. Completely peaceful, no destruction. No calls for violence against anyone!!!! I felt like, for a moment, everyone could see what the true majority in America think. America really is pro Israel, and I'm proud of that fact.

Hope you're doing well. Are the reactions to your treatments getting better? Is there any way any of us can help you and your family?

Hi love!

Absolutely this. I've been watching vids from both pro-Israel and anti-Israel demonstrations for over a month now, and the difference is very clear. I haven't seen a single pro-Israel rally where there was violence or calls for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, no "Gas the Palestinians" calls, no stomping on Palestinian flags... In fact, I've heard more than one person mentioning their pain for innocent Palestinians who have also been victimized by Hamas.

I'm also gonna make it clear that those are anti-Israel, not pro-Palestinian, protests... Because those people weren't demonstrating when Palestinians were being killed by Assad. They weren't demonstrating when Palestinians were being victimized and even killed by Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority. They weren't demonstrating for Palestinians to be treated equally, and be given full rights, freedom and dignity in places like Jordan and Lebanon. If these people only take to the streets when they can blame Israel, and when they use these rallies to attack Jews, they're not pro-Palestinian. They're anti-Israel and antisemitic.

Meanwhile, Gazans themselves ask for something completely different from westerners:

And absolutely, I believe that yesterday, they also published a survey that showed that the majority of Americans stand by Israel? One Nonnie mentioned to me there's a certain difference among younger Americans. Another sent me an article that supported this:

According to a recent Harvard CAPS Harris poll, 51% of young adults can “justify” the massacres perpetrated by Hamas, in part because their main exposure to Israel since October 7 came from TikTok videos.

This is at least in part because of social media selling a simplistic narrative, but in part also because of American universities pushing it. That's been happening to a great degree because of Qatari funding of these universities. Qatar's been responsible for this, when that state is one of the greatest human rights violators, and when it has a record of antisemitic attitudes. Hopefully, now that this funding has come to light, these institutes will stop throwing their Jewish students and moral stance under the bus in favor of Qatar's money.

Thank you for asking! *hugs* I'm still having a reaction, but it's not as bad, and I'm trying to take a lot of naps to help ride out the worst of it. And thank you also for offering help! Honestly, I don't wanna ask for anything for myself or my family. If you can donate to the Israeli Red Magen David (the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross), that would be amazing, but ONLY if you can. I don't want anyone to feel obligated, but I know that they and other rescue and different aid organizations in Israel have been working non stop, and could use any help. Thank you again! Sending ALL the love.

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

A Personal Story about the Importance of History

I know this comes outta nowhere, but... I felt like sharing this after witnessing some... horrible stuff, I want to share a lil' story growing up that shaped me, and why I try to make sure my space is a safe space for Jewish folk (an increasingly dangerous opinion from where I currently live unfortunately).

A forewarning, I am no historian, I am have NO authority on the subject, and I am merely an enthusiast. So what I'm typing here is merely a retelling of an experience I had in middle school.

This is the now demolished Synagogue of Surabaya. When I learned this in middle school, it was just ONE of the things that made me realized how... pervasively awful antisemitism, alongside being taught about the horrors of the Holocaust and the interviews from survivors that we were encouraged to watch, to help understand WHY it's horrible.

To begin the story, I've always had a love of learning history. I didn't know it yet, but it turned out to be a personal passion of mine.

As a Muslim, I was always taught to see the good that people of my faith contribute and the history of said peopls. The popularization of algebra, the preservation of roman knowledge, and being relatively more tolerant than medieval europe at the time.

All that kinda good stuff, and made me feel proud to be a Muslim in a VERY Christian dominated school, where I felt ever increasingly isolated before I moved to a school closer to home for high school, one that was much more secular. (Ironic! Considering Indonesia is a mostly Muslim country).

That pivotal lesson on the Holocaust however, also forever changed my perspective on just how overarching and all-consuming antisemitism was no matter the country, the fact that CENTURIES of ignorance and being scapegoats led to genocide of an industrial scale. It lead to a rabbit hole of learning about Jewish history, something I still occasionally do to this day... and that included some VERY unsavory aspects on the history on the treatment of Jewish folk by the people who share my faith, which includes what happened to the above mentioned synagogue.

Learning about the Synanogue of Surabaya, and how callously it was demolished by a real estate company, hit very close to home... because it IS, in a way, close to home. Surabaya may be on the other side of the island of Java, but the fact that instead of protecting the legacy of a people that were utterly decimated during the occupation of Imperial Japan, and thus shared our struggle, it, like so many was taken over by others and thus forcing local Jewish populations to move to overseas... and in the case of the Synagogue of Surabaya, demolished.

A historical legacy of what was once a people that numbered 3000 here in Indonesia, now down to just 100–550, was gone. Just like that.

And that's the end of the story, and... well. I don't have much more to say really. I guess I'm just depressed, to see virulent antisemitism that, no matter what, one can't escape here in this country, and triggered a lot of memories of the past.

Stay safe everyone.

Short version: racists, stop co-opting religious symbols, because now I can't tell who's just religious and who's using those symbol to declare their racism.

Long version (under the cut):

Something happened to me in the late 2000s where I stopped seeing crosses as a source of comfort. Like, I have one in my bedroom, but I mean seeing crosses on other people, like on necklaces and things. As a kid, seeing them made me feel safe, to a degree, because I automatically "knew" that I had something in common with the people wearing them.

And then I started listening to the kinds of things that most of those people said, and all of the comfort bled away.

I'm still Christian, but I never see a cross anymore and think, "Oh, that person believes the same things I do!" More often, they believe the exact opposite. I generally hate to be an idealism purist, same as claiming to know everything and have all of the answers, but I DO know that Christianity has rarely been what Jesus wanted, and never when it was the predominant religion of the ruling class. Even though what these people practice clearly ISN'T Christianity, though, the religion itself and its symbols mostly make me feel uncomfortable now.

Well, I'm starting to feel the same way with Stars of David. And I DETEST that. Because, just like with my religion, I KNOW that Judaism is NOT what Zionists and evangelical hate groups are trying to make it into. I know that more Jewish people than not oppose the genocide in Palestine because they've been victims of countless genocides themselves and know that "never again" means for everyone, not just Jews. I know that Judaism is not a religion or ethnicity built on hate. But, just like I know the same about Christianity while evangelicals and fundamentalists clearly don't, I know this about Judaism while Zionists don't. I can't even say there's a significant difference between the two, because, at least in America, nationalism has tainted both to the degree that most public figures of both Christianity and Judaism are the loudest supporters of Israel. And now I'm wary every time I see a Star of David in someone's profile picture, because I don't know if it's from a Jewish person who's rightfully proud of their heritage and/or religion, a Jewish person loudly reaffirming their faith by asserting that their beliefs don't condone genocide, or a Zionist who co-opted the symbol for their hate crimes or support of them.

I hate it.

I mean, what next? Am I going to start feeling uncomfortable when I see the aum? The crescent? The yin yang symbol? Which group is going to take a religion -- an inherently neutral thing -- next and turn it into something vile that makes me question the morals of everyone associated with it?

I don't hate religions. I love the ways that people have faith and express it. I love the different ways that so many human beings see God or the divine. Religion is not the enemy because, to paraphrase David Mitchell, people have killed each other in the name of anything, whether it was politics or religion or something else, since the dawn of time. Removing religion just removes the comfort and sense of identity that a lot of people cling to in their darkest moments. But the more that wicked people appropriate symbols of faith, the harder it is trust that any religious person believes what they say instead of using their beliefs as a justification for cruelty. Especially since the people who are loudest about belonging to a specific religion are usually the ones doing the most harm.

And in case it wasn't clear (and because reading comprehension on this site is notoriously poor), this is NOT a place for antisemitism. Get out of here with that bullshit. Jewish people are just as much people as everyone else and have just as much of a right to their faith and ethnicity. Zionists, however, are scum who typically hide behind either Judaism or fundamentalist Christianity as an excuse to kill innocent people and colonize land that doesn't belong to them.

Honestly I just hope all of you evil zionist fucks die. It's so sickening how you just lie and lie and lie to kill people who just want to stay in their homes.

It's disgusting that y'all have the audacity to use apparent antisemitism as an excuse for genocide. Anyone with a functioning brain can see that Israel doesn't represent all Jewish people.

Ok I'm going to go through this hate anon sentence by sentence. imo anon hate in general is cowardice because you'll tell me to kms but not show your face? Coward. Look me in the eyes as you threaten and maybe then I'll take you seriously.

So! first sentance.

'Honestly I just hope all of you evil zionists fucks die.'

What do you think I did that makes me evil? Or are you just saying that because you're racist?

Do you even know what zionist means? Yeah I'm a zionist, yeah I'm proud of it, no you're not using it correctly. You're using it as if it's a slur, it's really really not, every zionist i know is proud of that fact

Hope all you like it's not gonna make it a reality

If you're looking to speak to all zionists, this is not the place. I am a single person who cannot spread your message even if I wanted to

Second sentance:

'It's so sickening how you just lie and lie and lie to kill people who just want to stay in their homes.'

Tbh if i could lie online I wouldn't be here

I didn't know the act of lying was actively killing people, pretty sure that's what weapons do

You think Israelis don't want to stay in their homes?? 134 hostages in Gaza who'll be happy to be back home, even though most of their homes were burned to the ground and destroyd by Hamas. So many families stuck living in single rooms because their homes were also burned to the ground and destroyd by Hamas. People who evacuated their homes from fear of being hit by rockets sent by Hamas.

We're the liars? Check again who bombed their own hospital, killing 471 of their own people, injuring 314 more, then blamed it on the IDF. Spoilers: it was Hamas.

I don't remember myself killing anyone. Again, I am not all of Israel, I am a single person.

Onwards to third sentance!

'I'ts disgusting that y'all have the audacity to use apparent antisemitism as an excuse for genocide.'

What genocide? Do you know what genocide means? It's against a race. Not a land. The Holocaust was a genocide, because no matter where the jewish people went the Nazis followed. this isn't a genocide. This isn't against the Palestinians, if they leave Gaza they will not be followed and killed. Stop calling what's going on here by names that don't fit.

'Apparent'? It's not apparent, the antisemitism jews face all over the world and have faced all over history is very true and real and painful.

Who's using antisemitism as an excuse? I've never seen anyone do that, I genuinly want some sources for that

Fourth (and last) sentence!

'Anyone with a functioning brain can see that Israel doesn't represent all Jewish people.'

I??? Never?? Said that israel represents all Jewish people???? Of fucking course it doesn't????

33.1% of Israel's population are atheists (Hilonim), 18.1% are Muslim, 1.9% are Christian, 1.6% are Druze, 4.8% are unclassified or other. Only 40.4% are Jewish, that's less then half.

There are 6.3 million Jews in the USA, that's almost half of the total 15.7 million in the whole world. Israel itself has 7.2 million Jews.

Then this means that a great chunk of the worlds population don't have a functioning brain, seeing the fact that jews all over the world are receiving hate, threats, and violence because of what's happening in Israel and Gaza

What I really wonder about here is that you said that anyone with a functioning brain can see that, yet you can see it even though your brain doesn't seem to be functioning.

In conclusion:

Go outside and touch some grass, pet a cat, watch the sunset, take a shower, take care of yourself, go to therapy, and for G-d's sake, stop spreading hate and misinformation. You are not immune to propaganda.

ובנוסף, לפחות תעשה קצת מחקר לפני שאתה פולט שטויות מהפה שלך. אתה סתם מפזר שנאה בעולם שלא צריך עוד ממנה. צר לי שהחיים שלך עד כדי כך עצובים שאתה מחפש לריב באינטרנט סתם כי אתה משועמם, חסר חיים, וגזען. אני באמת מצטערת בשבילך, צר לי שמישהו פגע בך בצורה בלתי הפיכה שגרמה לך להיות איך שאתה, אדם שונא שהעולם כנראה יהיה יותר טוב בלי. נראה אם בכלל תלך לגוגל לעשות לזה תרגום, מגיע לך להבין את זה. אבל בכל זאת, תודה ששלחת את זה. זה עזר לי לבריאות הנפשית. לצחוק עם חברים על כמה מטומטמים פרו פלסטינאים יכולים להיות, רוב החברים שלי התפקעו מצחוק כבר במשפט הראשון. תענה בתוך עוד שאלה אנונימית אם אתה רוצה, אני אפרק אותה משפט-משפט בדיוק כמו שעשיתי עם זאת.

"this part is what's harmful to the Jews, Israel is committing genocide" No it's not. What's harmful to the Jewish people is your antisemitism and how you continue to spin the narrative and talk points of religious extremist groups who want to exterminate the Jews along the only democracy in the area

hi! i hope you're doing well. given this ask, you're probably stressed as all hell, and i can understand that. frankly, entertaining this probably isn't a great idea, since you're sending me an anon message on tumblr dot com, but hey. first things first; im jewish. i was raised jewish, and i'm very proud of it as part of my identity. it is something i try to connect with everyday. second, i understand how threatening the world feels right now. it can and does, often, feel like the whole world is against us. what else is there to do but unify under our representative and protector? we want to feel safe, and community certainly offers that - that is the stated intention of the state of israel, according to der juudenstat. we deserve to feel safe. but it clearly has not, in its current years of existence, exterminated antisemitism globally, as was the stated goal. if what's happening to palestinians is the price for jewish safety, then we need to find a new way to help jews be safe. our safety cannot be built on the suffering of others - no one's can. additionally, while there is absolutely jewish history on the land, we are not the only ones with that history. and trying to claim it as purely our own and remove the people who have a right to it will not protect us either. hertzl describes israel as a colonial project. i don't know about you, but that is not a banner i care to align myself with. i would ask you, as a community member, not to set aside what you feel, and certainly not your judaism. but to try and stop seeing the world as your enemy, and to understand that there is a place for jews in a free palestine. we get to choose the world we make. i hope you take care of yourself.

Hi, person who you said had “a bit of common sense” here again. Your logic is flawed, regardless of whether you believe it or not. I am sorry that you are receiving antisemitic hate, that is morally repugnant and I disavow any antisemite who shares my views on Israel. However, anti-Zionism and anti-Israeli beliefs do not automatically equate to antisemitism.

I have nothing but respect for Judaism, back in college I took several courses on it as part of my minor, and I am proud to say that I have Jewish friends who have wished for me to be inscribed in the Book of Life on Rosh Hashanah. I am also fervently anti-Israel, as I am against the ethnostates in general and apartheid in specific. Nothing in my anti-Israeli views is influenced by the religion of the country, and frankly I find it insulting that my desire for a singular, secular Palestinian state where Jews and Muslims can live together harmoniously causes me to be lumped in with antisemites.

Hey what's up!

So, you and I don't actually have differing views, at least not that much. It would absolutely be the dream to have Palestine be one state and for everyone to live in harmony huh?

But Jews got kicked out of Judea

They got kicked out of Spain (or forcibly converted)

They were kicked out of Russia

They were kicked out of Germany and Poland and France

They've historically been blamed for almost any travesty in a country where they resided

They are, without a doubt, unwanted

What would prevent them being kicked out of Palestine and massacred again at the slightest hint of trouble that can be blamed on them?

I don't typically support ethnostates, however, if you were kicked out of or killed in every country you resided in, you would also want to return to your homeland and make a small place for yourself to live in peacefully. You may even welcome like minded people to your home just because you know how hard it is.

I do not support the actions of the Israeli government, and I have lit a candle every day for all civilians affected by the Israel-Hamas war. I cannot condone just about anything that's been done to Palestinians, even from during the formation of Israel. It is a travesty that they were moved and given no support. It is a travesty that they continually are displaced because Israel wants them gone. I can't believe I have to say this but no, I do not support or defend the clear genocide happening. I assumed that would be obvious. I genuinely wish there was an option for both groups to exist peacefully near their homelands and their Holy Land. It's not guaranteed to stay peaceful, though

We don't actually have differing views on anything. I just take into account that, realistically, what I want isn't going to work. Antisemitism is on a steep rise again and the political climate in the states is very evocative of pre war Nazi Germany. Hamas is actively trying to kill as many Israeli civilians as possible- making it a war on Jews, not a war on Israel.

The issue is very nuanced, and I'm sorry so many people with your similar views are using this war to justify anti semitism. People with my similar views are using it to justify Islamophobia and genocide. Neither of us are being lumped well right now. I hope that if you have bullying in your inbox, it's not affecting your mental state. You actually seem very cool, and I'd be likely to follow you, anon

I feel like you would not give a f if there were no christians in Palestine. Hope I am wrong though.

Nah, I'm defending ALL Palestinians regardless of their religion 💜

I hate Israel based on political but also religious reason. As a Christian, I know that Israel is the name of a land lent by God and God himself - not men. There's a reason He let biblical Israel be invaded and Israelites go to exile (don't you find interesting how Jews have been systemically kicked out of all 100+ countries where they've been exiled throughout History? don't you think there wasn't a message from God behind that?). The only time when Israel (the real one) will be rebuilt is after the End Times when Jesus comes back. It won't be from the hands of men, let alone through population deportation and war - especially from people who don't even acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah 💀

God does NOT support all of this and all Christians supporting Israel are spineless, ignorant and evil. The reason I'm directly addressing myself to Christians is because they usually are so vocal whenever Christians minorities are oppressed abroad. They won't shut up about the threat of Islam and terrorists killing Christians in Middle East or Africa (which indeed are big issues) but will conveniently go silent about the well documented oppression of Christians by Jewish religious (extremists). They also purposely ignore how religious Jews HATE Jesus and write slurs against Him & Christians on the walls of their city.

"we killed Jesus we're proud of it" Yeah, we know.. that's why you still refuse to acknowledge Him as the Messiah 2000 years later. 👀

Meanwhile you'll never see Muslim insult Jesus or Mary because they still hold them on high status in the Quran. But the Talmud says Mary was a whore and Jesus a warlock boiling in his feces..... That's why I can't take seriously any Christian supporting Israel or Judaic religion. They either have no idea of what they're talking about, or their (racial) bias against Arabs overpasses their theological consistency (WASP Christians will always defend fair skinned Ashkenazi over brown skinned Arabs any day, we been knew right?)

The modern state of Israel is a travesty. God didn't make it - it's the US tax payer's money who for the most part funds it. The IDF is known to terrorize populations and make war crimes, but the whole world goes blind about it because uwu anTisEmitIsm. Sorry but it's not antisemitism to have the honesty to say people pulling out tshirts bragging about killing pregnant women are evil & deranged. Even the US Marines wouldn't get away with such a vile stunt.

Oh and btw an Israeli politician called for the Genocide of Palestinians... (she's not the only who said crazy things about Arabs but ush ush bc antisemitism uwu)

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israeli-lawmakers-call-genocide-palestinians-gets-thousands-facebook-likes

Again: what other country would get away with such deranged stunts without being called out? That's why the accusation of antisemitism against anyone remotely of critical of Israel is retarded and dangerous. Because it makes "antisemitism" pretty thoughtful and reasonable.

Beside, as a Black person I know the story of my people and I know that Israel was the last country supporting South Africa apartheid. Racists supporting each other. Israel is a racial supremacist ethnostate with politicians routinely calling Arabs names to deem them as (racially) inferior, and let's not even being how they threat Black jews/immigrants....

I don't talk about it much on here, because it's a complicated thing and we know how tumblr treats people who have complicated experiences, but I've always been a step from being Jewish. And I don't mean in a bullshit "I have so many Jewish friends" way, I mean that my father was raised Jewish, my aunt is Jewish, the family friends from that side who I thought were blood relations as a child are all Jewish. It's just, my father made the decision to never teach me about our heritage, so I'm having to learn now that I'm older.

But while my father refused to have a Torah in the house, and fed me bacon at breakfast regularly, he did always teach me a few things. First off, that while he wasn't Jewish anymore in his own mind, and while he explicitly told me I wasn't Jewish, we were family to Jews. Jewish people were our family, even if I had to learn for myself that that meant we had a culture I could have been a part of. In his own words, "You aren't a Jew, but when they hunt down the Jews again, we'll be Jews too in their eyes." It's in our last name, it's in his worldview on life that I didn't understand for the longest time. It's in our blood, which is what seems to matter most to antisemites.

To people who hate Jews, they see my last name and recognize my ancestors. To Jewish people I'm not a direct relative of, I'm just another non-Jew. And I wish I could argue with that, that I could say that I'm a half-Jew like my grand-aunt says I am, that we're family. But I barely know anything, I don't think I know more than the average gentile does about Judaism. And I wish that family would teach me.

My father taught me that from the start, everyone who hates Jews hates us. That Israel is known internationally to be a safe haven to Jews. He, and our family alike, from the time I was a young child have told me about Israel. "They'll promise you safety, but that lie is built on the blood of innocent people. Never believe what Israel tells you about you and your family." I've learned about the Nakba, about the atrocities Israel has committed, I've understood we could never live there for over a decade. That there was no truly safe place for us.

But being on tumblr these last months, I can't help but have had moments where I've wondered if he was wrong. If he was biased against his own people, and was teaching me to hate our culture like he does. I know full well the crimes of Israel through the decades, but in hating the Israeli government, am I hating my family? Am I going against the ancestors I know nothing about? I'm only a half-Jew, is it the other half that guides my distrust?

I know that logically, it's not at all a betrayal to hate genocide, that it's righteous fury that it's being done in the name of my family. That my loving auntie, who protested with me in support of Palestine, whose a proper Jewish person, is horrified by the crimes committed allegedly for our people. That my grand-auntie, who was the first person in my decades to say I was any part a Jew, who said it so casually like it was an established fact, was proud of me for fighting Israel, disgusted that she was an excuse for their far-right tyranny.

But I can't help but wonder, for the people who read this post, if I'll be seen as an attention-seeking anti-semite, when it breaks my heart that I don't know enough to be considered your family.