r/JewsOfConscience • u/AutoModerator • Oct 02 '24

AAJ "Ask A Jew" Wednesday

It's everyone's favorite day of the week, "Ask A (Anti-Zionist) Jew" Wednesday! Ask whatever you want to know, within the sub rules, notably that this is not a debate sub and do not import drama from other subreddits. That aside, have fun! We love to dialogue with our non-Jewish siblings.

Please remember to pick an appropriate user-flair in order to participate! Thanks!

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u/bearoscuro Non-Jewish Ally Oct 02 '24

I was wondering how people felt about these two articles + twitter thread? They're from a Canadian news outlet I follow. The second is a rebuttal to the first, and the third is a counter-rebuttal. A lot to read haha, but I'm curious about people's opinions.

https://www.readthemaple.com/are-canadian-jews-complicit-in-israels-genocide-in-gaza/

https://www.readthemaple.com/moral-complicity-and-the-bigger-picture-of-canadian-support-for-israel/

https://x.com/DavideMastracci/status/1841517917281616332

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u/Saul_al-Rakoun Conservadox & Marxist Oct 02 '24

I could come up with a critique of the initial article, but I only really have the time and energy right now for a critique of the rebuttal. My critique is pretty simple: it's sophistry. Appel simply sidesteps the core of Mastracci's argument, which is the organized Jewish community provides material support to the Israeli State. He dodges the fact that Mastracci isn't simply making an argument based on what polls tell us about the passions and sentiments, but also that what the polls tell us line up with the fundraising reports.

This is a brute fact of Zionist occupation of Judaic institutions and it is one of the mechanisms by which the Zionist state can interfere in other countries' politics.

The second thing that neither Mastracci nor Appel touch on is hasbara: Zionists donate their time to the colonial project by volunteering themselves as amateur propagandists. Eylon Levy is perhaps the most hilarious archetype of this person, but as a group they provide material support for genocide by trying to gum up popular opposition to it.

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u/bearoscuro Non-Jewish Ally Oct 03 '24

Thank you! Yeah, that's what I didn't agree with in Appel's article - he kind of frames it as "well, the facts say that a lot of Jewish people and institutions support Israel, but it's not real support, it's just posting online and donating money sometimes!" which is still quite morally wrong, and it helps prop up Israel's economy as well.

Also I wish more journalists in general would cover the widespread employment/educational discrimination going on... neither Mastracci or Appel did, I guess understandably bc Mastracci's initial article was already fairly long. It should be way more of a scandal than it is, and I think the publicized cases are a tip of the iceberg because a lot of people are afraid to say anything, or are of marginalized backgrounds already, and don't have the resources to make a legal case out of it.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/chilling-effect-pro-palestinian-1.7064510

https://breachmedia.ca/abuse-of-power-hospitals-med-schools-crack-down-on-palestine-advocacy/