CW: Bullying

This is a vent post and sorry if this doesn't belong here, I just have to get it off my chest.

They (and the entire school system really) made my life a living hell every single day for years. They inflicted all sorts of violence (including sexual) on me, humiliated me every single day and the whole school outcasted me, while their parents supported them and the teachers did nothing but blame it on me for "maladjustment". I was treated like less than dirt. They led me to multiple suicide attempts and left a lasting trauma that affects me to this day.

Recently I checked some of their social media accounts to see what they're up to, and what a surprise - they're doing their reservist service in Gaza, committing genocide. They upload their gleeful photos near ruins in Gaza and make fun of the Palestinians they murder and torture, while the teachers who stood and watched me get tormented praise them while posting their yellow ribbons and whining about "hostages" and October 7th. I cannot even begin to imagine the horrors these demons are now inflicting on Palestinians.

Super weird i know. but curious to know which books get this label to you all. i’ve read so many books on israel’s treatment of palestinians. but kinda wanting to read the misinformation so i actually understand where the talking points are coming from and what they are based on.

https://jewishcurrents.org/inside-yale-police-department-war-student-protesters-palestine

What methods would they have used, and if possible, share photos of a similar manual (hand created) process and what it might have looked like.

Thank you.

Hello all,

I have been going through the posts on this sub and I noticed alot of Anti-Zionist Jews are going through rough times within their community and family and I just have a few words of gratitude and encouragement.

As a Palestinian growing up in west Asia, there was alot of conflation between Jews and Zionists which lead to many Palestinians and Arabs associating Judaism with oppression (in my opinion this is by design as it keeps both sides from having dialogue and fuels antisemitism rhetoric which is weaponized by Israel). it took me coming to Canada as a refugee and to meet brave people like you for me to separate the two and start educating myself on the difference.

It is because of people like you, that I strive to educate my own community to ensure Zionism and Judaism are not conflated, and to confront true anti-semitism when seen in plain view.

So many are trying to suppress your voices and with good reason as you are the biggest threat to the last remnants of western colonialism and imperialism. So please, keep raising your voices because you have no idea the impact it has on changing the status quo and bringing people together.

You are the domino piece that fell and will change generations of Jews to come, you are the voice that will raise your kids to understand that never again is for everyone. Please keep spreading awareness and educating people from your community because the only way change will come is if the Jewish community (especially in Israel) wakes up to the horrors being inflicted on the Palestinians and refuses to participate.

I know many of you are suffering the consequences of speaking out and taking a stand but I would just like to say thank you for standing against injustice and oppression. it is not easy being ostracized by your own, not easy to cut ties with years of brainwashing and conditioning especially to Jews who live or have family in Israel.

You are the beacon of hope for the future so do not despair and keep pushing, boycotting, educating and speaking out. History will remember your bravery, and your children and grandchildren will look back at you as being a moral beacon of light through these dark times. You may not see the impact you have today, but in time, this will be pivotal to dismantling this apartheid state and creating a one state for all.

Should I make a YouTube channel where I talk about my non-zionist beliefs?

I'm a convert and love Judaism with all my heart and soul but I reject Zionism and understand that the Torah warns us against such dangerous ideals.

Some people tell me that because of my demeanor and appearance, I might blow up and I'm not sure if I could handle it and what the potential backlash might be. Like me literally being blown up. (I live in America, white woman in my 20s)

Perhaps I'm egotistical BUT I want to dismantle Zionism!

It is the golden calf of our times. And I want to destroy it. I'll aim to speak more diplomatically in my videos and make references to scripture, the news, and the agenda of Zionists.

What could go wrong? Ha

Thoughts, warnings, advice?

Over the past week, my Instagram has been flooded with ads from a campaign called "Stand Up to Hate." It didn't take me long to discover tis was the newest project by Robert Kraft, a billionaire Trump donor and ardent supporter of Israel.

Kraft, who once gave a CNBC interview comparing pro-Palestine campus protestors to Nazis, founded the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS) to counter anti-Zionist sentiment on social media.

Read the piece here

Researching Kraft and his foundation revealed a troubling pattern of conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism, watering down white-nationalist antisemitism in the process.

My most recent essay is a deep into Kraft's Israel advocacy, FCAS' strategy, and how organizing for a free Palestine is both an act of solidarity and a method of combatting antisemitism.

Let me know what you all think!

If you enjoy this type of writing and want to support me get the word out to more people, you can subscribe to my newsletter for free!

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-12-19/ty-article/.premium/idf-not-updating-gaza-target-list-resulting-in-killing-innocent-civilians-seeking-shelter/00000193-dea5-d8a1-ad9b-ffff5c800000

This seems pretty damning 😩

Hi everyone,

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This is our weekly 'Free Discussion' thread, where you can discuss anything. Tentatively this includes meta-topics as well, but as always our rules still apply.

We hope you're all having a good week!

So basically, I live in Israel. Recently, I just found out that this subreddit is a thing, and more generally, that there are a lot of Jewish people (non Israelis) who've had enough of the brainwash and lies that many of us were fed with for years. To be honest, I kind of envy you. You can speak freely about your opinions, there are probably many people around you who share the same or similar views. You have a place in community and a sense of belonging. I don't. I really have zero emotional connection to this place and what it represents. I don't want to live anymore in a society that doesn't value human life. I hate to see how people celebrate the suffer of others and enjoy it. All that hate is overwhelming to endure. I'm currently 19 and I wish there's still hope for me, but I can't help it, I feel helpless. I mean, fortunately, I'm exempted from the military because of my mental health, but contrary to what some people could perhaps expect, I don't have any other citizenship. Also, I'm afraid that I wouldn't be accepted into other societies; How would people react once they realize I'm an Israeli? I don't want to be automatically associated with all the terrible things that've happened in Gaza (or to Palestinians in general). How do I remove that identity curse from me? How can I make people realize that I'm the complete opposite of the demonic image they have in their minds?

In my area of the U.S. (I live in Jamaal Bowman's Congressional District . . . .), local Zionist advocates (who supported Latimer) will make comments such as that they strongly oppose Netanyahu and see him as an objectionable, right-wing figure, but at the same time will make much of their own nominal support for a "two-state solution," as if their moderation in this regard vindicates their pro-Israel stances.

In my view, some years ago, a peaceful settlement was much more possible, and a two-state solution (whether I agreed with it in principle or not) was viable.

But Netanyahu has worked systematically to make moderate solutions less and less possible, including by constant settlement expansion in violation of both international law and U.S. policy (the national platform of the Democratic Party in the U.S. says "we oppose settlement expansion").

The settlement expansion among other issues simply makes it much much harder to draw any kind of territorial map that will effectuate a two-state solution. The way in which Netanyahu has systematically worked to increase tensions has made it less likely that a peace deal will be popularly accepted and successfully implemented.

Thomas Friedman: "From 30,000 feet, Prime Minister Netanyahu really had a very intentional policy of strengthening Hamas and weakening the Palestinian Authority. So strengthening the Palestinian group that would never recognize Israel while weakening the one that would."

In my view, with moderate solutions increasingly far-fetched, radical solutions become more appropriate. This situation flows directly from Israeli policies, as implemented by popularly elected Israeli officials over a period of years. Although the more radical solutions to the conflict (which is now not only a conflict but a severe crisis), such as a 'one democratic state' solution or even (as grows increasingly defensible) simply allowing an Arab or Arab-Islamist government to rule the territory, are not desired by mainstream American Zionists, the narrowing of options flows from democratic choices by Israeli society and it seems to me that the "elections have consequences" principle should apply.

Hi all, I’m sorry if this isn’t the right place to ask - but is it possible to convert to Judaism if you don’t support Israel? I was in the process of converting in October 2023, but I stopped attending the temple I originally went to when they said that Israeli lives were worth more than Palestinian lives. Since then, I haven’t actually been able to find a temple or shul in my area that works with converts and isn’t pro-Israel (I live in Portland, OR)

I asked this question on another Jewish subreddit and was called a Hamas supporter and the overwhelming majority of responses said that I can’t convert if I don’t support Israel, but I figured I’d ask here as well.

Context: I’m getting ready to start my path to conversion, or my path back home (as I like to call it). But, I need to find a Rabbi or Schul that is not supporting the Israel Government. Anyway, all recommendations are welcome, even in north or south Dade county.

Leading artists, including writer Michael Rosen, actors Billy Howle and Khalid Abdalla, playwrights Caryl Churchill and Tanika Gupta and composer Orlando Gough, have spoken out against attempts to damage the reputation and stifle the work of Brighton’s ThirdSpace theatre company. 

ThirdSpace works with young people. Its latest show, Let it be a Tale, is scheduled for performance in venues across the city before Christmas. 

‘We all carry our stories with us and pass them down,’ reads the company’s description of the show. ‘When someone dies, we keep their memory alive through stories. When cultures are under threat, we keep them alive through stories.’ The advocacy group ‘UK Lawyers for Israel’ (UKLFI) has launched a campaign that claims that the work of ThirdSpace has ‘antisemitic and pro-terror overtones’ and calls for ThirdSpace to be ‘investigated’. 

Artists including actors Juliet Stevenson and Harriet Walter, directors David Lan and Ian Rickson and writers Sabrina Mahfouz and Inua Ellams, describe UKLFI’s action as ‘an attempt to shut down conversation on crucial questions of justice, war and human rights’. They say they are ‘appalled that the empathy expressed in the work of ThirdSpace is being presented as a form of antisemitism’. 

UKLFI has targeted renowned surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta  and International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan. It has attempted to dismiss the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to plausible genocide.  In response, hundreds of former judges, including three of the Supreme Court, as well as sitting judges, lawyers and legal academics have rebutted UKLFI’s claims, noting their arguments to be “empty wordplay on the most serious of issues”. It has a record of attempting to censor cultural expression:  children’s art at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital,  an exhibition at the Whitworth gallery in Manchester and a show at the Barbican. 

Its efforts to deny expressions of Palestinian identity and experience is deeply damaging to the cultural sector, to public life, and for the development of children and young people.

The artists say they fully endorse ThirdSpace Theatre’s efforts to ‘build community and resistance in hard times’. They go on to ‘urge arts funders and Brighton and Hove Council to affirm their continuing support for the company and to resist any attempt to curtail or cancel its work’.