Transcripts, Descriptions, and Records

Some idiot who completely missed the fucking point:

The Film Workers for Palestine pledge signed by over 4,000 prominent entertainers and filmmakers to boycott Israeli film and television industries is anathema to the industry itself. But apparently, actors and directors — recently among them Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix — support a boycott of the entire Israeli film and television industries.

“We pledge not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions — including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies — that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,” the pledge reads.

This call to boycott is nothing new. In fact, similar efforts have been around long before the establishment of the State of Israel.

Instead of promoting the peace we all so desperately desire, these thousands of signatories have chosen to amplify hate.

Such efforts can be traced back to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which presents itself as a social justice movement. It is no such thing. It is a political movement that seeks the defamation, delegitimization and eventual elimination of the State of Israel, as stated openly by the group’s founder and leader, Omar Barghouti.

“Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine,” Barghouti has said. He’s referring to the entire stretch of land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing the West Bank, Israel proper, and Gaza.

To advance their aims, the BDS movement presents a black and white narrative, insinuating that Israel is a uniquely evil state. They also explicitly reject “co-existence” and progressive groups unless they embrace the dismantling of the State of Israel as a form of “co-resistance.”

Boycott activists tactically weaponize inflammatory and incendiary terms to describe Israel. They understand that words like “genocide,” “apartheid” and “colonialism” elicit strong emotional reactions and conjure up images of the very worst human rights abusers in history. These rhetorical weapons not only denigrate the true meaning of these terms; they also fan the flames of hostility and dampen hope for peace.

The Film Workers pledge, published Monday with 1,300 original signatories — among them Mark Ruffalo, Olivia Colman and Javier Bardem– before ballooning to its over 4,000 at the time of publishing, contains obvious misinformation.

The pledge claims that “the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza.” This is obfuscation of the truth at best and intentionally misleading at worst.The only position the ICJ has taken is that Palestinians are a distinct national group and thus have rights under the Genocide Convention that could plausibly be infringed — not that genocide had been committed or may be being committed.The author of that decision, ex-ICJ president, Joan Donoghue, clarified the matter on the BBC.

The truth is that the film and television industry in Israel is a vibrant hub of collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian artists and filmmakers, who work closely together every single day to tell complex stories that entertain and inform both communities and the world.

In these challenging times, especially for those seeking peace, this is an industry that must be supported.

For example, the award-winning miniseries “Our Boys” was written and directed by both Israeli Jews and Palestinians. Telling the true story of how the 2014 war in Gaza broke out, the series also included a cast and crew of both Jews and Palestinians. Drawing on one of the darkest episodes in the Israeli Palestinian conflict, it illustrates the human capacity for evil, regardless of background or heritage.

Yet, the production of “Our Boys” also demonstrates how Jews and Arabs not only co-exist but work in creative collaboration to tell difficult, important stories.

And it’s not alone.

The hit television series “Fauda” also features Jewish and Palestinian actors. The beautiful documentary “Dead Sea Guardians” follows three environmentalists, one Jewish, one Palestinian, and one Jordanian — on their quest to save the Dead Sea, a resource shared by all three peoples.

There are hundreds of similar projects.

There are also countless Israeli-made projects that showcase Palestinian-themed films.

These include the film “In Between”, that follows three Arab women navigating life in Tel Aviv, funded by the Rabinovich Foundation; “Let It Be Morning,” which tells the story of a Palestinian village under siege, backed by the Israel Film Fund and Mifal HaPais (it won seven Ophir Awards, Israel’s version of the Oscars); “The Sea,” a film about a 12-year-old Palestinian boy longing to see the ocean, also financed by the Israel Film Fund and Mifal HaPais (it is now nominated for 13 Ophir Awards); and “5 Broken Cameras,” a documentary about Palestinian resistance in Bil’in, supported by Israeli funds, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

These films would all be subject to this boycott.

Many don’t agree with every policy or action of the Israeli and Palestinian governments, just as we may not agree with the actions or policies of the American or British governments. Yet we all believe in the power of artists and filmmakers and their ability to affect lives and create positive change in the world.

While both sides of the conflict bear some responsibility for the current situation, creative endeavors, like films and TV shows, are crucial to helping bridge the cultural divide and bringing Arabs and Jews together.

Ultimately, this boycott call is an affront to Palestinian and Israeli moderates alike who seek to reach peace through compromise, exchange and mutual recognition. Silencing the voices of storytellers through a boycott does nothing to advance peace — in fact, it undermines it. The very artists and filmmakers who work across divides, grapple with painful truths and foster dialogue should be lauded. By targeting Israel’s creative class, this boycott does not punish politicians or policymakers, but it does target artists, storytellers and entertainers who strive to build bridges through culture.

If the entertainment community is serious about effecting positive change, then we must stand with those who create spaces for empathy.

Also Paramount has condemned this

“At Paramount, we believe in the power of storytelling to connect and inspire people, promote mutual understanding, and preserve the moments, ideas, and events that shape the world we share. This is our creative mission,” reads a statement provided by Paramount chief communications officer Melissa Zukerman.

"We do not agree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers... Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace. The global entertainment industry should be encouraging artists to tell their stories and share their ideas with audiences throughout the world."

realPattyMurray writes in all-caps "GOP'S BIG UGLY BILL KICKS PEOPLE OFF HEALTH CARE AND FOOD ASSISTANCE. HOSPITALS WILL CLOSE. KIDS WITH DISABILITIES WILL LOSE CAREGIVERS. BIG WINNERS? BILLIONAIRES. TOTAL FRAUD! IT POLLS LIKE GARBAGE, BECAUSE IT IS. GOP SHOULD DROP IT!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER."

Arbel’s family has requested that the terrifying, chaotic video of her being released amidst a mob today not be shared, which is wholly understandable. but I do want to mention how what we saw will be conveniently ignored, a blind eye turned to it as has been the standard for the past fifteen months. this should be met with outrage and concern, and instead will garner continued silence.

I keep thinking about Amit Soussana, bravely sharing her testimony of being violently abused, and how what she endured will not make a ripple on the consciousness of the world’s “women’s rights activists.”

I keep thinking about what she shared of Liri’s courage in saving her life. it’s a remarkable story. it’s a story that should be the sort of thing the media loves to elevate - whether you look at that from a compassionate human interest point of view or a cynical ratings grab point of view. in the broadest of strokes: a forty year old lawyer is abducted, chained up, beaten, sexually assaulted, threatened with death by her captors, and a nineteen year old girl, who was on base as an unarmed observer for only two days, kidnapped in her pajamas, intervenes, argues with the men who brutally took them, tells them they’re wrong, and they listen to her. the lawyer is later released and shares details of her captivity, but waits over a year until this resilient girl is finally home to share that part of the story. it’s compelling, right? it’s upsetting in the abuse and uplifting in the courage and solidarity of these women. hardly anyone will ever hear it, though.

this is such a surreal time to be in, realizing that institutions and movements that I thought reflected my beliefs simply do not at all. it’s like the curtain of the world has been pulled away, and I’m able to see the vast void behind the facade - yet seeing it does not aid my comprehension of it.

Feminism should be about justice for all women, not just those who fit a specific political narrative. My issue isn't with feminism itself -- I stand with all women -- but with mainstream feminist organizations that claim to fight misogyny yet remain silent when Israeli girls and women are targeted.

This selective outrage exposes a glaring double standard. I deeply respect the feminists speaking out (who are mainly Jewish) but true feminism cannot pick and choose which women deserve protection.

Silence in the face of gender-based violence -- depending on the victims -- is a betrayal of the very principles these groups claim to uphold.

As per her family's request, I've deleted the video and image of Arbel Yehud being led by Hamas and Islamic Jihad through Gaza.

Sources:

Text: BEIRUT, Oct 3 (Reuters) - A 21-year-old woman kidnapped by Islamic State militants in Iraq more than a decade ago was freed from Gaza this week in an operation involving the United States and Israel, officials said.

The rescue also involved Jordan and Iraq, according to officials.

The woman is a member of the ancient Yazidi religious minority mostly found in Iraq and Syria which saw more than 5,000 members killed and thousands more kidnapped in an IS campaign in 2014 that the U.N. has said constituted genocide.

The Israeli military said it coordinated with the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and "other international actors" in the operation to free Sido.

It said in a statement her captor had been killed during the Gaza war, presumably by an Israeli air strike, and she then fled to a hideout inside the Gaza Strip.

The spokesperson said she was kidnapped from her home in Iraq aged 11 and sold and trafficked to Gaza. Her captor was recently killed, allowing her to escape and seek repatriation, the spokesperson said. /end ID

I am sure I am leaving some of the others I have seen reported on out.

"I'm truly relieved for the families of the four Israeli hostages who were freed from the Nuseirat area, especially Noa Argamani, whose family and parents I got to connect with and have developed particular empathy for her mother, facing terminal brain cancer and wanting to see her only daughter one last time before she passes.

I'm deeply saddened by the losses of Palestinian lives that occurred during the raid, which entailed intense bombardment throughout central Gaza. This is what makes Hamas so exceptionally evil and ruthless: placing hostages that it refuses to release amongst the civilian population, knowing very well that doing so compromises everyone's safety. Sinwar rejected the recent proposal by the US to gradually end the war and is slowly losing the only "leverage" that his group has, to the point where even Qatar is reportedly threatening to expel the group if they don't accept a hostage/ceasefire deal. Hamas is not only holding Israeli hostages but millions of Palestinians in Gaza.

Yes, I'm relieved for Noa and her mom, Liora and dad, Yacov; I'm relieved for the parents of Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. But I'm also sad and heartbroken by the loss of dozens of Palestinian lives and the continuation of a war that's so clearly futile and destructive to the Palestinian people because two psychopaths, Sinwar and Deif, think they know what's best from their damp rat holes underground. I also would caution against the euphoria of this successful operation blinding people to the still persistent need for a ceasefire/exchange deal to ensure the safe release of all other hostages. May this terrible tragedy end soon, and that the killing of Palestinians in Gaza stops, for this horrendous war is going nowhere. It's time for Hamas to end its reckless endangerment of Gazans and to stop this madness; the group must take responsibility for what it has brought upon the people of Gaza. And if you claim to be pro-Palestine, then call out Hamas and stop protecting them from overdue critique and condemnation.

I'm glad you're home with your parents, Noa.

4 hostages have been rescued!! Baruch Hashem

Nonnie, I was just trying to screen shot the news, but my computer is not cooperating... So thank you for the link and indeed, Baruch Hashem for this grace, and for our amazing security forces who risked themselves to carry this operation out.

I'm so happy for all of the hostages, I'm so happy for all of Am Yisrael, but I'm actually particularly happy for Liora, Noa's mom, who has terminal cancer, and all she asked for was to get to see her daughter free before she dies. I'm crying, I'm so glad she got this dying wish fulfilled, and I'm praying for all the hostages for a healing and successful recovery.

Am Yisrael chai! 💖

[Edited to add:]

Managed to get the computer to work! I wanted the screenshot directly from the IDF's twitter, 'coz I felt they deserve all the credit, along with ISA and Israeli police.

And here's Nonnie's link, made clickable.

More updates in the reblog.

They are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the 'Sheba' Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for further medical examinations.

We will continue to make every effort to bring the hostages home."

It has been nightmarishly difficult to differentiate between non antisemitic palestinian advocacy and antisemitc palestinian advocacy. So for the most part my involvement has been, i do not have the spoons for this so im staying out of it and unfollowing and blocking anyone being a blatant asshole about it.

Is the boycott of eurovision one of the less antisemitic parts of the pro-palestine movement or am i going to be treating this as yet another dog whistle?

Dogwhistle.

1) claim #1: Israel should not be allowed to perform because it’s committing genocide. Aside from the fact that quite a few experts have said IT ISN’T: let’s remove every country that’s committed genocide since 1901–

….oh. Well, that’s embarrassing. (And I missed Sweden and its attempts to get rid of the Sámi, so it’s even worse than that graphic makes it look.) Maybe just the ones doing it right now, which is surely just Israel—

…..or not.

Clearly, it’s not actually about genocide.

2) claim #2: Israel should not be able to participate because it isn’t in Europe. There is a small amount of merit in this—except that nobody is calling for Australia, Azerbaijan, or Armenia to be removed on the same grounds. Incidentally, if we’re going based entirely on geographic location, there are two other countries that ought to get the boot by virtue of being at least partly over the Europe-Asia border.

So it’s not actually about location.

3) claim #3: Israel shouldn’t be able to participate because it’s a colony. I’m going to say something controversial: most of Israel is not, because you can’t colonize a place you’re indigenous to, HOWEVER, because the West Bank was intended to be specifically a Palestinian state, I think the settlements there could count as colonization. Okay, I’ll give you that one. Surely the protestors are calling for the removal of all countries that currently have colonial holdings—

….oh.

Special shoutout to the UK, by the way, which IS a colony. The Welsh, Cornish, (some) Irish, and Scottish people are under English rule, and the English have very cleverly put it into their own laws that none of those countries can declare independence unless England says it’s okay.

(Also, I feel like if you’re going to yell about colonization and Eurovision, maybe we should discuss how all Eurovision entries must be in English.)

So it’s not really about colonization.

Claim #4: Israel is trying to sneak propaganda in with its song, so it shouldn’t be allowed to participate.

This one is so fucking stupid I’m just going to say “judge for yourself.”

Yes, it’s about the grief of 10/7. But if you didn’t know that, you WOULDN’T know it, and grief is not political.

So it’s not really about politics or propaganda.

And finally,

Claim #5: Israel shouldn’t be allowed to participate because it’s an ethnostate and those are bad.

So first, Israel is not an ethnostate. Only 73% of its population are Jews; over a quarter belong to other ethnicities. But sure, I’ll play: every country with a population that’s 74% or more from one ethnicity is now disinvited from Eurovision!

….oh.

Also, wanna know why Poland is crossed off in red? Because it’s 98% one ethnicity. Now THAT is an ethnostate.

But this one is getting warmer, because….

It’s not about genocide, or colonialism, or politics…but it is about how many Jews there are.

Images for Claim #1, remove every country that’s committed genocide since 1901: all but eight countries have been crossed out, leaving only Cyprus, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Malta, San Marino, Sweden, and Switzerland as potential Eurovision contestants.

Follow up image: remove every country currently committing genocide: Australia and Azerbaijan are crossed out. United Kingdom has a question mark next to it.

Image for claim #3, remove all countries that currently have colonial holdings: eight countries are crossed out: Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Israel, Portugal, Serbia, and United Kingdom.

Image for claim #4: youtube embed of official music video for Eden Golan’s Hurricane, written by Avi Ohyon, Keren Peles, and Stav Beger, with the Eurovision logo.

Image for claim #5, remove all countries whose populations are 74% or higher of a single ethnicity: twenty-six countries have been crossed out, leaving only eleven countries as participants. Poland has been crossed out in red ink instead of black. Remaining countries are Australia, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Luxembourg, San Marino, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

I’ve commented before that while this image might look like a joke, it’s not, at least not entirely; it’s a legitimate diagnostic tool.

Explanations/Expansions for the individual boxes under the Read More:

Authoritarian Economic-Left: “Because there are Jews in Israel”

Authoritarian Economic-Right: “Because there are Jews outside of Israel”

Libertarian Economic-Left: “They invented capitalism to control us and attack our freedom”

Libertarian Economic-Right: “They invented socialism to attack our freedom and control us”

Is this. The infamous bingo card. That led to garbage user heritageposts creating the so-called zionist blocklist. In which they listed any jewish account that they deemed had interacted with it positively in any way. So all those accounts got a ton of hate and death threats over the course of months????

Are you telling me. That bingo card. Was from frigging JULY.

That being said…

Two charts, some squares using nonstandard fonts for aesthetic/tone.

First reads: Antisemite Bingo (use with care on social media, due to high probability of being able to fill an entire card within five minutes) Conflators of "Israel" with "Diasporic Jews", Stalker Missionaries, Model Minority Promoters, Appropriative Messianic "jews", Oppression Olympic Medalists, Pro-Israel Pro-Rapture Evangelic Christian, Goyim Who Insist The "Anti-Semitism Isn't A Problem Anymore", "Exotic" Jewish Stereotype Fetishiszers, Jewish Identity Erasers, "Jews Are Evil!" Vegetarians, White Swastika Reclaimers, Christians Who Insist That "Judaism Is Christianity Without Christ" Or That "Christianity Is Perfected Judaism", Users & Promoters Of Antisemitic Imagery [Free Space], "But What About Israel?" Anti-Semitism Discussion Derailers, ZOG Conspiracy Theorists, Promoters of Anti-Zionist Double-Standards, Jewish History Revisionists (Pre/Post Holocaust Department), Jewish Identity Policers, Non-Intersectional "Social Justice" Bloggers, Philosemitic Christians looking to "Get in touch with Jesus", Users Of Jews As Rhetorical Devices While Ignoring Jewish Voices, Neo-Nazis, Slur-Using Goyim Insisting "Goy Is a slur!", Label-Happy Racial Binarists, Holocaust Deniers.

Second reads: Anti-Semitic Bingo 2014 Edition by bibliophile20@tumblr. "Blood of Jesus", "Judaism Is Just A Religion!", Ignoring Jewish And Arab Voices, Goyim Policing Jewish Identity, Ignoring Or Denying Non-Ashkenazi Jewish Ethnicities, Condoning Synagogue Vandalism, Trying To Cover Anti-Semitism By Calling It Anti-Zionism, Comparing Jews To Nazis, Forcing Diaspora Jews to Pick Sides, "Arabs Are Semites Too!", Using the Magen David By Itself, Instead Of The Israeli Flag, Anti-Semitic Double Standards, Ignoring Examples Of Anti-Semitism [Free Space], "Israel Is Responsible For European Anti-Semitism", Blood Libel Imagery, Say That "Jewish Privilege" Exists Anywhere Outside Israel, *Biblical Quotemining*, Blame Israel For Ferguson, Calling Jews Barbarians, Savages, Or Bloodthirsty, Telling Jews To Assimilate To Make Anti-Semitism Go Away, "Stop Talking About The Holocaust Already!", "Anti-Semitism Isn't A Problem Anymore", "Jews Are White", Deciding Which Jews Can Be Protected Against Anti-Semitism, Blaming Jews In The Diaspora For The Actions Of Israel".

Can conquerors who take the land of others become indigenous?

Of course not!

That’s why Israel was initially the progressives’ darling state - it is history’s most successful example of restored indigenous sovereignty.

It wasn’t until after 1967 & Israel’s stunning victory over #Soviet-backed militaries of #Egypt, #Jordan & #Syria in the Six Day War that Israel’s “darling" status among progressives started to wane.

Suddenly, Israel was no longer seen as the underdog David fighting for survival against the mighty Arab Goliath.

But the truth of history never changed.

History (and plain common sense) proves that Arabs are actually the most successful colonizers of all time.

Don’t believe me?

Arabs, the Arabic language, & the Islamic religion all started in the Arabian Peninsula before they began to expand “by the sword” under Caliph Omar in the 7th century CE.

Up to that point in history, no one outside the #Arabian Peninsula spoke Arabic.

Today, however, #Arabic is spoken from the Atlantic Ocean to the #PersianGulf (more than 5 million square miles of land!). There are also 22 Arab nations and 57 Islamic countries along with 1.8 billion Muslims (~25% of the world’s population).

And please don’t try claiming that only #Europeans and/or “#WhitePeople” can be colonizers. There have been many examples of non-#European and/or non-White colonialist empires over the centuries such as Japan, Turkey, Persia, Brazil, China, & India, just to name a few.

How do you think the Arab world came to dominate North #Africa, the Near East, and the #MiddleEast?

It wasn’t magic.

It was by the sword.

Arab Muslims violently subjugated the local indigenous people across that vast territory.

Every now and then you hear about a minority indigenous population other than the Jews that managed to survive the violent Arab conquests such as the Berbers, the Yazidis, the Arameans, the Zoroastrians, and the Copts.

However, there were dozens of other cultures, religions, & peoples that went “extinct” as a result of Arab Islamic settler colonialism. The remnants of those cultures, religions, & peoples can now only be found via archeological and/or written sources.

And yes, “#settler colonialism” is actually the correct term to use when referring to the Arab conquest of this vast swath of land (which includes the Land of Israel).

Indigenous eyewitness accounts from Jews, Samaritans, Copts, & Zoroastrians confirm the brutal conquest & colonization of the Levant (including Israel) & the Middle East and attest to the brutally devastating effects Arab colonization had on the local indigenous populations.

In fact, almost every culture the Arab Muslims came across was either wiped out or Arabized and forcibly converted.

In the Land of Israel, the Arab conquerers colonized land that still had ~350,000 Jews and ~150,000 Samaritans - together making up the vast majority of the land. It took ~200 years of forced conversions, proselytization, & Arab migration and #colonization for Islam to become the majority religion in the Land of Israel.

It was also ~200 years after the Arab Muslim conquest of the Land that the #Arabs renamed #Jerusalem “Al-Quds” - replacing what was already a 2,000-year-old #Hebrew name for the city.

Since the Arab conquests that began in the 7th century CE, only the Jews have managed to rise up and reclaim their land from their Arab #occupiers/#colonizers.

Jews were able to survive in part because the Pact of Umar enforced after the Arab colonization essentially created a protection racket whereby Jews would be permitted to live as long as they paid an exorbitant “#tax” called the “jizya.”

It was through this jizya that the Arab Muslims extorted the land and its indigenous inhabitants for economic advantage since it generated enormous income for the #imperialist Arab #caliphate.

Meanwhile, the indigenous Jews were subjugated by law (some examples follow):

Jews were forbidden from building new synagogues & all existing synagogues had to be shorter than all mosques or they would be destroyed; Jews had to be silent during Muslim prayer; Jews had to give way in the street to Muslims & give up their seats to Muslims; Jews were required to wear identifying yellow clothing (this was invented by an Arab Caliph ~1,000 years before Hitler); Jews could not own weapons; Jews could not govern any land or employ any Muslims; and Jewish testimony was not admissible in court.

Making matters worse, Jews were forcibly displaced by the Arabization policies of Caliph Uthman in the 640s and 650s CE, so that Arab Muslims would have the most fertile land.

Furthermore, as a result of an ever-increasing jizya tax, Jews were largely forced out of the cities; and Arab #Muslims moved in and settled their land.

Also exacerbating the economic toll of the invading Arab Muslim colonizers, Jews who had owned and run vineyards for centuries suddenly were forced to stop their businesses since #alcohol was forbidden in Islam.

Meanwhile, ~55 years after the Arab Muslim conquest of the Land of Israel, the Arab rulers built the Dome of the Rock, and ~80 years after their conquest, they built the al-Aqsa Mosque - both of which the Arab Muslim conquerers built directly on top of the ancient ruins of the Jewish Temple.

At that time, it was customary for conquering Arab armies to build religious monuments on top of the ruins of sacred sites they had captured. This was meant to be symbolic of Arab #Muslim power.

Later, the al-Hakim Edict of 1012 CE demanded the conversion of Jews to #Islam. Any Jew who refused was forced into exile or killed. Some Jews converted only to convert back decades later. Other Jews went into hiding & refused to convert. Still other Jews converted & became Musta’arabim (Arabized Jews) and, realizing the benefits to themselves & their families of no longer being second class citizens, many of them maintained the #Islamic faith & Arab customs even after al-Hakim’s rule ended.

In other words, the #Arab conquering settler colonialists did not peacefully integrate with the indigenous populations. They used forceful #EthnicCleansing through severe taxation, humiliating laws, & the dispossession of land. Furthermore, the Arab Muslims engaged in physical genocidal acts via the al-Hakim Edict against anyone who refused to convert to Islam in the early 11th century CE.

So, don’t be a simpleton.

You can’t know an entire history of two peoples & decide that today’s #Palestinian Arabs are the “good guys” and the “oppressed people” & that the Jews are the “bad guys” & the “oppressors” simply by looking at the actions of Israel today in defending itself from the genocidal #terrorist military of #Hamas.

Truth be told, the #Jews were a helpless, stateless, minority everywhere on Earth for nearly two millennia before the reestablishment of the State of Israel.

And there was a time, not that long ago, when #progressives looked at Israel pridefully as a nation of downtrodden indigenous people who #decolonized their land & reestablished their sovereignty.

My favorite excerpt:

So yeah. To BDS, the only acceptable place for Israelis (and, let’s face it—considering their mapping project, Jews everywhere) is in a mass grave or a pile of ash. Even if they have to twist reality to justify it.

Care to join me?

BDS deciding that their activism is not good enough brings us back to the classic catch-22 of being a leftist Jew: sure, you're leftist, so plenty of people hate your politics, but you're also a Jew - so plenty of people hate you. I cannot explain how demoralizing and genuinely dangerous it is that right wing spaces are some of the safer spaces to be Jewish: dangerous for Jews, because the right isn't really our ally, and dangerous for everyone else affected by the policies the right seeks to implement. there has to be a place on the left for Jews, if not only because Standing Together and their like are the people trying to make a difference on the ground, as opposed to horrifying alternatives that involve killing unspeakable numbers of people.

Original post image: Series of tweets by @MonicaLMarks dated Jan 25 2024, reading: " BDS has called to boycott Standing Together (⁦@omdimbeyachad), an org I proudly support.⁩ BDS describes it as a "Israeli normalization org" that “whitewash[es] Israel’s ongoing genocide." This is counter-productive, circular firing squad purism. [Thread emoji] [link to BDS post]

Standing Together is led by Jewish & Palestinian Israelis. It works in the incredibly fraught, increasingly repressive (some would say fascistic) envir of Israel to build common ground & get ppl to humanise each other. An uphill battle, to say the least.

To illustrate how tough the terrain is for the most anodyne humanising activism in [Israel flag emoji]: 2 of its members were recently detained for posters whose message (in AR & HE) the police deemed offensive. They said “Jews & Arabs, we will get through this together.” [link to The Guardian article]

Before accusing Standing Together of wrongthink, hear this excellent interview w one of its leaders, Sally Abed. Sally describes growing up in an Israel the severs Arab citizens’ ties to Palestinian-ness. Even Haaretz, she says, edited out that connection [link to Spotify of "Ground Report: Sally Abed"]

Given the steeply uphill battle they’re fighting, the increasingly repressive climate in which they’re working—& their goal to not merely shout people down, but to build a movement *in Israel* for an end to occupation & oppression of Palestinians—they avoid some freighted words.

Their leaders have explained, in the podcast I posted & many other fora, that they don’t use the words apartheid & genocide in their activism—not bc they deny those crimes are happening, but bc those are “trigger words” in Israel that make it nigh impossible to build a movement.

Some corners of the pro-Palestine movement have taken issue w/ this, demanding Standing Together operate in a decontextualised & likely ineffective manner divorced from Israel’s realities. Many have not personally spent time in Israel & see doing so as traitorous to the cause.

Inside Israel, Standing Together & its supporters—some of whom include a purple circle on their social media handles—are widely derided as fringey, far-left peaceniks whose starry-eyed idealism undermines Israelis’ security. They’re often mocked & even shunned for their activism.

So when the BDS movement denounces Standing Together as impure, “intellectually dishonest” normalisers—traitors in sheep’s clothing—it’s sending a blaring signal that no Israeli citizen, Jewish or Palestinian, can effectively be an ally.

Being ostracised in much of Israeli society isn’t enough. Being detained isn’t enough. Risking arrest or firing—esp for ST’s Arab/Palestinian members—isn’t enough. Calling for a ceasefire isn’t enough. Calling to end the occupation isn’t enough. Marching tirelessly isn’t enough." /end ID

Transcript of above screencaps below the readmore: