Israel/Palestine post 10/7 - follow-on events/thoughts as relate to other countries

man alive, I didn't mean to say that antisemitism was mainly the fault of Israel, or that Israel's messaging is an excuse for antisemitism. I just meant that I think any message that represents Jews as a monolithic group is its own form of antisemitism, and one that I find very dangerous right now.

I think the analogy man alive makes in your previous post is quite a good one. Regardless of whether or not one thinks that all Muslims bear responsibility for the actions of groups who purport that atrocities they commit are in the name of Islam (and, to be clear, this is similarly a horrible and racist idea) it is clear that to do so is common and, based on a quick skim of British newspapers, respectable in many quarters. In this equation I think its pretty clear that there are a range of actors linked by an interest in making Islam and violence synonymous, regardless of the extreme divergence of their motivations. Both are culpable for forging this slanderous connection.

The wholesale commandeering of identities by fringe or conservative elements within them, motivated by deep animus, is common and tends to be enthusiastically embraced by the sensible, measured bigots that populate the opinion columns of the world. I think also of the, often unchallenged, framing of transphobia as the protection of women's or "LGB" rights. The spectacle of swivel-eyed right-wing thugs 'standing up for "LGB" rights' is not a reassuring or comforting development, and I feel a deep but difficult to articulate resonance with the images of the Jewish protesters being arrested in NYC with 'Not in my name' t-shirts. The horror and nauseating feeling of being implicated and used in such a cynical way. It seems especially galling given that apportioning blame for the state of Israel to jewish people everywhere is recognised as a fundamental expression and vector of antisemitism.

Nicholas Courtman
@CourtmanNick
German MP from the liberal party (!) calling for the parliament to eliminate foreigners’ right to organise protests and deny their right to association as a response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, I see

dunno what that ! is about - the liberal party is the FDP, i.e. libertarian cranks, no surprise they'd be into this

Have seen a strong reaction to protests in Germany (and ofc the UK), across the pol class. But yes it's to be seen whether something is ratified in Parliament...just something to keep an eye on.

I could imagine it going through yeah, and it is v scary

wouldn't put it past the german left either tbh

Interesting thread on why the US having no red lines is bad foreign policy.

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Jeet Heer
@HeerJeet
·
1h
1. I want to suggest that Biden shouldn't be guided by domestic politics on this but by what is in the foreign policy interest of the USA. Biden is giving de facto unequivocal support (with a few rhetorical cautions) to a massacre. That is bad for America. Period

the thing about this copy paste technique is that there's no way for us to click to the rest of the thread

I prefer it

I know, it's responding to something else so the embed would be an issue here.

People who are on twitter can seek it out.

People who hate the platform can ignore it.

xp

8. What you have right now is a State Dept filled with people who know the policies they are executing are bad for America and for the world, in addition to being morally revolting. The domestic politics of this seem secondary to me compared to that.

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) November 6, 2023

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-wanted-to-fire-far-right-minister-caved-under-ben-gvirs-opposition-tv/

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to fire Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu for saying one of Israel’s options in the war against Hamas is to nuke Gaza, but buckled following opposition from far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Channel 12 news reports.

Ben Gvir, who heads the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, of which Eliyahu is a member, told Netanyahu he would not cooperate with the effort, saying the government should be focusing on destroying Hamas, not “educating ministers,” according to the network. Netanyahu then folded."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/humber-student-boycott-israeli-apartheid-1.7020897

kicked out of school for a "boycott Israeli apartheid" sticker...

Rashida Tlaib censured by the House due to "from the river to the sea"....https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/07/us/politics/tlaib-censure-house-israel-gaza.html?te=1&nl=from-the-times&emc=edit_ufn_20231107

A source shared with me this resignation letter from Victoria Ruiz, the pro-Palestine public defender who was forced out of her position this week by a NY Post-led harassment campaign. Tells her side of the story. pic.twitter.com/a17KTgYjH7

— Brendan O'Connor (@_grendan) November 8, 2023

New York public defender forced to resign for attending a pro-Palestine vigil

Surrounded by some of her progressive Democratic colleagues, Tlaib said earlier Tuesday she would not be "silenced" and accused members of distorting her words.

"I can't believe we have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable," she said before she broke down in tears for several seconds earlier on Tuesday. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., stood to comfort Tlaib before she continued.

"We are human beings just like anyone else. My sity, my grandmother -- like all Palestinians -- just wants to live her life with freedom and human dignity we all deserve," she said. "Speaking up to save lives no matter faith, no matter ethnicity should not be controversial in this chamber. The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me. What I don't understand is why the cries of Palestinian children sound different to you all. We cannot lose our shared humanity."

ridiculous censure vote, ridiculous institution

This is something at least:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/congressional-staffers-stage-walkout-gaza-ceasefire-1234872959/amp/

Over 100 congressional staffers staged a walkout in front of the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, calling on the representatives they work for to endorse a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

The staffers held a vigil for the 1,400 Israelis killed in Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack against Israel, as well as the more than 10,000 Palestinians killed in Israel’s retaliatory siege against the Gaza Strip.

“We were horrified by the brutal October 7th attacks on Israeli civilians, and we are horrified by the overwhelming response by the Israeli government that has killed thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” Congressional Staff For A Ceasefire wrote in a statement. “Our constituents are pleading for a ceasefire, and we are the staffers answering their calls.”

“Most of our bosses on Capitol Hill are not listening to the people they represent. We demand our leaders speak up: call for a ceasefire, a release of all hostages, and an immediate de-escalation now,” they added.

A friend was fired

https://hardcrackers.com/on-being-fired-academic-repression-and-the-struggle-for-palestine/

Fired for teaching by the syllabus? I hope she does file a complaint.

From the latest Bookforum newsletter:

Since we last wrote you, more than five hundred writers have signed a letter boycotting Artforum and other Penske Media Corporation (PMC) art publications, including Art in America and ARTnews, in the wake of editor David Velasco’s firing. n+1 has published an open letter drafted by a group of Jewish writers, artists, and activists disavowing the idea “that any criticism of Israel is inherently antisemitic.”

BED BATH & BEYOND SCION PRESSURED ARTISTS TO RETRACT GAZA CEASEFIRE CALL IN ARTFORUM LETTER
The editor who published the letter in Artforum was fired after the wealthy art patron Martin Eisenberg’s behind-the-scenes push

Big Pillow strikes again

That popped up a lot on my feed last week. Quite a few people (writers and staff members such as editors) also resigned or pulled written pieces from Artforum in protest.

Taj Ali
@Taj_Ali1
·
21h
BREAKING: The Trade Unionists for Palestine group have shut down a Melbourne port, preventing trucks from accessing the area where an Israeli shipping line operates.

Protesters say shipping line ZIM has a long history of complicity in the oppression of the Palestinian people

Taj Ali
@Taj_Ali1
·
7h
When Nelson Mandela was released from prison he came to Australia to especially thank the trade unionists who had blockaded ships carrying goods to and from apartheid South Africa.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/09/palestinian-author-adania-shibli-frankfurt-book-fair

The Zoomers are all right:

https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2023/11/an-open-letter-from-jewish-students

There is a big protest at Union Station in Toronto today, Jewish people staging a sit-in in solidarity with Palestinians.

https://x.com/surjto/status/1722601639666696560

That statement from the Jewish students of Brown is really good

Certainly the best student statement I’ve read

Yes, it's incredibly well-articulated. When you consider, too, that the most vitriolic anti-Semitism is being directed toward them, it's inspiring to see such erudition and grace in the face of such bullshit.

Just a week ago, an op-ed from The Jerusalem Post argued to strip anti-ceasefire Jewish protesters of their Judaism, calling them "un-Jews":

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-771479

*pro-ceasefire, excuse me

I really hope the students don't have their lives totally destroyed over this

I thought this was the most interesting part of that deeply unpleasant article:

The prominence of visibly Jewish anti-Zionists in the ongoing flood of bile and opprobrium targeting the Jewish state in the aftermath of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust should repulse us all.

bile and opprobrium is right - the existence of these people is clearly irritating on an existential level - does "should repulse us all" imply that they aren't repulsing enough people yet?

There was an absolutely horrific editorial in the Jerusalem Post saying that left wing Jewish people involved in the protests shouldn’t be considered Jewish at all.

oh sorry, I didn’t scroll up.

I hope it goes no further than just being a horrific editorial - it is evidence that the protests are genuinely undermining their propaganda efforts which is something

Would like to find out where in halakha it is written that the editor of the Jerusalem Post has the power to determine who is and is not Jewish

https://www.timesofisrael.com/avi-mayer-prominent-pro-israel-activist-named-editor-of-the-jerusalem-post/

Propagandist zaddy tbf

fp

:)

I hope it goes no further than just being a horrific editorial - it is evidence that the protests are genuinely undermining their propaganda efforts which is something

― Left, Thursday, November 9, 2023 12:59 PM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

there are a lot of people in the israeli government very interested in adjudicating who exactly is jewish. small example below

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/ultra-orthodox-mk-compares-reform-jews-to-pigs-672296

also waht is a person who is "visibly jewish" they see them at protests

I think there are still a lot of liberal American Jews, especially older ones, who don't realize that the Israeli right wing is also against them. It's easy to not get it if you just go hang out in Tel Aviv, see the Wailing Wall, and come home.

even the wailing wall isn't safe, the kind of thing described in the below article happens fairly regularly

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ultra-orthodox-clash-with-reform-worshipers-at-western-wall/

https://newrepublic.com/article/176781/open-letter-why-leaving-democratic-socialists-america

In the face of the wanton slaughter of innocents by Hamas, the calculated and depraved cruelty of its premeditated murder and kidnapping of the defenseless, including children and the elderly, several DSA locals—including its flagship New York City chapter—and the DSA International Committee promoted cheerleading demonstrations in support of Hamas’s actions. Given the well-known history of the organizations with which the NYC local and the International Committee partnered, it was predictable that the NYC demonstration would feature speeches that callously mocked the victims of Hamas and provided a venue for open expressions of antisemitism.

Not a single person I know who is a DSA member in NY— and all of them are Jewish!— agrees with that article, fwiw. It’s been making the rounds.

well, that's why they had to quit I guess

Good thread on the Indian "export" of up to 10k construction workers to replace Palestinians. As the thread notes they will face shitty conditions and racism.

Like they do in much of the middle- east. Not really sure what unions can do.
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Ayushi Nayak ଆୟୂଷୀ ନାୟକ
@ayushi_nayak
Trade unions in India have noted their decision to oppose this, and I really hope the different groups can come together to protect the rights and safety of all Indian workers which will undoubtedly be put at risk if they are “exported” to Israel right now 1

There is a close relationship between Netanyahu and Modi.

I think there are still a lot of liberal American Jews, especially older ones, who don't realize that the Israeli right wing is also against them.

Liberal American Jews fully realize this, which is why they have always been anti-Netanyahu, especially now that Netanhayu has welcomed the true psychos, once consensus pariahs, into the government.