site banner

Israel-Gaza Megathread #3

This is a refreshed megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.

9
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Related, but not exactly the same topic, this Tweet from a Jerusalem Post columnist in response to pro-Palestine protest marches in London really struck me:

London. Now.

This is horrifying.

How are Jews meant to stay in the U.K.?

While I am not an anti-Semite and could reasonably be described as mildly philo-Semitic, goddamn this kind of thing looks terrible from the perspective of anyone that isn't particularly Islam-friendly. To be blunt about it, I don't like Islam and wish there had never been any Muslim immigrants to Western nations. To the extent that Muslim immigration to Western nations is tolerable, it's the extent to which those Muslims practice a liberalized, watered-down form of Islam that is barely recognizable as anything other than generic monotheism with a couple idiosyncrasies of diet thrown in. Having places with women in beekeeper outfits everywhere sucks and I think most Americans and Brits that are being bluntly honest about the matter agree.

Of course, saying that out loud plays terribly, because somehow we decided that "Islamophobia" is a sin. Unless, apparently, you're Jewish, in which case you're able to write things like the above. Saying, "how are Brits supposed to live with this?" is off the table, but catering to the tiny segment of British Jews, that is an important consideration when it comes to whether having a bunch of jihad enthusiasts in London is a bad idea. If someone like me that likes Jews, likes Israel, and basically agrees with the claim in the Tweet finds this style of thinking grating, I'd wager that the anti-Semites would be just about apoplectic.

I don't understand why it's his fault that you can't criticize islam without the woke singing you the song of the oppressed.

Whether it's his fault or not is orthogonal to the point that it sucks that saying, "this sucks for Jews" is fine, but saying, "this sucks for Brits" isn't.

You only found out now that the identity of the victim or of the speaker matters more to the woke than the facts or the content of the speech? Why is it grating or apoplexy-inducing to have people agree with you?

I quickly went through his twitter (my god, is this woke/girlbossy style tiresome).

But aside from the usual profession of faith

I am a gay Jew. I am a Zionist. I am progressive. I believe in fighting with & for other oppressed groups. But... I feel betrayed by the progressive world’s antisemitism & I am furious. But still... I won’t stop believing in progressive values. I won’t stop fighting. 2:27 PM · Dec 31, 2019

He seems very very focused on antisemitism, especially from other progressives. I didn’t see any condamnation of ‘white’ islamophobia.

Almost all of my experiences with antisemitism have been from the left. My first relationship was ruined by it. My university career was ruined by it. Friendships have been ruined by it. I have been traumatised & scarred by it. Do not tell me it isn't real.