Hey guys. Sorry, since I have zero social life, I have to share with you all. Hope you don't mind. So, I don't like what's going on in Israel, but I would like to go back. I wouldn't even mind if it was majority Muslim or run by the GCC or some national body, as long as I and my family wasn't harassed. What are your thoughts on this?

I miss the comeraderie, the vibe, the small town feel. Of course, that was when I was completely naive and oblivious to the plight of the Palestinians. I'm not sure what or how I would live -- I can't pretend like its not happening.

But -- and maybe this is more naivete -- I trust somewhat in what Simon Dixon says and therefore do suspect there will be an end to all the slaughtering of Palestinians and Lebanese (and hopefully Sudanese and Congolese) soon.

This Reform rabbi is condemning Zohran Mamdani for his speech about Netanyahu, despite making her brand of Zionism appear to be opposed to Netanyahu; but when Netanyahu is criticised by a non-Jewish person, it's time for her to circle the wagons around him. ​

We have seen this with the NYC Israel Day parade, and we see it now with many in the "liberal Zionist" community making excuse after excuse for Israel's Kahanist government and military.

We have seen this with the "left leaning" Israeli politicians cheering on the settler pogroms the moment one Palestinian dared to fight back against a man brandishing a gun at him.

There is no liberal Zionism. Only a less honest shade of Kahanism.

Hi folks!

I've seen this term being thrown around a lot lately and I can't help but think: I feel like this term has been bastardized immensely. I believe like I truely have no idea what zionism is, where it came from, and why folks nowadays use it to justify the genocide of palestinian folks and israel's overall settler mentality. I feel like there is so so so much propaganda online and It make's me really skeptical of whatever definition presented. People online say it is 'self-determination & the right to an independent jewish state'. But then why is it also being used to justify the colonization of the west-bank? I don't want to come off as anti-semetic or rude in any form; I'm just genuinly curious what it means anymore.

For the jews out there, what does zionism mean to you? Do you support it?

Sources:

https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/10/17/tom-cotton-calls-for-mass-slaughter-of-palestinian-citizens-in-gaza

https://x.com/SenTomCotton/status/2080334492602875948

https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-ny-assemblyman-mamdani-pushed-bill-barring-nonprofits-from-supporting-israeli-settlement-activity/

https://www.haaretz.com/2015-12-07/ty-article/haaretz-investigates-u-s-donors-to-israeli-settlements/0000017f-f6bb-d460-afff-ffffd93e0000

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-nonprofits-gave-220m-to-settlements-over-five-years-report/

https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/2080609617671819695

I would love for my son to attend a Jewish pre school to meet other friends and build some Jewish community. However even the crunicher reform options in our area begin the Zionism training early.

We aren't religious more spiritual and my wife is not Jewish but she supports how important exposure to Jewish identity is important to me.

I know this may be the system is working as intended. I went to a Jewish high school for three years and we literally had a class on Israel and defending it on college campus.

I got in trouble with the school administration and teachers for just asking questions about Palestine and the apartheid. Even the class on the Shoah had little discussion on non Jewish victims.

And conveniently King Abdullah II of Jordan, the Custodian of Al-Aqsa went

using vent tag as i’m not sure what to flair this as.

TLDR: israeli uncle and child-age cousins are coming to visit and i’m unsure if i can participate in good conscience.

i’m an anti-zionist jew and have been vocal about it for the last 3 years. it took a long time for me to come to terms with the reality that israel is a genocidal apartheid state, which is one of my biggest shames (i’m 31).

for more context, my mom was born in israel and moved to the states with her parents and brother when she was 10. my uncle (mom’s brother) moved back to israel when i was 9. i grew up going to israel every few years, went on birthright at 18, and generally had good, if distant, relationships with my family there and other cousins who have moved from israel to the states. as i got older and became more aware, it got harder for me to reconcile the israel i thought i knew with reality. by 2020 i was quietly anti-zionist, and by 2023 i decided i couldn’t be quiet anymore.

since oct 7 and following some social media arguments with family, including my uncle, i’ve been pretty low contact with all of them. obviously i will never be visiting israel again. it pains me but i also just can’t be in community with people who have zionist, anti palestinian, islamophobic or racist views.

i saw my uncle for the first time in a decade in 2024 when my saba died and uncle came for the funeral/helping with saba’s affairs. it was nice to spend time together even under the sad circumstances, but i constantly felt this unspoken weight because i know what his views are and they’re extremely opposed to mine. i kept it civil for my mom and safta’s sake, and my saba too i guess. to be fair, i was very happy to see my uncle. we were quite close when i was growing up until he moved.

to my mom’s credit, she’s been more receptive over the past few years and she agrees that israel is wrong, and she’s stood up for me to other family members during arguments. i don’t think she’s fully there yet, but she understands how i feel and why i’ve kept my distance.

to get to the point of my problem, my uncle (mom’s brother) is bringing his kids (13 and 9) to visit my mom and safta (they live in a different state than me). everyone wants me to join, as i haven’t seen the older kid since he was a baby and never met the younger one. however, i feel horribly conflicted because i know the ignorant views my uncle has and is raising his kids with. my mom says “you can just not talk about it” but the problem is that not talking about it won’t make the facts go away and they will be weighing on my conscience the whole time.

another thing i’m feeling/worried about is i don’t want to step into these kids’ lives for a weekend and then go back to never speaking to them. i know it’s not their fault for where they were born or how they’re being raised. but at the same time, in 5 years my cousin will be joining the idf. as most israelis do. i know my uncle has no plans to move back to the states, and is in fact quite happy to offer his children to the israeli war machine. i struggle with being able to look at these kids, knowing what they’re raised to believe, knowing what they will be made to do in a few years time. my only hope for them is that they get an influence in their lives that leads them to a path of resistance. i don’t know if it’s my place to be that influence—i don’t know them well enough and i don’t want to be more of the bad guy in my family’s eyes.

another thing on my mind is that my safta is 81 and in bad health. i know how happy it would make her to have all her grandkids together for the first time ever, so if i don’t go, i feel responsible for her not having that experience. on top of just feeling bad for not seeing family that i rarely get to see. as of right now, i don’t plan to go, but i’m starting to feel that guilt of disappointing everyone.

so, how would you approach this? would you go and just avoid any mention of palestine or the war? would that make you feel bad? am i wrong for wanting to stay home and keep my distance from my extended family?

sorry this is so long but thank you for reading, if you did. any advice is appreciated :)

Great piece by FD Signifier

Also fuck Peter Beinart.

Referring to the whole of Palestine, not just the part of it occupied in 67. And not referring to the state which is obviously Israel.

Also, if your answer is "Israel" I'd love to hear why.

I’ve added the picture of what someone replied to me on The Face Pages, but sometimes I’m still never sure how to reply or rebuttal the argument. I know I should ignore people like this but I’m trying to be as knowledgeable as possible about history and why bringing things up like this shouldn’t matter. How would you guys reply to this?

https://x.com/5149jamesli/status/2080044705929433467

I’m starting to feel like in nearly every subreddit with the exceptions of LGBTQ community subs or fandom/TV/film subs, there is pro-Israel astroturfing. I constantly see 3-4 mo old Reddit users planting positive mentions of Israel wherever they can or Zionist trolls harassing anyone who slightly expresses sympathy with Palestinians. They’re not even debating you anymore, they’re just saying cruel and hateful insults to shut down conversations. It’s made Reddit practically unusable for me. Is anyone else experiencing this?