1. Chosen People has of course been twisted beyond all recognition by antisemites. But they sure shut up quick when you offer to tell them how we see that concept ourselves. They are never interested.
2. Antisemites do not, in fact, believe any of their own lies about Jews having enormous power. The proof is simple; would you demonize a group that controls the media, entertainment, and world governments? And yet they do so constantly. Again, call them out and they get real quiet.
Edit: This all applies equally to antisemitism and antisemites from both sides of the aisle. And there are plenty on both sides.
A friend of mine who has been a steady ally to her Jewish friends over the last 15 months just told me this story: A friend of hers was opining about how sad she felt for the Palestinian children, how tragic the war has been. My friend agreed with her and then asked, "Do you also feel sad about all of those young Israeli women who were murdered, raped and taken hostage? Have you seen the videos of the girls with blood all over them?" Her friend abruptly said, "I have to go," and hung up the phone.
I said to my ally friend that what I'd like above all else, is for that person to stop and ask herself what it means that she couldn't just answer that question as she would if it were any other group of people. If she stopped to feel the discomfort of what it means ABOUT HER that she hung up the phone when the victims were Jews. I fear so few people are unwilling to confront what this means about their own beliefs when it comes to Jews.
from my recent exclusive interview with Abraham the Patriarch 😊 ...
Me: ... So people thought you were crazy…
Abraham: Crazy AND a snob. An elitist.
Me: Why an elitist?
Abraham: They thought I was making a judgment — a negative one— about their lives and their parents’ lives, and about everyone else in our community. By embracing a radically new way of thinking and living, I was effectively saying the old way wasn’t as good — or at least not good enough for me and my family. People found that attitude snotty, haughty, and holier-than-thou. They still do. You might even say this tension is the root cause of anti-Semitism.
Me: So why not just stop with the G*d stuff and assimilate?
Abraham: You think I should turn a blind eye to the ignorance, poverty, injustice, inhumanity, and abuse of power we see all around us? See something, say nothing?? Is that the best we can do?
Me: Probably not. … Did you try to explain yourself to your antagonists? Maybe if they understood your vision, they might choose to join you on your quest for a better world.
Abraham: Ah, yes. Dialogue. Debate. Join the conversation!
[Abe laughs]
Me: What’s so funny?
Abraham: You seem to believe that most people, when presented with new facts and information, will change their minds. But they don’t. They just double down on whatever they already believe. Staying in Ur and working for change from within would have been a fool’s errand.
Me: Is that why you eventually left home?
Abraham: Mostly, yes. I figured my mission was to walk this new walk. Show, don’t tell. Be the change I want to see in the world. And I couldn’t do that in the heart of Mesopotamia.
What I don’t get is how so many people who consider themselves ‘feminists’, ‘humanitarians’ and ‘educated’ simply will NOT budge from the pro-Palestine / anti-Israel bandwagon no matter what anyone tells them. Every single one of their beliefs have been debunked and they still insist on clinging to them for dear life - even to their own detriment. Even to the detriment of the Palestinians they insist they care about so much.
For example, Cynthia Nixon, a lesbian with half-Jewish kids (three things Hamas have so much respect for - Jews, homosexuals and women - NOT), hasn’t learned a goddamn thing in almost 16 months despite so many people who know a heck of a lot more about it than she does trying to teach her. She’s still banging on about the same old crap and false narratives she had on October 7, 2023. She still hasn’t given a hoot about the hostages, which is the literal reason why so many Palestinians have died. FFS, stop telling Israel to stop attempting to rescue their citizens and start asking Hamas to release the hostages! Not once have any of these so-called ‘activists’ done that. What the f*** is wrong with them? Like, seriously. What is wrong with them? I’m at my wits end. 🤦♀️
You need to understand evolution to understand racism. In the early years of human life, avoiding dangers was primary, and not only of wild animals but of humans who looked different. When encountering new different looking humans, there was, initially, no way to
assess their motives. Those who had different physical traits were unknown and unpredictable. Eventually humans developed behavioral devices that were able to signal
whether they were friendly or hostile; our modern day handshake reveals no hidden weapon.
Eventually mutually beneficial relationships developed (marriage, hunting, exploring and seeking new resources) that were mostly peaceful. Racism is the most obvious response to strangers because skin color is the most prominent physical trait. And eventually other human traits such as behavior and culture took on importance as well, and then finally religion,arguably the most disruptive and destructive form of prejudice in history.....and today as well, because it involved large numbers of humans in villages and cities and was recognized as a powerful tool in controlling people rather than killing them. And so it is today.
1. Chosen People has of course been twisted beyond all recognition by antisemites. But they sure shut up quick when you offer to tell them how we see that concept ourselves. They are never interested.
2. Antisemites do not, in fact, believe any of their own lies about Jews having enormous power. The proof is simple; would you demonize a group that controls the media, entertainment, and world governments? And yet they do so constantly. Again, call them out and they get real quiet.
Edit: This all applies equally to antisemitism and antisemites from both sides of the aisle. And there are plenty on both sides.
Nailed it.
Thx--for writing the substack. Replies are nice but optional :)
A friend of mine who has been a steady ally to her Jewish friends over the last 15 months just told me this story: A friend of hers was opining about how sad she felt for the Palestinian children, how tragic the war has been. My friend agreed with her and then asked, "Do you also feel sad about all of those young Israeli women who were murdered, raped and taken hostage? Have you seen the videos of the girls with blood all over them?" Her friend abruptly said, "I have to go," and hung up the phone.
I said to my ally friend that what I'd like above all else, is for that person to stop and ask herself what it means that she couldn't just answer that question as she would if it were any other group of people. If she stopped to feel the discomfort of what it means ABOUT HER that she hung up the phone when the victims were Jews. I fear so few people are unwilling to confront what this means about their own beliefs when it comes to Jews.
There is so much to unpack there. We can only speculate. What goes on in the minds of others is a mystery. But we can guess …
Pat - so logical. Hiding in plain sight all these years.
from my recent exclusive interview with Abraham the Patriarch 😊 ...
Me: ... So people thought you were crazy…
Abraham: Crazy AND a snob. An elitist.
Me: Why an elitist?
Abraham: They thought I was making a judgment — a negative one— about their lives and their parents’ lives, and about everyone else in our community. By embracing a radically new way of thinking and living, I was effectively saying the old way wasn’t as good — or at least not good enough for me and my family. People found that attitude snotty, haughty, and holier-than-thou. They still do. You might even say this tension is the root cause of anti-Semitism.
Me: So why not just stop with the G*d stuff and assimilate?
Abraham: You think I should turn a blind eye to the ignorance, poverty, injustice, inhumanity, and abuse of power we see all around us? See something, say nothing?? Is that the best we can do?
Me: Probably not. … Did you try to explain yourself to your antagonists? Maybe if they understood your vision, they might choose to join you on your quest for a better world.
Abraham: Ah, yes. Dialogue. Debate. Join the conversation!
[Abe laughs]
Me: What’s so funny?
Abraham: You seem to believe that most people, when presented with new facts and information, will change their minds. But they don’t. They just double down on whatever they already believe. Staying in Ur and working for change from within would have been a fool’s errand.
Me: Is that why you eventually left home?
Abraham: Mostly, yes. I figured my mission was to walk this new walk. Show, don’t tell. Be the change I want to see in the world. And I couldn’t do that in the heart of Mesopotamia.
What I don’t get is how so many people who consider themselves ‘feminists’, ‘humanitarians’ and ‘educated’ simply will NOT budge from the pro-Palestine / anti-Israel bandwagon no matter what anyone tells them. Every single one of their beliefs have been debunked and they still insist on clinging to them for dear life - even to their own detriment. Even to the detriment of the Palestinians they insist they care about so much.
For example, Cynthia Nixon, a lesbian with half-Jewish kids (three things Hamas have so much respect for - Jews, homosexuals and women - NOT), hasn’t learned a goddamn thing in almost 16 months despite so many people who know a heck of a lot more about it than she does trying to teach her. She’s still banging on about the same old crap and false narratives she had on October 7, 2023. She still hasn’t given a hoot about the hostages, which is the literal reason why so many Palestinians have died. FFS, stop telling Israel to stop attempting to rescue their citizens and start asking Hamas to release the hostages! Not once have any of these so-called ‘activists’ done that. What the f*** is wrong with them? Like, seriously. What is wrong with them? I’m at my wits end. 🤦♀️
You and me both. Idealogy is blinding. Reason will not get people out of a position reason did not get them into.
You need to understand evolution to understand racism. In the early years of human life, avoiding dangers was primary, and not only of wild animals but of humans who looked different. When encountering new different looking humans, there was, initially, no way to
assess their motives. Those who had different physical traits were unknown and unpredictable. Eventually humans developed behavioral devices that were able to signal
whether they were friendly or hostile; our modern day handshake reveals no hidden weapon.
Eventually mutually beneficial relationships developed (marriage, hunting, exploring and seeking new resources) that were mostly peaceful. Racism is the most obvious response to strangers because skin color is the most prominent physical trait. And eventually other human traits such as behavior and culture took on importance as well, and then finally religion,arguably the most disruptive and destructive form of prejudice in history.....and today as well, because it involved large numbers of humans in villages and cities and was recognized as a powerful tool in controlling people rather than killing them. And so it is today.
Thank you Pat. An incisive summary.
To add to the confusion, while they’re punching up, they’re punching down, because in truth they think they’re better simply for ‘punching up’.
Never thought I’d see such insanity.
Excellent column, Pat!
If a person were to pray the Morning Prayers,
The same person would remember it says,
“G-D Who chooses [present tense=now] His people with love.” So then, if this is the case,
People can get His attention now, as G-D looks at His world,, and say that they want G-D to choose them! Why not?