“Antisemitism is always a means rather than an end. It is a measure of the contradictions yet to be resolved. It is a mirror for the failings of individuals, social structures and state systems. Tell me what you accuse the Jews of, I’ll tell you what you’re guilty of.”
I am not an addict, says the addict who asks for a prescription. I am not an antisemites, says the person who gets their metaphorical drug for free through Israel hate. Pat, if you were Jewish, they would likely add that you are conflating these due to your inter-generational trauma, which they of course feel deep empathy for (how strange that their "empathy" feels like aggression)--and then they would lecture you about how the victim of inter-generational trauma is at risk of committing atrocities. One of the things that they do not seem to want to understand is the tendency of Jewish culture to respond to trauma constructively through post-traumatic growth.
Jews evolve, as all things subjected to that much pressure must if they're to survive. And so, then, does Jew-hate. Hating Zionism before Israel existed would have indeed made no sense for the Jew-hater. Quoting some Jew who said Zionism is ridiculous in the 19th century is as relevant as quoting the very intelligent and knowledgeable people who contested the theory of relativity based on the data they had.
That in theory, one can oppose Zionism without hating Jews, and that some people even manage it, is not a good enough justification for seeking to destroy a state, especially when there are so many worse states out there. And for people to obsess over Israel's immigration policy when they, themselves, do not wish to immigrate to Israel, for the sake of people that they don't, themselves, want to accept as refugees/migrants into their own countries... is either antisemitic or insane. Haters, take your pick. If I had an eating disorder, I would 100% label myself as a gluten free vegan (which is fine) and then fend off all criticisms as attacks against my right to be a gluten free vegan. I would still be mentally ill. Too bad.
100%! in response I'd say we should take our future MO from the late (adorable) Pee Wee Herman said it so cheekily, "I know you are but what am I?!"... an' deigns not ta give any 'scuses... but of course in so-doin' we'd all still be accused of conflatin'... I had no idear this ideology wuz bein' pushed 25 years ago--dang! seems ta be a long fuse but it's burnin' the target now...
Whadda we do ta effectively put the PeeWee in our tanks? (Chews are notorious fer pleadin' our cause, explainin', shown "da facts ma'am" an' shoutin' inta the void but we refuse ta see how IRE-RATIONAL our foes are... an' foes...sadly...they are).
If 75% of we chews in the world want Israel ta survive, even if we chuck the term "zionist" per se (which has been trampled worse than the US Flag...), that means the "haters" (who simply hate all zionists) hate 'bout 75% of all joos b/c not wantin' Israel destroyed "from river to sea" is what they're hollerin' 'bout... As they say, this is gettin' "biblical"....an' I say this even in the most secular sense!
As terrible as this long war against Hamas has been, genocidaires don't typically wait over 20 years to see their state made victim of a horrific, merciless attack on an unarmed population which was fully intended to ignite a "gathering of the [Islamist] clans" to mass on Israel's borders and terrorize its Jewish population into fleeing, in order to carry out a "genocide" against your would-be murderers.
Pat, i don't know how you manage to keep surpassing yourself, a very high bar to cross and yet you do it regularly. Fan fave for sure.
^^^^This.
Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate:
“Antisemitism is always a means rather than an end. It is a measure of the contradictions yet to be resolved. It is a mirror for the failings of individuals, social structures and state systems. Tell me what you accuse the Jews of, I’ll tell you what you’re guilty of.”
I am not an addict, says the addict who asks for a prescription. I am not an antisemites, says the person who gets their metaphorical drug for free through Israel hate. Pat, if you were Jewish, they would likely add that you are conflating these due to your inter-generational trauma, which they of course feel deep empathy for (how strange that their "empathy" feels like aggression)--and then they would lecture you about how the victim of inter-generational trauma is at risk of committing atrocities. One of the things that they do not seem to want to understand is the tendency of Jewish culture to respond to trauma constructively through post-traumatic growth.
It's exhausting, the irony of terrorists convincing much of the world that they're the good guys. Excellent essay.
The best !
Wow. Another perfect summing up of our gaslighting problem.
Jews evolve, as all things subjected to that much pressure must if they're to survive. And so, then, does Jew-hate. Hating Zionism before Israel existed would have indeed made no sense for the Jew-hater. Quoting some Jew who said Zionism is ridiculous in the 19th century is as relevant as quoting the very intelligent and knowledgeable people who contested the theory of relativity based on the data they had.
That in theory, one can oppose Zionism without hating Jews, and that some people even manage it, is not a good enough justification for seeking to destroy a state, especially when there are so many worse states out there. And for people to obsess over Israel's immigration policy when they, themselves, do not wish to immigrate to Israel, for the sake of people that they don't, themselves, want to accept as refugees/migrants into their own countries... is either antisemitic or insane. Haters, take your pick. If I had an eating disorder, I would 100% label myself as a gluten free vegan (which is fine) and then fend off all criticisms as attacks against my right to be a gluten free vegan. I would still be mentally ill. Too bad.
100%! in response I'd say we should take our future MO from the late (adorable) Pee Wee Herman said it so cheekily, "I know you are but what am I?!"... an' deigns not ta give any 'scuses... but of course in so-doin' we'd all still be accused of conflatin'... I had no idear this ideology wuz bein' pushed 25 years ago--dang! seems ta be a long fuse but it's burnin' the target now...
Whadda we do ta effectively put the PeeWee in our tanks? (Chews are notorious fer pleadin' our cause, explainin', shown "da facts ma'am" an' shoutin' inta the void but we refuse ta see how IRE-RATIONAL our foes are... an' foes...sadly...they are).
If 75% of we chews in the world want Israel ta survive, even if we chuck the term "zionist" per se (which has been trampled worse than the US Flag...), that means the "haters" (who simply hate all zionists) hate 'bout 75% of all joos b/c not wantin' Israel destroyed "from river to sea" is what they're hollerin' 'bout... As they say, this is gettin' "biblical"....an' I say this even in the most secular sense!
As terrible as this long war against Hamas has been, genocidaires don't typically wait over 20 years to see their state made victim of a horrific, merciless attack on an unarmed population which was fully intended to ignite a "gathering of the [Islamist] clans" to mass on Israel's borders and terrorize its Jewish population into fleeing, in order to carry out a "genocide" against your would-be murderers.
Spot on ..snd just the right length for a blog. Maximum impact.