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1. Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:40 UTC Be

   I don't know if gentiles have are aware of this, so I feel a need to speak. You've likely noticed lately the extraordinary and harsh repercussions that people criticizing Israel face, even if they are Jews. I want you to know this also happens within Jewish communities and families. Probably every anti-Zionist Jew can tell you a story of alienation from some Jewish group for their politics.

   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:39 UTC Be

     in reply to

     As a recent example from my own life, three weeks ago (after October 7), my mom texted me. I didn't respond immediately. The next day she said she was afraid that I had been kidnapped by Palestinians... while I was sitting safely at home in Chicago. My mom has been saying wildly racist shit about Palestinians, and other racialized peoples, my whole life. It's one reason I wasn't enthusiastic about responding to her text immediately.

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   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:43 UTC Be

     in reply to

     It is imperative for Jews to reclaim our identity, our faith, our languages, and our traditions from Zionism. It is such a tragedy that these are conflated with a settler colonial state committing genocidal violence. We must not let them win in defining Jewish identity.

   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:43 UTC Be

     in reply to

     We must resist Zionism for Palestinians' safety as well as our own. Our fates are inextricably bound with those of our cousins. Israeli propaganda claims that Israel makes the world safe for Jews. I have heard this trope from my family. But is precisely the opposite. No Jew anywhere in the world is safe while the state of Israel oppresses Palestinians in our name. Israeli violence fuels anti-Semitism everywhere.

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   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:44 UTC Be

     in reply to

     Last night in a meeting of JVP, an elder told her story of visiting the West Bank in the early 2000's soon after the Second Intifada. She saw the occupation of Palestine herself and saw the city of Jenin in ruins. When she came home, her synagogue refused to even let her speak about her experience.

   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:44 UTC Be

     in reply to

     In the same meeting, a younger Jew told her story of telling her dad about challenging Zionism. Despite her dad rarely expressing their Jewish identity much her whole life, her dad was so enraged that he threatened to never talk to her again.

   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:45 UTC Be

     in reply to

     I don't know if you've ever talked to a Palestinian, but in my experience, and the experiences of my Jewish friends, Palestinians tend to be extremely kind. I recall once the Palestinian man who owns a restaurant in my neighborhood giving me baklava with my food for free, just to be nice. My friend has had similar experiences at another Palestinian American restaurant. To suggest these people want to kidnap me is ludicrous.

   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:45 UTC Be

     in reply to

     The only Jewish organization I've ever felt comfortable in is Jewish Voice for Peace. Just about any other Jewish organization, I can count on it being Zionist, and facing harsh backlash and/or exile if I speak up for Palestinians. Sometimes even saying the word "Palestine", even acknowledging that Palestinians exist, is enough to trigger severe backlash from other Jews.

   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:49 UTC Be

     in reply to

     Many Jews support Zionism not only ideologically, but also materially. The Jewish National Fund collects money from Jews around the world, especially the USA, to colonize Palestine. I went to high school with a Jew who volunteered to fight Palestinians in the IDF, and I don't think he was an Israeli citizen who was conscripted. These must be challenged.

   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:49 UTC Be

     in reply to

     It is up to Jews to challenge our own, and our fellow Jews' active support and passive complicity in settler colonialism, not only in Palestine, but everywhere. My grandfather changed his name to avoid anti-Semitism and assimilate, and now my mother identifies as white. Many Ashkenazim, particularly in the US where most Jews live today, identify as white and are happy to benefit from white privilege. This too must be challenged.

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   • Be (be@floss.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 19:57:50 UTC Be

     in reply to

     It is anti-Semitic to conflate all Jews with Zionism. But it is anti-Palestinian to say this without acknowledging that many, if not most, Jews do support Zionism. I say this not to invite anti-Semitic attacks on Jews, but as an invitation to stand in solidarity with Palestinians. Here is a list of upcoming Palestinian solidarity protests around the US:

     https://uscpr.org/oct-2023-protests/