Another Colleague Conversation

The tragedy of Gaza was caused by people pretending it is humane to leave people under a bloodthirsty dictatorship

Palestians have received greater international aid per capita than Europe during the Marshall Plan.

But because they are ruled by rich mad men with disregard to human life, including the lives of own civilians, that couldn't be enough to uplift them.

Which was always obvious, but people insisted of it not being obvious.

I apologise for having a nuanced opinion on the Internet, but "The destruction of a vast network that many creators rely on to reach their audience is heartbreaking" and "Watching the multibillion-dollar impulsive purchase of an entitled man-child crash and burn within days of getting his hands on it is objectively funny" are two statements that can and should co-exist

After weeks of watching the violent protests for Hamas. The defacing of monuments. Calling for genocide. Actually physically attacking Jewish people and their supporters. The outright ugliness of it all because antizionism is just antisemitism folks..

It was refreshing to see the March for Israel today in Washington. Completely peaceful, no destruction. No calls for violence against anyone!!!! I felt like, for a moment, everyone could see what the true majority in America think. America really is pro Israel, and I'm proud of that fact.

Hope you're doing well. Are the reactions to your treatments getting better? Is there any way any of us can help you and your family?

Hi love!

Absolutely this. I've been watching vids from both pro-Israel and anti-Israel demonstrations for over a month now, and the difference is very clear. I haven't seen a single pro-Israel rally where there was violence or calls for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, no "Gas the Palestinians" calls, no stomping on Palestinian flags... In fact, I've heard more than one person mentioning their pain for innocent Palestinians who have also been victimized by Hamas.

I'm also gonna make it clear that those are anti-Israel, not pro-Palestinian, protests... Because those people weren't demonstrating when Palestinians were being killed by Assad. They weren't demonstrating when Palestinians were being victimized and even killed by Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority. They weren't demonstrating for Palestinians to be treated equally, and be given full rights, freedom and dignity in places like Jordan and Lebanon. If these people only take to the streets when they can blame Israel, and when they use these rallies to attack Jews, they're not pro-Palestinian. They're anti-Israel and antisemitic.

Meanwhile, Gazans themselves ask for something completely different from westerners:

And absolutely, I believe that yesterday, they also published a survey that showed that the majority of Americans stand by Israel? One Nonnie mentioned to me there's a certain difference among younger Americans. Another sent me an article that supported this:

According to a recent Harvard CAPS Harris poll, 51% of young adults can “justify” the massacres perpetrated by Hamas, in part because their main exposure to Israel since October 7 came from TikTok videos.

This is at least in part because of social media selling a simplistic narrative, but in part also because of American universities pushing it. That's been happening to a great degree because of Qatari funding of these universities. Qatar's been responsible for this, when that state is one of the greatest human rights violators, and when it has a record of antisemitic attitudes. Hopefully, now that this funding has come to light, these institutes will stop throwing their Jewish students and moral stance under the bus in favor of Qatar's money.

Thank you for asking! *hugs* I'm still having a reaction, but it's not as bad, and I'm trying to take a lot of naps to help ride out the worst of it. And thank you also for offering help! Honestly, I don't wanna ask for anything for myself or my family. If you can donate to the Israeli Red Magen David (the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross), that would be amazing, but ONLY if you can. I don't want anyone to feel obligated, but I know that they and other rescue and different aid organizations in Israel have been working non stop, and could use any help. Thank you again! Sending ALL the love.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

“The prince just fell in love with Cinderella because of her looks!”

Wrong. Okay, picture this–

So there’s the prince, okay? He’s like, smack dab in the center of the ballroom, and he is like, horrifically aware that this whole ball thing is a result of his dad falling into a panic about the royal lineage or whatever and he’s stuck listening to highborn girl after highborn girl, all lined up, introducing themselves like, “Oh yeah my family’s been a longtime supporter of the crown, and I think you’re cute, *cough* I’ve been told I have child-bearing hips *cough* Who said that? Anyway–” and Princey boy is just smiling through it, he has been the center of attention for entirely too long, he misses his emotional support horse, and is just internally like “Someone please kill me now.” And then… he sees her–This isn’t a love at first sight thing, this is a ‘what the hell is going on over there’ thing, because this girl has not gotten into the Debutante line for a solid 45 minutes. 

She’s just at the hors d’oeuvres table going HAM on the prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, and like, she’s polite about it, she’s happy to move aside for other people grabbing punch and canapes (and she’s really so sweet with the wait staff, it’s kind of cute because they’re like… definitely not used to being acknowledged) but it’s like, “Damn girl, did you not eat today?” and then the prince is kind of stuck with the uncomfortable thought of ‘how many girls starved themselves to fit into a corset for this.’ And then the Prince realizes he’s missed the past 4 Debutante introductions because he’s watching Mystery girl hork down crab rangoons. So he’s like, “Excuse me” and manages to break free from the never-ending parade of girls who will hop on his dick for status.

 And as he’s approaching Mystery Girl, it’s kind of hitting him that something’s not quite natural about her. Not fake, but not quite real. But at the same time this whole evening’s been just a whole circus of people acting fake as hell, so like, someone seeming a little off doesn’t seem bad, necessarily. And he sidles up to her like, “Hi,” and she’s like, “Oh–hey, have you tried the tapenade?” and she points to one of the plates, and at this point, he could hit her with the “You don’t know who I am, do you?” deal or the “Very funny, I see your play” deal, but at this point it occurs to him that, no, he hasn’t had anything to eat throughout this whole damn ball, partially because of being stuck in the debutante parade, partially because of nerves, and there’s something so disarming about the question that he grabs a crostini and she still seems so food-focused that it doesn’t seem possible that this is a play. So they both grab little plates and ditch the party.

She pretty much clears her plate in under two minutes and then has half of his plate, he’s cool with it, mostly he’s just absolutely fascinated listening to her.

See here’s the thing about Cinderella:

1. She doesn’t know he’s the prince. Like yeah, he’s been at the center of the room, but she’s kind of spent half the party eagerly looking around everywhere she’s allowed to go (”Have you seen rose garden? Have you seen the solarium??” further confirmation that she doesn’t know who she’s talking to) and the other half stuffing her face with food. 

2. She assumes she’s never going to see anyone here tonight again, and no one recognizes her, so she has no filter.

So she’s just talking about whatever with this guy. He seems cool. She talks about her friends, who are rats. She makes little outfits for them. Sometimes they bring her little gifts. She is already the coolest person the prince has ever met because of this. She pretty much offhandedly talks about whatever is fucked up about the kingdom that would take his advisors two hours of hemming and hawing and watering down to address. She just says it like it’s nothing, just funky little things she’s observed, and again, she’s not aware that he’s the prince, but it’s still pretty damn bold to bring up at a literal royal ball.

She… seems to have the majority of graces that lots of girls from Respectable Families™ have, but there’s something strange about it, something simultaneously broken and hardened, like the way you can see where ice has thawed and re-frozen. Also the way she talks about her family, and the way she avoids talking about her family– is raising several red flags, not in the “Oh this is another person trying to take advantage of me” sense, but in the “Oh fuck, something’s gone really wrong and you need help” sense and also lowkey a ‘damn is she even getting fed?’ sense. But he can’t say, ‘Hey, that’s not fucking normal for people to say that to you or treat you that way. We need to get you out of there,’ without sounding crazy himself, so for now, he’s just going to chill, make sure she’s comfortable, and keep enjoying the evening. She’s somehow befriended like 4 of the waitstaff so they’re willing to cover for them while they disappear for a little bit, and they get plenty of time to talk, but eventually it hits her that she hasn’t danced yet and she’s like “Come on! I bet we can make the prince jealous!” and he just bursts out laughing at that like “hell yeah, let’s make the prince jealous. He’s a real asshole.” Like clearly she’s having a good time, so who is he to make it weird? So they head back to the ballroom and they dance. And our girl, Mystery Girl, Cinderella, while they’re dancing, becomes acutely aware that everyone is staring. That doesn’t seem quite right. Like, yeah she’s hot, she knows she’s hot, but at least a good third of the party should still be focused on the prince, right? Where is that guy, anyway?

Oh.

Oh wait.

Oh shit.

And Princey Boy actually picks up on her realization and they whisper argue for like 3 minutes. “Why didn’t you tell me?! Now I feel like a goddamn idiot!” “I dunno it was nice being treated like a normal person” “Well me treating you like a normal person makes me a goddamn felon or something did you consider that?!” “Hey–Hey–it’s cool–you’re cool–I think you’re amazing, and if anyone says shit about you, I can shut it down.” “Well I don’t like that! That’s fucked up!” “I agree. It is fucked up, but I believe in you, and I think you should have a chance, and I’m here to back you up. I know power is fucked up right now. I know. But are you cool with working with me to change that?” And our girl Cindy pauses on that for a couple seconds, because.. she’s just spent hours with this guy and like.. she knows he’s a good guy, she knows he means well, so she’s like, “I don’t know how long I can actually work with you.” and the prince is like “Look, I know your home situation is complicated right now, but I really think we can–”

And then the bell starts ringing.

It’s midnight.

And then she takes off in a panic, and our prince just met the coolest person ever, and like, he’s pretty sure whatever situation they’re headed back to is fucked up, and all he’s got going to find her is a shoe. A shoe. 

Non-Jews: please reach out to your Jewish friends tomorrow. They will need it.

I say it as someone who doesn’t expect any of my non-Jewish friends to do so, because they didn’t do it last year either. When I asked a couple of them about it, they said they didn’t know why it would affect me. They didn’t know why the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust would affect me more than them. So if you can, please hug your Jewish friends.

Jen: *says anything*

Matt: 

if the sight of a jew doing culturally jewish things and/or practicing the religion makes a person go 🫵 POTENTIAL EVIL LYING CHILD KILLING ZIONIST, APPROACH WITH CAUTION🫵 they are already antisemitic. and it’s going to take a lot of research and self-reckoning and uhh talking to jews in good faith for them to come back from that mindset. and many won’t undergo that process because it’s uncomfortable and shame-producing. and i honestly can’t show grace to folks who have unknowingly fallen down that rabbit hole because the conflation of “jewish” with “evil and bad” has already gotten jews killed this year. and it’s gotten jews killed for thousands of years. and unless gentiles start unpacking that long-ingrained cultural assumption that Jew = Suspicious, Probably Evil, Destroy Now we’ll see more pogroms in the future.

and before you come into my mentions with “but israel,” please understand that gentiles have never needed proof to believe jews are evil and murder them. right now, antisemites are gleeful that they have a “reason” and too many of y’all are just following their lead because you refuse to engage with this information. because you’re not an antisemite, right? you just hate zionists, not jews. and you definitely know what zionism is and you definitely can surmise when zionist is being used as a dogwhistle. right! of course! there is no historical precedent that would lead me to not believe a single word you say.

so like. if you truly want to help fight antisemitism, you have to engage with these ideas even if the process is uncomfortable and shame-producing. you have to unlearn 2,000 years of lies about us and the deeply ingrained instinct to believe we are evil. idk why i’m making this post i just wish gentiles would be believe us when we say It’s Really That Fucking Dire.

I'm an American national married to a German citizen and living in southwestern Germany. I am also a Jew who is the grandchild of four Holocaust survivors. I work for a local school as a teacher and afterschool helper.

In both the town I live in and the town I work in, there are remnants of Jewish life from before the Holocaust, but it is highly likely that I am the only Jew to set foot in either town in the present day.

Tomorrow is October 7th, 2024.

So what am I doing?

Tomorrow, I am bringing a few hundred honeycake muffins to work. They were made using my grandmother's recipe. I will be sharing them with my students and the rest of the school, for a sweet new year for them.

A recipe that the Nazis did their best to wipe out...

being shared by a Jewish teacher in a German school...

on the anniversary of the largest single massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Because we Are Still Here, and we will dance again. We shall share food, and kindness, and traditions, again.

Am Yisrael Chai