I thought I understood antisemitism. I've been married to a Jewish man for 17 years. I've visited Auschwitz and felt the visceral horror of that place. But there's knowing and there's *knowing*. My understanding will always deepen but here's some of my learning. /1
Antisemitism didn't stop after the Holocaust. In 1946 42 Holocaust survivors were massacred in Poland. Jewish ppl were restricted in the USSR and 1.2 million left. A million fled Arab home countries after violence. AS is on the rise in Europe again. /2 bit.ly/2RXu7Mc
One of the most common antisemitic tropes is the ‘greedy Jew’. Its origins are in the Christian Church that deemed money lending ‘sinful’. One of the few professions Jewish ppl could practice and they were often expelled from countries to avoid payment of debts. /3
The first pogrom was in 58 AD in Alexandria. Yet it was the early Christian Church that really birthed the longest hatred. ‘Blood libel’, ‘host desecration’, ‘wandering Jew’ and the first trope, ‘Christ-killer’. They were all constructed in Christianity to demonise Jews. /4
Karl Marx was antisemitic. He wrote about Jews, “What is his worldly God? Money.. In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.” His AS can infect socialist movements. /5 bit.ly/2Vzys5N
Jewish ppl are the blank slate that non-Jews scrawl their anxieties onto. To capitalists, they are communists. To communists, capitalists. Both ‘enemy within’ and other, apart. Greedy and poor, lazy and all-powerful. AS peaks at times of economic or political crisis. /6
I've seen ppl on the left of politics deny the Holocaust. Progressives who accuse Jewish ppl of ‘dual loyalty’. White supremacists that declare themselves ‘anti-Zionist’. The left and right begin to resemble and reflect each other. /7 bit.ly/2sJUOVP
Antisemitism is everywhere and it can cross contaminate. A Muslim leader was the first to force Jewish ppl to wear yellow stars in 807 AD. European colonisers spread Christian AS. Russian tsarists invented the Jewish ppl as ‘puppet masters’ which Henry Ford brought to the USA. /8
Conspiracism is the lifeblood of AS. Conspiracies operate in very narrow confines, with few ppl and strict time limits. Those that are long lived or involve huge numbers of ppl are false and can easily veer into AS. /9 bit.ly/2GXLyXi
Antisemitism is about us non-Jews. Our anxieties, our failings, our bigotry. We need to learn our history and our present. We need to stamp on any AS we see in ourselves and around us. It is our need, our shame. If we can accept that, we can change it. /10 bit.ly/2NLuPqQ
This thread was made in collaboration with amazing hubby @adammaanit and amazing friend @benmfreeman. It's nowhere near comprehensive so you're welcome to add good, reliable and rigorous info to it. My learning continues.
You know that @TheGreenParty councillor who got elected? Well Mothin Ali was one of those who targeted a rabbi. Bizarrely Ali said the rabbi might “kill students here” after *legally* required reserve duty. The rabbi was forced into hiding and the Greens did nothing. Shameful.
Mothin Ali deleted the hateful video where he calls the rabbi a “creep” and calls for his sacking. His glorification and justification for 7/10 is not the only abhorrent behaviour he has done and he should be nowhere near power. archive.is/fPmvI#selectio…
This new @TheGreenParty councillor not only makes horrendous videos that are monetised but issued this grim post about the Hamas massacre on 7/10. It’s clear the Greens knew some of his abominable views and still put him forward for election. Absolutely disgusting.
Last night in New York pro-Pals harassed attendees to a Biden fundraiser. One man stalked a young woman screaming:
“F*cking murderous k*ke.”
“F*cking die.”
“Keep it moving b*tch.”
These are antisemitic, misogynist thugs and they’ve had free rein for too long.
Biden supporters were forced to run the pro-Pal gauntlet to get to the event. One activist tried to aggressively grab a Biden poster out of the hands of a man. While the police looked on seemingly frozen in place. Grim.
The pro-Pals gleefully abused quite elderly Biden supporters. How were they allowed to crowd the pavement like this?
This person is a beekeeper and sells raw honey to nice liberal people. He has an allotment and nurtures plants into life. He also sends violent threats and uses far right language like “Zio” and supports a proscribed terrorist organisation. These ppl are a moral mess.
This is brutal killer and Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida. Beekeeper man thinks he’s the “resistance”.
A Home Office employee scratched out Israel on the birth certificate of a baby.
And the Star of David necklace of Amy Winehouse’s statue was covered with a pro-Pal sticker.
Jews are being attacked on so many fronts. What next?
It’s just hit after hit. Sometimes it’s out in the open and sometimes hidden. This Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh who called Jews “evil” was the leader of her party in a Northern English council. She’s now suspended and been arrested. thestrayferret.co.uk/police-arrest-…
Jewish people will be rightfully worried about the security of sensitive documents after a father had his birthplace Israel scratched out on his 5 month old baby’s birth certificate when it was returned by the Home Office. This sense of stability and trust is basic. Deep damage.
These four teen girls are still held by Hamas. A released hostage saw some of them: “Some of the girls were badly wounded.. they said they can cope with the disability but not with the manner they were constantly violated.”
*Constantly violated*. Hamas are evil rapist monsters.
This is Karina Ariev aged 19. Her mother said: “Imagine if it was your daughter, your little girl in their hands. What would you imagine?” The horror is unfathomable. Unthinkable.
This is Lili Albag. She is only 18 and Hamas have held her for three months. Her father: “This is killing us. Every minute is like an hour.” Every second counts for Lili.
After being thwarted by security at JFK airport the pro-Pal protestors are headed to the El Al Israeli airline offices in Wall Street. No police to be seen. I dread what they’ll do when they get there.
Seems the pro-Palestinian protestors have the run of New York streets. Grim.
Separate protest groups are meeting up in Lower Manhattan and the march is growing in size. This won’t end well.