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@AP_from_NY

Mar 20

🧵𝐀 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐮𝐝: 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. 🧵🧵

Introduction:

The Talmud—the backbone of Jewish thought—has been attacked, censored, and destroyed more than almost any other book in history. To Jews, it is the foundation of law, morality, and identity. To its enemies, it was a threat, a conspiracy, a danger to the world order.

For centuries, Christian Kings, popes, and rulers demonized the Talmud, accusing it of blasphemy, treason, and corruption. Entire copies were burned in public squares, and Jewish communities were persecuted for studying it. But what made the Talmud so feared? Why did the world wage a relentless war against Jewish knowledge?

Let’s dive deep into the history of these attacks, why they happened, and why the Talmud remains at the heart of Jewish life.

1. What is the Talmud, and Why Has It Been Attacked for Centuries?

To understand why the Talmud has been targeted throughout history, we need to understand what it represents. The Talmud is the vast compendium of Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, and debate. It is not just one book but a collection of over 2,711 double-sided pages, composed of two primary parts:

▪️The Mishnah (compiled in the 2nd century CE), a written record of Jewish oral law.

▪️The Gemara (completed between the 4th and 6th centuries CE), which expands, debates, and analyzes these teachings with rigorous intellectual discussion.

The Talmud’s unique nature sets it apart from other
religious texts, because it is not a fixed, unquestionable doctrine but a living, evolving conversation between rabbis spanning centuries. The text is filled with disagreements, counterarguments, and multiple perspectives, showing that Jewish learning is based on critical thinking and dialogue, not blind obedience.

This made the Talmud dangerous to those in power. Unlike Christian teachings, which emphasized centralized authority, the Talmud encouraged questioning and debate. It made Jewish scholarship independent of kings and popes, reinforcing Jewish identity in exile.

As Christianity gained dominance, church leaders saw the Talmud as a threat. It kept Jews from converting, challenged religious control, and contained ideas they did not understand. Because the Talmud is vast, complex, and filled with figurative language, it was easy for outsiders to misinterpret, distort, and weaponize.

Thus, centuries of persecution began.

2. The First Attacks: Early Christian Objections to the Talmud.

The first major assaults on the Talmud began in the early Christian period. Church fathers like Augustine and John Chrysostom viewed Jewish scholarship as a refusal to accept the "New Covenant" of Christianity. They saw the Talmud as the reason why Jews continued to reject Jesus.

By the 8th and 9th centuries, Christian rulers in Europe began restricting Jewish learning. Charlemagne, for example, allowed Jews to practice their religion but placed limits on public teaching. By the 11th century, as the Crusades fueled religious fanaticism, Jews were increasingly persecuted.

One of the key accusations against the Talmud was that it contained insults against Jesus and Christianity. But in reality, the Talmud barely mentions Jesus at all. Most passages targeted by Christian censors referred to false messiahs and corrupt Roman figures but were deliberately misinterpreted.

For example, the medieval Church claimed that a passage referring to "Yeshu" (Yeshua) being executed was an attack on Jesus. But historical evidence suggests this referred to a different person—a common name in ancient Israel. Still, this claim was enough for Christian authorities to ban and burn the Talmud for centuries.

This growing resentment led to the first official trial of the Talmud—a staged event meant to justify its destruction.

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@AP_from_NY

Mar 2

🧵 𝐀 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐬: 𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐞𝐰🧵

Intro:

I’ve held back from posting this thread out of respect for the Ukrainian people. Despite Ukraine’s long history of antisemitism, I refrained from bringing it up given their current struggles.

However, after President Zelensky’s utter disrespect toward President Trump, Vice President Vance, and ultimately the United States, I can’t hold back anymore.

Some will say I’m Russian-paid for writing this bla bla bla. That’s nonsense. I’m not taking any stance on the current war in Ukraine. I am simply stating the history of my people—a history of persecution, massacres, and betrayal in a land that was once their home.

Ukraine’s history of antisemitism is long and brutal. From the Khmelnytsky massacres to pogroms, from collaboration in the Holocaust to modern-day neo-Nazi units, the Jewish people have suffered immensely on Ukrainian soil.

Let’s begin.

1/ The Khmelnytsky Uprising.

The Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648-1657) marked one of the earliest and most brutal episodes of antisemitism in Ukraine. Led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ukrainian Cossacks sought independence from Polish rule. Amid their struggle, they targeted Jews, whom they saw as agents of Polish landlords. An estimated 50,000 Jews were massacred in the most horrific ways—burned alive, dismembered, and tortured. Entire communities were wiped out, with survivors left destitute or enslaved. Khmelnytsky remains a national hero in Ukraine today, despite his role in these atrocities, highlighting the lasting tension between Ukrainian nationalism and Jewish memory.

2/ The Pale of Settlement and the Blame Game.

When Ukraine became part of the Russian Empire in the 18th century, Jews were confined to the Pale of Settlement, a region including Ukraine where Jews were allowed to live but faced harsh restrictions. Jews were often blamed for economic problems, fueled by myths like the blood libel, which accused Jews of murdering Christian children for ritual purposes. These baseless accusations led to mob violence. Ukrainian peasants, angry at their own oppression, saw Jews as scapegoats. The tsars exploited this division, using Jews as a convenient target to divert attention from their own failures.

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@AP_from_NY

Feb 5

🧵🧵🧵When 850,000 Jews Were Expelled and No One gave a beep: A Lesson for Today. 🧵🧵🧵

Thread: Over the last couple, President Donald Trump proposed a couple of times that the United States should "take over" the Gaza Strip, suggesting the relocation of its 1.7 million residents to neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan. He proposed transforming Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

This proposal has ignited widespread outrage. The irrelevant UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned against potential "ethnic cleansing." Countries including Germany, Brazil, and China and many Arab nations, particularly Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, have firmly rejected the idea, emphasizing the rights of Palestinians to their homeland.

Setting aside the questionability of this plan's implementation, the global outrage it has caused is striking. Yet, it's worth reflecting on a historical similarity: between 1948 and 1970, over 850,000 Jews were expelled from Arab and African countries. Their displacement was not due to uninhabitable conditions but stemmed from systemic anti-Semitism and hatred. The international community's response at that time was markedly muted, no one gave a beep.

In this thread, we’ll dive into the stories of these Jews, who lived for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years in these lands, only to find themselves on the other side of the door.

1/ Iraq: From 2,600 Years of History to Forced Exodus.

Ancient Roots: Jews lived in Iraq since the Babylonian exile in 586 BCE, with a vibrant community that helped shape Jewish law (Talmud Bavli was written there). By the early 20th century, Iraqi Jews made up 40% of Baghdad’s population. with Jews thriving as merchants, bankers, scholars and many other fields.

But this long history came to a cruel end in the mid-20th century. In 1941, the Farhud pogrom swept through Baghdad. Inspired by Nazi propaganda, local mobs murdered 180 Jews, injured hundreds more, and looted homes and businesses. This shattered the trust between Jews and their neighbors.

The situation worsened after Israel’s independence in 1948. Iraq’s government passed laws banning Zionism, freezing Jewish bank accounts, and removing citizenship from the Iraqi Jews. A 1950 law allowed Jews to emigrate—but only if they renounced their nationality, leaving them stateless.

By 1951, under Operation Ezra and Nehemiah, nearly 120,000 Jews, - 90% of Iraq’s Jewish population, were airlifted to Israel. These families left behind property worth $200 million (over $2 billion today). Today, fewer than three Jews remain in Iraq.

2/ Yemen: A Flight to Safety.

Yemen’s Jewish community had existed for over 2,000 years, upholding unique traditions even in isolation. But by the 20th century, they faced increasing violence and discrimination.

In 1947, riots erupted in the city of Aden, killing 82 Jews and destroying their homes and businesses. The violence convinced many that they had no future in Yemen.

Israel stepped in with Operation Magic Carpet in 1949-1950, a daring rescue that airlifted nearly 50,000 Yemeni Jews to safety. Many had never seen an airplane before and carried little more than the clothes on their backs.

Today, fewer than 50 Jews remain in Yemen. The rest found a new home in Israel, bringing with them traditions that enriched the country’s culture.

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AP

@AP_from_NY

Jan 28

🧵Remembering the Holocaust on Remembrance Day🧵

Thread: On this Remembrance Day, we pause to reflect on the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust. The images shared below are not meant to shock, but to serve as a solemn reminder of the atrocities endured by millions of Jews. These are the faces of those who suffered, and we owe it to them—and to humanity—to ensure that such darkness is never repeated.

The horrors of the Holocaust are too often forgotten or minimized by those who seek to distort history. Today, we look back at some of the most disturbing images as a warning of what hatred and bigotry can lead to.

⚠️⚠️Viewer discretion is advised⚠️⚠️

A child in the Warsaw Ghetto collapses on the street, weakened beyond measure by starvation.

1/ A German soldier shooting a Ukrainian Jew during a mass execution in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, sometime between 1941 and 1943.

⚠️⚠️Viewer discretion is advised⚠️⚠️

2/ A man carries away the bodies of dead Jews in the Ghetto of Warsaw in 1943, where people died of hunger in the streets.

⚠️⚠️Viewer discretion is advised⚠️⚠️

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AP

@AP_from_NY

Dec 15, 2024

🧵Meet 15 Jewish Nobel Prize Winners Who Changed History🧵

The Jewish population constitutes just 0.18% of the world (15.3 million out of 8.2 billion), yet approximately 20-30% of Nobel Prize winners in fields like Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine are Jewish. This incredible fact highlights the Jewish community's historic contributions to humanity.

Let’s meet just 15 of the over 200 Jewish Nobel Prize winners.

1/ Albert Einstein (1921, Physics).

Einstein was born in Germany to a secular Jewish family. His groundbreaking discovery of the photoelectric effect laid the foundation for quantum mechanics, earning him the Nobel Prize.

▪ His theory of relativity (E=mc²) reshaped our understanding of gravity and spacetime.
▪In 1933, Einstein fled Nazi Germany to the U.S., where he became a vocal advocate for civil rights and Zionism.
▪He helped inspire the Manhattan Project but later became an advocate for nuclear disarmament.

2/ Niels Bohr (1922, Physics).

Born in Denmark to a Jewish mother, Bohr revolutionized atomic physics.

▪His Bohr Model showed electrons orbit the nucleus in distinct energy levels.
▪During WWII, Bohr worked on the Manhattan Project after escaping Nazi persecution.
▪Beyond science, Bohr advocated for global cooperation and peaceful nuclear energy use.

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AP

@AP_from_NY

Dec 8, 2024

🧵Thread: Events since October 7, 2023, that led to the collapse of the Assad regime.

1. The horrific massacre on Oct 7th by Hamas terrorists.

2. Israel's invasion of Gaza.

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