Post

x.com/ap_from_ny/sta…

More from @Average_NY_Guy

AP

@Average_NY_Guy

Jul 10

🧵🧵Thread: Before the Jewish return, the land of Israel was a land without industry or infrastructure, ravaged by neglect and poverty under Ottoman rule. Visitors dismissed it as barren, lifeless, and forgotten.

In 1867, Mark Twain saw it with his own eyes and called it barren, lifeless, and hopeless.

This thread breaks down what he saw, what it meant, and why Zionists were right to quote him 🧵🧵

1/10

Twain’s visit to Palestine in 1867, documented in The Innocents Abroad, was part of a luxury cruise through Europe and the Ottoman Empire. He wasn’t on a political mission. He was writing for an American audience hungry for satire, travel commentary, and biblical reflection.

But his words left a deep impression: he called Palestine “a desolate country,” a place where “we never saw a human being on the whole route,” with “barren hills,” “unsightly deserts,” and “no solitary village for thirty miles.”

Zionists have rightly cited these words to show that the land was far from flourishing before Jewish pioneers arrived to revive and rebuild it.

2/10

Palestine in the mid-19th century was part of crumbling and decaying Ottoman Empire. It had no real economy, no national identity, and no development vision. The roads were dangerous, infrastructure was nearly nonexistent, and large stretches of land were either abandoned, overgrown, or infested with malaria.

Twain arrived at the end of the dry season, in September, when even the fertile regions appeared scorched and barren. He was reacting to what he saw and what he didn’t see: people, life, movement, productivity. Compared to the biblical scene he had imagined as a child in Missouri, the actual Holy Land felt ruined and forgotten.

His disappointment was genuine, not political. Twain’s blunt, unfiltered descriptions reflect the reality Jewish pioneers later confronted—a land in desperate need of revival, exactly what Zionism set out to achieve.

Read 12 tweets

AP

@Average_NY_Guy

Jul 8

🧵🧵Thread: How Newspapers Helped Kill 6 Million Jews🧵🧵

The Holocaust didn’t begin with Auschwitz, cattle cars, ghettos, or death marches.

It began years earlier, with headlines, street posters, and newspapers displayed in glass cases for children to read on their way to school.

Before Jews were hunted or deported, they were redefined and dehumanized.

Day by day, word by word, the German society was trained:
🔹 To fear their neighbors
🔹 To laugh at their suffering
🔹 To feel nothing when they vanished

This wasn’t hidden rhetoric. It was state-sponsored journalism.
And it happened in broad daylight on every street corner.

The goal wasn’t just to hate the Jew.
It was to unsee the Jew as human.

This thread is about how Nazi newspapers like Der Stürmer and Völkischer Beobachter made genocide not just possible but actually popular.

And why their methods still matter today.

1/12 – How Nazi Newspapers Paved the Road to Genocide

Joseph Goebbels, head of the Ministry of Propaganda, understood that public opinion could be shaped long before violence ever began. He knew that if people saw Jews not as individuals, but as threats to society, it would become easier to justify discrimination, exclusion, and eventually mass murder.

To achieve this, the Nazi regime used newspapers as a primary tool for dehumanization. The two most influential publications were:

1 – Der Stürmer, a weekly paper filled with crude antisemitic cartoons, conspiracy theories, and inflammatory headlines. It appealed to emotion, fear, and hatred.
2 – Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the Nazi Party. Unlike Der Stürmer, it presented itself as a serious and intellectual publication, using political and economic arguments to portray Jews as a danger to Germany’s future.

Together, these two papers reached millions of Germans each week. They didn’t simply report events—they shaped how those events were understood. Through constant repetition of antisemitic themes and moral framing, they slowly shifted the public’s perception of Jews from citizens to enemies.

This was not passive information. It was active indoctrination.

So yes, before the physical destruction came the psychological one.

2/12 – Der Stürmer: Hate on Every Corner

Der Stürmer was edited by Julius Streicher, a fanatical antisemite and early Nazi.

It was crass, sensational, and borderline p*rn*graphic. And it was everywhere.

Streicher’s headlines usually screamed lines like:

“The Jew is the World’s Misfortune”
“Jewish Murder Lust”
“The Parasite Among Us”

Its cartoons were obscene. Its articles accused Jews of blood libel, s*xual perversion, financial treason, and everything in between.

And you didn’t even need to buy it.

Nazi display boxes—Stürmer-Kästen—were mounted across towns and cities. Children passed them on the way to school. Housewives on their way to the market. There was no escape, everyone saw it, and everyone read it.

The more grotesque the paper became, the more normalized the message became.

Read 13 tweets

AP

@Average_NY_Guy

Jul 4

🧵This July 4th, let’s honor the Jewish patriots who helped secure America’s independence.

Though only 2,000–3,000 Jews lived in the colonies, they made huge contributions, from financing the war, fighting on the front lines, to advocating for liberty, and helping lay the groundwork for religious freedom.

Here are some of the Jewish heroes of the American Revolution 🇺🇸👇

1/ Haym Salomon – The Financier of the Revolution

Born in Poland in 1740, Haym Salomon was a Sephardic Jew who immigrated to New York. Fluent in several languages, he used his skills to work as a broker and translator for foreign merchants, and later for the Patriot cause.

During the war, Salomon became a prime financier for the Continental Congress. He helped sell war bonds and raised personal loans from wealthy French and Spanish Jews to support Washington’s army when Congress lacked funds.

He personally gave over $650,000, more than $14 million in today’s money, including $20,000 for the final campaign at Yorktown, without which the decisive victory may not have happened.

Captured twice by the British as a suspected spy, he bribed his way out of prison and resumed his efforts, even helping British-held prisoners escape.

Despite his immense contribution, he died in 1785 nearly penniless, having sacrificed everything for the American cause. His gravestone reads: “An American patriot.”

2/ Francis Salvador – The Paul Revere of the South

Francis Salvador was born into a wealthy Sephardic Jewish family in London and later emigrated to South Carolina, becoming a plantation owner. In 1774, he made history as the first Jew elected to public office in the American colonies.

A passionate revolutionary, Salvador represented South Carolina in the Provincial Congress, where he pushed for independence from Britain and advocated strongly for colonial unity.

When Cherokee forces, encouraged by the British, attacked Patriot settlements in 1776, Salvador famously rode 30 miles through the night to warn local militias—similar to Paul Revere’s ride.

He joined the militia to defend his community and was mortally wounded in a skirmish with the Cherokees. He was scalped by their British-allied warriors and died at age 29.

He became the first Jewish soldier killed in the American Revolution—a martyr for a country that still hadn’t fully accepted him.

Read 10 tweets

AP

@Average_NY_Guy

Jun 30

🧵Zohran Mamdani’s NYC Agenda: A Blueprint for Collapse

New York City stands at a crossroads — and Zohran Mamdani’s radical agenda threatens to push it over the edge.

Most people know him for defending the intifada. They think that’s the controversy.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg

His platform is a fantasy-world checklist that would bankrupt the city, dismantle public safety, and drive out the working and middle class that keeps New York alive.

Here’s exactly how Mamdani would wreck the city — thread below 🧵👇

1. Rent Freeze on Rent-Stabilized Apartments

Policy: Freeze rents on ~1 million rent-stabilized apartments to shield low- and middle-income tenants from rising costs — especially during inflation.

Why It’s Flawed:
Freezing rents may sound tenant-friendly, but it devastates property maintenance. Landlords can’t afford rising costs (repairs, taxes, insurance), and buildings deteriorate — just like they did in 1970s NYC.

A 2019 Manhattan Institute study found that San Francisco’s rent control policies led to reduced housing quality and decreased supply.
Private investment dries up. Developers walk away. Market distortions cause non-stabilized rents to skyrocket, squeezing the middle class.
This isn’t affordability — it’s slow-motion collapse.

2. Free City Buses

Policy: Make all NYC buses fare-free, eliminating $630 million in annual revenue. Mamdani says this will reduce car use and improve equity, especially in the outer boroughs.

Why It’s Flawed:
The MTA already faces a projected $16.8 billion deficit through 2028. Eliminating bus fares without a clear funding plan forces tax hikes or cuts to subway and rail services.

Boston’s fare-free bus pilot led to overcrowding, delayed service, and operational strain.
Working New Yorkers will either pay higher taxes or deal with declining service. It’s a reckless promise with no real plan behind it.

Read 12 tweets

AP

@Average_NY_Guy

Jun 27

🧵🧵No, the Jews didn’t “come” to Israel—because they never left.

Jews have lived in the Land of Israel every single century since the destruction of the Second Temple.

This is not a claim. It’s a fact.
In this thread, I’ll give you a full timeline—
A century-by-century account of uninterrupted presence.

📍 One community
👤 One leader or scholar
📜 Every century

Buckle up—this is a long one.
Let’s begin. 🧵🧵

1️⃣ 1st Century CE (70–100 CE)

📍 Locations: Yavne, Galilee (Tzippori, Gush Halav), outskirts of Jerusalem

👥 Community: Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE by Rome, Jewish religious leadership moved to Yavne where Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai reestablished the Sanhedrin (Jewish court). This was critical in transforming Judaism from Temple rituals to Rabbinic Judaism centered on Torah study and prayer. Communities in Galilee, including Tzippori and Gush Halav, thrived as centers of learning and agriculture despite Roman restrictions.

👤 Key Figure: Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, who pioneered the transition of Judaism to a post-Temple reality.

🏛️ Historical Context: Roman repression continued, with Jews barred from Jerusalem but maintaining a strong presence throughout Galilee and central Israel.

🏺 Archaeology: Synagogues and mikvaot (ritual baths) found in Galilee from this period reveal sustained religious activity.

2️⃣ 2nd Century CE (100–200 CE)

📍 Locations: Yavne, Beit She’arim, Tzippori, Lod

👥 Community: After the devastating Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE), Jewish life in Judea was heavily disrupted, but communities flourished in the Galilee and central Israel. Beit She’arim became a prominent Jewish necropolis, demonstrating a wealthy, diverse community. The Mishnah (first part of the Talmud) was compiled during this century, establishing the foundation for Jewish law.

👤 Key Figure: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the Mishnah’s editor, who unified Jewish legal tradition.

🏛️ Historical Context: Roman authorities continued to restrict Jewish autonomy, but religious life flourished in synagogue communities.

🏺 Archaeology: The underground cemetery of Beit She’arim display Hebrew inscriptions and elaborate tombs reflecting the community’s vibrancy.

Read 23 tweets

AP

@Average_NY_Guy

May 28

🧵THREAD🧵: Elite, Educated, and Entitled: Harvard Has Always Had a Jewish Problem.

What’s happening to Jewish students at Harvard right now—being harassed, cornered, intimidated, and even blocked from going to class—isn’t new at all.

Harvard has spent over a century finding new ways to exclude Jews. In the 1920s, they called it “character.” In the 1930s, they called it “neutrality.” Today, they call it “justice for Palestine.”

But the result is always the same: Jewish students feel unsafe. Unwelcome. And alone.

This thread walks through how we got here—from quotas and Nazis to Hamas and Title VI investigations.

Because if we don’t understand the history, we’ll never stop it from repeating 👇

1. Harvard’s First “Jewish Problem” — Quotas in the 1920s.

In the early 1920s, Jews made up about 20% of Harvard’s student body. These were poor immigrant kids, many of them the children of Eastern European Jews who had fled pogroms — earning their place at Harvard not through legacy or wealth, but through academic brilliance and determination. And Harvard panicked.

President A. Lawrence Lowell saw the rise in Jewish students as a threat. Not an academic threat. But a cultural one. He didn’t want Harvard to lose its elite, white Protestant image — so he proposed a quota to cap the number of Jews at 15%.

To do that, Harvard overhauled its admissions process. They began judging students on “character,” “personality,” and “background” — vague codes for identifying Jews. They examined names, asked about religion, looked at extracurriculars, and suddenly, brilliant Jewish applicants were being turned away.

These policies didn’t just hurt individuals. They institutionalized the message: You don’t belong here.

2. Welcoming Nazis: Harvard’s Moral Collapse in the 1930s.

When Hitler came to power in 1933, his plans weren’t a secret. Jews were being stripped of their rights. Jewish professors were being fired. Jewish students were expelled. Books were burned. People were beaten in the streets. The world watched it in horror.

And Harvard? Harvard chose diplomacy.

In 1934, just one year into Hitler’s rule, Harvard invited the Nazi German ambassador to speak on campus. This wasn’t a mistake or a bureaucratic error — it was a deliberate act defended by the university as academic “neutrality.”

Students and Jewish groups were outraged. They protested. They pleaded with the administration to cancel the event. But Harvard held firm. Academic decorum was more important than moral clarity. Let the Nazis speak.

Then it got worse.

In 1936, the University of Heidelberg — a proud Nazi institution — celebrated its 550th anniversary. By then, it had already expelled all its Jewish faculty. It had pledged loyalty to Hitler. And still, Harvard sent an official delegation to the celebration, alongside representatives of the fascist Italian and Nazi German regimes.

There are photos of Harvard delegates, smiling under swastikas, standing beside Nazi officials. You can find them today — black-and-white proof of the Ivy League’s willingness to look evil in the face and shake its hand.

Jewish alumni, including some who had fled Europe, were horrified. But they were ignored.

Harvard had decided: preserving polite ties with the Reich mattered more than standing with the people being persecuted.

There was no apology. No institutional soul-searching. No moral reckoning. Just a deep, polite silence — and a willingness to be complicit in the greatest crime of the 20th century.

That’s the real story. Not just academic elitism. But cowardice dressed up as civility.

And it would set the tone for Harvard’s future betrayals of its Jewish students — in new forms, under new names — for decades to come.

Read 10 tweets

Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

AP

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @Average_NY_Guy

AP

AP

AP

AP

AP

AP

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Send Email!