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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.

Read 13 tweets

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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.

Read 13 tweets

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⚠️⚠️

Read 18 tweets

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.

Read 19 tweets

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.

Read 22 tweets

AP

@AP_from_NY

Dec 6, 2024

🧵𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚'𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 🧵

🧵Thread: The story of Jews in America goes beyond just history; it is deeply personal. It is about Jewish families who, escaping persecution and arriving with nothing, poured everything into creating a better future. It’s about standing alongside their neighbors in times of war, during civil rights struggles, and through cultural revolutions. But today, that's all under attack: antisemitism is on the rise and, with it, an attempt to erase centuries of resilience and contributions.

Let me take you on a brief journey through the amazing story of Jewish Americans, their achievements, their triumphs, and why their fight is one we all must share.

1/ Arrival in the New World (1654):

In 1654, 23 Jewish refugees arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York City), fleeing the Inquisition in Brazil. They faced hostility from Governor Peter Stuyvesant, who wanted to expel them. But their determination, and appeals to Dutch authorities, ensured their place in the New World.

These early Jews established America’s first synagogue, Congregation Shearith Israel, in 1655. Despite being a tiny minority, they thrived by trading, contributing to the local economy, and building a foundation for Jewish life in America. Their story reflects the broader Jewish narrative: persistence in the face of exclusion.

2/ Revolutionary Contributions (1776-1783):

When America fought for independence, Jews stood alongside their neighbors. Haym Salomon, a Polish-born Jew, became a financial savior of the Revolution. As a broker and financier, he helped secure critical loans to sustain George Washington’s army, often at great personal cost.

Salomon’s efforts demonstrated the Jewish embrace of American ideals—liberty, democracy, and equality. Jewish soldiers like Francis Salvador, the first Jew elected to public office in America, also fought and died for independence. These contributions helped cement Jewish loyalty to the emerging United States.

Read 11 tweets

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