Alex גדעון בן װעלװל's Threads

Nov 20 • 4 tweets • 1 min read

I spent most of the election talking to Jewish voters around the country who, rightly or wrongly, associated the far left that's been harassing Jews for the past year with the Democratic party. We're talking about people who vote Democratic every election cycle. 1/

https://twitter.com/BriannaWu/status/1859250888272970080

I wanted to talk to these voters about abortion rights, about the incredible legislation the Biden-Harris admin passed to bring jobs back to America and stand up to China, etc...

Nov 13 • 6 tweets • 2 min read

Now that the U.S. election is over, it's time to talk about an election most American Jews don't pay attention to but should: the World Zionist Congress.

Yours truly is on a party slate in this election!

Details incoming for those interested. The World Zionist Congress elections give diaspora Jews a voice, guiding $1 billion annually for Jewish education, combating antisemitism, and determining other priorities for Jews.

It is the single best way of having your views reflected in Israel short of moving there.

Nov 13 • 12 tweets • 2 min read

Suggestions from an internet dodo on what grassroots liberals, not elected Democrats or associated organizations, should do to help build the next winning coalition, a thread. 1) Resist the urge to be smug.

As a smug prick, this is very hard for me!

Yet we persuade more when we relate to people than when we communicate to them that we think we are better than them.

Nov 8 • 9 tweets • 2 min read

I am seeing a lot of folks expressing a lot of intense emotions on Twitter in the aftermath of the elections.

Some things to consider if you are looking for something other than despair. 1) Parties that take unified control (House, Senate, White House) have a bad habit of overshooting.

Bear in mind this is how our institutions reflect what was a close election.

47.7% of Americans didn't want this.

A competent politician would govern from the center.

Nov 6 • 10 tweets • 2 min read

I have a few opinions on this. A quick thread.

https://twitter.com/CartoonsHateHer/status/1854184432200192499

1) I don't think Democrats can win the majority of White men. Fundamentally our politics has a color line and many white men, knowingly or unknowingly, like it and want to preserve it.

You can, however, reduce the GOP's margin and improve it for Democrats.

Nov 6 • 8 tweets • 2 min read

Quick reactions to the election news, a thread. 1) It doesn't matter how much wages rise. Or how you have the best performing economy in the developed world. Or how you pass generational legislation to keep us competitive.

Voters hate inflation.

Liberals will have to internalize that lesson for future policy goals.

Nov 3 • 25 tweets • 7 min read

I'll be voting for Harris today. A brief thread of my reasons why.

This is not to argue with Trump supporters, this is to share with anyone who is on the fence. 1) Economic issues.

I am a refugee from a country that collapsed. The scope of your imagination for what a "bad" economy is widens quite a bit with that experience.

Trump has dangerous ideas about the economy.

Oct 14 • 7 tweets • 1 min read

The Columbus shenanigans remind me that one of the most frustrating things about the "who is a Jew" question, particularly when discussing historical figures, is how often the debate is informed by ideas that are alien to Judaism. Judaism is an ancient and deeply communal religion. It predates concepts of race, DNA, and individualism.

Sep 28 • 14 tweets • 2 min read

Some thoughts on the situation regionally in light of the confirmation that Nasrallah is dead, a thread. 1) The performance of the IDF and Israeli intelligence in dealing with Hezbollah is markedly better than their engagement with Hamas.

That's not a weird quirk. It reflects the strategic read of Israel about which war they anticipated and prepared for before 10/7.

Sep 26 • 12 tweets • 3 min read

For no particular reason, a thread of American politicians the Turkish government has tried to influence lawfully and covertly. 1) Eliot Engel, Jamaal Bowman's predecessor, was a vocal critic of Turkey’s policies, particularly on issues like the Armenian Genocide and Turkey’s conduct in Syria's civil war.

Bowman wasn't. Turkish affiliated groups donated tens of thousands of dollars to him.

Sep 16 • 10 tweets • 3 min read

Couple of comments on Edelstein and Russian-speaking Jewish politics in Israel to supplement this reading in an incoming thread.

https://twitter.com/TimesofIsrael/status/1835658536015335552

1) For the unfamiliar, Edelstein was a prominent otkaznik ("refusenik") from Soviet Ukraine. For the crime of being a Jew who wanted to reclaim his culture and his ties to the Jewish people, he was sent to the Gulag.

Sep 2 • 8 tweets • 2 min read

It's very difficult to parse the debate about the Philadelphi corridor. It's clear Hamas wants Israel out so they can renew smuggling weapons into the strip. It's also clear Israel's public and security establishment don't trust Netanyahu to negotiate for the hostages. The messaging coming out of Israel's security establishment is that Netanyahu included Philadelphi in the negotiations to stall the talks. Probably has truth to it.

What I struggle with is their claim, repeated by Gallant in multiple forums, that they can simply return.

Sep 1 • 46 tweets • 8 min read

How I am thinking about the hostages Hamas executed, the politics around it, and where we go from here. This thread will probably not be short. A preface: I am hearing from friends who knew the murdered hostages. I am seeing the posts from hostage families.

I will do my best to think critically, but I am no more detached than anyone else in the Jewish world. I may come to view things differently with more time.

Aug 13 • 5 tweets • 1 min read

I used to think that the ultra-wealthy were singularly focused on taxes but I'm starting to realize there's a theory of social hierarchy that probably supersedes that for at least some of them. The return to office policies have very little to do with productivity of workers. But they do make bosses feel more in control of people and let them feel important as they walk around an office.

Aug 11 • 5 tweets • 1 min read

2 million views for this. A brief thread.

1) Soviet archives were released in the 90s. We have confirmation that Julius was a Soviet spy and Ethel was aware of and supported his activities

2) It's extremely rich to talk about your outrage over antisemitism. The judge and the prosecutor were both Jewish. This was post-war America, both of them knew exactly what public demonization of Jews led to in Europe.

Aug 11 • 33 tweets • 6 min read

For many years, I have not fasted on Tisha B'Av. I have honored the holiday in my own way, but objected to it in some aspects in my own peculiar way.

This year I will be observing the traditional way. I'd like to explain why for those Jews who may be considering it as well. A preface:

I did not grow up frum (religious). I came to observant Judaism as an adult. I am still learning. Things I may describe in here may not be consistent with how frum folks talk and teach this day. I often shy away from talking about Judaism for this reason.

Aug 7 • 27 tweets • 6 min read

The anti-Israel movement on the far-left had its highest engagement this year between protests, encampments, and online activism.

Here's a thread of how they have failed to transform that activism into electoral power and why. 1) Rep. Bowman, who has demonized Israel before and after 10/7 but especially after, lost his primary to a pro-Israel Democrat.
timesofisrael.com/congressman-bo…

Aug 6 • 15 tweets • 3 min read

Couple of thoughts on Jews and the Democratic party in light of the Walz selection, a thread. 1) If you are Jewish and politically engaged but not a political insider, what you saw for the past 2 weeks was an enormous explosion of online antisemitism against Shapiro using fig leafs like misquoting statements on protests, school vouchers he didn't pass, or other things

Jul 31 • 35 tweets • 7 min read

In public and in private I have gotten the question "Is Harris really better for Israel than Trump?"

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is incoming in the below thread. 1) When it comes to foreign affairs, what we are observing is a complex interplay of different factors, players, priorities, etc...

Very often the discussion about Trump and Israel is reduced to "well he moved the embassy and said nice things about Israel."

Jul 21 • 9 tweets • 2 min read

Some thoughts in response to the news that Biden is not running for reelection, a thread. 1) I'm angry. My phone is blowing up with texts from normie libs across America who are angry too.

The guy we voted for and who delivered for us was browbeat out by a hostile media.

We don't even have the time to stay mad. The election is still on.

Jul 10 • 17 tweets • 4 min read

Some thoughts on the state of Biden's candidacy 1) The American system for elected office does not enable the same kind of political discipline you see in parliamentary parties.

Despite getting the majority of electeds in congress to publicly back Biden, the drip drip of doubts and even open opposition continues.

Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll