Had an unpleasant encounter with 2 ppl ripping down a hostage poster in my neighborhood tonight. I approached & said I was curious why they were doing that. No answer. Asked again, said I wasn't filming just wanted to talk (not interested in shaming random ppl online) 1/3 One of them started yelling at me about genocide. I asked if she could imagine that the hostages' families were worried about them, why not put up pix of Palestinian children killed instead of ripping down Israelis, asked if one could have room in their hearts for both people 2/3

Some deja vu about tomorrow's rally:

20 years ago, I was a rabbinical student at JTS when another Israel rally was planned for DC, in the midst of the 2nd Intifada. (1/12)

jta.org/archive/new-gr… A number of us had spent the previous year in Israel, both in fear of being killed in a suicide bombing & also increasingly horrified by reports of the dire situation in the West Bank. Many of our friends were there now. (2/12)

🧵
I have been doing anti-occupation work for more than 20 years. It has been heartbreaking, frustrating, and sometimes terrifying. And I have met the best people--American Jews, Israelis (both Jewish & Palestinian) & Palestinians under occupation. 1/21 This month, I have been blown away by the moral courage of Israeli human rights leaders. Some barely escaped from their homes in the south. Many are sitting shiva, in shloshim, praying for kidnapped loved ones waiting for bodies to be identified in order to have funerals, 2/21

A thread on discourse about Israel:

I often start talks about Israel & antisemitism and where the line is by noting that Israel is a country. Now, this should be an obvious statement, given that Israel is a member of the UN, but it's important to say for a few reasons. (1/16) 1. Many Jews (& Christian Zionists) see no difference between the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), which is the ancient homeland of the Jewish people & the state of Israel (Medinat Yisrael), a modern nation state subject to the same international law as every other country (2/16)

Antisemitism thread:
Following the Nazi march through Charlottesville, a non-Jewish reporter called me to talk about it & said that she was surprised by what happened "because I thought antisemitism ended after the Holocaust." I told her that Jews were not really surprised. 1/22 But that & other interactions have made it clear that many people think of antisemitism as something that began & ended w/Holocaust (though past few yrs have probably made many rethink the "ended" part). Esp. true when the Holocaust is framed as a story of white supremacy. 2/22

When my kids were very little, we were lucky to find an amazing home daycare run by an immigrant woman entrepreneur (& child whisperer) who had raised her own kids & now was running a small business, employing other immigrant women & allowing parents to work. (1/4)

https://twitter.com/EmilyRPeck/status/1391341468221067265

At one point, NY reduced child care vouchers that many parents were using to be able to afford day care. I remember at the time talking to parents who were going to quit jobs, reduce hours, or move kids to less good day care as result. We organized/advocated but no luck. (2/4)

A few years ago, @truahrabbis ran a campaign to get @JNFUSA to release a list of where their $ goes, including how much to settlements. And we won! You can see more here truah.org/press/victory-… and here truah.org/jnf-over-the-g…

(wonky explainer thread ahead)
(1/11)

https://twitter.com/ArnoRosenfeld/status/1379183791353237508

As a result of the T'ruah campaign, JNF-USA released a list of their projects, and has continued to include such a list in every 990 since (not legally required for $ leaving the country...which is a questionable policy but that's another issue). A win for transparency! (2/11)

A short thread about the word antisemitism. One of the reasons ppl are confused is because the word "Jew" isn't in word. That leads to some misguided rhetoric line "Arabs are semites so antisemitism is hatred of Arabs." (anti-Arab prejudice is real, but term is different) (1/4)

https://twitter.com/kampeas/status/1320718671245955074

The term antisemite was invented by German antisemite in late 19th c. to respond to trends toward emancipation of Jews, incl in new German constitution. Term represented shift from Christianity-based anti-Judaism (as continued existence of Jews threatened supercessionism) (2/4)

A few words about the drama that unfolded over the past week plus regarding @ADL

This will be a long thread—please read the whole thing before responding. And if you tweet part of it, remind your followers that it's a thread & they should also read the whole thing. (1/25) The ADL was founded in 1913 in response to the lynching of a Jewish man, Leo Frank, the anniversary of whose murder was Monday. This lynching was a wake-up call to American Jews that antisemitism was alive and well. myjewishlearning.com/article/leo-fr… (2/25)

As we prepare to enter #TishaBav, the saddest day of the Jewish year, I'm thinking of the utter despair of people after the destruction of both Temples-- esp for those who lived through the slow march toward the sacking of the 2nd. Roman occupation, long siege, the end. (1/8) The moment when what one has known no longer exists, of entering a new era in which basic survival-- and the survival of a people--is not guaranteed. We know that Judaism emerged transformed from this destruction, but one could not know in the moment. (2/8)

For the nth time, a thread on the difference between Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel) & Medinat Yisrael (State of Israel) for Gov De Santis and anyone else still confused. Content warning: Contains nuance and will not please those on either extreme. Please read whole thread. (1/10) Eretz Yisrael is the homeland of the Jewish people. Full stop. Denying this is antisemitic. We have thousands of years of history, memory, collective narrative there & have spent 2000 yrs praying for return, fasting to commemorate destruction of Temple, etc. etc. (2/10)

Dear way too many people in my mentions: Denying the existence or the narrative of either Jews (Israeli or otherwise) or Palestinians is a) dehumanizing b) not even helping your cause. (1/7) 1. Let's start with: Jews today (& yesterday & tomorrow) are Jews. It's an antisemitic canard that we're all descended from Khazars/that some other people are the "real Jews." Stop spreading this lie & don't tolerate it from others, especially those in your political camp (2/7)

I'm glad to see @jfederations opposing this disastrous bill, but there are a lot of issues with this response. Starting with...1) We shouldn't be disappointed; we should be infuriated. (1/9)
haaretz.com/amp/us-news/.p… 2) "They also believe very public debate over original segregated communities clause –which highlighted that key coalition parties endorsed blatant discrimination – damaged Israel’s image internationally." Problem isn't Israel's image or debate. Problem is discrimination. (2/9)

The sin of Sodom, per intra-biblical clues & rabbinic tradition was cruelty to strangers.
"This was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She & her daughters had plenty of bread & untroubled tranquillity; yet she did not support the poor & the needy."--Ezekiel 16:49 (1/6) Talmud expands on this: [The people of Sodom] said: Since bread comes forth out of [our] earth & it has the dust of gold, why should we suffer wayfarers, who come to us only to deplete our wealth. Come, let us abolish practice of traveling in our land. (Sanhedrin 109b) (2/6)

This is one more example of a journalist doing a hot take without actually talking to anyone on the ground doing the work. @nytimes (1/4)
nyti.ms/2FTNThy 1) The Jewish community is talking about anti-Semitism all the time. And many of us are committed to calling out a-s on the left and the right. And most of us know how crucial @ADL_National has been this past year & a half. (2/4)