@natalunasans / natalunasans.tumblr.com
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as a teacher i have always said that wikipedia was just as good as any other encyclopedia for finding the basics of your topic, but now (at least on jewish subjects) i have to reconsider that opinion.
WJC study on wikipedia bias re: zionism / israel tldr of above change.org petition about the wikipedia bias
gif id: people from a variety of ethnicities and genders with a sign that says "the fight against antisemitism is intersectional"
Like fighting a mirror
just wanted to share the National Down Syndrome Society’s message for this year’s World Down Syndrome Day (21st March) 💛💙
Image and video description–
The image is a textpost that reads:
This #WorldDownSyndromeDay, we've joined forces with @coordown and other international Down syndrome organizations to spread the powerful message: No Decision Without Us. [flexed biceps emoji] People with disabilities deserve a seat at the table where decisions are made about their lives, their futures, and their rights. Let's work together toward a world where every voice is valued. #NoDecisionWithoutUs #WDSD25
The text accompanies a video posted by @ ndssorg on TikTok.
The video shows people with various disabilities forcefully requesting that they not be left out of the decision-making process when the decisions affect them directly. The persons with disabilities shown include:
The video draws to a close with Sophia storming into the room at the start of the video wearing an outfit of her own choice: a leather jacket, a black bustier top, a choker necklace and a purple tulle skirt. The whole sequence ends with the cast raising their fists in the air in a show of united strength.
End description.
I generally detest the New York Post, but they're the ones reporting on the EEOC complaint of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Torres, Columbia janitors.
Both men are making claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, alleging that they faced retaliatory harassment at the institution for “reporting antisemitic and racist conduct.”
...
“Hours after President [Minouche] Shafik issued her statement [that the university had become ‘unsafe for everyone‘], an antisemitic mob assaulted two janitors inside Columbia’s historic Hamilton Hall, calling them ‘Jew-lovers,'” the two complaints for both men recalled of the Hamilton Hall takeover in April last year.
It all began around November 2023, shortly after the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel sparked a war. Racist and antisemitic graffiti started to pop up, scrawled all around Hamilton Hall — and the campus’s janitors were forced to clean it up. “Mr. Wilson recognized the swastikas as symbols of white supremacy,” Wilson’s complaint alleges. “As an African-American man, he found the images deeply distressing. He reported them to his supervisors, who instructed him to erase the graffiti.” “No matter how many times Mr. Wilson removed the swastikas, individuals kept replacing them with more.”
Wilson lost track of how many swastikas he had to scrub, but his colleague Torres, who is Latino, pegged it in the dozens and eventually reached a point where he had enough, his complaint said
“They were so offensive, and Columbia’s inaction was so frustrating, that he eventually began throwing away chalk that had been left in the classrooms so vandals would not have anything to write with,” Torres’ complaint alleged. “However, Mr. Torres was reprimanded by his supervisor for doing so.” ...
In one instance, around Dec. 6, 2023, Torres and Wilson observed masked protesters storm through Hamilton Hall chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and scrawling swastikas as well as other obscene graffiti in the building.
After Wilson reported that, he was told by campus security that “the trespassers and vandals were exercising their First Amendment rights” and that “nothing could be done,” per the complaint.
On the takeover of Hamilton Hall:
Rioters had moved vending machines and zip-tied doors to barricade the exits and entrances. After deciding he was out of options, Torres decided to battle his way through the mob. ‘”I’m going to get twenty guys up here to f— you up,'” one masked rioter who had “violently” shoved Torres threatened, per the complaint. “Mr. Torres pulled a fire extinguisher, which was within arm’s reach, off the wall to defend himself and replied, ‘I’ll be right here.’” During that confrontation, Torres was repeatedly struck on his back by other rioters. After repeatedly navigating to blocked-off exits, he eventually found a way out that had been blocked by zip ties and a bike lock. Following his pleas, one of the rioters cut the zip ties and let him out. Wilson had been separated from Torres during the havoc and had quickly tried to escape after determining the rioters were taking over. During his scramble to get out, rioters smashed furniture into him and pushed him repeatedly, per the complaint.
“He recalls saying, ‘I work here. Let me out,'” the complained alleged. “The rioters responded by laughing at him and mocking him. He remembers being told, ‘You work for the Jews,’ and ‘You’re a Zionist.’ Eventually, someone opened a door and Mr. Wilson was physically pushed out of the building.”
So fun story about that.
My father used to work for the Veterans Association in the US, back in the 1970s, early in his career as a dentist.
One day, he has this grizzled old NCO come in and sit in his dental chair; the guy does a glance at the name on the door, and asks my father, who is in his 20s at the time, "Hey, kid, you Jewish?"
My father answers "Yes, I am," half-expecting the guy to get up and leave--it had happened before.
The NCO motions him in closer. "Over in Europe, did you lose any family to those Nazis?"
My father, getting discomforted, answers flatly, "Yes, I did." Both of his parents were nearly the sole survivors of their entire families.
"Well, kid, let me tell you something. Come 'ere." He motions my father in closer. "Kid... I hung dem sons-of-bitches!"
He had been the hangman at Nuremberg, and was vastly and eternally proud of that fact.
OH MY GOD. YOU MET JOHN C WOODS?!
(This guy was totally incompetent as a hangman, he bungled the executions so bad it was supposed to be a quick drop but the Nazis he hanged ended up suffering terribly c:)
cats...?
FRIENDS
Thinking about the time I was at a cosplay Meetup and the excited "I have a holocaust joke for you" came up as a response to finding out I'm Jewish.
I told him that there's "something wrong" with him, and yelled at him that he must be a special kind of stupid to think that's an ok response to meeting a Jew... He cried and left the meet. Ruined his entire day I'm sure.
Was there a more constructive way to deal with the situation? Definitely.
Do I regret it, not at all, I'd probably do it again.
Why is that the go-to thing for some people when they meet a Jew? That’d be like coming up to me and making a Delphine LaLaurie joke or a lynching joke or something because I’m black.
I wonder if they think they are being subversive or cool.
Because it is not always when they first meet you. Sometimes it happens it happens after a while of knowing you.
But I wonder if maybe deep down it might a litmus test to see what they can away with and how much of that they are consciously aware of that that is what they are doing. I mean in regards to litmus testing. They are fully aware that they being antisemitic asshats.
I also think it is a way to humiliate which they may not be conscious of either.
Because a fair amount of antisemitic thought and rhetoric is based on idea of the humiliation of the Jew. This is like pretty big in a lot of christian theologican discussion and doctrine. Think of Ecclesia and Sinagoga, Judensau, and even the Arch of Titus.
This idea concept of humiliating Jews has been in background always permeating whether or not people realize it and that kinda messaging is something people will internalize because that is how racism, antisemitism, and just discrimination works.
Like it doesn't need to be overt. And antisemitism is often subtle, but it is there and has been there for a very long time.
That is my theory at least.
i have a particularly relevant two pages from a book i’m currently reading: kenneth levin’s “the oslo syndrome: delusions of a people under siege” that i want to share.
i would say it should be required reading for every single jew in the world, israeli or diaspora.
this is one of the many reasons why it is so cruel and so harmful to lump jews in as white. we have never been white or part of whiteness, no matter how pale some of us were skin tone wise, and the subsequent treatment we received from greater, actually white society has done so much damage to us psychologically. so much damage.
(and for those of us who didnt spend diaspora in europe, we were othered in different ways that still had the same effect.)
lumping us in with our oppressors because some of us had the audacity to succeed despite all the odds stacked up against us or not look the way you think we should look is just inflicting constant, never ending trauma onto our population. it’s cruel treatment and an extension of thousands of years of cruel treatment. that shit piles up and it sinks into your bones.
so yes, of course we are seeing antizionist jews and pandering to mahmoud khalil supporters etc right now: because we have no escape from this treatment and the only alternative, the only comfort for the pain, the only thing that could tell us this isnt our fault and we deserve better, is demonized by the world at large. and it’s demonized because the world cannot handle us at our strength.
they can’t even handle the most visibly jewish thing on this planet: our state, so they sure as shit wouldnt be able to handle if we demanded better treatment or even reparations for what nearly every society on earth did to us.
it’s a sad reality and unfortunately, this is something we have to address ourselves, because non jews are never going to stop mistreating us. we need to stop demonizing our own liberation movement, our own state, our own traditions, our own culture and religion. we need to stop turning our backs on jewishness and our most vulnerable fellow jews. we need to stop giving in and address this urge to fawn for the enemy.
please PLEASE we need to address it, before it’s too late and nothing can be done.
Regarding Mahmoud Khalil, this guy had a green card and Trump is trying to have him deported for engaging in political speech critical of the Israel/Palestine US foreign policy status quo.
Even if Khalil’s activism includes anti-Jewish narratives or behavior (I literally don’t know because I avoid reading too deeply on this), denying him his first amendment rights and having him detained by ICE ain’t fucking it, and I’d like MAGA to stop pretending to care about Jews and stop denying Americans their civil liberties in the name of protecting Jews it just puts us in further fucking danger.
Like damn if there is a leftist revolution in the USA they’ll have Jews shot for this in the name of the revolution.
If this breaches containment, I’m an American Jewish woman and Holocaust historian who spends not an insignificant amount of time deconstructing anti-Semitism in Western movements for Palestine.
i largely agree with this but want to add that technically his first amendment rights were not violated - any trouble they may be using as an excuse to detain him would have to do with his involvement in the columbia encampments taking over buildings, engaging in physical attacks against members of the community or calling for violence as such, which are NOT protected actions under the first.
regardless of his actual involvement with the above, however, his FOURTH amendment rights were absolutely infringed upon and disregarded. the fourth is the right that protects from unreasonable search and seizure by the government. even if the agents had a good, legitimate reason to detain him, they did not have a warrant, which makes their actions illegal and even further deplorable than they already were.
i also think it's good to remember - i was careful about my word choice here. whatever they are detaining him for, it is an excuse. they may claim it's because he was spreading/inciting antisemitism, but we know that they don't actually care about that. they wanted him because he's a palestinian "stirring up trouble" and they think they can get away with it.
It’s also pretty well documented that the encampments were supporting hezbollah and Hamas with flags and flyers from both terrorist orgs. Not only that but they chanted pro terrorist slogans like globalize the infada da.
Any non citizen can not stay in the country if they support terrorism against that country or support terrorist orgs recognized by the US. That law has been on the books since bush and 9/11. Protected Speech doesn’t include calls for violence against individuals or classes of people anyway which the protests were doing.
Neo Nazis are really smart and legally minded which is why they used dog whistles in most public speeches and literature. Antizionists thought they could say the shit Neo Nazis are dog whistling about OUT LOUD like Neo Nazis didn’t say it because they were demure or less hard core… and NO. YOU CANT CALL FOR DEATH OF A NATIONALITY OF PEOPLE OR A RELIGIOUS MINORITY, especially if you are here on a green card, idiots.
Why defend this kind of free speech? What good did the anti Israel protests do FOR ANYONE INCLUDING THE PALESTINIANS? The only group they helped was Iranian backed terrorist groups fucking up the countries they occupy.
It’s a canary in a coal mine situation and if you can’t understand that there’s nothing I can do for you.
And don’t yell at me about shit i already know. Like, take a nap or something.
The problem, as I see it, is that both sides are kinda right here, and both sides are supporting things I find deeply troubling.
Mahmoud Khalil did distribute pro-Hamas literature, which under US law is considered giving a terrorist organization material support, which is a thing you can lose your green card and be deported for. Whether or not you think the law is moral, it does exist. The Biden administration could have enforced this law and chose not to.
The Trump administration is making a different choice, but the way the Trump administration is choosing to enforce this law is deeply concerning. Arresting/detaining him without a warrant is illegal. I have deep concerns about due process laws being followed as this case makes its way through the legal system. And the administration’s selective concern for the law is absolutely something we should be concerned about and loudly protesting.
But the real issue here is what both parties are signaling with this case and their reactions to it. The Trump administration is signaling that if they decide they don’t like what you’re saying, they will come for you, both to the fullest extent of the law, and also outside of it. They are also (falsely) signaling that they will side with Jews over other minorities as a set up to both further divide Jews from our historical allies on the left and to set Jews up as a scapegoat for this and future actions done “in our name.”
Meanwhile the Democrats are signaling that they’re in opposition to the Trump administration, yes. But between their insistence that Khalil didn’t do anything wrong paired with the Biden administration’s decision to not enforce laws regarding material support of terrorist organizations, they’re also signaling that they’re prioritizing free speech, even non-protected speech like calls for violence, over protecting minorities (or, if I’m being cynical, one specific minority) that said speech is directed against.
Personally, I’m not happy with either side here. @historicity-was-already-taken is right that this is a canary in a coal mine situation, or perhaps a frog in a slowly heating pot of water situation. If the Trump administration is not opposed on how they are handling this, they will continue to deny rights to “dissidents.” Hell, even if they are opposed, they will continue to try, and so we are obligated to oppose them and continue to oppose them. But I’m also not thrilled that so many that are opposing this not by calling out the actual things the Trump administration is doing that are terrifying (arrest without warrant, ignoring due process) and instead insisting that Khalil did nothing wrong when that’s not true.
Do not let anyone tell you, or so much as insinuate, that American Jews, or any Jews, are behind Trump's drive to crack down on the freedom of speech and assembly.
mahmoud khalid deserves due process and the right to a fair trial because he is a permanent resident and green card holder. those rights are guaranteed by the constitution. i do not agree with him AND he has rights.
more than anything, the trump admin making an example out of him is deeply immoral and deeply evil. they are citing “jewish safety” so they can set us up to be scapegoats for his fascism. they’re parading around his arrest with “shalom” to make us scapegoats. he wants the people to blame us for his fascism. cause after all if the people are angry at the jews and hating the jews, he can keep being evil while everyone is distracted.
this is state sponsored antisemitism in the united states. do not get it twisted. he’s not promoting “jewish safety” he is setting us up for the next bloodbath
you don’t have to agree with him or be an apologist for his cause to see what this admin is doing and how dangerous things are about to get here
Oh fuck me. He's setting up the Jewish community to be scapegoats for his BS.
Anyone got thoughts on this-perhaps I missed something?
does "fuuuuuuck" count as a thought?
The likelihood of widespread pogroms from the left against “Zionists” and pogroms from the right against “globalists” during Trump’s term just shot up immensely. That’s his plan. He’s never forgiven Jews for voting against him, and is appropriating our own language to put us in danger and dodge responsibility.
It was never about “fighting antisemitism” on college campuses, but it IS about using Jews as a convenient excuse in his quest to dismantle free speech en masse by wielding the presidential administration like a cudgel against college campuses. Notice how he broadened his language in his most recent post on Truth Social to now include “anti-American” protesters as targets for deportation?
He will come for pro-LGBTQ protests, antifa, and BLM-adjacent protest movements next. And because some leftist protest movements DO have a genuine antisemitism problem that has been percolating for the past few years, it will be us Jews that pay the price.
THIS
It is my firm belief that he is stirring up resentment whilst simultaneously removing safeguards that protect the American public in order to bait an attack, that he might have an excuse to declare martial law and instill himself into permanent power.
Jewish Americans, who routinely stand up for the rights of others, would likely do so again (as we did by voting overwhelmingly for Kamala Harris even as the far left enthusiastically and publicly fantasized about murdering us), and then we would collectively be branded as traitors.
Furthermore, the Left's ability to mount an effective defense against Right wing aurhoritarianism has been absolutely crippled by infighting that I have seen the Right deliberately stoking over the past decade. The feminists are fractured. LGBT, fractured. Races and ethnicities have been played against one another. Trust has been broken; we no longer trust each other. And I assert that this has been a deliberate move all along.
This has been a long game. The trap has been laid and baited.
Do not take that bait. Repair our alliances.
I am begging you.
