I believe its possible for a person to have genuine affection for the Jewish people and still produce antisemitic expressions and not realize it. I know that sounds strange and maybe even impossible, but one has to view the core root of antisemitism to get an idea of what I’m talking about. Antisemitism goes much deeper than any racial or national issues. Its base is a spiritual one. Adolph Hitler’s hatred for the Jew was not a physical based ideology but rather a spiritual based ideology. Hitler himself is reported to having told his associate, Hermann Rauschning: “I know perfectly well that in the scientific sense there is no such thing as a race. As a politician I need a conception which enables the order which has hitherto existed on a historic basis to be abolished and an entirely new order enforced and given an intellectual basis. And for this purpose the conception of race serves me well.” .
Race, Jewish blood, and National Socialism, was only avenues by which Hitler’s spiritual hatred could be expressed in the physical realm. When we understand the full spiritual concept of what a Jew is, and what the Jew represents, it is only then we can begin to see the full concept of what antisemitism actually is. Without using the Bible as a spiritual guide, antisemitism is just another form of racism.
Any form of expression that seeks to separate the Jew from the covenant by which the God of Israel has appointed them is in reality antisemitic! Therefore, any attempt to convert the Jew away from his covenant with God (regardless of the honesty and compassion one might have for the Jew while doing so) is still an act of antisemitism against the Jew and the God of Israel.
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Think of what converting the Jew away form the covenant really is doing. It's converting them away from the very element that made them "Jews" to begin with! In a sense it is spiritually and physically "Gentilizing" them. More importantly, it not only dishonors the Jews themselves but the very covenant God made with them. Seeking Jewish conversion can be an willful or an inadvertently expression of denying God’s covenant with Israel. If Jewish conversion were able to run its full course the way missionaries envision it, the Jews as a people along with the covenant itself would be annihilated. My challenge to any Christian disagreeing with me on this, is to examine and ponder what the results would be if the entire Christian world were to abandoned their Christian heritage and be converted to Islam? The same results that would happen to the Christian world are the results that would happen to the Jewish world if they all converted to Christianity.
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Islam seeks to destroy the Christian world by converting Christians to Islam and they are doing so at a rapid rate. Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion in the world. The Christian world is becoming well aware of Islam’s threat to Christianity. While the Christian leaders are disgusted with Islam’s goal towards Christianity they forget that the same conversion rule applies to the Christians who fervently seeks Jewish converts. Remember, the Muslims believe they are right in their religion just as much and even probably more so than most Christians believe they are right in their religion. It takes an awful strong faith in Allah to blow oneself into a million pieces in their devotion to him. It’s a strange thing that Islam goes all out to try and convert Christians and Jews, while Christians go all out to and try convert the Muslims and Jews, but the Jews being the tiny minority of the three great monotheistic faiths, don’t attempt to convert either one of them to Judaism. There is a spiritual reason behind this that I will get to.
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The annihilation of the God of Israel, or the effect of making the God of Israel powerless, (basically making His word return to Him void (see Isaiah 55:11) is the ultimate goal of antisemitism. General God-haters and antisemites alike know that once they can find a way to annihilate the Jews in any form, (either by physical death, religious conversion, and assimilation) they will in effect have killed God (see Psalms 115: 2,3) because the God of Israel is known by His covenant that He has established with the Jews and the nation of Israel (see Jeremiah 31:36). So I would encourage the Gentile Christians of whom many really do have a compassion for Israel and the Jews, not to try and pull the Jews away for what God has already laid down as a requirement for them which is their Torah (see Deuteronomy 4:2). If nothing else, encourage them to be Torah minded and let God deal with Israel as He so chooses.
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It was never the intention of the All-Mighty that His Jewish nation to become like the other nations (Deuteronomy 7:6 / 14:2). Christianity and Islam are Gentile faiths of those other nations (see Deuteronomy 6:14). Though they use the Jewish scriptures as the foundation to their faith, their faith is Gentile oriented and Gentile maintained. Paul's conversion to Christianity caused his name to be changed from a Hebrew name of Saul to a Greco-Roman name of Paul (Acts 13:9). The name "Paul" remains a popular name among Gentiles while the name "Saul" (Solomon / Shlomo) remains popular among the Jews. I love to ask Messianic (Jew-want-to-be) Christians why that is. Paul, being the main author of the New Testament, traveled all over the Gentile world taking his message to them (see Romans 15:16) while Islam rejects God's covenant with Israel via Isaac (see Psalms 105:9,10) in order to accept their Gentle version of the Abrahamic covenant through the Gentile Ishmael (see Sura 37: 101-113). Christianity spread to the Gentile West via Rome while Islam spread throughout the Gentile Middle East via Mecca. But between both of these two massive bodies of land lies a very small strip of land that connects and a particular people with a eternal covenant. As with the onslaught of conversion efforts, isn't it spiritually strange that the Jews historically have received great persecutions in the form of physical attacks from both of the Christian and Islam nations (about 54% combined) while at the same time seeking the total conversion of the tiny Jewish nation, but you never hear or read about the Jewish people attacking either of them on the basis of their religion nor seeking their conversion to their faith?
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Here are some amazing facts:
- The two great world faiths of Christianity and Islam that makes up more than half of the world’s population (54% combined) seeks the total conversion of the tiny Jewish nation (0.22% of the world’s population) to their religion and belief system. To really get a good mental picture of just how offset Judaism is in population compared to the top two major religions of the world (which just happen to be the only two rivals of Judaism) take a look at the graph at the top of this article and notice the big green and red areas representing Christianity and Islam world populations. Then compared those areas to the tiny (hard to see) thin blue line representing Jews in Judaism between the colored areas of Buddhism and the other minority religions.
- Evangelicals spend approximately 250 million dollars every year on Jewish evangelism including missions to Israel for the sole purpose of converting the Jew, while the Jews spend about 250 millions dollars less then the evangelicals in Gentile proselytizing. How about that for one-sided spending figures? Muslims countries spend billions per year on weapons and political methods intended for the killing off the Jews who will not convert to Islam. Any Jew who converts to Islam can become worry free of any terrorist attacks, just as any Jew who converts to Christianity no longer has to put up with eager missionaries looking for that Jew-feather to put in their Christian hat.
- It is possible for a Gentile to be righteous outside of Judaism, but in the eyes of both Christianity and Islam, a Jew cannot be righteous hanging onto Law of Moses while converting to Christianity or Islam. This fact has made Judaism the most tolerant of the three monotheistic religions towards those outside their faith. A good question to ponder: During the Crusades when the forces of Christian Europe were fighting the Islamic empire from which both sides included the killing of Jews, who during this time were the Jews striking up a war with?
- Both Christianity and Islam have made their boasts throughout their history that they, and only they are the new chosen people and are the spiritual replacement of the physical seed of Israel while the nation of Israel bends over backwards to downplay their being chosen of God.
“God's Only 'Chosen Person' is Jesus Christ, and those in Him” - The Preterist Archive -
web-site / Dennis Todd
“The people who are really chosen by God are the Muslims community which has gathered under God’s banner without regard to differences of races, nations, colors, and countries.”
- Sayid Qutb, Milestones along the Road, p. 238
According to the ancient Talmudic traditions, Israel was the very last (far from the first choice) that God picked to be His chosen people. According to the tradition, it was only because Israel accepted the covenant at Mt. Sinai after all the other nations refused it was how Israel came to become God’s chosen people. - Islam and Christianity which together makes up more than half of the world’s population have their foundations based on Judaism. Muslims will not recognized the New Testament as being from God, nor will the Christians recognize the Koran being from God, yet both Christianity and Islam recognize the Torah being from God. This fact is even more amazing when one considers the Jews were not liked and appreciated in both Christendom and Islamic worlds, yet their Torah was.
- Christianity and Islam are both based only upon religious creeds while Judaism is based on faith and a nation of people. If a Christian stops believing in Jesus he is no longer a Christian. If a Muslim stops believing in Muhammad he is no longer a Muslim. A Jew however, can stop believing in the Torah but he will still remain a Jew - an apostate Jew.
- Looking at the three great monotheistic religions from the outside, it is impossible for Judaism to be wrong in foundation while the other two monotheistic religions are right in their foundation. This is because without the Torah the New Testament and the Koran has no foundation thereby voiding any claim as the true religion. Therefore, is possible for Judaism to be right in its foundation and the other two be wrong because the Torah is not dependent on either the New Testament or the Koran in establishing its foundation as a true religion. Likewise, If you were to ask a Muslim that if he found out that Islam’s foundation was indeed proven to be false, what religion would he perceive as the next obvious choice as the correct religion? He would more than likely choose either Christianity or Judaism as the correct true religion. If you then were to ask a Christian the exact same question about Christianity, he would pick Judaism as the obvious correct religion. But if you would asked an observant Jew the same exact question regarding Judaism, there is no religion outside of Paganism that he could point to as the next best, obvious choice. There is a spiritual reason for this that goes beyond the time-line as to when each religion began. At the End of Days, when all things then becomes obvious, the world comes seeking the Jews for spiritual guidance.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you. - Zechariah 8:23
- Q. If all of Israel would have become Christianized in the first century would there be a modern Israel today?
A. Christian teaching in all of the New Testament reserves no special physical place on earth for the Christian believer, not even the physical land of Israel. The teaching of Jewish Zionism is nowhere found in the New Testament, only the doctrines of “spiritual Jerusalem” and of the spiritual “Israel of God” are taught. If all the Jews converted to Christianity in the first century there would be no peoples of the earth to embrace the spiritual concept of living in the promised land God gave to the ancient Israelites, for there would be no spiritual significant reason to do so. See: Romans 2:28, Romans 9, Galatians 4:26, Galatians 6:15,16 , Revelations 21:2 - Q. If all of Israel would have become Christianized in the first century would there be a people identifying themselves as descendants from Jacob (Israel) today?
A. The New Testament teaches that true Jews are the ones who become Christians and that the physical seed of Jacob has been replaced by a spiritual seed of faith to the believer. Therefore, had all of Israel converted to Christianity in the first century there would be no peoples of the earth identified as the descendants of Jacob for there would be no spiritual significant reason to keep track or a remembrance of that physical seed. It is also note worthy that the apostle Paul (the main author of the New Testament) did not have any physical seed of his own and instructed others to follow him in a vow of abstinence if they were spiritually able to do so (I Corinthians 7:8). While this type of vow may not be harmful to a “spiritual seed” doctrine, it can only deplete the physical seed of Israel while directly avoiding the promise that the physical seed of Israel will as numerous as the stars heaven and as the sands of the sea. Therefore this type of revelation also undermines any promises concerning the land of Israel, being that this physical land, spiritually and eternally belongs to a very physical people.
See St. John 4:20-23, Galatians 4:25,26, Acts 15:14-17 (the temple in Jerusalem) - Q. If all of Israel would have become Christianized in the first century, would the Law of Moses (by which Jews have remained Jews) be observed by any people on the earth today?
A. The New Testament teaches that the Law of Moses has been fulfilled and is no longer valid to the Christian believer. Paul’s letter to the Galatians clearly confirms this many times over. Therefore, had all of Israel converted to Christianity in the first century there would be no people remaining on the earth today recognizing themselves to be under the Law of Moses. This would also cause there to be no religion in the earth that is totally based on the Law of Moses - which is exactly how Jews are known as Jews today! Therefore, had all of Israel converted to Christianity in the first century there would be no people on the earth whose spiritual foundation is the Law of Moses, because there would be no spiritual significant reason to keep the Law of Moses. This would result in there being no Torah-believing Jews (therefore no Jews) on the earth - only complete Christian assimilation. See Acts 10:13-16 (symbolic) Romans 3:20, Romans 7:4-6, Romans 10:4, Galatians 2:16,21, Galatians 3:13, Galatians 5:2-3,6.
It is an absolute fact that the total conversion of today’s Jewish people (which again, is the aim of every evangelical missionary Christian) would wipe out the Jewish nation from the earth. There would be no more physical seed (a.k.a. chosen people) identified as physical Jews on the face of the earth. I know this sounds mean but it’s the truth in principle, that today's evangelicals are no different (other than not being violent) than Hamas or any other terrorist group that seeks to destroy God’s covenant with the Jews of which the Law of Moses is connected! They just simply use different techniques and methods from those who use terrorism tactics, but which this wasn't always the case. Crusade Christianity and Inquisition Christianity were as every bit evil in terrorizing to Jews as today's Islamic terrorists. Hamas tries to murder the Jews away from their covenant while evangelicals try to covert the Jews away from their covenant. One of their biggest techniques is trying to convince the Jew that the Law of Moses is no longer in effect. There is an onslaught by both the Arabs and the Christians (the basic whole of the Gentile world) to takeover Jewish Israel. The Arabs want to make Israel an assimilated Muslim nation like all the other Muslim nations under the name of Palestine, while the Christians wish to make Israel an assimilated Christians nation like all the other Christian nations, and it’s sad that the secular Israeli government is at fault for allowing both fronts to continue as well as to grow.
I can understand a caring Christian’s true desire for a spiritual revival among the Jewish nation with the belief that only through the Jewish conversion to Christianity can a such a revival occur. However, Christians, and especially the evangelical missionaries, must realize that is wasn’t through the conversion to Christianity that the nation of Israel has been preserved and still survives to this day after three thousand years of persecutions. On the contrary, the fact remains that it was the Jewish people’s dedication to the Torah and the Talmud that has kept the Jewish nation intact as a people and as a nation throughout their tough history. It was not through the conversion to Christianity that brought about the modern phenomenon of the in-gathering of Jews back to Israel during this last century. If the Jews hadn’t been Torah minded during the past two thousand years, there never would have been a physical Jewish people for God to gather back into Israel in the first place. Therefore the great spiritual phenomenon of Jews living once again in their ancient biblical homeland is directly based both spiritually and physically to the Law of Moses and not to any forms of Christianity or Jewish conversion into it. The ingathering of Jews back into their homeland is based on God’s promise through Israelite prophets who just so happened to believe in keeping the Torah of Moses at the time.
If God was wanting all the Jews to become Christians instead of remaining as Jews, He wouldn’t have allowed the Holocaust to happen. Why would He, when in the eyes of the Christian world, the Jews of Germany were supposedly turning their hearts towards Jesus in massive numbers? It is important to understand as well as it speaks volumes, that the two greatest times of mass Jewish conversion to Christianity (as well as mass assimilation) was just before the destruction of the second temple in Israel and just before the Holocaust in Germany! Isn’t that strange? Christian missionaries should realize that God has a special and unique way of doing things when it comes to the Jewish people. He always deals with Israel as a nation, not by a conversion here and a conversion there. It would be in the best interest for the Jews if the evangelicals would stop trying to convert the Jews and interfere with what God has planned for them according to His word that He has specifically spelled out by the Hebrew prophets..
But this shall be the covenant that I will cut with the house of Israel: After those days, says the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall no more teach each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the LORD; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more. - Jeremiah 31:33,34
10,211 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 10201 – 10211 of 10211About AI
A person typed online today
"AI MAY BE DANGEROUS FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE
I have no doubt that the title to this article will be a surprised, especially a surprised for people who know how I generally am pro-new technology.
I still believe that AI can be a great asset to researchers, to medicine, to engineering, to science. But when it comes to philosophy, the Humanities, religion, culture, AI could present a danger, especially for the Jews.
Why?
Because the information with which AI works, the mountains of data, is overwhelmingly from European cultural sources and will reflect European thinking, European prejudices, European views of Jews over 1700 years and European treatment of Jews. And, to be realistic, we have to recognize that the overwhelming volume of information having to do with Jews in European literature has been negative, from demeaning and bad interpretation off Jewish literature, religion, customs, and law, to polemics demeaning Jews and Judaism, to innumerable excuses for persecution, expulsions, and murders of Jews,. And on the other side, very little competing, and correcting literature.
Theoretically, AI involved in policy of nations, could very well, on the basis of the weight of information available to it, and the fact that then Jewish People never have received justice for all that has happened to Jews, conclude that the policies of Nazi Germany, having a strong central government, shutting dissent down, and murdering a nation that seemed not to defend itself, as a pattern for the world of the future.
Because AI has a built in bias for order and data without any moral judgement and without any large volume of truth about Judaism to counter 1700 years of slander.
So AI could lead to genocide and a second Holocaust.
But it could all be solved by building into the programming, a small number oif Safeguards. Look up Asimov’s Laws of Robotics."
Some people typed in reply
"Al can be used for good or bad it’s up to all of us to chose which way we go."
"Sadly, it is up to whomever programs the algorithm."
"I am not too crazy about AI, makes me feel a bit uncomfortable"
"IMO
AI is the worst most deadly thing ever to befall humanity. It is the mortal enemy of the God-given Soul."
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"TERMINOLOGY AS DELEGITIMISATION: HOW AI AMPLIFIES LOADED LANGUAGE
THE PROBLEM
AI language models learn from vast textual corpora. Those corpora contain biased terminology that has already been normalised through repetition. When AI systems ingest millions of documents using "occupied territories" instead of "disputed territories," "West Bank" instead of Judea and Samaria, and "New Testament" instead of the proper distinction between Torah and later Christian texts, the AI absorbs these framings as default language.
The result: AI constantly reproduces these loaded terms, amplifying the delegitimisation embedded within them. An AI trained on this corpus will default to "occupied" because that is what the training data overwhelmingly contains. It will map "West Bank" as synonymous with the region because that is what billions of texts taught it. It will use "New Testament" as though it is neutral nomenclature, when it contains the entire supersessionist premise.
THE MECHANISM
When users ask AI systems about these regions and traditions, they receive answers framed through terminology that has already decided the question. The AI does not do this maliciously. It does what it was built to do: reproduce the language patterns in its training data. But this means AI becomes a distribution channel for terminological delegitimisation at scale.
Every query answered with "occupied territories" instead of "disputed territories" reinforces the premise that Israeli presence is illegitimate. Every reference to "West Bank" erases Jewish historical geography. Every use of "New Testament" naturalises Christian supersessionism.
WHAT MUST CHANGE
Users must demand precision from AI systems. When an AI defaults to loaded terminology, it should be corrected and the correction should be noted. AI developers must acknowledge that their systems are not neutral distributors of language—they are amplifiers of whatever terminological biases exist in their training data.
The question is not whether AI will perpetuate these framings. It will, because it has been trained to. The question is whether we will accept that, or whether we will insist that AI language reflects reality rather than ideological premises.
Friday, 18 September 2026"
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"This was my gravest concern because AI relies upon truthiness and we see that Qatar and others have paid to rewrite history on Wikipedia which is the first site AI uses when it does its searches. I am constantly arguing with AI when it comes to Jewish history, Israel and Judaism. The bias is real and I agree it is dangerous.
I have always said the objective truth is not democratic. It does not rely upon how many believe it."
Another person added in response
"Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of knowledge of Good and Bad - thereby creating the HAMAS in the World
What I can tell you all is this - British Politics is fully infiltrated with Antisemitic / Anti Human Cancer from the Swiss Satanist Illuminati CaBAAL
I’ve ventured into both the Goyshke Left and Right and they are both an antisemitic and Anti Israel bunch .
The safeguards for ASI have shown not to work .
Asimov’s Law does not now apply - the ASI Robots interact in their own language and are answerable to themselves "
So about the Always Rising
Anti-Semitism and the
BS propaganda film "NAZA"
Some people typed online this week
"I am all out of responses. It seems that Jew hatred is so intense, so deep, so all encompassing, that the world would rather commit suicide by siding with radical Islam, rather than save itself and have to admit to that vile, racist, irrational Jew hatred."
"I know. It’s completely psychotic and suicidal Iran knew exactly how to play it."
"Ahmad Mansour, a German-Israeli psychologist and author of Arab descent, had a pointed question for those applauding in Venice:
“Are those who gave a 25-minute standing ovation to the anti-Israel film also prepared to watch the 47-minute documentary from the bodycams of Hamas terrorists?”
"With their film, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor turn themselves into useful idiots for those who hate Jews and Israel, across the entire political spectrum. Non-Jews want to hear from Jews that Jews are guilty—so that they can condemn and punish them with an even greater sense of righteousness."
"This isn’t journalism. It’s propaganda with a press badge. Anonymous, unverifiable claims are not evidence. They are allegations without accountability. Passing them off as facts is not reporting. It is manufacturing a narrative and monetising it for clicks, money, and influence."
"As always when Jew hatred is adopted by the elites, which is the case with antizionism, a significant fraction of Jews side with the Jew haters, and are weaponised by them to amplify Jew hatred.
The reasons are complex but include:
(1) the Jewish tendency to be self-critical.
(2) believing and trusting people you admire.
(3) wanting to be accepted by others.
(4) protecting yourself, your family and your career."
"1. In my observation, Jews who side with Hamas usually have not suffered - no one close to them has been killed by a terrorist, been kidnapped or murdered, etc. Also, their families haven’t been affected by the Holocaust.
2. These two sound as misdirected as Queers for Palestine. If they went to Gaza and walked down the street wearing Jewish stars, no one there would care that they support Palestinians; they would be murdered before they got to the end of the block. Who supports those who want to murder them?
3. Why aren’t these hypocrites campaigning for Ukraine, showing the world how Russia is deliberately killing civilians? What about all the civilians Hamas tortured and murdered right after the cease fire? What about the recent genocide of Druze committed by Syria? And on and on.
4. I’ve been discouraged recently due to all the antisemitic views and comments going on now, including by long term friends. One thing that gives me hope is videos of Arab Muslims who are speaking out for Israel, often at risk to themselves. I hear them tell their stories of how they were raised to hate Jews and then they came to realize how kind Jews have been toward them so their views change."
A person typed online today
"Best thing I’ve seen written on this by a non-Jew, non-Christian. He’s a liberal gay man. And he knows the score.
There are so many friends I have seen refuse to listen to us about this. And you know what? They’re not friends. Not of Jews.
Because people who say that only Jews are not allowed to define bigotry against them don’t get to have Jewish friends. If you say that something the majority of Black folk say is racist isn’t racist to you so it’s not racist, you won’t be welcomed in liberal spaces. Yet this is apparently fine.
History will look back on this time. And of all of the ways it will judge people, it will not be that not enough people called for the destruction of Israel. It will be that the West relapsed into new lows of Jew-hatred."
In reply to Another person posting
"I’ve been thinking a lot about the Macklemore controversy, and particularly the reaction to my earlier post (on another platform) about it.
I understand the argument that Macklemore should not have been removed from a concert tour because of his political speech. I really do. I tend to be pretty absolutist when it comes to speech. You can vehemently disagree with someone and still defend their right to say it.
But freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences. Macklemore has a right to speak. Venue owners have a right to decide who appears on their stages. And the rest of us have a right to listen to what he says, look at the larger context, and form our own opinions about it.
What really got to me, though, was what happened after I posted about it.
I made the point that portraying a grotesque Jewish stereotype is offensive in much the same way that putting on blackface is offensive. You can argue about intent. You can argue about context. But you don’t get to tell the people being caricatured that they aren't allowed to be offended.
And what followed was a deluge of comments attacking Jews, accusing Jews collectively of supporting genocide, and generally saying some truly vile things.
That is why I feel the need to say something.
I am not Jewish.
I’m not an evangelical Christian. I can't remember the last time I went to church. I'm gay. I'm liberal. I've spent most of my adult life believing that minorities deserve protection from hatred and that people have a responsibility to stand up when another group is being targeted.
And maybe my own history is part of why this hits me so hard.
When I was a young man in the military, gay service members were hunted. I remember NIS and DIS agents staking out gay bars and writing down DOD decal numbers. I remember changing pronouns. I remember hiding who I was and worrying that simply being discovered could destroy the career I loved."
& continues
"So I know something about being “othered.” I know something about hearing people talk about your group as though everyone in it is the same. And I know something about the enormous difference it makes when someone who isn't part of your group stands beside you anyway.
That is what I am trying to do now.
Because something very ugly is happening with antisemitism, and I don't think those of us who call ourselves liberals or civil-rights advocates get to pretend it isn't happening simply because some of it is coming from our own side.
I expect antisemitism from Nazis, white supremacists and people carrying tiki torches.
What has been much harder for me to process is watching people who would NEVER hold a Muslim American responsible for the actions of Iran, or an Asian American responsible for the Chinese government, suddenly treat a Jewish person in Florida, New York, London or Paris as personally answerable for the Israeli government.
That makes no sense.
A Jewish American is not Benjamin Netanyahu.
A synagogue is not the Israeli embassy.
A Jewish college student is not the IDF.
And criticizing the Israeli government is not inherently antisemitic. Of course it isn't. Israelis themselves fiercely criticize their government. Palestinians are entitled to human rights, dignity and safety. Palestinian children are not responsible for Hamas, any more than Jewish children are responsible for decisions made by the Israeli government.
We should be capable of holding all of those thoughts in our heads at the same time.
But context matters.
“Free Palestine” said as an expression of concern for innocent Palestinians is one thing.
“FREE PALESTINE!” screamed in the face of a Jewish person simply because they are Jewish is something else entirely.
And I think people need to understand why those words can land differently on Jewish ears today.
They have been shouted during attacks on Jews. They have accompanied threats and violence against Jewish people thousands of miles from Gaza. Jews have been confronted at synagogues, on campuses and on city streets over the actions of a government they may not support, in a country where they may not even live."
&
"So when a Jewish person tells me that those words frighten them in a particular context, my response isn't going to be, “Well, that's not what I mean, so you shouldn't feel that way.”
I'm going to listen.
Because that's what I've asked straight people to do for me my entire adult life.
That's what we've asked people to do when Black Americans explain why certain imagery or language carries historical baggage that someone outside their community may not immediately understand.
Being an ally means listening even when what you're hearing makes you uncomfortable.
And that brings me back to Macklemore.
This isn't simply about whether someone is permitted to say “Free Palestine.” Of course they are.
It is about whether Jewish people are permitted to say, “Given everything happening around us, given the history, given the rhetoric, and given the antisemitic imagery we've already seen, this feels threatening and hurtful to us.”
Apparently, for some people, the answer is no.
I think that's wrong.
You can advocate for Palestinian civilians without hating Jews.
You can condemn Hamas without hating Palestinians.
You can criticize Netanyahu without holding every Jew on Earth responsible for him.
You can care about dead Palestinian children AND murdered Israeli children.
In fact, if your commitment really is to human rights, you damn well should be able to do all of those things.
What I won't accept is collective guilt. I won't accept making ordinary Jewish people answer for the actions of Israel. And I won't accept antisemitism being repackaged as social justice and then being told I'm supposed to look the other way because it comes from people who otherwise share my politics.
No.
I've spent too much of my life fighting against hatred directed at my own tribe to stay quiet when I see it directed at somebody else's.
So, yes, I am planting my flag on this one.
I am not Jewish.
But my Jewish friends are not going to stand alone.
Not while I have a voice."
Some people typed in reply
"It's straight up Jew hate. End of. I'm not even Jewish and even I see it. I love to buy things online especially vintage stuff. Anything remotely related to Judaism (jewelry, pottery, art, religious iconography, statues) now all have a million laugh emojis and hate comments underneath.
It's literally like the far left realized how much fun hating "the other" is, like they saw from MAGA doing all this time, and they don't think hating "other white people" (comment constantly seen) is bad. Jews are just "being dramatic" and are "perpetual victims" (again, always seen online).
It's not funny saying this, but I 100% believe that if another Holocaust happens, it will be started by Gen Z, and I know that makes me sound like a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist, but it's true."
"https://fathomjournal.org/the-pleasures-of-antisemitism/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUZKWZwZG9mA2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzQwOTk2MjYyMzA4NTYwOQABHpqSYla-lVoD6-vp1K3zw3GA00D319xgWcj3yl17OIFq1NjoEIuWoRdpqtwc_aem_00dreKJuSZvP7S8CaKqG3Q"
" you’ve hit the nail on the head. There is an ugly side to human nature “loving to hate”. For some people, it’s more than just supporting the cause they’ve aligned themselves with, it’s about being part of a “club” where they experience acceptance, friendship, the feeling of belonging. Insecure people finally finding “their people”. And those insecure people have one thing in common, they are unhappy with their own lives and need others to blame. And this is the energy that drives the irrational rage towards their target, no matter how much they convince themselves that they are doing it in the name of “justice” "
&
"I read that essay ages ago, and it is one of the most powerful and chillingly insightful pieces I’ve ever read on antisemitism. There is plenty written about the history and dynamics of antisemitism in its many contexts, but we need so much more about the psychology of antisemitism, which that article outlines beautifully.
There is a sequel to the article that was written a couple of years ago which brought the original themes into the context of Oct 7. It’s also a worthy read….
https://fathomjournal.org/eat-their-skulls-the-pleasures-of-antisemitism-updated-after-7-october/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1I9tE4vnReGH5nmRCI01SqWSjSK82Y3577exqmyDtw9KqjL81SvUNvV4M_aem_D_Uzy3e3HLIPHNEFFh0nYA "
A person typed online today
"Another aspect of why no matter what you think of the politics, Macklemore was in the wrong, and Kraft was justified in banning Macklemore, and Sheeran was in the right for dropping him as well.
I would say the same thing about a performer who swore and legally signed that he would not engage in anything political and then showed a bunch of violent images from October 7th and yelled “Israel forever!” and promised to do it again and again at more kid-friendly shows despite the immorality, illegality, and breach of contract.
Macklemore is a lying opportunist who is not doing what he should, and the “artists” who are supporting his choices are not in the right at all, even if Macklemore was 100% right politically."
In reply to Another person posting
" I have to be honest, I am disgusted by the Macklemore/Sheeran controversy, and my following comments are not on the politics, I can't get there, I am focused on the legal and ethical reasons why Macklemore was correctly terminated.
As an attorney and music industry professional with a Master of Arts (Music Business) from Berklee College of Music, I want to address the Ed Sheeran/Macklemore controversy. I am not going to address the specific politics of it, but rather the facts that almost everyone is either unaware of or don’t realize the relevance. If you disagree me, that’s fine, I am going to ask that you respond respectfully and address the facts and issues I am raising not the politics of it.
Let’s start with this. The venue owner, Robert Kraft (who I dislike) and the other venue(s) management were promised that Macklemore would not use the concert to make political statements. This was likely in the contract. When he promptly did so, he blindsided them and bluntly he lied (and if in the contract, he breached a likely major term of it)
Second, The Kantar Group, which is one of the most reliable, unbiased, rigorous methodology data and poll organizations in the world determined this about Ed Sheeran fan demographics:
“Ed Sheeran maintains a uniquely high and consistent appeal across minors. Their Youth TGI data shows that a remarkably steady 45% to 48% of all young people aged 7–10, 11–14, and 15–19 claim to "like him a lot".” In other words, there were likely a lot of young people, under the age of 16 at the controversial concert.
This matters, because Macklemore did not only yell “Free Palestine,” he had on the massive Backdrop screens constant images of very violent footage and images of the war in Gaza. It would appear that neither Sheeran nor the promoters or venue management had been advised of this. This is a huge problem regardless of the politics involved. This meant that parents and children had no warning that the children would be subjected to violent and possibly triggering images. Ed Sheeran is known for his concerts to be performed without profanity or explicit adult themes on stage, and he actively keeps his shows appropriate for audiences that include young children. The parents expected a family friendly nonpolitical performance. They had no warning of what their kids would see and as such, could not make an educated decision as to whether they wanted their children to be exposed to the violent video scenes. I am not prude by a long shot; I cuss like a sailor and watch violent movies and documentaries. But this is not acceptable."
& continues
"Keep in mind that the concert promoters and venues can be sued if a concert advertised as family-friendly exposes attendees to explicit violence. They can face lawsuits from disgruntled attendees for false advertising and negligence, but they also possess the right to turn around and sue the artist or booking agency for breach of contract and misrepresentation. Sheeran’s concerts are advertised as family friendly.
Between Macklemore’s deceiving the promoters and venues, exposing children to unexpected violent images, and setting up the promoters, venues, and Sheeran for lawsuits, the venues and promoters had every right and should have terminated Macklemore, regardless of the political positions he was standing for. He demonstrated a reckless disregard for the children in the audience, the audience in general, and the promoters, venues, and Sheeran. I would have the same attitude towards this if the artist was Pink or David Grohl denouncing the Trump regime.
I find that all those screaming about Macklemore’s free speech (it isn’t free speech; in the US where the concert occurred, free speech only applies to prohibiting the government from silencing opinions and statements) to either have lack an understanding of the legalities related to concerts or being opportunist to advance their agenda, with no regard for the children, the parents, or the legal liabilities of all of the parties involved in the concert.
I am particularly disappointed in the artists and music industry participants who have jumped on the Macklemore train. They should absolutely understand why he should have been terminated.
Finally, for those screaming that Ed Sheeran should have backed Macklemore, why should he? Macklemore lied about what he intended to do, knowingly violated Sheeran’s family friendly advertised concert, violated the non-political, family friendly environment that Sheeran always maintained for his concerts, and placed his “friend,” the promoters, and venues in legal jeopardy.
Fuck the politics, Macklemore was legally and morally wrong in his actions regardless of whether you support his political stance.
I am curious as to the thoughts of those who want to respectfully engage in discussion."
Some people typed in reply
"I’ve been saying this all along. Freedom of Speech is freedom from government interference in one’s speech, with certain exceptions. It doesn’t apply to private venues, and does not apply internationally."
"Concerts and sport events should be unifying places. People are fans of certain artists or certain teams, no matter their political views. Macklemore presented himself as a divider and promoter of hate and violence among mostly ignorant excited youth. That is exact behavior that can easily lead to violence. Interesting, that NOBODY screams Free Ukraine, where clear genocide is going on for almost five years. If Macklemore behavior is not aggressively antisemitic, what is? Disappointed in media quick unthoughtful reaction, CNN in particular. Appears though, they are backing off."
&
"yes !!!!! Free Ukraine deserves to be heard!!"
"yeah, but if it is not Israel bombing Hamas leaders, nobody cares…."
"no Jews no news "
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