• pivot_root@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Israel may be an ethnostate, but the actions of its leadership are not representative of the Jewish population as a whole. That is to say, stop disingenuously conflating criticism of a genocidal government with antisemitism.

          • Streamwave@feddit.uk
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            1 month ago

            An ‘ethnostate’ significantly more ethnically and religiously diverse than any country in Europe, the Middle East or Asia.

            Japan is 99% ethnic Yamato Japanese. Is Japan an ethnostate? And should they be criticised for this?

            73% of Israelis are Jews, more than half of which are Middle Eastern (Mizrahi) Jews, i.e. zero connection to Europe. The other 27% of Israeli citizens are usually Arabs who are either Muslim, Christian, Druze, Bedouin, Circassians, Baha’i, Armenians, Samaritans, etc. They have the same civil, legal, political and religious rights as Jewish Israelis. They’re represented at every level of government, including in the parliament with an explicitly Arabist political party that has once served in a coalition government.

            And it’s… Israel that’s the ‘ethnostate’. Got it.

            Accusing Jews of being unable to stop themselves from murdering children is unambiguous antisemitism with a long history dating back to the Middle Ages.

            • pivot_root@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              It’s evident that you’re cherry-picking tangential details to argue against, so let me say this in unambiguous terms:

              Accusing Jews of being unable to stop themselves from murdering children is unambiguous antisemitism with a long history dating back to the Middle Ages.

              People here are not accusing Jews of doing anything. We aren’t using “Israel” as a stand-in or dogwhisle for ethnically Jewish people or the Jewish religion.

              People are accusing the government of Israel of being unwilling to refrain from committing war crimes.

              • Streamwave@feddit.uk
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                1 month ago

                Yes, I’m sure it’s a complete coincidence that Israel alone among all the countries in the world, including Syria (where Assad slaughtered more than half a million Syrians), China (engaged in the genocide of the Uyghurs) and Azerbaijan (who literally ethnically cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh of Armenians just last year), is the only one accused of being bloodthirsty child-murderers who regard non-Jewish children as less than human.

                Couldn’t be that a key theme of antisemitism over 2,000 years retains a deep hold on people’s imaginations and biases, influencing their views today even if they aren’t fully cognisant of, could it?

                Nah. It’s just a coincidence that it’s only the Jewish state accused of this.

                • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                  1 month ago

                  I’m sorry you must have slept through the last decade?

                  Those accusations were absolutely there. They just weren’t a conversation because everyone agreed. Why are you defending a genocidal regime?

                  • Streamwave@feddit.uk
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                    1 month ago

                    If I believed that Israel was a genocidal “regime” (by which you mean democratic government) I wouldn’t be defending it.

          • Streamwave@feddit.uk
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            1 month ago

            Antisemites have always believed this. This isn’t new. The people who claimed Jews were intent on slaughtering non-Jewish children because they saw them as sub-human did also believe that wholeheartedly. It wasn’t just a ruse.

            • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              Everyone rational has always believed this. The government of Israel is not the Jewish people any more than the government of ISIS was representative of Muslims.

              • Streamwave@feddit.uk
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                1 month ago

                Everyone rational has always believed this.

                By openly identifying your endorsement of an ancient and false antisemitic trope, you’ve invalidated your right to have any opinion about anything.

                Bye.

                • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                  1 month ago

                  You can wail and gnash your teeth all you want. The government of Israel will never represent Judaism.

                  • Streamwave@feddit.uk
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                    1 month ago

                    Did you mean to reply to my comment? Not sure how that’s relevant.

                    Anyway, you endorse a 1,500 year old antisemitic conspiracy theory, so I’m not sure why you think you deserve to be treated with respect or dignity.

      • Deceptichum
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        1 month ago

        Don’t be so antisemetic.

        Israel isn’t Jewish people.

          • Deceptichum
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            1 month ago

            Says the person trying to link criticism of Israel to antisemitism.

            Everyone is tired of this nonsense. Israel Is not Jewish people, many Jews outright hate the state. You can freely attack and criticise Israel without it being a reflection on Jewish people.

            The only person who would think otherwise is an actual antisemite.

            • Streamwave@feddit.uk
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              1 month ago

              Everyone is tired of this nonsense.

              Here’s a fun fact for you:

              Even naming it—that is, calling out bigotry against Jews—can be classed as yet another sign of assumed evil intent, of Jews attacking beloved principles of justice for all. In an April 2023 lecture, David Nirenberg, the historian, presented the example of an activist with a large following whose boundary-pushing rhetoric met with accusations of anti-Semitism. The activist pointed out, as Nirenberg put it, that anti-Semitism “was merely an accusation that Jews used to silence criticism and squash free speech.” He brought libel lawsuits against newspapers that accused him of anti-Semitism, and won them. It is unfortunate for those making this argument today that this activist was named Adolf Hitler.

              https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/02/jewish-anti-semitism-harvard-claudine-gay-zionism/677454/

              None of this is new. Jews have seen all of this before.

              Israel Is not Jewish people, many Jews outright hate the state.

              No, they don’t. 88% of British Jews have been to Israel at least once, and 73% say that they feel very or somewhat attached to the country. Eight-in-ten U.S. Jews say caring about Israel is an essential or important part of what being Jewish means to them. Nearly six-in-ten say they personally feel an emotional attachment to Israel, and a similar share say they follow news about the Jewish state at least somewhat closely. There aren’t any longer sizeable Jewish populations outside of the English-speaking or Hebrew-speaking world to compare with, they were all killed or expelled in the last century. The lesson of the 20th century to the Jews was that you either spoke English or Hebrew or you died.

              You can freely attack and criticise Israel without it being a reflection on Jewish people.

              Depends on the criticism.

              The only person who would think otherwise is an actual antisemite.

              Projection.

              • Deceptichum
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                1 month ago

                No one cares about your hateful nonsense.

                Criticism of Israel is not criticism of Judaism.

                End of fucking story.

                  • Deceptichum
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                    1 month ago

                    Don’t pull that crap.

                    One of the bloody mods of this community is Jewish. Many users on the Fediverse are Jewish. Being Jewish does not mean you support Israel.

                    Criticism of Israel is not critics of Judaism. Get that through your head.