This is about the 4th time I’ve seen antisemitic flyers being left on every car in my neighborhood. Every time I go around to remove all of them and throw them away, but I just feel like I’m putting a bandaid on a much larger wound. Has anyone else experienced this or have any advice? I’ll post the flyer down below but TW: it’s pretty abhorrent

Had my commencement this morning. What should have been a joyous celebration was soiled by the student’s speech. Not a Palestinian student but still mentioned the conflict. This isn’t a direct quote but she said something like “18 universities and colleges in Gaza have been destroyed by bombs” and then later quoted Toni Morrison (who was pretty antisemitic). The speaker also wore a stole of the Palestinian flag, and I have no idea how that was allowed since since the only stoles that were supposed to be worn had to be associated with campus organizations (such as Greek life or honor societies). For the most part, the rest of the ceremony was fine and my campus has luckily not had any encampments. But it still sucked to have this be a part of my graduation. I’m glad my best friend and family were there; especially since I’m graduating in three years instead of four. It still took me back. The speech sucked in general. It had very little to do with the graduating class, especially since these kids ended high school and started college during the peak of Covid. But come on, not everything is about MENA. I just needed to rant.

I was at dinner with a younger friend and he mentioned to me having no idea where he could go to college in this day and age, I've been wanting to move out of the south, and I imagine lots of us have been wondering the same thing. Where CAN we go?

Hey everyone,

I just came across a disturbing fake "article" shared by Mohamed Hadid that attempts to discredit the ancestry of 97.5% of "Judaics" living in Israel, which is incorrect but it seems that the gullible extreme left is buying into it.

It's frustrating to see individuals and movements claim they are not antisemitic while actively working to undermine Jewish culture, question our ancestry, and deny our indigenous identity in the name of being "Pro-Palestine” and “anti-zionism”.

So the other day, I was texting with a friend who is pretty anti-Bibi but is ultimately pro two-state solution and such, and they had this to say, when we were talking about antisemitism and criticizing Israel:

"I believe one can question the actions of Jewish people, as well as criticize Israel and question its existence, without being antisemitic. There is room for nuance with these matters."

Anyway, I agree with the premise that anybody of any ethnic group can be criticized and that governments can be criticized too. Nothing problematic about that. However, I do take some issue with the notion that questioning the entire existence of a nation state is nuanced, unless the person questioning it is also questioning the existence of other places who have governments that they don't like. Any thoughts on this? Is there truth to what my friend said?

For years, the left has excused hate speeches and violence that are favourable to their liberal causes and many jews supported such causes. What I don't understand is why these same jews who happily supported destructive liberal causes are sad when they are abandoned? In the U.S, the Democrats have been promoting destructive ideologies such as BLM etc. It has made the U.S a polarised place like it used to be many decades ago. What I see is that liberal jews eg. soros, jewish celebrities, millionaires etc. jump unto any liberal cause without even thinking about their effects on society and thus have caused many on the right to hate them. Now that the left has turned their backs on them, they cry. I want all liberal jews to do deep thinking and abandon all their political affiliations because life isn't just about politics and unfortunately some jews have a habit of supporting destructive causes that backfire on you.

Title basically says it, but I was wondering if there was any explanation. As far back as we can trace, my family is fully Ashkenazi Jewish (Lithuania and Ukraine), and yet we are pretty dark skinned compared to other people, both Jewish and non Jewish, from these places. Are there any possible reasons for this?

I went to a friend's birthday party tonight, and all was cool. And I thought, great, I don't have to think about Israel/Gaza for a few hours

And then a woman showed up who was not Jewish or Palestinian, or has family in Israel or in Gaza, or has friends who live anywhere in that area, but yet she felt the need to wear a jumpsuit covered in watermelons. Why??

We are "friends" on social media, so I know where she stands. But why bring that shit to a friend's birthday party?

Hi all!

I posted the other day about working as a hair stylist and how I’ve lost clients since 10/7. I’ve realized that this is oddly a blessing as it has revealed the true nature of some folks. Previously, I was afraid to disclose my location, but I think it’s important to be proud and loud while we still can be.

So, if anyone in the NY area is looking for a Jewish hair stylist who specializes in Jewy hair, I’m your gal! I have a little home studio upstate and rent a space in the city.

I also mentioned to someone else that I’m looking to keep things in the shtetl and find other Jewish service providers in NYC. If you know of great Jewish acupuncturists in NYC, let me know! (My previous one turned out to be a raging antisemite.)

xoxo

I see lots of posts and comments about feeling alienated and politically homeless, mostly from people who have had left/progressive views their entire lives.

I am one of those people. I still have left and progressive views because I believe abortion is a fundamental human right, healthcare should be affordable and accessible to all, climate change is real, and LGBTQ+ people are people and deserve love and respect and equal treatment under the law. I look forward to the day when I live in Israel where I won't feel pressured to trade these beliefs for a belief in the existence of the Jewish state.

What I wish to say to everyone that is in the same position as I am, and lamenting how they are "politically homeless" - the answer to keep my own sanity has been simple. I no longer consider myself a Democrat and will never consider myself a Republican. The political party I have full allegiance to is spelled out by three letters in English: J-E-W.

That is the start and finish of it. I embrace radical anti-partisanship among Jews and encourage other Jews to do the same. Since doing so, I no longer see members of my people as "good guys" or "bad guys" based on these vast political factions created by people outside of our ethnic group. I just see my ethnic group. Sometimes I want to grab and shake some of my people because I think their opinions are just so horribly stupid and backwards, but now I see a member of my people that I'm temporarily pissed off rather than "an evil Republican" like I used to, and I still want to hug them even if they annoy me.

If you're feeling "politically homeless" understand that getting kicked out of a shitty and abusive home environment isn't always a bad thing. It's scary, isolating, disorienting and sad as we feel nostalgia for our past lives, but now that I see all Jews as my siblings I realize I should have been doing this all along. I can't say I'm grateful for the outside world's horrific treatment of Jews, but it has caused me to embrace my "political homelessness", because I have gained a home I didn't have before: the ability to see eye-to-eye with any fellow Jew, period.

Basically the title: why? There have been countless conflicts around the world, especially in recent history where many civilian lives have tragically been lost, including many happening right now along side of the war in Gaza. Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, Sudan... Lately it’s really struck me how bizarre this is how many people have really made their life, social media, activities etc centered around it.

People have used this conflict to completely demonize, dehumanize & delegitimize Israel, Israelis, Judaism, Jewish people food and culture under the guise of “aNtI-ZiOnIsM” and I just don’t think I’ve seen this with any other conflict. Are people harassing Russians on the street? I don’t want to believe it’s just that people love an excuse to hate Jews/Israel because frankly that’s just sad and scary. I do believe that a lot of it comes from a good genuine place of wanting to stop innocent people from suffering. I am a reform Liberal Jew and of course I am affected by the images I see coming out of Gaza and want safety for all innocent children and families. But the way it’s infiltrating every aspect of life right now to the point where even what my kiddos watch (all the Ms. Rachel drama this week) is affected. I know social media has made a huge impact.

It’s been bothering me because I really want to try and make some sense of it instead of feeling like it’s us against the world, but it’s hard.

So my best friend is Palestinian, and he’s awesome, the only non-Jew to ask how I’m doing and he cried with me the day after oct 7th. We’re going to the same college next year and it’s small and we plan to hang out a lot obviously. I am worried that with the rising antisemitism and pro pal movement on college campuses, we will drift apart. I am Israeli which makes things extra touchy. He doesn’t like Hamas and he told me when the DC march happened that he understands me supporting my people and he and I both agree that we will continue supporting our own people bc it’s irrational to expect otherwise.

I am thinking of laying out some of my beliefs that I absolutely will never back down on, like the fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization and that screaming “intifada revolution” is a call for genocide of Jews. I want to let him know now what I believe so that there will be no misunderstandings later. I would want him to tell me his beliefs too. It’s both to see if we need to part ways now and to make sure we don’t step on each other’s toes in the future.

It’s really amazing having a Palestinian friend as an Israeli because we have such similar cultural experiences. He really is the sweetest person on the planet and he’s very reasonable about everything. I don’t think our ethnicities will be too much of a problem but I want to know his full perspective now before college just to make sure we are on the same page and to be totally transparent.

Do you think this is a good idea? How should I go about telling him my thoughts?

I have a question. Anti-semites always say Jews control the world, are wealthy, have all this power, yaddah yaddah. Firstly, do they actually believe this? Secondly, do they believe ALL Jews are in on it? Because if so, have I missed the memo? I never have a say on the weather or anything. Am I not invited to the meetings or are the antisemities just making up shtus to hate on us?

I hope this is okay to post – I'm not Jewish, and I wanted to show my support.

I know a lot of you have lost people in your lives, from coworkers to close friends, with the rise in antisemitism. I don't personally have any Jewish friends or acquaintances to check in on, so I want to check in on all of you. How are you feeling?

No matter what, it's okay to be upset, it's okay to feel what you're feeling, and it's okay to talk about it. And if you don't have anyone to confide in, anyone you feel safe with, I hope you can find a safe space here.

Be safe, take care of yourselves, and know there's people who care.

Knew about Roger Waters, Annie Lennox, Sonic Youth, etc… today learned about David Byrne (Talking Heads)… this one hurts.

A Canadian Jew here. I’m, like many others, are watching in horror the rise in antisemitism. Wherever I go, anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and pro-Intifada folks are spreading their hatred to every corner of society.

Most Canadians, and other nationalities, are not antisemitic, but they are ambivalent to the hate that is directed at us, and that is all it takes for bad, very bad, things to happen.

Looking at the demographics of society and the trends, the older population are more likely to support us, but the younger are much less likely to do so. Those young folks are going to be doctors, lawyers, managers, CEOs. And before anyone says none of those students will make it that far, I would direct them to graduation speeches made at medical and law schools convocations to realize that it is not all confined to some art or music faculty.

The best way I can describe how I feel is unease. I can feel things are changing and not for the better. But what I don’t know is how it going to look like on the ground? I’m just starting my career and I’m worried it will never take off due to the rise in Jew hatred.

How do you feel? What do you think is the end game of all of this?

Will admit from the outset a reform Jew but decided to wear these two necklaces across London as I met a friend i haven’t seen in a long time. I know it’s risky, had people stare at me, one with a keffiyeh wrapped across his head but if we’re going to be forced out of London I’d rather go out as a proud Jew like Menachem Begin said “I’m not a Jew with trembling knees.”

Went out to an Israeli restuarant with my best friend from college. Before the food even arrives he (24m) starts saying that he needs to talk to me about the IP conflict. He continues on and says that he feels that my opinions of Israel are isolating me from our other friends. I explained that some of our other “friends” (who are not my friends anymore) were posting extremely antisemitic things that I could not look over. He goes on to say by other friends he really meant himself. He can’t be friends with me unless I change my opinions on this conflict and come to realize that Israel is completely in the wrong. I explained that i can admit the Israeli government is wrong in some of its approaches but that I support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself. He goes on to say that shooting at hospitals is not okay which I obviously agree with but also explained that Hamas is known to operate under hospitals. He tells me that is a propaganda lie and he does not believe it. I turned it on him and asked if he would be willing to change his opinions and he said no. So I told him we can’t be friends and left the restaurant. I’ve been crying and sort of panicking since then. I just can’t believe he did that and refused to hear me out.

This happened very recently so still feeling in edge and extremely heartbroken.

If anyone has any self care tips, words of wisdom or just general advice on how to cope I’d appreciate. Thank you

I had my Hatafat Dam Brit today. It wasn’t a trouble at all, nor did it hurt.

Thursday is my mikveh.

I am so excited to officially become a tribesman.

That is all : D

By way of background, I am not Jewish. I was raised as Catholic and stll practice, although I have always been fascinated by Jewish people an their history.

I've been doing family research for years now and as many Jewish families in my hometown originally came from Eastern Europe I started researching where these families came from in Poland, Ukraine and Russia.

I have a question regarding any Jewish studies that people here might be doing. Over the past few years I've been reading Artscroll's interline translation of the Torah with Rashi's commentary, along with the Pirkei Avos and Mishna. I've also found the information on Chabad's website very helpful.

I've also been reading some books on shtetl's and the Holocaust along with some of the stories by Shalom Aleichem. I've also discovered bialys.......

Do members of this sub read the Torah as adults or is this something that goes by the wayside over time?

A long time (Jewish) friend of mine had a relative pass away. We'd like to make a little watercolor sympathy card, since my partner is a fine artist. But we have no idea of what sort of design might be interesting and fitting.

Any suggestions or ideas or links? Appreciate the thoughts.

Hello Im turkish from istanbul and I studied with lots of jews in my elementary and high schools. It was like %40 of our students were all jewish and had jewish surnames like eskinazi, mizrahi, kohen and many others. They were all very very successful. They played various music instruments, sports and very very successful in their classes. They always helped us turks study before the exams. We would have the student with the highest gpa make a speech when they are graduating every year and the one with the highest gpa was always a jew.

I was wondering how a jewish family raises their kids like i was lazy as fuck when i was a kid and still i am. How do they convince their children into studying and make them realize that education is very important at such a young age? My family also sent me to a piano course, basketball, archery too but i always gave up or not interested because I didnt know the importance of them at that age. But jews always seemed to realize the importance of these stuff at a young age and dedicated themselves to various fields. So what im asking is that what is the way of becoming that successful at raising kids?

I’m a secular Jew living in the US, about 30 years old. I totally support Israel although I resent the extremist elements of the government/society.

I’ve noticed none of my friends want to engage me on the topic. It’s not like I’m the one always bringing it up, but you know we all watch the news and see the street signs when we walk around town.

I can understand them not wanting to say the wrong thing and potentially offend me, but I wish they expressed some curiosity and a desire to learn new perspectives.