When we Jews are resilient, when we fiercely defend ourselves, the world’s comforting narrative of helpless Jews to pity, to memorialize — but not to respect — falls apart.
You nailed something I hadn't considered before, which is that not just not just the middle eastern countries, but also that the Christian west thinks of Jews as dhimmis. So the most galling thing about a successful Israel and The New Jew is that it challenges that hierarchy. And that's the real reason why calling someone a Zionist has become like calling them evil incarnate.
In the past few years a few Christians have mentioned to me in passing how the Jews are the Chosen People, so much that I think it's a bit of a hangup. I explain to them, "No, it's not that God plays favorites, you gotta be kidding, Jews are massacred in every generation, it's just that God said "Who will jump this high" and the Jews were the only ones who raised their hands." They never ever buy that explanation, which I also think is interesting. And then in the past year or two I read about the doctrine of supercessionism, which is essentially that the Jews got everything wrong and the Christians are the real Chosen People now. Like, it really really matters that you get to call yourself the Chosen People.
And all that leads into why it's so important for Jews to lose. Christianity took Judaism and "fixed" it, and Islam took Judaism and "fixed" it, and if the Jews don't lose, then that opens a crack of doubt that there was nothing wrong with Judaism in the first place. And that is intolerable because if your whole life is wrapped around the idea that your faith is the New Better Best, The One True Faith in the zero-sum Best Faith game, then maybe your whole life has been barking up the wrong tree. There's no consideration of that notion the Dalai Lama, said, that your religion in large part is your culture and you should stick to your culture, which means there is no One True Faith. No, if religion has to be One True Faith, then the Jews have to go or at least be miserable victims.
The Jew absolutely positively has to be the dhimmi, for now and forever. And when individual Jews pull themselves up despite great discrimination, again and again, when Israel wins against astronomical odds, over and over, that makes people who are hung up on that Chosen People thing think, those fricking Jews can't lose, they're God's favorites, it's so unfair. Let's kill the Jews, they fricking deserve it.
Very enlightening! Thank you. That explains why I was seeing Christian's with chosen shirts and movies with this name. I am grateful for the Dali Lama who sent young Jews back to Judaism and encouraged the Reform Rabbis up their game
I think the problem is that most people just don´t know anything or not enough about the history of the Jews and their ages and centuries long struggle. For many, their history appears to have begun with the persecution and mass murdering by Hitler, very many are not aware of jews being oppressed, expelled, killed and "converted" everywhere countless times. - In addition, Hitler's greatest campaign and the greatest destruction by Hitler was seen as that against Eastern Europe; there were feelings of guilt towards "the Russians", although "the Russians" did not actually have the most victims to mourn, but rather Jews, Poles, Ukrainians (around 7 mio. deaths in the "Holodomor" famine caused by Stalin long before WW II and before Hitlers reign), Belarusians. In large parts of Europe and the world, gratitude towards the Allies USA, UK, France did not prevail, but rather the false "Soviet historiography", according to which "capitalism" was supposedly a "precursor to fascism".
The fact that "leftists", for example, themselves contributed significantly to driving voters into Hitler's arms during and after the global economic crisis, became forgotten.
Thus, after the Second World War, a "left" worldview largely prevailed in the "West" and especially great parts of Europe: Russians and socialists as "poor victims", although Hitler himself was a ("National") socialist.
But "the Jews"/Israel did not adhere to these rules and views and sought help from the "class enemy", "big capitalism" USA, and the fact that the so-called Palestinians themselves had missed the opportunity to establish their own state, that Israel was largely surrounded by enemies who were anything but democratic or liberal, was not perceived in Europe - which had been granted freedom through the intervention of the USA and capitalist "colonialist" Great Britain - due to the "left" spirit of those times. It was not understood that Jews did have enough of being victims again and again and that they felt entitled to seek support wherever they could get it. The fact that the USA also pursued its own interests in doing so was not appreciated in moralizing, idealistic, cheaply "anti-fascist" Germany and Europe.
The Russian People lost 27 Million of their folk who were Murdered by The Nazis and their Death Squads in WWII, for Hitler's Lebensraum in The East for The Ethnic Germans. This figure is substantiated by Major General (Rtd) Grigory Krivosheev who toured the entire country of Russia, to get the true figures.
… but that gets disputed nowhere. Except, it was not „the Russians“ but inhabitants of the Soviet Union, of which by far not all are Russians, for example there were about 45 mio. Ukranians - which also took part in the freeing of Eastern Europe and Germany from Hitler. Furthermore, Stalin was no way better or less murderous than Hitler, a.o. against Jews, and during WW II Sovjet Union expanded its territory with new „colonies“. Still today, Russia remains the biggest colonial state of the world. „Russia“ itself (`Moscovia`) without all its colonies is quite small.
The Figures Break down as follows and include: 9 Million Russian souls Murdered in shooting pits and Einsatzgruppen Death Squads, 11 Million Soldiers of The Red Army died fighting, and more than 5 million civilians starved to death in the cold. The actual numbers come in at just under 27 Million people. 50 Million people perished to German Nazism in total. The number is higher if the Nazi-Allied Fascist Wars in the Far East are also counted.
Another fine presentation Joshua. It kept me smiling AGAIN while reading it. In 2019 when I finally visited Israel, I saw myself in the strong and resilient people there. My brothers and sisters were so exuberant and engaged. I continue to learn from you and feel part of my people everyday when you post your stories. Thank you for the pleasure of your clear thinking. Am Yisrael Chai ❤️🇮🇱
Great re-cap of Israeli history, tenacity, and resourcefulness. There was a period, perhaps after the 1973 war, that the US saw Israel favorably. In response to Golda Meir's request, Nixon's Operation Nickel Grass sent ~ 23,000 tons of materiel and F4 Phantoms that allowed Israel's victory. I remember.
Things are definitely different now. There is a palpable shift somehow that is distinctly not 1973. I was gob smacked by the campus riots; wasn't in my world view or understanding of the US. That pushed me to education myself about events and an understanding I obviously lacked.
Due to Substack and small group of you folks here, I thank you for the education and research pointers that put me on an understandig path. It's been a real eye-opener, for which I'm grateful.
Great article!....women pilots attacked Iran......I am so extremely proud ......and the IDF eliminated the murderous chief, his replacement, the replacement of the
Replacement......I couldn't be more proud of being Jewish and zionist.....
"[The so-called 'Palestinians'] have successfully reframed the conflict in terms that resonate with people who have no idea how the world works, lack historical knowledge, and enjoy selective outrage as a favorite pastime”
Respectfully disagree that the world at large “enjoy[s] selective outrage as a favorite pastime”. On the surface it may appear to be so, but dig a little deeper and one will find some interesting socio-psychological factors at work. The first is the (ma)lingering originally religious inspired cultural antipathy to Jews as evidenced, for one, in the stereotypes found in film, theatre, and books. In the public arena, the male Jew is variously depicted as greedy, cunning, conniving, scheming, wheedling, and whiney. The the female is loud, obnoxious, crass to the point of vulgar, and, in the young, a promiscuous Jewess. The other dynamic at work is the archetype of the scapegoat who functions as an escape valve for one's fears, anxieties, self-doubts, guilt, and shame. In all places where the Jew has been a stranger in a strange land he has played these thankless roles.
Regarding the statement “Early Zionists were motivated by the alarming rise of violent antisemitism" what is missing here is a distinction between Zionism as a religieo-cultural philosophy and Zionism as a political solution to a millennia long problem.
To repeat (by and large) a response posted to an earlier article today, the definition of Jewishness has been predicated upon three element: a creator deity, a covenant, and a specific group of people. Central to this compact is a territory that unites all three elements. In other words, the connection of a people to a place which ultimately defines whom and what they are. Throughout Jewish exile even up to this day, Jews pray facing faced Jerusalem and at the Passover Seder, recite “Next year in Jerusalem.” In today's parlance, their longing to eventually return and their love for the land is Zionism. How best to implement it — as a religious, secular, socialist, communist, capitalist, etc. system — is an ongoing debate.
Of course, as to be expected, over the 3,000+ years since the original connection between the people and the land was established, many different expressions of that original connection, that Zionism, has emerged. Nonetheless, these variations do not abrogate the central identity of our people. That is why we endure to this day.
Israel's military triggers certain "genteel antisemites," who have an attitude of: "I don't plan to kill Jews right now, but it makes me uncomfortable knowing they could defend themselves, should I change my mind."
A little humor. The joke about that it takes 10 Jews to change a light bulb? So that would be 10 old Jews who have different opinions, while drinking coffee and eating cake, but it will take 10 new Jews who are all definitely know that they are right, and will fight to prove that they are right, and then also prove that everyone else is definitely wrong, and then all go out and drink together.
Well we need some more new Jews here in America and elsewhere in the world. We need to reinvigorate the culture. Those of us who lean more conservative politically and who aren’t Orthodox, it’s slim pickin’s.
There is a defeatist attitude and a desire to sweep problems under the carpet.
When you sweep stuff under the carpet all
You get is a dirty carpet. Jewish organizations need to be reinvigorated and that needs to include some community safety initiatives and training.
What we are actually facing from the Re-formed Nazi Party: LIVE IN LONDON tonight:-
Threats to kill have just been made against me this evening by MI6 here in London: Anti-Fascist Alert: MI6 makes threat to kill against me tonight, close Box on the System here in London: He has just said: 'I hate the Jews in Israel' .... 'I hate you and I am going to kill you in a very special way!' Nazi in Six is known to me, my reports cover each of their names.
You nailed something I hadn't considered before, which is that not just not just the middle eastern countries, but also that the Christian west thinks of Jews as dhimmis. So the most galling thing about a successful Israel and The New Jew is that it challenges that hierarchy. And that's the real reason why calling someone a Zionist has become like calling them evil incarnate.
In the past few years a few Christians have mentioned to me in passing how the Jews are the Chosen People, so much that I think it's a bit of a hangup. I explain to them, "No, it's not that God plays favorites, you gotta be kidding, Jews are massacred in every generation, it's just that God said "Who will jump this high" and the Jews were the only ones who raised their hands." They never ever buy that explanation, which I also think is interesting. And then in the past year or two I read about the doctrine of supercessionism, which is essentially that the Jews got everything wrong and the Christians are the real Chosen People now. Like, it really really matters that you get to call yourself the Chosen People.
And all that leads into why it's so important for Jews to lose. Christianity took Judaism and "fixed" it, and Islam took Judaism and "fixed" it, and if the Jews don't lose, then that opens a crack of doubt that there was nothing wrong with Judaism in the first place. And that is intolerable because if your whole life is wrapped around the idea that your faith is the New Better Best, The One True Faith in the zero-sum Best Faith game, then maybe your whole life has been barking up the wrong tree. There's no consideration of that notion the Dalai Lama, said, that your religion in large part is your culture and you should stick to your culture, which means there is no One True Faith. No, if religion has to be One True Faith, then the Jews have to go or at least be miserable victims.
The Jew absolutely positively has to be the dhimmi, for now and forever. And when individual Jews pull themselves up despite great discrimination, again and again, when Israel wins against astronomical odds, over and over, that makes people who are hung up on that Chosen People thing think, those fricking Jews can't lose, they're God's favorites, it's so unfair. Let's kill the Jews, they fricking deserve it.
Very wee argued and supported!
Very enlightening! Thank you. That explains why I was seeing Christian's with chosen shirts and movies with this name. I am grateful for the Dali Lama who sent young Jews back to Judaism and encouraged the Reform Rabbis up their game
I think the problem is that most people just don´t know anything or not enough about the history of the Jews and their ages and centuries long struggle. For many, their history appears to have begun with the persecution and mass murdering by Hitler, very many are not aware of jews being oppressed, expelled, killed and "converted" everywhere countless times. - In addition, Hitler's greatest campaign and the greatest destruction by Hitler was seen as that against Eastern Europe; there were feelings of guilt towards "the Russians", although "the Russians" did not actually have the most victims to mourn, but rather Jews, Poles, Ukrainians (around 7 mio. deaths in the "Holodomor" famine caused by Stalin long before WW II and before Hitlers reign), Belarusians. In large parts of Europe and the world, gratitude towards the Allies USA, UK, France did not prevail, but rather the false "Soviet historiography", according to which "capitalism" was supposedly a "precursor to fascism".
The fact that "leftists", for example, themselves contributed significantly to driving voters into Hitler's arms during and after the global economic crisis, became forgotten.
Thus, after the Second World War, a "left" worldview largely prevailed in the "West" and especially great parts of Europe: Russians and socialists as "poor victims", although Hitler himself was a ("National") socialist.
But "the Jews"/Israel did not adhere to these rules and views and sought help from the "class enemy", "big capitalism" USA, and the fact that the so-called Palestinians themselves had missed the opportunity to establish their own state, that Israel was largely surrounded by enemies who were anything but democratic or liberal, was not perceived in Europe - which had been granted freedom through the intervention of the USA and capitalist "colonialist" Great Britain - due to the "left" spirit of those times. It was not understood that Jews did have enough of being victims again and again and that they felt entitled to seek support wherever they could get it. The fact that the USA also pursued its own interests in doing so was not appreciated in moralizing, idealistic, cheaply "anti-fascist" Germany and Europe.
The Russian People lost 27 Million of their folk who were Murdered by The Nazis and their Death Squads in WWII, for Hitler's Lebensraum in The East for The Ethnic Germans. This figure is substantiated by Major General (Rtd) Grigory Krivosheev who toured the entire country of Russia, to get the true figures.
… but that gets disputed nowhere. Except, it was not „the Russians“ but inhabitants of the Soviet Union, of which by far not all are Russians, for example there were about 45 mio. Ukranians - which also took part in the freeing of Eastern Europe and Germany from Hitler. Furthermore, Stalin was no way better or less murderous than Hitler, a.o. against Jews, and during WW II Sovjet Union expanded its territory with new „colonies“. Still today, Russia remains the biggest colonial state of the world. „Russia“ itself (`Moscovia`) without all its colonies is quite small.
The Figures Break down as follows and include: 9 Million Russian souls Murdered in shooting pits and Einsatzgruppen Death Squads, 11 Million Soldiers of The Red Army died fighting, and more than 5 million civilians starved to death in the cold. The actual numbers come in at just under 27 Million people. 50 Million people perished to German Nazism in total. The number is higher if the Nazi-Allied Fascist Wars in the Far East are also counted.
That's so bleak. I wish everyone knew to respect how horrible hate is and the extreme consequences it extracts
More details here. China lost a lot too.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties
Great column! The IDF demonstrates that FDR best defense is a great offense
Another fine presentation Joshua. It kept me smiling AGAIN while reading it. In 2019 when I finally visited Israel, I saw myself in the strong and resilient people there. My brothers and sisters were so exuberant and engaged. I continue to learn from you and feel part of my people everyday when you post your stories. Thank you for the pleasure of your clear thinking. Am Yisrael Chai ❤️🇮🇱
I loved reading this. Thank you 🙏🏼
Loved this article - it put into words so many thoughts I've had and answered so many questions. Left me with a sense of optimism.
Great re-cap of Israeli history, tenacity, and resourcefulness. There was a period, perhaps after the 1973 war, that the US saw Israel favorably. In response to Golda Meir's request, Nixon's Operation Nickel Grass sent ~ 23,000 tons of materiel and F4 Phantoms that allowed Israel's victory. I remember.
Things are definitely different now. There is a palpable shift somehow that is distinctly not 1973. I was gob smacked by the campus riots; wasn't in my world view or understanding of the US. That pushed me to education myself about events and an understanding I obviously lacked.
Due to Substack and small group of you folks here, I thank you for the education and research pointers that put me on an understandig path. It's been a real eye-opener, for which I'm grateful.
Growth continues.
Great article!....women pilots attacked Iran......I am so extremely proud ......and the IDF eliminated the murderous chief, his replacement, the replacement of the
Replacement......I couldn't be more proud of being Jewish and zionist.....
Me too
"[The so-called 'Palestinians'] have successfully reframed the conflict in terms that resonate with people who have no idea how the world works, lack historical knowledge, and enjoy selective outrage as a favorite pastime”
Respectfully disagree that the world at large “enjoy[s] selective outrage as a favorite pastime”. On the surface it may appear to be so, but dig a little deeper and one will find some interesting socio-psychological factors at work. The first is the (ma)lingering originally religious inspired cultural antipathy to Jews as evidenced, for one, in the stereotypes found in film, theatre, and books. In the public arena, the male Jew is variously depicted as greedy, cunning, conniving, scheming, wheedling, and whiney. The the female is loud, obnoxious, crass to the point of vulgar, and, in the young, a promiscuous Jewess. The other dynamic at work is the archetype of the scapegoat who functions as an escape valve for one's fears, anxieties, self-doubts, guilt, and shame. In all places where the Jew has been a stranger in a strange land he has played these thankless roles.
Regarding the article's constant use of the term “Palestinian,” may one recommend the author view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLskICrhHzk for a reality check.
Regarding the statement “Early Zionists were motivated by the alarming rise of violent antisemitism" what is missing here is a distinction between Zionism as a religieo-cultural philosophy and Zionism as a political solution to a millennia long problem.
To repeat (by and large) a response posted to an earlier article today, the definition of Jewishness has been predicated upon three element: a creator deity, a covenant, and a specific group of people. Central to this compact is a territory that unites all three elements. In other words, the connection of a people to a place which ultimately defines whom and what they are. Throughout Jewish exile even up to this day, Jews pray facing faced Jerusalem and at the Passover Seder, recite “Next year in Jerusalem.” In today's parlance, their longing to eventually return and their love for the land is Zionism. How best to implement it — as a religious, secular, socialist, communist, capitalist, etc. system — is an ongoing debate.
Of course, as to be expected, over the 3,000+ years since the original connection between the people and the land was established, many different expressions of that original connection, that Zionism, has emerged. Nonetheless, these variations do not abrogate the central identity of our people. That is why we endure to this day.
Israel's military triggers certain "genteel antisemites," who have an attitude of: "I don't plan to kill Jews right now, but it makes me uncomfortable knowing they could defend themselves, should I change my mind."
A little humor. The joke about that it takes 10 Jews to change a light bulb? So that would be 10 old Jews who have different opinions, while drinking coffee and eating cake, but it will take 10 new Jews who are all definitely know that they are right, and will fight to prove that they are right, and then also prove that everyone else is definitely wrong, and then all go out and drink together.
Israelis have a long history in Europe of study as well as action. While the other Mideast countries were segregating women and sitting on their…oil.
The “mosh” line is priceless. Also glad to get details of the strike instead of “military targets”. Good one in general.
***”nosh”
You can edit comments. Push the three dots at the right of the comment.
Wow, thanks!
Well we need some more new Jews here in America and elsewhere in the world. We need to reinvigorate the culture. Those of us who lean more conservative politically and who aren’t Orthodox, it’s slim pickin’s.
There is a defeatist attitude and a desire to sweep problems under the carpet.
When you sweep stuff under the carpet all
You get is a dirty carpet. Jewish organizations need to be reinvigorated and that needs to include some community safety initiatives and training.
I’m proud of my Israeli cousins. 👊🏻🇮🇱
Amen brother
What we are actually facing from the Re-formed Nazi Party: LIVE IN LONDON tonight:-
Threats to kill have just been made against me this evening by MI6 here in London: Anti-Fascist Alert: MI6 makes threat to kill against me tonight, close Box on the System here in London: He has just said: 'I hate the Jews in Israel' .... 'I hate you and I am going to kill you in a very special way!' Nazi in Six is known to me, my reports cover each of their names.