"Ask A Jew" Wednesday

[u/AutoModerator]

It's everyone's favorite day of the week, "Ask A (Anti-Zionist) Jew" Wednesday!

Ask whatever you want to know, within the sub rules, notably that this is not a debate sub and do not import drama from other subreddits. That aside, have fun! We love to dialogue with our non-Jewish siblings.

Please remember to pick an appropriate user-flair in order to participate! Thanks!

[u/Sabotage_9]

I would politely ask for sources for some of your claims:
1. What has Laith said that is antisemitic? Please provide a source for this extremely serious accusation.
2. What's your source for the claims you make about the mindset and motiviations of the Bondi Beach shooters, especially the claim that they didn't know who the organizers were and that they weren't motivated by concern for Palestine? I didn't see that reported at the time or since (though I could have missed it).

[u/Enough_Comparison816 → u/Sabotage_9]

I would argue that that this tweet crosses over into anti-semitism.

https://x.com/TVFreePalestine/status/2018412124712714582?s=20

The narrative he’s putting together, combined with the choice of putting the word Holocaust in quotes, comes off as blaming the Holocaust on the actions of other Jews and questioning if it legitimately occurred the way Jews and the most widely accepted historical narrative has portrayed it. But I will say that twitter is a horrendous medium to express complex and emotionally charged thoughts, and Laith likey feels that I’ve missed the point of what he was trying to express, and had no kind of antisemitic motivations. If I ever had such an opportunity, I would like to speak with him irl or over a medium Where he can communicate without being misunderstood.

1. As I noted, my knowledge of the Bondi event is superficial, just based on the trust I put in individuals and sources who have covered it. So I will use this opportunity to better inform myself and do some research, and let you know what I find out. I’d encourage you to show me the information that you’ve learned and the sources it comes from, if you have them available and don’t mind helping me out

[u/Sabotage_9 → u/Enough_Comparison816]

Your interpretation is plainly not what the tweet says nor is it reflective of Laith's opinion on the subject. He has explicitly acknowledged the historicity of the Holocaust and I've never seen him dispute the numbers killed. The main argument he makes is that the Zionist movement collaborated directly with the Nazis to ensure that anti-Zionist and Communist Jews ended up in the extermination camps while the Nazis favoured Zionist Jews and even let some of them out of the camps because of their politics. These facts are acknowledged even by Jewish historians like Tony Greenstein (who has done a ton of critical work on this subject).

Antisemitism and Holocaust denialism are such extremely serious accusations to make against a Palestinian at this time, let alone the man who runs Free Palestine TV, and I am seriously disappointed in the members of this subreddit for repeatedly making this baseless accusation.

Re: Bondi Beach, I am aware that the shooters were affiliated with ISIS. Beyond that, I've seen nothing confirmed about their intentions (whether they were motivated by Palestine) one way or the other; I think it is almost impossible to imagine that Palestine wasn't a factor in their decision to target an event like that (whether they thought they were targeting Zionists or just a Jewish event) but I have no evidence to point either way. I was asking you for a source because you asserted that their actions were inspired by ISIS and not the Palestinian cause. That could also be the case, but in the absence of evidence it is irresponsible to assume either way. I followed the issue somewhat closely and I don't think any meaningful insight into the mindset of the shooters was ever presented to the public.

[u/Enough_Comparison816 → u/Sabotage_9]

I think what you’re saying is fair. And just to clarify, I have no intention of going around and convincing other people that Laith is doing Holocaust denial and is an antisemite. I just wanted to offer my subjective opinion on a forum where we are not doing anything more than stating subjective opinions. My thoughts on this are not substantive and are nothing more than what happens to be going thru my head atm. I’m willing to express thoughts I know may be flawed, because doing so in this forum allows for others to correct me.

If we were in a public IRL forum where my voice is given any kind of real-world impact, I’m not ever throwing out careless accusations of antisemitism against Palestinians and fellow Arabs when I know how extremely harmful that can be to both the cause and those who are wrongfully accused. Forgive me if you think I’m wrong, but I just view this specific weekly discussion amongst anonymous individuals on our sub, as being pretty harmless and not anymore serious than any other Reddit thread. This sub is not supposed to replace any kind of real world organising and activism. Thoughts expressed here are nothing more than anonymous individuals exchanging what we happen to be thinking in the moment. We’re going to naturally say uninformed and stupid stuff just like everyone else on Reddit. And treat IRL organizing and activism in a completely different way (I hope..) The last thing I’ll say is that I treat this specific weekly thread differently than other posts in this sub, where I tend to be much more cautious of expressing uninformed opinions.

If you think I’m underplaying and being ignorant to the potential harm that can caused from speaking in such a casual way on this forum, im completely open to hearing you out.

[u/Sabotage_9 → u/Enough_Comparison816]

I appreciate your humble and sincere approach throughout this thread.

The only thing I'd say to this is that I don't take stuff said in a forum like this lightly. Despite its small size, this is one of the leading subreddits for anti-Zionist Jews and likely punches above its weight in impact. And I would hope that Jewish allies here would be keen to set a good example for others by exercising an abundance of caution before making hasbara-adjacent accusations against Arab voices.

[u/Enough_Comparison816 → u/Sabotage_9]

As one of the mods here, I will take your message to heart.

I will also say that as the only Arab Jewish mod, it’s really important for me that my fellow Arab siblings of any faith feel heard and respected here, especially if there is disagreement. We do not want solidarity and allyship to merely be an exchange of pleasantries. We need solidarity to allow for difficult conversations and disagreement amongst those from groups whom our community has harmed.