theropologist

theropologist , 17 days ago to random

:bc: Attention Beige Party-goers! :bc:

A word about antisemitism, the state of Israel, and the war in Gaza

The war in Gaza has brought a lot of issues to a head and for the most part I have remained silent about specifics because my personal opinions should not be relevant to my job as a moderator. However, things at Beige Party have recently crossed a line where I felt I had to take action, and I feel it is my duty to explain what is informing my decisions on this matter.

Just a warning, this is going to be an extremely long post, so if you just want to know about the moderation policy you can skip to the end. It actually turns out to be quite simple.

First of all, I think it's important to explain where I'm coming from because this is a deeply personal issue for me. As a cis-hetero white male cloaked in all the undeserved privilege that entails I don't feel like it is my place to comment on most matters of identity, other than to recognize bigotry where it occurs and enforce the site rules when something crosses the line. When I am unsure, I will seek out a trusted member of the affected community to get their perspective before I make a decision. In this case, however, I am a member of the community in question, and the issues of antisemitism, fascism, and genocide have informed my personhood basically since I have been a self-aware, thinking, feeling being, and have played a foundational role in forming my core morality and code of ethics.

I hate presenting this as if it were a set of qualifications, but I think it's important for you to know where I come from so you can understand my nuanced views on a very fraught and complicated subject.

I am part Jewish. I was not raised culturally or religiously Jewish, so I've never felt completely comfortable claiming that identity. However, I am Jewish enough for Hitler to have murdered two of my direct ancestors, and to have inherited the generational trauma of genocide. I am also part German, so I also understand the insidiousness of ethno-fascism and its inevitable consequences. There are a lot of words for it but ultimately, on a human level, it comes down to the murder of innocent people.

None of this is theoretical to me, or distant memories handed down to me over generations. I have a grandmother who is a living link to what it was like to grow up as a half Jewish girl in Hitler's Germany and to have a parent and a grandparent sent to a concentration camp to be murdered, and another parent jailed for trying to get their family out of a fascist country. This is all very real and present for me, and has been my whole life. It is in my bones.

Having said all that, let me go over some core principles that I have used to guide my moderation decisions when it comes to antisemitism and the actions of the government of the state of Israel:

Antisemitism is real and insidious and it has been for thousands of years. My definition of antisemitism is targeting Jewish people on the basis of their ethnic and/or religious identity. Like any form of bigotry it's targeting people based on who they are.

The state of Israel is a sovereign nation with all the rights and responsibilities of any sovereign nation that wishes to remain in good standing with the current world order. Disagreeing with the actions of the state of Israel or any members of its government is not antisemitism. Despite what the government of Israel claims it does not represent all Jews everywhere, and the very claim of ownership of an entire ethno-cultural group by a sovereign state is a mark of fascism. It's the very thing Hitler did to justify his crimes in Europe.

Zionism is a nationalist political ideology. It does claim religion as a justification but many political ideologies do. Nations rarely go to war over religion, but governments often use religion as a way to justify their wars. Being against zionism as a political ideology is not antisemitic, just as all Jews are not obligated to be zionists. Zionism as a political ideology dates to the 19th century. The first historical mention of the Jewish people dates back to 1220 BCE. Jewish people are quite capable of existing independently of zionism. They have for thousands of years.

Israel is an apartheid state. I think many will disagree with this statement, but there is no other way to describe the facts on the ground. They have kept the occupied territories in limbo for nearly 60 years specifically to disenfranchise the Arab population. The reality is that if you are born an Arab in Gaza or the West Bank you do not enjoy the full rights of a citizen of Israel, based solely on your ethnicity. That is apartheid. Acknowledging that fact is not antisemitism. The Jewish people are not responsible for this situation, the government of Israel is.

The state of Israel has, and continues to commit genocide. This is also going to be controversial, but I just can't see it any other way. International law is pretty clear on this. Even if an adversary is not abiding by international law, a state engaging in a military conflict has a responsibility to protect civilians. Collective punishment of the Palestinian people for the crimes of Hamas is a war crime, and it cannot be justified. Genocide was also committed in the initial wars of independence, where entire Arab villages were wiped off the map. This is not the same as saying Israel has no right to exist. I am an American of European ancestry, and as such, my very existence on this continent is the result of genocide. We can not hold people responsible for the crimes of past generations, but when we see genocide happening it is our responsibility as human beings to call it out. Doing so is not antisemitism. Again, these are crimes being carried out by the government of Israel, and despite what it claims, the government of Israel does not represent all Jewish people.

The government of Israel is sliding increasingly towards facism. It is ruled by a far-right nationalist coalition that is bent on consolidating power and dismantling democratic rule. Not only does the government of Israel not represent all Jews, it doesn't even represent all Israelis, as we have seen with protests against the legislation to weaken the supreme court. Again, as an American, I can relate. There are many things my government does that I don't agree with and there's very little I can do about it directly. Directing hatred against Israeli citizens for the actions of their government is wrong, as is holding the Jewish people as a whole responsible for those actions. However, being against the actions of an increasingly fascist state is not antisemitism.

Hamas is a terrorist organization that murders civilians to achieve its goals. It claims to represent the Palestinian people but it has no problem with putting them in harm's way to achieve their ends. The events of October 7th were reprehensible and should not be celebrated by anyone. Hamas saw their increasing irrelevance on the world stage so they committed genocide so that they could not be ignored. Part of their calculation was that the response by the government of Israel would be so severe that Hamas's crimes would quickly fade from the public discourse. They were right, and in doing so they offered up the lives of the people they claim to represent as an acceptable loss for their larger goal, which is the destruction of the state of Israel. Acknowledging Hamas's crimes does not negate the crimes of the state of Israel, both are responsible for their actions and there is no moral high ground here, only death, destruction, and the perpetuation of human misery.

That said, the facts on the ground are what they are. Israel exists and so does Palestine. Both have a right to exist because the people exist. Normal, everyday people, who want the same thing that anyone wants: Safety, security, the chance to just make it through the day and maybe the opportunity to improve their lives a little bit. Any government, organization, or ideology that simply wishes one of these groups of people out of existence is not operating in reality and is morally bankrupt. Furthermore, they are doing a disservice to the people they claim to represent by further perpetuating conflict, death, and human misery.

So that's a lot of words, and plenty for many different people to have problems with at least some of them. As a moderator I try to keep my personal beliefs and opinions out of moderation decisions and just stick to the rules as written. So much about the situation in Gaza has warped the discourse into a tangled mess, but ultimately I think the rules as written are sufficient to handle it.

Really, it's very simple:

1. Targeting people based on who they ARE is against the rules

2. Disagreeing with what people, organizations, or governments DO is not

3. Advocating for violence against anyone for ANY reason is against the rules

In any cases where the rules seem to come in conflict with one another, my overarching principal is asking who has power in this situation, and who is in need of protection. When in doubt I always defer to those in need of protection.

I invite your thoughts on this subject, but please keep it civil and respectful. I am never one to claim that I have all the answers. Like most people, I am just trying to make sense out of a terrible situation so that I can hopefully do the right thing, or at the very least not cause more harm.

Thank you, and Beige-bless :bb: