Asaf Stein
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I listened yesterday to the Joe Rogan episode with that Cooper guy, and right away, I knew what I had to do.
I got in my car and drove straight to my 98-year-old grandmother’s house. You know, my grandmother—the one who lost her first husband, her little children, her parents, and every single one of her siblings in the Holocaust. The one who somehow crawled out of hell, rebuilt a life from nothing, and still wakes up at night with memories she can’t bring herself to talk about.
I had to go to her because, for nearly a century, she’s been living a lie. She’s been telling us these horrific, gruesome, gut-wrenching stories—about the Germans, painting them as if they were monsters, as if they were actually villains. But I just listened to someone who really knows his shit, and he made it crystal clear: we’ve all misunderstood them.
So, I sat her down. I took a deep breath, looked her in the eyes—those same eyes that have seen things I can’t even begin to comprehend—and I told her the truth.
“Grandma, enough. Enough with the fake grieving. Enough with the lies. For almost a hundred years, you’ve been poisoning people’s minds with your one-sided, manipulative sob story. But I just listened to an expert—a guy on a podcast, which, as we all know, is the highest form of truth and reality—and he set the record straight.
“Hitler and his people weren’t what you think they were. They weren’t cold-blooded murderers, genocidal maniacs, or ruthless butchers. No, Grandma, they were complicated. They had reasons. They had perspectives that, shockingly, you and your family never bothered to consider. Did you ever stop, in between watching your children being ripped from your arms, to ask yourself what they were going through? Did you ever think, while you were starving in Auschwitz, that maybe, just maybe, they felt misunderstood?
“I mean, sure, they rounded you up, packed you into trains like cattle, and sent you to a place designed to erase you from existence—but did you ever take a moment to see things from their point of view? Maybe they were under a lot of stress. Maybe they had economic struggles. Maybe they just needed you to pause for a second and acknowledge their pain. That’s all they asked for, Grandma. A little empathy. A little open-mindedness. And really, was that so much to give?”
After I finished, my grandmother—like a typical Jew, and like every Holocaust survivor who just won’t let things go—reacted with horror and anger. But I stopped her right there. I reminded her that, these days, canceling and shutting down uncomfortable ideas only makes it seem like there is some kind of Jewish supremacy. And I wasn’t about to let her cancel me, so I left...
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Asaf Stein me-retweet
Asaf Stein me-retweet
Asaf Stein me-retweet
Asaf Stein me-retweet

Sam Harris: "Of course, the boundary between Anti-Semitism and generic moral stupidity is a little hard to discern—and I’m not sure that it is always important to find it. I’m not sure it matters why a person can’t distinguish between collateral damage in a necessary war and conscious acts of genocidal sadism that are celebrated as a religious sacrament by a death cult. Our streets have been filled with people, literally tripping over themselves in their eagerness to demonstrate that they cannot distinguish between those who intentionally kill babies, and those who inadvertently kill them, having taken great pains to avoid killing them, while defending themselves against the very people who have just intentionally tortured and killed innocent men, women, and yes… babies…
If you have landed, proudly and sanctimoniously, on the wrong side of this asymmetry—this vast gulf between savagery and civilization—while marching through the quad of an Ivy League institution wearing yoga pants, I’m not sure it matters that your moral confusion is due to the fact that you just happen to hate Jews. Whether you’re an anti-Semite or just an apologist for atrocity is probably immaterial. The crucial point is that you are dangerously confused about the moral norms and political sympathies that make life in this world worth living."

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Asaf Stein me-retweet

A few words about the protests/encampments at Columbia:
Back in December 2018, when I was a junior, a white student named Julian Von Abele was filmed going on an ethno-centric rant about how much he loved white people. He said things like: “White people are the best thing that ever happened to the world,” and “We invented science and industry, and you want to tell us to stop because ‘Oh My God we’re so bad’”. He was careful to add the caveat: “I don’t hate other people. I just love white men”.
The video went viral on campus. He was unanimously condemned: by students, professors and administrators alike. He was even banned from Barnard’s campus––though the “incident” didn’t even happen on Barnard’s campus.
Race pride is the opiate of weak individuals. I have always thought so. Nevertheless, I defended Julian at the time––not on the grounds that he was right, but on the grounds that he had every right to express his dumb beliefs without fear of being disciplined or banned from a campus for doing so. I don’t recall anyone at Columbia who publicly came to his defense at the time.
Fast forward 5 years: we now have Columbia students chanting “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea” en masse. To my ear, these slogans suggest support for, at minimum, violence against Jewish civilians in Israel––much worse than anything Von Abele advocated. Yet all the same people who were silent or supportive of his cancellation have suddenly discovered the virtues of unbridled free speech. Forgive me if I don’t believe it for a second.
Let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that any of these people value liberal principles. They don’t. They believe in the destruction of Israel––which they erroneously categorize as an colonialist entity––and they will use every liberal principle, selectively and cynically, to further that goal.
But let me be clear: I completely support their right to say all of these slogans. Students should be allowed to chant “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea”. These are slogans whose meaning is contested. What it means to your ear is not necessarily what it means to an idiotic Columbia student whose only knowledge of the Israel-Palestine conflict comes from Instagram posts also made by idiots.
Free speech is never about protecting speech you agree with. It’s always about protecting speech you hate. That is precisely the speech which needs protecting. Having defended the Von Abele’s of the world, no one will accuse me of being a hypocrite.
Of course, when they cross the line from speech into prohibited actions––creating zones where certain kinds of students (e.g., Zionists) can’t enter; human chains that prevent freedom of movement for other students; harassment/stalking of specific students, and so forth––then they must be disciplined to the full extent of campus policy and the law. If they want to get arrested or expelled, then schools and police should grant that wish without a hint of guilt. Let them explain to their parents why they threw away $70,000/year over a foreign conflict that they barely understand.
Still, the punchline must be: Hypocrites deserve free speech too.
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@ASAPstein8 @JustNivo בהחלט יש לו
תנסה להתעמק פעם הבאה שמראים את ניידת הואר
בכלל, שאלת את עצמך למה יש ניידת ולא כמו בכדורסל?
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@JustNivo לא לואר
לואר יש במאי משלו וגם מצלמות שהוא מקבל ישירות
הם לא מקבלים את הפיד שאתה רואה
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Asaf Stein me-retweet
Asaf Stein me-retweet

My one minute on UNRWA: (Speaking at the Orwellian named UN Human Rights Council as guest of @UNWatch at 2019)
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Asaf Stein me-retweet

Another Doctor we need to talk about.
This time Dr Adnan Al-Borsh, who was Chief of Ortho at Shifa.
He is another one our media love to quote. Just yesterday his tears were described in the @guardian 1/8

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Asaf Stein me-retweet
Asaf Stein me-retweet
Asaf Stein me-retweet
Asaf Stein me-retweet

Antisemitism is never about the Jews; it’s a warning system. It’s a sign that the society itself is breaking down, that it is dying. It is a symptom of a much deeper crisis.
Watch our founder @bariweiss’s speech at @FedSoc. thefp.pub/3svlLPC
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@alexandrosM @tthompsonmusic What about countless other fundamental Muslim terrorist organizations that have popped up in rather recent history in other countries and regions of the world? There is never a vacuum. That saying doesn’t even come near to address the problem.
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@tthompsonmusic I don't think Hamas appeared in a vacuum.
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Douglas Murray has reached new heights. Or bottoms.
Due Dissidence@DueDissidence
🚨WARNING: DISTURBING FOOTAGE: Thanks to @DouglasKMurray for EXPOSING this HORRIFIC atrocity:
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75 year-old Palestinian fleeing his home, tells Al Jazeera:
"Arab traitors are conspiring against us. Arabs, and only Arabs are betraying us. The Jews are kind with us."
twitter.com/RwafWd/status/…
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