T Ash

Polite reminder that some of the threads I’ve done here qualify me for best fan writer. Links to specific threads to follow.

Listening to @DaraHorn on @havivrettiggur’s podcast and I am reminded that Campbell’s hero’s journey is ultimately a Christ narrative and that would be why stories told in Jewish languages don’t follow it. You don’t get the catharsis of victory when that story isn’t part of you.

It is with a heavy heart that I share a grim and dark assessment, which I have been hinting at for a significant amount of time, but have struggled to articulate, and even hesitated to talk about publicly: a terrifyingly large constituency within the Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian-American communities have become far too extreme and radical regarding the issues of Palestine, Gaza, and hatred of the United States and all things Western. Worse, support for and endorsement of Hamas have become mainstream views and can no longer be considered “fringe,” especially within the “pro-Palestine” movement. Many Muslim and Arab-Americans and their advocacy groups have chosen to become single-issue voters and activists, making Palestine the only rallying cry to mobilize their voters, when numerous other issues and challenges face these two communities. Overt support for Islamism, as CAIR and Linda Sarsour make it clear here in this video, and the aggressive Islamization of the West, is being supercharged on the back of the suffering of the people of Gaza. I had hoped that support for Hamas among American and European-based Arabs and Muslims would begin to scale back when the war ended, creating some space and margin for introspection, self-critique, and most importantly, recognition that Hamas and violent Jihadi terrorists are not “resistance” or “martyrs” but the fuel for the annihilation of the Palestinian people. Instead, there is a stubborn unwillingness to offer even the slightest of critique to Hamas and the whole “resistance” narrative, even as Gazans suffer horribly as the group re-establishes its grip on power and control, and the extent of Hamas’s criminality becomes apparent. Worse, many of these “pro-Palestine” personalities are moving on from Gaza entirely, drunk on the recent Mamdani victory, which they view as an extension of their activism and campaigning over the past two years. It worries me immensely that in the near future, many of the young people involved in what has become the “pro-Palestine” cult in America and Europe will graduate to more violent stages of “activism,” all while worsening the isolation of Arab and Muslim diaspora communities from integrating into their countries of residence and new homelands. I also worry that the Democratic Party will be far too accommodating and tolerant of what are inherently intolerable beliefs, ideas, and actions, all in pursuit of voters who are mobilized by an extreme manifestation of identity politics that has been corrupted with radical academic theories, reckless rhetoric, and slogans. There is still time to adjust course and reject these trends. However, as long as a confluence of irresponsible Muslim and Arab-American advocacy organizations remains hijacked by extremists and pursues radical audiences for fundraising purposes instead of communal growth, safety, and transformation, there is little hope of change. Arab and Muslim-Americans are part of this great nation of ours, and many contribute immensely to our country’s success, defense, and prosperity. It is a strategic mistake to tie their fate and future to foreign conflicts, no matter how dear to them, as they adopt extremist and vile slogans and narratives, which worsen divisions and increase cross-community tension and isolation.

@skjask I lit my last extra candle over שבת חול המועד. They’re home.

For the first time in 2 years I didn't have to ask God to free the hostages from the tunnels when I made challah

החיים זה מה שקורה בין שמחת תורה לשמחת תורה

@JewishWonk Quisling?

Kapos did what they did under duress in impossible circumstances. These people and others *volunteer* to be tokens for a movement that hates Jews. We need a word for the phenomenon. These people deserve a fitting slur.

Hey ⁦@HomeDepot⁩, that sale price is a real bad look.

So I’m sitting here in my Jewish intergenerational trauma looking around at everyone scrambling to get passports & wondering why y’all didn’t have all your documentation in order, in an easily accessible place in your house along with gold coins & the good jewelry. Oh. Right.

@RachelMoiselle Practice, practice, practice. Do not try that joke on a native of NYC, they’ll give you directions.

Just checking something here… How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Oh look, when it’s Jews making the joke, the הלכה is properly referenced. Miss me with your “do you wear poly-cotton blends” bullshit.

Enough with the lessons. The lesson is, armed insurrection isn’t enough to disqualify him. Felonies aren’t enough to disqualify him. Horrific racism and misogyny aren’t enough to disqualify him. The lesson is, we are so broken. But we knew that already.

@navahw I had a G&T while cooking dinner.

It’s gin o’clock.

Who is Phoebe Burn? She’s the mother of a state senator from Tennessee and the reason we have the 19th amendment. Her son cast the deciding vote to ratify. After he’d received a telegram FROM HIS MOM telling him what it would mean for her to be able to have a voice in government.

If we get what we want, here’s who gets the credit: Ida B. Wells Mary Church Terrell Alice Paul Inez Milholland Susan B. Anthony Elizabeth Cady Stanton Doris Stevens Ruza Wenclawska Carrie Chapman Catt Phoebe Burn (she gets a follow up, because that’s an amazing story)

if you are someone who takes the Torah seriously, choosing to call Kamala “amalek” is functionally fascist

Lyrics resonating with me today from @SuffsMusical “But then suddenly we felt it Like a mighty cannon blast Every cost and battle lost of every generation past So we rose up in defiance Yes, we chose to risk it all For our sisters' silent voices Let the patriarchy fall”

It’s game day. Let’s win this.

“I didn’t want to be pregnant” is actually the only reason a woman needs

This. There should also be a similar mechanism where once you have ordered more than 2 of the same flat pack from IKEA, only one set of instructions arrives.

I’ve been saying this since at least 2016. Shorten the campaign period, lengthen the vote period.

This video is incredible. Everyone should RETWEET it so the whole *world* sees it.