Humphry Smith

@TomLondon6 Israel created the Palestinian people through violence and rhetoric.

Nothing justifies the appalling attacks on British Jews. However, in order to solve a problem, it is necessary to be honest about the causes. British Jews cannot be made safer, if the discussion ignores the elephant in the room, which is this:- 1. Israel is committing terrible, unspeakable crimes, including the crime of crimes, genocide. 2. Israel's advocates, including Netanyahu, constantly claim to be acting on behalf of all Jews. 3. The Chief Rabbi and Board of Deputies and other leaders of parts of the Jewish community, give Israel their full and uncritical support while British Jews who oppose Israel's war crimes are rarely given a platform in the media. The result of these three realities above, is to identify British Jews as being linked with Israeli atrocities. This is, of course, wrong and antisemitic. However, it needs to be recognised and understood.

@srodan @george_szirtes Many generations of Jews, across so much of the world, lived by a code of compliance and submission. They bravely maintained the Jewish thing and stayed ready for the worst. That didn't make them loved or keep them safe.

There is a claim that keeps circulating, presented as sophisticated analysis: antisemitic violence is caused by Israel’s actions. If Israel behaved differently, Jewish communities around the world would somehow be safer. This argument is not analysis. It is a moral inversion. And it collapses the moment you apply it consistently. When China imprisons Uyghurs, does anyone warn Muslim communities in Paris to expect attacks? When Russia invaded Ukraine, did anyone tell Russian restaurants to brace for violence? No. Never. The causal chain between a government’s actions and violence against a diaspora is only ever constructed for Jews. Every other minority is extended the basic moral courtesy of being treated as individuals rather than proxies. Now look at what the data actually shows. The SPCJ, which tracks antisemitic incidents in France in coordination with the Interior Ministry, has documented a consistent and damning pattern: it is antisemitic violence that inspires more antisemitic violence, not Israeli policy. After Mohamed Merah murdered Jewish children at point-blank range at the Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse in 2012, antisemitic acts surged by 200%. There was no Gaza operation. No Israeli military action. The massacre of Jews in France produced more attacks on Jews in France. The same logic held after the Hypercacher attack in January 2015: antisemitic acts increased by nearly 300%. Massacres of Jews do not shock antisemites into restraint. They embolden them. They signal impunity. They normalize hatred. And everyone in a position of responsibility knows it. Which brings us to October 7. From the day of the Hamas attack, antisemitic acts in France increased by over 1,000%. A daily average of approximately 25 antisemitic acts was recorded in the 30 days that followed, reaching nearly 40 on some days. In the three months after the attack, the number of antisemitic acts equaled those recorded over the previous three years combined. And here is another detail that makes the “Israel causes antisemitism” argument impossible to sustain: the spike began on October 7 itself, the very day of the attack. Israel had not yet responded. Not a single soldier had entered Gaza. Interior Minister Darmanin sent an urgent message to prefects that same day asking them to immediately reinforce protection of Jewish community sites. Synagogues. Schools. Community centers. By October 10, 10,000 police officers had been deployed to protect 500 Jewish sites across the country. Before any Israeli response existed, the French government already knew that Jewish communities needed protecting. Not because of what Israel was about to do. Because of what had just been done to Jews. Antisemitic violence has one cause. Antisemitism.

@KeruboSk Yes, my great-grandmother who was born in 1879

Just out of curiosity… who out there has actually talked to someone born in the 1800s during their lifetime?

@WhiteHouse I love arches but I hate moths. So, mixed feelings on this one.

The United States Triumphal Arch – Celebrating 250 Years of America 🇺🇸

A Canticle For Leibowitz is a classic early (1959) post-apocalypse novel where an order of monks preserved the last remnants of learning (the memorabilia) after a nuclear exchange turned the remains of society into book and scientist burners. I first read it in the 80s as a mass market paperback that I somehow lost along the way. Other paperbacks from that time are yellow with age and getting brittle, but still readable. I read it again in the late 2000s on a first edition Kindle. I eventually migrated to iPads for Kindle reading, but every couple years I would come across an old Kindle in a drawer, charge it up, and check out what I had been reading on it. They eventually stopped working entirely. I’m just finishing reading a new Folio Society edition, printed on heavy, acid-free archival quality paper. If it doesn’t get soaked or burned, it could still be in good shape for centuries. The ephemeral nature of digital storage does give me some pause. We can still read Sumerian tablets full of administrative trivia from four thousand years ago, but there are no known copies of some important software products from just fifty years ago. I am a proud supporter of the Internet Archive!

@KerryHolmekb She is a formidable prostitute and looks perfect as a partner to the monster she married. Is that respectful enough for you?

The constant disrespect our First Lady Melania TRUMP receives is disgusting. She hasn’t done anything wrong to deserve any of it. I’m glad she’s finally standing up for herself. She’s an amazing First Lady 🇺🇸

@AriFleischer "A fan of France". What a ludicrous phrase.

I am and always have been a fan of France. I started studying French in 4th grade. I minored in French in college and love travelling there. But France today is a problem. France is guided by “France first.” Unlike “America First” which strengthens and benefits the world militarily, commercially and morally, France First sells out to the highest bidder. It’s the underbelly of French historical collaboration with Nazi Germany. It undermines the West, and Ukraine, as France cuts deals with Russian and is a top buyer of Russian natural gas. It’s why they work with the IRGC in Iran so French ships can transit the Straits of Hormuz. There’s no one they won’t cut a commercial deal with. Their immigration policies have turned their country substantially over to Muslims whose motives and influence are even more problematic. All that is bad enough. But now they won’t give the US overflight rights as we fight in Iran. We don’t want their troops or their ships. We want and should have overflight rights. France is a historical headache for the US and much of the west. French governments relish playing that role. France is only sometimes an ally. France is a real problem for the West.

@ColeFusionHQ There's a friend's ex who is into extreme bondage - he gets off on being swaddled in a spandex onesie and shut in a box. We call him Sue Vide.

British nicknames are an unregulated industry. a 5'6 tradesman called Anthony is professionally known as Shetland Tony. a man who lost an eye is called Keth. a quiet man wore a yellow jumper once and became Mumblebee. what's the best nickname you've ever heard

@MichaelRosenYes I survived meningitis b when I was 6, fully recovered after a few months. Later I came across your book about Eddie. It helped me to understand my parents. They had had to rehearse my death and I was eerie to them for a while.

For your information: when Eddie died of meningitis, he didn't have a rash on his body. I discovered after he had died (as I was pulling him from his bed) that he had a rash in his armpits.

@WhizBuckleyNFH @TLCplMax OK, bomber

Not even close to correct. In the mid 90s I was flying OSW missions over Iraq off Lincoln and in our downtime we were planning strike missions against Iran. I was tasked with taking out a mine factory deep inside Iran. We've been planning this for 47 years. We're in week 2 of a 5-6 week campaign. How about we let those on the tip of the spear execute before clutching our pearls.

So basically we started a war with a country that can single-handedly fuck the entire world’s oil supply any time they want because of geography and we had no plan for if that happened? Is this correct?

@karol_lolq @_Mark_Walsh_ I thought he was spiralling into dementia. Either way, it's a magnificent imagining of dissolution.

@_Mark_Walsh_ Most underrated book ever. My theory is that he’s actually dead.

What are the best "nothing novels"? Novels that are seemingly about nothing in particular.

@Johni1967 @Neccccy Ah, truth, how nostalgic

@Neccccy In england if it's dark and a butchers shop is open, it would be in winter. Do english parents take their children out in t-shirts in the middle of winter?

Would you like the UK to be like this again?

@MadelaineLucyH Don't sneer at children

Little white school boys gravely discussing their “burden” of having to provide for women and protect their families and sadly noting that women “will never understand what we faced at The Somme” is unbelievably funny

The BBC edited out a homophobic slur aimed at the host of the BAFTAs, Alan Cumming and they edited out Free Palestine from Akinola Davies Jr acceptance speech but left the N-word in. It was a choice and a deliberate one.

@JasonBedrick @GovMikeHuckabee Every Jew, apart from the rare and precious recent converts, knows from their family history that they are from ancient Israel. Every bit of common sense and genomics confirms it. None of that gives Jews a communal right to anything.

Wow, Amb. @GovMikeHuckabee wiped the floor with Tucker. Tucker’s defenders should be embarrassed.

Russia is a perennial problem for world peace. China is not. The US has abdicated its role as a Russia suppressant.

@MarshallColman @ArmandDAngour The last time I was in there I was with a friend from New York who asked the waiter, "Is there something you can recommend?" Waiter replied: "What do you mean? Recommend? So you're thinking some things here are bad? I don't recommend anything, I recommend EVERYTHING!!"

@ArmandDAngour Blooms were famous for the rudeness of their waiters. A customer snaps back: "I didn’t come here to be insulted." Waiter: "Where do you usually go to be insulted?"

Favourite Jewish restaurant joke: Waiter approaches table where three couples are dining: “Is anything all right?”

@Gathersources @conkin_io @hurasenberg Trolls are the ancestors of bots

@conkin_io @hurasenberg It's not great Con, it's creepy, objectifying, offensive, and highly inappropriate and unprofessional behavior from a gay Labour councillor- one I'm glad won't be sitting in upcoming elections any longer Defending creeps is not a good look Con

STATEMENT: In 2024, at the West Midlands mayoral election count, I was sexually harassed by a Labour Councillor. I did what we are all told to do in these situations: I called it out and reported it. What followed shocked me. 1/ birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…

@DHSgov 0 out of 10 for message quality. There are two misspelt words, and in the numbers there's a ludicrous shift from granular to chunky. You aren't taking yourselves seriously. Are we meant to be frightened by your carelessness?

FACT CHECK. This individual was arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer—a felony and a federal crime.   All detainees have the opportunity to communicate with their family and lawyer. These smears from the media have directly lead to a 1,347% increase in assaults on DHS law enforcement and a 8,000% uptick in death threats.

@__Injaneb96 @FoxNews @CNN It's headline news on UK TV

This is Tehran. Let that sink in. You are watching a revolution unfold live while the world’s media stays dead silent. Legacy media has become nothing more than a propaganda machine, because what news could possibly be bigger than this? @FoxNews @CNN x.com/Negaarsh/statu…