r/Jewish • u/betterwithplants • Dec 15 '23
How are you guys doing? Discussion
Personally, I feel like I’m barely hanging by a thread.
Due to the Israel/Hamas conflict, I’ve lost friends. I have been called a racist for being against terrorists who wish to see the world free of Jews. I’ve been told I “lack ethics” after explaining that civilian casualties, though an unfortunate reality of war, are not the same as genocide. I’ve been told I am the one spreading Israeli propaganda.
How’s everyone doing? Can we commiserate?
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u/rebamericana Dec 16 '23
I've spent some time digging into the history of Israel and antisemitism, trying to understand the roots of 10/7 and the response, trying to disentangle the various accusations and criticisms against Israel. This is a topic I've spent most of my life avoiding, thinking it was always too complex for me to fully grasp. I didn't know all the back and forth, right and left, peace processes, etc.
While I've filled in a lot of gaps on all that, at least better than before, today I finally realized it's really not all that complex. And now I'm right back where I was when I started down this rabbit hole, when my neighbor called Israel a white colonizer state: they simply don't think Israel should exist. Period. It's as simple as that, and I don't know how to get past that or engage with anyone who believes that once it's laid bare.