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Aug 13
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Reuben Salsa's avatar

We loooooooooove 'As A Jew' people. Well done. For someone who 'doesn't believe in anything' those are pretty solid views. And you know what else Sam? I don't believe you are Jewish or can even speak Hebrew.

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Aug 10
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Aug 11
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Joel Goldberg's avatar

I could not agree with you more Naro. You raised the roof with this post. I’d rather be in the streets revolting against a Trump takeover I. 4 years than saying Kaddish for Israel.

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Will Granger's avatar

But what about Harris? Are you saying she’s a friend of Israel? She hasn’t shown that.

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Will Granger's avatar

I hear you, but what do you think about Harris? She doesn’t sound like a friend of Israel.

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Theresa's avatar

I am a moderate republican that used to be a devout Democrat. I see you. I respect your ideals. The far left are nuts, the far right are also kooks. The crazy congress woman is hopefully gone for good, she spewed hate and evilisms. I'm not a Jewish person but my extended family is. I pray for peace. All of humanity needs the love and prosperity we enjoy. Hamas needs to Go! so that Palestinians can enjoy it also.

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Candice's avatar

Oh how wrong you are. The goal of destroying Israel is getting closer to fruition because of the D party in America. The people who hate Israel are patient and intelligent. They have infiltrated the bowels of the government, they manipulate the media with anti Israel propaganda. To read the news -not a bomb dropped in Gaza was on terrorists- only civilians. College campuses are filled with leftist haters spewing nonsense about oppressors. It is sickening to see demonstrations supporting terrorists in major D cities in America. Do not deny what is before your eyes. Don’t keep telling yourself it is only a crazy minority. This is a delusion that I hear often. Ask yourself who empowered Iran? (D-party)The mess in Gaza would have ended if the US spoke with one voice condemning terror. Brought to you by the D party!The current D administration encourages Hamas to hold on every time it criticizes Israel. Sorry to destroy your world view but things have changed radically. It is hard to accept that you have been wrong. Please wake up. The D party is the enemy of Israel and it will only get worse in a Harris administration.

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Christopher Messina's avatar

Spot on! I am going to do a reading of this for my podcast.

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Deborah L Klein's avatar

I grew up Jewish in America and have never stepped foot in Israel, although I would like to. As a teenager I converted to Christianity, and my maternal grandmother kept telling me that my conversion said that all the Jews who died in the Holocaust died for no reason.

I didn’t convert to stop being a Jew, and I know that with Hitler then and white supremacists now, my being a believer in Jesus would not and does not make any difference. Practicing or not, Jewish is an ethnic identity. And so, in a very real way, the victims of the Holocaust DID die for no reason.

Why do so many people hate Jews? I don’t know. Why does skin color—from pale olive to black black—make such a difference to so many? I have always been baffled. Yet living currently in the state of Alabama, I see this constantly.

When I was a child people did bully me for being Jewish. For good or bad, I was too naive to realize the reason they were so mean. I thought they just didn’t like me for some reason, even though they didn’t know me. I didn’t connect the stories my parents related of their childhoods with anything that happened me. For a long time I thought we Jews were white.

I do remember during the sixties wondering why a little girl my age in Israel had to take shelter when planes flew over her home while I lived in security.

Now with the current war, I don’t hold a position. October 7 was horrible. Period. The utter destruction of Gaza is horrible. Period. I have never liked Netanyahu, and his current administration doesn’t endear itself to me. But I can offer no solutions.

In many ways I see the Israeli government and Hamas as twins. Both believe that only one group should occupy the land: theirs. But Israelis can protest and demand accountability from their leaders, and Palestinians can’t. I don’t know if they would if they could. I don’t grasp why the Arab nations refuse to aid Palestine at all and blame everything on Israel.

I didn’t mean to write so much, and now I’ve lost track of my original point. I guess I just want to say that your post moved me and drove me to a lot of introspection. I wish I could see a way to peace. I wish inexplicable hatred could be ended.

I pray.

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Sally P's avatar

Thanks so much for featuring my work again, Reuben. You are doing a wonderful job here with The Judean People's Front, and I am grateful to be part of the family.

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Danny Rosenstein's avatar

Great article and a reflection of the past, present and, perhaps, the future though we can hope otherwise. Jews will always be “Jews” and Israel is the Jew of nations. We we here 3000 years ago and will be in another 3000. Am Yisrael Chai.

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Autumn's avatar

This is a horrible horrible article. It's insane to read the cognitive dissonance. This reality that you've built around yourself where you can deny fact, deny a colonial oppressive force, deny evil, it's truly astounding. It literally makes me laugh how easy it is for you to pat yourself on the back for being so brave when you are in no danger. You are not being harassed, targeted, bombed, raped, assaulted. And yet you, a perfectly safe person NOT in the midst of war has somehow made yourself out to be the victim. There are literal children starving and dying but yes, you are the one to be pitied. If you believe that criticism of Israel is promotion of hatred against Jews then you're unable to see beyond your bias. Criticism of Israel is valid. Being condemned on a worldwide stage is worth considering. When evidence of rape is brought in front of your eyes it's worth considering

When apartheid and genocide are evident, it is worth considering. That maybe Israel CAN and IS doing evil in the world.

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Reuben Salsa's avatar

So you think it's okay to threaten and attack Jews? And when is this 'famine' going to arrive? Right...Hamas has been warning the world of impending famine since November...and yet...nothing.

Criticism is valid but to ignore antisemitism and pretend Jews are over reacting and not worthy of your empathy reveals the type of person you are.

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Autumn's avatar

Who said it was okay to threaten and attack Jews? Not me

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Reuben Salsa's avatar

You.

"It literally makes me laugh how easy it is for you to pat yourself on the back for being so brave when you are in no danger. You are not being harassed, targeted, bombed, raped, assaulted."

You have made her feeling invalid. You have mocked a person who does feel threatned. You have made light of Jews being attacked aroud the world. You seem not to believe there have been synagogues torched, Jews stabbed in malls, barred from campus, and have had homes and institutions vandalised.

It is you, who pretends none of this exists, who thinks it is okay because...you know...there are worse things happening in the world to people who aren't Jewish.

And this kind of sentiment marks you out as an antisemite. NOT because you criticise Israel or Netenyahu, but because you make light of Jewish suffering and think its justified for terrorists to hit back.

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Autumn's avatar

Right. Twisting my sentiments to suit your narrtive, how fresh and new. If you're going to quote me, do it accurately. The only thing I may laugh at is the ability of Israelis to pat themselves on the back for so bravely endorsing genocide, settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing, rape, and other hideous crimes.

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Reuben Salsa's avatar

Do it accurately? I literally quoted you.

Take your fake account and go rant on Truth Social where you can bond over your hatred of Jews while endorsing terrorists.

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Autumn's avatar

I honestly cannot believe the last line of this article. It's disgusting. In the face of UNDENIABLE evidence of IDF raping a Palestinian, you write this. as of the SOLDIERS are defending themselves against the person they have raped. As if Israel must defend itself when Palestine has been the one up against the oppressive settler colonial project called Israel. You say it isn't and never was rape... Let's roll the tapes again! Because it is, very CLEARLY, rape

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Reuben Salsa's avatar

The tapes show it wasn't rape. And Israel isn't a settler colony and hardly oppressive.

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Autumn's avatar

Deny deny deny.

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Ify's avatar

umm Oct 7th anybody...the world said big deal to that but you want prisoners to be treated well.

So how is it going with the treatment of Israel hostages ?

Stop pretending that the enemies of Israel have a real cause.

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Christopher Messina's avatar

https://youtu.be/xIkobeDxam0

I decided to record a reading. Great essay. Am Israel Chai.

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Reuben Salsa's avatar

A total fag? What is this? 1982? And again, another belief? You really need to change your bi line you numpty.

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Akiva DeJack's avatar

I’m curious why you don’t have Eve Barlow’s “Blacklisted” on your Substack resource list?

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Reuben Salsa's avatar

I did. I try to highlight different ones each week.

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Ify's avatar

The hate is demonic and supernatural. Satan fears you so..

But this Christian says thank for carrying the burden of introducing God to the world.

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Dix Gary's avatar

You defined the reason for “ Jew hate” perfectly; there is no reason. It’s inbreed into society for thousands of years. Thank you for defining what cannot be defined.

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