Mumsnet could do better (la quatrième partie): cheese wars and chickens

[79Helene]

Merailers assemble! The doors are open for part 4!

I've seen the antisemitic tropes really coming out since these riots in northern England - from a mixture of both white people as well as Muslims.

Here's an example. 👇

So, this person is blaming British Jews for the riots which is insane. Another account from a British Muslim features a video where he references Tommy Robinson, but really blames his "Zionist backers". That guy is calling for white British and Muslims to unite against Zionists in the UK.

Extremism is close to terrorism. Think of a Venn diagram. It wouldn't take much to push Extremism into Terrorism as they have several overlaps anyway.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if more British Jews apply for Aliyah. My daughter has a friend whose family originally came to the UK from Israel. She told me about the abuse she got from man who kept shouting "Free Palestine!" at her in Boots.

There are some nutters out there.

Did he know she was from Israel? I suspect even if not, he would still have shouted it at her if she was identifiably Jewish, which is exactly what happened at that Fiddler production here last night.

So, this person is blaming British Jews for the riots which is insane. Another account from a British Muslim features a video where he references Tommy Robinson, but really blames his "Zionist backers". That guy is calling for white British and Muslims to unite against Zionists in the UK.
I've seen so many variations of this on X over the last few days, and even worse than that example. Someone slipped in a throwaway comment to my DH (Irish, non-Jewish) the other day along those lines when they were talking about the riots. It feels like it's beginning to become part of normalised discourse. It's certainly now an established part of the mindset of the left who have aligned with the pro-Palestine movement and in doing so are getting caught up in radical Islamist views.

I can even see it on MN by long-term posters who generally identify as centrist/centre-left and are dismissing and excusing any evidence of antisemitism, or discussion about antisemitism, unless it's coming from the far right and shut down any mention of it with 'whataboutism'. The polarisation and entrenchment is getting more extreme and more combative.

I also feel like I'm watching some posters become radicalised in real time on this forum.

@79Helene I think he perceived her to be Jewish to begin with which was correct and she did assert herself by telling him her family is from Israel, she feels uncomfortable with his rhetoric and will find someone else to serve him.

Ideally, he should have had all service refused and shown the door, but staff is all female with no security guard at this particular branch.

So, path of least resistance was to get a colleague to serve him.

It's unbelievable how emboldened some people have become which was something I could see happening from the beginning of these anti-Israel marches.

Personally, I've not had any abuse when telling people I'm learning Hebrew. My accent and the stereotype of the violent Northern Irish makes some people think twice, ime. I definitely don't fit the stereotype! 🙈🤣

I've written bits in hebrew for a few people so they could see what it looks like and sounded the bits I know out for them. Still very far off being able to read words!

I seen the report the poor presenter looked terrified. There was also a video can't remember where with "any Jew will do" being chanted.

@DownNative my grandmother was Jewish although she didn't follow the faith she looked Jewish as did my dad and aunt. They married in Belfast and settled in Holywood. They were reasonably lucky. My Aunt was an HGV driver in the 60s and later became a pharmacist (in a Jewish pharmacy) and my dad was a mechanic in his own garage he did work mostly for RUC and UDR members. Outside of the middle class bubble of their area it wasn't always plain sailing though.

It's been the same for centuries it never changes it's always there just under the surface, even Shakespeare has undertones in his work. For the last so many years it's been mostly contained to bats shit conspiracy boards but it's out in the open again.

My son is the absolute image of my father and it does give me cause for concern. My friend who is Jewish is talking about taking her wee family to Israel. It's a scary time. It's made me feel closer to my family than ever before even though they've all been dead many years and spurred me on to try to learn Yiddish. I remember my grandmother using words and phrases and it's became comforting.

@thisiswheretheseagullfliesaway now, that's what I call a small world! Will message you at some point.

Know the town very, very well. 👌

And here's everyone's favourite centrist James O'Brien spreading the "Zionist backer" tripe.

x.com/joshxhowie/status/1820785349011873953

Never liked O'Brien....glad to know about this trope he's peddling too.

I've just seen that he's apologised to be fair, because (according to him) he hadn't watched the full video. Still not a fan though.

He should know to always watch videos fully. Wouldn't be surprised if he's doing damage limitation for himself.

Damage done to our British Jewish community, unfortunately.

Some of you might like my most recent post in the Haniyeh assassination thread. No doubt I'll have several notifications lit in red from the usual suspects. 🤷‍♂️

How's everyone doing?

I follow various indicators of US led coalition force build up and arrangements. The squadron of F-22 Raptor fighter jets that left Alaska earlier today is approaching US CENTCOM area on the Eastern Mediterranean coast. Looks like they're heading to an airbase in Jordan.

The array of US & UK forces strategically placed around the ME may be why Iran has yet to attack Israel.

But US, UK & Israel are ready, imo, to respond if need be. Reestablishing deterrence is very important.

Here's a snapshot of the naval force placements. 👇

Kol tov!

I'm doing well, thanks for asking.

There will also likely be additional USAF assets going to Aviano, Italy, that are well within flight mission range of Iran. And there will be USN submarines that are capable of firing cruise missiles at ground targets in Iran that aren't shown on your map of the naval assets in the area. And long range stealth bombers based in the US that can fly to Iran and back with inflight refueling.

The Iranians will recall how it worked out for them in 1988 during Operation Praying Mantis.

@MissConductUS Been meaning to say, I lurk on the Ukraine threads now and again. I always find your posts really interesting, especially your perspectives on the upcoming election!

Thanks, I've been on those threads for ages. There's another regular (a bloke) who's a former RAF pilot (notimagain), and between the two of us, we provide the military perspective and analysis. I like to say that he does sky and I do mud. 😁

I didn't think there would be that much interest in the upcoming election on that thread, but I'm happy to provide what insight I can. I think it's tough for people outside the US to appreciate how politics works in the US, election rules, the history of the two parties, etc.

It also seems very good natured, so it's good to be able to just read through it and take in all the information without being distracted by combative pricks.

It is a very good-natured thread. We had a recurring troll, likely a Russian disinformation agent who has been repeatedly banned. It's been a few months since he/she/it has bothered, so perhaps they decided it wasn't worth the time.

The war in Ukraine is fascinating for me as a veteran. All of the equipment we've sent was designed specifically to used against the Russians, so seeing it put to that use is really interesting.

It's comforting to see the US assets in the Middle East.
I have friends in Israel and have never worried for them as much as I have worried in the past few weeks.

The US threat to Iran if it attacks Israel has been made explicit and public,

U.S. Warns Iran of ‘Serious Risk’ if It Conducts Major Attack on Israel - Biden administration has been mounting intensive campaign to encourage both sides to de-escalate

What they seem to be saying is the US forces would both protect Israel from attack and participate in a counterstrike.

Yep!

Some really don't understand any of this and prefer to distort it, so that particular section is completely far gone into irrationality. 👌

Ah, well, lots of military reading for me to get through is a better use of my time!

Shabbat Shalom to everyone! Kol tuv!

Shabbat shalom!

Thank you to @DownNative and @MissConductUS for your continued fortitude on other threads. My heart leaps when I see your reasoned posts, rather than the ignorant and naive opinions of many.

Todah Raba, @BeretInParis! You're too kind!

I want to hopefully put my thoughts and views of other experts I've gathered from various places together in a long form writing of some kind. That's why I've quite a list of reading material - still to read the amicus curiae to the ICJ (or was it ICC?) from various military experts! They do know their stuff.

Anyway, to do what I want to do will mean less posting. A question of priorities and learning new things.

Just read the amicus curiae from the HLMG. 13 pages of their own observations in Gaza and Israel.

Members of the High Level Military Group:

Dr Rafael Bardaji, Spain.
General (Retired) Vincenzo Camporini, Italy.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Geoffrey S. Corn, USA.
Lieutenant General (Retired) David A. Deptula, USA.
Major (Retired) Andrew Fox KJ, UK (Rapporteur).
Colonel (Retired) Richard Kemp CBE, UK.
Brigadier General (Retired) Alain Lamballe, France.
Brigadier (Retired) Ian Liles OBE, UK.
The Honourable Uri Rosenthal, The Netherlands.
The Honourable Timo Soini, Finland.
Admiral (Retired) Jose Maria Teran, Spain.

A distinguished list, I think you'll agree!

If anyone wants the link to download it, let me know! 👌

You're most welcome, @BeretInParis, and thanks for your kind words. 😀

It's lovely to know that people find my posts here valuable. What I learned during my prior military service has had very little use since I got out, so it's fun for me to use it to explain the ground combat aspects of the war in Ukraine and, to a much lesser extent, the conflict in Gaza.

As to helping people understand the upcoming election here, I've found that most Mumsneters think that Americans are at best a great mystery. I'm happy to dispel that a little. I hope you all consider me the American friend you haven't met in person yet.

@DownNative, the HLMG does good research and analysis. I'd also recommend the Modern War Institute at West Point. They've done some very good work on the Gaza conflict:

https://mwi.westpoint.edu/?s=Gaza

I saw that just today, another West Point think tank, the Lieber Institute, published a scathing critique of the ICJ's advisory opinion on Gaza:

The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the Court’s Discretion

They are attached to the West Point Law Department and are a leading authority on the Laws of Armed Conflict. There's a lot of other good research on their website.