Tracking antisemitism 2

[EllaDisenchanted]

continuing on from the last thread which morphed from a discussion about antisemitism to tracking it globally.

@comedycook @humdingerydoo@stomachamelon @25milesfromhome @sharonellis @beretinparis @diamond82 @christmasmantlestatue @quantumbutterfly @edithstourton @lucywestenra
@sewingaddict @ErroltheSwampDragon @knitnerd90

I’ve probably missed people out

to start off with something positive - this was a few yeshiva students response to antisemitism ❤️🕎

https://x.com/lily4liberty/status/2001122286204805189?s=46
“Three Jewish college students from NJ were dancing at Denver International Airport. They said they were motivated to do this after the mass shooting in Australia: “We will not be scared or give in to the darkness, we will only add more and more light.” Happy Hanukkah!”

they’re playing my favourite zusha chanuka song, and one of them looks like DHs nephew who lives in America! Had to do a double take and check it wasn’t him!😆

Thanks for the new thread. Just watched an interview with the 14yr old girl who got shot at Bondi while trying to shield two toddlers - her courage was incredible.

I wasn't on the other thread because I was too late but hi :-)

I am celebrating with GREAT JOY. I have been so sad for so long but somehow it's morphed into intense anger. Which is much better really as I have a lot of energy now.

My son stood up in front of 100 kids yesterday and told the Chanukah story and handed out dreidels and stickers. They played dreidel and voted on their favourite donut flavours and he had a great time. He's the only Jewish child in his school (and my daughter is the only Jewish child in the high school) and they approach it with so much confidence - my daughter has been wearing her Chanukah earrings all week.

So I'm fighting it by raising intensely proud Jewish children and handing out hundreds of dreidels to non-Jewish kids. Maybe when they grow up they'll remember and be a bit less hateful.

I'm in awe of you @PurpleThistle7 . You are amazing.

However, everyone knows the only acceptable doughnut on chanukah is a jam one, even though custard ones are nicer.

(I'm glad your son enjoyed himself!!)

Hmmm. I am super partial to sprinkles. Possibly because I’ve never eaten a jam donut without making a giant mess of myself.

I LOVE this energy!

may I present to you today’s donuts, from roladin 😍

tasted SO GOOD
(I think I’m on a sugar high)

These are my kind of donuts!

So far we’ve only managed M&S sugared ring but there’s a donut shop in my local town and I’m hoping I manage to get there early tomorrow, so I will update.

Love this ❤️

They look gorgeous.

🤤

@EllaDisenchanted the donut vibe is strong in that picture. I wouldn’t know which to pick which would lead to a bite of all of them :)

@PurpleThistle7 that’s lovely and inspiring. I taught some lessons this week on Hannukah to very receptive teenagers. There is hope :)

Sending light to you all.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3r72jvnw4yo

Antisemitism on the streets of London.

Sorry for sharing an article from BBC, it's just the first one that popped up.

I’m loving hearing about people’s Hannukah celebrations. I wasn’t brought up Jewish (but have Jewish roots) and I’m genuinely considering introducing a tiny bit of the celebrations next year.

On another note, does anyone else feel unsure whether to hide their roots due to antisemitism or not hide at all as a show of solidarity, strength and pride?

I hope everyone who celebrates is having a good Hannukah .

@Greenpeanutsnail thank you for your solidarity. It’s a tricky one. Many Jews (like my family) have the choice as to whether to present Jewish. We aren’t orthodox so unless we have our Jewish star necklaces or dreidel earrings no one would necessarily know. And there are times I’ve chosen not to be openly Jewish - the last year I’ve gotten nervous about being in town with my kids and my Jewish star necklace in case anyone says anything and I respond badly.

Basically trying to say it isn’t a binary choice for a lot of people - everyone at my kids’ schools and my work and my friends and neighbours know that we are Jewish as we talk about it and decorate our windows and all sorts. But random groups of strangers don’t always because I haven’t chosen to tell them. Not everyone has this option of course so it’s a privilege to live in the world in two ways.

Sometimes being open comes with lovely surprises too! Our neighbours all exchange Christmas cards and we had a surprise bonus Chanukah card from a neighbour we rarely speak to - they saw our menorah and wanted to send their support. Lovely surprise.

Oh that has made me feel a bit teary.

My parents in Australia had a neighbour they don't know well land on their doorstep with a small bunch of flowers she picked from her garden. She said something along the lines of she was not sure if it would be appropriate, but she wanted to say how sorry she was.

I have to hold these things safe in my heart in order to feel that the world is not as truly dire as it usually feels to be.

I have a Chanukah celebration tomorrow in a private home. We have a teeny little community in my rural area.

I do hide my Jewishness. I was brought up to 'never tell'. never identify yourself on a census. Hardly any of my friends know. My parents have become more open in the last decade- my father wears a kippur all the time now. But he said he feels very insecure now. But also enraged.

ETA- if you want to be involved more, do look out for local Jewish groups. We are really rural and nowhere near a synagogue so we have more a jewish group really. There is a list of little community groups which can be found online- usually with no identifying contact details. We have a group of about 30, varying orthodoxy. Quite a few come to us because a grandparent or parent was Jewish, but non-practicing and they are drawn to learning more and connecting. We welcome absolutely everybody.

Our Donuts are looking much better today!

I’ve been following a creator on Instagram opening her beauty advent calendars each day, I do it every year. I just enjoy being nosey! This lady who I thought seemed quite pleasant, suddenly cuts her video today and then comes back and explains it’s an Israeli owned brand so she won’t be talking about it and the boycott blah blah blah. So there goes my daily advent calendar opening, these people should hear themselves. Will they one day realise they are actually racist.

No, they won't. IMO. They have outsourced their critical thinking.

Apparently Jewish deaths are just fine and dandy.

Shameful! 😢

🤬🤬🤬🤬

By the way; I asked Mumsnet HQ to remove one of my posts from the other night, purely because it linked to my Instagram account (and you never know what nutters are lurking).

That’s what I get for posting after too much wine! 🥴

we do indeed share doughnuts @stomachamelon and have a grand taste testing most nights, with doughnuts from different places . There are 6 of us, so we cut into 6 parts and it's fun!

@Greenpeanutsnail I am orthodox and was brought up orthodox, so it's only really been a consideration for me personally when outside of our community, as I (and much more so my menfolk) are very visibly Jewish. Certainly when flying I wear a wig rather than a scarf, take off my magen david necklace and DH wears a baseball cap and tucks in his tzitzit, to be as incognito as possible. I don't know if maybe that reflects a lack of faith on my part that I need to work on, or is in fact sensible precautions, I don't know.

Interesting. High security on Jewish schools/nurseries is not a new phenomenon. Are we finally seeing a recognition of the abnormality of the status quo? I'd like to hope that we are and that better minds than mine will be coming up with ways to change things.

https://x.com/nicolelampert/status/2001701007701532674?s=20
Sir Stephen Watson, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police: ‘I think it's some very important point to reflect upon that Jewish children are the only children in our country who, day to day, go to school behind large fences guarded by people with busy jackets, and where there are routine police patrols in and around those areas. Our Jewish communities put up with a way of life in our country today that nobody else has to put up with. I do think that there is something very significant in that, something very significant in the realisation of it, and we all, I think need to question ourselves afresh as the dynamic continues to change as to whether what we are doing continues to be adequate.’

Just seen an article on sm... sorry I have no idea how to do links...but apparently there's a museum in Potsdam with a piece of artwork depicting Anne Frank in a keffiyeh. Words fail me

Outsourcing their critical thinking is exactly what people do.

It's surprisingly popular, especially if the situation is complicated and one side is good at PR.

@EllaDisenchanted Sir Stephen Watson’s words are very poignant and really hammer home the situation in the UK. Who wants to live ‘inadequate’?