doccitrus

This interview feels like it ends abruptly halfway through!

arm the moderate gays

Realistically, I'd be angry and frightened at being taken hostage no matter what the circumstances, even if I had some understanding of why it was done, and even if I were generally treated well during the whole thing.

But if my kidnappers allowed me to take my dog with me and/or made sure he was fed and healthy the whole time, I would be grateful for that for the rest of my life, despite whatever trauma. I don't imagine my own country's cops or soldiers would ever do the same.

I recently discovered (thanks to the recommendation the Jewish communist podcast The Minyan) this song from 1931 that perhaps captures some of the attitudes of the Yiddish-speaking community toward Zionism during that same period: https://youtu.be/tQMRwk8WDd4

I feel like the current Hamas charter, from 2017, makes it clear that their aims have changed and what their aims are, as do some statements in around 2005/2006 IIRC. Idk about them addressing 'allegations' per se.

I think editing the original artist's signature just like you edit the piece itself, could be a cool touch. That way you indirectly 'refer' to the original artist but also make it clear that you're not them. You can kinda play that artist's communist alter ego that way.

For the early Christian Zionists who drove the Balfour Declaration forward and repeatedly steered the British Mandate in Palestine back towards Zionism, part of it very seriously was

*Slaps Palestine*

"This bad boy can fit so many Jews I don't want in my own country in it"

It was a weird mix of yearning for and reaching towards the apocalypse (because many Protestants believe 'the Jewish people' must return to 'the land of Israel' in order for Christ to return and for the world to end) and at the same time thinking 'I'd rather not have that domestic Jewish population'.

In that way, Zionism and anti-semitism have really worked hand-in-hand from the very start of the Zionist project.

This is really worth emphasizing against the caricature that leftists support absolutely any party which could be construed as a counterhegemonic force.

The many differences between Hamas and ISIS really couldn't be clearer if you actually examine both groups. One problem is that the term 'terrorist', at least as commonly used, serves to conflate/equate them.

It's one of the limits of mainstream 'progressive' politics in imperial countries that support Israel.

In some ways I think the whole 'war on terror', despite the fact that the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are increasingly widely regarded as failures and crimes even in imperial countries, has been like a red scare against all kinds of guerilla/resistance fighters across the world (but especially Muslims).

The labels 'terrorist' and 'terrorism' have become tools for short-circuiting thought and discussion, and that's very deeply ingrained. The Israeli media strategy surrounding Operation Al-Aqsa Flood understands this well, and takes full advantage of the fact that mainstream journalists in the imperial core will never call Israel a terrorist state or the IDF a terrorist organization despite the fact that for many decades now, for multiple entire generations, their primary 'opponents' have been not the armies of other nations but civilian populations (sometimes in neighboring countries, like Lebanon, and sometimes in land that Israel claims for itself, like Gaza and the West Bank).

The goal is to paint 'Hamas' (really the al-Qassam Brigades, and practically speaking the whole armed resistance) as brutes with a monomaniacal obsession with their own brutality. That's what the equation to ISIS is trying to effect. And it has succeeded pretty well, imo. Liberals aren't condemning Hamas as an explicit scheme but because they feel like doing so is totally obligatory, even for those opposed to the horrors that we see now unfolding.

That's all speaking, of course of ordinary liberals. Liberal propaganda functionaries on TV, and elected officials are certainly sometimes more cynical or self-serving, more actively invested in the false equivalency. But whether they're speaking sincerely or cynically, when liberals condemn 'both sides' in Palestine, the 'terrorist' label is doing its job.

My father was recently diagnosed with a form of cancer that will probably kill him. For the past few weeks, pretty much the only things I've thought about have been my father's looming death, my virtual estrangement from him, the genocidal siege of Gaza, and the past hundred years or so of the history of Palestine. Needless to say, I couldn't keep that up. I had to make room for some lightness in my life and in my mind.

The past few days have been a relief.

I've reconciled with my father somewhat. He's still often stressful to be around, especially in his own house, but I feel better equipped to handle and pass over tense moments with him than I've ever been in the past. It's been good visiting him and my mom. I'm only now starting to look forward to going home.

I'm reading fiction again for the first time in a long time. I'd forgotten how easy it is compared to history or political theory; how effortless reading can be when you're not trying to take notes, when you're not stopping after nearly every sentence to make sure that you're paying attention and understand well. What I've been 'reading' is actually an audiobook. My mom and I have been cozying ourselves up next to a shared Bluetooth speaker, sometimes with a bowl of popcorn or candy like we would for a movie. It's been a delight! The novel itself has already been thrilling and intriguing for both of us, and we must only be like a third of the way through. (This October, my mom expressed interest in educating herself about what led up to current events, and so she agreed to read three books on the history of Palestine with me. We're still committed to that, but good God is this novel so much easier!)

I've been playing a relaxing, delightful, and sometimes very difficult videogame for at least a couple hours each day. A lot of my attention has gone to music, to the cool weather (which I love), and to the young puppy who moved in here recently (although my own dog, who is visiting along with me, kinda hates him).

It's good to have a break from all my ruminations, from current events, and from my job. I wish I could have another week off somehow, but this'll do.

I wonder what CPUSA's policies and statements/principles were back then, and whether they then held to the 'internal colony' line. I don't know the history well enough to place that, but maybe another comrade browsing does.