This Is Not Jewish

Why is this blog run by only a half-Jew? It should be run by a full-Jew who really knows what anti-semitism is all about! Seriously, the one Jewish blog on Tumblr and its run by a halfie? God, you know intermarriage is a problem when it seems like half-Jews are starting to replace full ones!

This-Is-Not-Jewish: …

The fact that my father is from a Christian family and converted to Judaism when I was a child is not news to any of my followers, nor is the fact that I have had a number of personal, real-life experiences with antisemitism—not that it matters, since I and my fellow “halfie” (the fuck?) followers are, were, and always will be 100% Jewish regardless.

My followers also know that this is far from the only Tumblr blog dealing with Jewish issues, because I specifically linked a bunch of them and have reblogged from many others. Of course, even if that weren’t the case, if you’ve got a problem with my insufficiently pure wizarding blood, you could always start your own blog…but then you would be the one dealing with ignorant dipshits like you in your inbox, and you can’t have that, can you?

Fuck off back to Slytherin House, Malfoy.

I was wondering if this is considered cultural appropriation? So I know this woman, she’s the ex-wife of our family’s carpenter and she converted to Judaism after meeting the her father’s Jewish tailor who was the first Jew she ever saw. She thought he was so cool and “ethnic” and immediately tried to become a Jew! Now Judaism does accept conversion but when you’re a WASP woman who is doing it to become “more ethnic and diverse” and “wear the cool outfits”  (she converted Satmar) I’ll side-eye the shit out of you! So what do you think? 

Oh, by the way she also really wanted to marry “a nice Jewish boy” an fetishsizing d race adorable, ethnic “Jewish children.” This really seems like racial and appropriation but I wanted to check with you first if it is or not.

This-Is-Not-Jewish: Side-eye is an AAVE term that I avoid using, but your sentiment isn’t misplaced. That is definitely fetishizing and appropriative behavior. I can see why she’s an ex-wife…

lyil asked: On the matter of Jewish names, I just wanted to add that many Mizrahim actually have typical Jewish names. Mizrahi Jewish names... They're just not very known outside of Israel cause that's where most of us live. for example, "Atias" and "Shitrit" are typical Sephardi names, "Eliyahu" is typical for Iraqi Jews, "Azar" and "Sa'adi" are typical for Yeminate Jews... So it's not true Mizrahim don't have "typically Jewish" names.

I’m sorry, I should have clarified—I meant that Mizrahi Jews often don’t have last names Gentiles (and Diasporan Ashkenazi Jews, for that matter) recognize as “typically Jewish,” and thus end up hearing “but that’s not a Jewish name!” even when their name is in fact typically Jewish. The whole idea of “Jewish names” tends to be incredibly Ashkenazi-centric, in my experience.

coffeejewess:

rknjl:

coffeejewess:

That post about Nazi medicine and science reminds me of the time a friend of mine told me I should be grateful for them, because they modernized medicine.

Yep. We didn’t speak after that one.

Maybe they meant the Soviet Union?

No, they definitely meant Nazi Germany. We argued at length over the fuckery and then they had the nerve to mock the granddaughter of a survivor who had been basically vivisected by Mengele. 

Really weird, too, since they normally were not like that at all. But then they pretty much fell off the rocker after that point. 

RAGE.

rightofreturn:

Please tell me more about my family history, about my roots, my ethnicity… please, tell me how a surname defines me.

Millions of people changed their last names upon immigrating to a new country. In Israel after World War II, thousands lost their names. My cousins here are Katzirs and have no relation to any others because of the  name they were given. An Irish friend of mine comes from the O’Brien clan but when they arrived at Ellis island they were re-named to Rice.

The “Horowitz” side of my family Russified to “Gurevitch”, the “Dannenbergs” from Holland became the “Dennenburgs”, the “Krasowic” from Poland became the “Krasovitskis”, the “Cohens” from Germany became the “Kogans”.

You have to be kidding me. In the face of so much antisemitism, part of my family changed their last name to something that doesn’t “sound” Jewish and my whole identity is suddenly in question? That’s the last name I carry, and I’m not ashamed (I might hate that side of my family but that’s different). Those “Ukrainians” were partisan fighters and resisted the axis with all their might. Is my great grandfather Ilan Denneburg somehow more Jewish than Saul? They both killed Nazis.

Fuck you man.

Neither my married name nor my maiden name is a “Jewish name.” Why? Because my husband and I both had Jewish mothers, but got our last names from our Gentile fathers.

My paternal great-grandfather’s last name was different than either of his brothers. Why? Because the Russian army wouldn’t kidnap and force Christianity on draft Jewish boys if they were the only son in the family, so he and his brothers each took a different last name to fool the authorities into thinking they were the sole sons of different families.

My maternal grandmother’s maiden name wasn’t a “Jewish name.” Why? Because her father had to flee the South after the lynching of Leo Frank, and he anglicized his name to protect his family from antisemitism.

Lauren Bacall’s last name isn’t a “Jewish name.” Why? Because when she and her mother took her grandmother’s maiden name after her parents divorced, they decided to use the more standard Romanian spelling.

Many Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews don’t have “Jewish names.” Why? Because what Gentiles (and even many Jews) think of as “Jewish names” are typically German names, which pretty much erases Sephardim and Mizrahim from the popular conception of Jewishness.

There are about eleventy billion reasons why Jews might not have “Jewish names.” Hell, surnames aren’t even a Jewish concept—traditionally, we used patronyms (“son/daughter of [Father’s Name]”). The only reason we took surnames in the first place is because Gentile governments ordered us to, usually in order to better track Jewish activity and force assimilation on us.

Every Jew’s last name is Jewish because it is the name of a Jew. Period. Gentiles who pull that “not a Jewish name” crap really need to re-examine (a) why they persist in believing Jews can be spotted by their names even after they meet a Jewish person whose name doesn’t fit their “Jewdar,” and (b) why they feel such a strong need to be able to “spot” Jews by their names in the first place…

All Polish specialists will be exploited in our military-industrial complex. Later, all Poles will disappear from this world. It is imperative that the great German nation considers the elimination of all Polish people as its chief task.

-Himmler, 1940

Talking about this is a minefield, especially for me, a Polish-Jewish person. My grandmother is a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto—her entire family, except for her father who also escaped, was killed. My grandfather, as an ethnic Pole and member of the intelligentsia, was in hiding from the Gestapo during the war. These experiences—which were only two out of the millions and millions of narratives—were different. The Nazis did target ethnic Poles and other Slavs, and did have racist motivations, but it wasn’t on the same scale as the genocide of Jewish people and Rromani. But to say that the three million or so Gentile and non-Rromani Poles weren’t killed because of Nazi racism is erroneous as well. There were acts of violence committed by Gentile Poles against their Jewish neighbors. 

That being said, that OP was horribly condescending towards people of color, and I hate it that this complicated discussion was brought up in this way. 

I can’t talk extensively about this because it gets very emotional very quick. Basically, this is a very complex topic, and I’d rather it were treated as such. Everyone: please don’t oversimplify the experiences of ethnic Slavs, but also please don’t use ethnic Slavs who were Nazi victims as a way to silence people of color. 

This-Is-Not-Jewish: Putting this out there because after doing more research, yes, I screwed up. The Nazis didn’t give the mass extermination of Slavs immediate priority the way they did to Jews and Rroma, but they did make plans to do so after finishing off their primary targets. I deeply apologize for getting this wrong, and I will edit that post accordingly.

thearcanetheory:

There is actually very little to the Israel/Palestine issue mess to which the Holocaust is currently relevant or applicable to.

Talking about the post-war trauma of the Jewish people: relevant

Talking about the guilt the Western world had in perpetrating and not stopping mass genocide on an industrial jaw-dropping scale, and how they tried to fob that off in various ways, thus resulting in this bullshit: relevant

Talking about how the West will do anything to get rid of its ethnic minorities including shoving them out of their borders even directly after a mass genocide: relevant.

Talking about the anti-Semitic shit imported into the Arab world pre-, during- and post- war and how that affected Jews in the Middle East: relevant.

Talking about “the Holocaust happened therefore Israel is perfect and can do no wrong”: NOT RELEVANT. (also wrong)

Appropriating Holocaust imagery to launch it against either Jews or Palestinians: NOT RELEVANT (and also really gross and factually incorrect. DON’T.)

Trying to emotionally manipulate the audience in (EITHER) specific political direction: REALLY GROSS AND IRRESPONSIBLE. DON’T.

Talking about the Holocaust when confronted with the horrific shit Israel has done: NOT REMOTELY RELEVANT

The Holocaust happened. It happened over 50 years after the formation of Zionism and Hebrew national self-determinant thought, in it’s various streams. It happened after other genocides and ethnic cleansings. IT HAPPENED.

But it is NOT your political prop to use to beat others over the head with. Not on either of the many sides of this political mess. If you use this horrific event in history as nothing more than an emotional club, you receive my hairiest eyeball. 

THIS MESSAGE IS ALSO RELEVANT FOR MY FELLOW TRIBE MEMBERS.

Yes, our people suffered the Holocaust, alongside others. This does not give you the right to take our history and use it with which to beat your opponents over the head, especially when whipping out the Holocaust instead of addressing actual issues regarding Israel-Palestine. DO NOT TREAT THE HOLOCAUST AS YOUR GET-OUT-OF-JAIL-FREE-CARD. (Which is a different thing altogether than referencing the actual effects of the Holocaust re: the conflict.) If you cannot win your argument without resorting to emotional manipulation and not facts, I strongly advise you to reconsider your argument.

This is a very problematic topic because of the way the Holocaust DID interact with and reverberate along many social axis, especially directly post-war. It’s a complicated topic and ought to be handled with care. Take care that you do not use an emotionally fraught piece of history as an emotional club, rather than the watershed history-altering event/series of events that it actually was. To do so is to reduce the significance of our history, and the history of all who suffered alongside us, and to over-simplify some truly complex, but incredibly important historical and sociological processes.

GENTILES

Recognize the incredible seminal importance of the Holocaust, especially in the context of a long history of the Jews being persecuted for their ethnicity and their religion, and generally being “foreigner” and “not from here.” (Europe especially (but other places as well) has a very long history of telling Jews to “go back to where you came from” and the ever-present “go back to Palestine!!!” In fact, many white gentiles tell us that today - both “get out of Palestine!” *as well as* “go back to Israel!”)

 Understand the incredibly deep trauma the Holocaust has had on the entire Jewish people, and the inter-generational affect of this. Realize this, and LISTEN when a Jewish person is trying to explain this to you, especially when it comes to the cultural milieu and mindset of the modern Diasporic Jew, and Jews in general. Do not call it “the Holocaust card.” That shows us that you aren’t listening when trying to explain the VERY REAL EFFECTS of such an incredibly large genocide that destroyed over 1/3 of our people WORLDWIDE. Not one-third of European Jews; ONE THIRD OF ALL JEWS IN EXISTENCE ON THE PLANET. That’s fucking huge, and it is within living memory. LISTEN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR HISTORY AND HOW IT AFFECTS US TODAY. You are free to disagree, but to shut us down wholesale is another thing altogether.

I also highly recommend everyone read these posts.

docloudscomeinpurple:

Well then…. this is disgusting…. 

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present humanity?

(Source: rknjl)

Interesting. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for the Vatican to do the right thing, though.

(Source: hamikdash, via choosechoice)

docloudscomeinpurple:

andernathanson:

thearcanetheory:

After 500 years of persecution and expulsion, Spain is offering citizenship to Jews of Sephardi extraction, providing they can prove their ancestors were indeed residents of Andalusia.

The possibility of this being tied to economic stimulus disturbs me. This is the same reason why so many countries initially invited in the Jews and then later persecuted and expelled them when times got hard. 

I honestly don’t know what to think of this. Part of me believes it’s actually a really good idea and a rectification of a centuries-old injustice but the post above makes a good point. 

I’m giving Spain a super-hairy eyeball right now for three reasons:

1. The skeevy, economic stimulus thing andernathanson mentioned (which is especially skeevy when you consider that initially they would only let Sephardi Jews get the Spanish passport if they gave up their other passports—they’ve scrapped that rule now, but really?)
2. The fact that it apparently only extends to practicing Jews, which pretty much fucks over the descendants of the Conversos (you know, the people Spain forced to give up their Judaism) unless they convert to Judaism
3. The fact that no similar offer is being extended to any of the descendants of the Muslims who were likewise expelled or converted on pain of death (Islamophobic racism is not okay, dickheads)

So, yeah. This is a half-assed apology at best.