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Eclipse From The ISS

ajewishresistance

History repeating.

“A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.”

— Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

evebarlow.substack.com

Rape Denial + "Free Speech"

“Those who don't have truth on their side, turn to dishonesty.” It was apt that Katharine Brodsky tweeted this yesterday morning. What’s goi

Anyway back to the scheduled program: a massive congratulations to all of you who have denied rape by Hamas. You have set the clock back on women’s rights against sexual violence even further than it was before. You’re a bunch of fakes. Here’s a note about rape denial. Perpetrators who are successful in discrediting their victims do so because they have dehumanized their victims, and this dehumanization becomes echoed by a world that sides with the perpetrator. That is what Hamas has achieved. The total dehumanization of its victims. Posters ripped down. Rapes denied.

Trauma specialist Judith Herman writes:

"When the traumatic events are of human design, those who bear witness are caught in the conflict between victim and perpetrator. It is morally impossible to remain neutral in this conflict. The bystander is forced to take sides. It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing.… The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain."

History shows us that we need movements around women in order to protect our rights and our bodies. What is happening currently with the denial of sexual violence against women in Israel sets all women back. And it does so by design. Women who are victims of the October 7 attacks are far less likely to come forward and testify knowing how the world has taken enormous pleasure in the suffering of Jewish women, and in the sordid details. Efforts to seek justice often require further traumatization, too. Perpetrators of trauma know this.

The more evidence against the perpetrator, the more extreme lengths the perpetrator has to go to deny the truth, and instead to focus on humiliating the victims, for there is great social currency in this. As we have seen even before this war, rape has become a subject of sickening entertainment on apps like TikTok. Hamas know this too. Hamas know that the more Israel issues evidence, the more those who take glee in the rapes will post their depraved responses. Does that mean we should stop releasing evidence? Absolutely not.

The element of joy found in extreme prejudice is a crucial element of both antisemitism and misogyny. When the two are combined, the effect is nuclear. By the way, this is all fairly textbook stuff. What's shocking is that it should be familiar to and recognized by every feminist. And it's not, because the movement protects all women, except Jews. Jews are imperfect victims. Israel is an imperfect victim. Israel doesn’t just roll over and die when she’s attacked. So Israel’s a little hard to get behind.

The world denies the sexual violence by Hamas because it sides with Hamas, and if it were to accept these acts there is no possible way the world could remain a bystander. All arrows point in the direction of Israel as the victim. Hamas is the perpetrator of unspeakable acts.

There is no justification for Hamas's continued existence, or any group of people who support Hamas. Whereas Israel has a right to exist free from such crimes against humanity, and Israel is perfectly within its rights to wage this war. Rape denial is part of the brainwashing. The only way to continue to ignore Israel's victimization is to discredit the individuals targeted by Hamas on October 7 and since. And failing that, mocking and humiliating the victims and/or anyone who speaks out in their defense, or dehumanizing us with libelous claims (racist! TERF! ZIONIST! — OK that one’s true). They can single us out as "Zionists" and warp the definition of Zionism to suit their needs, but it doesn't absolve them. Those who participate in such antisemitic rhetoric are no longer mere bystanders, but active assailants to the perpetrators, ie Hamas.

On Tuesday morning I returned to Israel from Tokyo via Bangkok.

‎Before boarding the plane from Bangkok to Israel, the terminal was full of young backpackers who wanted to return to Israel to the reserves. 

‎Upon boarding, they announced that all those who still do not have a seat will wait and try to get everyone on the plane. 

‎There were dozens of young people there who wanted to go back to enlist! 

‎⁦‪@ELALUSA‬⁩ took all the available seats on the plane and filled up to the last seat on the plane. I felt sorry for those who could not go up due to lack of space. 

‎Then to my surprise, after they finished filling the plane, the El Al people took more than twenty young women and put them on the plane and put them in the crew's folding chairs. 

‎And after that the captain gave permission and more than ten young men to sit on the floor in the kitchens and near the doors of the plane were put on the flight.

‎In my entire life I have never seen a flight where dozens of people are sitting on the floor. During the entire flight, they slept on the floor wherever possible including near the cockpit, on the floor in the business class and in every corner of the plane. 

‎The pictures speak for itself and illustrate a little of what was on this special flight.

‎During the flight I saw the captain walking around the plane making sure the crew was taking care of all these wonderful young people.

‎Thanks to the wonderful team of El Al pilots and flight attendants for the extraordinary gesture. 

‎Kudos to the CEO of El Al for having such employees.

‎I have to admit that they warmed my heart (to say the least).

‎Original post by: אורי שכטר ‎Translation and post by: ⁦‪@haivri‬⁩

livinglchaim

The dark and macabre fantasy themed creations of Stefan Koidl - https://www.scififantasyhorror.co.uk/the-dark-fantasy-artworks-of-stefan-koidl/