Zionists use Judaism as a shield and an excuse. I wonder how many of them know and accept the fact that the Zionist's movement was started by an Jewish atheist and that the only way it can survive is to hide behind a religion.
The Zionist movement wasn't started by an atheist. Herzl just saw that the existing Zionists were disorganized and politically ineffective, and he stepped up to lead them in large part because he desired to have power and be a star, on a level of country leadership and this was his chance. He diaried about it.
The Zionist movement in modern times started as fundamentalist Judaism, in response to Reform Judaism which abandoned the tribal-nationalism which is at the core of Judaism, in order to be accepted in Eastern and Central European bourgeois-cafe-society culture. Here are a few original sources on that, linked in this comment https://substack.com/@artsandletters/note/c-185443874
See also Choveivei Zion which can be found in search; there were other related holy land pilgrimage movements even earlier than that.
Modernity had a lot of fallout and reactionary retreat was one such. So was virulent nationalism and the invention of ethnicities in order to justify "statehood" against empire. But none of that means that religion wasn't at issue, it definitely was, and Jewish self concept is ultimately irrational and religious in any case. That is the central reason we now see Jihad-level behavior endemic in the Israeli occupation of Palestine: it was always there (Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Samuel, etc) and there was never a complete break with the religious past.
Yes, all that is... well, it's "true" for a certain value of how he is understood. But, people should be cautious with the Israel-approved hagiography. What they want gentiles to understand is not what they teach their child soldiers which is not what the record shows..
He had read Moses Hess, who invented National Socialism but for the Jews, in his book Rome and Jerusalem. About that, Herzl said, "Hess said everything that needs to be said about Zionism".
But Israel doesn't foreground that. They let Herzl be taught as though he invented it, which he didn't.
A better understanding of how he moved through the world in his own lifetime can be gathered from what was written about him, paired with what we know about Judaism and then also, what we know about Zionism.
The first two links I give in that comment, contain good examples of the messianic yearning which runs through the culture (it's different now, because of events such as the 6 Day War: I think each slice of time can differ a little as their project gathered rolling speed over the years).
Perhaps it is the case that Reform Judaism had urged people to abandon that yearning. It's hard to say, because today one encounters Reform which is nevertheless Zionist. We see the yearning play out differently yet again in Russia...
Anyway, from Central Europe, he played the mystic in an opaque, gnomic way. He triggered that yearning very well, for the people susceptible to it. For the practical ones, he offered that he worked his tail off, networking and making demands of various nationd, writing plays and ripping off Henry James to write a serial novel all about the maudlin passion of going to Palestine....
Like most other Zionists of the time, he was well versed in Nietzsche, and the Nietzschean prescription for self-mythologizing, which the Zionists took to heart, is akin to instructions for becoming, or following, a narcissistic demagogue.
The Maccabaean, which is in the Wayback Machine's open library and also on the NLI's reading website, has numerous articles about Herzl and his Great Man mystique. Also it is a record of the mystical or primordial qualities that many found in Zionism, or in being-Jewish.
There are layers and layers to this self understanding. The very concept of being-Jewish is rooted in a mystical-shamanic belief in ensoulment of the blood. Physical distinction between Jews and everyone else is a physical concept of the spirit, which is thought of as mere fact not faith--except that it is, of course, just a religious belief.
The 19th century rebels who, as Jabotinsky did, called themselves "modern" because they were suddenly in one generation moving from being embarrassingly Talmudic to reading Marx, did not really process a break with all their local beliefs, and it shows.
Beliefs include the psychological complex that yearns for a Messiah, the separateness, all the stuff related to war stories of the bible, all the beliefs that conversion transmitted a legacy to the Ashkenazi of the western Russian/north-of-Iran/Caspian Sea region, and all that was thrown into the mix and mythologized a la Nietzsche. And so, it seems, it was possible for the religious fanatics to collectively work with the nominal "atheists" (who had never really gone through any modernization, and still predicated their self image on bible stories, as though it were a history book).
Herzl stepped into some role that continually exists. He also made tactical choices based on whether the group would retain him as leader, or not. For example, he abandoned the Argentina idea because the group would only countenance the Holy Land, and he knew he would be voted out if he insisted. Another example : he was deliberate, and careful with his "branding", in the way he approached the Hasidic leaders of the east.
Right before he stumbled on the relatively disorganized or at least leaderless Zionists of that decade (who had already been having land rushes in Palestine for years), he had been having a nervous breakdown, because he thought he might never achieve his dream of being a first tier leader, which he knew was his capability or his destiny. So he had his own psychodrama, and I somewhat doubt there was much to him except for whatever would help him achieve his dream of power.
There was a Jewish anti zionist movement. They were called the Bund Movement. It was started by labor peasants. They were, still are, actively anti-zionists.
I'm going to send this to someone in who might be able to speak to the Bund in more detail, and hopefully they will be able to.
In the meantime, what I know includes that: the Bund was only one of many splintered factions who were working out their specific takes on their enthusiasm for alternative social-economic arrangements. I cannot say all communism or all this or that, as they spanned a wide spectrum with iirc some favoring fascism, some others doing this or that, etc.
In terms of judging its accuracy, I would say that this quality of "untold details that run counter to the popular story" is exactly in line with what I keep running into in looking for original texts or the less discussed histories of these groups.
"...most of the Bund signed nearly all, but not all, of the 21 points of the Comintern that would have formally made the Bund Communist. The differences were over technicalities, not political philosophy or goals. The Bund did not sign all 21 points of the Comintern because it did not want to subordinate itself to the central politics of Moscow (p. 23). In addition, the Bund insisted on a strong Jewish separatism while Soviet Communism tended towards Jewish assimilation, and the Komintern itself had frowned upon what it called “Jewish nationalism”. (p. 30). Poland’s Jews also feared that a Soviet-centered approach would inhibit the revolutionary energy of the Jewish masses. (p. 35).
So, the Kombund signed all 21 points of the Comintern and the Bund did not sign quite all 21 points. <break>"
It's me again .
I have run across specific mention of this refusal to give up Jewish separatism elsewhere, and it was the Kibbutzniks who wouldn't agree to the Internationale's requirement to be ethnicity-blind. They had a hard time getting admitted, as a result. So there is precedent, in what this author says the Bund's positions were on these bureaucratic minutiae. But this type of vote was *essential* for moving forward in lockstep with any party, so the fact they refused to agree to it, is very meaningful.
In the remainder of what I am quoting, I'm sure you will notice that this author is against communism or at least against the "bloody revolution" of which the Bolsheviks are a good example.
I just want to mention, I think we know that not all moves toward socialism are that outrageously bloody, and it depends on many considerations but in any event, my interest in this author is in the historical and cultural information, about how it was on the ground jn Poland, that he's providing, and from books that generally haven't been translated, which is even more valuable. I don't care about the political preferences he's expressing; I would want the translation tidbits, regardless.
If, however, it is true that the Bund really were "for bloody revolution", then this would cast doubt on their typical reputation. I would wonder, could it be the case, that they have been used to "Bundwash" the eastern European Jewish Marxist groups, so as to be able to downplay the Bolsheviks' crimes? I don't know the answer, but because that has been done before, I now am keeping this in mind. I would be curious to hear of more details, especially original source material or iconoclastic academic research into the history.
For examples:
The Kibbutzim have been used to socialist-wash the Israeli occupation, but as I mentioned, they wouldn't give up Jewish separatism. The proto-Labour party in Israel was the originator of their apartheid policy, via Chaim Arlosoroff, specifically because they found they couldn't earn European wages at farm labor, with all the Palestinians already there earning Palestinian wages. And the Kibbutzes were part of the plan to displace the Palestinians in multiple ways: through economic squeezing (see Nur Masalha https://archive.org/details/expulsionofpales00masa/page/1/mode/1up ) and through being used essentially as army forts. Those are just a few examples of the truth underneath other parts of "Jewish socialist history" so I think it is totally possible for there to be an untold story for the Bund.
Back to the quote:
"<resume> But the murderous goals were the same. The author comments, “After all, the leaders of Kombund are aware that the Bund also pursues the same goal as Kombund, namely–a bloody social revolution, only through slightly different tactics.” (p.63)"
"Korsch makes it additionally clear that the socialist Bund was Communist in every way except its name and its formal recognition by the Comintern. He writes, “The Bund strives for social revolution through a bloody upheaval, considering the dictatorship of the proletariat, which it envisions in the concrete form of Soviet power, to be the means of achieving this goal. It is therefore a program that is essentially consistent with that of the Comintern.” (p. 29). In fact, Korsch connects “bloody revolution” with the Bund no less than 15 times in his book!"
The subversive anti-Polish character of the Bund is obvious. Korsch writes, “Hence the Bund’s tendency to weaken Polish statehood at every opportunity, because such weakening leads to internal turmoil in the country and, as a result, to ‘social upheaval,’ after which, as can be seen from the above-quoted speech by Comrade.” (p. 31)"
It can be a difficult task to discern one from the other as there's both a religious and hereditary connotation to being Jewish. I didn't use a racial context because Jews, Palestinians, and several Middle Eastern groups are very closely linked via DNA/genetic similarities.
My family, 7 generations back, are not from the middle east. We are from N. Europe. The Hebrew bible is a story/myth. Written by men. Jews and Muslims have always gotten along, until Herzl. Have you seen the videos of the Israeli police beating the ultra orthodox Jews.
Saying "FREE PALESTINE" doesn't make Jewish people feel unsafe. It makes extremist, genocidal, land stealing, Zionists and their supporters feel unsafe, and that's a good thing.
Maybe look at the world through the eyes of a child in Gaza and understand what it is like to truly feel unsafe. Macklemore is merely advocating for peace and the cessation of violence and genocide against a beautiful people. He is literally singing and calling for Israel and U.S. to stop bombing children. I met a Chicagoan last year, a lovely Jewish woman. I friended her on the socials and she scolded me for saying, "Free Palestine" on my post. I say, GTFOH with that mess. She literally said I was calling for the extermination of Jews by saying Free Palestine. I am appaled at such a notion. I find it all to be one dystopian excuse after another. An excuse for apartheid, for open-air prisons, for taking over people's land and homes, for carpet-bombing neighborhoods, for a genocide. Justification for any and all violence and silencing actions against anyone who disagrees. If one is told they are the chosen people and they believe it to be true, then there is an innate narcissistic superiority that fuels decisions that create harm against perceived enemies and supports their ongoing victim hood. Macklemore's heart aches for the killing of innocent children and expressing those views is righteous. If Sheeran had a spine, he'd back the Mack.
I have really been struggling with this for a while, and I'm glad you said it the way you did. I agree with you, and I'm struggling with what we're "allowed" to say! I consider myself a human rights advocate, and it's nearly impossible to say, "I advocate for all humans", and not get attacked by someone.
Unfortunately, at times we have to pick a side and at that time we open ourselves up to criticism. Personally, I've chosen the side of the Palestinians and I will debate that choice if necessary. But that's not a choice that a Zionist will often choose.
"Unsafe" is the common method used by approved subaltern groups, to get their way in social hierarchies. The only groups that are allowed to use it, are the groups who have been determined by academic-activist critical theory, to be "vulnerable". Therefore yes it is a flex, and a weapon.
It might even be truly felt, by some, but so is method acting "felt" by its practitioners. Regardless, it's very difficult--"invalidating"--to simply say to someone, "no you don't feel unsafe". That response is only made to people who say they are being made unsafe, who haven't been deemed "vulnerable" by dint of group membership. Therefore, a good way to respond might be to offer therapy for irrational fears.
I suspect you are deliberately missing the point here Shaun.
Israel - and those unpleasant, cultish Jews that support it - don’t do truth-based reasoning. And so their claims about Jews being made to feel unsafe in this case are as bogus as the Israeli leadership concern for the Israeli hostages after October 7. And all those Jews making this ‘safety’ argument know this.
It’s just their usual, bullying way of saying “we don’t like this (Macklemore on tour with Ed Sheeran) - stop it now”.
As ever with Israel it’s a trial of will and those opposing Israel and its barbarism just lost again.
At some point those who oppose Israel will have to learn to accept that Israelis will lie, lie and lie and they just have to be stonewalled and called out for the manipulative liars they are.
All the cancelling, banning accounts and spending absurd amounts of money can not buy TRUTH.
Only desperate people need to show their dominance by silencing dissidents, threatening their livelihoods.
By conflating Zionism with Judaism,making up rules as they please, Zionists are a threat to Jews and of course are and have been a threat to the world since the ethno state's Inception.
By proclaiming that they are a race, chosen above all others, going against all commandments and being blasphemous at every turn - these fascists are completely unhinged and dangerous to any and all humankind.
And the constant victimhood monopoly does not work anymore.
I say this without glee- but I'm happy I'm in the global South and have grown up knowing what Colonialism looks like and feels like. What life without constant electricity is and that we can and will adapt and survive.
I will stay and my solidarity will always be with my brothers and sisters across the globe, any oppressed people.
And I am free, because only Allah SWT has ultimate power over me.
You cannot make what is Unconscious in Others to become Conscious. Especially if you attack what is Unconscious, for it only brings forth more resistance and an urge to double down and stand firm within the Ego.
Unconscious Humans have divided the world into sections, territories, groups, subgroups, religions, race, gender, orientation and they believe they are separate from others, and different. They fear each other because they do not know themselves.
How can you believe in a Higher Power and believe that This Supreme Being would prioritize your creation over another creation when all creation comes from the Same Source.
It is delusional and the deepest of sleep. But no matter how many facts you present to Sleep Walkers aka the Unconscious, they cannot and will not be moved from that Distortion. So we will continue to have the wars, destructions, pain and sufferings of innocent lives because Sleep Walkers think this is football or soccer. Take a game, divide it up into teams, and then fight each other on whose team is better like wild lunatics.
Until we collectively wake up individually (change starts with self), we will continue to see the consequences of the Sleeping Souls. God’s Speed.
I respect people who recognize there is a genocide occurring in Gaza and who use their voice despite the consequences to speak out and protest against that crime against humanity. I don’t respect people who put their heads in the sand or say they are apolitical when atrocities demand action.
respect to mack for his courage, conviction, and principles, and shame on Sheeran's managers or whoever was responsible for dropping Mack from the tour.
The search for justice never ends! The Hind Rajab Foundation is tracking down Israeli criminals, and bringing them to justice. This is vital in the effort to hold Israel accountable. May they also turn their sights on the criminal leaders of the countries of the west who are co-perpetrators of these crimes.
Ed Sheeran must be a pussy. To let zionazi's dictate who is or is not on his tour as an opening act is spineless. The zionists are just digging a deeper hole for themselves and unfortunately for "sane" Jewish people around the world. The whole world is tired of hearing the whining sniveling zionists and their "hurt feelings" when they kill with impunity world wide including Americans. Fuck them
Great article. I actually think there’s an even darker possibility here. I think some of this may function to intentionally increase antisemitism and the sense of insecurity among Jewish people, because that insecurity then becomes something that can be pointed to as further justification for Israel’s actions against Palestinians.
After you read my thoughts I'd really love to know what you think.
Poor thing to go this low to get their safety. Their insecurities are sickening
It seems that Zionism and Judaism keep being conflated. Zionism is a threat to Judaism.
Zionists use Judaism as a shield and an excuse. I wonder how many of them know and accept the fact that the Zionist's movement was started by an Jewish atheist and that the only way it can survive is to hide behind a religion.
Religion provides a convenient place to hide for those co-opting it.
These people are NOT Jews. My Jewish identity is about Tikkun O’lam. Healing the world. Repairing the world. That is what my mother taught me.
It's working well for the Taliban, ISIS, Christian Nationalists, and any number of other religious extremist groups.
The actual Jewish religion is about Tikkun O’lam. Healing the world, repairing the world. These people are NOT Jews.
The Zionist movement wasn't started by an atheist. Herzl just saw that the existing Zionists were disorganized and politically ineffective, and he stepped up to lead them in large part because he desired to have power and be a star, on a level of country leadership and this was his chance. He diaried about it.
The Zionist movement in modern times started as fundamentalist Judaism, in response to Reform Judaism which abandoned the tribal-nationalism which is at the core of Judaism, in order to be accepted in Eastern and Central European bourgeois-cafe-society culture. Here are a few original sources on that, linked in this comment https://substack.com/@artsandletters/note/c-185443874
See also Choveivei Zion which can be found in search; there were other related holy land pilgrimage movements even earlier than that.
Modernity had a lot of fallout and reactionary retreat was one such. So was virulent nationalism and the invention of ethnicities in order to justify "statehood" against empire. But none of that means that religion wasn't at issue, it definitely was, and Jewish self concept is ultimately irrational and religious in any case. That is the central reason we now see Jihad-level behavior endemic in the Israeli occupation of Palestine: it was always there (Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Samuel, etc) and there was never a complete break with the religious past.
I stand corrected.
Theodor Herzl was not a traditional or practicing Jew, and he described himself in his private diaries as completely irreligious. [1] (https://casacarlini.com/blogs/blog/herzl-s-hoax-how-an-atheist-invented-a-divine-claim-to-palestine)Secular outlook: He viewed the Jewish question through the lens of 19th-century European nationalism and politics rather than religion. [1] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/e5m3ao/did_theodor_herzl_support_a_multiethnic_israel/), [2] (https://casacarlini.com/blogs/blog/herzl-s-hoax-how-an-atheist-invented-a-divine-claim-to-palestine)Diary entry: He famously wrote in his private journal: "I am completely irreligious and do not feel compelled to hold on to religion for its own sake." [1] (https://casacarlini.com/blogs/blog/herzl-s-hoax-how-an-atheist-invented-a-divine-claim-to-palestine)Secular state: His vision for a Jewish state was strictly secular, and he opposed the idea of a theocracy, writing that clergy should be restricted to their temples. [1] (https://mondoweiss.net/2015/07/theodor-according-minister/)Not strictly an atheist label: While he was thoroughly non-religious and a freethinker, historians often describe him as a secular or assimilated European intellectual rather than a formal, self-declared atheist. [1] (https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/41024/was-theodor-herzl-a-self-confessed-atheist)
Yes, all that is... well, it's "true" for a certain value of how he is understood. But, people should be cautious with the Israel-approved hagiography. What they want gentiles to understand is not what they teach their child soldiers which is not what the record shows..
He had read Moses Hess, who invented National Socialism but for the Jews, in his book Rome and Jerusalem. About that, Herzl said, "Hess said everything that needs to be said about Zionism".
But Israel doesn't foreground that. They let Herzl be taught as though he invented it, which he didn't.
A better understanding of how he moved through the world in his own lifetime can be gathered from what was written about him, paired with what we know about Judaism and then also, what we know about Zionism.
The first two links I give in that comment, contain good examples of the messianic yearning which runs through the culture (it's different now, because of events such as the 6 Day War: I think each slice of time can differ a little as their project gathered rolling speed over the years).
Perhaps it is the case that Reform Judaism had urged people to abandon that yearning. It's hard to say, because today one encounters Reform which is nevertheless Zionist. We see the yearning play out differently yet again in Russia...
Anyway, from Central Europe, he played the mystic in an opaque, gnomic way. He triggered that yearning very well, for the people susceptible to it. For the practical ones, he offered that he worked his tail off, networking and making demands of various nationd, writing plays and ripping off Henry James to write a serial novel all about the maudlin passion of going to Palestine....
Like most other Zionists of the time, he was well versed in Nietzsche, and the Nietzschean prescription for self-mythologizing, which the Zionists took to heart, is akin to instructions for becoming, or following, a narcissistic demagogue.
The Maccabaean, which is in the Wayback Machine's open library and also on the NLI's reading website, has numerous articles about Herzl and his Great Man mystique. Also it is a record of the mystical or primordial qualities that many found in Zionism, or in being-Jewish.
There are layers and layers to this self understanding. The very concept of being-Jewish is rooted in a mystical-shamanic belief in ensoulment of the blood. Physical distinction between Jews and everyone else is a physical concept of the spirit, which is thought of as mere fact not faith--except that it is, of course, just a religious belief.
The 19th century rebels who, as Jabotinsky did, called themselves "modern" because they were suddenly in one generation moving from being embarrassingly Talmudic to reading Marx, did not really process a break with all their local beliefs, and it shows.
Beliefs include the psychological complex that yearns for a Messiah, the separateness, all the stuff related to war stories of the bible, all the beliefs that conversion transmitted a legacy to the Ashkenazi of the western Russian/north-of-Iran/Caspian Sea region, and all that was thrown into the mix and mythologized a la Nietzsche. And so, it seems, it was possible for the religious fanatics to collectively work with the nominal "atheists" (who had never really gone through any modernization, and still predicated their self image on bible stories, as though it were a history book).
Herzl stepped into some role that continually exists. He also made tactical choices based on whether the group would retain him as leader, or not. For example, he abandoned the Argentina idea because the group would only countenance the Holy Land, and he knew he would be voted out if he insisted. Another example : he was deliberate, and careful with his "branding", in the way he approached the Hasidic leaders of the east.
Right before he stumbled on the relatively disorganized or at least leaderless Zionists of that decade (who had already been having land rushes in Palestine for years), he had been having a nervous breakdown, because he thought he might never achieve his dream of being a first tier leader, which he knew was his capability or his destiny. So he had his own psychodrama, and I somewhat doubt there was much to him except for whatever would help him achieve his dream of power.
There was a Jewish anti zionist movement. They were called the Bund Movement. It was started by labor peasants. They were, still are, actively anti-zionists.
https://www.mollycrabapple.com/here-where-we-live-is-our-country?srsltid=AfmBOoqITmYAQCXR93YTsbgunGd2Qvqv4fEZzGmBpTeiKERkwRbcNrQR
They were / are Jewish and never supported the establishment of the state of Israel.
I'm going to send this to someone in who might be able to speak to the Bund in more detail, and hopefully they will be able to.
In the meantime, what I know includes that: the Bund was only one of many splintered factions who were working out their specific takes on their enthusiasm for alternative social-economic arrangements. I cannot say all communism or all this or that, as they spanned a wide spectrum with iirc some favoring fascism, some others doing this or that, etc.
As well, I did just run across this https://www.jewsandpolesdatabase.org/2026/02/28/communism-in-poland-jewish/
In terms of judging its accuracy, I would say that this quality of "untold details that run counter to the popular story" is exactly in line with what I keep running into in looking for original texts or the less discussed histories of these groups.
"...most of the Bund signed nearly all, but not all, of the 21 points of the Comintern that would have formally made the Bund Communist. The differences were over technicalities, not political philosophy or goals. The Bund did not sign all 21 points of the Comintern because it did not want to subordinate itself to the central politics of Moscow (p. 23). In addition, the Bund insisted on a strong Jewish separatism while Soviet Communism tended towards Jewish assimilation, and the Komintern itself had frowned upon what it called “Jewish nationalism”. (p. 30). Poland’s Jews also feared that a Soviet-centered approach would inhibit the revolutionary energy of the Jewish masses. (p. 35).
So, the Kombund signed all 21 points of the Comintern and the Bund did not sign quite all 21 points. <break>"
It's me again .
I have run across specific mention of this refusal to give up Jewish separatism elsewhere, and it was the Kibbutzniks who wouldn't agree to the Internationale's requirement to be ethnicity-blind. They had a hard time getting admitted, as a result. So there is precedent, in what this author says the Bund's positions were on these bureaucratic minutiae. But this type of vote was *essential* for moving forward in lockstep with any party, so the fact they refused to agree to it, is very meaningful.
In the remainder of what I am quoting, I'm sure you will notice that this author is against communism or at least against the "bloody revolution" of which the Bolsheviks are a good example.
I just want to mention, I think we know that not all moves toward socialism are that outrageously bloody, and it depends on many considerations but in any event, my interest in this author is in the historical and cultural information, about how it was on the ground jn Poland, that he's providing, and from books that generally haven't been translated, which is even more valuable. I don't care about the political preferences he's expressing; I would want the translation tidbits, regardless.
If, however, it is true that the Bund really were "for bloody revolution", then this would cast doubt on their typical reputation. I would wonder, could it be the case, that they have been used to "Bundwash" the eastern European Jewish Marxist groups, so as to be able to downplay the Bolsheviks' crimes? I don't know the answer, but because that has been done before, I now am keeping this in mind. I would be curious to hear of more details, especially original source material or iconoclastic academic research into the history.
For examples:
The Kibbutzim have been used to socialist-wash the Israeli occupation, but as I mentioned, they wouldn't give up Jewish separatism. The proto-Labour party in Israel was the originator of their apartheid policy, via Chaim Arlosoroff, specifically because they found they couldn't earn European wages at farm labor, with all the Palestinians already there earning Palestinian wages. And the Kibbutzes were part of the plan to displace the Palestinians in multiple ways: through economic squeezing (see Nur Masalha https://archive.org/details/expulsionofpales00masa/page/1/mode/1up ) and through being used essentially as army forts. Those are just a few examples of the truth underneath other parts of "Jewish socialist history" so I think it is totally possible for there to be an untold story for the Bund.
Back to the quote:
"<resume> But the murderous goals were the same. The author comments, “After all, the leaders of Kombund are aware that the Bund also pursues the same goal as Kombund, namely–a bloody social revolution, only through slightly different tactics.” (p.63)"
"Korsch makes it additionally clear that the socialist Bund was Communist in every way except its name and its formal recognition by the Comintern. He writes, “The Bund strives for social revolution through a bloody upheaval, considering the dictatorship of the proletariat, which it envisions in the concrete form of Soviet power, to be the means of achieving this goal. It is therefore a program that is essentially consistent with that of the Comintern.” (p. 29). In fact, Korsch connects “bloody revolution” with the Bund no less than 15 times in his book!"
The subversive anti-Polish character of the Bund is obvious. Korsch writes, “Hence the Bund’s tendency to weaken Polish statehood at every opportunity, because such weakening leads to internal turmoil in the country and, as a result, to ‘social upheaval,’ after which, as can be seen from the above-quoted speech by Comrade.” (p. 31)"
As a Jew, I couldn’t agree more!! Israel and Zionists are NOT Jews. It is a political state.
It can be a difficult task to discern one from the other as there's both a religious and hereditary connotation to being Jewish. I didn't use a racial context because Jews, Palestinians, and several Middle Eastern groups are very closely linked via DNA/genetic similarities.
My family, 7 generations back, are not from the middle east. We are from N. Europe. The Hebrew bible is a story/myth. Written by men. Jews and Muslims have always gotten along, until Herzl. Have you seen the videos of the Israeli police beating the ultra orthodox Jews.
I think the deliberate conflation of the two serves to sow division and hostility that can then be exploited.
Saying "FREE PALESTINE" doesn't make Jewish people feel unsafe. It makes extremist, genocidal, land stealing, Zionists and their supporters feel unsafe, and that's a good thing.
well said mr clark
Maybe look at the world through the eyes of a child in Gaza and understand what it is like to truly feel unsafe. Macklemore is merely advocating for peace and the cessation of violence and genocide against a beautiful people. He is literally singing and calling for Israel and U.S. to stop bombing children. I met a Chicagoan last year, a lovely Jewish woman. I friended her on the socials and she scolded me for saying, "Free Palestine" on my post. I say, GTFOH with that mess. She literally said I was calling for the extermination of Jews by saying Free Palestine. I am appaled at such a notion. I find it all to be one dystopian excuse after another. An excuse for apartheid, for open-air prisons, for taking over people's land and homes, for carpet-bombing neighborhoods, for a genocide. Justification for any and all violence and silencing actions against anyone who disagrees. If one is told they are the chosen people and they believe it to be true, then there is an innate narcissistic superiority that fuels decisions that create harm against perceived enemies and supports their ongoing victim hood. Macklemore's heart aches for the killing of innocent children and expressing those views is righteous. If Sheeran had a spine, he'd back the Mack.
I have really been struggling with this for a while, and I'm glad you said it the way you did. I agree with you, and I'm struggling with what we're "allowed" to say! I consider myself a human rights advocate, and it's nearly impossible to say, "I advocate for all humans", and not get attacked by someone.
Unfortunately, at times we have to pick a side and at that time we open ourselves up to criticism. Personally, I've chosen the side of the Palestinians and I will debate that choice if necessary. But that's not a choice that a Zionist will often choose.
While I get what you are saying here overall, doesn't "picking sides" perpetuate the "us and them" mentality we are trying to shift on the planet?
It truly baffles me that we haven't evolved beyond that yet as humans.
When the choice is pro-genocide or anti-genocide I would lean towards the opinion that not making a choice is being pro-genocide.
"Unsafe" is the common method used by approved subaltern groups, to get their way in social hierarchies. The only groups that are allowed to use it, are the groups who have been determined by academic-activist critical theory, to be "vulnerable". Therefore yes it is a flex, and a weapon.
It might even be truly felt, by some, but so is method acting "felt" by its practitioners. Regardless, it's very difficult--"invalidating"--to simply say to someone, "no you don't feel unsafe". That response is only made to people who say they are being made unsafe, who haven't been deemed "vulnerable" by dint of group membership. Therefore, a good way to respond might be to offer therapy for irrational fears.
I suspect you are deliberately missing the point here Shaun.
Israel - and those unpleasant, cultish Jews that support it - don’t do truth-based reasoning. And so their claims about Jews being made to feel unsafe in this case are as bogus as the Israeli leadership concern for the Israeli hostages after October 7. And all those Jews making this ‘safety’ argument know this.
It’s just their usual, bullying way of saying “we don’t like this (Macklemore on tour with Ed Sheeran) - stop it now”.
As ever with Israel it’s a trial of will and those opposing Israel and its barbarism just lost again.
At some point those who oppose Israel will have to learn to accept that Israelis will lie, lie and lie and they just have to be stonewalled and called out for the manipulative liars they are.
No I’m not missing the point. Read the final few sentences I wrote please.
Well fuck u then Ed and whoever doesn’t quit your tour after this shitty move. You’re a Nazi sympathizer.
Yeah there's a photo of Ed Sheeran with an Azov Batallion flag. I guess he's okay with Nazis but not with Palestinians?
To me it shows their desperation.
All the cancelling, banning accounts and spending absurd amounts of money can not buy TRUTH.
Only desperate people need to show their dominance by silencing dissidents, threatening their livelihoods.
By conflating Zionism with Judaism,making up rules as they please, Zionists are a threat to Jews and of course are and have been a threat to the world since the ethno state's Inception.
By proclaiming that they are a race, chosen above all others, going against all commandments and being blasphemous at every turn - these fascists are completely unhinged and dangerous to any and all humankind.
And the constant victimhood monopoly does not work anymore.
I say this without glee- but I'm happy I'm in the global South and have grown up knowing what Colonialism looks like and feels like. What life without constant electricity is and that we can and will adapt and survive.
I will stay and my solidarity will always be with my brothers and sisters across the globe, any oppressed people.
And I am free, because only Allah SWT has ultimate power over me.
You cannot make what is Unconscious in Others to become Conscious. Especially if you attack what is Unconscious, for it only brings forth more resistance and an urge to double down and stand firm within the Ego.
Unconscious Humans have divided the world into sections, territories, groups, subgroups, religions, race, gender, orientation and they believe they are separate from others, and different. They fear each other because they do not know themselves.
How can you believe in a Higher Power and believe that This Supreme Being would prioritize your creation over another creation when all creation comes from the Same Source.
It is delusional and the deepest of sleep. But no matter how many facts you present to Sleep Walkers aka the Unconscious, they cannot and will not be moved from that Distortion. So we will continue to have the wars, destructions, pain and sufferings of innocent lives because Sleep Walkers think this is football or soccer. Take a game, divide it up into teams, and then fight each other on whose team is better like wild lunatics.
Until we collectively wake up individually (change starts with self), we will continue to see the consequences of the Sleeping Souls. God’s Speed.
I respect people who recognize there is a genocide occurring in Gaza and who use their voice despite the consequences to speak out and protest against that crime against humanity. I don’t respect people who put their heads in the sand or say they are apolitical when atrocities demand action.
respect to mack for his courage, conviction, and principles, and shame on Sheeran's managers or whoever was responsible for dropping Mack from the tour.
The search for justice never ends! The Hind Rajab Foundation is tracking down Israeli criminals, and bringing them to justice. This is vital in the effort to hold Israel accountable. May they also turn their sights on the criminal leaders of the countries of the west who are co-perpetrators of these crimes.
Find out what they’re doing here:
https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org
The least we can do is donate to help them:
Support the Hind Rajab Foundation
https://donate.stripe.com/cN228hbY5g7jaM84gg
Ed Sheeran must be a pussy. To let zionazi's dictate who is or is not on his tour as an opening act is spineless. The zionists are just digging a deeper hole for themselves and unfortunately for "sane" Jewish people around the world. The whole world is tired of hearing the whining sniveling zionists and their "hurt feelings" when they kill with impunity world wide including Americans. Fuck them
Boycott Ed baby. He chooses profits over life!
Get this hashtag trending: #BoycottEdSheeran
Great article. I actually think there’s an even darker possibility here. I think some of this may function to intentionally increase antisemitism and the sense of insecurity among Jewish people, because that insecurity then becomes something that can be pointed to as further justification for Israel’s actions against Palestinians.