Catherine Barber 🇵🇸

Retired Engineer, Dog lover, nature enthusiast.

[Jason @mpttraderr]

🚨 BREAKING:
For israelis to drop a bomb such as this on a residential camp in Al-Maghazi, where children shelter, is abominable backward barbarism.
Not military sites. Not battlefields.
Homes. Civilian homes.
And this is happening under a so-called ceasefire.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

@Alex_Witkoff Are these NYPD hate crime statistics, or are they relying on broader incident counts from organizations that classify some anti-Israel speech and protests as antisemitic? Those are not the same thing, and it’s important not to conflate them.

[Brad @BraddrofliT]

The sitting president of the United States cannot bank with capital one. Due to suspicion of money laundering.

Are we great yet?

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

@RepNancyMace How about for those who cover up child rapes?

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

Yes.
In 2024, Dana Nessel’s office charged pro-Palestinian University of Michigan protesters over demonstrations on campus, including the Gaza solidarity encampment. The charges included trespassing and resisting or obstructing police. Her office stepped in after university officials referred cases to the state attorney general rather than relying only on local prosecutors.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

@AriFleischer She is afraid to show up because she will be confronted about her support for Israel’s genocide. 🙄

[Frances 'Cassandra' Coppola @Frances_Coppola]

Beehives. They burned beehives.

Vandals.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

@sephius1999 AIPAC is to Israel’s genocide in Gaza what the NRA is to assault-rifle violence: neither pulls the trigger, but both use money and political power to protect the policies and weapons that make the killing possible.

[vmp1re @velvtrr]

Gaza has no army, no air force, no navy, no tanks, no artillery, no missiles. Stop calling this a war.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

@PetreSolheim @KweenInYellow @GenXGirl1994 Democracy Now began with Pacifica Radio, not as a Ford Foundation project. Receiving later grants does not prove editorial control. It is not NPR, and disagreement with some Syria coverage does not make decades of antiwar reporting “American Empire propaganda.

[Shaiel Ben-Ephraim @academic_la]

The fact that the US is admittedly destroying the only international court which holds war criminals responsible for crimes in order to protect a mass murderer in the midst of a genocide should be the worst political scandal of all time. But no one cares.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

Reports said Hamas had agreed to a plan to disarm in stages if Israel stopped attacking and withdrew. Israel did not agree to the plan and kept bombing Gaza.

When a possible path to ending the war is met with more bombing instead of a pause and serious talks, it raises a fair question: Does Israel really want Hamas disarmed and the war ended, or does it want the war to continue so it can destroy Gaza, force Palestinians out, and take more land?

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

No. Antisemitism means hostility toward Jews because they are Jewish. Accusing a government of genocide is criticism of state conduct.

Conflating Israel with all Jewish people is itself deeply dangerous—and using antisemitism as a shield against documented atrocities trivializes real antisemitism.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

AIPAC is a political lobbying organization, not “Jewish Americans.” It includes Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of Israel and is spending millions to influence this election.

Criticizing an organization actively funding your defeat is not blaming Jews. Equating AIPAC with all Jewish Americans is both dishonest and antisemitic in its own right.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

@davidhogg111 represents the future of the Democratic Party. The DNC made a huge mistake pushing him out of his vice-chair position after he challenged the party’s entrenched leadership. He speaks truth to power and is exactly the kind of bold young leader Democrats need.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

@BoyGeorge @IrishScotsCelt You choose genocide and war crimes. You choose killing innocent women and children.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

It is interesting how quickly “protest and public pressure” become an intolerable attempt to silence someone when the target is a pro-Israel author. The same people routinely demand that pro-Palestinian demonstrations near campuses, synagogues, or public events be shut down because they are supposedly intimidating.

Peaceful protest is either legitimate or it isn’t. A private bookstore canceling an event is not a First Amendment violation, just as criticism of an author is not censorship. She remains free to publish, speak, and secure another venue. And unless there is evidence that the event was canceled because she is Jewish—not because people objected to her political views—calling the cancellation antisemitism is an accusation, not an established fact.

[Alyssa Rosenheck @AlyssaRosenheck]

A Statement Regarding the Cancellation of My Nashville Book Launch: On Sunday, July 26, Bell Bird Books communicated it no longer felt it could continue promoting either me or my upcoming Nashville book launch for White. Blonde. Jew.

Two days later on July 28th, the bookstore informed my literary agent that it was canceling my book launch. On July 29th, less than 24 hours after canceling the Aug. 20 event, Bell Bird Books provided statements to The Tennessean expressing support for the event, even though it had already canceled it. I was never contacted by the Tennessean for comment.

On Thursday, July 30, Bell Bird Books removed the event announcement from Instagram, deleting all public mention of my book launch without issuing any public statement that the event had been canceled. Rather than informing readers and ticket holders, Bell Bird Books deleted the post.

As a proud Jewish author who values free speech and who strongly believes in the power of words to change hearts and minds - and as someone who has always supported independent booksellers - I’m saddened and deeply disappointed at the state of affairs that led to my cancellation.

This entire episode raises important questions about whether our society truly values the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and the ability of authors to express controversial or unpopular views without being cancelled for them.

There is no crime in being proudly Jewish. There’s nothing wrong with condemning antisemitism and extremism. These topics shouldn’t be controversial - they should be openly and freely discussed. When bookstores cancel authors under pressure from activists, they are silencing speech and making a mockery of the First Amendment. Worse, they are rejecting the American tradition of giving writers the freedom to discuss and defend their opinions in the public square.

Jewish authors should have the freedom to participate in the marketplace of ideas without organized pressure campaigns seeking to silence us, and institutions and businesses should have the courage to stand up to public pressure.

My book, ‘White. Blonde. Jew.’ is a call to reject extremism, defend intellectual freedom, and reclaim the center at a time when intimidation is increasing and meaningful conversation is abandoned. My book delivers an important message for our increasingly divisive times.

No business that pretends to give a voice to all points of view should kowtow to the bigots who would silence an author because of her religion or her strongly held beliefs.

A new Nashville venue - and, if necessary, a new date - will be announced shortly. All ticket holders will receive refunds, and I look forward to gathering with those who lead with curiosity and who believe ideas should be met with discussion. I remain committed to this conversation, and it is far from over.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

It is interesting how quickly “protest and public pressure” become an intolerable attempt to silence someone when the target is a pro-Israel author. The same people routinely demand that pro-Palestinian demonstrations near campuses, synagogues, or public events be shut down because they are supposedly intimidating.

Peaceful protest is either legitimate or it isn’t. A private bookstore canceling an event is not a First Amendment violation, just as criticism of an author is not censorship. She remains free to publish, speak, and secure another venue. And unless there is evidence that the event was canceled because she is Jewish—not because people objected to her political views—calling the cancellation antisemitism is an accusation, not an established fact.

[Catherine Barber 🇵🇸 @CatherineBarber]

@robkelner Holocaust isn’t the only genocide in history. Acknowledging what’s happening in Gaza doesn’t “water down” the word—it applies the same standards to everyone. Ignoring apartheid, occupation, settlement expansion, and the conclusions of many independent experts is the real problem.