Eli Freedberg

Constantly fighting the urge to tweet song lyrics I like. Pessimistic Yankee and Giants fan.

[Moshe Emilio Lavi @MosheELavi]

Putting aside your usual toxic polemics and the disinformation you disseminate, your argument defeats itself.

You are saying that Zionism, the Jewish national movement and expression, should be defined not by what the Jewish people mean by it, but by how Arab Palestinians experience its consequences. Fine. But then apply that bizarre standard consistently.

To a large majority of Jews and Israeli citizens of all backgrounds, Arab Palestinian nationalism is not experienced as an abstract struggle for dignity and self-determination.

It is associated with a century of rejection of Jewish national, religious and cultural rights; riots and massacres; wars launched to prevent Jewish sovereignty; expulsions and destruction of Jewish communities; terrorism against civilians; suicide bombings; rocket attacks; hostage-taking; and repeated movements and factions that have explicitly sought Israel’s elimination instead of coexistence with it. Oh yes, it also includes the deliberate murder of tens of thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish Israeli citizens, as well as Jews worldwide. You have yourself celebrated, legitimised and parroted the narratives of some of those factions, including in response to the atrocities of 7 October.

That does not mean Arab Palestinian national identity is inherently murderous, nor does it erase Arab Palestinian dispossession, suffering or legitimate national aspirations. But if your personal and collective experience gives you the right to redefine Zionism entirely through its worst consequences for Arab Palestinians, then Jews and Israelis are equally entitled to define Arab Palestinian nationalism entirely through its worst consequences for Jews and Israelis.

Presumably, you would reject that as reductive and dehumanising. You would argue that Arab Palestinian nationalism means more than the PLO, PFLP, PIJ and Hamas, more than massacres and terrorism, more than rejectionism, and that Arab Palestinians themselves have some authority to explain what their national movement means to them, right?If so, that is the fundamental flaw in your argument.

Zionism, at its core, is the Jewish national movement for self-determination and national expression in the Jewish people’s historic homeland. Like every national movement, it has produced competing political traditions, policies, wars and injustices that can and should be debated. It has also produced extraordinary outcomes and enabled the Jewish people to reassert national sovereignty in part of the Land of Israel after centuries of statelessness, persecution and exclusion from national self-determination.

Telling Jews that what Zionism means to them is “irrelevant”, while insisting that Arab Palestinians retain the right to define their own national aspirations, is not a coherent principle. It is a double standard.

You do not have to embrace Zionism. But if you recognise the right of other peoples to national self-determination while uniquely rejecting that right for Jews, then your position is discriminatory.

And if you expect Arab Palestinians to be treated as authors of their own national identity, including the maximalist version of it that you represent, albeit with a smile instead of the typical sword, and not have that identity defined exclusively through Jewish trauma, then Jews are entitled to precisely the same courtesy.

[Yehuda Teitelbaum @chalavyishmael]

The Yevsektsiya were Jews. They blamed Zionists and traditional Jews for alienating Soviet society. They believed that if Jews abandoned religion, nationalism, and every trait the regime found objectionable, Communism would reward them with acceptance.

They helped shut down synagogues, persecuted Hebrew teachers, and denounced fellow Jews as enemies of progress. When they were no longer useful, the Soviet state disbanded the Yevsektsiya. Many of its members were executed during Stalin's purges. Others disappeared into labor camps. Their loyalty bought them nothing.

The Antizionist League of Iraq was made up of Jews as well. Its members insisted that Zionism was the source of hostility toward Iraqi Jews. They argued that if Jews publicly rejected the idea of a Jewish state, suspicion and hatred would disappear. They were wrong. The League itself was dissolved and its leaders imprisoned. The Farhud left hundreds of Jews dead, Jewish homes and businesses were looted and destroyed, and over the following years an ancient community was driven into exile. Nobody stopped to ask whether their victims were Zionists before burning their homes or stabbing them in the streets.

A century ago, Baghdad had one of the largest Jewish communities in the world. Jews made up roughly a quarter of the city's population. Today there are fewer than ten Jews left in all of Iraq. Trying to prove that you are one of the "good Jews" has never altered the outcome.

German Jews were among the most assimilated Jews in the world. They were educated, patriotic, and deeply proud of being German. Many of them fought proudly in WWI. They often looked down on poorer Jews arriving from Eastern Europe. Some convinced themselves that antisemitism was directed only at those less refined than themselves. Even the Association of German National Jews sought accommodation with the Nazi movement and declared its opposition to Zionism. The Nazis outlawed the organization anyway. Its members were deported and murdered alongside the rest of European Jewry.

Today there are fewer Jews in all of Europe than there are Arab citizens of Israel. So much for Europe lecturing Israel about tolerance.

Once a society begins stigmatizing Jews, or even just one category of Jews, the writing is already on the wall. Assimilation has never provided lasting protection. Appeasement has never provided lasting protection. Explaining ourselves politely and hoping to be accepted as the "good ones" has never provided lasting protection.

We are living through a dangerous moment. The United States, and perhaps Argentina, remain among the few places where Jews are not broadly stigmatized. But even that cannot be taken for granted. A 2023 Harvard-Harris poll found that two thirds of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 agreed that "Jews as a class are oppressors and should be treated as oppressors." Those young people will shape the future of public opinion.

We have no choice but to speak plainly about antizionism.

Because if antizionism were merely opposition to Netanyahu, it would not predate Netanyahu. If it were merely opposition to Israeli policy, it would not predate Israel. Long before 1948, Jews were being massacred for refusing to accept their place as a tolerated minority.

The uncomfortable truth is that antizionism did not emerge in response to Jewish power. It emerged in response to the idea that Jews should possess power at all.

Kind explanations did not save the Jews of Baghdad. Compliance did not save the Jews of Germany. Revolutionary zeal did not save the Jews of the Soviet Union.

Clarity matters. Memory matters. And the refusal to lie about what we are facing matters most of all.

[Clifford Asness @CliffordAsness]

One of the major problems with Trump has always been what horrors come AFTER him. I, and many others I know (not a unique insight of mine), have been worried about this since 2016. Trump has been a problem in so many ways. The now far further to the left (on socialism and anti-semitism) nuts in the democratic party running everything after him is doom, and Trump’s extremeness has opened the door to them.

Trump has allowed the left, through many actually terrible actions of his (law-fare for pure personal revenge, making republicans sign on to the litmus test lie that 2020 election was stolen, epic familial corruption making Hunter Biden look like a rank amateur) and yes also through an awful lot of unfair TDS (sometimes he really is joking and they pretend not to know, and many times they just make stuff up as they hate him — see “good people on both sides”), to move further and further to jew-hating socialism and soon communism. Yeah, some pedantic twit will always say “its not real communism you need to read the definitions like us learned ivy league idiots have, blah blah blah means of production blah blah blah” as they intellectually bully those who are actually correct in all practicality — the DSA is not yet openly proposing all of Cuban communism now, but if you doubt that this is the DSA’s end goal you have paid no attention, and controlling the means of production through regulation and taxation is, in fact, owning the means of production. Did I mention the jew-hating? Yes the right also has an insane broken jew-hating problem too, you know Tucker, and darling Nicky F, and Candace the special, and many others; but there’s great dispute about it intra-party on the right where on the left repeating the outright provable lies about genocide and apartheid is now a full on litmus test for a dem primary with little to no allowable dissension). Trump makes dissent about lies like the 2020 election punishable by excommunication. That’s gross. The left does the same thing with even more consequential lies and blood libels that have been disproven in the extreme. Then they repeat their lies over and over and use their ubiquitousness as some kind of polling proof that they’re true.

Hating and opposing Trump (have you seen their cookie cutter commercials? — every pissant dem candidate now just brags about “taking on Trump” which they generally did only in rhetoric filmed for TV) has become all they need to do while slipping in the the DSA/jew-hating horrific policies they want to install, and for many have always wanted to install but now see an opportunity.

For some on the left Trump hate been being sufficient for them to let them to be their disgusting (yes DSA socialism and jew-hate is disgusting) selves. For some, and I don’t know which is worse, they’ve just seen where their party is going and are joining the commie jew-hating marching band for their career advancement (e.g., Brad Lander is out front twirling his baton as he pulls gold teeth). Either way it appears to now be death in a dem primary to say “Hey maybe a giant wealth tax is a bad idea as there is zero evidence that this is our problem and everything we say about the rich not paying taxes is a lie” or “Hey, you know, all the evidence is that Israel is fighting as humane a war as any in history. What we or any western european country would’ve done to Palestinian civilians would’ve been way worse if Hamas killed as much of our population as they did of Israel’s and hid behind them — check out the allies bombing in WWII, and I don’t just mean Dresden, I mean allied bombing French civilians in Normandy during D-day in devastating manner, with pre-calculated giant casualty estimates (Google “transportation plan WWII”) sanctioned by de Gaulle who saw it had to be done becausnevil nazis were embedded amongst them — sound familiar? — war offers horrific choices but choices that nearly all others in similar situations have made way harsher than Israel.

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

This is exactly right.

[Joel Pollak @joelpollak]

Brad Lander is a sad example of a Jew who hopes joining his oppressors and enemies will save him. There were many such Jews in the towns and kibbutzim near Gaza. They were leftists who believed in peace and who marched against Netanyahu. They were the first targets on October 7.

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

@ChrisMurphyCT You are an embarrassment to your constituents in Connecticut.

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

https://t.co/xucmyXjndr

[Mazelit Airaksinen 🎗🇺🇸 🇮🇱 @Mazelit_]

On October 7th, the Idan family of the Nahal Oz Kibbutz lost their daughter Maayan, 18. Then, Hamas kidnapped her father Tsachi to Gaza and killed him too.

🕯️Tsachi Idan, 49

This is the last image of Tsachi, seen in the foreground holding his son, wife and daughter.

Moments before, his 18-year-old daughter, Maayan was shot by terrorists and died in his arms.

Someone took his wife Gali’s phone and livestreamed the horrors from her Facebook page to all her friends, warning neighbors what would soon await them.

In the footage, the family was huddled on the kitchen floor.

They are covered in Maayan's blood. Meanwhile, Tschai's younger kids are heard asking "are they killing us? are they killing us" in Hebrew.

Tschai's hands were then cuffed behind his back, in one of the most well-documented abductions in his kibbutz.

The children were overheard begging the Palestinians not to take their dad, not to kill him.

"I love you, don't be a hero, be smart. Take care of yourself, and come back to me in one piece.” Gali screamed as the drag Tsachi away.

Tsachi was later murdered in captivity.

Pure evil is bred and cultivated in Gaza by design, and we must figure out what needs to be done so we can live in peace 🎗️

[Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער @gidonsaar]

The Star of David is a symbol of Jewish identity, not provocation.

The fact that Jews are warned in central London not to display it publicly shows how rampant antisemitism spread through hateful “pro-Palestinian” marches in Britain has poisoned the streets.

This is a moral disgrace.
British Authorities must act: ban antisemitic slogans and conduct a full institutional review.

[Vodka & Seledka 🇬🇧 @seledka_vodka]

Now that all remaining living Israeli hostages are home, it's worth reiterating a few long-standing truths about Israel-Gaza war:

1. It was pressure on Hamas, not on Israel, that resulted in the ceasefire and the release of all remaining living hostages.

2. Israel never committed genocide in Gaza. This was a war, provoked by Hamas, conducted in line with LOAC by Israel, conducted in violation of LOAC by Hamas, and stopped the minute Hamas committed to returning the hostages.

3. Hamas' "resistance" to "occupation" was illegal. Deliberately slaughtering civilians in their homes at point blank, taking hostages, raping Israeli women - are war crimes.

4. Israeli captives taken by Hamas, even IDF, are hostages. Captives held by Israel in prisons, even without trial, are prisoners.

5. The scale of destruction in Gaza is driven by Hamas' choice of the battlefield and methods of fighting. When every building is booby-trapped or has a terror tunnel shaft nearby, that building becomes a legitimate target for destruction.

6. In all practical senses and meanings of the word "occupation", Gaza was not occupied since 2005.

7. The future of Palestinian Arabs is squarely in their hands. All they need to do is commit to living side by side with Israel in peace.

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

@coldxman Thank you for your voice and for your support. What you write is so obviously the truth but the world has gone crazy.

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

@RadioFreeTom @JerryDunleavy How can you say there is no imminence when Iran has been launching Ballistic Missiles at Israel from Yemen for nearly two years now and is still actively funding Hamas and Hezbollah?

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

@ChrisMurphyCT You are such a goddam joke. It’s people like you who have turned this lifelong Democrat permanently away from this party.

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

@ChrisMurphyCT @DanielBShapiro I am ashamed that you are my representative and I pledge to do everything in my power to make sure this term is your last.

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

Littler's Zoe Argento spoke to WorldAtWork about the use of surveillance tools in the workplace, the laws governing their use and the potential impact on employee morale. #employmentlaw (subscription required) https://t.co/tpEFYUMGnC

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

@m_millsey I will always love R.E.M.’s music. While I vehemently disagree with your characterization of Netanyahu as a war criminal, I appreciate, more than you can know, acknowledging Hamas’s culpability. This supremely obvious point is usually missing from the discourse. Praying 4 peace.

[Jonah Goldberg @JonahDispatch]

CBS doesn’t seem to understand they’re saying that a one-sided softball interview with an anti-Israel polemicist would have been more in line with its standards than a substantive interview. I kinda appreciate the clarification.

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

@FreezByrd33 Incredible

[David Burge @iowahawkblog]

Editor. Of the Harvard. Law. Review.

[Eli Freedberg @EliFreedberg]

@BriannaWu Thank you. The last few weeks have seen an unimaginable tragedy followed by an unimaginable reaction to the tragedy that has compounded the grief many are feeling. There needs to be a reckoning.

[Richard Goldberg @rich_goldberg]

If IDF assessment correct, every single news outlet should retract immediately and issue apologies. An attempted blood libel carried out by western media 10 days after the massacre. New standards needed ASAP from top executives across all outlets. This CANNOT continue.