HEY JEWS

would you call the experience of visiting Prague "good"? Not that I've been to Europe yet in my life but I'm pretty sure I would be too disquieted by the knowledge of how many Jews aren't there anymore to have a good time. Not sure why I assume that about Prague more so than Berlin, possibly just racist against Bohemians.

― G. D’Arcy Cheesewright (silby), Thursday, 4 January 2024 23:15 (yesterday) link

I found visiting Berlin oddly therapeutic, even though my German family left way way before the holocaust. We also only did one Jewish-related thing (I don't even remember exactly what it was but some kind of old synagogue that had been turned into a museum). I was way more interested in the East Berlin cold war stuff tbh.

My wife lived in Berlin for part of the 80s, as a preteen, and this was the first time she had been back since the wall fell. We didn't have much time, so spent it all in the east side, which was less familiar/more interesting to her. She and her mom used to cross at Checkpoint Charlie to go shopping in the East.

okay what's this tunnel thing in Brooklyn? I'm not understanding

from my understanding...chabad was crowded, some dudes decided to tear down a wall to connect to other building. Rival chabad dudes argue about filling the holes. Somebody left a dirty mattress somewhere. The internet assumes jews are killing christian babies. whats new.

https://gothamist.com/news/discovery-of-secret-tunnel-beneath-chabad-hq-in-crown-heights-leads-to-brawl-12-arrests

seems like it's a more fundamentalist dingdongs wanting access to holy places by any means necessary (these are the MESSIAH IS COMING sticker people) and the folks people who control and manage the building and lead the chabad not wanting dangerous alterations made to the * checks notes * literal foundation of their holy buildings

"HEY ASIANS - WTF IS UP WITH THESE WEIRD ASIAN THINGS THE OTHER ASIANS ARE DOING...I can't figure it out"

Jewish ILXORs are not animals in a zoo and we don't keep tabs on each other.

smdh

I'm sorry, I didn't intend to come off like that! I came here to see if it was already being discussed, and when it wasn't, I made my query

The Guardian article said something like 'No motive for the tunnel was revealed' so I was just curious if anyone knew anything, that's all

k

I am very honored to be giving the State of World Jewry address February 25th @92ndStreetY. More information and tickets here:https://t.co/UY19QKj96O

— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) January 9, 2024

A shanda for the goyim

"HEY ASIANS - WTF IS UP WITH THESE WEIRD ASIAN THINGS THE OTHER ASIANS ARE DOING...I can't figure it out"

Jewish ILXORs are not animals in a zoo and we don't keep tabs on each other.

I just want to push back on this. Yes, I am not a Lubavitcher, but being Jewish I am more equipped than the average American to make sense of what's going on at 770 Eastern Parkway, and so I don't mind being asked in this space.

Yes I can understand being defensive in these particularly hot times, but it did seem like an innocent question (that I was interested in too). Thank you for your generosity eephus

Well I do. We can disagree. It's extremely obnoxious to address this topic to a thread called this.

I am also Asian and it's a common microaggression to get questions like "Where are you from? No really, like originally?" that white looking Americans don't get.

I look forward to this thread beung revived since it's usually a place to celebrate Jewishness or share empathy.

It's ok to be curious. But I also want to ask people to think before they try to start these kinds of "discussions."

Felt innocent enough to me. This is a topic to discuss things about “Jews” and this event is a major news. I didn’t see it as somebody expecting only Jews would have some insight. Despite being a secular Jew in queens I don’t have any special insight into Chabad Jews in Brooklyn but I felt comfortable answering from what I read in the news. Wasn’t clear to me that the writer wasn’t Jewish, didn’t think about it.

As I said we can disagree. It was more of a NYC question than anything.

You're going to have a different perspective and context than me and that's fine.

And thank you for saying sorry, Andy the Grasshopper.

I saw you saying we can disagree. I just wanted to do so. Considering this is nation-wide news and involves insane anti-semitic conspiracy theorying, I don't think it's a NYC question.

... worldwide.

The bigots are having a field day with this tunnel story. I am glad you answered the way you did.

https://podcasts.apple.com/ro/podcast/marilynne-robinson-on-biblical-beauty-human-evil-and/id1548604447?i=1000648054080

I thought some of you guys might appreciate this right now (despite the headline, most of it isn't directly about Israel). Very much Christian author argues that the Old Testament is much more full of mercy, forgiveness and grace than it is given credit for, and made kind of a lightbulb go on for me about it that my views of Judaism have sometimes been colored by self-serving Christian spin on Judaism (wherein Christianity sets it self up as the merciful new religion and Jesus as the merciful new version of God in contrast to the more vengeful and primitive old one)

Purim Sameach!!

Thanks for recommending that episode. I think my friend who is an Anglican minister (and whose kids are Jewish) might have sent me that as well.

And yes, Chag Sameach!

Honestly never under-estimate what Christians don't understand about Judaism. Christians think it's mostly Christianity minus believing that Jesus was the Messiah. They don't know that there's no Jewish hell or that it's not evangelical (and in fact discourages conversion) and lots of other things. I can speak for Christians, I feel comfortable with that. :D

So apparently what I'm describing was once (like 1800 years ago) called Marcionism, but at least officially has been mostly rejected by various Christian sects. I swear I have heard that sort of view expressed before though. Not really thinking of the average Christian so much though.

I mean I was always drawn to the stories of mercy in the Torah - the angel sparing Isaac from sacrifice, Abraham pleading for Sodom and Gommorah, the covenant after the flood. It's not like I grew up thinking God in the Torah was not merciful, but I feel like I have heard it described that way in popular culture, literary analysis, and probably theological arguments as well.