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Jews and racism

(445 Posts)
Anniebach Sun 20-Aug-17 13:19:35

In the news this morning - one in three Jews are considering leaving the U.k because of racism.

83% believe the Labour Party are not doing enough to support them

Anniebach Mon 21-Aug-17 15:55:09

So the Jews who took part in the survey are being punished because of the actions of Israel , the Jews killed Christ and the far right are hitting back , does this not mean the far right are fighting for palastine ?

Primrose65 Mon 21-Aug-17 15:26:05

Rosyapple189 Very interesting to read the perspective of someone who's actually lived in Israel. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

nightowl Mon 21-Aug-17 15:24:04

Very interesting durhamjen and not something I knew anything about. I will be looking at this.

Sorry if this derails the thread, I have no intention of doing so.

durhamjen Mon 21-Aug-17 15:11:32

Essenes:
The community at Qumran is thought to have been made up of Essenes, who were considered to be vegetarian by Pliny the elder, Josephus and Philo of Alexandria. They were Pythagorean in their beliefes and habits, a community sharing all worldly goods, ascetic and meatless, a pacific community with a beliefe in the transmigration of souls.
They also referred to themselves as Nazarenes and keepers of the covenant.
The finds from Qumran and Nag Hammadi indicate the possibility of another Jesus, quite different from the one we find in the Pauline version, a Jesus who had connections with sects which were not meat- eating. Some of the Gnostic literature predates the Gospels, and the Jesus revealed there is far more psychologically subtle and in many ways nearer to Buddha. If this Jesus had been publicised, praised and believed in, the history of the relationship between humankind and animals in the last two thousand years would probably have been vastly different. Imagine a Christian religion which had colonised half the world and was basically vegetarian and akin to Buddhism."

From Vegetarianism: A history by Colin Spencer.
Chapter five, if anyone's interested.
You can look up the Essenes yourselves if you want to. Essenes are jews, by the way, so it's not diverting. There may be Essenes in this country, but I don't know any.
The Virgin Mary was an Essene, as was Joseph.

Rosyapple189 Mon 21-Aug-17 15:00:28

But Israel left Gaza (which it had won in a war foisted upon it by its neighbours, so was entitled to it) in 2005, since which time it has been under the control of Hamas. So it's Hamas' responsibility to provide adequate health care for its citizens, not Israel's. Israel is doing them a favour by taking in some cases. The same scenario of winning territory in the so-called West Bank in the same war applies. So neither territory was/is occupied. In addition, when it comes to it, these two territories were part of the land to establish the State of Israel by the Balfour Declaration. After the 1948 War of Independence, Gaza was (incorrectly) given into Egypt's custodianship, and the 'West Bank' into Jordan's. Custody - not ownership.There never was a Palestinian State.
A true case of human rights abuse is not right, but many are invented. And any cases are investigated by the judiciary and/or the army - if found to be true, the perpetrator is punished. Sadly cases of human rights abuses occur everywhere in the world.
'A few positions of authority'? are you kidding? there are many more than a few, as there is equal opportunity in Israel. I gave you a few examples, there are so many more. Were Israel truly racist, there wouldn't be any such positions at all.

trisher Mon 21-Aug-17 14:36:15

Even if there is one report of human rights abuse which is true (and I'm sure there are many more) Rosyapple189surely you will agree it is one too many? Or do you really think that giving a few Palestinians positions of authority is the same as giving human rights to all. I posted about a mother separated from her baby.
Independent UN reports have highlighted the lack of health care and infant mortality in Gaza
www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/10/gaza-infant-mortality-rate-rises-for-first-time-in-53-years-un-study-reveals
It isn't ludicrous to ask a country to stop expanding into another country's territory. It is what the UN is for. And if Israel has as you said "More than complied with UN mandates" It has presumably with drawn from the territories it occupied?

Anniebach Mon 21-Aug-17 14:24:45

There is no solution, unless Israel is handed to the palastians or Palestine is handed to the Israelies. Hamas, Corbyns friends , were formed to bring about the former

Anniebach Mon 21-Aug-17 14:18:19

nightowl, why does it matter to Jen? She has said many times she is an atheist , it may matter to her to prove she is right but no more than that, certainly not for any other reason , well it has caused a drift away from the topic - Jews and racism- so possibly this is why it may matter to her

trisher Mon 21-Aug-17 14:14:49

But Elegran do you not think that some people are seduced into believing there is a Jewish conspiracy when they see the inaction of governments to deal with the problem. I am not suggesting there is such a thing just that not dealing with it leads to more anti-semitism. It's no good looking at the problem here and agreeing it is abhorrent if we don't discuss possible causes and solutions.

Rosyapple189 Mon 21-Aug-17 14:10:33

Trisher, you won't believe me, but many reports aren't true. Gazans and Palestinians regularly receive treatment in Israeli hospitals, including the leader of Hamas' own family. Israeli Arabs are appointed to many positions, e.g. Heads of hospitals, Supreme Court Judges, MKs (MPs). There's nowhere in Israel Arab can't go, the reverse is true, there are areas Jews can't go in their own country. Israel more than complies with UN mandates. Because the UN have large voting blocks of Arab countries with South American countries, they vote in what they wish, however ludicrous.

Elegran Mon 21-Aug-17 14:05:54

Some good points again, Trisher and there has been Palestinian aggression as well as Israeli, but this thread is about UK racism/religionism, not Israeli racism.

Rosyapple189 Mon 21-Aug-17 14:02:29

apologies for posting twice!

trisher Mon 21-Aug-17 14:01:16

So is it not racist to stop a Palestinian mother going to hospital with her new born baby because she hasn't got the correct paperwork? Is it not racist to restrict people to certain areas? I am not saying Rosyapple189 that every Jewish person living in Israel is racist I am saying that there have been measures put in place which are racist and which have resulted in Palestinian people having less human rights than other members of society and this fuels the racist views of some people. I know that some of these measures have been instituted because the Israelis fear attacks, but all of history shows that no measures, however draconian, can fully subdue a people and that violence begets violence. The only way forward is negotiation and discourse and if Israel would begin by at least granting some human rights and complying with the UN mandates there would at least be hope.

Ana Mon 21-Aug-17 13:58:09

It was also not very wise to post that Jesus was an Essene without any scrap of evidence or proof.

I notice durhamjen hasn't returned to back up her claim, but Elegran's explanation is fine by me.

nightowl Mon 21-Aug-17 13:51:16

Actually maddyone, whether or not Jesus was a vegetarian matters a lot to some of us. I don't see why this is not a valid question as diet is a key feature in many religions. It's not very kind of others to ridicule durhamjen for raising this. But then not being very kind seems to be a speciality on gransnet these days.

Rosyapple189 Mon 21-Aug-17 13:43:59

Trisher - you raise some interesting points. However, I must point out that you are incorrect in your perception of Palestinian mistreatment in Israel. Though Israel is far from perfect, like any country, defending oneself when attacked is not aggression, but response. Having lived there for 19 years I've never encountered anyone Jewish who wanted to attack Arabs - (many Jews and Arabs are friends). The odd time this has happened, the vast majority of Israeli Jews and the government have condemned it, with many Jews visiting the mourning tents of the families. In my view, the important thing is people's reaction - do they pass out sweets and fire weapons in the air, or do they condemn it? The latter is definitely the case.

Rosyapple189 Mon 21-Aug-17 13:43:01

Trisher - you raise some interesting points. However, I must point out that you are incorrect in your perception of Palestinian mistreatment in Israel. Though Israel is far from perfect, like any country, defending oneself when attacked is not aggression, but response. Having lived there for 19 years I've never encountered anyone Jewish who wanted to attack Arabs - (many Jews and Arabs are friends). The odd time this has happened, the vast majority of Israeli Jews and the government have condemned it, with many Jews visiting the mourning tents of the families. In my view, the important thing is people's reaction - do they pass out sweets and fire weapons in the air, or do they condemn it? The latter is definitely the case.

maddyone Mon 21-Aug-17 13:38:31

As to whether Christ was vegetarian or not, it matters not one jot!

maddyone Mon 21-Aug-17 13:36:52

trisher Please do not patronise me, I do know that everything that's written in the gospels, not to mention other parts of the Bible, is not proven fact. I also know that Christ said 'Love thy neighbour' which brings us back to the main point being discussed in this thread, which is antisemitism. It brings us back because it is clear from the recent racial/religious attacks, and apparent unease of some groups who feel uncomfortable here, that everyone in Britain (and other places too) clearly does not love their neighbour.

petra Mon 21-Aug-17 13:34:01

The life of Brian wasn't far out
Spliters grin

Elegran Mon 21-Aug-17 13:23:59

The prophets and rebel groups emerged, not merged. Their messages varied from one to the other, so merging would have been anathema to them. In that A Life of Brian wasn't far out.
I said that Christ MAY have been an Essene, It would been more accurate to say that he may have been connected to them. I think the link was only speculative. The vegetarianism is even more speculative, dependent as it on his theoretical Essene membership.

Anniebach Mon 21-Aug-17 13:23:00

Perhaps Jen read it on voxpox ?

Ana Mon 21-Aug-17 13:14:56

Please take note, durhamjen.

Elegran Mon 21-Aug-17 13:13:03

I think you will find that it has been suggested that he MAY have been an Essene, because of similarities between some of thgeir writings and some of his teachings. The country was occupied and demoralised, and a lot of prophets merged who said that it was all because of a decline in religion and morals and preached ways of getting back into God's good books, along with sedition about deposing Herod the puppet king.
Christ preached one version of that, but without the politics, advocating instead a kingdom of the heart. He was descended through both parents from the famous King David, so both his message annoyed the religious hierarchy and his lineage worried Herod. No wonder he was an irritant to be silenced.

Ana Mon 21-Aug-17 13:01:51

And I'm still waiting for a reply to my question about Christ being an Essene.