@joel80.bsky.social

Joined July 2022
Replying to @MargolinRabbi
Sorry, but these points that you have made are super old hasbara. On your first point: selective intensity of attention does not prove antisemitism as the driver. The Israel-Palestine conflict is uniquely sustained by Western (especially U.S. and European) military, diplomatic, and financial support for one side, unlike most other conflicts (which are usually proxy wars or ethnic conflicts fuelled from multiple sides by arms dealers). Israel receives billions in annual U.S. aid, advanced weapons, and diplomatic cover that enable ongoing occupation, settlement expansion, blockade, and military operations in territories recognised under international law as occupied. It is also the case that Israel is highly adept at international diplomacy and lobbying - to the extent that we see support for Israel almost wall to wall in establishment circles and media. I should also point out that comparable scale or intensity of focus has and does occur with other conflicts (see Iraq, Vietnam, and Apartheid South Africa). On your second point, I again do not disagree that historical anti-Jewish violence is real and indefensible. Both the 1929 Hebron massacre and the 1941 Farhud were atrocities driven by religious/nationalist hatred, local politics, and (in the Farhud's case) wartime conditions and Nazi-influenced propaganda. Antisemitism long predates modern Zionism and the State of Israel. Acknowledging this does not require accepting that contemporary Palestinian resistance or solidarity is merely the continuation of that ancient hatred. Palestinians are in conflict with Israel and Israelis because of the specific conditions of the conflict - not because they are antisemitic. Framing all Palestinian armed groups or solidarity protests as “cheering on terror” because some have antisemitic elements or because Jewish history includes pogroms flattens distinct phenomena and is frankly lazy. On your third point, defining Zionism solely as “the right of the Jewish people to a homeland of its own, as every people has” is a selective, ahistorical abstraction. In practice, Zionism was a late-19th/early-20th-century political movement that sought a Jewish majority state in Palestine despite an existing non-Jewish majority population. Palestinians resist and oppose Zionism because of what has been done to them. I am an anti-Zionist on that basis and also because I firmly believe that we can and should tackle antisemitism rather than give in to it and succumb to the idea that the only 'cure' is for Jews to live in Israel. Furthermore, Zionism's dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in 1948, the prevention of their return, and the maintenance of a system that privileges Jewish national rights over equal citizenship for all inhabitants of the land is the reality. Prayer for return to Zion is a religious tradition; converting it into a modern ethno-national political project that requires demographic engineering and military dominance is a political choice, not an inevitable or universal right. Israel’s non-Jewish citizens (primarily Palestinian citizens of Israel) enjoy formal citizenship but face documented structural discrimination in land, housing, family reunification, and political rights under laws that define the state as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Opposing Zionism is not the same as opposing the existence or safety of Jews, any more than opposing other ethno-national projects equates to hatred of the relevant ethnic group. Most Jews worldwide are not Israeli citizens, and significant Jewish currents (historical and contemporary) have been anti-Zionist or non-Zionist on ethical, religious, or political grounds. Equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism collapses a political disagreement into a racial or religious one, which left-wing anti-Zionists reject as both inaccurate and a barrier to addressing actual antisemitism. I utterly reject your last remark and that isn't remotely what I have done nor is it the position of any anti-Zionist that I know.
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Please retweet...
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A stupid rule brought in to protect the Runners Cartel and stop others getting to the top. If you have a bike you should be allowed to ride it anywhere.
JUST IN: Chinese fitness influencer disqualified from Berlin Marathon, dropped by sponsors after admitting she rode a bicycle during the race to “take a shortcut.”
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Joel retweeted
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Replying to @The_TUC
The biggest shocker from this is Farage admitting he enjoys Guinness, considering it’s black and you have to let it settle.
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💯 true 😂 I loved him 💙
When Graeme Souness tried to send Don Hutchison to Southampton in 1993, the deal would have brought Tim Flowers to Liverpool in return. Hutchison had no intention of going. Southampton were regularly near the bottom of the league, and he believed they were going to be relegated. So he refused the move and stayed at Liverpool. Souness was not pleased. At training, he arranged a six-a-side game and made sure he was on one team and Hutchison was on the other. Hutchison knew why. “He was going to crunch me.” The game started and eventually the ball rolled between the two of them. Souness went for it with both feet. Hutchison saw him coming and decided he was not going to pull out. “He has come in two-footed and I know he is going to do me.” “So I have gone higher and two-footed him.” They collided and both ended up on the ground. Souness started punching Hutchison in the ribs. Hutchison realised he was now fighting the Liverpool manager, but by that point he was already hitting him back. “I’m like, ‘It’s the gaffer.’” “I am punching him back and we are rolling and rolling.” The two of them carried on across the training pitch, trading punches while the rest of the players watched. Souness’s hair was everywhere. Hutchison was still furious. Jamie Redknapp and Steve McManaman looked at what was happening and reached the same conclusion. “He’s finished.” Eventually, Souness got back to his feet. Hutchison was waiting to find out what the punishment would be after two-footing his manager and fighting him in the middle of training. Instead, Souness turned to the other players. “See, that’s what we need.” “A bit of b******s.” “He’ll be in the team on the weekend.” Hutchison played on the Saturday. #football
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To be a farmer living on the M62…
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I’m heading to Hanger Farm on 25 July for An Audience with Tommy Cannon – This Is Me! If you loved Cannon & Ball, or just fancy a night of daft stories and big laughs, get yourself a ticket. Don’t leave me performing to just my wife! 🎟️ Tickets: hangerfarm.co.uk/whats-on/an…
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BREAKING: They've changed the name
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Congratulations Afroman! FUCK THE POLICE. We're glad you destroyed them in court.
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People are attacking Prince Andrew but what they don't realise is, he's incredibly caring and generous. He once gave £12 million pounds to a woman he'd never even met, just because he heard she's upset.
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Pam Bondi is asked directly why she personally shut down the child trafficking investigation into former Prince Andrew while being shown direct evidence of his crimes. Her response: "But you didn't ask Merrick Garland these questions when he was Attorney General." "But you are in charge. You have the power to change things and hold these men accountable."
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Satire, innit
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Mrs Brown's Boys, Christmas Day at 10.15.
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🇨🇮 Hard not to get carried away with Yan Diomande because what he has shown in less than 900 minutes for RB Leipzig this season is nothing short of special. He is ambipedal, which makes him so unpredictable in his dribbling and allows him to play LW and RW. Technically his first touch is sublime and he’s got that close control combined with quick feet that can get him out of tight spaces. When there’s space ahead of him, he is lightning fast and can use that to his full advantage. You leave space for him at your own peril. Based on what he’s shown at Leipzig, he’s the full package if you’re looking for a progressive winger. He’s probably more effective coming off the RW role where he can utilise his shooting a bit more. Seems to be slightly more comfortable with his left foot. I’d like to see him improve his crossing and he’s overall link-up and passing play in the final third. But as a ball carrier he is simply exceptional. Like I said it’s hard not to get carried away. Based on what he’s shown, the sky is the limit.
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🇭🇺 What a performance from Dominik Szoboszlai against Arsenal. - 1 goal - 100% aerial duels won - 100% tackles won - 2/3 ground duels won - 5 recoveries - 6 clearances - 92% pass completion rate Absolutely incredible player.
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Replying to @PeterFalksMac
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