Rules:

Shalom folks, for a long time I've sat on the Israeli side of the fence when it comes to the whole Israel Palestine situation, but I haven't had a really strong reason to other than the fact that I spent time on an Israeli kibbutz for my gap year and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I'm looking for books, documentaries, media, etc. that offer a comprehensive, not biased in either direction overview of the history of jews and Palestinians in this region. I'm particularly interested in 'recent' history (1900 - today) if that's possible. I'd like to be more educated on this subject, and understand all the different viewpoints, even the ones I don't agree with. I want to be able to speak knowledgeably on this subject when it comes up.

Thanks in advance and cheers from South Africa!

This are books being sold at this moment on Amazon. I am so furious I cannot breathe. Has this world lost its moral compass??? What can we do to get this trash taken down from Amazon?

Hi Everyone,

I'm a non-Jew living in a hyper-progressive American city.

Palestinian flags are everywhere. People didn't even wait til the bodies were cold after 10/7 or for Israel to begin a counteroffensive before hanging them everywhere. I can't even walk around my apartment complex without seeing them. Almost everyone I know under 40 (I'm early 30s) is a supporter of Palestine and thinks Israel is committing genocide. When discussion about the war comes up and I defend Israel, people look at me like I have two heads, and I'm pretty sure at least one person is avoiding me because I support Israel.

They talk about colonialism, they talk about apartheid, they talk about genocide. I've done immense amounts of research on the history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, both to be absolutely sure that my moral judgment about the situation is right, and to try to refute their talking points. Some of them have explicitly said that the Jews should just leave the Middle East and go elsewhere. How do you even respond to that?

Almost all the main-stream media I see is straight-up anti-Israel propaganda.

The only practical stake I have in this is that I know the difference between right and wrong, and I refuse to be silent (I have that problem in a lot of other areas as well, and it gets me into trouble frequently). Being surrounded by people like this is soul-crushing.

The only people I know under 40 who support Israel are a couple of Trump supporters (who basically live in fear in these parts) and a libertarian (I tend to be libertarian-minded as well). It's like being trapped in a madhouse. Luckily I know a few Boomers who aren't insane, but they are more people I see at work, and not people I hang out with.

How do people cope with this in their daily lives? I'm tired of being surrounded by useful idiots and people who don't subscribe to the same moral principles that I do. It's extremely isolating. I'm sure a lot of other people (both Jews and non-Jews) are going through something similar. I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Hey everyone, I am taking my A1 driving license soon and am interested in knowing about restricting bikes. Does anyone know how much it costs or atleast an average?

Sources:

1. Israel:

   • Freedom in the World 2023: Free¹.
   • Women's Rights: Significant disparities¹¹.
   • Democracy Index 2020: Flawed democracy¹².

2. Palestine (Gaza Strip):

   • Freedom in the World 2023: Not Free².
   • Women's Rights: Low labor force participation³.

3. Lebanon:

   • Freedom in the World 2024: Not Free⁵.
   • Women's Rights: Challenges persist⁸.

4. Syria:

   • Freedom in the World 2024: Not Free¹⁴.
   • Women's Rights: Struggles against patriarchal norms¹⁹.

5. Jordan:

   • Freedom in the World 2024: Not Free²⁵.
   • Women's Rights: Challenges remain²⁷.

6. Egypt:

   • Freedom in the World 2024: Not Free³².
   • Women's Rights: Struggle against discriminatory laws³³.

7. Iraq:

   • Freedom in the World 2024: Not Free²⁵.
   • Women's Rights: Continued struggle for equality²⁵.

8. Iran:

   • Women's Rights: Ranked low in global gender gap index²¹.
   • Women's Labor Force Participation: Challenges persist²².

Sources:

Human Rights Index:

1. Lebanon
2. Palestine
3. Jordan
4. Israel
5. Egypt
6. Iraq
7. Syria
8. Iran

Democracy Index:

1. Israel
2. Lebanon
3. Jordan
4. Palestine
5. Egypt
6. Iraq
7. Syria
8. Iran

Women's Rights Index:

1. Israel
2. Lebanon
3. Jordan
4. Palestine
5. Egypt
6. Iraq
7. Syria
8. Iran

I’m in the USA to be with family for Pesach I am worried that because of the rising tensions between Israel and Iran and it’s proxies that the airlines will shut down again like they did in the beginning of the war and I won’t make it back in time. Is this a valid concern?

Hi all,

I’m not Israeli or Jewish, but after my favorite band, MUNA, wore the pins at the Oscars, and I today found out Chappell Roan is asking people to donate to an organization that works with the UNRWA, I decided to come here and see if anyone knows queer Zionist (specifically sapphic) artists to support because the mainstream queer artists all seem to support terrorism. I’ve heard Hayley Kiyoko supports the existence of Israel and that makes me happy, but I’m looking for some more pop to listen to in addition to her music.

Thank you all for your time! 💙

can someone explain how it’s Israel’s land and not Palestine’s? I’m not Jewish or Israeli but I want to know more about the conflict. I know it’s Israeli land, I just don’t know how to explain that to someone who thinks it’s Palestine’s land.

Hi everyone. I really hope some of you guys can help me, after all this is turning out to be a very difficult situation. So I (26M) am dating my Israeli girlfriend (26F) for about 6 months. We met in the hotel where I work, in Portugal, then went to Thailand together for 3 weeks and now we're planning the next time we'll see each other. After talking, right now the only way is for me to visit her in Israel. We've come to understand that me moving there with a working visa is an extremely hard process, especially because I'm not Jew.

Anyways, I'm trying to visit her and stay with her for as much time as I can as a tourist. We learned that the Tourist Visa can be up to 3 months, unless the Border Police at the airport decides to stipulate another lenght for the Visa. Apparently, the reason behind this is because they want to make sure I'm not trying to move in illegally. Even though I don't have any intention of breaking the law (as much as our relationship might benefict from it) and that I have my own life back home, we can see that it doesn't really look good if officers at the airport ask me questions about my situation. Let me give you the details on that:

• I live with my parents - meaning I have nothing under my name besides my car;
• I plan on visiting her once my job contract expires - I'll be legally unemployed;
• I don't have a lot of money in the bank and Israel has a much better economy and wages than the ones in my country (Portugal);
• My sole purpose for this trip is to see and live with her for as long as possible, I'm not an actual tourist.

Essentially, to these officers that don't know and don't care about me, I look very suspicious even though I, as said before, have no intentions of breaking the law and staying longer than what is permited.

I'm writting this whole post because I don't know when's the next time I'll see my GF so I wanna spend as much time with her as possible, and also because I'm afraid I'll buy plane tickets with the departure for 3 months after, but then they'll give me a Visa that expires before the 3 months.

We've been trying to come up with different ways to get around this, like:

• I'm trying to find volunteer work or something like that to do while I'm there, but I've not found much and it's all very far (she lives in Kyriat Ata, near Haifa). Btw, if you have or know about something related, please let me know.
• I'm gonna use as an argument that I have an International Relations major, therefore I'm particularly interested in the recent events and that I wanted to experience and understand the conflict better, see how people live, etc. This is all true, but my absolute main reason to go is my GF, obviously.

Please, let me know about my chances of getting the Visa for the 3 months, how hard is the Israeli Border Police with European people and if there's anything I should say or do at the airport (or before) that can help me make and present a better case for myself.

I thank you all in advance, as any help is very much appreciated, as it is urgent.

Does it mean something else? Please tell me it means something else. I really want to keep liking her music. “

Hi, my partner is Israeli and I am trying to find a job in the country with a salary that we can actually survive on. He makes around 50 an hour as a teacher and has no interest in deviating from his profession so it's on me to bring in cash I guess. I have over 10 years of CS/CX experience in more traditional sectors and 4 years managing client services for a very small health/human services group home back in the states.

I am looking to enter CS/CX in hitech/startups, even if entry level. I want to know what an expected monthly salary should be for someone like me with 10 years of customer service experience and 4 years of management experience.

I have experienced plenty of attempts at exploitation due to my immigrant status. The last tech job that wanted to hire me offered hours outside of available public transport hours and they wanted to pay me 35 an hour.

So, what could someone with my background reasonably negotiate for at more legitimate companies?

Thanks.

Half a year after the start of the war, the IDF made its first use of a new air defense system - to intercept an unmanned aerial vehicle that penetrated the area of Eilat.

Last night (Monday), just before midnight, a siren was heard in the city of Eilat and nearby, following the penetration of an unmanned aerial vehicle. Shortly thereafter, the IDF announced that naval forces had identified the suspected target that had crossed into Israeli territory and successfully intercepted it using the “Sea Dome” system. According to the announcement, the target was being tracked by IDF forces. No one was injured, and no damage was caused.

לראשונה: "כיפה ימית" יירטה כטב"ם שחדר לאילת (ynet.co.il)

I wholeheartly believe the former son of a Hamas leader but these pro-pal arguments are making my head spin. Some say he's paid by Israel to say all these things and some just fully deny everything he says. I believe him, but help me find an answer that legitimises his story.

I am sure there are problems with this idea. I would still be interested in hearing what people think about the idea, as well as the problem.

(I do not work for the Israeli government, and I don't know anyone in any decision making position in the Israeli government)

What if Israel were to maintain the blockade-siege of rafiah and a corridor back to Israel, and leave the rest of Gaza.

Israel would still allow international humanitarian aid to enter (after being thoroughly checked of course), and people could leave rafiah for the rest of gaza- if they passed a security check. Although it is a one way door, i.e. they cannot go back to rafiah.

Rafiah would eventually empty out of everyone that just wants a normal life and nothing to do with hamas, or most of them, would leave.

Israel could keep rafiah isolated, while still allowing it to empty out, and eventually, in a few months? years? go into rafiah and take out hamas.

The PA could take over the rest of gaza. (not that I trust them much more than Hamas, but the international community would be happy) - but I would hope for a different party that is actually interested in re-educating gazans toward peace.

They can have electricity they pay for, or the PA pays for - up to a certain limit. Enough for a fridge, some lights and phone charger. Enough so they have some basic necessities, without it being too comfortable. The idea being to encourage the civilians, non-combatants to leave. Internet - sure - at 14400 bps modem speeds - enough for email, not really enough for tik tok, or youtube or netflix. Basic medication - sure. More advanced medications and treatments - they will need to leave rafiah. This is the general idea.

Off the top of my head, tunnels are still a possible problem, as is the security of the soldiers maintaining the blockade becoming targets. Egypt would also need to sign off.

Unfortunately, I am also assuming most of the hostages are not alive, as per a recent report.