• SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    What's up with younger people and supporting israel? I've noticed it a lot with millennials. Okay maybe not "young" per say but still.

    • MarxistHedonism [she/her]
      ·
      4 years ago

      If you grow up in a Jewish community, it’s propagandized hard.

      I’m still trying to deprogram and I have a long way to go. I typically just stay quiet when the topic comes up in leftist spaces and try to listen and live with the internal discomfort. Kind of a turning point for me was listening to an episode of Citations Needed and hearing the comparison of Israeli imperialism with US imperialism and subjugation of the native population.

      This was when I realized that the reason I loved Israel and felt like everyone should be entitled to a country where they’re the majority was because I was experiencing full blown white supremacy when I was there. As a Jew, I experience a ton of privilege being white in America, but there are always othering experiences and you don’t really know the difference until you go somewhere where those things are the default.

      I still love how I felt in Israel and the concept of the country that I was taught about growing up. I understand now that I’m not entitled to experience that feeling, especially not at the expense of others, and that the country I was taught about doesn’t align with reality.

      • SerLava [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        Yeah I went from being basically a non-oppressed minority to being in the majority, and it's great - people just accept me, for no reason. It feels really bizarre, and I feel like I have a different, better personality in that context. But it's not remotely worth all the people who got fucking murdered here.

      • PeludoPorFavor [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        was it this episode?

        https://citationsneeded.medium.com/episode-28-the-asymptotic-two-state-solution-part-i-e13e795ebc9d

        • MarxistHedonism [she/her]
          ·
          4 years ago

          I think so. I know it was definitely an earlier episode, I listen to new ones when they come out and go in order from oldest to newest when I’m listening in between.

          I don’t think I would have been willing to listen to something that made me so uncomfortable at the time if it was coming from anyone else, but they had built a lot of trust with me from their other episodes.

    • thisismyrealname [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      my guess is a lot of it's due to the amount of money israel spends on stuff like birthright tours

      • SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Could be. I've seen some of these millennial "leftists" claim to be on the left and yet just go on to parrot state department propaganda against China and support Israel and their apartheid. I guess this is what happens when you think being anti-imperialist is a tankie position.

          • CommunistBear [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            It's not just a meme. Reading theory is how you avoid pitfalls and supporting false causes.

            • Grownbravy [they/them]
              ·
              4 years ago

              It helps you lay the brickwork for better understanding of things. And this is crucial because discussion and analysis is key to fortifying your thoughts.

              Those long dead authors already put the work in, take advantage.

      • ZizekianHotDogVendor [comrade/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I haven't ever really looked into it too directly myself, but everything I've heard about birthright sounds batshit and insanely manipulative

    • Barabas [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      A lot of propaganda. I don't even think it intersects that much with anti-imperialism as such, Sweden is not anti-imperialist to any great extent and support of Palestine is pretty uncontroversial even among libs.

      When it comes to the UK then even mealy mouthed both-sidesism is beyond the pale outside the left.

    • sam5673 [none/use name]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I think being told repeatedly when they were kids that Muslims are evil and dangerous is a factor

    • hexaflexagonbear [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      The fact that criticism of Israel was even more taboo when millenials were coming of age is probably a large factor. Even still support of Israel is a lot less common with millenials than older generations, I'd say.