Humbled by these powerful and supportive comments. Forgive me if I cannot reply to them all. Want to reemphasize that recognizing every person's humanity is the absolute minimum we must all expect out of each other. Let us continue to recognize the beauty in each other's diversity. ❤️✊🏽
How sad that there is so much misunderstanding among antisemitism, Zionism, abject ignorance, and pure hatred. Your beautifully articulated response to this person, Qasim, is a perfect antidote to the rampant prejudice plaguing our society today. Thank you.
Nuf’ said and well done QR. The audacity of people to think they own you as a subscriber, while publicly misconstruing your words, intentions, beliefs and standards is unconscionable. I hope that person can sit with that and really absorb your response.
His odd jump to the conclusion of tacitly approving something else that you are known not to approve of, makes you wonder about his reading comprehension, if he's actually read your posts, or, well, the obvious.
I fully understand where you are coming from. Sadly in our world of Duality, there will always be some people who cannot see that all races of humanity will always have good and bad people but we have to distinguish between a bad person in that race and not the race. The Jews are good people but not Netanyahu who commits genocide
and my Jewish friend is equally against him as I am! I also have a Russian friend but I am definitely against Putin and of course, Trump is no friend of mine although I have countless American friends. So never paint with one broad stroke condemning the whole race just because of one bad apple in that race. And my Muslim friend is just as dear to me as my other friends. Yes, I have friends of all races because I had travelled to many countries in the past when I was young. Our mind is like a parachute
in that it only works well when it is open ! I also believe that love is the power that heals our lives , and love is the power that will ultimately heal the world. When the Power of Love takes over the Love of Power, only then will there be peace in this world . Compassion, thoughtfulness, caring and unexpected kindness bring out the best in our natures.
Great response. Israel is a state that has conflated Jewish heritage with nationalism, just as misguided Nazis did in Germany when they tried to create a state based on ethnicity. Judaism is a religion and the Jewish people in the diaspora, broadly speaking, do not support Israel's colonialism. Just as the world did not support Germany's. We do not exterminate people because they are not like us if we wish to retain any semblance of morality.
Just because the rest of the world can't seem to separate Zionism and Judaism doesn't mean all the rest of us have to make that same mistake. While my mom is now a secular Jew who has gone through many religious transformations in her life, we're proud of our heritage and everything our family endured to come to this country and make better lives for themselves and for us. But they never felt any connection to Israel and I've never felt any reason to defend a place that was built on oppression. The world has had enough of that, and I carry enough existential guilt living in this country that was built on the same principles. Why would I then pledge allegiance to a country that is actively committing genocide when so much of my history was erased in exactly that same manner? I've been told that I'm not allowed to speak on this because I wasn't raised in the Jewish faith. So if it's just a matter of religion then that speaks of zealotry and I still want no part in it.
I appreciate you in so many ways and never doubted that you'd understand the nuances of this issue, but I appreciate so much more that you went to extra effort to try to set the record straight. The US has a serious problem misunderstanding ethno-religious groups and their ideals. I don't have to remind anyone how difficult times were for certain groups after 9/11. When I announced in my college radio station meeting for everyone to support the local Arab American grocers there were uncomfortable titters all around and it was very upsetting to me that supposedly enlightened college students weren't understanding the issue. I lived in AZ, and not too far from where I grew up a Sikh had been murdered because some idiot thought he might be a terrorist. Ignorance in these matters is unforgivable. It leads to fear and hate and violence. I think Master Yoda said something similar. :p
I'm frustrated and hurt that this man could not let go of his anger long enough to see through to his compassion and understanding, but I hope some day he can.
You are correct. The case you cited is horrendous discrimination against the poor couple. I hope they are suing over it in civil court for $$$. Good for a jury to weigh in on this.
This is one of the most compelling articles I have ever read in defense of human rights. I would like to see this article published in a commercial publication so that it can reach a larger audience. Thank you!
Humbled by these powerful and supportive comments. Forgive me if I cannot reply to them all. Want to reemphasize that recognizing every person's humanity is the absolute minimum we must all expect out of each other. Let us continue to recognize the beauty in each other's diversity. ❤️✊🏽
How sad that there is so much misunderstanding among antisemitism, Zionism, abject ignorance, and pure hatred. Your beautifully articulated response to this person, Qasim, is a perfect antidote to the rampant prejudice plaguing our society today. Thank you.
Thank you, Qasim, for such a well thought out reply.
Nuf’ said and well done QR. The audacity of people to think they own you as a subscriber, while publicly misconstruing your words, intentions, beliefs and standards is unconscionable. I hope that person can sit with that and really absorb your response.
His odd jump to the conclusion of tacitly approving something else that you are known not to approve of, makes you wonder about his reading comprehension, if he's actually read your posts, or, well, the obvious.
I fully understand where you are coming from. Sadly in our world of Duality, there will always be some people who cannot see that all races of humanity will always have good and bad people but we have to distinguish between a bad person in that race and not the race. The Jews are good people but not Netanyahu who commits genocide
and my Jewish friend is equally against him as I am! I also have a Russian friend but I am definitely against Putin and of course, Trump is no friend of mine although I have countless American friends. So never paint with one broad stroke condemning the whole race just because of one bad apple in that race. And my Muslim friend is just as dear to me as my other friends. Yes, I have friends of all races because I had travelled to many countries in the past when I was young. Our mind is like a parachute
in that it only works well when it is open ! I also believe that love is the power that heals our lives , and love is the power that will ultimately heal the world. When the Power of Love takes over the Love of Power, only then will there be peace in this world . Compassion, thoughtfulness, caring and unexpected kindness bring out the best in our natures.
Amen.
Thank you for sharing your goodness with the world, Qasim!
🎤 mic drop. Utmost respect 🙏
Great response. Israel is a state that has conflated Jewish heritage with nationalism, just as misguided Nazis did in Germany when they tried to create a state based on ethnicity. Judaism is a religion and the Jewish people in the diaspora, broadly speaking, do not support Israel's colonialism. Just as the world did not support Germany's. We do not exterminate people because they are not like us if we wish to retain any semblance of morality.
Just because the rest of the world can't seem to separate Zionism and Judaism doesn't mean all the rest of us have to make that same mistake. While my mom is now a secular Jew who has gone through many religious transformations in her life, we're proud of our heritage and everything our family endured to come to this country and make better lives for themselves and for us. But they never felt any connection to Israel and I've never felt any reason to defend a place that was built on oppression. The world has had enough of that, and I carry enough existential guilt living in this country that was built on the same principles. Why would I then pledge allegiance to a country that is actively committing genocide when so much of my history was erased in exactly that same manner? I've been told that I'm not allowed to speak on this because I wasn't raised in the Jewish faith. So if it's just a matter of religion then that speaks of zealotry and I still want no part in it.
I appreciate you in so many ways and never doubted that you'd understand the nuances of this issue, but I appreciate so much more that you went to extra effort to try to set the record straight. The US has a serious problem misunderstanding ethno-religious groups and their ideals. I don't have to remind anyone how difficult times were for certain groups after 9/11. When I announced in my college radio station meeting for everyone to support the local Arab American grocers there were uncomfortable titters all around and it was very upsetting to me that supposedly enlightened college students weren't understanding the issue. I lived in AZ, and not too far from where I grew up a Sikh had been murdered because some idiot thought he might be a terrorist. Ignorance in these matters is unforgivable. It leads to fear and hate and violence. I think Master Yoda said something similar. :p
I'm frustrated and hurt that this man could not let go of his anger long enough to see through to his compassion and understanding, but I hope some day he can.
You are correct. The case you cited is horrendous discrimination against the poor couple. I hope they are suing over it in civil court for $$$. Good for a jury to weigh in on this.
Well said. Mixing religion and politics has never worked.
Exactly. We need secular governance and absolute justice.
This is one of the most compelling articles I have ever read in defense of human rights. I would like to see this article published in a commercial publication so that it can reach a larger audience. Thank you!
Thank you for your trust and support, Marilyn.
Beautifully said
Thank you Qasim for sharing. Your integrity and your courage are what compels me/us to keep following your Substack posts!