The Advocate

Before October 7, 2023, I was a proud progressive Jew here in San Leandro. Before October 7, I was a friend of our local Social Justice Academy and our resident Democratic Socialists of America chapter. Before October 7, I never would have believed that Jews were endangered by leftist antisemitism . After October 7, I learned how very wrong I was. In the wake of the Hamas massacre, fallen friends and alleged allies turned their backs. People I've stood with for police reform, housing, healthcare, and social justice here in San Leandro now embrace antisemitism, tokenization, and conspiracy theories, promoting the very same bigotry they claim to oppose. Just as we have seen in Oakland, Richmond, Berkeley, and San Francisco , the cause of Palestinian liberation has been hijacked for divisive attacks on Jewish people rather than advocating for peace and the sanctity of human life. I write publicly now because as Rabbi Abraham Kook taught, "I don't speak because I have the pow...

Since the massacre in Israel on October 7 by Hamas , I have faced death threats, harassment, slurs, blood libels, and other acts of antisemitism here at home. My family in Ramat Gan, just outside of Tel Aviv, have endured rocket attacks and evacuations. Some of my friends and acquaintances in Southern Israel are either missing or presumed dead. Meanwhile, Palestinian civilians, including thousands of children, are being killed in airstrikes that have done nothing to stop Hamas and endanger the hostages currently still being held somewhere in Gaza. At the same time, global unrest has erupted, from attacks on synagogues and Jewish cultural centers, to the murders of Palestinian-Americans and proposals to deport Muslims and Arabs. It would be impossible for me to list all of the tragedies and bigotries that are coursing through America, and globally, against Jews, Muslims, Arabs, Israelis, and Palestinians. However, I hope you understand that what you have heard happening to myself and ot...

If you don't follow me on Jewish Twitter (Jewitter), you might be surprised that I haven't spoken much about the horrors carried out by Hamas recently, or the terrors by the Israeli government. But I was and have been. Just not here. Because this wasn't the place or the time for me to emotionally process burned and behead Jewish babies alongside the corpses of Israeli women who were raped. The Gazan children orphaned, facing starvation and dehydration while bombs and rockets dropped on their homes. Still, after the initial shock and grief over the loss of life on every side, and after frantic concern for my family in Ramat Gan as well as my wife and children and synagogue (because violence in Israel-Palestine always spills over onto our respective diaspora communities), I'm ready as I'll ever be. Let me be clear: I'm a Zionist and a Palestinian Nationalist. I support a pluralistic and democratic Israel that endures as the fulfillment of the Jewish people's r...

( Illustration: Maxime Mouysset) Well, looks like we made the papers! (Again.) Check out this investigative piece from Bloomberg / CityLab by Sarah Holder and Fola Akinnibi,  Nextdoor’s Quest to Beat Toxic Content and Make Money It still only scratches the surface. On Nextdoor in San Leandro, racial profiling, antisemitism, harassment, and abuse are rampant to the point that they've become core features of the platform. Users on Nextdoor in our city spread false kidnapping claims and call the police on innocent people, advocate for gun violence, share COVID-19 conspiracy theories, as well as attack anyone who doesn't subscribe to their brand of bigotry. People in San Leandro have been hurt because of the toxicity that congeals on Nextdoor, spilling over into real life again and again. In less than two years, we've seen the results from assaults on BIPOC participating in our local Buy Nothing group to attacks on our unhoused population just trying to find a safe place to ...

(Cyrus restoring the vessels of the temple, by Gustave Dor é) The Cyrus Cylinder is the archaeological evidence supporting ancient Jewish history of our people's return to Israel in 539 BCE following the destruction of the Neo-Babylonian Empire by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. From this event came the terms Shivat Tzion and aliyah . Take note and take care.

I've come to realize that I end up repeating myself a lot when engaging with other people in my work. The hard part is that the topic that most frequently rears itself repeatedly is about my background. How dare I. Who am I. What do I know. What gives me the right. At this point, I'm just tired and bored of having to bare my soul every single time someone with a chip on their shoulder wants to try throwing it at my face. Like with most things in my life, I've chosen to write it down somewhere that people can read at their leisure and convenience. And, also, where I can finally get a little leisure and convenience. So, if you have questions about me then here are some answers. I do mean some. Not all. There will always be things I refuse to share except with my loved ones. Now... prepare for a Very Long Post! *** As a legal advocate, community organizer, civil servant, and experienced public administrator, I believe I possess a unique combination of education, experience, an...

( Credit: Alex Levin ) Are Jews indigenous or nah? Honestly, this is a complicated question that divides even Jewish people! However, I like the answer given by Mahrinah von Schlegel, an indigenous advocate belonging to the Tewa people of the Northern Rio Grande Pueblos who is also a Sephardic Jew: "Judaism is a land-based agricultural religion. We have had a spiritual and stewardship relationship with the land of Israel since the beginning of our collective memory. Land relationships and stewardship is a critical foundation for any tribe's indigeneity." You can read more about her views at this Newsweek article . Take note and take care.

( Credit: Ephraim Moses Lilien ) A while ago I started posting this topic on my other social media accounts to cultivate a healthier and more sustainable social media praxis. But I never thought to share them on here! Well, to correct that oversight, here are all the posts since I started in order from the very first to the most recent. NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend! But I'm happy to answer more in the comments. NB Deuce: Zionism means the right of Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral and historic homeland. For this to be true, it must be true for all other people too. Zionism cannot coexist with oppression, injustice, or crimes against humanity without losing its meaning entirely. Indeed, the right of all people to self-determination in their ancestral and historic homeland is the core tenet behind Zionism since Exodus. Without it, Zionism is merely another form of tyranny. *** The 1st expression of Zionism in Jewish history com...

(Image credit: Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle .) The image above is of some random White goyishe dude spraying "Free Palestine" in graffiti, defacing a synagogue during Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The number of alleged progressives I've seen talking about this and missing the point about why defacing a synagogue is wrong is just fucking wild. But the number of my fellow Jews defending it!? Like, goyishe antisemitism is kinda expected, but the internalized antisemitism from antizionist Jews? Whew... Hard to tell if the perfect misunderstandings are intentional or genuinely ignorant. Like, there's disagreement about Israel's and Palestine's rights to exist - which are real problems! - and then there's a hate crime. Done by some random White dude gentile. We saw this same shit in May at Beth Israel in Los Angeles, where there were no flags. Indeed, that's exactly how we know its never been about the flags. Defacing synagogues for the ac...

(Source.) There are times when I feel as if I cannot trust myself. There are times when I feel as if my own judgement is insufficient to conquer my doubts, the internalized fear that has been with me since childhood. There are times when I fall into the trap poignantly stated by William Butler Yeats, Bertrand Russell, and even Charles goddamn Bukowski. These times are often no more feverish than when confronted with antisemitism... Here is paraphrased excerpt from Irena Klepfisz's "Anti-Semitism in the Lesbian/Feminist Movement" (pgs. 49-51), offering a series of questions that "both Jewish and non-Jewish women might consider asking in trying to identify in themselves sources of shame, conflict, doubt, and anti-Semitism." (H/t to The Debate Link for their summary and sourcing.) 1. Do I have to check with other Jewish people in order to verify whether something is antisemitic? 2. Do I distrust my own judgement on this issue? 3. When I am certa...