Keeping
Up With The Jen O’Syders
by C.A. Matthews
From
time to time, we at The
Revolution Continues
blog like to get out in the community and see how people are coping
and dealing with life in this challenging century. This week we
stopped by a local park, and I
had
a chat on a park bench with a mother of two school-aged sons while
her
kids played on the playground.
Our
guest
calls herself “an All-American Soccer Mom.” Meet Jennifer O’Syder
or “Jen” for short.
TRC:
Thanks for chatting with us today, Jen.
Jen:
You’re welcome. I must admit when you walked over to me that I was
intrigued by your t-shirt’s slogan. What does “Not in our name”
mean?
TRC:
This shirt was given to me at a peace demonstration held
by JVP*.
It means we don’t want Israel to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian
people from
their land.
We are against the genocide in Gaza and
the
attacks against Palestinians and others living in the West Bank. We
demand
that the bombing stop, especially the bombing of hospitals, places of worship, refugee camps, and schools.
Jen:
(Wrinkling her nose up and looking rather perplexed.) But...um… I
thought those Ay-rabs Philistines were the “bad guys”.
TRC:
Do you mean the Palestinians? The are a Semitic people native to the
region that is now called Israel. They were forced out of their homes
and off their land by Zionist terrorists such as the Stern Gang in
1948.
Jen:
Terrorists? The Palestinians have been terrorists for that long?
TRC:
No, they have been victimized by Zionist terrorists for more than 80
years now. Some of Zionist
terrorist actions against the natives of Palestine started during the
time of the Ottoman Empire occupation before
World War I.
But in 1948 it
got much worse.
Zionists, mostly
from Europe, forced
over 700,000 Palestinians off their farms and olive groves and out of
their homes
and
villages.
These
Israeli terrorists literally stole the natives’
houses
and marched the Palestinians, the
old and the young, men,
women and children, into the desert at gun point.
Jen:
But I thought the Israelites have always lived in Israel. Our Bible
study teacher told us so.
TRC:
The “Israelites” were an ancient Middle Eastern people who
claimed
that
their patriarch Abraham migrated
from the east, from the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley
region or from
what we would
call
modern-day Iraq. Abraham
settled his family in the ancient land of
Canaan, and it wasn’t exactly empty—it was full of many native
peoples living there. There seems to have been a lot warring with the
Israelites claiming God had given them Canaan, and that they had the
right to slaughter all its original inhabitants.
Jen:
The Israelites were Iraqis? Like that Saddam Hussein guy? (She sticks
out her tongue.) Ugh.
TRC:
Not quite, but yes, the Israelites
were related to
the Iraquis and the peoples they intermarried with
in
what would later become known as Palestine during the Roman Empire
times.
The Israelites as a group fought
and lost a war
against
their
Roman occupiers in
the year 70 A.D. and
were dispersed. Most
migrated
to others places within
the Roman world
and
began to intermarry with the people in those lands.
Jen:
But if they’re not living in Israel today, then why do we still
have Israelites?
TRC:
Technically
we don’t. The
“Israelis” of
today are
basically Caucasian
European
peoples who practice the religion of Judaism or
those
whose
family members did, as many
younger Israelis claim to be atheists.
They
started
to migrate in
numbers to what became the British
Mandate of Palestine
starting in the 1920s under
the banner of Zionism, or the political viewpoint that persons
of Jewish ancestry had
the right to take back the land of their distant ancestors.
Jen: So a few Israelites, uh, Israelis, returned home? No problem.
TRC: It became a bigger problem after World War II when ever larger numbers of Jewish persons, who held to the tenets of Zionism, left war-torn Europe and settled in Palestine against the wishes of
the British ruling the territory. The
British
tried their best to keep the peace between these colonizers and the
native peoples, but the Zionist
newcomers
had a lot of weaponry and rich backers overseas. They blew up the King David Hotel in 1946 and killed at least 90 persons, including dozens of British diplomats.
Then the Zionists
launched a
series of terrorist attacks against the Palestinians that built up to the 1948 Nakba,
which translates to “catastrophe” or “holocaust,” forcing the Palestinians from their homes at the cost of many lives.
Jen:
So,
the
Jews started their own holocaust against the Ay-rabs? Guess they’d
be experts at
that sort of thing,
huh? (Snorting and chuckling.) But I thought they were all
supposed
to go and live in Israel anyways.
TRC:
Uh, no, people who practice the religion of Judaism can and do live
all over the world today. They aren’t confined to one country. Some
even live in our town. For example, there’s a synagogue not too far
from this park.
Jen:
Yeah,
I’ve driven past it, but
it’s
not a proper temple like the real Jews are supposed to worship in.
Our preacher
told us that the Jews
are
all supposed to go to Jerusalem to worship at the big temple there.
Once they all get there and do that, then the End Times begin, and
Jesus will come
and take
us, his
chosen people,
to heaven and send the rest of
you to
hell.
TRC:
Okay…
So,
you’re saying that the fate of the world rests on one religious
group moving to a particular city in the Middle East to perform a
particular style of worship in order for your
religious group to reach the afterlife?
Jen:
No,
not
the afterlife—heaven. It’s really important that all those Jews
who rejected Jesus be corralled
together in one spot called Israel so he can zap them and send them
to hell for having him crucified.
TRC:
Hmm...Interesting.
It
was actually the Romans who had Jesus crucified. Does that mean all
the citizens living
in
modern-day Rome will
get
“zapped” too?
Jen:
(Shrugging.)
Well,
maybe. I don’t know. If they’re Jewish, they’ll all be in
Israel anyway and can
get
zapped there.
But
what’s the big deal? We
tell all the Jews in the world to go
live in Israel. It’ll
get
them out our cities here
where
all
they do is cheat
people at banking and jewelry sales.
TRC:
(Sighing) And open up more acting jobs and stand-up comedy gigs for
non-Jewish persons?
Jen:
Now you’re getting it!
TRC:
But the Palestinian people also
live
in the modern state of Israel and deserve to have homes where their
ancestors lived too, right? Some of them are Christian. The Israelis
bombed the third oldest church in Christendom, St. Porphyrius,
recently and
destroyed it, killing and injuring many people.
Don’t you as a practicing Christian find that upsetting?
Jen:
Maybe
if they were “real Christians” that didn’t worship Mary and
their graven idols and paintings on the ceilings so much, I’d find
it upsetting. But they’re fakes, so if they get bombed, then so be
it. The Israelites—I mean Israelis
have
got to have more room to squish in all the Jews from around the world
into one place so Jesus can come again to rule with grace and mercy.
TRC:
How “merciful” is it to bomb hospitals, schools, and refugee
camps where children and their families are located? Do little
children who may or may not be “real Christians” deserve to die
such horrible deaths?
Jen:
Jesus did say something along the lines of “suffer the little
children” so perhaps that’s what he meant. (Shrugging.)
I don’t know. They’re
just in the wrong place at the wrong time so they get
to suffer. Besides, if they’re Ay-rabs they’re not going to
amount to much in the long run really,
are they? They’re not as smart as white people because they can’t
make their letters right. Their
writing
looks like so many squiggles.
TRC:
(Sighing.)
Yeah,
it’s not like they were
smart enough to
invent the
Arabic numerals that
we
all use alongside the Roman alphabet, is
it?
Jen:
Huh? (A commotion draws her attention to the playground.) Hey! Jimmy!
Get off that thing right now!
Jimmy:
(Shouting
back) But
we’re swinging together! We
can go faster and higher together!
Jen:
Not with that wetback, you don’t! Billy—go get your brother off
that swing pronto!
Billy:
But Mom…
They’re
having fun. They
ain’t
doing anything wrong.
Jen:
I don’t need to tell you that we don’t mess around
with
people with skin the color of mud. It
might rub off on us. (Curling
her hand into a fist.) Get your little brother off that swing right
now
before
I make you regret the day you were born!
TRC:
“Suffer the little children,” right Jen?
Jen:
Hey, I don't mean to sound crass, but people die all the time. Some just get
to die
younger than others. If Israelis want to bomb a bunch of Ay-rabs kids
into the dust and
wipe them off the face of the earth,
who am I to tell them they’re wrong? For Jews, they at least got
the right idea about not mixing the races. If their ancestors hadn’t
slept with all
those
filthy Canaanites, they probably wouldn’t have killed Jesus. Our
preacher
says there’s more than a grain of truth in that.
TRC:
(Nodding.)
I’m
sure he or she does.
Jen:
He, of course. Women shouldn’t be leading others in worship.
They’re not good enough to in God’s eyes. Not smart enough to
interpret scripture for themselves.
TRC:
(Rising
from the park bench.) I
sort of figured you’d say that. It’s been interesting talking
with you today,
Jen O’Syder.
Take care.
Jen:
You’re welcome. Where you going now?
TRC:
I’m going to go over to
swing with that little boy who
was enjoying his double swing with Jimmy. Maybe we can swing together
high
enough to reach a low Earth orbit. I feel like leaving the planet
about now.
*JVP
stands for “Jewish Voice for Peace,” an anti-war, pro-Palestinian
group of Jewish persons and their allies. Learn
more about them at: https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/
* * *
November 20 was World Children's Day.
World Children’s Day, celebrated annually on November 20, is a global initiative promoting children’s rights, safety, education, health and happiness.
It comes this year amid Israel’s war on Gaza. About half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people are children.
Since October 7, Israeli attacks have killed at least 5,500 children,
according to Palestinian officials. That is one Palestinian child
killed every 10 minutes, or about one out of every 200 children in the
Gaza Strip.
An additional 1,800 children are missing under the rubble, most of
them presumed dead. A further 9,000 children have been injured, many
with life-changing consequences. Many of these children have lived
through the trauma of multiple wars.
This infographic online at Al Jazeera lists the names and ages of less than half of those children killed over the past six weeks.
Related Articles and Other Interesting Links
WATCH: Israeli children sing, "We will annihilate everyone" in Gaza, against a background of destruction
Poll Shows American Support for Israel Is Cratering Amid Its Violent Siege https://truthout.org/articles/poll-shows-american-support-for-israel-is-cratering-amid-its-violent-siege/
Poll: Majority of Americans Support a Ceasefire in Gaza
https://news.antiwar.com/2023/11/15/poll-majority-of-americans-support-a-ceasefire-in-gaza/
***MUST READ: Don’t blame Israel, blame a “weak” Washington https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/dont-blame-israel-blame-a-weak-washington
Panic as Gaza’s al-Shifa evacuates, Israel army denies ordering it to do so https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/18/israel-gives-gazas-al-shifa-hospital-one-hour-to-evacuate
Israel-Hamas war live: ‘At least 50’ dead in Israeli strike on Gaza school https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/18/israel-hamas-war-live-conditions-worsen-as-another-baby-dies-at-al-shifa
Is History Repeating Itself in Israel-Palestine? https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/is-history-repeating-itself-in-israel
Probe Shows 126+ Civilians Killed by Israeli Airstrike Targeting 'Just One Guy' https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-bomb-refugee-camp
The US Has A Standing Policy Of Ignoring The Human Rights Violations Of Its Allies https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-us-has-a-standing-policy-of-ignoring
Tone Policing Opposition To Genocide https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/tone-policing-opposition-to-genocide
PATRICK LAWRENCE: The Banality of Propaganda https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/14/patrick-lawrence-the-banality-of-propaganda/
Israelis Keep Hurting Their Own PR Interests By Talking https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israelis-keep-hurting-their-own-pr
They're Just Insulting Our Intelligence At This Point
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/theyre-just-insulting-our-intelligence
My tense exchange on a train with Sen. Chris Coons over Gaza
https://www.aaronmate.net/p/a-tense-exchange-on-a-train-with
Canada/US' quiet motive for backing Israel's genocide
https://truthb.substack.com/p/canadaus-quiet-motive-for-backing
Don’t be fooled. Biden is fully signed up to genocide in Gaza https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/dont-be-fooled-biden-is-fully-signed
Over 1,200 ‘Educators for Palestine’ Sign Open Letter Demanding Ceasefire https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/16/over-1200-educators-for-palestine-sign-open-letter-demanding-ceasefire/
GAZA ON THE BRINK - LIVE WITH LOWKEY AND AARON MATÉ https://chroniclesofhaiphong.substack.com/p/gaza-on-the-brink-live-with-lowkey
Criminalization of First Amendment-Protected Pro-Palestinian Speech Is Spreading https://truthout.org/articles/criminalization-of-first-amendment-protected-pro-palestinian-speech-is-spreading
With more than 10,000 Palestinians killed in the last month, Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of refugee camps, and an ever-widening ground invasion in Gaza, it’s critical that student activists and people at large can gather, protest and exercise their right to speak freely.
When political speech is criminalized, it renders the First Amendment meaningless. Collectively, we must demand that universities and colleges continue to honor student organizations’ right to freedom of expression, and we must demand the same from our elected officials and law enforcement. Now is not the time for silence.
Official Israeli Investigation Determines IDF Helicopters Killed Civilians on October 7 https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah/status/1725958732113162579
America Inc. with Lee Camp: Top 11 Companies Supporting Israel’s Crimes https://youtu.be/Jvz5_yvfwLE?si=UR85uo7TtgWK0433
Israel Is Shutting Down Its Human Laboratory In Gaza https://popularresistance.org/israel-is-shutting-down-its-human-laboratory-in-gaza/
Meet The Activists Fighting Zionism With Direct Action
https://popularresistance.org/meet-the-activists-fighting-zionism-with-direct-action/
Palestinians File Emergency Motion to Block US Aid for Israel’s Genocide in Gaza https://truthout.org/articles/palestinians-file-emergency-motion-to-block-us-aid-for-israels-genocide-in-gaza/
