Some of you know, some of you don't. But about a week or so ago there was an explosion in fandom regarding Antisemitism(1). Seeing as it was all very US-Centric I didn't feel I had much to contribute and to tell the truth I didn't think I could give any proper account for being a minority seeing as the country I live in, being Jewish is the privileged majority, specifically Ashkenazi Jews, like me.
Basically, in Israel, religiously, racially and ethnically, I'm the "WASP"(2). I am greatly privileged by this, even in countries outside Israel, unless I told someone no would know I was Jewish (I'm pale and fair and have no physical characteristics that would mark me as Jew), when I speak English I have a South African accent, thanks to being the child of immigrants, and my name isn't a Hebrew name, again, thanks to being the child of immigrants.
All this makes me extremely, extremely privileged.
At home I am "the majority" and don't need to pretend to be anything else and in other "White Majority" countries I can pass with little effort.
( so as not to eat your f-list )
Another thing that erupted from this whole kerfuffle, is a meme (that's what it is) that began at
oyceter and it's called common and hidden knowledge and it comes to challenge what we know or what we thing we know about certain things in cultures no our own. Lots of people have already done their own, some of them have been about Judaism, so it seems redundant for me to do one about that.
So I've decided to test my readers knowledge about the basics of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
I ask you not to answer the questions in the comments, as I'll be posting the answers sometime later on, you can tell me if you think you know the answers, but actual answers later.
( Common and Hidden Knowledge on the Israel-Palestinian Conflict )
Hope you guys do well!
Notes:
(1) A few more links: here, here, here and here. There will probably be more later today or tomorrow so just keep track of
metafandom which is a great link gathering comm in any event.
(2) If I start on the personal politics, woman and queer thing I'll never get to my point, but having certain politics, being female and queer, does cause trouble.
ETA:
coffeeandink made a link roundup of other "Hidden and Common Knowledge" posts, including others in the comments.
21/10/07 ETA: The answers to the Hidden and Common Knowledge questions are here.
In addition, the genocide in Darfur must be stopped.
וכמו כן, צריך לעצור את רצח העם בדרפור.
Basically, in Israel, religiously, racially and ethnically, I'm the "WASP"(2). I am greatly privileged by this, even in countries outside Israel, unless I told someone no would know I was Jewish (I'm pale and fair and have no physical characteristics that would mark me as Jew), when I speak English I have a South African accent, thanks to being the child of immigrants, and my name isn't a Hebrew name, again, thanks to being the child of immigrants.
All this makes me extremely, extremely privileged.
At home I am "the majority" and don't need to pretend to be anything else and in other "White Majority" countries I can pass with little effort.
( so as not to eat your f-list )
Another thing that erupted from this whole kerfuffle, is a meme (that's what it is) that began at
So I've decided to test my readers knowledge about the basics of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
I ask you not to answer the questions in the comments, as I'll be posting the answers sometime later on, you can tell me if you think you know the answers, but actual answers later.
( Common and Hidden Knowledge on the Israel-Palestinian Conflict )
Hope you guys do well!
Notes:
(1) A few more links: here, here, here and here. There will probably be more later today or tomorrow so just keep track of
(2) If I start on the personal politics, woman and queer thing I'll never get to my point, but having certain politics, being female and queer, does cause trouble.
ETA:
21/10/07 ETA: The answers to the Hidden and Common Knowledge questions are here.
In addition, the genocide in Darfur must be stopped.
וכמו כן, צריך לעצור את רצח העם בדרפור.