February 11, 2024

Is Anti-Zionism And Antisemitism the same thing?

Short answer: theoretically yes, but there are exceptions…

A slightly longer one: Not at all, but statistically most often they are used in the same way to mean the same thing.

Now for a more full answer… a guy in a YouTube comment asked me “If Zionism isn’t Judaism, why is Congress passing laws saying it is, laws now passed and, on the books, saying that anti-Zionism is anti Semitism? Looks like Jews want them to be one and the same.” - And here’s my reply:

February 2, 2024

"So how are you both for the oppressors and the oppressed?"

This is the middle east, so of course it’s even more complicated than that. I’ll try to give a very compressed answer here, it’s missing a lot of nuance.

First, I’m a humanist, I want no one person to die or suffer. This is not a Utopia so I’d like to have Hamas’ operatives stripped of a few freedoms, i.e. put in jail, for their crimes, However I don’t think their subjects (That’s civilians in dictatorship-speak) should suffer for their wrongdoings.

December 5, 2023

Ceasefire may mean even more death at this point

Once in a while I answer some random person online and it ends up so long it’s worth making a whole post about. This is in response to a Bernie Sanders fanboy that was devastated with his stance on the ceasefire question. Bernie in Jewish, has visited Israel a few times but as far as I gathered, he is not identifying as a Zionist. However he IS a humanist, and therefore his many fans (I suppose mostly self proclaimed young gen Z self-proclaimed socialists) are appalled by his support for the IDF to continue ploughing into Gaza and snuffing out all Ḥamas combatants. The guy actually said Bernie “made him cry” in the replies to this post by Norman Finkelstein, a holocaust survivors’ son who criticizes Israel’s claim for territories. Here’s my answer more or less:

January 9, 2021

Post Pandemic Poem

I hope to live a few more years
and find a way to get more healthy.
I don’t regret decades of beers,
but if death comes, I hope it’s stealthy.

I have survived a year of doom,
with cancer, plague, and long work days.
And now I pick an FC Loom,
as evening sets, and vent malaise.

For though our woes seem oversized,
and future questions unsurmised,
I’m calmer, Jack, I got my own;
I rolled my sleeve and got me Pfized.

August 27, 2014

Have you written to the FCC today?

Just posted this on Dear FCC:

Dear FCC,

I’m Ira Abramov and I live in Ramat Gan, Israel. Net neutrality, the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) treat all data that travels over their networks equally, is important to me because without it My freedoms of expression, usage and being informed are hurt. A pay-to-play Internet worries me because new, innovative services that can’t afford expensive fees for better service will be less likely to succeed. My entire professional and activist life is based on the ability to learn through the net, communicate with and activate people through it. It’s the real land of equal opportunities that can’t be matched today by political and pricey educational systems. It’s like taxing pedestrians for walking certain streets, reading the signs and walking to stores. It is an unfair and unjust tampering with an important public resource.

June 29, 2013

A Eulogy for Yaron Abramov

English translation follows below. You are welcome to add your thoughts below in the comments.

את ההספד הזה כתבה ברובו אחותי ענת והוספתי לו בעצם מעט מאוד:

נגמר, אבא כבר לא סובל. אנחנו עצובים ושבורים, אבל מרגישים הקלה בשבילו.

יש מכם שהכירו אותו יותר ופחות. הוא היה אדם עם מאגרים עצומים של ידע מרתק, בהמון נושאים, ובפרט כל דבר שקשור לארץ ישראל, דתות, תרבויות, גיאולוגיה וארכיאולוגיה. מדריך תיירים עם מעריצים (ומעריצות) בכל העולם, אוהב לבשל ולאכול אוכל טוב, מתעד נלהב בכל סוגי המצלמות, מעריך גאדג’טים מסור, נהג-נווט אלוף, וכח העל שלו היה מציאת־חניות-בדיוק-ממול, והכל עם המון הומור אינטיליגנטי ומשחקי מילים. חלק מהדברים עברו אלינו בירושה בצורה כזאת או אחרת, וחלק פשוט העשירו את חיינו ויצרו חוויות משותפות נפלאות וזכרונות נעימים. בעיקר הוא היה אבא אוהב, מחבק ומלטף עם ידיים מופלאות שהעלימו כל כאב.

June 24, 2013

RIP Yaron Abramov

I’m writing this post in English because It is meant to be a permanent page for people from all over world to leave their public thoughts and messages (since on Facebook things get washed away in the stream). You can also write us personal thoughts at yaron@abramov.org, both Anat and Ira will get your messages.

Dear Friends and family,

With a grave feeling of loss and a broken heart, mixed with the relief that his suffering ended, we write to inform you that our beloved father Yaron has passed away last night. The funeral will take place today, Monday, June 24th 2013, at 7pm in Har Hamenuhot, Giva’at Sha’ul, Jerusalem. From tomorrow we will be in the house we grew up with our father, in Derekh Hatatzpit 1, Ein Karem, Jerusalem.

February 18, 2013

Harlem Shake, Javascript Edition (Original v1!)

In case you are not completely fed up with it yet, my friend Or Cohen made a Harlem Shake for your Twitter feed. It’s an early version, might get upgraded, might get ported to facebook. If you port it, let us know and I’ll add it here…

drag the bookmarklet from this page to your browser’s bookmarks.
skip over to twitter.com (your main feed, not the “connect” tab)
hit the bookmarklet and enjoy :-)

May 17, 2012

Refugees and Jewish Legacy

My Spidey Sense (actually a Google alert) notified me that a photo I took was used and credited with my name. It’s an article talking about African migrants collectively declared criminals by Eli Yishai.

I just had to reply. Sadly the reply was over twice the length limit allowed. Instead of posting it split three ways, I’ll just post it here.

Thanks for the photo credit, but I wish the report was a bit more complete.