Why Jews are generally happy (IMHO, I’m not an expert)
First, I want to say something about myself, to those who never met me. I’ve been on the internet for like 20 years, since I immigrated from a Ukrainian town/village Avdiivka to Israel, at the age of 13. I wanted to have my own website, my own space... and I never mentioned my age, or where I am from, because I wanted people to judge me by my Art, my skills, my intellect… I have a pretty international name, and I named my daughters international names too, because I thought we are going to be sort of Citizens of the World. We know several languages, we’re smart, we’re atheists, I never considered we would be judged by where we actually live, and where we come from. So I didn’t really mention it online. I didn’t have many friends in “reality” – I was bullied at school for being a Ukrainian (by Russians), I couldn’t really find “my” people in the vicinity – to discuss art and Classical Literature and Science-fiction with them… I thought, my “actual”, meaningful life is mostly online (Except my family, of course – I’m married and we have 2 daughters). I joined Geeky and Crafty Facebook groups, I tried being more productive on Social media, even tried opening a Youtube channel, an Etsy store, et cetera. And on October 7th I discovered it was all in vain and I was incredibly stupid.
Now, since the beginning of this war on October 7th ( my close friend is one of the victims, she miraculously survived, but is scarred for life and lost her house and everything in it) – I suddenly felt very close to the actual people around me, and very far from people on the internet. I’ve discovered many new things about myself via Social media. Such as, I am a filthy Zionist, lying Jew, stupid Female, and frankly the most offensive – Privileged (it’s not in my nature to list all the s***t I overcame to get to where I am (a point not that high by modern standards, by the way), but privileged I am definitely not). But also, a very contradictory one – Jews have a victim mentality.
Now, I’ve seen plenty of Jews in my life. And it’s the opposite of victim mentality. Jews are generally extremely happy and optimistic. I am not so, I’m broken. But the truth is – Jews were murdered, banished, ethnically cleansed, hated and feared throughout History, and they know that every generation will face some kind of war, conflict or other existential threat. So instead of sitting at home, fearing, trembling, and getting depressed – they decide 2 things: First: “Well, I woke up today and I’m not dead yet, isn’t it a cause for celebration? I am going to be grateful and happy today”, and Second: “Well, if I spend this day afraid and depressed – my haters have killed my soul and basically won, and I won’t let them, because (see point 1) – I’m alive today!”
Most of Israelis were shocked and appalled at the amount of hatred pouring from every Social media and TV-station after October 7th. And the problem is – it didn’t start pouring then, it’s not like the whole world adored Jews, and suddenly out of the blue, everyone changed their opinions. We just saw it for the first time this Fall (morbid pun intended). We were too busy either surviving or celebrating our successful survival, we never had time for haters. We knew antisemitism exists, that’s the main reason immigration to Israel is so high - people are fleeing antisemitism and hoping for a better life here…
I recall several instances from YEARS ago: accidentally mentioning on Facebook I’m in Israel in a Tv-show discussion, and getting a reply: “Oh yeah? How many Palestinian children did your husband kill today?” I was so shocked by the very idea that that’s what my Math-genius Anime-loving husband, or any Israeli man is doing daily for a living – I didn’t even know what to say… It’s when an accusation is so ridiculous – you can’t even start to debunk it. It’s like working as a cashier in Spain and hearing “Your name is Mary? How much baby blood have you squeezed for a cocktail “Bloody Mary” in a British pub today?”… It was difficult coming up with a wild enough theory for this example, because after everything I’ve heard people actually believe these days – it’s hard to think up something SO CRAZY, no one believes it. I mean, come on, it’s like saying “Earth is flat”, no, wait… “Vaccines contain chips”… huh… “There is a secret reptiloid society actually influencing everybody on Earth”… wait, nowadays I feel like MOST PEOPLE believe that…
Now frankly, I’m coming to a conclusion that this post is completely pointless because I am not going to even try changing anybody’s mind. It’s very simple: if you love Jews and Israel, and know where it is on the map and its actual History – you don’t need any explanations from me – you already know Hamas is a terrorist organization, Israel is literally fighting an existential war on 3 fronts, Israel gave up land in exchange for Peace, and didn’t really get peace… and all that. If you hate Jews and Israel – then you’ll assume I am being paid by Mossad, I am a lying Jew, and I live in an apartment building stolen from poor Palestinians in 1948 despite the fact that this building is 3 years old. Also, I am not any kind of expert or celebrity to even wish to change and influence anybody at all. I just sat down and decided that I exist here today, and I don’t want my own life-views to die with me…
I thought – maybe if we, Israelis, shared more “negative stuff” – like every time I almost got on the bus that was destined to blow-up, every time I escaped a shoot-out or a mass-stabbing, every time I heard a siren, saw rocket debris, a rocket hit my friend’s home, someone I know became relocated because of a dangerous situation, or changed vacation plans because of “looming escalation”… would it change the world’s mind, or would all the haters go “boo-hoo” and resume their classical – Jews are liars, perpetual victims, occupiers, yada-yada?.. So, I guess at some point, that’s what every Israeli decided – why spend your time on the haters? We, living here, know the truth, see what’s happening every day, we become a very tight-knit community in the face of danger, we don’t even need Media, News or Propaganda to know everything – it’s a tiny country, and even I, being a pretty introverted person – usually know what just happened in a neighboring city or on my street. So at some point we decided – let everyone think whatever they want. We have our own life to live, we know our own History, and we’ll get through this together, and every hardship we survive – we’ll be happy and grateful we actually survived it!
Now, I only speak for myself, I am not going to bring up any facts, evidence, and whatever. But I have actually stumbled upon great videos that explain everything, and I wish everyone saw them, so that if you are not opinionated, but genuinely can’t make heads or tails of this crazy situation, here they are. They describe everything I would never manage to tell so shortly and precisely, and show Israel is in the right, so, dear Haters, be free to dismiss them as evil Zionist propaganda…
History of conflict in the Middle East:
A Palestinian explains Hamas:
Where are the huge numbers of “innocent civilians” coming from? Hamas.
