Michel Kichka is a cartoonist borne in Belgium with Jewish roots, who became intrigued with Israel, and decided to do a permanent move, marrying and raising a family there with his French wife.

* “Aliyah” is a somewhat complicated word as I grasp it, but from what I understand at the basic level, refers to going back to one’s roots / homeland.

-----> https://imgur.com/a/kjMohrs <-----

The way the sequence above concluded really shocked me, and even brought a tear to my eye, honestly. Me, I’m not remotely used to dealing with people like that, and yet I guess that’s how it works in certain parts of the world? (gadzooks, mistress goose)

In terms of the comic itself, I found this sequence rather current & relevant to the USA, and a pretty excellent, interesting survey of the artist’s life and Israeli culture. At the same time, it established little to no emotional connection with the characters, which is usually how we do these things, but… oh well?

https://www.bedetheque.com/auteur-23699-BD-Kichka-Michel.html

EDIT: As we’ve clarified multiple times here, this story snippet has to do with neighborhood relations in an Israeli city. It is by no means addressing anything on a national basis, including Israeli relations with other peoples or nations. Attempts to highjack the thread in that direction directly breaks our #1 rule here (practice netiquette) and will be dealt with accordingly. Thank you for your cooperation.

  • mathemachristian[he]English
    -3•3 months ago

    Modern israel was built on the idea of colonialism, not giving jewish people a homeland. That’s why Herzl wrote Rhodes and visited some of the most horrendous antisemites of his time like the russian czar. To him the jewish people were nothing more than bodies to settle the colony he wished to build (similar to rhodesia). Why else would the y have contemplated argentina at some point for instance? Why the lost generation of the mizrahi jews? The forced sterilization of ethiopian jews?

    Zionism is racist and at it’s core anti-semitic since it wields the suffering of the jewish people as a shield to legitimize it’s settler colonialism.

    • @TheFonzEnglish
      4•3 months ago

      Even if all of what you’re saying is true (it’s not), the clock of time is not going back. The founding of the United States is built on the spilled blood of native Americans. What are kids born in the US today supposed to do? This type of clinging to the past to justify any contemporary analysis is the reason things aren’t moving forward.

      • mathemachristian[he]English
        0•2 months ago

        Which parts do you think are untrue?

        And the kids born to settler priviledge are supposed to give the land back. Then either integrate or fuck off. Like imagine you inherit a plantation and the wealth it was built on was built by slaves, you should not have a right to that wealth. Same with german companies that got expropriated by the nazis. Give them back or nationalise them, there shouldn’t be private gain from genocidal actions.

        Also do you not realise that the genocide of native americans is ongoing? The landgrabbing and keeping them in mass poverty and poor access to education, healthcare etc is still very much a reality today.

        readsettlers.org

        • @TheFonzEnglish
          2•2 months ago

          Nothing you said necessarily contradicts what I wrote. These are lofty ideas. We should all be striving for ultimate justice. Native Americans should have their lands returned; descendants of slaves should have economic reparations; and so forth.

          But how far do we turn back the clock and what is the net benefit? At some point you have to pick a time stamp and freeze history. Otherwise we could sit here endlessly picking arbitrary points to restore the time machine.

          But maybe instead of focusing so much on the what we should be focusing on the how. Ultimately everyone wants some measure of justice. Talk to Palestinians or Jews: each will have a different interpretation or vision of justice means to them. But how do we get there?

          kids born to settler privilege are supposed to give the land back.

          Ok. How are you going to accomplish that exactly? What does this sentiment or statement accomplish in terms of ending the current suffering that is happening? I’m not sure I understand what these declarations are intended to convey or who the audience is?

    • @[email protected]OPMEnglish
      2•3 months ago

      You make some nice points to me. Not unlike what happened in the USA, altho I’m not perfectly from the States.

      BUT you just skipped over the enormous points I brought up at the start. Now why is that…?

      • mathemachristian[he]English
        0•3 months ago

        The point about how israel wouldn’t be necessary if jews weren’t persecuted? I think I made it clear that the persecution was used as a cudgel to move bodies to the colony, not that the colony was established as a safe haven for jews.

        Because if it truly was about helping jews the racism against non-white jews wouldn’t exist.

        • @[email protected]OPMEnglish
          1•3 months ago

          I think I made it clear that the persecution was used as a cudgel to move bodies to the colony

          You see, when in retrospect, that stuff doesn’t matter when a peoples are pushed over and across their breaking point.

          Take a little mouse, for example. Let’s say you smack it around for a long while, then finally push it in to a corner. Then you lean in for a kiss.

          OF COURSE YOU’RE GOING TO GET BITTEN?

          Don’t you get it? (even at just a… theoretical level)