some people ask me some variation of "do you support israel?" upon hearing me speak Hebrew or mention my Judaism. you might be one of those people.

here's an incomplete list of reasons why you shouldn't:

i'm a non-white trans woman who spoke openly in a video essay about her experience of being harassed by soldiers. i also host a site on neocities. you're smart, i'm sure you can infer my political leaning from that.

by asking me if i support israel, you are implicitly assuming that i do and want to make sure that i'm actually one of the good guys. that assumption, of Jewish people being loyal to israel, is an antisemitic belief propagated by the state of israel to feign more support than it really has. i'd guess that's not compatible with your belief system.

i'm going to make the assumption that most people who'll read this are residents of first world countries, and therefore are not likely to have experience living through war. if you do, i'm sorry and i pray that peace be upon you and your loved ones. if you don't, count your blessings. just like you wouldn't ask a gay person "so how did your parents react?", you shouldn't bring up the discussion of war with someone who has a high likelihood of being affected by one. while the conflict is highly lopsided, having it easy compared to a literal genocide is not saying much and is still likely worse than anything you can imagine.

i hope that clarifies matters. it's okay to ask about those things if you're being empathetic and gentle and we've already established some sort of connection. stay safe.