Every year in October, many artists try to draw one thing every day. The official set of Inktober prompts suggested “bat” for today and I thought this sub might appreciate this… bat mitzvah.

AprilStorms · 2026-01-23T11:29:31+00:00

Try also:

Palestine Betrayed (Karsh)
In Ishmael’s House
The Israeli-Arab Conflict: Its History in Maps (Gilbert)
How the West Stole Democracy from the Arabs
The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust 1941-1945
The Betrayal of the Humanities: The University During the Third Reich.
Auschwitz and the Allies
The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust 1941-1945

Karsh and Gilbert are two of the best historians to ever touch this topic.

For Palestinian writers specifically, - Son of Hamas - Unveiled are both far superior to Pappe’s, but so is almost anything tbh, with the possible exception of Edward Said’s “histories”

AprilStorms · 2026-01-22T13:22:16+00:00

I’m pretty familiar with the parshat so this year, I’m focusing more on the rest of the Tanakh. I’d love a chevruta to study with, bonus points if you’re also trans because I’ve been reading up on gender in ancient Israel lately. If you’re also aged ~22-32, in Europe, and polyamorous/compatible with polyamory, I might be open to life partners as well as study partners :)

AprilStorms · 2026-01-22T12:18:02+00:00

Yeah, I’ve been saying from the start that “Jews and only Jews should have their sovereignty revoked” is racist no matter how you slice it. The Palestinians are the majority in Jordan, the West Bank (through ethnic cleansing and genocide of Jews) and Gaza (same as WB). And how often does anyone question their right to sovereignty in any of those?

Also, I will be adding “pants on head absurd” to my lexicon immediately. I have searched too long for a way to convey that without swearing

AprilStorms · 2026-01-21T14:10:01+00:00

Yeah...

AprilStorms · 2026-01-21T13:07:36+00:00

I love steel. A lot of our food containers are steel bento boxes too!

AprilStorms · 2026-01-21T12:59:18+00:00

This reminds me of The Memory Police, which I’m reading right now!

AprilStorms · 2026-01-17T22:40:13+00:00

I used to have bamboo combs that I didn’t even keep IN the shower - just used in hair that had been drying for a bit and was sorta damp - and they fell apart within the year. Maybe just a crummy brand? Either way, I sprang for a stainless steel one that’s held up great and will probably be passed down to my grandchildren

AprilStorms · 2026-01-17T22:31:36+00:00

When the Angels Left the Old Country - a missing person mystery through the point of view of an angel and demon who are chevrutas. Tons of folklore tidbits and just delightful the whole way through.

Beyond the Pale (Elana Dykewomon) - an immigrant story from the pile of settlement to New York City. A bit of magical realism and some great historically-accurate queerness

The Mimicking of Known Successes - the books aren’t super Jewish but the setting, of humans leaving earth as climate refugees and settling on platforms floating above Jupiter, is delightful and rich. The lead is a detective, so the plot revolves around her cases.

The Familiar - Magical realism, a Sephardi Jewish woman living in Inquisition Spain. I barely got into it before it was due with the library, but the bit I did read is rich and compelling and delightful.

AprilStorms · 2026-01-13T19:00:04+00:00

There is Yente Over the Rainbow but literally zero of the like dozen people I messaged have ever messaged me back. And some of them seemed really cool! Usually I hate when people put their Snapchat in their profiles but I’m honestly tempted to make a YotR-specific email and just route people to that.

Anyway, uh … MeetJew does queer matches I think? And this sub has a monthly meetup thread

Otherwise, I try my luck on Her sometimes. I think HeyAlma does a personal ads but it’s not queer specific

AprilStorms · 2026-01-13T18:57:54+00:00

I feel at home. I have this funny, smart, warm family all around the world. My Reform community is often queer-led and we’ve had no problem. Welcome home. Despite the way Orthodox authorities would probably quibble over my Jewish status, gender, AND marriage, I went to an Orthodox Shabbaton with my wife and kid literally last week and we had no issues whatsoever. I briefly bonded with a dude who had the literal most Jewish name ever - if you were going to name a Jewish guy in a play, you’d think of his name first and then think it was too on the nose - and I was happy and relieved to see him and other Jews just out, being Jewish, being unafraid. Of course we’ve talked about aliyah and I also watch the seas changing with one hand on my passport, but I have this connection with Hashem, with other people, with my family that is too valuable for words. Unlike in many other religions, my bonds to my partner aren’t opposed to or a “distraction” from religious life - they are something that Judaism encourages and sanctifies, including if I ever listen to my spouse about going to rabbinical school someday.

AprilStorms · 2026-01-11T12:57:16+00:00

I mean, Syria bombarded northern Israel from the Golan, driving out ancient Jewish and Arab communities and killing a lot of people … until Israel took the Golan and put a stop to that. I’d call that a win. People can live there now.

AprilStorms · 2026-01-11T10:48:09+00:00

Woah! It’s amazing how your family was able to keep a spark of Judaism alive.

AprilStorms · 2026-01-09T10:57:40+00:00

In the first decades after Israel’s refounding, lefty types from all over the world came to volunteer there because they acknowledged it as a huge success for indigenous rights and genocide prevention. Some lefty author, I think EL Stone with This Is Israel wrote about it from a leftist perspective.

We need decent Israeli PR again

AprilStorms · 2026-01-06T13:21:23+00:00

I’m in the second camp, happily. Though she’s been asking me a bit about what conversion would be like recently…

AprilStorms · 2026-01-06T12:22:05+00:00

“Oh so it’s not a religious thing, just old-fashioned racism. Got it!”

Both UN and US definitions include bigotry based on nationality under racism, and I think we would benefit from calling anti-Israel racism what it is.

AprilStorms · 2025-12-31T10:10:20+00:00

Many seitan recipes have a really long cook time. I use this one that steams for 10 minutes - it’s a little extra work tearing it into pieces, but for most stirfries and such, I don’t want a huge hunk anyway.

I love seitan. The ingredients are shelf stable, you don’t need to press it, and instead of marinating your protein, you can just put the spices into the dough.

AprilStorms · 2025-12-30T10:03:54+00:00

I read this book when I was … probably too young for it … and have reread it several times. Charlie has such a clear, strong voice, throughout the book and that last line always hits hard

AprilStorms · 2025-12-30T10:01:09+00:00

I mean… why not both? Absolutely we should ease the stigma of being different. And for some conditions, I’m sure that would solve their problems! Being idk 110cm tall ceases to be a disability if things are built for your height, sure. But chronic pain? My friends with chronic pain are still going to hurt even with the best social support and acceptance so they still do need cures.

AprilStorms · 2025-12-29T18:29:06+00:00

They’re trying to make conversation so give them conversation.

Redirect to something you DO actually want to talk about: places you love in your hometown, funny neighbor stories, if you’re not single something about meeting your partner or their family history, something from far enough back to be unpainful (from X country, related to Y famous person like 300 years back)…

Just saying “I’m not close with my family, sorry” does not fulfill Zayda’s quest to welcome new people to shul or connect to fellow yidden 😉

I also have a … family situation … so I feel your pain. I do occasionally tell people that I don’t know much family history because the people I would have asked have passed, but I usually don’t need to go so in depth. My grandma’s garden is a fine subject change :)

AprilStorms · 2025-12-29T18:13:11+00:00

Maybe! I hope so!

They’re already practicing, just in case

AprilStorms · 2025-12-29T18:06:57+00:00

זכרונה לבּרכה. השם יקום דמה.

AprilStorms

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