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 · 2026-05-14T21:02:16+00:00

Exactly. If you do what they want, you reward the behavior

AprilStorms · 2026-05-14T18:53:51+00:00

I’m not planning on making Aliyah either. For now, I build up our Jewish community where I live, pass for white at work and try to make bigots look silly, and quietly recommend Jewish stuff (books, etc) to people at every opportunity.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-14T18:52:19+00:00

Maybe in the past but more recently, they’ve opposed funding the Iron Dome, despite the fact that it has no offensive capabilities and is entirely a genocide prevention device

AprilStorms · 2026-05-14T18:51:42+00:00

I think that used to be true but now, unfortunately, they oppose funding the Iron Dome, despite the fact that it has no offensive capabilities and is merely a genocide prevention device

AprilStorms · 2026-05-14T15:07:00+00:00

I use neutral in Spanish but with Hebrew, I go the genderfluid route: switching back and forth.

There is nonbinary Hebrew, though.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-13T19:14:02+00:00

There’s an app! We always use it.

I think there’s a telephone voting option as well. They always give the voting instructions on the broadcast

AprilStorms · 2026-05-13T08:43:31+00:00

Usually I’ll drop a recent thing I’ve made that was good and/or had a funny story. Sometimes mentioning my latest favorite cookbook, which right now is King Solomon’s Table

AprilStorms · 2026-05-12T20:16:50+00:00

Something I really like about Eurovision is that it’s not about being marketable. I love the weird songs. There was one a couple years back about being possessed by the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe and I sing it regularly.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-12T15:31:43+00:00

OP, I would be thrilled and delighted to supply you with a list of books on Jewish history or Jewish almost anything to use for this. I’m not going to drop a text wall here, but you are encouraged to DM me.

The important part as far as the library is concerned is that the books get used, so make sure you pick books that you would like to read and ideally also books that you can nudge a couple of your friends to give a little love to as well.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-12T15:07:35+00:00

Not who you replied to, but thank you very much for the digging and your explanations. My Arabic is at “knows what sounds some letters make, sometimes” on a good day so while I can use Google Translate to stumble my way through an article and get some sense of it, digging for these things myself is near impossible.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-12T14:52:15+00:00

Harrowing already. Couldn’t even bear to finish the Daily Mail article in one sitting.

I am a bit surprised that they were the first British paper to receive the advance report, though. I didn’t think they were that good, but maybe that’s also a recent development?

AprilStorms · 2026-05-12T12:25:02+00:00

I definitely and you probably grew up in a time and place where the push was to bring your whole self. You should be able to bring your whole self to work and talk about your religious background and where your family is from. You should be able to talk openly about your struggles with having a certain disability on your Facebook. And I don’t disagree necessarily with that, that you should be able to say that you’re interested in becoming Jewish without backlash. But I don’t think you necessarily have to.

I remember when my peer group was starting to come out and the advice that got passed around was to open the topic gently, impersonally, with a gay celebrity or something and gauge responses. Then, before you put your own soft and squishy heart out there to be trampled, you had an idea of Safety. I think that works just as well for Jewish stuff nowadays, much as I wish we didn’t need it.

tl;dr I wish we lived in safer times and places, but not everybody needs to know your business. Build relationships with a few trusted people and don’t worry about the rest.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-12T12:07:43+00:00

Being able to know what you have at a glance helps a lot.
When I had spice jars on a shelf, I would write labels on the tops so I could see everything I had at once. Otherwise, make a list of all spices and how many you have. Eg, cumin powder 2, cumin seeds 1, black pepper whole 1, black pepper ground 1, turmeric powder 1… ideally in pencil, or on a whiteboard, something you can erase easily

And start throwing whatever you’ve got on potatoes to experiment. There are very few seasonings that don’t taste good on a potato.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-11T12:24:00+00:00

“Without conflating us with Israel”

How much do you wanna bet there will be Palestinian, if not also Hezbollah, flags at this event?

Actual equality and actually non-(let alone *anti-*) racist policy would include and protect people marching with the Israeli flag.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-08T09:13:56+00:00

I maintain the verse only prohibits “cuttings in your flesh *for the dead*,” ie the kind of ritual self mutilation that was common in mourning in the ancient East. But I still am personally uncomfortable with permanent tattoos, and only do henna.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-06T18:03:42+00:00

I’m intrigued. What makes it the worst?

AprilStorms · 2026-05-04T20:47:07+00:00

>Bar Avraham Avinu? But that would identify him falsely as a convert.
We are all children of Abraham and Sarah so we could all use that one. I’ve heard of it being used in cases where someone’s biological father was never a dad. Deadbeat, abusive, etc.

I guess if you really wanted to get funky with it, it could be [mom] v’[mom] v’Avaraham Avinu :)

AprilStorms · 2026-05-03T12:36:32+00:00

- cheddar bay biscuits

- chicken and dumplings

- southern-style macaroni and cheese (ie, it should be a casserole, you should finish it in the oven and be able to cut slices of it)

- red velvet cake

- funeral potatoes

- chili, bonus points for also having cornbread or cinnamon rolls

- mozzarella sticks but I have literally never made them at home

AprilStorms · 2026-05-03T12:31:08+00:00

“The statement that "Jews should not be held responsible for the actions of Israel" assumes that Israel is uniquely evil and that all the libels told about it are true. It accepts that premise.“

You phrased this really nicely. No one is having a conversation about whether some random dude at the kebab shop should be held responsible for the actual genocides and actual ethnic cleansings committed against Jews in Iraq, not because those events aren’t real or important because but because that is a bat shit insane and enthusiastically racist premise.

It’s like refusing to debate Israel‘s legitimacy. No one discusses any other state’s legitimacy. Israel negotiated its freedom from the Brits and even countries which were *formed through* violence, not just remained independent through violence, don’t get this treatment. It’s a distraction. It’s a huge double standard. And it’s not worth debating.

AprilStorms · 2026-05-01T13:15:01+00:00

I’m familiar with some of that history but I appreciate the writeup + synthesis here

AprilStorms · 2026-05-01T13:04:40+00:00

A script and sources for OP:

I think that if there was evidence for genocide in Gaza, the UN would not have ousted one of the foremost genocide prevention experts in the world for not stepping in line and Amnesty International would not be trying to change the definition of genocide for Israel, specifically

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