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oof. other Jews, you seriously need to stop calling Christianity an innately colonial ideology
what does that even mean in the context of Palestinian Christians, Coptic Christians, Assyrian Christians, the Ethiopian Orthodox church?
what does that even mean in the context of Palestinian Christians, Coptic Christians, Assyrian Christians, the Ethiopian Orthodox church?
every time someone in our community says this, I see MENA Christians trying to have dialogue and just getting ignored or worse
and seeing anti-Zionist Jews saying this and ignoring Palestinian Christians in particular is just... it's bad. I don't know what else to say
and seeing anti-Zionist Jews saying this and ignoring Palestinian Christians in particular is just... it's bad. I don't know what else to say
cause apparently this needs clarifying
yes, Christianity can and has been used as a justification for colonial agendas and as part of the colonization process
but equating it solely with colonialism DOES erase Indigenous Christians, especially in the MENA
yes, Christianity can and has been used as a justification for colonial agendas and as part of the colonization process
but equating it solely with colonialism DOES erase Indigenous Christians, especially in the MENA
on top of that, Christianity isn't the only religion that's been used to justify imperialism or settler colonialism (re: religious Zionism, State Shintō) and non-religious states have engaged in resettlement and ethnic cleansing (re: Stalinist deportation of Muslims)
from a class analysis perspective, colonisation is generally fueled by the upper classes reaching the limits of what they can extract in terms of human labour and material resources in their own country
this is a major factor (re: Dutch and British East India Companies)
this is a major factor (re: Dutch and British East India Companies)
from a broader perspective, settler colonialism and Christian missionary endeavors in that context are additionally built around cultural (and often accompanying racial) chauvinism
that chauvinism extends well beyond the religious and into the secular, however, and always has
that chauvinism extends well beyond the religious and into the secular, however, and always has
blaming Christianity or "religion" as an ill-defined concept for the ills of the world generally misses larger socioeconomic structures at play
it also collapses a diverse category of people that includes both exploiters AND the exploited, removing that nuance from the analysis
it also collapses a diverse category of people that includes both exploiters AND the exploited, removing that nuance from the analysis
in the Jewish context, it often positions Zionism as simply an extension of Christian hegemony in a way that erases the agency and thus culpability of Jewish colonizers
and it simultaneously erases Palestinian Christians as members of the colonized class in Palestine
and it simultaneously erases Palestinian Christians as members of the colonized class in Palestine
creating a Christian colonizer vs. Jewish colonized argument is also being used to argue pan-Jewish indigeneity in Palestine in opposition to Palestinian Indigenous identity
and by white US Jews to disengage from our position within US white identity
these are bad positions
and by white US Jews to disengage from our position within US white identity
these are bad positions
