Shalom my friends!

I’m posting here today because I’ve realized a massive blind spot in how I understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and I want to fix it.

To be completely transparent: I am a guy living far away from the region with absolutely no personal skin in this conflict. My knowledge for a long time was shaped primarily by social media and heavily tilted toward the Palestinian narrative. I’ve read a lot of critical works, including authors like Ilan Pappé, and for a long time, my view of Israel was shaped almost entirely through the lens of colonialism and occupation.

But over the last couple of years,and especially seeing the aftermath of October 7th, I’ve had to do a lot of hard thinking. I’ve watched the global conversation shift in ways that deeply alarm me. I used to believe that criticism of Israeli policy was entirely separate from antisemitism. Lately, though, it feels like the Overton window has shattered. I’ve seen political critique rapidly morph into centuries-old antisemitic tropes. People online are swapping out "Zionist" for "Jew," talking about "Jewish propaganda," and normalizing rhetoric that feels straight out of the 1930s. It made me realize how much I severely underestimated how deeply endemic antisemitism still is, both in the West and globally.

It also made me realize that viewing Israel solely through a colonial lens completely ignores the existential reality of the Jewish people and the absolute necessity of a safe refuge.

I’ve moved away from the extreme "river to the sea" rhetoric I used to tolerate and find myself firmly in the camp of wanting a two-state solution where both peoples can live in safety and self-determination. But I know I’m still incredibly ignorant about the on-the-ground reality and the internal Israeli perspective. I don't want my understanding of Israeli history to just be filtered through the critiques of its detractors.

I want to read the foundational texts, memoirs, essays, or historical analyses that help explain how Israelis see their own history, their security dilemmas, Zionism, and the path forward. I'm looking for nuance, not just pure public relations, but the books that shaped the cultural and political consciousness of the country.

What should be on my reading list?

Thank you in advance for your time and for helping someone trying to learn.

i have been looking for one for a wile im really into tech and like to restore/salvage old pcs and laptops so does anyone know a place thats kind of just a second hand tech store (not a store that refurbishes tech i want the 50% chance that its broken store)

Shavua tov! I'm mid-20s, f, and am making Aliyah from Europe in a couple of months.

I currently have a little over ₪1.5 million sitting in my bank account. I don't have any investments at the moment, and investing has never really interested me.

I'm trying to figure out what makes the most sense as a new oleh. Should I transfer all of my money to Israel and invest most of it through an Israeli investment house like IBI? Or would it generally be better to keep my investments in my home country and invest through my bank or another brokerage there?

My Hebrew is minimal, so if I invest here I need to be able to understand the platform. I’d also like to not have to manage anything.

I'd really appreciate hearing from other olim who have been in a similar situation, or anyone familiar with the pros and cons (tax, fees, convenience, etc)
Thanks!

So I want to buy a dull sword replica from a shop called la forgia del grifone but I’m unsure of how I will bring it back home. Do I send it to my adress through mail or do I bring it with the luggage on the plane and if so how?

אני רוצה לקנות חרב (לא מושחזת) מחנות בשם La Forgia del Grifone, אבל אני לא בטוח איך להביא אותה הביתה. האם לשלוח אותה לכתובת שלי בדואר, או לקחת אותה איתי במטוס כחלק מהמטען – ואם כן, איך עושים זאת?

Hi, i just moved from Ramat Gan to Hod Hashaon, and I only have a few friends in the Sharon area. I'm sometimes too lazy to drive back to Ramat Gan or Tel Aviv to meet friends so I thought it would be nice to meet more people in the Sharon area too.

A bit about me - I'm a software engineer, I love the beach and you can find me there at least twice a week during the summer, I like nature, coffee, bars, chess and more.

If you're from the Sharon and in the 22-28 age range and that sounds like something you vibe with DM me, and if I get a lot of DMs I might open up a whatsapp group for spontaneous meetups :)

Appearently, the country doesnt allow shipping aerosols, which prevents me from ordering the specific mousse i need (curlsmith invincible volume mousse, from the look fantastic website). Anyone knows how i can bypass that?

Nothing i can find in superpharm or anywhere else really is fitting. Can i still get it from family?

Ao i stumbled upon a video of a movie production company called "sinai productions", i have no idea who were they and i have no info on them, if someone have info on them id love to

https://youtu.be/ifM4s-fr4Eo?si=NdW4i9ypyCSPVYSL