Tbh, this conversation deserves to continue a more public sphere because it ties into the larger fandom event about racism & bullying

I have issues with ONE fic written by Newer. It is set in the Pale of Settlement, in a Jewish shtetl, in a time leading up to and during a pogrom https://twitter.com/NewerConstella1/status/1289970293566578694

The fact that it is set in such a time or in such a place is not the issue.

The issue is that every other Jewish character other than Raechel (Rey) & Ben are portrayed negatively, which includes Snoke as a abusive rabbi and Maz as his caretaker who mostly does as the rabbi says

I was initially excited because 1. I am Jewish & Jewish fics interest me, & 2. I'm super interested in golems.

To be totally transparent, I also admired Newer's writing at the time. I was assigned to write a gift fic for her for the RFFA, & we'd had a few nice interactions

Immediately after reading the first chapter of Newer's fic, I gushed about it to friends. Those friends then told me about several problems with Newer, including her repeated defense of MalevolentReveries for bullying and racism.

That did turn my opinion because I hate bullying

and racism. But I kept reading because I was interested in the concept.

I left it at that, but every once in a while the fic popped back into my head. Something about it bugged me. And I realized it was because of the portrayal of the Jews in the fic other than Raechel (Rey).

It's not that abusive rabbis don't exist, but why here, when the setting features violence against Jews, does Raechel have to be abused by her fellow Jews as well?

There is, of course, a certain balance in marrying the characters from a movie/tv/book/whatever to a new setting.

Rey in canon is orphaned & mistreated, so initially that makes sense. But in the fic, she is mistreated by Snoke. Why is Snoke the Supreme Leader/rabbi of the Shtetl?

The First Order in canon is a metaphor for fascism, and in the fic they are represented by Hux/the Russian Army

It just doesn't make sense to demonize the Jewish community via Snoke here when the true evil is the Russian Army is right there, in the middle of the fic, killing Jews like Raechel (Rey).

If it's supposed to be commentary about mistreatment of orphans/kids, Rey could just as easily be a slightly neglected orphan being taken care of by her shitty extended family ala Harry Potter. Her community maybe doesn't understand her forward thinking ways ala Disney's Belle.

So why is Snoke the rabbi? Why is he Jewish? There is nothing positive about that association.

To make the Jews the villain like this in fiction is so so so so dangerous. Especially now when we're seeing a massive rise in anti-semitism along with a rise in all hate crimes.

So I said earlier this morning that I found that aspect of this fic to be kind of anti-semitic (along with calling out other aspects of Newer's behavior in regards to MalevolentRevelries).

I want to be clear here. I find THAT FIC to be kind of anti-semitic. Not Newer herself.

This fic is (to me) the equivalent of all the cringe-y shit I said to my black ex-boyfriend that I now realize is SUPER CRINGE.

I didn't think deeper back then about how my bf would react to what I was saying to him. I SO TRY HARD to think deeper now AND I apologize quickly.

I think, at most, Newer made some choices that read as Really Not Great with regards to the Judaism used in this one fic. She didn't think deeply enough.

That does not make you a racist or anti-Semite. That makes that action racist or anti-Semite. You can learn from it.

My purpose in calling her out on the original thread was about bad behavior, which does include strong support of a bully/racist, AND the bad choices made for this fic.

The fic was secondary to me, tbh.

Newer has responded to my criticism of her choices in a way that does not surprise me considering what I know about her & her ties to MalevolentRevelries. Deny and turn yourself into the victim is the name of the game.

By the way, I am a mod of that Jewish fic collection, and I will absolutely be taking up the issue with the other mods once this is published. It's worth a discussion at the very least.

So now the problem is this: I asked Newer to look back at her work to see how her choices might convey something anti-semitic. She does not want to do that.

Newer does not want to reflect on the issues I brought up. And she says I can't criticize her unless we are friends.

As a Jewish person bringing up issues of "hey this reads as kind of anti-semitic to me" to a person who is not Jewish, you can imagine how being told this makes me feel.

Interestingly, there is also no defense of MalRev or acknowledgement of that situation. That's really the wider issue because MalRev has bullied so many people in this fandom, with Newer playing defense for her.

This thing about this fic is just a teensy quibble in comparison.

My suggestion to Newer is that she takes the time to think about whether making Snoke an abusive rabbi/father figure to Raechel (Rey) was accidentally anti-semitic. And then to do the same while thinking about Maz as the obedient servant of abusive Rabbi Snoke.

If Newer wants to challenge my opinions here beyond "my husband & kids are Jewish! How dare you!" then I am 100% open to discussion. She says the fic is based on her ancestor's experiences, but that really doesn't explain Snoke or Maz's characterizations to me.

Was her ancestor an orphan in a shtetl who lived with an abusive rabbi and his maidservant? If so, it seems a strange family history to replicate in a fic.

If that discussion ever happens though, I'm more than happy to apologize to Newer for dragging this particular quibble out. I just doubt it will happen. And I doubt that she will apologize for her role in MalRev's bullying though.

Also I've noticed at least 2 mentions disappear from my notifs as I've written this thread. One from Newer that (iirc) said she wasn't thinking too deeply about a short fic like this, and another was a qt from someone who I think is Berry, who is/was? a friend of Newer and MalRev

Needless to say, I will be taking screenshots of every mention with regards to this thread, just in case. But if you want to take the previous tweet as hearsay, I understand. I thought my memory was tricking me the first time it happened, but then it happened again