A member of this list sent me this article, On Being Jewish in the Shadow of Oct. 7. It is a review and reflection on a new book, For Such a Time as This by Elliott Cosgrove. I was particularly struck by this paragraph:
Cosgrove writes that the principals and heads of New York City private schools with whom he spoke “were flummoxed, trying to get their heads around a new phenomenon in their schools — Jewish families who were suddenly assertive in their identity, publicly affirming in their Zionist commitments, and now perceived themselves to be persecuted. These school administrators would never have described these same parents and students in this way prior to Oct. 7.”
I mentioned this to my friend who replied:
That's exactly the point -- Jewish families who were suddenly assertive in their IDENTITY. Oct. 7 wasn't just about the physical attack of some random Israeli going about their daily business that happened to be in the targeted areas. It is actually the IDENTITY of Jewish people that's under attack. We were and are still being attacked for what we are.
How dare you breathe the same air I am breathing, and take up space on this planet earth that I am living in? This is what I am hearing loud and clear.
So... what am I to do? Nothing on earth is perfect, the Israeli government was having issues prior to Oct. 7. Being a Jew by choice, I was afraid of speaking to anyone about the political environment in Israel in fear of being questioned about my loyalty or my choice. Luckily, I work closely with an older Jewish gentleman who is a scientist and academic scholar. We were able to speak of those events in a frank, thought-provoking but more sterilized stance without the fear of being judged.
Regardless of my personal opinion of the Israeli government, fast forward a few months later, my IDENTITY was being attacked on Oct. 7. By not affirming and defending my identity, it would just be taken away completely. How does that differ from slavery?
Moses led our ancestors (or us, in the case of Jews by choice as explained by Maimonides) out of Egypt from slavery, am I to willingly walk back into slavery in a different time and space?
My scientist colleague once sent me a newspaper article some months ago reporting about Harvard Jewish students being advised to avoid wearing anything that can identify themselves as Jewish. It further advises students to look into the mirror before they leave their dorm room to make sure they are not having anything on them that can give away the Jewish identity. The advice was to "safeguard" the Jewish students. Believe it or not, this was the exact advice my friend Ruth, together with a couple other elderly ladies at my synagogue gave me when they learned I was traveling to Europe for business. They were holocaust survivors... How horrific is it to hear the same advice to young people in the U.S.A.??!!
Somewhere I read that one of the hardships for those at the top of the social hierarchy is that equality is a comedown for them. It is a loss of status. They have reason to feel they are losing something - and therefore to want to return to their previous norm.
As a Jew, how do you relate to these ideas?
Cosgrove writes that the principals and heads of New York City private schools with whom he spoke “were flummoxed, trying to get their heads around a new phenomenon in their schools — Jewish families who were suddenly assertive in their identity, publicly affirming in their Zionist commitments, and now perceived themselves to be persecuted. These school administrators would never have described these same parents and students in this way prior to Oct. 7.”
I mentioned this to my friend who replied:
That's exactly the point -- Jewish families who were suddenly assertive in their IDENTITY. Oct. 7 wasn't just about the physical attack of some random Israeli going about their daily business that happened to be in the targeted areas. It is actually the IDENTITY of Jewish people that's under attack. We were and are still being attacked for what we are.
How dare you breathe the same air I am breathing, and take up space on this planet earth that I am living in? This is what I am hearing loud and clear.
So... what am I to do? Nothing on earth is perfect, the Israeli government was having issues prior to Oct. 7. Being a Jew by choice, I was afraid of speaking to anyone about the political environment in Israel in fear of being questioned about my loyalty or my choice. Luckily, I work closely with an older Jewish gentleman who is a scientist and academic scholar. We were able to speak of those events in a frank, thought-provoking but more sterilized stance without the fear of being judged.
Regardless of my personal opinion of the Israeli government, fast forward a few months later, my IDENTITY was being attacked on Oct. 7. By not affirming and defending my identity, it would just be taken away completely. How does that differ from slavery?
Moses led our ancestors (or us, in the case of Jews by choice as explained by Maimonides) out of Egypt from slavery, am I to willingly walk back into slavery in a different time and space?
My scientist colleague once sent me a newspaper article some months ago reporting about Harvard Jewish students being advised to avoid wearing anything that can identify themselves as Jewish. It further advises students to look into the mirror before they leave their dorm room to make sure they are not having anything on them that can give away the Jewish identity. The advice was to "safeguard" the Jewish students. Believe it or not, this was the exact advice my friend Ruth, together with a couple other elderly ladies at my synagogue gave me when they learned I was traveling to Europe for business. They were holocaust survivors... How horrific is it to hear the same advice to young people in the U.S.A.??!!
Somewhere I read that one of the hardships for those at the top of the social hierarchy is that equality is a comedown for them. It is a loss of status. They have reason to feel they are losing something - and therefore to want to return to their previous norm.
As a Jew, how do you relate to these ideas?
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