Documenting ganovim goyim

Cataloguing and calling out goyim who appropriate Jewish stuff since ... idk, a while now.

[goynif]

Oh yes nice upside down Hamsa you got there. I forgot cultural appropriation is a “hawt trend”.

[goynif]

Hello, I'm a Jewish follower. I have been a follower of you guys for a while. I was just kinda curious why you guys haven't posted much in a while?

Hi, Anya here.  Since goynif has a significant following and has been very visible, I feel like this question deserves an answer.  It’s not a pleasant one, but it is an honest one.  I pull no punches.  

The reasons for goynif’s inactivity are complicated, but it ultimately boils down to the fact that there aren’t really enough people as moderators who are active and invested in the account, so it’s mostly fallen to me, and has largely fallwn to me for years.  I’m chronically ill and have been having significant health crises since the autumn, and my choices right now are either continue to pass my PhD classes and do freelance work so that I can continue to put a roof over my family’s heads, or focus on activism work for free like goynif.  This is the problem of much social justice work: it asks marginalised people to donate their time and energy for free in order to educate privileged people, and in that donation, marginalised people lose time and energy they could put towards earning necessary money to stay afloat.  As a disabled person, that problem multiplies tenfold.  Not only do I lose time and energy to goynif, to dealing with submissions, dealing with hate mail, doing research and finding materials for the blog, that is also time and energy that will cost me a fair bit in recovery, as fatigue and pain complicate anything I do.  Thus far, I’ve focused on my degree and paying work, for what I hope are obvious reasons -- I can’t do anything if I can’t pay rent and the internet bill.  Beyond that, my condition is degenerative.  There is nothing I can do to stop it.  So I have to ration my time and energy carefully.  When offered the chance to do either self-care or emotionally draining activism work, I admit I choose self-care over the effort goynif requires.  That’s on me, and while my choices have not been good for goynif, they are what I need to do for myself.

That being said: if there are Jews interested in stepping up and actively moderating this blog, who are willing to do the research, make posts, deal with submissions, look for content, etc, I would be incredibly happy to have the help.  Running this blog is emotionally exhausting, especially around Jewish holidays and whenever conflicts between Israel and Palestine intensify, or whenever another goyische celebrity sports a Hebrew tattoo or gets into Kabbalah.  We have in the past received a large amount of hate mail, and that also takes time and energy to deal with, beyond it being often disturbing.  I have been doing it largely by myself for years.  Calls for other moderators have seen some new volunteers, but the activity level remains low for whatever reason, and I’m unable to pass the hat to someone else.  Consequently, submissions have also dropped off, and the lion’s share of what’s in our inbox is either hate mail or people shouting about how awful we are that we think the use of Jewish ritual objects and Jewish identity by goyim for their own ends is inappropriate.  

The bottom line is that this blog is a lot of work.  It requires a commitment of time and energy to keep up a regular posting schedule, one I’m unable to make, especially not as a volunteer.  If anyone wants to put in the time and labour, I’m happy to have them on board.  If someone wants to pay for goynif to keep running, I’d be delighted to have that, too.  But until that time, until there’s either more help or money to allow me to priority goynif over my paying graduate work and freelancing, this blog will update sporadically at best, whenever I have the time and energy to do so.

[goynif]

Helloooo. I was wondering if you could translate the spine tattoo in my blog (it's the first post)? I don't want the tattoo or anything I'm just really curious as to what it says. If not it's okay. Thank you. (:

As a general rule, we don’t translate Hebrew tattoos for people.

[goynif]

(jewish anon here) the number of times i go into the hamsa tattoo tag and see white hipster girls sexualizing the symbol by tattooing it under/beside their tits is astounding

It’s invariably ~sexy and exotic~, likely because most people have no idea what the hell it actually is, or don’t care.  But that’s the goyische way.  Who cares if something is culturally significant if it’s cool and they want it?  I think that’s a tag we’re going to start tracking and paying attention to -- thanks for bringing it up.

[goynif]

1: gentile here - I'm interested in conversion, and when I went on a holiday to Kraków, I went to see Kasimierz (the former Jewish quarter) and I was just so shocked with the amount of appropriation going on - on Szeroka (main street) there's tons of gentile owned, non kosher "Jewish kitchen" restaurants, there's people selling Hanukiahs (labelled candle holder) and cheap Chai necklaces everywhere and it's just pretty gross because it's obvious that they just exploit Kasimierz for financial gain

2: and the only "authentic" Jewish places were the museums and synagogues, since they are actually ~held~ by Jewish organisations like Chabad. on a different note, I am glad I picked a (free) guided tour, because the guide (a gentile) knew a lot, was in contact with local rabbis and had read a lot of accounts of people who grew up there, and even though the tour was clearly aimed at non Jews, the guide knew his shit (from what I can tell with the time I spent reading about Judaism

3: that makes me want to convert (though I know I'm nowhere near as knowledgable as a Jewish person, but probably more than the average gentile))

The appropriation of Polish goyim of their Jewish past is notable and awful, frankly.  I saw it when I was in Kraków in the early 2000s.  The Jewish ghetto wasn’t in the city, it was across the river where it was more easily liquidated without disturbing the city at large and it hadn’t survived the war, but the set for Schindler’s List had been built in Kraków proper, and the set had been preserved.  So it was the stand-in for the Jewish past that the goyim had destroyed, and it was aimed purely at the tourism market.  The “kosher style” restaurants were dreadful, and totally bastardised the cuisine.  It was an eye-opener -- and it also spoke to the power of the romanticised view of the shtetl, both on Jews and goyim, because really, Kraków’s “Jewish tours” are Disney-fied visions of the past.  It’s Ashkenaziland, and it has as much in common with actual history as a Disney film does.  Considering the brutal way Poles reacted when their Jewish neighbours who had survived the Shoah came home, this eager embrace of Jewish tourist money is even more disgusting, frankly. -Anya

[goynif]

Hi, I'm Jewish, and modern orthodox. I've had this idea for a novel for a while now, but I'm a little worried that it walks the line of romanticizing the holocaust, which I obviously don't want to do. It would be about a nazi who slowly realizes the horror and the mind control that is going on and eventually finds out that he himself is Jewish. But I don't want it to come across as "the nazis were actually good." What are your suggestions?

As a writer, here is my advice: Research.  Research, research, research.  Read as much about Nazism, Nazi culture, and the pressure for Jews to convert to Christianity in early 20th century Germany in order to really get in his head.  Make your Nazi main character a complicated person who has to deal with the fact that he has done terrible things in support of an ideology that dehumanises him.  Don’t excuse awful choices as being mind control.  They’re still choices.  Don’t give him a magical way out of consequences because he turns out to be Jewish.  Make the discovery of his Jewishness discordant, troubling, something he struggles with.  Don’t let everyone accept and forgive him.  In other words: don’t let his heritage be his excuse that lets him off the hook for choosing to be a Nazi in the first place.  That’s how you avoid the problem.  You make the consequences be proportional to the choices, and you make those consequences actually play out, not get wrapped up with a tidy bow of “well, I didn’t know how wrong it was, but now I do, so it’s okay that I actively participated in genocide.”  Give everything that happens its weight and due.  Never, ever let your character off the hook for his choices.  And then have multiple people read it, edit it, give you feedback, and listen to their critiques.  Don’t just let people who like you and like the concept work on it.  Do the hard stuff and listen to the feedback that challenges you.  It will be a much better project for it. -Anya

[goynif]

I'm Catholic, and I've been considering head covering for religious and modesty purposes. The style I'm looking into is what most would consider a tichel. It covers the hair, but is not as noticeable as a hijab. Is this cultural appropriation? Thanks

It frequently can be, depending on when and how you wear it.  Calling it a tichel certainly is.  Interacting with other people and not correcting them when they call it a tichel or presume you are Jewish can be.  There are a wealth of Catholic styles of headcoverings, going back to the medieval period.  You don’t need to wear hijab or tichel to cover your hair in a Catholic fashion -- Canon Law hardly demands a tichel, doesn’t demand that all hair be covered, and gives you far more leeway than tznius does for Jewish women.  So before you ask us if tichel-style headcoverings are appropriative for a Catholic, ask yourself why Catholic styles like mantillas and chapel veils aren’t enough for you, and why you’re willing to entertain styles like tichel and hijab that are not your cultural norms in pursuit of something beyond Catholic teaching?

[goynif]

Non Jew here, I'm Russian + catholic, but was wondering on your opinion on non-jews living in Israel? I was born there, because my parents wanted to get out of the USSR after the collapse, and pretty much the only place accepting hordes of soviet immigrants was Israel (they had to apply as immigrants tho, they didn't have any jewish heritage), but then we moved to Canada when I was four.... Continued on next ask

Cont from previous ask: Recently, I've wanted to go back to Israel to study abroad for a summer, and since I have an Israel passport I'm allowed to do so, but it is cultural appropriation if I do so? I don't know a word of hebrew,but I was told that Russian was like the third largest spoken language, and I speak that fluently (as well as english obviously). But I don't identify as Israeli, I identify as a Russian Canadian. And I know nothing about jewish culture. So is it appropriation?

Going to Israel to study when you have an Israeli passport, regardless of how you identify, isn’t cultural appropriation.  Neither is learning Hebrew to get along in Israel, anymore than emigrating to Israel is appropriative.  You’re fine.  (And yes, there are tons of Russian speakers, less so than in the 80s and 90s, but still a bunch!  Still, basic Hebrew is handy.)  

[goynif]

The “am I Jewish” question

Y’all, we get dozens of these asks all the time, so many that I’ve put an entry in the FAQ about them.  No-one running this blog is a rabbi, and no-one on this blog is equipped to tell you if you are Jewish.  That determination is incredibly personal and very much depends on the standards and practices of your local Jewish community, especially if you are not Orthodox.  If you have a question about your identity or your family history, the answer is always the same: do your homework, understand why you identify as Jewish (or why you want to), gather up your information and consult your local rabbinic authority for advice about how to proceed particular to your situation.  We won’t be answering many of the “am I Jewish, my family is X/I grew up Y/I’m patrilineal/I’m culturally Jewish/etc” questions in the future simply because it’s not what we’re here to do.  Every single one of these questions, especially if they are matters of halakhah, require a rabbi who understands your individual situation, not just what you can fit in a Tumblr ask.  Please consult a rabbi for all your concerns about your personal identity as a Jew. 

In the future, all asks on this theme are going to be tagged “consult your local rabbinic authority” because ultimately, that is what you need to do.  This is not blowing people off.  This is recognising that guiding people in these matters is the prerogative and responsibility of a local Jewish community and its rabbi, not this blog.

[goynif]

Hello, so I am a bit confused about some things. When I was little I was told I was part Jewish. My father's father and his family were ethnically and religiously jewish, but not his mother, and my mother's father's family was ethnically and religiously as well, but not her mother's. So, would I be considered Jewish or not?

It depends.  If you were raised Jewish, liberal congregations will consider you Jewish.  More conservative/orthodox ones will not.  How you identify is a different story.  As always, if you want to be recognised as Jewish by a local religious community, start with your local rabbinic authority for advice about how to proceed.

[goynif]

The four initial facts you absolutely need to know about For Such a Time by Kate Breslin are as follows: 1) It is an inspirational romance. God, faith, and the Bible (actually, a ‘magic’ Bible** that seems to show up whenever the main character needs to see it most) make regular appearances. 2) It is set almost entirely in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II, and deals extensively with the horrors of the … Continue reading For Such a Time by Kate Breslin →

The existence of this book -- and its nomination for two (!) awards this year by the Romance Writers of America -- has been going around the author end of Twitter.  This is one of the most gross, most blatant examples of Christian appropriation of Jewishness that I can think of in recent memory.  From the heroine being a “Jewess” named Esther who pretends to convert to Christianity and finds inspiration in the Christian Bibles as she falls in love with the SS officer who runs Theresienstadt to the way Breslin makes Jewish experiences really just metaphors for the grace and forgiveness of Jesus, this book is a trainwreck from start to ugly finish masquerading as a romantic Christian retelling of the Book of Esther.  It’s published by Bethany House, a sub-division of Baker Publishing Group, which is an Evangelical Christian publisher.  That goes a long way to explaining how this hot mess of disgusting appropriation was published in the first place -- because, as Evangelicals understand it, if the “Old Testament” is really about Jesus, then Jewish stories are really about Jesus, so the Holocaust is really about Jesus, as well as the fact that Evangelical Christianity makes no bones about its perception of itself as the “real heirs” to Jesus’s Jewishness, leading them to “reclaim” rabbinic Jewish rituals that they feel ought to be authentic to Jesus by giving them a Christian gloss -- but it does not explain why the RWA thought this book was worth nominating for two awards.  Christian inspirational romance is often full of incredibly dodgy material, as the inexplicably but eternally popular (and incredibly dodgy) book Redeeming Love goes to show -- a Christian retelling of the story of Hosea set in the Old West with a prostitute and a preacher featuring rape and incest, whee! -- but this book is so blatantly awful that it boggles the mind.  It is part and parcel of Christian entitlement to Jewish narratives, Jewish stories, Jewish histories, so long as they can actually silence us, wipe out our voices, and put their own needs and wants in their place.  While Christians have their own Holocaust victims, they always seem to want ours, especially if it means they can get their forgiveness porn and their persecution complex satisfied in one fell swoop.  And, of course, I’m sure that objections to this book will be understood by the author to be really objections to her Christian Faith, rather than to the idea that a Jewish woman could fall in love with and marry the SS officer running the concentration camp where her family is being tortured to death being utterly vile and reprehensible.  After all, it has a 4.5 star rating on GoodReads.

[goynif]

I hesitate to ask this because it feels a little silly. I'm non-Jewish but I'd like to learn to speak Yiddish, purely because I love learning and languages. I respect that Jewish people would like to keep some things to themselves - would it be appropriation to learn and use Yiddish if I'm not Jewish, and should I just stick to learning about Jewish history instead of language? Thankyou for your time.

This one always depends.  What do you want to do with Yiddish?  Do you want to learn about it for it’s own sake?  Do you want to read Yiddish literature?  There is a difference between learning a language because you’re interested in it and learning it to use it for converting the people who speak it, for example.  Some Christian “missionaries” learn Yiddish to try to convert Orthodox Jews.  That’s a wildly inappropriate thing, obviously.  But academic study of Yiddish isn’t.  If you do study Yiddish, consider giving back to the Jewish community through programs invested in preserving or translating Yiddish documents, for example.  Use your powers for good, in other words.

As always, two Jews, three opinions.  But academic study of Yiddish for its own sake does not strike me as appropriation.  Consider your motives and goals carefully, however, and be aware of your privilege as a goy to know Yiddish -- you won’t be treated harshly by other goyim for knowing it, etc.  Awareness and education here, for yourself and for other goyim, are key.

[goynif]

I’d like to open this by saying that I am in no way Jewish, I am the biggest goy you will ever meet, and I was just looking for some advice; recently I was talking to my grandfather (who was raised almost exclusively by his Jewish mother and grandmother, in the Jewish community in London) about my Armenian friend and how he is passionate about spreading the word about the Armenian genocide, having had all of his great grandparents suffer horrifically in 1915, and that led onto a conversation about the boys in my home town in Cambridge, England,  who stole items from Auschwitz, and then about how my grandfather after world war two, during his national service (I’m English) he’d visited Belsen only 10 years after it was liberated, and then he said to me that even though I’m not Jewish, I would have not been born if Hitler had made it across the channel, as him, his brother, his sister and his mum would have been put in a camp, and at that moment, it really kind of hit me how important remembering stuff like this is. And how my grandfather is one of the only relatives that I connected with, it made me see him as Jewish, and in some weird way as having some form of Jewish heritage. The whole thing is exacerbated too by the fact that he only has probably a few weeks left to live.

However, I’m now not sure what to do, as I know that it is my grandfather’s mother who was the last person to be a full blooded Jew, making me 1/8 by blood, and it’s not even through a female line (it’s my mum’s dad’s mum) so I have no connection to Jewish people, Judaism etc. but I feel as if I want to know more, I was just wondering if it’s justified to feel slightly connected to the Jewish people? My grandfather married my grandmother who is the stereotypical English, country wife, farmers daughter, and a devout Christian, and both of my dad’s parents are of Irish and Welsh descent, and my mother was raised with her mother’s Christianity because my grandmother was adamant that she should be brought up as a member of the Church of England, and cultural aspects of her dad’s Judaism, she was very close to her Jewish grandmother, and my mother has been to Israel and always grew up with Jewish friends. Sorry, this is a bit of a weird situation. And one last time, I am not trying to say or even implying that I’m Jewish. 

We don’t often publish submissions from submitters who aren’t Jewish.  However, this one is interesting.  You’re right to feel connected and to see yourself as having Jewish ancestry.  That’s a real and valid thing.  Please do study and learn.  Be open and honest with yourself and explore this connection with Judaism.  You don’t have to identify as Jewish to have that connection and to know your own history and the history of your grandfather’s people.  That’s the opposite of appropriation.  That’s exploring your own history and being honest about where your family comes from.  And that is a good thing.

[goynif]

hi, I'm not Jewish and I've learnt recently about how superhero comics originated from Jewish mythology and i was wondering if its considered cultural appropriation to make superhero type comic book characters. (forgive me if this sounds like a nonsense question)

I don’t think so.  But being aware of the origins of superhero comics and the reasons why American Jewish writers developed characters like Superman with his hidden identity and his super powers as a response to the profoundly antisemitic world they lived in is critical for people who want to understand the genre as a whole, however.

[goynif]

The racism you exhibited when you answered my question is gross and you should feel bad. Typical of the White Man, you decided to marginalize MY OWN systematic oppression in the US (of which you face barely any) in order legitimize your own grievances. Typical white privilege mentality. The existence of African-American Jews DOES NOT CHANGE the fact that the word 'goy' is widely accepted as a derogatory term for non-jews. Listen when you're being told that you're problematic, don't patronize me.

One, I’m Latina.  I am not the White Man.  Sorry to burst your bubble.  African-Americans suffer the brunt of American racism.  That is true.  That does not negate the existence of other oppressions, including antisemitism.  And it does not absolve non-Jews of their ability to be antisemitic simply because they also are a member of an oppressed class.  That’s basic intersectionality.  If you’re wanting me to valorise your oppression above all others and play Oppression Olympics with you, I’m sorry, but the medal podium is closed.  This is a blog dealing with Jewish issues and focuses on anti-appropriation.  By its very nature, it focuses on Jewish issues.  Period.

Goy is not a slur.  Goy is a Hebrew word.  It means nation.  It is the Hebrew version of the English word Gentile.  It has been used in this way since before the Roman occupation of Israel.  It has 2000 years of history in our language and in our community that you as an outside do not get to police or define for us.  Jews have the right to use our language to talk about ourselves and about the people who have historically oppress us and continue to oppress us.  You don’t have to like it.  But it isn’t changing because you demand it – especially not in a Jewish space.

[goynif]

I'm disgusted by your unironic use of the term 'goyim'. As an African-American, I find it ridiculous that a highly privileged group of what are essentially white people gets to feel justified in using a term that is clearly a derogatory term that is directed at me. Check your fucking privilege you ignorant shit

I see someone can’t be bothered to read anything before spewing the outrage.  Jews of colour exist.  Jews are not “essentially white.”  Goy is the Hebrew word for “nation.”  It means not Jewish.  That’s it.  As for “highly privileged,” I suppose it is a privilege to be the targets of hate crimes!  African-Americans, while suffering from an incredible amount of racism, are not immune from antisemitism if they aren’t Jewish when they fail to understand the multiple oppressions Jews face.  You’ve provided a stunning example of how that happens.  Good job.  Next time, try reading the FAQ before shooting from the hip.

[goynif]

This is from a “Strega fashion blog” and the tags for it are “witchy” and stuff. The shirt on the top right features a Hamsa with “חי” upside down. Why are people using Jewish things as part of their “witch” aesthetic?

[goynif]

Because goyim are fucking magpies when it comes to something exotic, shiny, or interesting.  “Witchiness” in fashion means either appropriating from and stereotyping Roma, or appropriating from Jews, because we’re the safe kind of exotic, you know.  Apparently.

[fromchaostocosmos]

Who cares that Jews particularly Jewish women where killed under the guise of being witches for thousands of years, who care that the torture forms that were used on ‘witches’ where gotten from torturing Jews first, who cares that the stereotypical witch look is from antisemitic ideas of what Jews looks like when there is aesthetic to consider.  

[klezmish]

I don’t mind goyim using the ~witchy aesthetic~ and whatnot bc I think there are ways to look witchy and magical without being racist. But there are racist and appropriative ways to do it and this is one of them. (Also wtf? חי upside-down looks ridiculous…)

[z-i-t-a]

(Reblogging for my fellow nonjewish Strega folks to see)

THIS THIS THIS!! Be aware of doing this!!! If your aesthetic is based on heavy black layering, know why you think that looks “witchy.” Not every image of a witch is cute and powerful. This is an image born from a stereotype and is the result of structural violence and antisemtism. You may wear it and think of a specific witch from fiction but you must remember how that character came to be. How long was this post in the tag and NO ONE is talking about this??? You CAN NOT ignore this!! This is important!!

Also- don’t fucking appropriate religious symbols, people. Fuck. Get your shit together. If it isn’t yours, don’t wear it. That goes for ohms too by the way. Oh and don’t WEAR a dreamcatcher. That doesn’t even make any damn sense.

- a white, nonjewish witch who wears strega fashion and is fucking embarrassed by the tag right now.

[goynif]

Reblogging for commentary.  This is all incredibly relevant.  There are a lot of connections between constructions of the archetypal witch of Western European folklore and anti-Jewish persecution.  I’m going to dump reading materials, because it’s a Saturday night and I’m a killjoy of a graduate student:

“Reconsidering the Witch’s Uniform (Alternate Title: Why cliched pointy hats and crooked noses have to go.)”  One of the best breakdowns of this issue I’ve seen, and accessible for the non-academic reader.

“Why Do Witches Wear Pointy Hats” by Katy Waldman, Slate.com, 2013.

“Imagining the Witch: A Comparison between Fifteenth-Century Witches within Medieval Christian Thought and the Persecution of Jews and Heretics in the Middle Ages,” by Lily Climenhaga.

The Jew As Witch: Displaced Aggression and the Myth of the Santo Niño de La Guardia by Stephen Haliczer, from Cultural Encounters: The Impact of the Inquisition in Spain and the New World, edited by Mary Elizabeth Perry and Anne J. Cruz (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991).

Stereotypes and Folklorism, by Michael Teichmann.  A breakdown of the impact of anti-Jewish and anti-Roma stereotypes have contributed to folkloric ideas about both.

And for heaven’s sake, if you haven’t read a good, solid, scholarly history of the Early Modern witch craze, Joseph Klait’s 1987 book, Servants of Satan: The Age of the Witch Hunts is an excellent place to begin.  I think I’ve recommended it before on here.  

Pagans and witches generally labour under some of the same oppressions as Jews in America on a religious axis.  But this is not true on all axes.  It behooves anyone identifying with the witchy aesthetic (and heaven knows I did back in my gothier days, because Stevie Nicks) to know where it comes from, how it came about, and what is being invoked when you put it on.  It also means not appropriating shit from Jews and Roma is the bare fucking minimum, and being educated and aware is the next critical step.