#preservation day

[dalari123]

Happy (Belated) #PreservationDay

I know I'm 2 days late for #PreservationDay but I wanted to post this bc it's pretty important to me and tbh I've never in my entire life laid out my Jewishness in front of my eyes to inspect, so I suppose this'll be good for me. To start off with, my family can trace its jewishness back for quite a long time, at least on my mother's side. We're kohanim, but from there until my abuelo is pretty muddled. On my dad's side it's harder. I never met my Safta Leah, my dad told me she was an Israeli family, been there since the beginning I think. My Saba Dudu (my bisabuelo btw) came to Israel as a teenager from... Romania, I think? to get away from the roundups for the concentration camps. I was too little to really try to understand him when he was alive, and he passed away before I had the chance. We're made up of four families, my family: my abuela, my abuelo, my saba, and my safta. I'll start out with my abuela bc there's the least to tell; they were Russian Jews who fled the country after Kristallnacht, the majority of the family ended up in Argentina, but my abuela's particular branch of the family ended up in Uruguay. I know fairly little about my abuelo's side of the family except that we are kohanim through him, I think we had Jewish doctors in the family for a couple generations on that side. Still feel kind of guilty that my adoration for science is all-encompassing rather than pointed in that particular direction. He lived in Uruguay where he and my abuela sent my mom to hebrew school. That's all I really know about that side of the family, aside from that some people on my mom's side were from Romania too, some were from Poland, and that some ended up in... France, I think? I remember asking my mom and being surprised about one of the countries on the list, I think that was it. And that's it for Jewishness on that side of the family. Now for my dad's side. For my safta's parents, they made the trip to escape Poland on foot up into Saudi Arabia and back down. I don't know if she was born yet, I don't think so. They were a young couple, had owned small businesses in Poland. I never met them. I think it was my saba who once told me they were movie stars. I don't even know anymore. I know my safta changed her name, but I don't even know her maiden name. So much was lost in the mixing-up during and after the Holocaust, so much was muddled, so much was lost in the fleeing and the burning and the murder. Apparently half my family tree was wiped out. I could have had so many more cousins. I talked about Saba Dudu (his real name was Naftali but my dad gave him that nickname as a kid and it stuck so now we all use it) and Safta Leah above. And that's it, really. Saba Dudu had a brother and they split up after escaping the Holocaust, his brother moving to London. His name was Wolfsham. Wolfgang? Wolfsheim? Hell if I know. Need to ask my dad. As far as my dad knows, he didn't have kids, and I don't even know how old he'd be. Just another story, I suppose. Lost family history. But now we get into the lives of my mom and dad. Neither of them grew up particularly religious, between my mom growing up a terror of a second child under mix between Uruguayan dictature and socialism and my father just kind of being that one aloof kid that was really hard on himself his whole life in a not-very-religeous family. My parents grew up very Uruguayan and very Israeli, but not particularly Jewish. So when my mom moved to Israel for university and when they later moved here for my mom's doctorate and to have me, I guess it all kind of got smudged in the assimilation into American culture. So now I'm not really Jewish and not really Israeli and not really Uruguayan. I'm just sort of... Californian. It probably doesn't help that our nearest family is a double-digit hour plane ride away. So I guess it's kind of important for me to subscribe to some of the practices, but we've never kept kosher, we've never built a sukkah, and there's always been sort of a disconnect between religion and me because having Israeli parents (and since she lived there for 10+ years my mom definitely counts) has made religion a kind of cultural thing to me, and there's always been this cultural disconnect between me and everyone around me. We're a bit of a microcosm, my family. I mean, what I can say is I have a menorah and I know most of those blessings. That's about it aside from an ingrained anxiety response to Holocaust-related buzzwords, but I blame my hebrew school for that. It has nothing to do with my Jewishness. I am, however, firmly pro-Palestinian, but not to the point where I believe that all the Israeli citizens in Tel Aviv pack up and leave, but I know that this occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is unacceptable. The racism and the islamophobia is unacceptable. The gated communities are unacceptable and blatantly illegal. The pervasive ingrained islamophobia in both Israel and the US is unacceptable. I disagree with my family violently over this, and it is scary how deeply engrained in them it is. This is the one thing that, if it is a part of Jewishness, I want no part in. For everything else, I wish I had been a part of it. I wish I could speak Hebrew. I wish I could speak Yiddish. I wish I knew even half the things about our culture that the Jewish Community Center kids know. But I don't, and I won't, but if I have a kid, I'll raise them to be Jewish because, dammit, we're kohanim. And I think that's supposed to mean something.

[pottermoreorless]

Is it too late to make a post regarding preservation day?

[finigrimm]

“OMG JEWISH MUSIC IS SOOOOOOOO BORING”

Lol.

[finigrimm]

Avoiding Antisemitism: Lesson 4

Don’t claim that the Jews are ‘White’, or try to silence Jews by telling us that we ‘don’t have it as badly as other races’.

This is not saying that you shouldn’t call out White/White-passing Jews who deny their White privilege. I mean, don’t go into discussions centered around antisemitism, and try to derail it by bringing up the oppression of other groups. There are various forums and outlets to address various forms of racism - the spaces discussing antisemitism are there to discuss antisemitism.

Although various Jews will identify variously as White, White-passing, or People of Color, it is never appropriate to apply the term ‘white’ to all Jews.

First and foremost, not all Jews are white, nor do they have white privilege. Obviously, Gentiles may convert to Judaism. But furthermore, the Jews that were forced to assimilate into Ethiopia are Black and Brown; they are STILL Jewish, they can still trace part of their lineage back to the Land of Israel, and they will still experience and be affected by anti-Jewish sentiment, both from White people and from People of Color in their communities. It is wildly inappropriate and cruel to just ignore these Jews because they don’t look like what you’d think a Jew should look like.

I would also point out that White people do not suffer from systematic racism. All Jews do, whether we are White-passing or not, in all parts of the world that aren’t Israel. The racism we face as White-passing Jews is not as severe as the racism faced by dark-skinned People of Color, but it still exists. We as a people are stereotypes, silenced, and often rejected from mainstream communities.

The Jews are not considered White by White people’s standards - we are originally from the Middle East. We are not included in ‘white supremacist’ movements, which openly call for our destruction. In Europe, the Jews are being assaulted, raped, beaten, and driven from their homes because they aren’t White enough for the European White folk.

This concept also manifests itself in words like ‘Jewish privilege’. The only place in the world where Jews have any privilege because they are Jewish is Israel, the Jewish state. In every other corner of the globe (because Jews are found literally everywhere), the Jews only experience White privilege when we are perceived as white, not because we are seen as Jewish. We deal with a lot of ‘false acceptance’ (“I’ll tolerate you, as long as you tolerate the fact that my personal beliefs are that your people are disgusting”), and some Jews use this to blend in with White people. This still does not make us White.

It should also be noted that when you lump Jewish people in with White people, you are lumping us in with people who have murdered, raped, enslaved, and abused, simply for being Jewish.

I shouldn’t have to say this, but you also shouldn’t try to claim the Jews control the banks, the media, the government, the world, the traffic lights, the recycling companies, or whatever the new antisemitic conspiracy theory is. Don’t try to deny the Holocaust happened or right it off as ‘not that bad’. All of these claims have been proved blatantly false.

Don’t try to claim that antisemitism is no longer a problem, or that the Jews aren’t persecuted any longer. First of all, we’re being driven from our homes, murdered, assaulted, and gang-raped in places like Europe and anywhere in the Middle East that isn’t Israel. Even in America, we experience ‘lighter’ forms of racism when it comes to job-hunting, finding places to live, etc. Famous Americans routinely have their Jewishness erased and ignored. We are still threatened by American White Supremacist gangs. There are still many people who hate the Jews in this country, even if they aren’t open about these beliefs. Don’t make claims like Jews are ‘racist’ against Gentiles, or the word ‘goy’ is a slur. The Jews don’t have the power to be racist against Gentiles. Gentiles have historically oppressed the Jews, and still do on many levels, not the other way around. The word ‘goy’ does not have the history of a slur, it simply means ‘not Jewish’.

[finigrimm]

Avoiding Antisemitism: Lesson 3

Don’t caricaturize the Jewish people, or use your ‘Jewish’ friends as a shield if someone calls you out on antisemitism.

Jews are diverse in their beliefs, opinions, and viewpoints.  You cannot consider one person to speak for the group. Beyond that, you must also keep in mind that with antisemitism sharply on the rise, many Jews may be afraid to talk to you if they see you upholding antisemitic beliefs or ideas. 

It should also be noted that Jews are often silenced, ignored, and told that we’re ‘being to sensitive’ when we point out incidents of antisemitism. This is disheartening, and discouraging, and for this reason, many Jews may choose not to speak up.

[finigrimm]

Avoiding Antisemitism: Lesson 2

Don’t tell me that I ‘look Jewish’, or that I ‘don’t look Jewish enough’.

The Jewish people are extremely diverse in physical appearance. After we were thrown into the Diaspora, we were forced to assimilate with the cultures we emigrated too. Therefore, Jews come in all sizes and colors - there is no ‘Jewish’ look; all Jews look Jewish because they ARE Jewish. When you say this, what you are really saying is, “You look (or don’t look) like what I would expect a Jew to look like.” It’s stereotyping.

Also, Gentiles thinking that Jews ‘look too Jewish’ has led to the slaughter and enslavement of our people for centuries. It can be very threatening for a Jewish person to have a Gentile analyze their Jewishness.

Sometimes, you may here Jewish people tell other Jewish people that they look Jewish. This is because the context is different. When Jewish people tell other Jewish people that they look Jewish, we are telling those people that they should be proud of looking Jewish. This is an important message in a world that teaches Jews to hate their Jewishness. However, even within the Jewish community, saying things like this is wildly controversial; under no circumstances is it OK for a Gentile to tell a Jewish person that they look Jewish.

[finigrimm]

Avoiding Antisemitism: Lesson 1

Don’t tell me that there are no ethnic Jews, or that being Jewish is only a religious experience. 

Jews are considered an ethnioreligious group. That means that we do have genetic ties to each other, and ethnic Jews can trace their lineage back to the land of Israel.

Although there may be overlaps between being ethnically Jewish, and adhering to the religion of Judaism, but they are not necessarily the same thing. A person can be ethnically Jewish, but not practice Judaism. Or they may be a gentile, but choose to convert to the religion of Judaism. As Jews, we do not distinguish between the two, for we will all face antisemitism together. We consider Jews to be more like a Family, but it is still undeniable that there is a difference between being Jewish and adhering the religion of Judaism.

When you say something like this, you are erasing a large part of my identity. You are also presuming that you know my genetic history better than I do. This is wrong- don’t do it.

[chendeavour-blog]

im confused. if i, a woman, is a jew by choice and have children with a non-jew, will my children NOT be 100% jewish? you said that if a jewbychoice marries a jew, then the children will be 100% jewish but if judaism is maternal, then doesnt that mean that the children will be jewish even if a jewish convert marries and has children with a non-jew? if the child of a born jew woman is 100% jewish regardless of whom she marries, then why is it different for children of a jewbychoice woman? thx

By “Jew by choice” do you mean Jewish convert?  I take it that you do.

I said that a Jewish convert (who IS now Jewish) who marries a Jewish person would have 100% Jewish children.  I was keeping it gender neutral at this point but yes, if you were a female convert your children would be Jewish regardless of who your “other half” was.  

However, if you are male, and you have children with a non-Jew, your children would not be considered Halachically Jewish.  

That went into a bit more detail there, I sort of skimmed over it before and apologise for the confusion.