Let’s rewind to about 1997, I was in late high school. I grew up as one of the only Jews in my area, our synagogue was started in 1987 and we were one of the founding families. My close friend, Marty, was one of the very few Jewish kids I knew.
I’m not sure how the conversation started but he said something about Judaism being an ethnicity and I argued that it was only a religion.
Imagine my surprise when, many years later, I got my 23 and Me ancestry back and my cultural background was not Russian and Austrian like I thought but 99.8% Ashkenazi Jew.
My whole life I yearned for a culture. I assumed that my Great Grandparents wanted to assimilate into American culture so they gave up their Russian and Austrian cultures only to realize that my culture WAS passed down to me, it is the culture of the Jewish people.
You can be Jewish and religious, you can be Jewish and secular. You can believe in G-d or not believe in G-d. Can you convert? Yes. The process, however, is long and you need to be fully educated on the culture and meaning of Judaism. (Every person who is celebrating their Jewish culture is valid no matter your genetic makeup. Please do not confuse this post and anything but support for my fellow tribe members, no matter how you got here!)
So why is this important? And why is this important now?
Despite anyone’s thoughts about the ongoing conflict and current war, I grew up in the Jewish culture. It is the ethnicity I was born as. When push comes to shove, the Jewish people are being targeted because of their identity of being Jewish and judged on actions that we, as diaspora Jews, have no part in making.
This is what I ask. Before you make blanket statements about the Jews or decide if you are going to support the Jews, substitute the word Jewish with any other ethnic group and see if it still feels okay to say.
Just a handful of examples of the antisemitism I am seeing. #StandUpToJewishHate
Just Sarah 