I'm Jewish So Maybe You Hate Me #2

Because I am Jewish

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Dedicated to Hayim Katsman, who died on October 7, 2023. 31 year old Hayim was killed in his own apartment, and he died a hero, sacrificing his life to save three others. Hayim, my cousin, had visited our home in 2018, when he attended an academic conference nearby. I fondly remember that he was vegan, and I made him hummus, and he said it was very good. He had a PhD from University of Seattle in Political Science. Hayim believed in peace.

From the mouth of the Most High does not come, the evils and the good? - Lamentations 3:38

Blessed be the True Judge.

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(Note from IYH: This is an updated post. The November 2022 original, which I will not link, can be found on this Substack; since then, many corrections and changes have been made, and sources and pictures have been added. Thank you to the many, many people who provided input!)

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I Am Jewish, So Maybe You Hate Me … Because I am Jewish (#2)

Hayim's life¹, though unique, echoes universal themes found throughout history and in our current events. The painful loss of my cousin was a stark reminder of the enduring challenges faced by Jewish communities. This history, while painful, has also been a source of strength, inspiring courage and unity in the face of adversity.

Hatred of Jews exists. It is safe to assume that lots of people hate Jews, especially antisemites. Also, their grandparents hated my grandparents, all the way back to Abraham, whom Nimrod² tried to throw into a burning furnace, because he refused to bow down to idols. It's practically a tradition to try - and fail - to kill all the Jews. With good reason, Jews are afraid of antisemitism.

(Description of picture: Abraham survives being thrown into the furnace by Nimrod)

I'm just one mortal Jewish person. If G-d wants to punish me, He has many messengers. And if He wants to save me, G-d has many messengers for that, too. My grandmother used to say, "Something's going to get you eventually!" All humans are mortal, and on the Day of Judgment, we will all be accountable for our actions and the lives we've led.

I am interested in your perspective. Would these beliefs alleviate your stress and enhance your perception of how much your actions can influence your life? Please comment!

(Description of picture: Day of Judgement)

While antisemitism is scary, the world is full of perilous things that transcend cultural or religious boundaries. Like polar bears. I was once in a zoo, and they had a polar bear, and you could see in its beady eyes that it was wondering when it was going to get a bite out of me.

(Description of picture: a not-at-all-antisemitic polar bear who thinks that all human beings are a yummy snack)

Besides for animals and other universal dangers, like asteroids and volcano eruptions, there are really bad people out there in the world. There are scammers. There are thieves. There are murderers. There are bigots. Sometimes, tragically, there are people who disagree with me on the internet. They hate me even more, because I am Jewish. It would be easy to hide. But G-d didn't tell us to hide in exile.

Besides, if we hide, people just think we are running the world in secret. The antisemitic authors³ of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” suggested an illogical scenario where Jews, if they indeed wielded secret global influence, would tolerate the persistence of antisemitism.

My belief is that it’s G-d who orchestrates the world, not any group of people. The existence of antisemitism is a harsh reality that I, along with countless others, fervently wish did not exist.

For better or for worse, I am openly a religious Jew. I sound like a Brooklyn born and bred New Yorker. I dress modestly, and totally out of style. I will take any excuse to lecture strangers⁴ about the evils of idolatry. Last but not least, I regularly mention that, by the way, I'm a Jewish person!! Isn't that delightful!

You would think I would have had many frightening encounters with antisemites by now. Interestingly, my experiences have defied such expectations. Despite the fact that anyone conversing with me quickly learns of my Jewish heritage, I am grateful to say that I have not faced significant hostility. I am deeply thankful for the unexpected kindness and acceptance I've encountered.

Surprisingly, I get along with nearly everyone in real life. From a Haitian Uber driver named Love, whose father was a voodoo priest and his mother a churchgoing Catholic, to a lady with green hair who identifies as a bunny rabbit, to a Egyptian Muslim lady at the park with her kids... Our face-to-face interactions are both genuine and free of animosity.

Admittedly, there are those who prefer to keep their distance; perhaps harboring unspoken prejudices. But most people even indulge my curious inquiries about historical figures like Nebuchadnezzar. (See post about living forever (link). Click through for versions in Spanish and Arabic.)

(Description of picture: Isha Yiras Hashem asks random strangers what they think about Nebuchadnezzar. The general response is “who?” The answer is, the ancient King of Babylon, who thought he would live forever.)

They think I am weird, but they don't actively hate me. However, there's a noticeable distinction in how some perceive me as an individual versus their general attitudes towards Jews. It's interesting how personal interactions don't always align with broader prejudices. Some people would like me to be dead, just because I'm Jewish, but it's not personal. At all. Why the persistence of anti semitism?

Jewish history is marked by both divine presence and profound struggles. We literally had G-d dwelling⁵ among us. Because of our sins, we were exiled and scattered all over the world, over two thousand years ago. Always small, weak, and hated, but never destroyed. Sometimes successful, but also weak and hated, as the Jews in Germany tragically discovered⁶ in World War II.

The predicament of Jews under Nebuchadnezzar's rule in ancient Babylon illustrates a recurring pattern in Jewish history. Nebuchadnezzar employed a strategic yet divisive approach: he elevated a few Jews to positions of influence, while the majority faced oppression. This tactic enabled Babylonians to hate Jews both for being powerful and successful, and for being poor and downtrodden, at the exact same time. We survived that exile.⁷

Reflecting upon the tapestry of Jewish history, you can see how the threads of our past are intricately woven with the challenges and triumphs of the present. G-d is still⁸ watching over us, enabling us to survive as a people. Just as Abraham survived the furnace, we are here, in exile but still alive. While antisemitism and hatred exist, they are met with the enduring light that has always defined the Jewish spirit.

May G-d bring peace to the world soon.

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Note from IYH: I would appreciate your comments and insights on this post. Feel free to share your thoughts or personal experiences. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

1. Articles About Hayim Katsman:

New York Times

Seattle Times

Haaretz

The Jerusalem Post

2. https://sacred-texts.com/jud/tmm/tmm07.htm

“Terach … drove Abraham (his son) out of his house and handed him over to Nimrod (for mocking idols). Nimrod suggested to Abraham that since he had refused to worship his father's idols because of their want of power, he should worship fire, which is very powerful: Abraham pointed out that water has power over fire. 'Well,' said Nimrod, 'let us declare water god.' 'But,' replied Abraham,' the clouds absorb the water and even they are dispersed by the wind.' 'Then let us declare the wind our god.' 'Bear in mind,' continued Abraham, 'that man is stronger than wind, and can resist it and stand against it.'

Nimrod, becoming weary of arguing with Abraham, decided to cast him before his god--fire--and challenged Abraham's deliverance by the God of Abraham, but God saved him out of the fiery furnace.”

3. This fraudulent document was written in 1903, by a group of anti semites.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protocols_of_the_Elders_of_Zion

“The Protocols is a fabricated document purporting to be factual. Textual evidence shows that it could not have been produced prior to 1901: the document alludes to the assassinations of Umberto I and William McKinley, for example, as though these events were plotted out in advance. The title of Sergei Nilus' widely distributed first edition contains the dates "1902–1903", and it is likely that the document was actually written at this time in Russia.Cesare G. De Michelis argues that it was manufactured in the months after a Russian Zionist congress in September 1902, and that it was originally a parody of Jewish idealism meant for internal circulation among antisemites until it was decided to clean it up and publish it as if it were real. Self-contradictions in various testimonies show that the individuals involved—including the text's initial publisher, Pavel Krushevan—deliberately obscured the origins of the text and lied about it in the decades afterwards.

If the placement of the forgery in 1902–1903 Russia is correct, then it was written at the beginning of a series of anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire, in which thousands of Jews were killed or fled the country. Many of the people whom De Michelis suspects of involvement in the forgery were directly responsible for inciting the pogroms.”

Note from IYH: For example, an anti-Jewish riot in Odessa in 1905 in killed thousands of Jews. (Robert Weinberg, "The Pogrom of 1905 in Odessa: A Case Study" in Pogroms: Anti-Jewish Violence in Modern Russian History, John D. Klier and Shlomo Lambroza, eds. (Cambridge,1992): 248–89)

4. Click to read: Smash, Burn, Crash, idols in the trash! Not by Sandra Boynton.

Also: Thought he would live forever

5. Exodus 25 8

6. Yadvashem.org

7. Daniel 2:30 “Then the king made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego prosper in the capital city of Babylon.”

8. Once in an Uber, the driver's name was Mohammed, from Somalia. Somalia? I had just read a book about Somalia.

Me, stupidly not thinking before I speak: Oh! You know who is Somali? Ayaan Hirsi Ali, she wrote Infidel, it criticized Islamic culture in Somalia!

(Pause. I suddenly realize that Mohammed is driving too fast for me to jump out. I should text my husband that I love him and I'm sorry.)

Mohammed: I like her, too.

So I didn't get killed that time. But I never tried it again. You are not supposed to put yourself in a situation where G-d has to make a miracle for you to survive.