S: "Hi my name is S." I replied with same. "...are ya Jewish"What was so surprising about this exchange was not that she asked me, was I Jewish or that she assumed I wasn't born Jewish, it's the fact that she was actually; to quote Mixedjewgirl an honest bigot. Does that mean she should get applause? No of course not, but usually when faced with these questions and I ask back, I get every conceivable tap dance that one can imagine.
Me: "I'm wearing a Kippah (pause breath)...Yes I'm Jewish"
S: "Well obviously you weren't born Jewish!"
Me: "Why do you say that."
S: "Well... Because you're black!"
Me: "Well at least you're honest."
I did use the opportunity as a teaching moment and quickly educated S. on the diversity of the Jewish community and the sheer numbers of Jews of color in the United States
2 comments:
I applaud you for using it as a teaching moment. I'm an African American Orthodox Jew. It is very offensive when people assume we converted. I did convert; however, my children did not. I wish people would just face the fact that their is much diversity in the Jewish community.
Fortunately, I converted Orthodox. Had I converted through the Reform or Conservative movements, I would be extremely unhappy dealing with these issues and individuals who would not consider me Jewish. I can deal with these issues better because I know that I AM Jewish regardless of what is said to me.
Your post is really nice. We seldom forget that bigotry has nothing to do with religion.
Keep writing.
This is Nancy from Israeli Uncensored News
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