During my weekly pre-Shabbat call with my father, I tend to count the seconds until he asks me about babies.

“I’ve got all white hairs and not a single grandchild,” he likes to say. After we exhaustively cover the very possible catastrophe of me, a Jewish woman, underutilizing my fertile window and missing my opportunity to ensure the demographic survival of my people, we move on to my academic progress.

“Remind me what you are planning to do when you finish your master’s?”

The year is 2016 and I have adopted the asymmetrical bob. Society tells me I am rocking it, that I am doing “woman” right. I have gracefully mastered the yearly transition from open-toe flats to ankle boots and the correct ratio of proteins and complex carbs. These, I am assured, are accomplishments. Part of society also congratulates me on that master’s degree, that new job, and the ability to be both an ambitious and likable woman at the same time. Ask me how I strike that balance, how I don’t scare you but still get shit done, I tease my dates. I don’t have a witty answer to give them. It’s just hard work and fake smiles. 

This year, I walked the Jerusalem streets believing a woman might finally make it to the White House – and not as a wife or a daughter, but as a leader. There was a certainty that our collective progress was soon to culminate in 270 electorates-worth of Americans affirming, finally, that a woman with a vision and a plan is a good thing. That that glass ceiling had already been broken in Israel by Golda Meir in 1969, and in many other countries around the world, did not detract from the significance of the election or the anticipation I felt leading up to it.

I’m in class when the results are announced. Holding my phone under my desk, I watch as news anchors frantically tap states on the electoral map red. The ticker says she’ll be calling to concede. As I swallow down my rising nausea, I internalize: a woman lost for not being likable enough. You can be the rational choice, but you’ll still lose to a clown.

Sometimes, while riding the bus to work, I think about how much I want to capture that feeling of nowhereness— that frustrating, in-between phase— and package it, send it to my father in Brooklyn. I imagine him sitting in his chair, slowly unwrapping the bundle as it seeps into his olive-toned hands, allowing him to understand how hard this wait for progress is, how much energy it takes to be constantly aware of where we are on the map. 

“I’m not asking you to have it all figured out by tomorrow,” my father would point out. “I just want to make sure you are moving forward.”

Forward. You can move forward in a book, or in line at the supermarket, but how do you do it in life? And what of all of the steps backward you have to take? So much of being a woman moving-forward today is learning how to handle disappointment gracefully, how to not dissolve when put in your place, to collect your heart back into your body every morning and get to work on time. You put in the hours to get that promotion but you lost your life partner in the process; you met your targets at work but a man on the bus home grabbed your thigh. You give concession speeches regularly, only they are private affairs, mantras you find yourself saying to friends and family every time you lose. Next time I’ll do better, you say, but for now you are so, so tired. 

Rewind a couple of months. I meet an Israeli man on a plane and we share a long layover/coffee date in Istanbul. He holds the promise of a traditional life – he’ll bring home the money, she’ll tend to the home. The idea of it repulses me, yet a week later I find myself again in his company. Tempted by this cop-out, I want to touch the illusion with my own hands, just allow myself to rest for a few hours. Like in the fairy tales, my struggle could end with surrender to a man, and although it’s not a path I could ever live with, who has the energy to fight for the rest of her life?

It’s an irrelevant question of course. Maybe I hoped for the quiet satisfaction of living within my means, but it has not come. There’s only the perpetual ache of my dreams growing too big for my body, my ambitions accelerating quicker than society can learn to tolerate. 

It’s midnight in Jerusalem when I call my father, catching him at the end of his workday.

“She was the only candidate in US history to apologize in a concession speech,” I tell him. I try to explain why it is outrageous that it seemed natural to hear a woman apologize after her country has failed her. But exhaustion takes me and I can’t string together the words. 

Her voice plays on repeat in my mind as I try to fall sleep, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.

Born and raised in New York, Rachel Sarafraz has been living in Israel for the past eight years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and literature. Rachel is currently pursuing master’s degrees in public health and in public policy, the latter within the framework of the Israeli Civil Service Cadets program. She has past experience working in project management at the Task Force on Human Trafficking and as a reproductive health educator at the Ministry of Health Public Clinic for asylum-seekers and at the sexual health organization “Lada’at.” Her passions include women’s health, sewing and trying to get her cat to like her.  

Image via YouTube.

The post Concessions: On Dreaming Big in 2016 appeared first on Jewcy.

The facts of Chanukah barely resemble the story we were told as children. Instead of being a straightforward struggle for religious freedom in the face of a foreign emperor, the messy history shows a complicated civil war between theocratic priests using guerilla tactics and Hellenized Jews seeking to integrate Judea into the empire as a polis. This conflict only kicked into high gear when Antiochus of the Seleucid Greeks picked a side. It was only then that the war took on anti-imperial and religious freedom tones we associate with it today. And the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days and nights? Barely an afterthought in the texts, if mentioned at all.

At first glance, Chanukah speaks of threats in our past, not our present. American Jews are not under threat from a foreign emperor, but rather we are fellow-citizens in a super-power. Threats to religious freedom are mostly foreign to American Jews, even if anti-Semitism is not, but the rise of Islamaphobia is an uncomfortably close parallel. But since November 8th, the specter of our own bloody history has returned to haunt us, reminding us that the safety we took for granted was illusory after all.

Donald Trump is no foreign emperor; even if his rise was aided by a foreign power, the man is all too American, as is the bigotry and bombast he brings to the table. He is nonetheless our generation’s Antiochus, in that he is a symbol for the repressive, the regressive, and the sum of all that our society finds loathsome. A symbol, but not the cause.

The Maccabees are the heroes of the story, though I would caution folks to be a bit critical as well. For example, keep away from guerilla tactics, and please don’t attempt to set up a theocratic state. Both are, at the very least, against the law. However, recall the insert we add in the Amidah and Birkat HaMazon during this holiday— we celebrate the victory of the Maccabees, a small group against a manifold, and the weak over the strong. These were some incredibly long odds, and the Maccabees beat them. That’s a pretty inspiring message for the darkest of days, whether your battle is something personal, or something collective.

The pinnacle of the Chanukah story is the rededication of the Temple and the miracle of the olive oil that lasted for eight days, though there was only enough for one. The height of the triumph of the Chanukah story is about the ability to renew, and to spread light. Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, is a notion in Judaism that we are supposed to leave the world better than we found it. What better way to do that than to renew, rededicate, and shine a light in the dark? We do that literally when we light the menorah/chanukiah in the evenings. But we can also do that metaphorically, by inspiring and uplifting each other, and by leaving the world better than we found it.

In the coming years, that will be quite the challenge. Our communities are often divided, among both religious fractures and political ones, especially post election. It’s a lot harder to figure out who the “bad guy” is when the disagreements range all over your Shabbat table, and things may  feel like they are spinning out of control. But when has the world ever been simple? Even the Chanukah story is more complicated than it first appears, which is about a divided Jewish community whose internal fractures never fully heal, as much as it is about a miraculous victory against all odds.

Image: The Maccabees by Wojciech Stattler. Via Wikimedia.

The post A Light in Dark Times appeared first on Jewcy.

Well, the worst has happened. Now what?
Now, we live.

That’s easier said than done. We had high hopes, and they were dashed. We thought we were safe, and we weren’t. The unthinkable happened, except it wasn’t really unthinkable at all. And something many of us thought beautiful has been broken.

Stand Up, Fight Back

We have two months to prepare for a real-life authoritarian con-artist taking the helm of the most powerful country in the world. There isn’t a damn thing we can do about that but plan for it. This article is not an exhaustive list of what that future may look like or what those plans could be, but it should give you ideas of how we can support each other. I especially recommend you take a look at this, which lays out some pretty excellent tips and tactics.

There are storm clouds on the horizon, but we aren’t helpless. It is true that the Democratic minority in the House and Senate will fight to stop these rollbacks, but as the minority in the House and Senate, they are likely to fail. The next significant election is the 2018 midterms. It is absolutely imperative that everyone vote in this election. It won’t be soon enough to stop the damage, but it might be soon enough to make a difference. Two years is a long time— but it’s not that long.

In that time, we need to mobilize and organize. Hitting the streets is not enough. It just isn’t. Marches may feel great, but they aren’t enough in of themselves to create the change we need. We need to work on getting out the millennial vote now. Old people vote as a block, and that’s part of the GOPs strength. Millennials outnumber them, but consistently, our cohorts don’t show up at the polls, especially for midterm elections. That needs to change. Millennial block voting needs to be all out—ridiculous levels of all out—and it needs to outnumber the GOP, which if things go as they normally do, will solidify an even greater majority in the House and Senate. Let’s get started on that.

Beyond voting and protesting, we need to get involved in government, no matter how much some of us might disdain the institution. Write to your local officials— even if you didn’t vote for them. Write to your Senators and your Representatives. Volunteer for local initiatives. If you have the time, go to local government and Town Hall meetings. Show up, and show up consistently, and make sure your government officials know to expect you.

What we need to do is form an anti-Trump pact that will burst into mass action every time he makes a move on our civil liberties and human rights. Is he about to fuck up the environment or push forward the Dakota Access Pipeline? Blow the lids of the phone lines and send as letters as you can write. Is he making a move on abortion? Make sure he, and all your elected officials (regardless of party affiliation) know how not cool that is, and that you’re watching them. Tweet everything, every single time, especially if they’re aware of you and know who you are. Phone calls work better than letters, letters work better than emails, and showing up physically to Town Halls and meetings works even better than that. Even if these officials are in a party different from yours, this is a pressure they can’t ignore. So find out who your local representatives are, and contact them.

You can do all this a private citizen and it will work. But it will work even better if you are a public official yourself. No one ignores a government official, even if it’s just at the county level, showing up in front of someone’s office. How do you get in there? You can work in someone’s office, but honestly, just run for office yourself! If you’re over 25, you’re old enough to be in Congress! (Of course, without experience, a constituency, and a fund-raising machine, that is a tall order.) More local positions won’t necessarily have the same age limits, and at age 18, you can run for many city and state positions, which in turn will give you the background needed to make you a viable candidate for something bigger later on, in addition to allowing you to make real change for your community by having a place in the halls of power. You can start in your county’s Democratic party, and work your way up from there. The barriers to entry on that level are usually very low, because most people don’t pay attention to them. Use that to your advantage.

Another top issue is redistricting and gerrymandering. It is the number one item that causes Republican votes to have more relative weight than Democratic ones, and correcting this issue is the one way to prevent being totally hammered (again) in the House and the Senate. Gerrymandering means that the Republicans essentially steal elections by cleverly redrawing district lines so that a Democratic populace is forcibly broken up and counts for less— a process the Republicans have been hammering on since they lost the Presidential election to Obama back in 2008. In order to put an end to that nonsense, Democrats need to control at least one branch of the state government.

That is a good reason to get involved in local and state government if you’re a millennial. Pick issues, and push for them. Know your community, and fight for them. Get a mentor, and learn from them. Get involved with your local institutions, and badger the hell out of your elected officials. Remind the public officials: you are the public. They work for you. Hold them accountable. And if they don’t do their jobs, kick ‘em out.

Pussy Grabs Back

Community building is hard work, but it is absolutely essential for our survival and success. The Left in this country was gutted long before we were born, so it’d be absurd to expect us to be perfect activists from the get-go. We all have a lot of learning to do (and I do include myself in this. Oh boy, do I ever.) And frankly, the Left eats its children. The spectrum anywhere beyond the (so broad it’s useless) umbrella of “liberal” is so fractured, chaotic, and full of in-fighting, you’d think you were at a particularly loquacious, especially obnoxious middle school lunchroom food-fight. It’s easy to call for unity, but a lot harder to actually build bridges, especially since so many of these groups hate each other. (Some with good reason.)

But we still have to do that work. A lot of institutional support is going to be eliminated. Programs that help the middle class and poor are going to be gutted, leaving more people in desperate poverty, hungry, and unable to get out of debt. A lot of people will be vulnerable. The way to counter that is by creating our own support networks. Already I see people crowdfunding for paying for medical care, relocation, support for women fleeing abuse, you name it. That’s good. We are going to be doing that a lot more pretty soon, and we are going to have to rely on each other, and be there for each other in tangible, even financial ways. And you can’t do that without a lot of planning or cooperation.

Mobilizing and organizing can look like a lot of things. It can mean community meetings. It can mean volunteering at your Planned Parenthood, and donating. Their funding might be cut drastically, no matter what President Obama tries. We have to be prepared to scrimp and scrounge— because the people they serve are the people who don’t have insurance, or can’t get any, or don’t have money, or don’t have access to healthcare options, or can’t physically get to the ones that exist. This is especially true if they are trans or gender minorities, or people of color. Consider making real efforts to protect and uphold reproductive and gender rights, which will be under serious attack with Mike Pence as VP. Remember, this is the man who caused an HIV outbreak in Indiana by slashing health spending. Late-term abortions are especially hard to get in this country, even under an Obama Presidency. Not only are there only four doctors who do the procedure, the cost is astronomically high. That is entirely to pay their insurance— the constant violence and threats of violence from anti-choice White Christians makes their jobs dangerous. If you’re in medicine, consider going into reproductive health. Consider stocking up on birth control and emergency contraception. If you’re in Law however, check out the National Lawyer’s Guild. These are without a doubt the good guys. Help them. Talk to them. Join them.

For the record, even though Obamacare might be cut, altered, or repealed, or its mandate rolled back until it might as well have axed altogether, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sign up or renew. The marketplace is open now. Even if you only have insurance for two months, those are two months of coverage. And it is unlikely that repealing will include plans that are already enrolled for the year— it’d be too complicated, and Trump is too lazy. Far easier to let the clock run down on us instead— but that buys us some time nonetheless.

Communities should strive to some form of self-sufficiency. I do not mean “be an island and cut yourself off from the whole world,” though honestly that sounds pretty tempting right now. I mean rather that the community provides for itself as much as it can, including cultural events, local co-ops, even starting some city farming. Seek to build and support each other. See what skills and trades can be swapped. There a million ways to build stronger communities, and every one of those will be important, also particularly when it comes to conflict resolution. But especially, work towards community self-policing, and keeping cops away rather than inviting them in.

If you’ve been not under a rock, you probably understand that the rate of violence by law enforcement towards people of color, particularly Black Americans, is ridiculous. Do not contribute to that if you can avoid it. If it’s a noise complaint, don’t call the cops for that. Don’t contribute to the criminalization of non-violent behaviour. Don’t contribute to Broken Windows style policing. Build bridges with your community instead! And remember, with Giuliani as likely Attorney General, police are going to get an even bigger pass on oppressive measures, and carte blanche to enact violence as they see fit. Don’t give them that opportunity.

You probably know people who voted Trump. Maybe some of them are your family members, friends, or classmates. And while over 70% of the Jewish-American community showed up for Hillary, nearly 30% did not— many of those, but not all, being Orthodox. I don’t know how to talk to these people to get them to listen. Right now, I don’t even want to try— but we might have to. And some of these former supporters might balk once authoritarian measures start to hit home on them too, or when promised prosperity doesn’t materialize, or if and when anti-Semitism reaches a fevered pitch.

Without a doubt, Jews are a target in Trump’s America. We know this, we see it, and already we are seeing it get worse. And anti-Semitism was already virulent on both the Left and Right before this election. It’s a scary time to be a member of the Tribe. And yet, many of us benefit from whiteness in varying degrees (some more than others). Many of us benefit from varying levels of class privilege (again, some more than others). Some of us fly under the radar completely. For those to whom this applies, and that is not all of us all the time, recognize how that provides “outs” that aren’t always available to all of our fellows. Be mindful of this, and be kind. Someone looking “Stereotypically Jewish” is more likely to be targeted by anti-Semites because they fit the image they have in their heads of what they think a Jew is. A Jew of color is going to get slammed with both anti-Semitism and other forms of racism. Jewish women suffer from a uniquely awful brand of misogyny coupled with anti-Jewish bigotry. Visibly LGBT+ Jews are gonna get it from nearly everyone, as if they haven’t been already. And so on, for all the various combinations and permutations of these and any other sub-types as well.

And of course, this also goes for all our fellow non-Jews who are suffering in Trump’s new world. And that’s a lot of us. Muslims, Arabs, Asians, Latinos, Black Americans, anyone who has a uterus, anyone not cis-gender or heterosexual, etc. Even being a cis-white-man won’t completely inoculate you: activists are targets, too. This is the time to build bridges. This is the time for solidarity. This is the time to have each other’s backs.

Respect Existence, or Expect Resistance

For some less heartwarming advice: consider learning some basics of self defense. Trump’s America does not love you. It does not welcome you. And it’s energized a lot of people who would be happy to hurt you. Don’t give them the chance. Ask around for free or cheap lessons to learn the basics, or maybe start a class in your neck of the woods. This is an opportunity to both do something affirming with your community, strengthen bonds with each other, and protect each other.

Be secure on the web. Learn about security culture. Practice it.

If you are going to be protesting regularly, understand the kind of weapons that police will sometimes use on protesters, no matter how law abiding or peaceful. Learn how to counteract tear gas and pepper spray. (Always carry water, even just plain cold water often helps. Do not use vinegar, despite its popularity, as vinegar is a weak acid, and will not counteract the capsaicin used in pepper spray and tear gas.) Learn what kind of supplies it’s good to have on a long march or outdoor action. Are you willing to get arrested? Getting peaceably arrested is a protest tactic, but sometimes the police won’t be so peaceful. And criminalizing peaceful, lawful protests is the #1 play of authoritarian regimes.

Consider learning how to be a street medic. Classes are usually only a few sessions, which usually last all day. Street medics and marshals at rallies and protests are always in short supply— and very much needed in the case of injury, tear gas, or unforeseen circumstances. In general, having some practical emergency medical knowledge on hand is a solid idea, even if protesting is not your thing.

“Should I make Aaliyah?”
That is entirely up to you. Jokes about moving to Canada aside, there are real reasons why getting the heck out of dodge is a completely reasonable choice of actions. If you decide that leaving is the best choice for you, then it is. Israel was in part set up as a haven for Jews to run to in times of unrest and oppression. If you can prove that you have at least one Jewish grandparent, you are eligible for citizenship. If you decide that’s what you want to do, check out the Jewish Agency and Nefesh B’Nefesh.

That being said, remember that Israel has its own problems. It is locked in a seemingly endless conflict with the Palestinians, ISIS is on the border, and there are many internal fractures along ethnic and religious lines. It is no paradise.

There are good reasons to stay and fight, beyond the principle of the thing. While people have been making comparisons to the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazi Germany (some apt, some less so), the fact remains that this isn’t Nazi Germany, and Trump isn’t Hitler. That doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous. He is. But it means we shouldn’t panic, we shouldn’t make big decisions while panicking, and that all hope is not lost. A genocide is probably not in our future here, though hardship undoubtedly is. And we stand a decent chance of success on multiple levels, even through these hard times, if we play our cards right. Trump won’t be around forever, eight years max, barring a complete dissolution of many of our key governing institutions. And that scenario is extremely unlikely.

¡Sí se puede!

None of us wanted this, but here we are. We will stand together. We will fight. We will not just survive, we will thrive. We will overcome.

Hate might have taken this country for a ride. It might even do it irreparable damage. But in the end, it will fall, and fade. This will then be but a passing shadow, and the sun will shine all the clearer.

In the meantime, if you are around the New York area, check out some of these Jewish organizations you can organize with or donate money to: Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, NYC Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee, the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, Bend the Arc, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Hazon (a Jewish social justice group that focuses on food, agriculture, and sustainability), If Not Now (an anti-Occupation Jewish movement), the American Jewish World Service, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Avodah: the Jewish Service Corps, Manhattan Together (an interfaith initiative), and finally, Common Decency.

Common Decency deserves a special mention, as it is a new group dedicated specifically dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism and Jewish intersectional alliance work. There’s no public site yet, but keep your ears open; for the past month, it has been quietly working on a specific campaign, and plans to go live to the public at a community meeting December 1.

You can join with groups and individuals on social media using the hashtag #JewishResistance.

All of these groups do different things, most locally, some nationally, and some internationally. All do good work. And all of them need you.

Ḥazak v’ematz.

Images via Wikimedia, and William Murphy and Fibonacci Blue via Flickr.

The post Gam Zeh Ya’Avor: What We Do Next appeared first on Jewcy.

Your boyfriend and mine, Daveed Diggs, was on the Tonight Show last night, and if there’s one final push you need to go out and vote today (if you’re able), than let this be it.

Diggs communicated to the audience the importance of participating in a Democratic system via freestyle rapping, because his brain is a beautiful rhyme machine.

Was he wearing a weird and amazing jacket? Of course he was. Did he call upon help from Black Thought of the Roots to feature in his performance? You bet.

Diggs talks about the history of suffrage, including contemporary attempts to prevent people of color.

“The right to vote ain’t always been given to every citizen/Not until 1920 did it include any women/And not until 1965 if you exhibit melanin,” is a highlight of a performance.

Watch for yourself below. Then, get out there and do as Daveed dictates.

Image via Vimeo.

The post Daveed Diggs Wants You to Vote appeared first on Jewcy.

What is a "mazel tov cocktail" pic.twitter.com/xmTiBnoaia

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) November 7, 2016

Mazel-Tov Cocktail was a Jewish punk zine (that Jewcy has covered!) put out by Jennifer Bleyer in 1995. In the zine’s opening letter, Bleyer said one goal was to “show that there is more to Jewish accomplishments nowadays than just Barry Manilow.”

In my book, Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, I called Mazel-Tov Cocktail “the first comprehensive work delving into the connections between Jews and punk.” The zine’s back cover featured a (mostly correct) list of punk artists who were Jewish, including members of the Ramones, The Clash, and Bad Religion. The most prominent interviewee was Fat Mike of NOFX. There were clever articles, a comic strip, a “Jewcore Photo Album,” and a recipe section (“The Nosh Pit”).

One highlight was the story of Traif Nation, a supposed hardcore band. In 2014, Bleyer told me that the article might have been “a farce.” The band members allegedly used to play a game in Hebrew school in which they shot “pork pellets” out of a “potato gun” against the blackboard. The article explained:

You see—this early delinquent behavior was obviously rooted in a very real social dilemma. Hebrew school universally being held on every Tuesday and Thursday, that excluded us from participating in afterschool activities such as: YMCA, Girl Scouts, ballet lessons, Little League . . . so what’s a poor kid separated from the mainstream to do but stand up and yell, “Daiyenu”? Soon we weren’t accepted by the goyim or the Jews we crossed for being anti-kashrut rebels. And all that pent-up frustration and anger flowered and evolved into Traif Nation. And if you ever come to one of our shows you just might get a mouthful of Spam!

In an interview for Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, Bleyer reflected that Mazel-Tov Cocktail was about “reconcil[ing] that you can feel good and positive about being Jewish, but it’s not your all-consuming identity. . . . And the whole thing that was interesting to me about exploring Jewishness and punk was just seeing how much affinity there really was.”

Mazel-Tov Cocktail did more than just lay the groundwork for future assessments of Jewishness and punk. It was the progenitor of the groundbreaking Heeb magazine, which Bleyer founded in 2001.

And if you feel the answer to this question needs to be drinkable, welcome to the 2016 election.

Image via eBay.

The post What IS a “Mazel Tov” Cocktail? appeared first on Jewcy.

In a sentence that I cannot believe I am writing, the Anti-Defamation League has added Pepe the Frog to its hate symbol database, because of his proliferation of use in alt-right Internet circles. I also cannot believe that real news sites have to explain how a stupid picture of a frog is used as versatile Internet commentary, and are describing its origins the same way you would approach a chapter of art history.

But, fine. If you must know, and haven’t visited the Hillary Clinton website’s explanation (yes, her campaign is taking this seriously, too), Pepe dates back about ten years. He’s an illustrated frog, originally used in an intentionally crude comic. He rose through the ranks of Internet popularity through the likes of 4chan and Gaia Online, often with his facial expression as a stand-in for the user’s feelings, of, say, sadness, or smugness. Recently, he has been appearing often in the corners of the Internet’s associated with extreme right-wing racists. This has included everything, like Photoshop of Pepe as Hitler, or a skinhead, or lately, as Donald Trump, say, banning Mexican immigrants. Some examples are explicit or violent, but they always feature that same humanoid frog with the stupid face.

And now, we have granted the same seriousness to Twitter basement teens that we have to synagogues defaced with swastikas and violent attacks on Jews.

Really, ADL, do you have nothing better to do? With this election bringing bigotry of all kinds out of the woodwork, you’re going to condemn the use of a poorly illustrated amphibian? While there is certainly a need for speaking out against bigotry, reaching for low-rent nonsense like this begs the question, have you never heard the Internet saying, “Don’t feed the trolls?”

It’s not even that Pepe is a good meme. He is of the sort of dankness that makes it impossible for anyone not from the depths of the Internet to appreciate. He’s supposed to be funny because he’s weird, crudely drawn, and vague enough that he’s usable for any situation. He’s used by leftists too, including as a mocking response to bigotry. Mostly, he’s just used for absolute nonsense, as much a mockery of “relatable” Internet memes as he is used in earnest. He’s so ubiquitous that he in fact means nothing.

Creators of memes are the deadest kinds of authors, but for what its worth, Pepe’s papa is against the alt-right’s co-option of the frog, and is voting Democrat in November.

God, what has 2016 done to us? This isn’t the first example of elevating adolescent virtual whining and mashing together of cultural tropes to a point far beyond what’s appropriate. The Forward published an article back in June trying to analyze Neon Genesis Evangelion in context of Neo-Nazi twitter trolls. With my own two eyes I had to read about Asuka and Shinji on a Jewish news website, and not as graffiti in a middle school bathroom stall where that discussion belongs.

Hurt, angry, or just confused, Journalists, non-Internet addicts, and, well, adults, are making this out to be deeper than the racists intend.  You know why? Because bigots are not capable of deep thought. The alt-right’s latching onto the milquetoast Internet humor that is Pepe is ample evidence of that.

ADL, if you’re trying to stay relevant, this is not the way to do it. Get a better Tumblr. Make some memes, yourself. Give out sunglasses that say, “Throwing SHADE on anti-Semitism” on the sides. You can have that idea for free. You’re welcome.

You can’t declare the color red a symbol of hate, despite its presence on the Nazi flag. You can’t decide the number 14 has been used too many times by racists (it actually is a neo-Nazi shibboleth, and is also on the ADL’s list). As much as some of us would like to be rid of him for good, Pepe belongs to everybody.

You know what? Jewcy hereby declares Pepe not inexorably linked with anti-Semitism. You are all free to use him to express your general disappointments, frustrations, and struggles of your daily life. Or just Photoshop him onto Shrek’s body; we don’t care.

In any case, you can pick your Jewish authority, the ADL, or us.

Images via Wikimedia

The post Pepe is Now a Symbol of Hate Speech, Because We Can’t Have Anything appeared first on Jewcy.

For those of you who don’t watch The Late Show, (or, you know, YouTube highlights the next day), you need to see part of Monday’s episode. beginning Republican National Convention coverage. You have to watch this. I’ll wait.

OK, now that you’ve witnessed that bit of comedy splendor, you can join me in missing the heck out of Jon Stewart.

I do find it adorable that in his self-imposed exile, Stewart seems to have become a zeyde, still the same Jewish comedian, but older, fussier, and even more fed up with the world than he was before (nice joke about kippot there, too). I know he’s only 53, but I almost expected him to be wearing his pants up to his chest in traditional grandfatherly fashion.

After all, a large part of what made Stewart a great presence on late night TV was his uniquely Jewish attitude towards the absurd politics unfolding in front of him: There was frustration bordering on righteous anger, and a wit, and with a cynical candy-coating from a man whose people have seen it all. “You’re not crazy,” Stewart seemed to urge us, “It’s the world that is upside down.”

Years ago, I went to a taping of The Daily Show, and when the audience was given a chance to ask questions, I trotted out my then stock-prompt for Jewish celebrities about the impact of their identity on their work. Stewart told me that that it’s a part of his genes (I believe he made up a component of DNA he called “Jew-nine,”) and said that it related to his fear of being kicked out of whatever country he was in. Clearly, this Jon Stewart hiding out in a cabin in the woods still has such a genetic neurosis. And while his departure from The Daily Show wasn’t the death of comedy, it left a Jewish-sized hole (whatever that means) that’s still unfilled.

Yes, Trevor Noah has Jewish ancestry.  But regardless of how he feels about his own identity, there have been enough think pieces explaining why he’s failed to sustain The Daily Show‘s legacy. He’s no longer a substantial part of the political comedy equation.

This isn’t to say that the landscape is barren; John Oliver and Samantha Bee do fine jobs, fitting different niches in the political comedy sphere. And Bee even mentioned Sheldon Adelson on her most recent episode (though, oh, imagine how Jon Stewart might take him to task as only a member of the Tribe can). So now, we can only hope that with the release of this video Stephen Colbert’s conservative alter-ego (who then stuck around for an additional segment) will return again and again for the next several months, like a comedy Golem, called out to serve the people in our time of need.

Stewart should also come back in a more substantial way. Remember when Trump announced his candidacy, shortly before Stewart was scheduled to retire from The Daily Show? Stewart joked that the news was so absurd that he was tempted to stay. Even he couldn’t imagine then how much more surreal the campaign season would become.

Colbert teased more appearances of Stewart on his show this week, and we’ll see what that looks like. It won’t be like having him back at his old desk, but maybe he can supply us a little more of his unique, Jewish style of catharsis.

UPDATE: Oh, God. Thank you, God.

Image via YouTube

The post Oh God, Please Bring Back Jon Stewart appeared first on Jewcy.

If you’re getting excited for the upcoming election debates, then I admire your ability to keep a sense of humor and sanity throughout this soul-sucking election cycle. Also, you may want to check your Jewish calendars; the High Holy Days fall around the same time.

In particular, the only vice-president debate is set for October 4th, the same evening that Rosh HaShanah ends.

All of the debates are held from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the holiday ends a few minutes after seven, so that gives East coasters plenty of time to turn on a television or get to a watching party. But those in different time zones may be in a bit of a bind.

If you’re in Los Angeles, for example, the holiday ends at about 7:10 p.m., which is 10:10 on the East coast, which is towards the very end of the debate. So if you’re traditionally observant (e.g., no electricity on the holiday), you’re in trouble. If you’re living in Mountain time, you’ll miss the beginning, but still get the bulk of the evening.

Is this as anti-Semitic, as, say, tweeting an image of your opponent with a Jewish star to represent corruption? No, but it is mighty inconvenient.

While we don’t yet know who will be participating in the VP debate (but we will in the next couple of weeks!), given the antics of this election it may make the SNL Palin vs. Biden skit seem realistic and measured. The odds of an observant Jewish VP candidate is low (unless Trump pulls in his son-in-law, and anything’s possible), but even if that were the case, they could rush to the debate and be there on time; it will be held on the east coast, at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.

The other debates as they’re scheduled seem to be near misses with holidays: the first presidential debate is before the holidays begin, the second is between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and the third is during Chol HaMoed Sukkot (will the Las Vegas debate be held in a neon sukkah? We can only assume so).

At least this way, all the candidates will have the opportunity to ask for forgiveness for their debates between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.

Image credit: Wikimedia

The post Heads Up: The VP Debate is at the End of Rosh HaShanah appeared first on Jewcy.

In the space of a few days, Bernie Sanders hired, and then fired, Simone Zimmerman, a leading leftist Israel/Palestine activist, as his Jewish Outreach Coordinator. Firing Zimmerman was morally wrong, but politically, the smart thing to do.

Last week was a roller coaster for Jewish followers of the Sanders campaign as the Zimmerman saga unfolded. Old Facebook posts of Zimmerman came to light after her addition to the Sanders team, including one in which she called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an “an arrogant, cynical, manipulative asshole,” and particularly criticized his government’s actions in Gaza.

This should come as no surprise, because Zimmerman’s presence in the Jewish community includes serving as national board president of J-Street U, and organizing for anti-Occupation group If Not Now. Her values (if not her colorful language) have not fundamentally contradicted what Sanders has been saying about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict throughout this campaign.

And yet, when leaders such as Abe Foxman of the ADL and Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations called for Zimmerman’s termination, the Sanders campaign buckled, and complied.

The campaign’s handling of the situation has been embarrassing, and shortsighted. Either Bernie’s people failed to vet a new hire at a crucial point in the campaign, or they underestimated backlash from Jewish right-wing and/or establishment officials.

And yet, firing Zimmerman may have saved the campaign more votes than it’s lost.

The hashtag #IStandWithSimone has been trending particularly in Jewish leftist circles on social media, criticizing both those who called for Zimmerman’s termination, and those who carried it out. However, those who are angry about the situation, those who celebrated Sanders for hiring Zimmerman in the first place, are still likely not mad enough to vote for Hillary Clinton in the New York primary tomorrow. Either they still see Hillary’s stance on Israel as being too far to the right, or other issues will outweigh Sanders’s misstep here.

Yonit Friedman, for example, has been supporting Sanders since the campaign’s early days, and also volunteers in leftist Jewish causes, including If Not Now. She’s angry at the campaign that “caved to right-wing pressure, and that they were clearly not prepared for this reaction, which should have been obvious.” And yet, she’s still voting for Sanders.

“For all the time I spend doing Israel/Palestine related work, it’s still one of my lower priorities when choosing a candidate,” she says, citing economic inequality, health care, racial justice, and reproductive freedom as important values when she votes, “And [Sanders’s] beliefs on Israel/Palestine are still far closer to mine than Clinton’s.”

Friedman also points out that while the campaign made a misstep, the real fault lies with  likes of Foxman and Hoenlein, “individuals who have pushed for the exclusion of Simone, and others with similar views, from Jewish spaces,” as she describes them.

Simply put, as upset as leftist Jews are about Simone Zimmerman, they’re probably still voting for Sanders. His campaign has barely lost votes with this move, and has perhaps salvaged a few who were offended by what Zimmerman had to say.  Most likely, it’s a zero-sum game.

Image Credit: Facebook via Times of Israel

The post Bernie Sanders, Simone Zimmerman, and the Price of Politics appeared first on Jewcy.

Yes, Silverman wants Bernie Sanders as the next POTUS, as she has already stated on the record, but yesterday’s video drew new attention to her stance. In it, she explains that while a former Hillary Clinton fan, she’s become excited by Sanders’ resistance of super PACS and Special Interest Groups. Silverman also says that panic over Bernie’s socialism is misplaced.

“Good lord, under President Sanders, don’t worry, you can still become a super-rich asshole,” she assures viewers in the video.

Still, the new statement is no “Million Dollar Schlep,” and Silverman makes no overt Jewish jokes, and no references to Bernie’s identity— an interesting oversight, given that in 2008, Silverman drummed up excitement for President Obama by noting that “Barack” means “lightning” in Hebrew.

In any case, now that Sarah has spoken, it’s only a matter of time before we hear from her again, like maybe more about voter ID laws.

In the meantime, you can watch the video below:

The post Sarah Silverman Endorses Bernie Sanders Via Funny Video (Of Course) appeared first on Jewcy.