Oct. 8th Jews: Wearing Our Pride in Public

On Oct. 7, 2023, the unthinkable happened. Thousands of terrorists and civilians broke through the security fence protecting the towns, farms, and civilians of Israel’s south, deliberately intending to murder, rape, kidnap, and torture babies, children, women, and men. Thousands of innocent civilians were murdered (many after being sexually assaulted). Children and spouses were forced to watch as their loved ones were brutally tortured and murdered. Women and men were repeatedly raped, often after their Achilles tendons were sliced so they could not escape their abuse. Seniors were gunned down in front of their own homes. And for the first time, Israel faced the crisis of tens of thousands of displaced refugees fleeing the south to seek safe shelter, not knowing how many Hamas terrorists were in their villages on the prowl. Even in the north, Israelis sheltered at home, terrified behind locked doors.

Out of that shocking assault, Jewish pride has emerged in new ways. After the Six Day War in 1967, Synagogues that had previously been neutral discovered the inherent Zionism of Jewish liturgy, scripture, and history. Many adopted the custom of adding an Israeli flag in the sanctuary. Jewish practice took on a public role, exemplified by the best-selling Jewish Catalog that offered advice on making ritual objects, celebrating Jewish holidays, and cooking Jewish foods. We came out as a people and a faith.

The sale of Star of David jewelry has spiked. Jews are attending rallies, reaching out to their elected officials, gathering in public for Shabbat services and in private for holiday meals.

That same response has emerged in the past few months as well. In the face of the most brutal murder of Jews since the Holocaust – and the despicable celebration of the carnage by a diverse hodgepodge of hateful anti-Israel groups (antisemites, jihadi militants, communists, white supremacists) even prior to any Israeli response – Jews realize not only that we cannot hide, but that we no longer want to. If large numbers cannot distinguish between Israeli and Palestinian self-determination and a despotic gang that relies on terror against their own people and against Jews, then we need to stand up proud.

The sale of Star of David jewelry has spiked. Jews are attending rallies, reaching out to their elected officials, gathering in public for Shabbat services and in private for holiday meals. Many American Jews have been streaming to Israel to volunteer to help during these difficult times. 

That is not to say that Jews have lost their diversity when it comes to questions of Israeli politics and policies (the occupation and the future of democracy among them). But we have awakened to a world that is often indifferent or overly hostile to Jewish survival. In such a world, we will thrive with or without the permission of others. We will thrive because we are strong. We are the descendants of ancestors who faced implacable slander and hostility by creating sacred literature enshrining the divine image of every human being, mandating harmonious living with creation, and proclaiming the core manifestation of the divine as compassion and mercy (a radical insight bequeathed to our daughter faiths, Christianity and Islam). 

I am the dean of two rabbinical schools (the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of American Jewish University in Los Angeles and the Zacharias Frankel College of University of Potsdam in Germany). A hundred years ago, the men who trained to become rabbis would remove their head covering before venturing back out into the street. They avoided public displays of Jewish identity to safely mingle with the larger population. Not so my students: they wear their Judaism loud and proud. Boldly colored head coverings (on every gender and orientation), Jewish jewelry, and stickers on their backpacks, computers, and cars. Many of them are active in working with Muslims toward a just future for Israel and Palestine. Their Jewish pride augments their commitment to peace in the Middle East. They are active in social justice causes and organizations, not despite their Jewish passion, but as an expression of that heritage. 

I watch my students do Jewish publicly, and I learn from them. No more cowering in the shadows; no more seeking permission. Like every other person, we are gifted with life by the Creator, and endowed by that Creator with the right to blossom, thrive, and contribute our distinct way of being to the symphony that is humanity.

Rabbi Dr. Bradley Shavit Artson is Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University, and Dean of the Zacharias Frankel College in Germany.