Feeling tokenised on this sub

[u/Jche98]

I've been getting the impression lately that so much of this sub is becoming posts like "as jews of conscience, what do you think of X?" or "as real jews who believe in real judaism, what do you think of Y?" These questions are from non-jews. I appreciate non-jewish allies taking part in this sub but lately it's feeling that it's just people trying to paint us as "the good jews". This sub is about being jewish and anti-Zionist and the struggles that come with that. It's not a sub for us to parade around claiming to be the "true jews" or for people to parade us around like that. We are jewish and we oppose Zionism but the Zionist jews are also jewish. We're no less or more jewish than they are. And we're not here to justify judaism in the face of Zionism. There are a million (very important) subs where there is general discussion about Palestine and the genocide in Gaza. But I feel like this sub should be something for us.

[u/[deleted]]

I personally haven't seen very many things that offend me in here, and I'm here a lot. However, I can't speak for everyone else, so there is that. I don't think it's a good idea to make this sub into Jewish customs/questions etc for anti zionists while there is a genocide. Sorry. If a holiday is coming up, sure let's talk about it, let's create meetups for people or something so that there are safer spaces to have celebration for us. But to say you're tired of seeing news stories about Gaza is extremely insensitive to me. If Jews were being killed every other day, we would be thinking about it, everyday. It's hard to watch, yep. That's kinda the point. Id rather these things be posted here than in other pro Palestine subs because the comments in other subs can actually get pretty bad. The thing that's great about Reddit is you can always take a break and come back to it later. You can always stop interacting with or downvote posts you don't like. I'm sorry people are feeling tokenized. I personally am getting triggered by people saying they feel tokenized because it basically proves all the Zionists right who talk about how Pro Palestine Jewish spaces do this. Maybe they do. Idk. I never feel welcome in many Jewish spaces, it's a problem. I really like this space. I particularly like that it's a mixed space, with allies in it, because I don't actually talk to non Jews about any of this in person. Nobody asks me, they are too afraid to ask me. I want people to learn and to learn from them. I am also aware of how closed of a practice Judaism is, and so my expectations of people knowing anything about us, our culture, and are our religion are low. This is why I think we should keep educating allies instead of gatekeeping or staying only in our spaces. Doing that has not gone well for us in terms of Zionism. I think maybe only wanting our own Jewish safe spaces is a response to trauma. Maybe we just need a separate Anti Zionist Spirituality group or something then.

Edit: Also want to add that when this genocide ends, I think having more stuff about Judaism in general would be great, but also, if you want it posted, just post it. I'm sure plenty of people will interact with that post

[u/dnakali11 → u/[deleted]]

I'm 100% with you on this. I share many of your views.

I'm also wondering how many Jews of color are in this sub because I feel like this happens a lot (centering/gate keeping/avoiding painful content) in predominantly White spaces. If anything, as a multicultural Jew in this sub, I sometimes worry this place will disappoint me at some point like every single place I've tried to feel seen because the defense mechanisms are so strong. I'm also particularly vulnerable as someone who never fit in Jewish spaces as a patrilineal Jew with a mom who converted and has been trying to reconnect with my Judaism after decades without it - specifically because of those above issues I've mentioned. My intersectionalities make it hard to really trust places and I'm tired.

[u/Partyinmykonos → u/dnakali11]

I’m a patrilineal multiracial Jew too! It is so refreshing to find others like me in the wild 😊

I completely agree with you. Personally, I find safety in the anonymity of Reddit. But it also sometimes feels like masking and like I am not showing up in full.

One thing that does bother me in these subs is when full Ashkenazi Jews try to claim POC status. Having been the “other” in all/predominantly white spaces for much of my life—including all/predominantly Ashkenazi spaces—I know the marginalization I face as a Jew of color is much different. I certainly know I have faced more barriers than my father who is full Ashkenazi and experiences much more white privilege than I ever will.

I have found it to be a lonely existence. I’m an only child and I have only ever met two other patrilineal Jews of color my entire life (and never got into heavy discussions of identity like this with either of them). It’s so refreshing and affirming even to find other Jews like me.

Oh I should mention that I really like Hey Alma for regularly centering Jews of color and publishing op-eds from a diverse set of authors (patrilineal, non-white, converts, etc.).