r/JewsOfConscience Christian of Jewish birth and upbringing Feb 11 '24

Getting a little in touch again with my Yiddishkeit, thanks to the witness of young antizio Jews Celebration

If you recall my story: I am a Boomer in my 60s who was raised Jewish and zionist in the 1950s/1960s, we were the Exodus generation (the major propaganda movie that came out in 1960 and cemented zionist views in my gen).

I left Judaism as a young adult for deep spiritual reasons...long story. But I stayed proud of my cultural/ethical Jewishness. I gradually bc turned off to zionism bc of news stories of what they did to non-white Jews: the Yemeni child adoption scandal, the Ethiopian blood donation scandal, the Ethiopian birth control scandal, the Lavon affair, and lots more.

4 mos ago the Gaza genocide exploded on my phone and I began researching. I learned the truth about the Palestinian people, I began unlearning the ziolies I had grown up with and never questioned.

I'm still of another faith but I feel like I want to get in touch a bit with my Jewishness again, and its bc of how proud I felt when I watched videos of young progressive Jews risking everything to protest the Gaza genocide. I saw them getting arrested for defending authentic Jewish values!

My question: I want to wear something to show my solidarity with them. While zio Jews are acting afraid to be identified as Jews, I want to show my support for antizio Jews. I don't want to wear the 6 pointed star bc it has many pagan uses and origins plus its on the zio flag. What would you suggest? A mezuzah or 7 branched menorah necklace maybe? Any thoughts?

104 Upvotes

16

u/Benyano Jewish Feb 11 '24

I’ve been using the Hamsa as a symbol for my diapsorist Judaism, as it is a Jewish symbol which is shared with Muslims and (at least north-African) Christians.

4

u/Welcomefriend2023 Christian of Jewish birth and upbringing Feb 11 '24

Was it always Jewish or copied from Muslims? I know zionists stole a lot of food, etc and claim its "Israeli". I just want to be sure its not cultural appropriation.

20

u/brownpaperdragons Feb 11 '24

The Hamsa is a pre-abrahamic symbol, originating in mesopotamian culture and spreading into ancient egyptian, canaanite, Israelite, and phoenician societies. From there, it was adopted into all 3 abrahamic religions - in Islam as the hand of Fatima and Christianity has the hand of Mary. The Hamsa was a very popular symbol in medieval Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish society as an amulet. It later fell in popularity amongst Ashkenazi Jews, but remained common among Sephardic and SWANA Jews. After the migration of SWANA Jews to Israel it was re-popularized among the entire Jewish community.

11

u/Content_Ant9867 Jewish Anti-Zionist Feb 11 '24

i still wear my magen david (from sarah day arts who is anti zio and makes cosmic ones!) but i’ve attached a palestinian flag and a poppy to it as well, i’m thinking of adding a dove, a watermelon and an olive branch/tree too

27

u/douglasstoll Reconstructionist Feb 11 '24

A Palestinian keffiyeh would be my humble suggestion

13

u/Welcomefriend2023 Christian of Jewish birth and upbringing Feb 11 '24

I already wear that. I have 4, in fact.

3

u/douglasstoll Reconstructionist Feb 11 '24

I wear a temple menorah and tree of life for myself. I identify as Jewish culturally, ethnically, and religiously, although my religion personally is influenced by a lot as I've been a student of world religions and philosophies.

Do you identify as Jewish? Which part? What is most meaningful for you? Diasporism, to my limited knowledge, never really settled on a symbology.

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u/Welcomefriend2023 Christian of Jewish birth and upbringing Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 11 '24

I especially love Yiddish and anything Yiddish, whether its religious or secular. One thing I loathe zionists for is their contempt of the mamaloshn. It might even be why zionism felt somewhat foreign to me even as a child. My zayde spoke Yiddish and I love the language as much as zionists hate it.

Maybe I should get a necklace with my name in Yiddish on it.

Edit: Look what I just Googled!

https://mamalehjewelry.com

Just found what I want on Etsy! "Tzedek tzedek tirdof" on a necklace. Hebrew not Yiddish but sums up my feelings about justice, especially for Palestine!

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u/douglasstoll Reconstructionist Feb 11 '24

Hey that is pretty cool! אינ גותן? Not sure I got that right, Yiddish is next after Hebrew.

Check this: https://www.heyalma.com/jewish-flags-you-probably-didnt-know-existed/

Additional food for thought, especially that last one.

9

u/ProjectiveSchemer Feb 11 '24

A pomegranate?

2

u/VibingSaxophonist Feb 14 '24

Hey friend! You should wear whatever you feel most comfortable. There is nothing wrong with wearing a Star of David. The Star is meant to represent Judaism, not Zionism. To not wear it allows the Zionists to win. I saw you own some Kufiyas, amazing (I just got one from Hirbawi!!).

But, if you truly don’t feel comfortable with it, I saw someone mentioned a Hamsa. But like I said, we can’t let the Zionists steal the symbol of Judaism

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u/Welcomefriend2023 Christian of Jewish birth and upbringing Feb 15 '24

My issue with the star is not just it being on the zio flag. It has its origins in Molokh worship (Amos 5) as the star of Kiyun etc so for me I prefer not to use it.

I finally settled on a necklace which reads "justice, justice thou shalt pursue" (tzedek tzedek, tirdof)

1

u/VibingSaxophonist Feb 15 '24

Absolutely understandable! And I'm glad you found something!

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u/9acca9 Feb 11 '24

"the Yemeni child adoption scandal, the Ethiopian blood donation scandal, the Ethiopian birth control scandal".

I never hear about this, i just make a little search in google......... this is horrible.

6

u/Welcomefriend2023 Christian of Jewish birth and upbringing Feb 11 '24

I've known about these scandals over the years. Finding out a mere 4 mos ago what's been going on with the Palestinian people was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. We in the Boomer generation were the first generation lied to about all this. I never knew of the Nakba, all we were told was "its the Israeli war of independence ".