Pride. Proud to be Jewish. Proud to wear my kippah or my Star of David. Proud of the work I have done with groups that often feel marginalized because I view that as part of my Judaism. A very important part.
Pride is a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements and the confidence and self-respect expressed by members of a group.
Last year I spoke at the National Havurah Institute annual convention. I was the Social Justice Fellow and in a series of presentations I was talking about how social justice is better together. How building bridges and alliances makes the work of tikkun olam, repairing the world better and easier. One session was on the difficult nature of intersectionality. I used an example from two years ago when Jewish lesbians were invited out of the Chicago Dyke march because they were carrying an LGBTQ Pride flag with its colorful rainbow with a Jewish star. It might be triggering for Palestinian lesbians. I was shocked by the initial response of the Chicago organizers. This seemed a clear example of anti-Semitism on the left. The LGBTQ has been one of the most welcoming, diverse communities I have been allied with. How could this be happening?
I was taken to task by some of the women that were in my presentation. Did this mean that I supported Israel over the Palestinians? Did it mean I support Israeli violations of human rights which would be against Jewish law? How could I take this stand?
Well, I am taking it again. Because it has happened again. This week at the national Pride parade in Washington DC the organizers denied the display of the Pride flag with a Jewish star. This is wrong. This is anti-semitic. Period.
Also wrong. And haunting. Another Pride Parade. The one in Detroit, where Neo-Nazis showed up with a Nazi flag and allegedly urinated on an Israeli flag. The photos of the Nazi flag over Detroit is shocking. This is wrong. This is anti-Semitic. Period.
This is complicated. This is about intersectionality. About being part of two communities (or more) at the same time. And since I am a rabbi and a teacher and a life-long learner, let’s define intersectionality, as “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.” It is like a Venn diagram. The term was coined by Kimberle Williams Crehnshaw in 1989 intersectionality) to describe interlocking forms of competing discriminations, such a being a woman of color. There was a famous case about women of color who were discriminated against at one of the Big Three automakers. Were they because of the color of their skin or their gender? The answer is both.
Do women who identify as lesbians have the right to march carrying a Gay Pride flag with the Jewish star?
I would argue yes. They identify as both. The Star of David, while it is on the Israeli flag is an ancient symbol, usually as a decoration or architectural detail on synagogues. There is one that I saw at an archeological site near a church in the Galilee at Capernaum. It has also been used in medieval cathedrals like Brandenburg and Stendal and the Marktkirche in Hanover which I have also seen. The Lennigrad Codex from 1006, the earliest complete Masoretic text of the Hebrew Scriptures has a beautiful illuminated Star of David. I even have a Star of David made out of ancient Roman glass that I purchased in Israel. I have another one from the Metropolitan Museum in New York that is a copy of a medieval one with a garnet in the center.
The Star of David is not just a symbol of Israel. It is a symbol for all Jews. However, it is the most recognizable Jewish symbol. AND, it is the symbol that Jews were forced to wear in the early Roman ghetto in 1555 by Pope Paul the IV. This was the same symbol that the Nazis forced Jews to wear during the Holocaust. Wearing one today is an act of courage and defiance. It is an act of pride.
In Judaism we believe that people, all people, are created b’tzelem elohim, in the image of G-d. I often add, as I did just last week, that “all means all.” Whether you are straight, gay, bisexual, black, white, brown, male or female, any other permutation or combination. All means all. Women who identify as Jews and lesbians have just as much right to march in the Dyke parade as Palestinian women. Anything less is less than we are as human beings.
That is exactly what happened in Warsaw, ironically. Israeli flags together with Palestinian flags at the Pride Parade. (thanks to R. Michael Rothbaum for spotting the photo)
Perhaps, you think, that as a straight woman I have no right to speak up. Perhaps, you think, that I should not talk about human rights violations in Israel either. But here is another one of those intersections. I can use my understanding of Hebrew scriptures, Jewish law and Jewish values to talk about both. And you have a right to disagree.
Recently I read Rabbi Evan Moffic’s book, First the Jews, which addresses anti-semitism on the right and the left. He does a good job of outlining the history, including the painful parts of Christian history which some, but not yet all Christians have acknowledged. I am delighted that he will be joining us in Elgin on July 21st at 4:00 PM. This program came about because of the vision of the Rev. Don Frye who read the book and insisted we make it happen and the generosity of the Rev. Michael Montgomery and the Rev. Lois Bucher who are opening the doors of First Congregational Church to make it happen.
Recently, with the documented rise in anti-Semitism in this country, parents have expressed concern about kids wearing Jewish jewelry at school. About talking about upcoming Bar Mitzvah celebrations. About inviting non-Jewish kids to those celebrations. I have written to each of the 12 superintendents of the school systems my students attend.
Recently, others have expressed concern about my own safety if I wear my kippah out in public. About whether they would even sit with me if I was wearing one. If I was putting my local baristas at risk if I am wearing one. I have spoken with each of them.
Here is my answer: I am wearing my kippah. I am wearing my Star of David. I am wearing my rainbow tallit, when and where I want to. I am calling out anti-semitism in all its forms, on the right and the left. I am speaking out and pursuing peace wherever and whenever I can. It is a matter of pride and I will not be intimidated. If I live in fear, then they win. Period. I hope you will stand with me and wear yours too. With pride.