A Jewish Journey of Identity and Courage

Chapter 8 Emma

I felt a little uncomfortable, realizing I had nothing to contribute to this conversation. I had never faced a situation where I was personally attacked about something related to Israel, probably because most kids at school didn’t know I was Jewish. David raised his hand, and Shelly nodded for him to speak. “My basketball friends post all sorts of lies about Israel on Instagram and tag me. It’s really annoying.” I was surprised to hear this; from what he’d told me, I assumed he was part of the basketball team’s popular crowd. “Being a Jew and living in the United States isn’t easy,” Shelly said softly. “For Americans, we’re ‘Zionists,’ and for Israelis, we’re just Americans,” Tamir added. “It gets even more complicated when there are conflicts or military operations in Israel.” “Exactly!” David agreed. “Israelis expect us to always support Israel, no matter what happens. Americans constantly blame me for what Israel does, as if it’s my fault.” “Do you feel like people are angry with you personally?” Shelly asked, looking around at all of us. David nodded, and I glanced at Shelly. “And how do you react when that happens?” Shelly probed, and even Tamir lifted his head, eager for David’s response. “I don’t. I ignore it. Once I tried to say something, and it only made things worse. So now I just ignore it, hoping it will eventually stop.” David spoke with a tone of indifference, but I could sense there was more beneath the surface. He was the first to bring up this issue in the workshop. “And does it ever stop?” Shelly continued. “Not yet, no.” David shrugged, his shoulders slumping slightly.

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