Was Whoopie Goldberg Right About the Jews

Cable news was recently reeling from the two-week suspension of TV icon, Whoopie Goldberg, after her remarks regarding the Holocaust and racism against Jews. 

I’m not going to delve into the validity of her statement, where she was coming from, the Black and Brown Jews she forgot about,  and her understanding of race and racial marginalization, and persecution. I’ll leave that for others. I want to talk about something she said later that evening on the Stephen Colbert Late Show that struck me, profoundly.

Whoopie attempted to apologize and explain why she feels her experience with racial tension in America is different (perhaps more difficult) than what a Jew may experience. She explained 
that because the color of her skin gives her race away, it makes her vulnerable to persecution from a stranger on the street. Therefore, you can’t compare her experience to that of her Jewish friends because “you can’t tell who is Jewish... they don’t look Jewish.” 

Hold up, Whoopie :) you just conveniently canceled my husband and the large and growing portion of the Jewish community who will always wear a kippa/yarmulka and tzitzit and are clearly identifiable as Jews. And though our experience in South Dakota has only been positive, in other parts of the world, those who wear traditional Jewish attire, can find themselves as targets of unprovoked attacks.

Not only has our personal experience only been positive, we love it that Mendel is so identifiably Jewish. He can hardly walk through the Costco, HyVee, the library, and Washington Pavilion without getting a “Shalom” or “Good Shabbos” from a Jewish passerby he hasn’t met before, and so many non-Jewish people will come up to him and engage in meaningful and friendly conversations about Judaism and Israel. His Kippa, and tzitzit is the greatest built-in marketing, if you ask me. 

I can’t wait for my little Levi to start wearing a kippa of his own so that I too can be more identifiably Jewish when I go around town with him and hopefully make some more Jewish friends. 

But I digress, Whoopi’s comment about Jews not being identifiable, hit me hard. Maybe she is right? 

And how do I feel about that? 

Do I like that I can attempt to hide my Jewishness at times? 

When convenient? 

When I think I might be served better if others didn’t know it? 

Do I sometimes rely on my whiteness and religious anonymity to keep life simple and undramatic? 

Should I be doing that? 

I believe Whoopi’s comment on the Colbert Show is a moment that calls for internal introspection for all of us. 

Are we loud and proud Jews?

Do our neighbors, coworkers, and friends know us as loud and proud Jews?
 
Do they see us joyfully celebrating our unique heritage and holy traditions? 

This reminds me of the young child, a member of our Juda Enrichment club, who signs all her school work with a beautiful Star of David near her name. She does this on her own initiative. Good for her!

And of the young Jewish professional in town, who when we moved here, we kept hearing from everyone we met, “Oh! _____ is Jewish, we know her.” "Who is this woman that everyone who has crossed paths with her, knows her as a proud Jew, we thought?" 

These people inspire me. 

Purim is coming up. Queen Esther in her time, temporarily hid her Jewishness, upon Mordechai’s advice, up until she realized that her fellow Jews survival was on the line. And then she spoke up. Loud and proud. May we all take the strength from Esther to be proud of our Jewishness, because any repercussions that may come our way, are small and insignificant in comparison to the great awesomeness of being a Jew. We are fortunate to have a rich history and heritage, and following our lead, everyone who knows us can rejoice in our uniqueness, as they discover their own.
​
Thank you, Whoopie, for the opportunity you gave me, to grow.