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Vol. 99, No.28 50 Cents Per Issue March 25, 2021 • 12 Nisan, 5781 MEMPHIS, TENNESEE “The Best Stories Happen in the Dining Room” by Iris Harkavy Happy Passover 2021-5781 Page 2 THE HEBREW WATCHMAN Thursday, March 25, 2021 ‘This has been exhausting’: Asian-American Jews on the Atlanta spa murders and rising anti-Asian hate crimes, in their own words women as subservient under the ing about how to best protect my our elders. Who we trust lives to white male gaze is killing us. children from the Asian and Jew- are not necessarily white Ash- Rebecca Kuss is a Korean ish hate that they may experience kenazi Eastern European Jews. and Jewish children’s book edi- was to flee. After my initial shock That is just the plain truth. We tor living in New Jersey. This is over the Atlanta shootings, I found are dependent on the good graces an excerpt from her Alma essay myself dramatically proclaiming of people that serve us so that we “Asian Jews are suffering. We to my husband that I didn’t think can live our lives Jewishly, and in need you to listen.” that the United States was a safe a meaningful and holy way. No matter how much I held place for our family anymore. Yoshi Silverstein is a Chinese- up my Judaism for the world to Sure, it was an extreme reaction to American Ashkenazi Jew and the see, it was not a shield against what had happened, but perhaps it founder and executive director of the overwhelming onslaught of was the “fight or flight” reaction to the Mitsui Collective. He lives in white supremacy. It didn’t help fear that led me to choose “flight.” Cleveland. when I was 8 and a white woman In the past, my husband and The very first folks that I started attacked me in a store for being I have talked about moving to a to hear from were people in my Top left, clockwise, Rebecca Kuss, Melody Muhlrad, Yoshi a “f***ing chink.” I couldn’t different country — particularly Jews of color community, par- Silverstein, Hanah Bloom (Kuss: Emily Berge-Thielmann; Muhlrad: use it the night a white man fol- to China or Taiwan, given that I ticularly Black Jews. They knew Credit: Courtesy of Muhlrad; Silverstein: Courtesy of Silverstein; lowed me home, begging me to still have many extended family exactly what we were all feel- Bloom: Courtesy of Bloom “go North Korea on his dick.” members there. It’s an idea we’ve ing, and knew exactly what was It didn’t protect me in college addressed with more seriousness needed, in terms of making clear By Asaf Shalev, Andrew Lapin Answers have been lightly when a Jewish guy I liked and in the last year as COVID-19 has the support they’re offering, and (JTA) — When Yoshi Silver- edited for length and clarity. Do who I thought liked me recorded created more remote work envi- that they had our backs. That was stein learned on Tuesday night that you have something to add? Let us having sex and played it for ronments. Now that anti-Semitism really powerful. eight people had been murdered at us know. his entire frat during their annual has hit an all-time high and Asian My response at Tree of Life was spas in Atlanta, and that many of Hanah Bloom is a first-year “Yellow Fever Week.” hate crimes are increasing in the a feeling of we’ve been ringing the the victims were Asian women, he student at Miami University of After Tuesday night’s violent United States, perhaps it is time alarm bells for a long time, notic- felt deep hurt and pain as an Asian Ohio. This is an excerpt from her and devastating white suprema- to make this move? ing the way that hateful rhetoric, American. essay on Alma. cist attack in Atlanta, which re- And yet, upon further reflec- in that case anti-Semitic and in It took until the following day I’m angry, I’m heartbroken, and sulted in the murder of six Asian tion, I recognized that fleeing the this case anti-Asian, has been on for Silverstein to realize that the I’m incredibly exhausted. women, I sat with my mom (like country is not the answer. In this the rise. In some cases, specific feelings were similar to those he I woke up to a nightmare many good second-generation dark time, I am reminded of the violence. And feeling like nobody felt after the Tree of Life syna- on Wednesday. Texts of “are Asian daughters, she lives with Jewish principle of tikkun olam, was hearing us. gogue shooting in 2018, in which you okay?,” tweets from fellow me) and cried. I felt exhausted, or repairing the world — the idea Anti-Asian rhetoric and vio- a white supremacist murdered 11 Asians, broken and terrified, and hollow, angry. I felt like all I had being that although the world is a lence has been on the rise in really Jews during Shabbat services in the carefully crafted words of ever known in this world was re- good place, God left us room to marked ways since the beginning Pittsburgh. support from prominent politicians jection, fear and death. The only make improvements. I realized of the pandemic. There have “I’m Jewish on my dad’s side flooded my feed. The mass murder question I could ask was “why?” that the way to keep my children been all of these violent attacks and Hakka Chinese and Cantonese in Atlanta, Georgia, that left eight and my mom — my beautiful, safe is to do my best to make the on Asian elders — in their 60s, on my mom’s side. In both cases, dead, including six Asian women, strong, stubborn, wise mom — world a safer place for them. I’m 70s, 80s — on the streets in broad it felt deeply personal,” he told the was all I could think about, all I said, “We’re Jews. We suffer.” still figuring out what this means daylight. A couple weeks ago, Jewish Telegraphic Agency. could see. We are Jews. We suffer. Not for me, and I know that this will some sporadic conversations were As the founder of the Mitsui After getting through class, I we have suffered in the past (even be a lifelong process. starting to sprout from various Collective, a year-old community- called my mom in Alabama. With though we have), or we know Rabbi Mira Rivera works at (See Hate Crimes Page 3) building organization focused on 600 miles between us, I Face- suffering (even though we do) — Romemu, a nondenominational Jewish diversity, Silverstein said Timed with her to reevaluate the but we suffer in the present. And synagogue in New York City. he was embracing the opportunity plan. For months, the rise in anti- when one of us suffers, we all do. There are many Jews for whom to call attention to issues facing Asian hate crimes in America hov- Right now, the Asian Ameri- Asian heritage is woven into our people of color in America, but ered over us, forming a constant can community — a community identities, so what should the that it felt like an intense respon- anxiety. As a family, we talked Established September, 1925 that includes many, many Jewish Jewish community do? No. 1, be By Leo I. Goldberger (1902-1989) sibility. about staying hypervigilant. Now people — is not only suffering in relationship. Hopefully it is not MAILING ADDRESS “We had other stuff we were I advised her to stay away from but dying. So stop trying to look only during tragedy. It’s terrible 1138 N. Germantown Pkwy. Ste.101 planning to do this week, but certain areas of town. for ways to separate our Judaism that we have to meet this way. For P.O. Box 353 when something like this happens, I look to my Jewish community from your Judaism, stop trying to me, this is a call to action. Who are Memphis, TN 38016-5872 sometimes when you’re a person and I ask for deeper reflection deny us safe haven in the Jewish we in relationship with? Whom do 901.763.2215 of color and you’re in any sort of and swift action. I wrote about community — our community — we count as Jewish community? [email protected] leadership, you get pulled into the complexities of my identity and instead open your hearts and As someone who’s dedicated my this,” he said. “You don’t want to last year. I wrote about the harm minds to our pain, our existence, life to the service of Jewish com- Susan C. Nieman just not respond because people behind joking that Asians and our story. Because this is the story munity, we want to contribute to Editor and Publisher are looking to you.” Jews are somehow better suited for of Jewish people. Jewish community, not only when Editor and Publisher Emeritus We reached out to Asian-Amer- each other, per the model minority Melody Muhlrad is a Taiwan- we have to talk about our pigmen- ican Jews like Silverstein to under- Herman I. Goldberger myth and fetishization. The media ese-American Jewish mother tation or about the size of our eyes, stand what they are thinking and plays its role, making the coupling living in Los Angeles. This is an or about whether we stand with Associate Editor Emeritus feeling at this difficult moment. a joke and deeming a predatory excerpt from her Kveller essay Black Lives Matter.