#Goyim be like “oh you don't learn from the holocaust”

[aces-away]

Hi! I'm a writer who has a Jewish character, and I'd love to hear tips and info that could help me portray the fact that he's Jewish. When I did some light research, the main consensus I came to was that being Jewish is more than just a religion for most people. Since culture is really an experience, I was wondering if there's anything that you'd be willing to share so I can do a better job. The more the better, since I really don't know much except the basics of what NOT to do. Thanks :D

Hi! Thanks for reaching out! Keep in mind this is all from my own experience and there are plenty other jewish people with different ones, I highly recommend swinging around to several blogs and asking this if you want a more rounded character :)

First thing from personal experience: If your character is an Ashkenazi Jew like I am there is a good chance they have Yiddish words and terms sprinkled throughout their everyday speech. That leads to a lot of Goyim(non-jews) going "wait what was that word? What does it mean?"

For instance I used the term Tchotchkes the other day and when someone asked for an explanation I actually had trouble articulating it, i replied "Uh, y'know, tchotchkes....ummm...b-bobbles? Trinkets? Cute little decorations?" Because I've never had to use another word for it.

I often say Oy Vey the way other people say omg or 'big oof' etc. And if I'm emphasizing, I use Oy Gevult instead.

There are a lot of everyday microaggressions that jewish people face! Such as "oh! You dont look jewish!" Which is one hundred percent an insult to us, like what am I SUPPOSE to look like? There's also "you talk about being jewish a lot" and "but like, the holocaust was forever ago, you havent faced anything since then" and "you sound funny when you pronounce words like that"(like using the Chet- a sound that comes more from your throat than your mouth) and many others. I'm vocal about it when people say this to me, but only if I'm in a comfortable and safe setting, otherwise my brain goes through a million ways me correcting them could go wrong or dangerous for me.

As the youngest sibling, and second youngest cousin, I had to learn to be assertive and vocal at family dinners or I would not be heard. There is a lot of cross talking and multiple conversations going on at once. If you dont speak up and keep yourself in the conversation, you'll probably end up just sitting there while waiting for the food to be finished.

If you have tattoos or piercings you cannot be buried in a jewish cemetery so if you want to be buried with family you would not get body decorations.

There is a strong vying for relatable jewish characters by jewish people as most in television and books are crappy stereotypes and antisemitic tropes.

For many pale jews being called "white" is actually quite uncomfortable.

If things are going south politically one of my first thoughts are often "do I have any friends that would hide me" and "where will I have to hide my Jewishness to stay safe" etc. There is a lot of generational trauma that comes with being Jewish and often the thought process goes unnoticed by Goyim.

That instant connection you feel when it's you and one other jewish person in a sea of goyim, esp. Christian goyim, is often like that LOOK 2 women share when a man is talking, if that makes sense.

Due to our history jewish people are often very social-equality minded and are part of movements and protests.

REMINDER this is all from my own experience, I would say check out pages like @progressivejudaism and @jewish-privilege for knowledge and for more day to day experiences/ideas look for @jewish-people-problems and @littlegoythings

That's all I can think of right now, sorry if it makes no sense I am very tired lol.

Honestly just also feel free to look up "jewish" and "jewish stuff" and "actually jewish" on my blog as well I'm sure theres a bunch of stuff there.

[terulakimban]

I think you're giving too much credit, because IME, the "just punch nazis crowd" may want the hero moment, but they're not actually going to throw the punches. They want the credit for the hero moment without even doing that part, let alone the actual work.

I've done the hard bit. I actually went and sat my Jewish ass down for a "so. You want me dead. Why?" conversation with someone who'd publicly posted death threats against me specifically, and I fucking called for that meeting because I was sick of feeling hunted.

And the result is that I have no patience whatsoever for "punch nazis" rhetoric from anyone who hasn't actually done it. I have known far too many people who'd natter on about "nazis bad; punch nazis" and were absolutely nowhere to be found when there were actual nazis present. I will believe someone who uses "punch nazis" as a slogan if and only if they have proven themselves to be as willing to endanger themself to protect me as I am willing to endanger myself to protect my community. But otherwise? It's just braggadocio. It's easy rhetorical points about something they don't care about or understand.

And, more dangerously? It's a lie to attempt to lure Jews into a false sense of security. There's no shame in fear, but you cannot tell people they can trust you with their safety if they actually can't. Because if they do, they can die. We learn that lesson very young. It was a regular warning I got from Holocaust survivors, because all the ones I knew had known people who'd died for trusting the wrong person. They trusted someone who'd insisted they'd help and that they understood the risks, and who, when the chips were down, said no or turned them in.

But I digress. Y'know what I find most telling about the situation around that little chat I had?

For all the goyim who were saying "don't do that, it's dangerous, it's not your responsibility," while I was doing my safety planning, not a single one offered to have the conversation for me. No one offered to even try to fix the problem. Plenty of "you should just hit the motherfucker." Quite a lot of "if it were me, I'd shoot the asshole." This was someone whose identity, hobbies, job, and views were all a matter of public record. They could have. They could've punched. They could've talked. They could've shunned, even. And they didn't -this person's views became public, and people went "oh, that's terrible" in private interactions with me and proceeded to do absolutely nothing about the individual in question (and then get increasingly uncomfortable about me having issues with the situation). "It's not your responsibility" -well I don't see you stepping up, and someone's got to do something, and I'm here and no one else is willing to bother, so it looks like it's me.

Because it's always "punch nazis" until there's a nazi who needs to be punched, and then the person with the crossed-out swastika pin is nowhere to be found. It's never "escort the Jews to synagogue" or "talk to the nazi" because that requires actually doing something.

I don't think people on this website understand what "you should love jewish people more than you hate nazis" means

do you hate nazis because they're fun to hate on and easy to ratio? or because of the material harm they have caused, are causing, and will continue to cause? when you see a nazi, do you see an acceptable target? or do you see an active threat? what do you do to help jewish people outside of these situations? anything at all? do you have positive views on judaism? do you try to better yourself by listening to jewish voices on topics of bigotry?

I'm not going to complain about a nazi getting punched for being a nazi, but the issue isn't as simple as just punching nazis. you need to love jewish people more than you hate nazis if you want to address the root causes of antisemitism