If you鈥檙e proud of being Jewish, nobody can take that away from you.
鈥淚鈥檓 very Jewish and proud, and I鈥檝e worn the same Star of David necklace for the past 12 years. I love being Jewish and I love being proud of it. I think understanding yourself and knowing your background and where you came from can really play into having pride.鈥
鈥淚 started in August of 2020. A synagogue in Delaware had been set on fire. I remember seeing that, and I also remember seeing nobody posting about it. It was really frustrating because we had just come from a whole summer of social media advocacy鈥t was really frustrating to see nobody stand up for the Jewish community.鈥
鈥淚 have faced so much opposition after I made . I think there were three days in a row where I just woke up to hundreds of DMs and comments of people sending me pictures of Hitler quotes and Nazi symbols. I think antisemites are really feeling empowered right now because a lot of the non-Jewish world doesn鈥檛 seem to care to denounce it. A lot of people seem to encourage it and support it without even knowing.鈥
鈥淭here are so many things that happened around the world that just don鈥檛 get reported 鈥 not even mentioning antisemitism. May is Jewish American Heritage Month, and I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e seen a single big media outlet post about it. There鈥檚 been an uptick of antisemitic crimes. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e seen much media coverage 鈥 I鈥檝e only seen Jewish people sharing that on social media.鈥
鈥淚 think we will get through this鈥hen I read about [Jewish] history, when I talk to different people who have been through so many different persecutions, it鈥檚 just so amazing to me that we鈥檙e still here. We are such a tiny minority, but we鈥檙e so resilient and so strong.鈥
鈥淚 think, in general, even though it may not seem like it, there are people out there who are trying to be more accepting and trying to be more positive and inclusive of all communities. I think that鈥檚 really great and that鈥檚 something that all of us can work towards, to not spread negativity 鈥 especially if it鈥檚 false and divisive information.鈥
鈥淚f you鈥檙e proud of [being Jewish], nobody can take that away from you. Be proud of who you are 鈥 Jewish Pride Always.鈥 鈥 Naomi S.
As told to Sam Kricsfeld, writer in the 糖心vlogl Writers Program.