0608blog

Hands Off My Shtreimel.

Anti-Semitism is on the rise, with the latest violence aimed at Jews because of anger over the recent attacks by Israel against Palestinians in the West Bank, with the wrong-headed assumption that all Jews support all Israeli policies, including the ongoing apartheid of the Palestinians. Jews are not like cattle that go where they are told but rather like all people, we have independent views which may or may not favor Israel and it is insulting to have to stoop down to explain myself to anyone, let alone ignorant bigots. Even if I did support Israeli policies it is nobody’s business but my own and I owe apologies and explanations to no one except my own conscience. I particularly resent those Jews who would castigate me for not being outspoken in supporting Israel and its policies, including many that are shameful, racist and altogether, anti-Democratic.

When the Twin Towers were destroyed, Muslims around the world and in the U.S. were at the least, looked at with scorn and at worst, even attacked, under the suspicion of being terrorists or at least sympathizing with the terrorists. Many Muslims hoisted large American flags at their homes and businesses to show their patriotism is with the U.S. and women were highly unlikely to venture outside while wearing their traditional hijab. It was equally insulting to expect that a Muslim would have to explain himself to prove where his allegiances lie. That is a personal decision and is nobody’s business.

As a culture, we live under a myth of acceptance but the reality is the opposite, that those who are different will often pay the price in being excluded or treated differently or worse and that we are often threatened by things we don’t understand, often assuming the worst, as every woman wearing a niqab must be supportive of terrorists or that every man with the “payos” curls is a strident supporter of apartheid and all other Israeli policies.

I have never been one to draw attention to my Judaism and it has always troubled me because, in a way, I fear being ostracized because of my cultural and religious heritage because I have somehow bought into the anti-Semitic stereotypes.

For obvious reasons, people tend to get most freaked out over the fashions of ultra-orthodox Jews and Muslim women. That is why I have great respect for Jews who will not be cowed and continue to wear their religion on their proverbial sleeves, because it is their right and because they are proud of their heritage, from the traditional kippah or yarmulke on their heads to the more radical garb worn by ultra-orthodox Chasidic Jews, with their large brimmed hats, long black coats, thick beards and long curls or “payos” at each side of the face.

I have the same respect for the Muslim women who do not avoid wearing their religious clothing whether it is the hijab, a scarf that covers the hair; a niqab or the veil that covers the face, showing only the eyes; or the burka, which is a full face and body covering.

Any clothing or symbols are purely personal choices, as long as they do not hurt others, with wearing of the Nazi swastika or drawings of nooses, as examples. For example, multiple neck rings worn by the women in the Ndebele tribe of South Africa. The rings are worn on their neck, legs and arms, are usually made of copper and brass and are a sign of faithfulness to a male partner. A woman wearing neck rings and an elongated neck would at the least, elicit stares and comments from people unfamiliar with the culture. A visiting Ndebele woman should be able to walk down any American street without being accosted because she is searing neck rigns,

It’s not a question of being open-minded but rather we are taught to be suspicious of points of view that diverge from the consensus and likewise, we are taught to blend in with the majority. It is that way with clothing, with speech, with various ways that people express themselves, from the lawn signs supporting Black Lives Matter that are soon defaced and otherwise vandalized to the all too common swastikas and anti-Semitic epithets that are spray painted on synagogue walls.

It’s nobody business if I want to wear a black coat known as a “rekel,” which was developed as a result of an 18th century rabbinical decree that ironically was ordered to avoid anti-Semitic resentment over colorful jackets. And don’t tell me that I can’t wear my Tzitzit, a wool vest-like piece of clothing with fringes at its four corners or even that big furry hat known as a “shtreimel.”

Perhaps no article of religious clothing raises more fears, repulsion and venom and misunderstanding than the Muslim burqa, a garment that covers the entire body from the top of the head to the ground, with only a mesh screen allowing the wearer to see in front of her. The burqa is worn for a variety of reasons, including modesty among men but it became largely known in the west after the Taliban in Afghanistan ordered all women to wear burqas. The prejudice has gotten so bad that wearing burqas are banned in many countries including Austria, France, Belgium, Denmark and Bulgaria, among others.

If I was a woman, and I am not, I wouldn’t have any burning desire to put a plate in my lips but women who want lip plates should get lip plates without any lip from the uneducated. The practice is not exactly new, as it’s been traced back as far as 8000 B.C. for a variety of theories, from beautification and showing a woman’s place in society to the opposite so as to make African women unappealing for slave dealers.

So keep your bigoted assumptions to yourself and leave me with my shtreimel.