(Jewish Group) That Instagram post supporting Jews is not enough

[Behind the Aegis]

“I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish people,” Jessica Seinfeld proclaimed to her 586,000 followers on Instagram this Sunday. The post was rapidly re-shared by celebrities — Amy Schumer, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow, the entire Kardashian family — and everyday Instagram users alike.

As I watched Seinfeld’s image take off, I did not feel the rush of comfort that a sincere gesture of solidarity might provoke. Kanye West had told his 31.5 million Twitter followers (more than double the number of Jews in the entire world) he was going to go “Death con 3 on ALL JEWISH PEOPLE” two weeks ago, and influencers along with major brands were quiet. Now, finally, Jews were receiving the visible response, and the attention to antisemitism, that so many of us had desired. Why did it all make me feel so empty?

Despite the good intentions of those who shared it, posting on Instagram does not require true engagement with antisemitism, the ways it is perpetuated or how to stop it. The solidarity that I am hungry for — and that Jews deserve — requires far greater self-reflection, and action, than any social media campaign could ever deliver.

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Instead of sharing Seinfeld’s post, I would beg my well-meaning non-Jewish friends to watch “The U.S. and the Holocaust” to understand how deeply antisemitism is baked into our country’s foundations and anti-immigrant rhetoric, and reach out to Jewish friends when a rabbi is held hostage in his synagogue. Please speak up when you hear a phrase along the lines of “I like Jews except for —” or when podcasters repeat lies about how Jews invented the slave trade. Don’t vote for politicians who say that they “support Israel” but spew antisemitic tropes on national television.

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