It’s past 1:00 am on a random Saturday night a few weeks ago, and I got sucked in watching a foodie rate the best deli in NYC. Then, I made the mistake of going down the deep rabbit hole that is social media comments these days and was alarmed by what I was seeing: no mention of Israel, no mention of Judaism, just a Jewish guy touring delis and eating overpriced pastrami. The vile anti-semitic comments were eye opening.
For the past 6 months, it feels like the media and “others” have taken control of the narrative of the Jewish community. It’s something people, especially our students, often tell me they are nervous and fearful about.
It is so difficult to watch these antisemitic voices seemingly overrun social media and young Jews today are being bombarded with horrible anti-Jewish memes all over TikTok and Instagram. They simply can’t avoid it.
Someone approached me recently and told me that they are heavily considering investing their philanthropic dollars into fighting anti-semitism on social media. I know that there are some prominent Jewish organizations out there which have built themselves around the mission of trying to reclaim the narrative from anti-Jewish and anti-Israel messages on social media platforms. I don't like saying it, but I told this philanthropist that I don’t think this is really possible. Some people’s minds can be moved, but others can't. Anti-semitism will always exist and we can’t control their narrative.
But we can control ours.
Every spring since we left Egypt 3,336 years ago, we Jews have gathered to celebrate Passover and the Exodus from Egypt. The central part of the festival, the Seder, is designed not just to commemorate the Exodus, but to retell its story. Like any good story, there are moments of suspense, laughter, and tears. We even hand out props (symbolic foods), making the Seder the original 4D experience. Even though we’ve all heard the story multiple times, we tell it again each year from start to finish, like how you watch your favorite movie over and over.
The genius of this ritual is not only in how it transmits this story to the next generation, but how we transmit it to ourselves. We take control of our own narrative. By reliving our painful history and glorious redemption, we come to appreciate our blessings and how special it is to be Jewish. We tell our own story, and no one can take that away from us.
This Passover, JGO will be sponsoring Seders around North America inspiring thousands of graduate students to take pride in their heritage through the story of the Exodus. Though our students have been faced with tough challenges this difficult year, on Seder night they will be free to speak their own truth and tell their own story.
Our narrative lives on, and always will.
Happy Passover to you and your family!
