History repeats itself, but it doesn't have to
We have the power to make the changes we want to see through community care and advocacy. We must keep fighting to stop the genocide in Gaza.
Why this? Why now?
Hello! Thanks for being here.
I’m a trauma-informed artist, educator, and historian. I share educational and solutions-based content for building a better, more sustainable world and empower my community to make informed decisions. My goal is to make history, creativity, sustainability, plant-based living, and mental health resources accessible to all.
If you’ve been a friend or you’ve been on this journey with me for a while, the idea of a newsletter isn’t new. I’ve talked about creating a newsletter for the past few years as a space to share important historical perspectives on the world and current events, as well as book/TV/film recommendations, yoga and meditation, ideas for creativity/how I’m staying creative (hint: lately, I’m not, but this newsletter is a start!) and more.
So why now?
The genocide taking place in Israel needs to be discussed and needs to be stopped. For me, it feels personal. My tax dollars are being used to fund this genocide against my wishes. I am Jewish. I’m also a historian, currently teaching US and World History at the middle and high school levels, as our government continues to politicize the classroom and attempts to suppress the teaching of true history.
Although I don’t plan on most newsletters being this lengthy, this one covers a lot of important stuff. Find my position on the genocide, my Jewish experience, followed by resources for some FAQs and ways to get involved below.
Where I Stand
Every life has value.
I reject the idea that being Jewish means you must support the violent state of Israel.
I reject the idea that speaking out against a violent Israeli government means that you are antisemitic and do not support Jews.
I am against the United States funding (in the BILLIONS) a genocide with our hard-earned tax dollars, especially when it won’t fund basic services like healthcare or housing for American citizens.
I care about Jews AND Palestinians, and I reject the idea that we have to choose a side.
The fight for a Jewish homeland should NOT come at the expense of Palestinian lives.
Jewish suffering and trauma does not justify inflicting suffering and trauma on others.
I call for an immediate ceasefire, assistance to Gaza, and guaranteed safety and autonomy for all Palestinians and Jews.
An excerpt from one of my favorite books (thanks, Nicole!) this year, Emotional Inheritance by Israeli-American author Galit Atlas, describes the state of Israel well. When we remember that Israel gained statehood following World War II in 1948 and that military service is mandatory for all Israelis over the age 18, we can put this into context:
That dynamic [the ways in which one who feels inferior needs to become super in an attempt to heal a trauma] was true on the national level as well; a country founded on the trauma of persecution raised generations of soldiers and fighters. Every war was an opportunity to repeat and repair the Jews’ past defeats and humiliations…
The wish to repair, and this time to emerge from battles victorious, is based on the illusion that when we do so, we become winners. But in fact a soldier’s victory is never just a triumph. It’s also a loss and an injury, as well as a repetition of the early trauma it was supposed to heal.
My Story
Although I am 23.9% Ashkenazi Jewish, I wasn’t raised Jewish. I was raised Christian. My maternal great-, great-grandparents were among the three million Jews who emigrated from Eastern Europe (in my case, Russia and Lithuania) to the United States before WWI (WWI: 1914-1918) fleeing oppression and persecution. They arrived to the United States in the 1870s.
In 1912, my great grandmother Bessie (below, top left) was the first Jewish woman to graduate from the University of Vermont.
Around 1920, my grandmother and her family were the first Jewish family to move into an all Catholic neighborhood in Massachusetts. Although the neighborhood kids all got along in the beginning, eventually, following the attitudes of their parents, the kids started taunting my grandmother and her siblings, throwing stones and calling them “dirty Jews”. My great-grandparents were open-minded and encouraged art, literature, and free thinking. They gave their children religious choice, and my grandmother Alice decided not to go to synagogue or practice Judaism.
She often faced prejudice and hatred for being Jewish, and when she married my German grandfather and changed her last name, she felt many doors had opened for her. She carried the shame of being Jewish for her entire life. She didn’t want her children telling anyone they were Jewish, although some returned to Judaism in adulthood. My mother carries that same shame of being Jewish, even though she isn’t quite sure why - it was modeled for her.
Learning my grandmother wanted to hide her Jewish identity made me all the more desperate to connect with mine. Being an only child, I was always looking for somewhere to fit in, to understand my family and where I came from. My dad, a stoic alcoholic, didn’t share or open up much. I didn’t fit in with the kids at my current church. And now I felt like I was being deprived of an entire world of culture and tradition, and I was determined to learn how to “become” Jewish.
The drive to understand my own family history and to understand why someone would want to hide their Jewish identity were the beginnings of my love affair with history. I loved visiting the library regularly with my mom, and began making my way through the WW2 and Holocaust collections in middle school. I would come out of my room with tears streaming down my face, after learning of the horrors of Auschwitz, Dr. Mengele, and lampshades made of human skin. I am lucky to have a family reunion book (pictured below, complete with mom’s coffee stains) that shares personal essays and brief insights about my great- and great-great-grandparents, and I still pour over it to this day. I once checked out a Torah from the library, not realizing that it was written in Hebrew, or that it was the first five books of the same Old Testament in my Christian Bible at home. I woke up early to follow along with a PBS documentary one weekend that taught you how to make challah bread and matzoh crackers, and my mom woke up to find a mess in the kitchen.
When I was 19 and completely by chance, I moved into my first apartment in Baltimore (picked due to the low crime rating in the area on apartments.com, or something like that), and it ended up being a Jewish neighborhood that was largely Hasidic. I also worked at a Jewish bakery, which to this day, has been one of my favorite jobs to date. The two property managers where I lived were nice, younger guys in their 20s, so when I’d stop by, I’d ask them questions or they’d tell me things about Hasidic vs. Orthodox practices and beliefs. They encouraged me to apply for Birthright Israel (a free trip open to all Jewish young adults between 18-26 to visit Israel), and a college friend, as well as a cousin had also recently gone on one of these trips. After going through the application and interview process, and sharing my story and desire to connect with my roots, I was denied participation on a trip. To this day, I’m still unsure why, but I remember being devastated at not feeling “Jewish enough” to go on a non-denominational trip to the Jewish homeland, or wondering if I shouldn’t have told the story about my grandmother hiding her identity.
In 1948, following World War II, Israel was officially declared a state, supported by Britain and the United States. “How wonderful!,” I thought for most of my life. After years of persecution and genocide, finally a homeland for the Jewish people. It wasn't until 2018 that I learned that this homeland came at the expense of an entirely different group of people, Palestinians. I am grateful to the Palestinians I’ve met who’ve been open to conversation and patient with my Westernized version of history, which I continue to unlearn daily, even as a history teacher.
Being Jewish is to carry intergenerational trauma and suffering, but Palestinians also carry intergenerational trauma, continue to suffer, and entire blood lines are being wiped out. The Israeli government needs to be held accountable for its war crimes. Imagine being born in a country that no longer exists on a map.
It is essential to note that criticizing Israel’s actions and violence does NOT equate to antisemitism. I reject the idea that as a Jewish person, I must support the violent actions of Israel. It is scary and deeply shameful to be called antisemitic, and the fear of that label is intentional. It is meant to discourage people from speaking up and speaking out.
Last night, I attended a national strategy call organized by IfNotNow, “a movement of American Jews organizing our community to end U.S. support for Israel's apartheid system and demand equality, justice, and a thriving future for all Palestinians and Israelis” with over 1,600 participants in attendance. Palestinian Representative Rashida Talib joined the call and said that constituents calling and reaching out to their reps is having the biggest impact. We have moved from 13 members of the House to 41 members calling for a ceasefire. Don’t give up! Keep calling and contacting your reps.
This morning, I sent a fax to my Representative, my Senator, emailed my Governor, and called the White House.
Frequently Asked Questions and Resources
What are the histories of Israel and Palestine?
History of Israel, History.com (article)
History of Palestine, History.com (article)
How the Israel-Palestine Conflict Began, History (video, this one is excellent and easy to follow!)
The Israel-Palestine Conflict, A Brief, Simple History, Vox.com (video, dense, but excellent information)
Is Israel an Apartheid State?
Israel’s Apartheid State Against Palestinians, Amnesty International (article)
The following visuals show the restriction of Palestinian movement within Israel:
What are settlements?
Israeli settlements are communities made up of almost entirely Jewish members on occupied Palestinian land.
Israeli Settlements Explained, Part 1 Vox (video, Vox has done an excellent series on settlements)
What is Zionism?
What is Zionism? What does Zionism mean? BBC Ideas (video, provides reasoning for both pro- and anti-Zionism Jewish support)
What are the differences between, Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Ethiopian Jews?
Ashkenazi are Eastern European, white Jews who have experienced greater privilege and opportunity in Israel. Despite being a homeland for all Jews, many who are not Ashkenazi have faced severe discrimination in Israel.
Another excerpt from Emotional Inheritance by Israeli-American author Galit Atlas about the treatment of Jews of different ethnicities:
…During the first few years they lived in what was called a ma’abara, a refugee camp that the government had built for new immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries. In the early 1950s there were more than 130,000 Iraqi refugees in those camps. The ma’abarot were a symbol of the discrimination against Sephardic Jews, as housing policies were weighted in favor of people of Ashkenazi European descent. Camps sometimes had only two faucets for a thousand people. The toilets had no roofs and were infested with fleas, and the ceilings often leaked when it rained.
Organizations for Learning and Taking Action
Breaking the Silence: Learn more from veteran Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers who are speaking out about realities in the Occupied Territories.
Jewish Voice for Peace: I am a member of JVP, a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews who oppose Zionism working in solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people. Open to Jewish folks and allies who want to get involved.
What else can I do?
Contact your representatives regularly. Call their offices. Call the White House. Send emails. Send faxes via FaxZero for free and find your reps easily.
Have tough conversations with friends, family, and neighbors. Ask questions and try to understand their perspective. Listen to any fears and concerns.
Join local chapters/organizations that are already doing the work.
Participate in marches or rallies if you feel safe to do so.
Fact-check and share responsibly. Make sure news and sources are reliable.
Give yourself permission to rest. Feel your grief and take action, but remember to find moments of joy and take time for yourself, too.
There are more resources I can share, so please let me know what questions you have or what you would like to see discussed in more detail.
My goal is to create a safe space, encouraging conversation; researching alternatives; and contributing to a future free from capitalism and rugged individualism, where we embrace history, truth, and mutual care.
Please join me in having challenging discussions, facing uncomfortable truths, and learning and growing together toward a better world.
Thank you for being here.