Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 19, 2024

Not too long ago, a non-Jewish lifelong New Yorker who grew up on the Upper East Side was asked by a friend to host a screening of the documentary film Israelism. She immediately said no. It wasnt that she necessarily disagreed with the message of the filmwhich bills itself as the story of young American Jews battling the old guard to redefine Judaisms relationship with Israel, revealing a deepening generational divide over modern Jewish identity. Rather, this would-be screening host feared being socially exiled by many of her Jewish friends and possible career consequences. I want to be brave, she told me. Im disappointed in myself.

As the summer season kicked into gear and much of the Upper East Side migrated to Long Islands East End, no one wanted to get canceled. Not right when guest lists are drawn up for some of the most exclusive parties in the Hamptons, often held at the sprawling estates of some of the wealthiest people (including some of the wealthiest Jewish people) on the planet.

In the wake of October 7, much of Manhattans moneyed Jewish elite has doubled down on what is considered acceptable behavior and speech related to Jews, antisemitism, Israel, and the war in Gaza. There is enormous pressure not to step out of line for reasons that are historically understandable but less defensible considering the right-wing takeover of Israel and the questionable motives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue the war in order to avoid possible jail time. (Netanyahu has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust.)

As the war stretches on, with the international community calling for a ceasefire and protests having roiled campuses across the country, this set has become an island upon an island. Numerous outspoken voices, along with some quieter ones from the hushed corners of Sant Ambroeus (the one on Madison Avenue), are leveling accusations of antisemitism, liberally using the bad Jew trope for those who arent in lockstep with what they believe it means to be pro-Israel.

To address the elephant in the room. It is almost impossible to talk about wealthy, powerful Jews without conjuring abhorrent tropes and stereotypes that will lead people to accuse you (me) of being antisemitic. But just like many non-Jewish cultures in America, there is an elite segment, and that is who I am examining. This is a third rail issue, but it should not force everyone into silence, particularly when the stakes are so high.

Before we go much further: Im part of this world, one where people pay $43,000 a year for nursery school. Im also a Jew who attended 12 years of Jewish day school, spent seven seasons at Jewish summer camp, and attended an Orthodox synagogue. I lived in Israel for three months after high school, part of the time on a kibbutz. I can, on a good day, speak, read, and write in Hebrew. I can say October 7 was horrific; I can also say the bloodshed and starvation since then has also been horrific.

In April, at a rally for the hostages at Dag Hammarskjld Plaza near the United Nations, Congressman Jerry Nadler, the current longest-serving Jewish member of the House of Representatives, was booed after calling for lifesaving humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people while also acknowledging heinous crimes committed by Hamas. Park Avenue plastic surgeon and Upper East Side resident Ira Savetsky heckled him, saying, How does it feel not to be welcome among the Jewish people? Nadler responded, I think I am welcome, to which Savetsky rebutted, Theyre pissed at you. (Savetsky presumably included.)

Recently Savetskys wife, Lizzy, a fashion influencer, commented on the Gaza Health Ministrys death toll data in an Instagram story, telling more than 350,000 followers that Israel has killed 14,000 Hamas operatives, you get 7,200 Palestinian civilian deaths. That would be a pretty good ratio as far as wars are concerned.

Reached for comment, Ira pointed to what he called widespread dissatisfaction with Nadler among various constituents and accused the congressman of continuing to prioritize seeking approval from the most extreme members of his party. Lizzy also sent a detailed response, declaring that she along with every Jew I know, want peace.

Go to any cocktail party on the Upper East Side and there is no open and honest conversation about what is happening in Gaza, says Amanda Uhry, CEO and founder of Manhattan Private School Advisors.

It is quite shocking that media and others would blindly accept numbers and information that originate from a known terrorist entity. My video made the point that even with the numbers theyve provided, which have been reduced by the Gaza Health Ministry, she wrote, adding links from the AP and Newsweek that she said supported her comments, it is still the lowest known ratio of combatants to civilians in modern ground warfare. (Some academics question how various sources define combatant, with some data including all men ages 18 to 59.)

Theres a phrase making its way around social medias Jewish glitterati, the types of people whose names adorn wings of museums: A keffiyeh on an American college campus is just a hipster swastika. Another one circulating in this crowd is the tagline of the Instagram account @letourpeoplegonow: No ceasefire. No compromise. Let our people go. (Some Jews of this ilk, Ive been told, view a ceasefire as a capitulation to Hamas that will put it back in power.)

If you want to ruin a playdate among the socialites of Park Avenue, I caution you not to mention that more than 2 percent of the children in Gaza have been injured or killed.

Read more here:

As Tensions Continue to Flare Over the War in Gaza, the Upper East Side Is Divided - Vanity Fair

Category: Jew
Tags: