After I moved to Atlanta practically a decade in the past, different Jewish mothers insisted I be a part of the Fb group Jewish Mothers of Atlanta. It wasn’t only a place to commerce pediatrician suggestions or ask about summer time camps; it was a digital extension of our Jewish communal life. JMOA was the place I discovered every thing from concepts for native date nights to help in navigating parenting my 4 younger Jewish youngsters. It felt like a house.
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Final week, I used to be kicked out of that group, with no warning and no choice to enchantment. All as a result of — it appears — I work for J Road, a pro-Israel, pro-peace group that helps diplomacy, democracy and a future the place each Israelis and Palestinians can stay in freedom and safety.
I discovered I had been booted from the group after a pal despatched me a screenshot of a publish from considered one of its moderators. “Anybody affiliated with organizations that undermine Israel’s safety and the Jewish individuals (JVP, J Road, and many others.) ought to exit the group instantly,” she wrote, including “I can’t tolerate supporters/sympathizers of terrorism or these searching for to co-opt our neighborhood right here anymore.”
I didn’t publish frequently on this group, and usually stayed away from posting something political. I had not even seen the publish earlier than I used to be eliminated. This wasn’t a case of two Jewish mothers seeing the world in another way; it was a public excommunication, delivered within the language of worry, suspicion and ethical certainty. And I’m terrified by the message this motion sends concerning the state of Jewish communal life. What does it imply that somebody like me — a Jewish educator, a mother elevating 4 Jewish kids, the companion of a Conservative rabbi, a lifelong Zionist who has spent years educating, touring, and organizing for a greater future for Israel — is not “Jewish sufficient” for a bunch of native mothers?
Click on right here to learn Emily Kaiman’s piece on Ahead.com.
