How terrible for you and your family, especially because they -- honestly so many of us even though I'm not Jewish -- want the US to be the place where it won't ever happen again. The kids who fancy and romanticize communism and antisemitism have absolutely no idea what evil they espouse. No clue. Or maybe I'm naive. I have to believe that at least some of it is stupidity.
The sad fact is that anti-Semitism has found a home on both the left and the right wings of American politics. The brutal Israeli over reaction to October 7th is now a pre-text for bigoted sentiments rising in communities where this was previously unthinkable .I am a strong and vocal supporter of Israel's existence and validity as a state, but am appalled at the conduct of the Israeli government and military. Both things can be true but it will never be a justification for the current storm of anti-Semitism. I think you should also be cautious about your friends on the political right; for them all alliances are transactional and rarely if ever based on true principles.
“you should also be cautious about your friends on the political right; for them all alliances are transactional and rarely if ever based on true principles.”
All things considered, the same can be said about the political left; they will be “empathetic” to you as long as you align with their views or you don’t show any signs of your own views. The minute you diverge even slightly from their beliefs, you’ll be expulsed from their group. In other words, the political left and the political right are two sides of the same coin.
There is scant evidence for this claim. The power brokers on the right have shown themselves to craft all policies only to enrich themselves. They have no principles regarding public benefit, human rights, democratic (small d) such as universal suffrage, civil liberties, or consistent foreign relations based on a governing set of values. In short the right is by far the more morally bankrupt position.
Liza, I worked with a national Jewish group shortly after Oct 7. And Columbia was the number one campus of concern. The leftists and Islamists ran a slick, well funded effort there
Imagine the conversation I had with a hospital when they said I was an Ashkenazi Jew and I was firm in telling them I was a Georgian Jew...They never heard of it!
We had a family friend, whose name was Buba from Georgia. He opened a restaurant in Brighton Beach called Primorski. The joke I always tell Americans is that he was Bubba from Georgia, but not that kind of Bubba and not from that Georgia.
I relate to this. The pain of feeling like the “other” in America for the first time is excruciating because it’s something we truly thought we shed forever, only to see it growing here like a nightmare come to life. I feel what your grandmother feels:
“So when my grandmother burst into tears upon seeing the hatred and violence at my alma mater two years back, I felt again what it meant to be a Russian Jew. “We left that country and came to this one,” she pronounced, “so that my grandkids would never feel unsafe or singled out as Jews, and I am ashamed that something I thought I’d never have to deal with again is happening in this country, too.”
“When I moved to Manhattan to attend Columbia University, I hoped to find community in the English literary scene, only to be thwarted once again as I became cognizant of my conservative political leanings (likely informed by my parents’ suffering under the communist system) within an overwhelmingly liberal space.”
Though I cannot relate the immigrant experience or the experience of Russian Jews living in America, I understand this feeling of feeling ostracized from your peers because of your political views. Growing up in a conservative household, I often found it hard to relate to my peers in college because our values were so different. The most exciting moments were when I could find common ground with others despite these differences.
Strange world, where antisemitism in Western countries breathes new life while at the same time Arab countries make peace with Israel. It is sad that Western values are not self-evident enough for many, so that they have to be defended time and again. But they can be defended. Their beauty and clarity and success is a shining city on the hill. And literature is a powerful messenger of its values.
So being another "Russian-Jew" but one who was born in '73 and emigrated/escaped in '79, I can't help but see the similarities and the differences of our experiences. When my family arrived, there were very few of us here and we stuck close together. We were as cloistered as one can be in a city like New York but as we learned the language I watched my parents escape the self imposed shtetl of language and cultural barriers to settle into the the rest of the society. While I do not know your parents' experience, when they came herein '91 there were already three waves of former soviet Jews living in the US so the experience may have been different but the unfortunate similarity is the idea that my parents came here for the same reason as yours, to escape the judenhass of the old world only have it follow us here in the new.
Thank you for sharing your journey and family so openly. I’m drawn to these stories for some reason. Maybe because growing up as an Israeli Jew I didn’t experience this side of it and it’s so interesting to share in how others experience “becoming” who they are.
This violence against religion from the USSR, exported to the Americas, is brutal. They want to erase people’s identity to leave nothing behind, specially crushing their religion. A fake christmas to make the State their only subject of worship, a destruction of their beliefs to create a “culturally-based” religion, as if judaism and christianism could be reduced to culture.
Do not give way to their interests! They may crush our bodies, they may persecute our families, but they can never make us obey their commands. Faith is beyond their reach.
This violence against religion from the USSR, exported to the Americas, is brutal. They want to erase people’s identity to leave nothing behind, specially crushing their religion. A fake christmas to make the State their only subject of worship, a destruction of their beliefs to create a “culturally-based” religion, as if judaism and christianism could be reduced to culture.
Do not give way to their interests! They may crush our bodies, they may persecute our families, but they can never make us obey their commands. Faith is beyond their reach.
How terrible for you and your family, especially because they -- honestly so many of us even though I'm not Jewish -- want the US to be the place where it won't ever happen again. The kids who fancy and romanticize communism and antisemitism have absolutely no idea what evil they espouse. No clue. Or maybe I'm naive. I have to believe that at least some of it is stupidity.
The sad fact is that anti-Semitism has found a home on both the left and the right wings of American politics. The brutal Israeli over reaction to October 7th is now a pre-text for bigoted sentiments rising in communities where this was previously unthinkable .I am a strong and vocal supporter of Israel's existence and validity as a state, but am appalled at the conduct of the Israeli government and military. Both things can be true but it will never be a justification for the current storm of anti-Semitism. I think you should also be cautious about your friends on the political right; for them all alliances are transactional and rarely if ever based on true principles.
“you should also be cautious about your friends on the political right; for them all alliances are transactional and rarely if ever based on true principles.”
All things considered, the same can be said about the political left; they will be “empathetic” to you as long as you align with their views or you don’t show any signs of your own views. The minute you diverge even slightly from their beliefs, you’ll be expulsed from their group. In other words, the political left and the political right are two sides of the same coin.
"expulsed", Nice neologism!
People on the political right are far more likely to base their beliefs and behavior on true principles than people on the left.
"People on the political right are far more likely to base their beliefs and behavior on true principles than people on the left."
Really curious how you can observe politics for the last twelve years and conclude this.
There is scant evidence for this claim. The power brokers on the right have shown themselves to craft all policies only to enrich themselves. They have no principles regarding public benefit, human rights, democratic (small d) such as universal suffrage, civil liberties, or consistent foreign relations based on a governing set of values. In short the right is by far the more morally bankrupt position.
Growing up Russian toughens one up….
Liza, I worked with a national Jewish group shortly after Oct 7. And Columbia was the number one campus of concern. The leftists and Islamists ran a slick, well funded effort there
Thanks for sharing this story, Liza, and for your commitment to the Jewish future.
Imagine the conversation I had with a hospital when they said I was an Ashkenazi Jew and I was firm in telling them I was a Georgian Jew...They never heard of it!
We had a family friend, whose name was Buba from Georgia. He opened a restaurant in Brighton Beach called Primorski. The joke I always tell Americans is that he was Bubba from Georgia, but not that kind of Bubba and not from that Georgia.
I relate to this. The pain of feeling like the “other” in America for the first time is excruciating because it’s something we truly thought we shed forever, only to see it growing here like a nightmare come to life. I feel what your grandmother feels:
“So when my grandmother burst into tears upon seeing the hatred and violence at my alma mater two years back, I felt again what it meant to be a Russian Jew. “We left that country and came to this one,” she pronounced, “so that my grandkids would never feel unsafe or singled out as Jews, and I am ashamed that something I thought I’d never have to deal with again is happening in this country, too.”
“When I moved to Manhattan to attend Columbia University, I hoped to find community in the English literary scene, only to be thwarted once again as I became cognizant of my conservative political leanings (likely informed by my parents’ suffering under the communist system) within an overwhelmingly liberal space.”
Though I cannot relate the immigrant experience or the experience of Russian Jews living in America, I understand this feeling of feeling ostracized from your peers because of your political views. Growing up in a conservative household, I often found it hard to relate to my peers in college because our values were so different. The most exciting moments were when I could find common ground with others despite these differences.
The discovery of roots often leads to strength.
Strange world, where antisemitism in Western countries breathes new life while at the same time Arab countries make peace with Israel. It is sad that Western values are not self-evident enough for many, so that they have to be defended time and again. But they can be defended. Their beauty and clarity and success is a shining city on the hill. And literature is a powerful messenger of its values.
Fellow child of Soviet Jewish parents (from Belarus) and live in NYC. Thanks for sharing and all your book recs!
So being another "Russian-Jew" but one who was born in '73 and emigrated/escaped in '79, I can't help but see the similarities and the differences of our experiences. When my family arrived, there were very few of us here and we stuck close together. We were as cloistered as one can be in a city like New York but as we learned the language I watched my parents escape the self imposed shtetl of language and cultural barriers to settle into the the rest of the society. While I do not know your parents' experience, when they came herein '91 there were already three waves of former soviet Jews living in the US so the experience may have been different but the unfortunate similarity is the idea that my parents came here for the same reason as yours, to escape the judenhass of the old world only have it follow us here in the new.
Thank you for sharing your journey and family so openly. I’m drawn to these stories for some reason. Maybe because growing up as an Israeli Jew I didn’t experience this side of it and it’s so interesting to share in how others experience “becoming” who they are.
This violence against religion from the USSR, exported to the Americas, is brutal. They want to erase people’s identity to leave nothing behind, specially crushing their religion. A fake christmas to make the State their only subject of worship, a destruction of their beliefs to create a “culturally-based” religion, as if judaism and christianism could be reduced to culture.
Do not give way to their interests! They may crush our bodies, they may persecute our families, but they can never make us obey their commands. Faith is beyond their reach.
Ave Christus Rex!
This violence against religion from the USSR, exported to the Americas, is brutal. They want to erase people’s identity to leave nothing behind, specially crushing their religion. A fake christmas to make the State their only subject of worship, a destruction of their beliefs to create a “culturally-based” religion, as if judaism and christianism could be reduced to culture.
Do not give way to their interests! They may crush our bodies, they may persecute our families, but they can never make us obey their commands. Faith is beyond their reach.
Ave Christus Rex!
Lovely! Thank you for writing.