Jewish New Yorkers showed their trademark resilience – wearing their faith with pride despite rising tensions in the city as Israel waged war on Hamas following the terror group’s cowardly surprise attack this month.
In recent days, the NYPD has stepped up patrols at Jewish schools and synagogues out of “precaution” ahead of Friday’s massive “day of jihad” demonstration, which saw Israeli flags burned as thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters descended on to the street .
But despite all this, Jewish New Yorkers do not hide.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” 31-year-old Manhattan resident Joseph Borgen told The Post, dressed in a yarmulke and draped in a massive blue-and-white Israeli flag, which he wore on the back of a pair of shirts. rally in support of the Jewish State and its people in the city this week.
“If they want to get me, they can get me,” said Borgen – who was beaten by a mob in an anti-Semitic attack on his way to a pro-Israel rally near Times Square in 2021.
While shocking anti-Israel rallies flooded the streets last week, Borgen, like many Jewish New Yorkers refused to live in fear – proudly displaying Star of David necklaces, yarmulkes and Israel Defense Forces sweatshirts as they declared their support for the country.
“No one should put themselves in harm’s way if they feel like they are at risk, but in these times of incredible pain and suffering in Israel, any way we can show that we stand with Israel and support them, that’s what we need do,” said Borgen.
NYU student Ayden Morenstern, 20, wears a shirt to support Israel. Robert Miller
“If that means being a little scared, going out there and not letting them scare you into hiding and changing your life, I hope that’s what we can do.”
Chabad Rabbi Uriel Vigler says showing Jewish pride and encouraging others to stay strong is the best way to combat a hostile and intimidating climate.
The rabbi runs Belev Echad, an organization that supports wounded Israeli soldiers including Raz Mizrachi, who was one of 260 innocent revelers killed by Hamas militants at the Tribe of Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7.
When faced with unimaginable horrors like those witnessed at the festival, “our response should be to be more proud to be Jewish,” he said.
“Our response to darkness is to turn on the light. A little light dispels the darkness. When they bring hate, we bring light.”
That’s what Blake Zavadsky — a college student who was randomly attacked while wearing an IDF hoodie in Bay Ridge two years ago — did.
Blake Zavadsky was randomly attacked last year for his sweatshirt featuring the Jewish star. Blake Zavadsky
“The world needs to know that the Jewish people are strong – we’re not giving up and we’re not going to be cowed,” said the 23-year-old from south Brooklyn, who wore the same sweatshirt this week.
“People say they’re afraid to wear their Star of David necklaces, but I tell them to be proud of who they are,” said Zavadsky, who wrapped himself in an “End Jew Hatred” sweatshirt in a Brooklyn neighborhood where he saw “Jews rejected” last week
“Jews in New York are scared – nobody wants to be attacked, or worse. I was attacked,” said Zavadsky, the son of a former Soviet Union refugee seeking religious freedom in the US, admitting he was “scarred” after being attacked.
Zavadsky said he is “scarred” from the experience, but he will continue to wear his Jewish pride.Blake Zavadsky
“But will I go back and take off my sweatshirt? No – that allows the anti-Semites to win,” he said. “I’m Jewish and proud.”
Dikla Goren, a 42-year-old mother of four in Brooklyn, wrapped herself in a large Israeli flag at a rally in Midtown this week – her first time doing so since she visited the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland as a teenager.
“I am very proud to wear the flag. You want to tell the world, ‘Never again,’” said Goren, who shared a photo of himself wrapped in a flag with his 144,000 followers.
Goren posted images of kidnapped Israelis around Brooklyn in hopes of raising awareness. Dikla Goren
“I was very proud when I went to Auschwitz when I was 17 years old, but I never in my life imagined I would have to show the world I was Jewish and that I was proud. This cannot happen in 2023,” he told The Post.
Goren, who moved from Israel 13 years ago, also blanketed Brooklyn with posters of missing Israelis — mostly children — hoping to educate the public, even as he braced for a backlash.
“A lot of people ‘get it,'” he said, but added, “I also got so many haters.”
Anti-Israel protests erupted this week at several Big Apple colleges. On Thursday, protesters clashed with pro-Palestinian supporters on the campuses of CUNY Brooklyn College, Hunter College and Columbia University.
Nathan Orbach (left), 21, a junior from Livingston, NJ and Ayden Morenstern, 20, a sophomore from Scarsdale, NY, show their support for Israel.Robert Miller
But some Jewish students, like 21-year-old New York University junior Nathan Orbach, refuse to bow to the intimidation, continuing to wear their love for Israel on their sleeves.
“If they wear uniforms and fight, we should wear our uniforms in New York City,” said Orbach, who wore a yarmulke, a sweatshirt emblazoned with the Israeli flag and a ceremonial fringe called tzitzit at a pro-Israel rally in Washington Square Park – where the cry “A good Jew is a dead Jew” was heard.
Before last week, Orbach said he put his tzitzit in his pocket, out of sight.
Aaron Baron, 21, a senior from Great Neck, LI wears items that show his support for Israel. Robert Miller
“That’s why I’m wearing my tzitzit today – because I’m proud. Even though we can’t fight on the front lines, we’re fighting here on our own and we’re showing solidarity to our brothers,” said Orbach, who admitted he had to muster up the courage to put on “the uniform. “
“There’s definitely a sense of fear,” he admits, watching the lamentations of his classmates who “paid $80,000 a year to go to NYU because they were afraid to go to class.”
Beauty queen Justine Brooke Murray said she went against the wishes of her “concerned mother about Jewish stereotypes” when she donned a “giant” Star of David necklace at a pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square during Friday’s “day of jihad” demonstration.
Justine Brooke Murray encourages her followers not to live in fear. Instagram/Justine Brooke Murray
“I will not live my life in fear and neither should you,” he urged his 13,000 Instagram followers before joining the hostile gathering, calling himself “an FU Jew.”
“I will not let anti-Semites and enemies of Western civilization force me to live in fear. That gave them the win,” said Murray, who was crowned Miss Central Jersey on the day of the Hamas surprise attack.
“Declaring your Judaism is an act of courage today,” he said.
As Borgen noted about the progress made after his brutal attack, “If nothing positive comes my way, then what’s the point?”
Additional reporting by Chris Nesi
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
