“Mr. You care about Jewish people, Mr. President. Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg interrupted Biden last week at a Minneapolis campaign reception, saying, “I need you to call a cease-fire immediately.” Biden replied, “I think we need to pause.” This was the first time Biden had backed down from his unwavering support for
You care about Israeli people, Mr. President. Biden was interrupted by Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg last week at a campaign reception in Minneapolis, who said,” I need you to call for the cease-fire right now.
I think we need a pause, Biden said in response. Although he clarified that” a pause means give time to get the prisoners out,” it was the first time Biden had strayed from his unwavering support for Israel. Give it some time.
Rosenberg, a Reconstructionist rabbi, author, and organizer, serves on the rabbinical council of Israeli Voice for Peace, an influential group of anti-zionist Israeli Americans calling for an end to the continuing conflict in Gaza. According to organizers, the mass arrests of Jews for legal disobedience by JVP protestors in recent weeks are the largest in US history.
The internet immediately picked up on Rosenberg’s remarks. While some people expressed their support, animosity toward Rosenberg, an LGBTQ+ woman, even erupted on social media. Some of it came from the expected sources, such as conventional talk show host Megyn Kelly, who claimed that the woman was “pretending to be a woman” and that she might also have been “prestancion rabbi.” Rosenberg has a beard, which Kelly emphasized because between 5 % and 10 % of cisgender women in the US do so naturally.
Regarding her appearance and her altercation with Biden, Rosenberg says,” I’m so glad to be a gay and clearly gender no conforming femme woman who could take that action.” Let everyone, but particularly SWANA and Hebrew women with beards, see us as powerful and fearless. Southwest Asia and North Africa, also known as the Middle East, are referred to by the acronym SWANA.
For derogatory, transphobic remarks from Kelly are hardly unexpected. She was n’t the only one, though; One America News Network’s Stella Inger, a Jewish news anchor, also referred to Rosenberg as “biological man” after tweeting filmed footage of her remarks. Yaakov Kaplan, a regional Brooklyn politician, draws attention to Rosenberg’s headshots to cast doubt on her legitimacy as an adult, Jew, and rabbi. A conflict between two gay, Israeli content creators developed online in a different incident. One of them, Michael Valdes, who backs Israel, created a Halloween costume meme of Matt Bernstein, whom he referred to as” Self-hating Jews” and” Queer for Palestine” with “lack knowledge of Jewish history,” “desires to be wanted by the “wokes,” etc.
The notion that LGBTQ identity can be protected in some way through military occupation and population displacement is simply ironic. What sort of freedom is that, exactly?
Given how some people defend Israel as a haven for LGBTQ+ people in the Middle East, this outspoken transphobia among Israel’s supporters is concerning. Israel’s established Twitter account stated on October 29 that it was “looking forward to seeing Hamas raise the rainbow flag across Gaza.” David Kilmnick, the founder of the LGBT Network, questioned why more LGBTQ+ people had n’t spoken out in favor of Israel after the attacks of October 7 because it is the “only nation” that protects LGBT people from prejudice and violence. Israeli LGBTQ+ activist and journalist Mark Segal, who took part in Stonewall, wrote an article titled” Hamas hates you since well” for the pro-Palestine homosexual community.
Israel’s situation is actually more complex, and its detractors have long accused it of “pinkwashing,” a term coined by Israeli activists. For instance, Israel forbids similar sex adoption or marriage.
According to Rosenberg, her gay and Israeli identity is directly related to her support of justice in Palestine. According to Rosenberg,” Israel’s supporters claim that this is being done for your safety.” My physical autonomy and safety are very visceral because I am a gay person and I’m Jewish. It is ironic to think that a military occupation and population displacement can apparently protect Gay identity. That freedom, what kind is it?
The dynamic of receiving anti- LGBTQ+ hate from supporters of Israel is hardly novel, according to Jay Saper, a lead organizer for Israeli Voice for Peace. According to Saper,” Zionists have made some of the most vehemently homophobic and racist remarks I have physically heard, but we’re going to continue to speak out and take action like never before, to work to bring about a ceasefire and justice for Palestinians.” ” Mr. President, you are concerned about Jews.” Biden was interrupted by Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg last week at a campaign reception in Minneapolis, who said,” I need you to call for the cease-fire right now. I think we need a pause, Biden said in response. It was the first time Biden had questioned his unwavering commitment to supporting
“Mr. You care about Jewish people, Mr. President. Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg interrupted Biden last week at a Minneapolis campaign reception, saying, “I need you to call a cease-fire immediately.” Biden replied, “I think we need to pause.” This was the first time Biden had backed down from his unwavering support for
Protesters from Jewish Voice for Peace demand a ceasefire in Grand Central Station on October 27th, inspired by the ACT UP demonstration against the Gulf War. Michaal Nigro/AP. Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.. “Mr. President, you care about Jewish people. As a rabbi, I need you to call for a cease-fire right now,” called Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg last week, interrupting Biden at a campaign reception in Minneapolis.. Biden responded with “I think we need a pause.” It was the first time Biden had wavered from his unconditional support for Israel, though he clarified that “a pause means give time to get the prisoners out. Give time.”. Rosenberg, a Reconstructionist rabbi, author, and organizer, is a member of the rabbinical council of Jewish Voice for Peace, a large coalition of anti-zionist Jewish Americans calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Organizers say that JVP protestors’ mass arrests in recent weeks are the largest scale arrests of Jews for civil disobedience in US history.. The internet quickly caught on to Rosenberg’s comments. While many voiced support, hate against Rosenberg, an LGBTQ+ woman, also exploded on social media. Some was from the expected sources, like conservative talk show host Megyn Kelly, who said she “was a man pretending to be a woman” who may be “pretending to be a rabbi too.” Kelly emphasized that Rosenberg has a beard (5-10 percent of cisgender women in the United State naturally grow beards).. “I’m so proud to be a queer and visibly gender non conforming femme woman who could take that action,” Rosenberg says about her appearance and her confrontation with Biden. “Let all, especially SWANA and Jewish bearded femmes see ourselves in power and unafraid.” (SWANA refers to Southwest Asia and North Africa, the region commonly referred to as the Middle East.). Such transphobic, nasty comments are not surprising from Kelly. But she wasn’t the only one: Stella Inger, a Jewish news anchor from the One America News Network, tweeted a video of Rosenberg’s comments, calling her a “biological man.” Local Brooklyn politician Yaakov Kaplan, highlight headshots of Rosenberg to question her legitimacy as a woman, Jew, and Rabbi. In a different incident, a feud unfolded online between two queer, Jewish content creators. One of them, Michael Valdes, supports Israel, and made a halloween costume meme of Matt Bernstein, who he described as a “Self-hating Jew” and “Queer for Palestine” with a “lack knowledge of Jewish history” and “desires to be wanted by the ‘wokes’.”. “The idea that somehow LGBTQ identity can be safeguarded by a military occupation and displacement of people is just absurd. What kind of freedom is that?”. This vocal transphobia from supporters of Israel is telling, considering how so many defend the country as a bastion of safety for LGBTQ+ people in the Middle East. On October 29th, Israel’s official Twitter account posted: “Looking forward to seeing Hamas raise the rainbow flag across Gaza.” After the October 7 attacks, David Kilmnick, founder of the LGBT Network, wondered why more LGBTQ+ people hadn’t come out in support of Israel considering it is the “only country [that] protects LGBT people from discrimination and violence.” Mark Segal, a Jewish LGBTQ+ activist and journalist who participated in Stonewall, wrote an op-ed “Hamas hates you as well,” directed at the Pro-Palestine queer community.. In reality, things in Israel are more complicated, and critics of the country have long accused it of “pinkwashing,” a term created by Palestinian activists. For example, Israel doesn’t allow same sex marriage or adoption.. For Rosenberg, support of justice in Palestine is directly related to her queer and Jewish identity. “Supporters of Israel say, ‘This is being done for your safety,’” explains Rosenberg. “As a queer person and as a Jew, my bodily autonomy and safety is very visceral. The idea that somehow LGBTQ identity can be safeguarded by a military occupation and displacement of people is just absurd. What kind of freedom is that?”. Jay Saper, a lead organizer for Jewish Voice for Peace, explains that the dynamic of receiving anti-LGBTQ+ hate from supporters of Israel is not new. “The most deeply homophobic and transphobic remarks that I personally have received are from Zionists,” says Saper, “but we’re going to continue to speak up and to take action like never before, to work to bring about a ceasefire and justice for Palestinians.”
