Jewish Americans critical of how Israel and the U.S. are responding to Hamas' attack say they're ostracized by the mainstream U.S. Jewish community. They worry there's no room for dissenting voices.
Members of the Jewish Voice for Peace and the If Not Now movement, two Jewish activist groups, stage a rally on Oct. 18 in Washington, D.C., to call for a cease-fire in the Israel–Hamas war.Last weekend, Ally was kicked out of a family Shabbat dinner. Ally is 21 years old and from New York.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began, there have been protests demanding a cease-fire. Many Jewish Americans have joined in. Some say they've been met with hostility from within their own communities. Ally is a student at Columbia University, and is part of Jewish Voice For Peace, which is vocally demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.
A lot of this is playing out online, where there is vitriol but also silence. Various Jewish people NPR spoke to shared a concern that expressing opposing beliefs would translate into serious real-life consequences. "I didn't think it was that big of a controversial statement," Essie says."It makes me sad that we can't have these conversations without people getting defensive. But I think that everyone is reacting out of pain."
Pollack, who is 17 and also applying for colleges, says she's watching anti-Israel protests closely. She feels they promote antisemitism.
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