One Year After October 7, Here’s How the Jewish Community Thinks About Identity Differently

Pride, shame and fear have changed how we interact with our individual Jewishness.

October 7 fundamentally changed the global Jewish community. It has deepened divides between Jews who identify as Zionist and those who identify as anti-Zionist, made Jews question the safety of our and our neighbor’s communities and prompted many of us think about our own Jewish identities in new ways. What does it mean to be a Jew who is or is not in support of the Israeli government? What does it mean to be a Jew who is committed to peace for all Israelis and Palestinians? What does it mean to love being Jewish and also be afraid because of it? Nearly every day of this last year has posed new questions about who we are.

In anticipation of the first anniversary of this awful day, we turned to you with more questions. We at Hey Alma wanted to know how the lives of our audience members have shifted over the last year. One of these questions was: How do you think about your Jewish identity differently? What we received was a wide spectrum of emotions from strengthened pride in being Jewish and connection to Israel to feeling shame in Jewishness and Israel to fear of being targeted for being Jewish.

In sharing these responses, we hope to show you that you are not alone in taking stock of your Jewish identity this year. And if you ever find yourself in need of a reminder of all the different, beautiful ways there are to be Jewish, looking on Hey Alma isn’t a bad place to start.

How do you think about your Jewish identity differently?

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“Post-October 7, it’s become clear to me that in the eyes of the rest of the world, I am Jewish first, and everything else second. This has been especially prevalent in progressive circles I was previously a part of (even in leadership roles within local and college-affiliated groups) where because I have traveled to Israel, advocate for peace as opposed to Israel’s destruction and don’t rewrite/deny Jewish and Levantine history, I am no longer welcome. I feel naive to have once believed that being Jewish wasn’t a big deal societally anymore, but it’s only made me louder and prouder and demonstrated the significance of Jewish continuity and community.” 27, Virginia

“I work in the Jewish non-profit space, and find myself torn between my employer’s stance firmly supporting Israel with my own opinions about Israeli policies and actions, and the politicians that make them. The hostages have been in captivity for a year, and since October 7, 2023 American, Israeli and international media have reported that Netanyahu’s government has refused multiple ceasefires that would allow the release of the hostages. I’m a proud Jewish professional, but I find myself not voicing my genuine concerns for civilians on both sides of the war, in fear of disapproval from my fellow Jewish colleagues.” — 27, DMV 

“Before October 7, I will be honest, I never thought about Israel or the Israel/Palestine conflict beyond wanting a two-state solution. Now, supporting Israel is integral with my Jewish identity. There are so many ways to be Jewish and I love that supporting Israel is just one way to show Jewish identity. Being Jewish, it is my duty to stand up for Jews all over the world, especially those who are in Israel. We are one nation and one family. I now try to live by the values of ‘Am Yisrael’ every single day.” — 20, New York

“I find trying to define my Jewish identity more difficult now. I am a Jewish Zionist, but I am not comfortable with the blanket Zionist label. I am an anti-occupation, anti-apartheid, pro-human rights, pro-actual democracy (for all Jews and Palestinians in the area between the river and the sea) Zionist. I am a pro-people Zionist, not a pro-land Zionist. I feel like I have to define my Zionism, in order to appropriately define my Jewish identity, otherwise I feel so many incorrect assumptions are made about me. I am a Jew who is still in mourning from October 7, a Jew mourning the change in their relationship with Israel and with the wider Jewish community. I am a sad and confused and angry Zionist Jew.” — 24, UK

“After October 7, I realized that at the end of the day, I am a Jew first. It doesn’t matter what my opinions are, or my hobbies, or my interests, or my life. At the end of the day, those swastikas on campus were targeting me as a Jewish person.” — 22, Los Angeles

“I was proud to be Jewish before but I’m even more proud of it now. I know we are on the right side of history and I want to show the people around me who maybe haven’t interacted with many Jews how incredible we are. It also has made me want to pretty much only date Jewish because I’m realizing no one else truly understands the struggles we face.” — 26, New York

“I used to be proud to be Jewish. After seeing how our institutions have encouraged and enabled the genocide in Gaza, even at the expense of the hostages and in contradiction to their families’ demands, I’m ashamed.” — 28, Washington DC

“I realized there could be direct danger to my family due to name/surname. I thought it was a thing of the past. I also started to follow Jewish traditions more, connected with my local community and applied for official conversion.” — 40, Europe

“I think about my Jewish identity more. My mom always used to ask me to find Jewish friends wherever I went, which I didn’t understand. After October 7, the people I’ve felt the safest around, who understand what I’m going through at a deep level, are Jewish. I now see it: Finding your Jewish community is vital. I understand why our ancestors prioritized doing things in a group. No matter how hard things get, we will always have each other.” —22, Mexico City

“Seeing the Star of David on tanks that are destroying communities and families has been gut wrenching. Seeing all of this destruction done in the name of Judaism has been equally frustrating and infuriating, because that’s not what our beliefs are based upon. We are meant to love, forgive and heal. Yet there are people that support this violence very blindly. It’s been really bleak and horrifying to witness all of this death, but it has made me connect more with what Judaism is actually about, no matter what the military and governmental powers want us to believe.” — 28, New York

“I don’t believe in God anymore.” — 22, New Jersey

“Since October 7, my entire view of the world and humanity has shifted. As millennial Jews, my husband and I went from regular Americans to feeling like any and everyone we interact with in public might overtly or secretly hate us. We were disappointed by our non-Jewish friends, and we have questioned whether eventually having kids is too selfish an act — bringing innocent babies into such a hateful world.” — 32, Los Angeles

“So much of my Jewish identity is tied to community. Before October 7, I felt I could be in meaningful community with Jews who had very different views on Israel/Palestine. Since October 7, it feels like there is a huge and unnavigable rift in that landscape. It’s not that I expect everyone to share my beliefs or even come close to them, but it feels sometimes as though we are living in completely separate realities. So this change to the communal landscape has a profound impact on my personal Jewish identity.” — 30, Seattle

“Prior to October 7 I was deeply embedded in a pretty conservative ultra-Orthodox community and I think for a lot of reasons the response to October 7 really isolated me and put me in a position where I had to leave and I did leave. The religious fervor post-October 7 was just incredibly unrelatable to me. I was angry at God. I didn’t want to throw myself into more learning and Tehillim. As time went on I saw how easy it was for people to dehumanize Palestinians and that was really uncomfortable for me. I don’t consider myself a Zionist anymore because I am uncomfortable with what Zionism has been used to do against Palestinians. I now live in a much more liberal Orthodox community but it is still very Zionist in a way that makes me uncomfortable.” — 25, New York

“October 7 radicalized me. Before I thought peace was possible. I thought we could negotiate our way out of the conflict. I no longer believe that. It has turned into a zero sum game for me.” — 36, New York

“Before October 7, my Jewishness was the most important part of my life. Post October 7, it is still the most important part of my life, but I feel more isolated than I ever have. My university campus has had a number of antisemitic incidents that people by and large haven’t taken seriously. It’s disappointing and scary. I feel like there’s an asterisk attached to my being — ‘I’m Jewish, but, [insert explanation proving I’m not on the ‘wrong side’].’ Being Jewish, to me, has always meant standing up against injustice, but I don’t know what to do or where to be anymore. It makes me very sad and I struggle to know how to bridge the chasms that have emerged in the last year, even within my own friend group.” — 28, Research Triangle, North Carolina

“Before October 7, I couldn’t bring myself to wear a Star of David. My grandparents had been forced to wear one. Now, I feel like I have to wear one. I need my peers to know that while they’re free to say what they will, they will say it knowing that there is a Jew here to hear it.” — 27, Connecticut 

“I do think about my Jewish identity, even though I am non-practicing. I am proud of my people and my heritage. I love Israel and our people.” — 74, Ventura, California

“My identity feels closer to Israel than it did before October 7.” — 29, Los Angeles

“I can’t tell people I’m from Israel anymore. People expect me to be a government spokesperson or something.” — 17, NYC

“Nowadays I am equally proud of being Jewish and yet also terrified due to the rampant increase in antisemitism lately.” — 31, Florida

“I feel more connected to my Jewish identity now. I’ve been working on re-Jewing myself for years, but after October 7 I find myself surrounded by Jewish activists trying to stop genocide. The concept of tikkun olam feels so much more present and important to my life. We have an obligation to continue the good work of our ancestors and to make the world a better and more just place.” — 40, Portland, OR

“I have never felt more distant from any sense of a Jewish identity since October 7. I grew up in a Conservative synagogue and strong Jewish community. Jewish values such as tikkun olam and giving tzedakah were innate to my understanding of what it means to be Jewish. The way the mainstream Jewish American community, including the synagogue which helped raise me, has been antithetical to all the Jewish values I grew up being taught, the way so many Jewish organizations have turned an eye away from the humanitarian horrors in Gaza, has been beyond embarrassing. I eat more traif than I have ever had because I no longer care to keep up with the daily rituals of Judaism.” — 28, Seattle WA

“I don’t feel the same sense of pride anymore. I know it’s wrong to conflate Judaism with Netanyahu and his government, but I am having trouble finding a Jewish community in my city that isn’t funded by or supporting Israel. Being Jewish is very lonely right now. I believe in a free Palestine, a two-state solution and reparations not just for the past year, but for the past hundred. Until this massacre ends in Gaza, I feel like I have to qualify my Jewishness with an entire political spiel, and it is very isolating.” — 28, Alberta, Canada

Click here for more from the Hey Alma community on how this last year has changed us.

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