Awhile back, friends invited me to a writers group. Although I told them that I wasn\u2019t quite the right fit for the group, they convinced me to go.<\/p>\n
The meeting was nearby. I enjoyed walking on a cold, dark and starry night. Yet, the meeting\u2019s \u201cgatekeeper\u201d told me that I wasn\u2019t eligible for their future gatherings, as I didn\u2019t (yet) write or edit in their genre. Instead, she invited me to another writers event in October. (I\u2019m not on the social media lists for these types of things, as I tend to focus on writing deadlines and my household \u2013 and I\u2019m introverted.)<\/p>\n
The event, titled Diaspora Dialogues, took place on a Friday and Saturday. Although it might been possible for me to attend some parts of it, I saw only one gathering that interested me. Called Vulnerability and the Public Space, it boasted a live podcast, but it was held on Saturday afternoon. As someone who writes on religious issues in the public sphere, it seemed relevant. However, I saw no way that I could pull off attending \u2013 Saturday is a family day for us. After we go to services, I\u2019m often feeding everyone a big lunch and playing with kids afterwards. (In an ideal world, we\u2019d even take a nap!) To go, I\u2019d have to have given up my day off and commit to attending on Shabbat.<\/p>\n
This \u201cdiaspora\u201d event, which seemed designed for Canadians of colour, was scheduled at a time when Muslims might be busy (Friday afternoon) and on Shabbat, when Jewish families might be busy with family or synagogue or both. It wasn\u2019t inclusive of religious diversity. It excluded any person who might be both religiously observant and a Canadian minority.<\/p>\n
Even the event\u2019s title puzzled me, as the first dictionary definition for diaspora usually references the historical dispersal of the Jewish people outside of Israel. The \u201cscattering of a people outside their original country to other places\u201d is a secondary definition. So, OK, this was a secondary use of the definition, fine.<\/p>\n
I resolved my personal conflict. I emailed one of the organizers to point out the discrepancy. Although I write about vulnerable religious issues, often in the public space, I wouldn\u2019t be able to attend this \u201cdiaspora\u201d event, as its timing excluded Canadian religious minorities. No matter, though, perhaps I could access the podcast online later? Where, I asked her, could I locate the podcast link?<\/p>\n
I received no reply. The podcast never appeared online.<\/p>\n
We celebrate our religious freedom on Chanukah. It\u2019s the chance to rededicate our spaces to Jewish practice. However, the holiday\u2019s origins are a tale of struggle between minorities and the majority: Jewish assimilationists, religious fundamentalists and the Seleucid empire\u2019s religious majority (aka the Greeks, or the Assyrians). We remind ourselves of this in each generation \u2013 we can\u2019t take religious freedom or Jewish practice for granted.<\/p>\n
There has been a huge rise in antisemitic activity. Identifiable Jews or Israelis are now often targeted, assaulted and harassed throughout the world.<\/p>\n
A far more subtle and insidious change has also happened in terms of Jewish identity. Now, U.S. President Donald Trump has decided, via presidential order, to define Jewish students as an ethnic or racialized \u201cnational\u201dgroup that, theoretically, can\u2019t be discriminated against. Yet, the definition alone is a worrying precedent.<\/p>\n
Take a look around you at any Chanukah event. We\u2019re not one race by any (purely artificial and historic) definitions. We aren\u2019t one homogenous ethnic group, even if we might have been thousands of years ago. Just ask those who argue about doughnuts versus latkes or other holiday foods. What or who defines us? We\u2019re now facing new identity definitions \u2013 as delineated from the outside.<\/p>\n
We are a diaspora religious minority group that evolves and changes. We haven\u2019t disappeared despite changing definitions.<\/p>\n
Chanukah\u2019s a minor holiday on our calendar. It celebrates clinging to our freedoms in a dark world. It relies on a subtle understanding that not all discrimination is based on racism. It implies that religious, ethnic or racial background alone doesn\u2019t solely define someone\u2019s minority status.<\/p>\n
A true acknowledgement and respect for religious freedom is one that practises intersectionality instead.<\/p>\n
What is intersectionality? Our identities \u2013 racial, sexual, class, gender, religion, nationality, etc. \u2013 are complex and changing. We are each the result of several roads, always under construction, that meet in one huge intersection.<\/p>\n
As Jewish North Americans, living in the Diaspora, we\u2019re more than one ethnicity, gender or race. Together, we celebrate our tradition and identity as a triumph over adversity. We just may have to celebrate with an understanding that we\u2019re no longer included in some folks\u2019 definition of diaspora and, hence, excluded from the narrative. Heck, I cannot even access the podcast about the narrative!<\/p>\n
Wishing you a very happy, inclusive Chanukah from my family to yours. Have a great winter break, one where you feel included! May it be full of light, joy and peace.<\/p>\n
Joanne Seiff <\/strong>has written regularly for CBC Manitoba and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including <\/em>From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner<\/a> or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Awhile back, friends invited me to a writers group. Although I told them that I wasn\u2019t quite the right fit for the group, they convinced me to go. The meeting was nearby. I enjoyed walking on a cold, dark and starry night. Yet, the meeting\u2019s \u201cgatekeeper\u201d told me that I wasn\u2019t eligible for their future […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3470,5260,6976,218,8302,7381],"class_list":["post-33951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-op-ed","tag-discrimination","tag-interfaith","tag-intersectionality","tag-judaism","tag-lifestyle","tag-writing"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}