\u201cThere are a lot of really sad commentaries,\u201d Aviva Rathbone, chair of JQT, told the Independent<\/i>. \u201cA lot of the folks who responded to the survey are people who are really struggling right now.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She cautioned that the survey may not include the perspectives of others who may be having more positive experiences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSome people are feeling really accepted into community right now, they are feeling like they found a place,\u201d said Rathbone. \u201cWe didn\u2019t hear from those folks, but that\u2019s not to say that they don\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n The results are not surprising, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew people were struggling,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a surprise, I think, the depth of anger and sadness that was there.\u201d<\/p>\n Fewer than half of survey respondents indicated that they felt safe and accepted in Jewish spaces and only about a quarter said they felt safe and accepted in queer spaces. Fewer still, 14%, said they felt comfortable in both.<\/p>\n Since Oct. 7, approximately half of respondents indicated that actions and\/or statements of queer (57%) and Jewish organizations (51%) have had a negative impact on their mental health.<\/p>\n A majority (57%) of respondents indicated that their safety and security felt threatened since Oct. 7 because of their Jewish identity. More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) said they experienced antisemitism online or in-person since Oct. 7.<\/p>\n Much of the discomfort centres on divergent attitudes toward Israel and the war against Hamas, as well as opinions around the definitions of antisemitism and what some respondents describe as exclusivist attitudes in the Jewish community, often described as overwhelmingly pro-Israel, and in the LGBTQ+ community, described by many as unwelcoming to pro-Israel Jews.<\/p>\n One respondent said the Jewish community should \u201cacknowledge that anti-Zionist Jews are still Jews and should be welcome in Jewish spaces\u201d and that \u201cqueer Zionist Jews are still queer and should be welcome in queer spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n JQT serves members who self-identify as Zionist and those who self-identify as anti-Zionist.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the mainstream Jewish community dismisses Jews who criticize Israeli actions, it makes me feel alienated from that community, more than before,\u201d wrote one respondent.<\/p>\n Two among scores of examples illustrate the chasm between the narratives shared in the report. One respondent accuses \u201cqueers for Palestine\u201d of trying \u201cto turn Zionism into a dirty word\u201d and making them feel \u201cunwelcome as a Jewish Israeli in queer spaces when not hiding myself.\u201d Another writer says, \u201cIt makes me unsafe when Jewish organizations […] make wildly racist statements about Palestine. Conflating Judaism with Israel makes it seem like I am complicit in this genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n Said another respondent: \u201cNone of the synagogues or even [Jewish queer groups] have made any statements that humanize the struggle of non-Zionist Jews and how we\u2019ve been systematically shut out of spiritual, social and cultural Jewish spaces for far too long. In fact, the current climate within these spaces promotes a pro-war and anti-Palestinian rhetoric that pushes me and my friends away from feeling security and belonging in our identities.\u201d<\/p>\n The divergence in attitudes is typified by another survey response.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople wearing an End the Occupation T-shirt or other such slogans signal to me that the wearers believe Hamas to be righteous rather than terrorist, that all lives are not equal, makes me uncomfortable, as does the aggressivity of protesters, including [queer groups that support] Palestine. Standing in solidarity with Israel and its absolute right to defend itself, while not recognizing the numbers of non-Hamas Palestinians killed and the living conditions in Gaza during the war is also not comfortable for me,\u201d wrote a respondent.<\/p>\n If there is a clear takeaway from the study, Rathbone said, it can be summed up in one word.<\/p>\n \u201cEmpathy,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have the ability to hold space for our own pain and anger and for other people\u2019s pain and anger. I fully believe that humans are expansive and the Jewish community for sure is expansive and we have done this many times. We have been able to hold space for ourselves and for other people who are suffering, even when we don\u2019t agree with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Disagreements over politics, no matter how intensely and personally held, should not erase the empathy Jewish people have for one another, she said.<\/p>\n It is possible to have conversations across that divide, as JQT did recently in a \u201clisten and be heard\u201d event, facilitated by two professionals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That event was part of a major mental health initiative in collaboration with Jewish Family Services, with funding from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver, that was in the works even before Oct. 7. Among numerous projects rolled out in recent months addressing the challenges facing LGBTQ+ Jews is a 10-page resource issued last week, titled JQT Affirming Care: A Toolkit for Mental Health Providers<\/i>. It was developed by care providers Hannah Zalmanowitz and Anat Kerelstein.<\/p>\n
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