Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Elder of Ziyon
Jewish Voice for Peace NYC videoed some 30 members singing a Chanukah song with new lyrics that are hard to understand, but they seem to include stuff about Trump's Executive Order and how it attacks Palestinians, somehow.
What kind of a person attends an event like this?
They are overwhelmingly female. Of all ages. Only a couple of them seem to be really into it, enthusiastically doing the hand motions that were supposed to be synchronized.
And if we are honest, most of the demonstrations by Palestinians and their Western dhimmis are attended by people who aren't the brightest bulbs in the pack. The kind of people who are happy to repeat back the chants done by a person with a microphone are not the type that think too independently. They aren't knowledgeable enough to maintain an argument with someone who knows their stuff.
But still...something attracts these not-too-bright people to an off-key singing session. It isn't ideology that attracts these people.
It is that they are lonely. They live in New York City but cannot make real connections with people. Being mostly female, they need to find spaces where they can meet people and be safe. JVP provides that for them.
Look at them. Except for a couple of the middle aged women, they aren't having fun. There are very few smiles. Why on Earth would anyone voluntarily join such a joyless event? It is because they are desperate for companionship, and this is the best option they are aware of.
This is important - because it means that Zionist groups are not fulfilling the need that these (mostly) women have. Most Chanukah parties are fun. This one certainly isn't.
Jewish Zionist groups in New York and elsewhere should be doing some outreach to find the unaffiliated and the lonely - and create fun events that can attract the Jews who are lost.
Like these people.
(No sing-alongs please unless they are ironic, and if you are going to play dreidel, make the stakes more interesting than chocolate gelt.)
