Diasporism is alive and well
JVL Introduction
At a time when the US Jewish Leadership Conference is soon to meet to discuss “The Rising Generation: Will Our Children Defend America, Israel, and Jewish Civilization?” this Netflix movie, “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah”, could not be more timely.
It is, says Roger Alpher in Haaretz, a post-Zionist story.
Set in a wealthy, suburban, Reform and liberal community in the United State a lived, vibrant Jewishness–- ethnic, tribal, familial – is portrayed. And it is a Jewishness in which Israel, literally, does not figure.
Alpher says of the film’s main character, Stacy: “She doesn’t yearn to “make aliyah” to Israel and doesn’t call it a “homeland.” She doesn’t long for it. She’s not in exile… She’s a Jew who already lives in security in her country. America is her homeland. She’s so American.”
And he adds: “This film disproves the claim that there is one Jewish nation in the world and that Judaism is a nationality.”
RK
This article was originally published by Haaretz on Wed 20 Sep 2023. Read the original here.
Israel Is So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
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I find the idea of a modern Jewish ‘diaspora’ offensive and we should stop using the word or at least countering it. For me, Israel is part of the ‘diaspora’ but it has been commandeered by the Zionists owing to a supposed Biblical dispersion that has no relevance to the way Jews have lived for many centuries.
It also plays into the trope of dual loyalty!
It’s good that a mainstream film accepts and celebrates that being Jewish doesn’t have to mean being Zionist. When I went Israel/Palestine for the first time, I wondered if I’d feel any sense of belonging and I didn’t. It felt like a foreign country.
This is also about the whole question of what it means to be Jewish and everyone has their own views on that. I’ve always joked that from a practical point of view, there are three elements to being Jewish: ethnicity, religion and culture and if you’ve got at least two of those, you’re in!
Interesting review.
By contrast word of mouth on the film is quite damning. Criticism ranges from ‘crassly materialistic’ to issues of ‘cultural appropriation’ and crude stereotypes have been raised. Along these lines it has also been mentioned that this just a Jewish ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ or ‘Big Fat Greek Wedding’, which maybe a damning indictment of Hollywood genric standardisation, when dealing with middle-class ethnic minority families.
It is produced by Adam Sandler who was responsible for the dire ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan’ which as someone who used to teach Film Studies, I confess, this was one of the few films, I couldn’t finish watching.
I would welcome feedback from more people that have actually watched it.
I think it is very valuable for Jews in Israel to understand that many Jews around the world don’t want to live in a Jewish state in the middle east. It is they who are outliers.