I realized I can be Jewish and queer. One identity doesn’t negate the other.
“When I came out as nonbinary, I distanced myself from my Jewish community. I wasn’t sure how people would react.”
Topic: Jewish Identity
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I grew up in an interfaith family, with a Jewish father and a Christian mother.
“I grew up in an interfaith family, with a Jewish father and a Christian mother, and my parents decided to raise me Christian. I was baptized, I had communion, but I never really identified with Christianity, nor had much of a choice in practicing it. I wasn’t supposed to be questioning my practices and beliefs, […]
I had culture shock when I moved with my family from an Israeli kibbutz to Wisconsin.
“I had culture shock when I moved with my family from a kibbutz in Israel — one that only spanned two streets — to Wisconsin.”
My dad is Jewish, and my mom is Filipino Catholic. I have no shame.
“My dad is Jewish, and my mom is Filipino Catholic. Growing up, I felt pressured by my Jewish relatives to only focus on my Judaism and forget about the other parts of my identity.”
I’m one of the few Jews with a mutated BRCA gene, meaning I’m at high risk for breast cancer.
“I was adopted as a child, but I knew my chances of developing breast cancer were high.”
One of my classmates would whisper about me, saying, ‘Why would I pray for a Jew?’
“I was enrolled in a Catholic school, where I was the only Jewish and Eastern European student.”
People didn’t see my adopted mom as my ‘real’ mother, so they didn’t see me as a ‘real’ Jew.
Nowadays, I’m not scared to tell people that I’m adopted and Jewish anymore.
My brothers and I found a respite from the constant pressures of cadet life at Hillel.
It was a small, tight-knit community that immediately absorbed us and gave us a respite from the constant pressures at West Point.
My family emigrated from India to New York and then moved to North Carolina.
“Jewish life centered around the home for me. My family immigrated from India to New York and then moved to North Carolina.”
On and off campus, my volunteer work with the military reflects my Jewish values.
“My time as a cadet ended when I began studying cybersecurity at Towson University, but I wanted to find a way to continue my support of our military. And Towson Hillel gave me an opportunity to do that.”
