LUNAR Ep 4: From Division to Solidarity - Asian American Jews Speak Out

As two communities who are both stereotyped as "model minorities”, American Jews and Asian Americans should be uniquely positioned for mutual understanding and solidarity. However, as is common for Jews of Color, many Asian American Jews experience feeling excluded, tokenized, or fetishized in Jewish communities. In this episode, Jewish Asian Americans share our experiences with racism, antisemitism, and the model minority myth, in hopes of inspiring a much-needed broader dialogue about inclusion in the Jewish community and beyond.
Trigger warnings for this video include racism, antisemitism, and violence.
How to show support and solidarity:
1. recognize and report instances of anti-Asian hate or antisemitic hate when you witness them
2. continue to educate yourself and raise awareness in your network about these forms of hatred
3. amplify the voices of Asian American and Jewish scholars, creators, and activists discussing these issues
4. if this is accessible to you, join a local effort to escort Asian elders or volunteer in a citizen-run community safety initiative
5. if this is financially accessible to you, donate your financial resources to organizations providing direct services, including public health resources, financial assistance, etc. to Asian elders
6. when those around you express hatred based on disinformed scapegoating, such as falsely connecting Asians to COVID-19 or Jews to conspiracy theories, disrupt and correct them with facts and name that scapegoating is part of how those biases function
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Follow LUNAR:
Instagram: @asian.jews
Facebook: @asian.jews
Twitter: @asian_jews
LUNAR Cast:
Alex Chester
Ali Pinhasi
Alicia Fox
Alyssa Naka Silver
Amanda Lowell
Becca Nix Tham
Bekkah 慧英 Scharf
Daniel Hershfield
Hannah Chonkan-Urow
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann
Jess Adler
Kayla Sklar
Lee Harris
Maya Babow
Maya Katz-Ali
Melissa Dai-Li Krassenstein
Meorah Ha-Me’ir
Naomi Tamura
Nina Moskowitz
Rachel DeAngelis
Stephanie Mieko Cohen
Vanessa Bloom
Zaheer Coovadia
LUNAR Team:
Co-Creator & Producer - Gen Slosberg 夏夜
Co-Creator & Creative Director - Jenni Rudolph
Filmmaker - Jared Chiang-Zeizel 小龙
Graphic Designer: Davi 惠芳 Cheng
About LUNAR:
LUNAR: The Jewish Asian Film Project showcases and celebrates the stories of Asian American Jews, through our upcoming video series, interviews, community events, and more! We're funded by the Jews of Color Initiative (jewsofcolorinitiative.org) and partnered with Be'chol Lashon (globaljews.org) to bring you meaningful and engaging content. We facilitate nuanced, honest conversations about identity, covering themes such as media representation, the model minority myth, racism, antisemitism, belonging and inclusion in Jewish spaces, family, culture, and fusion food.
Interested in helping us fund more content, interviews, community events and more? Donate here! www.globaljews...
Edited by Jenni Rudolph and Jared Chiang-Zeizel 小龙
Music:
"Smokey Eye" by Cheel
"Midnight Prophet" by Sarah, the Illstrumentalist
"Silent Observer" by Sarah, the Illstrumentalist
"Dana" by Vibe Tracks
"Down Time in My Soul" by RAGE
B-Roll Images:
Zionist Criminals
Copyright owned by Flickr user: John Englart (takver)
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Antisemitic Devil Sign
Copyright owned by wikimedia user: r
zombie of zombietime.com
en.wikipedia.o...
(Alternative link - www.zombietime....)
Cycle of Violence
Copyright owned by wikimedia user: Robert Friend Weber Whitlock
commons.wikime...
Musical Chairs
Copyright owned by Flickr user: David Maddison (davidmaddison)
www.flickr.com...
Anti Neo-Nazi March Phoenix 2010 (two pictures)
Copyright owned by Flickr user: John Kittelsrud (teamdroid)
www.flickr.com...
Copyright owned by Flickr user: John Kittelsrud (teamdroid)
www.flickr.com...
Israel - BDS
Copyright owned by Flickr user: John Englart (takver)
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Anti-Israel Protest
Copyright owned by Flickr user: Ted Eytan (taedc)
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Jewish Pride Flag
Copyright owned by: The Jewish Leadership Council
www.thejlc.org...
Summit of Mount Sinai
Copyright owned by wikimedia user: Mohammed Moussa
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Neoantisemismo
Copyright owned by wikimedia user: Yonderboy
commons.wikime...
KKK_Holocaust_denial
Copyright owned by wikimedia user: ViralNova
commons.wikime...

[@lucindarinaldo]

Great video. I'm so glad this was put together.

[@Gstar2395]

I think you guys should collab with Peter Santenello. He explores and learns about different communities on his channel. He already did a series about the Hasidic community in Brooklyn, it could be cool to see another series about different communities within the Jewish religion. Plus, it could help your channel grow and reach more people.

[@anaholub]

Excellent job, Lunar! I'm so sad and disgusted by the racism within Judaism. I left for a long time and only came back because my shul is so open and inviting to all people (including non-Jews). I will share this. Thanks for raising your voices. You need to be heard, acknowledged and learned from.

[@sasoriobinnamii9223]

Is this even real and are asian calling the actions and protocols in these ngos. Sounds like typical scam.