It's Still the Same Old Story...

Welcome to new subscribers and updates for beloved long term subscribers!

Shabbat shalom!

Welcome to all the new subscribers! Most of you are coming over from Jill the Liberal Jew, one of my absolute favorite writers on Substack. We are so happy to have you join our little community here!

I wanted to introduce myself and share some pieces I’ve written for publications on the topics of Israel and fighting antisemitism.

I am not actually Jewish - yet. I grew up Christian, but my father taught classes on Israel and read the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew every day. He taught me from as early as I can remember to support Israel. When I was about 13 he gave me Leon Uris’ Exodus, and I fell in love with Ari Ben Canaan (who does not?) I grew up in the eighties in a part of the South where there were very few Jewish people, but when I got to high school at a boarding school in Michigan I started to meet many of my lifelong Jewish friends. The same continued into college, where my Jewish friends quickly outnumbered any others. Many are subscribers here (hi all!)

My mother, a Biblical scholar but also a librarian at a small college, got me started reading literature of the Holocaust not that long after 1984. I was ten years old in 1984 when she did an exhibition in honor of Orwell’s 1984 - yes, my mother let me read Orwell at 10. From there I went on to read the other famous dystopias, as well as classics of the Holocaust and eventually Solzhenitsyn. I distinctly remember thinking to myself that if the Nazis come back, I will be one of the Christians who hide the Jews.

Today I have no interest in hiding, but it is my honor to fight beside you. Here are some pieces I have published since October 7:

I Stand With My Jewish Friends

Support Peaceful Free Expression: Stand Up to the Angry Mob

The Persecution of Israel

Israel Under Attack

Many of the pieces in this Substack are on the topic, though I cover other subjects from Star Wars to cat world domination. I will probably start to focus the Substack more on the ongoing fight for civilization that Israel is leading, and I hope you will help grow our community by sharing.

Meanwhile, I am exploring conversion. It seems no accident that almost all of my friends are Jewish, and people have always called me Rachel, even though April does not sound like Rachel! My first Israeli friend, who I call Ari though that’s not his name, spoke with me at length about this, and suspects that I have Jewish ancestry, probably on my father’s side. It is a common story: Jewish immigrants who changed their names to fit in… and survive. I write about my father’s passionate support for Israel here. He was delighted when I first started attending Shabbat services and Torah study… which might surprise you, as he was an ordained Christian (United Methodist) minister. He passed away on December 21, and many many members of my worldwide family here, especially our friend Jill, have been so kind in their outpouring of support and love. Whether I convert or not, my work in advocating for Israel and the Jewish people worldwide I hope will serve as a memorial to him.

Meanwhile, for something fun, if any of you are named David, married to a David, or just like David’s in general, you’ll like this one: There’s Something About Davids.

Thank you for joining us. To paraphrase Victor Laszlow of the movie Casablanca, whom I wrote about here, “This time I know our side will win.”