It's Pub Day! On Being Jewish Now

Our anthology is now out in paperback!

With Jane L. Rosen and Brenda Janowitz. Wearing a Shalom Sweater Project sweater from Minnie Rose.

We need this anthology now more than ever.

The Basics:

1. On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors and Advocates is now out in paperback! Please buy it here.

2. Profits will be donated to Artists Against Antisemitism led by Alison Hammer.

3. 75 authors and thought leaders contributed personal essays to this collection. And we’re doing a ton of events. Here are all mine and here are the group’s.

4. I thought of the idea for this anthology on June 30th. Like, four months ago. And here it is.

5. The book was published by my boutique publishing house Zibby Books which is run by publisher Anne Messitte and Executive Editor Kathleen Harris.

6. The ebook and audiobook came out October 1. But for today, let’s focus on the paperback.

7. We need one format to get a lot of sales in a short period of time to have a shot at hitting a bestseller list — which would then raise awareness even more. Can you help by going out this weekend and buying a paperback?

Speaking Up

I’ve been speaking up about antisemitism for a long time. My mother recently showed me a letter I wrote the school principal when I was in third grade asking her why we didn’t get the Jewish High Holidays off of school. I wrote a speech for my bat mitzvah about Anne Frank, who, by the way, I played in the Camp Wekeela production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” circa 1989. After the Pittsburgh attack, I immediately wrote, At a Bat Mitzvah, the Night of the Pittsburgh Shooting, Celebration Mixed With Sorrow.

But my voice escalated after October 7. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see I haven’t really turned down the volume since. Why? Because my voice — our voices — are the most effective tools we have. Sometimes, the only tools. And the more we combine our voices to call out injustice, the higher the likelihood that others might take notice.

While recording Rebecca Minkoff’s podcast Superwomen.

Last June, I was feeling hopeless. Everything I could say just seemed pointless. I wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind. Rational argument wouldn’t work. People seemed convinced that Jews were a group it was okay to hate. Target. Rape and murder.

Not only that, but antisemitism suddenly seemed to be societally sanctioned, unlike all other forms of racism and intolerance. Our woke society, which was renaming sports teams so as not to potentially offend other groups, was allowing masses of people chanting for the death of the Jews while walking through city streets. American city streets. Sorry, what? And no one was calling anyone out about this?!

Credit: Kyle Owens

I realized after months of writing, posting, and more, that the only way things were really going to change was if others spoke out, too. People who weren’t Jewish. The haters would have too much of a bias against what I was saying because I was Jewish! How could I enlist the help of the many allies I knew were out there? Would hearing from more of us help? Maybe. It would certainly help us to all gather and connect.

And just like that I felt a tiny spark of a long-forgotten feeling: hope.

What if? What if I could assemble the thoughts of some of the best writers I knew? What if I crafted an anthology and everyone else could see what life had been like for us in the past year, especially the dynamo women authors in my group chat of founding members of Artists Against Antisemitism? What about all the great things about being Jewish? Weren’t those worth preserving?

And, what if all the other Jews who’d felt so alone could see themselves in these stories? Jews were lighting up all over the place like the flashing bracelets at a Taylor Swift concert, one by one coming out of the dark and uniting to make a beautiful, powerful experience. Could this project heal our grieving souls?

“So you’re saying there’s a chance…”

That was enough. I jumped. I raced. My amazing team led by Anne Messitte said yes, we can do it, because we must — even though we had a full slate of books this fall. The 75 authors wrote quickly and poignantly.

It got done. I’ve spent more time on this than anything else lately as both editor and publisher. I care so deeply about the book on so many levels. I believe it can start a movement of sharing and connecting, of overcoming fear, of banding together. I believe we’re ready to shake off the shock of the past year and act. It’s time.

Hat by Social Goods for sale here. Bows by Melissa at @iloveyourbow.

I’ve been calling out the evil I see in the publishing world, like the 1,000+ authors who are staging a boycott of the Israeli publishing industry; like the horrible trolls making black-lists of Jewish authors and Israel supporters; like the bookstores who won’t even carry books by a Jewish publisher, let alone a Jewish author; like the agents who blatantly say they won't take submissions by Zionists; like the GoodReads trolls tanking ratings of Jewish authors; like the festivals, publications, and awards that don’t acknowledge any Jewish authors but elevate antisemitic voices. I could go on and on and on.

I see so much hate. I see so many peers turning their back on us. It’s incredibly painful. The betrayal of our friends, our society, leaving us feeling suddenly devoid of protection.

But I won’t stop being a good person and trying to help others just because they won’t help me. Jewish values can’t be casually turned off like a bedside lamp next to a stack of unread books. They are a part of us. So here I am. Trying to help.

How can you help? Simple.

• Buy this book in paperback. Preferably in the next 1-2 days. It’s available most places you buy books. If not, ask the bookstore to order it for you. Here are some links.

• Jews: Give the book to a non-Jewish friend. And to all your Jewish friends. And your family. And your rabbi. Hanukah is coming!

• Non-Jews: Read our stories. Become our allies. We need you. People like Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby writing books together!? Heroes.

• Report antisemitism to organizations. If you see something, say something.

• Be outraged. Discuss. Post. Comment. Don’t stand for this. You know it isn’t right.

• Write your own essay. I launched a Substack called On Being Jewish Now and an accompanying weekly podcast called On Being Jewish Now. Submit. Read and listen. Stay engaged. Keep talking.

• Pick the book for your book club and use our discussion questions.

• Host any of the contributors or me for an event. Attend one of our book tour events.

• Sell the book in your store.

• Post about the book on social media and include it in a newsletter.

• Spread the word.

Thank you, everyone. And thanks to all the 75 contributors and everyone who helped make this book a book. You’re all listed in my introduction.

Let’s do this.