Narratives of Jewish Parents in California: After October 7th

• In Event: Three Jewish Responses to Catastrophe

Abstract

In the aftermath of October 7th and the escalation of hostilities, American Jews found themselves navigating a delicate balance between their Jewish identity and the previously welcoming California liberal community. Jewish-American parents faced the challenge of finding support and community while managing experiences and inner turmoil surrounding the events in Israel-Palestine, as well as the reactions of U.S. Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and groups, and raising their children as Jewish during this turbulent time.
The current study includes 30 in-depth (~1-hour) interviews with California residents performed in 2024, with participants who self-identify as Jewish parents. The study is a follow-up study to an online quantitative survey including 187 participants. In both parts, participants’ were asked about their perception of Jewish identity, and their experiences, feelings, and concerns about raising their kids as Jewish in California. Most interviewees considered themselves politically liberal and testified that they previously felt safe and welcomed in California as Jews. Most felt a cultural or ethnic connection to other Jews and to Israel, either through family ties or due to spiritual or cultural affinity. While participants did not perceive criticism of Israel or its government as antisemitic, many worried about hostile or violent anti-Israeli protests and speech, some of which they felt unfairly collectively demonized not only Israelis and Zionists, but also Jews in general. Most perceive calls for “intifada” or terminating the State of Israel as dangerous, unjust, and threatening to Jews in general. Most participants reported feeling less safe in California after October 7th, with many hiding their and their children’s Jewish identity in public, professional, and social spaces, some changing their behavior accordingly (e.g., avoiding Jewish events, speaking Hebrew, or wearing Jewish symbols). Often, participants shared a sense of vulnerability, disappointment, and even betrayal relating to the reactions or lack of support from liberal friends, groups, and politicians, who they had supported in the past. Some lost or left spaces, groups, and individuals that now felt unwelcoming or hostile, feeling socially safe only among other Jews. Lastly, some felt Jews were still a comparatively privileged minority, while others felt this contradicted their own, more nuanced, Jewish identity and lived experience.

This paper was co-authored by Leah Hibel

Author

• Yael Teff-Seker