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(New York Jewish Week) — As right-wing protestors descend upon Drag Story Hour occasions throughout New York, they’ve continuously been met by a loosely linked motion of counter protestors that features many progressive Jewish teams.
Since September, right-wing activists have routinely protested Drag Story Hour occasions, the place an individual wearing drag reads to kids. The goal of those story instances, based on the founding father of the Drag Story Hour New York chapter, is to advertise literacy whereas giving kids constructive queer position fashions.
On the Queens Public Library in Jackson Heights on Dec. 29, at the least 5 members of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, confirmed as much as harass folks attending a narrative session. These protestors have been met by a whole bunch of activists from the opposite aspect, a lot of whom are Jewish. They included members of Jews For Racial and Financial Justice, Outlive Them, United Towards Racism and Fascism and different different organizations.
“We’re out right here,” stated Sharona Farber, 32, who’s a member of the Jewish anti-fascist group Outlive Them, which fashioned in response to the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life taking pictures and has since turn out to be concerned with different types of activism throughout New York reminiscent of combating for the homeless and towards U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
These protesting Drag Story Hours declare the occasions are dangerous to kids, calling mother and father who’re bringing their children to the occasion “groomers” and “pedophiles” to their face. Demonstrators have breached library doorways within the metropolis on three separate events. They’ve additionally vandalized the properties and workplaces, utilizing anti-LGBTQ slurs, of three New York Metropolis Council members who’ve proven assist for Drag Story Hour.
A whole lot of individuals defended the Queens Public Library at Jackson Heights towards right-wing protestors, together with members of the Proud Boys and neo-Nazis, final Thursday. (Gili Getz/Courtesy)
Protestors have focused 10 Drag Story Hour occasions in New York, based on unbiased reporter Talia Jane, who has been documenting the group on Twitter since September.
This group of protestors, which calls itself the Guardians of Divinity, began as an anti-vaccine motion within the pandemic. “Now we have misplaced our jobs and been arrested for protesting this insanity,” a statement on the group’s Twitter said. “Now they’re coming in your children with packages like Drag Queen Story Hour, the place they steal your tax cash to pay grown males in clothes to learn gender questioning books.”
Farber instructed the New York Jewish Week that final Thursday there have been at the least 300 folks defending Drag Story Hour on the Queens library department, from all ages and backgrounds. Farber added that “there are a number of Jews” doing the behind-the-scenes work, the organizing and the outreach that goes into “pulling these defenses off.”
“Jews are so closely represented within the left,” Farber stated. “There’s been a reinfusion of power on what folks name the Jewish Left. There are folks getting self organized into small teams that do take political motion into what they consider is required to create a greater world.”
Sophie Ellman-Golan, communications director for Jews for Racial & Financial Justice, one other outstanding activist group that’s defending Drag Story Hour, instructed the New York Jewish Week that it’s essential “to drown out fascists and neo-Nazis” by displaying up in solidarity.
“When there’s a risk of neo-Nazi violence towards synagogues, the thought shouldn’t be that we must always cease going to synagogue,” Ellman-Golan stated. “We really deserve to have the ability to collect and pray or have interaction in no matter tradition and ritual we need to. We consider {that a} neighborhood of numerous New Yorkers coming collectively to make sure that can occur, that’s one of the simplest ways to do this, with neighborhood protection.”
She described the scene as “two sides”: one which included colourful rainbow indicators, glitter and Disney songs, whereas the opposite aspect included a neo-Nazi giving a “Heil Hitler” salute whereas speaking about “a future for white kids.”
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“It’s a violent try to stamp out trans folks,” Ellman-Golan stated, including that there’s “a really clear hyperlink between antisemitism and transphobia that’s growing at a terrifying price.”
Ariela Rothstein, a queer Jewish dad or mum who took her 6-month-old youngster to the Jackson Heights Drag Story Hour final Thursday, instructed the New York Jewish Week that these shouldn’t be controversial occasions. “It’s folks sharing tales with children,” Rothstein stated. “There have been folks shouting every kind of names. Issues which might be actually disgusting, that I don’t actually need to repeat or put in print. All we wished to do was go into the library and listen to some tales for our youngster.”
Rothstein’s accomplice, Lauraberth Lima, instructed the New York Jewish Week that the right-wing protestors are “embarrassing themselves.”
“It’s really unhappy,” she stated. “What we’re really doing is speaking about love and spreading illustration of several types of folks.”
After final Thursday’s occasion, a video circulated on-line displaying members of the Proud Boys being led by members of the New York Police Division into the 74th Avenue-Broadway subway station in Jackson Heights with out paying.
“We don’t really feel just like the NYPD is there to truly shield or defend or something like that,” Ellman-Golan stated. “If their objective is to guarantee that Drag Story Hours can proceed in peace, they’re failing.”
The NYPD stated in a press release on Monday that it was attempting to “to deescalate the scenario and stop additional violence a choice was made to escort one group to the Jackson Heights subway station to take away the group from the world.”
In response to Lima, nevertheless, the video of the police letting the Proud Boys into the subway confirmed them getting “a literal free go for what they have been doing.”
“The police by no means protected households like ours,” Lima stated. “That’s not who we flip to for security. We’re defending ourselves. The queer neighborhood understands very effectively what it means to be ostracized or hated, and is aware of methods to present up for folks.”
Miriam, a queer Jewish activist who frequently reveals as much as defend Drag Story Hour, instructed the New York Jewish Week that she was solely snug giving out her first title out of worry of being doxxed — having her personal info made public — by the right-wing protestors. “This may end up in important stress, but in addition lack of unemployment, housing and in some instances bodily assaults,” Miriam stated. “In case your employers get 50 calls a day from folks telling them that you’re a pedophile, which will make your life exhausting. It’s a big concern.”
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Miriam stated that these protests are a private assault on her queer identification, however “it doesn’t imply I’m there as a queer particular person reasonably than a Jew.”
“I’m there as each issues,” Miriam stated. “Jews should be against fascism as a result of fascism is against Jews. Jewish historical past and Jewish tradition offers us ample causes to oppose fascism. We should always by no means be letting fascists within the streets unopposed, it doesn’t matter what they’re doing.”
Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg of Malkhut, a progressive congregation in Jackson Heights, confirmed up at a Drag Story Hour protection on Oct. 28 on the library. She instructed the New York Jewish Week that “it was a reasonably unnerving expertise, to be going through such right-wing vitriol.”
“The hatred feels prefer it’s coming from the identical place of white supremacist activism, which holds fingers with antisemitism,” Goldenberg stated. “It was actually painful and surprising to listen to the language that was getting used.”
She recalled how a big man burst into her group whereas they have been singing in entrance of the library. “He was very loud, hostile and violent,” Goldenberg stated. “Not by throwing punches, however he had a violent vibe. You get the sense that they’ve been riled up by lies and conspiracy theories. They haven’t any qualms about getting in our faces and accusing us of desirous to groom kids.”
Goldenberg surmised that so many Jews are displaying as much as shield Drag Story Hour as a result of they’re impressed by the emphasis Judaism locations on training. “We worth studying,” Goldenberg stated. “We worth being open to a number of opinions, we worth open dialogue — that’s what Torah is about. Drag Story Hours and public libraries are then all very a lot tied into Jewish values.”
“These are our members of the family,” she added. “These are our buddies. These are our neighbors. That is us as Jews.”
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