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PSA: This Purim, Use Sensitivity and Common Sense


A group of prominent organizations have put out a call for sensitivity to be used over the course of Purim this year, following a number of disturbing incidents in past years.

Askanim from Agudah, the UJO, Lakewood Vaad, Anti-Defamation League, BPJCC, and Oizrim Jewish Council warns people not to dress in blackface, hang Haman effigies, or wear any costume that stereotypes specific communities.



17 Responses

  1. What utter garbage. This whole PC enterprise is a CANCER on our society, and we should not in any way cooperate or encourage it by playing along.

    There is NOTHING offensive to black people about coloring ones face or hanging people in effigy, and those who PRETEND offense should be rejected and rebuked, not celebrated.

    The assertions in the flyer are simply lies. Throughout history actors have colored their skins and faces in order to portray people who look different from them. And hanging ones political opponents in effigy has been a long-standing tradition, both in America and elsewhere. There has never been anything racial about it.

    Not only has hanging in effigy got nothing to do with lynching, LYNCHING IS NOT RACIST EITHER. The overwhelming majority of people lynched throughout history were criminals, and outside Africa the overwhelming majority were not black. Even in the USA the majority of people lynched were white. Lynching is a community’s response when there is a feeling that there is no law enforcement; sometimes the lynchers were right, but quite often they were wrong and the victim was innocent, or deserved a lesser punishment, which is why it was always condemned and eventually put down. But to pretend it was a racist practice aimed at black people is simply a lie.

    As for not “stereotyping other communities”, that is more nonsense that should not be tolerated. Other people are free to dress up as Jews on Halloween, and snowflake Jews who take offense at this should also not be tolerated. So long as the portrayal does not mock or denigrate those being portrayed, there is nothing wrong with it, and all decent people must defend the practice so as not to let the fascists win.

  2. The issue here is actually far deeper. There is a marked difference between בדיחה, which is humor, and ליצנות, which is mockery. The former has a place in kedusha, where our Chachomim were apt to utilize בדיחה as an introduction to a shiur to get attention, and to help elevate mood that would help them attend to the Divrei Torah. However, ליצנות is a midoh that is shunned throughout Shas. The Baalei Mussar speak broadly about how offensive this is, and how it occupies no place in Torah life. Mockery actually crushes and denigrates the subject. That is inconsistent with Torah midos.

    The GR”A states that the קליפה of Amalek is ליצנות. It is inconceivable that we would use this on Purim, a day that is marked in our history as the downfall of Amalek.

  3. Anti-Defamation League is a left-wing organization that is not interested in any aspect of Judaism unless it aligns with their left-wing ideology. The mere fact that you have frum organizations co-writing PSA with such an organization makes me question their legitimacy in representing the frum community.

  4. Very smart. They provide some context for not invoking certain stereotypical images with a background of racism/hate/marginalization rather than just saying don’t do anything thats “unwoke”.

  5. The Liberals sure have worked their way into the Frum world. Next we’ll be told not to light the Menorah in the window because it might offend someone.

  6. I was discussing this with a friend the other day and he made a very interesting point. He mentioned that recently the wonderful governor of the state of New Jersey, Comrade Murphy, in an effort to push the vaccine mandates as well as the thinking that one could not do anything with their life unless they were jabbed by the Ouchy From Fauxchi, billboards were made of people, presumably Amish, depicting what looked like chasidim. The funny thing about it was the billboard was lying because most normal yidden have been mostly normal for the past year and a half or so. It’s the Uber leftist Jews as well as the ayno yehudi think the world is still falling apart from CCP virus.

    Now of course, anyone who knows anything knows that we have mustaches! We don’t shave off our mustaches! But nonetheless apparently it was 100% okay for a depiction to be made .

    With that in mind and understanding that double standards are only okay on the left, if one wants to dress like a non-white, why shouldn’t he be able to do it?

    Suddenly the left has gone bonkers and I say suddenly but it really took them a bunch of years. If somebody is acting a part of a black person it’s only normal that they would aside for wearing what’s a clothing or different things that a black person would wear, that they perhaps would also color their face as well. I would think this would be normal considering when white people are on TV or are in the movies, they wear all sorts of makeup also.

    The bottom line is this is a double standard by people who live a life thinking that everything is racist. The problem with those people are is that those are the people that are the real racists!

    Finally if some people are triggered when it looks like someone is hanging effigy, I think it’s high time that when it comes to their holidays in October where they leave their decorations up well past October 31st, that we give them a taste of their own medicine. Enough of this garbage!

  7. Since when is the ADL a prominent jewish group. They are anti Torah and anti our values. They are mechallei shabbos.

  8. What about fake PCR test, vaccine passports and other incongruent accepted Behavior
    what about making a Minyan on an airplane during flight

  9. The ADL did nothing but blast against Trump throughout his four years and make Jews look like a bunch of lefties. I think we need to wear signs BLACK HATS MATTER. ADL wants every country to accept gay marriage. It’s on their program. How could any orthodox organization list with them.

  10. I wonder how much money the ADL which collects fifty million dollars a year from old Jews ready to die,gave to have their names listed on this flyer. I now spoke to my friends and they want to go black face for Purim. Maybe ADL is looking for anti Semitism as they collect money with their heads getting million dollar salaries.

  11. Wow, so a simple letter requesting that people not dress up in certain ways that can be offensive gets people here deeply offended. If anybody is a snowflake, it’s the outraged commenters on this article.

  12. from ADL website…….. Full inclusion in society is the only measure of equality. ADL has long worked for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) rights, opposing discrimination laws and criminalizing and exposing hate crimes. Our amicus brief in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges added to the successful call for marriage equality. We also reach beyond U.S. borders to speak out against anti-LGBTQ practices in Russia, Nigeria and elsewhere.

    The next generation of young people is the proving ground for sustainable change, which is why all ADL education programs, including anti-bias and bullying prevention, address respect for all people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.

  13. Jersey Jew: The only reason that white actors dressed up in blackface to portray black people is because of discrimination. Hollywood refused to hire black actors who could have more authentically played themselves. It is a very painful period in history for black people. We do not want to remind them of it and cause them pain. Think of it as “Midas Harachamim”. To cause “Tzaar” for a fellow human being who was created “B’Tzelem Elokim” is an “aveirah” in itself.

  14. They should be sensitive to MY feelings, and withdraw this poster. It offends me to see the ADL sign on a poster together with the Agudah.
    That said, I would agree about the blackface. It seems to have become universally “problematic’, and there’s no reason to go out of your way to attract ire in that way.

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