March 8 is International Women’s Day. This year during Women’s History Month, I am inclined to write about one of my own paths because of questions posed regarding my activism to combat antisemitism. I am asked if I am Jewish and why I choose to assume this struggle.

My brief personal story includes being adopted and raised Catholic. I always knew I was adopted, and when I was in early adulthood, my parents told me my birth mother was Irish, my birth father was Jewish and they were too young to keep and raise a child.

My parents gave me the name Mary (Catholic assurance), and I always told them I loved the name Jennifer. At age 20, they told me my given name at birth was Jennifer. I wonder if it stayed in my head somehow since I was in a foster home my first nine months. A friend (half-Jewish herself) decided I was J. Mary, and it stuck. I go by J.M. because it is easier.

When I discovered my birth roots at age 57 and received a copy of my original Pennsylvania birth certificate, my mother’s last name read McLaughlin and my father’s name is Ed Fisher—and he is not a Jew. I am mostly Scots-Irish, Irish and Welsh. I do have a half-sister, Julie, who is Jewish (Ed is our father) as well as step-siblings with two Jewish parents.

The other part of my story is how I have fought antisemitism in various forms. I remember at age 6 getting masking tape on my mouth in Catholic school when I asked the nun, “How could the Jews have killed Christ if the Romans were in power?” Yes, I was an odd kid with a logical, partially neurodiverse brain.

As an adult, Jewish moral principles always appealed to me. I had subscriptions to Tikkun and Lilith magazines—progressive and feminist Jewish journals. I believe in the obligation of tikkunolam — to participate in repairing the world — and in the concept of taking care of the stranger in need. I was in New Jewish Agenda for several years, and I took a Jewish history course at Smith College when I worked at Neilson Library.

When I lived in Louisville, Kentucky for one year in my mid-20s, I organized a protest against the sale of a Hitler watercolor at an auction house. It made national and international news. A wonderful collaboration took place that day [” Hitler watercolor draws protests, sells for $36,000 at auction,” Chicago Tribune]. I also volunteered to help an elderly Jewish woman from the Soviet Union when tens of thousands of Jews took part in the exodus of the time. She spoke no English and I spoke no Russian, but we understood each other through gestures and kindnesses during my weekly visits.

Antisemitism is inexplicable and simply wrong. After the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel, I naively expected the world to support Israel and Jews worldwide. When I wrote my first post-10/7 column about it, I assumed it would be normative and that my voice would be one of many. Instead, the silence was deafening. The apathy was deeply disturbing. The denial about what happened was sickening.

Your Daily Puzzles

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

For weeks before the IDF entered Gaza, people around the world took to the streets to celebrate and support Hamas and what they perceived to be the Palestinian cause, so this was not in response to a military operation but preceding it! Distortions about Zionism, threats to Jews for being Jewish, and historical ignorance continue to instill fear in a people predisposed to inherited trauma.

Why am I an activist combating antisemitism? First, it feels natural and I am puzzled that there are so few visible allies in moderate and progressive circles. Second, when I first wrote columns about this over a year ago, I started receiving emails from Jews who expressed gratitude and who told me their own stories of trauma and fear. They told me they were losing friends simply because they are Jewish and either support Israel or do not condemn it. I clearly remember meeting a woman at a cafe who cried on my shoulders when I was introduced to her. I heard from progressive and feminist Jews who understand Zionism and Israel in affirming ways that they are counting on me.

A reader wrote, “Thank you so much for your Gazette column. Many tears were shed as I read it. You are a true ally. It was a very brave thing to publish.” Another wrote, “The world feels less safe to me because the helpers and protectors of so many are now the haters and aggressors around me. I appreciate your piece very much. I wish I felt more hopeful that people would be open to the facts you lay out and be supportive of leaning into learning with a sense of openness, but I fear that is unlikely.”

Recently, a new friend told me I have a Jewish neshamah (inner soul). I may be an ezer (ally/helper) or simply a regular woman committed to fighting hatred against a demographic that has shown empathy and leadership for others in justice issues of all kinds. Noa Tishby and Debra Messing are notable in this fight. Happy Women’s History Month to them and other bold Jewish women and allies who refuse to be silent.

J.M. Sorrell is a feminist at her core. She firmly believes that hatred against Jews is insane and heartless, and she is resolute in fighting it.