How can Orthodox Jews navigate a public sphere that no longer respects our values?
Coordinated by Gedalia Guttentag
For decades, Orthodox Jews faced the future with confidence, secure in the knowledge that their communities would continue to thrive in an America that had a real respect for religion, tradition, and family values.
But slowly at first and then all at once, the public square has become uncomfortable for Orthodoxy. The autonomy of our yeshivah system is threatened by education authorities and has come under sustained attack by influential media outlets such as the New York Times. Schools and businesses are exposed to lawsuits for hiring decisions in line with our core beliefs. On TV and streaming platforms, a spate of negative portrayals of religious Jews has played into the stereotype of our communities as backward and oppressive.
Underlying these disparate elements is the fact that with the rise of progressivism, the zeitgeist has decisively shifted against traditional values.
That sea change — an international phenomenon that has been echoed in Britain as well — has left Orthodox Jews particularly exposed. Already vulnerable to anti-Semitism on the streets, they see a similar process underway in the cultural sphere; uniquely among minority groups, it’s okay to badmouth the Orthodox.
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