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    • Prominent Jewish social media personality perseveres through anti-Israel hatred
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    Prominent Jewish social media personality perseveres through anti-Israel hatred

    Online Niel Posted on

    Orthodox Jewish TikTok creator Melinda Strauss is no stranger to anti-Semitism about her social media platforms, but the hatred only increased following the attacks on October 7, 2023 and Israelhis war in Gaza.

    On any given Strauss video, but especially videos that mention or focus on Israel, she receives anti-Zionist and anti-Semite hatred. However, she doesn’t let the comments get to her.

    “There has always been anti-Semitic hatred. There used to be a lot more jokes about the Holocaust,” Strauss said Washington Examiner. She joked that they almost “missed those at the moment” compared to the influx of anti-Israel hate.

    “Suddenly, Zionism was given a bad interpretation,” Strauss said. “Hatred transferred from one thing to another.”

    Since the attacks on October 7, 2023, there has been an increase in anti-Jewish hatred. According to one report from the Anti-Defamation League, between October 7 and December 7, 2023, a total of 2,031 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in the US, up from 465 incidents during the same period in 2022, a 337% year-over-year increase previous. -year.

    Strauss said that hatred can be “exhausting”, but noted that it’s not worth spending too much time thinking about because it takes away from the time “the focus on the good I could offer in the world”.

    In 2019, Strauss began making lifestyle videos about herself TikTok account, @therealmelindastrauss. She soon realized that many of her viewers were asking her questions about Orthodox Judaism.

    “I’d say, ‘Okay, guys, I’m breaking up for the Sabbath.’ And people say, “What’s that?” And I was eating something kosher, and people were like, ‘What’s that?'” Strauss said.

    He then began posting Q&A-style videos about Jewish life in response to questions from viewers. Strauss answers questions from “Does a kosher kitchen need two dishwashers? and “How to do what a kosher BLT?” to more serious topics such as “It will be result on university campuses for hatred of Jews?”

    “The more people understand us, the less hatred there is for us. We don’t need people to agree. We don’t want people to convert. It is not so. It’s just sharing our culture,” explained Strauss. “I like to say that I fight anti-Semitism through Jewish education.”

    They account on TikTok he has amassed over 1.3 million followers. She said the mantra behind her account is simple: There are no stupid questions.

    “If you’re too afraid to ask because you think it’s stupid, but it’s going to stay there in your mind and you’re going to start seeing your own conclusions and you’re never really going to have an answer,” Strauss said.

    “Ask the questions that sound stupid, they’re not as stupid as you think they are, or maybe they are. But who cares? Let’s have some fun,” she continued.

    On the topic of hateful comments, Strauss said that she leave the comments above to allow her audience to see the hate she receives. She has some parameters put in place on what words she doesn’t allow in the comments section, Strauss said, to protect “her own sanity.”

    Many in the pro-Palestinian movement have expressed that their movement is not fundamentally anti-Semitic and that the movement differentiates anti-Zionism from anti-Semitism. Strauss went on to say that he receives comments about the conflict on videos that have nothing to do with Israel. She believes these types of comments are anti-Semitic in their nature.

    “When (they) say, ‘but that’s not anti-Semitism,’ I’m like, but you (comment) on a video of me talking about kosher food,” Strauss said. “They proved and reminded me and others that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.”

    Strauss explained that she believes that those who leave hateful comments are usually unhappy with their own lives. She thinks it’s not worth fighting them because she has “too many good things in life to focus on”.

    “When someone says, ‘Your forehead is really big,’ I say, ‘Cool. I hope you are feeling better. It’s not about me,” she explained. “It’s not worth arguing about. I know they’re just coming from a place of ignorance and it’s just not worth the time to fight them.”

    Throughout the war, Strauss continued to travel to Israel, which prompted hateful comments on these videos. She said war is never a good thing, especially this war, but she doesn’t see the same outrage from people about the Russian war in Ukrainefor example.

    She said she tries to focus on the positive aspects of her trip because “more people like watching the videos and seeing Israel” than there are people who dislike it.

    “It’s not just Jews, but Christians and people of other faiths who just like to be able to see Israel. And I know that every time I leave from October 7, it will do good things,” she explained.

    When asked if she ever considered not posting online because of hate, Strauss said, “Never.”

    She said that every year in January, she chooses a word of the year to follow her, with this year’s word being “stronger.” Strauss told him “louder” means keep talking.

    “I believe in educating people to help with tolerance and spread more love,” Strauss said.

    CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

    She said not posting would be “giving in” to anti-Semitic hatred. Strauss added that she encourages people to “speak out” against hate, even if they don’t have a huge following like her. She said that even reaching just one other person counts when it comes to combating anti-Semitism.

    “If someone has a lot of passion for this and wants to speak up and is afraid, this is a really good time to start because there’s so much hate in the world,” Strauss said. “People think there’s more hate than good people, but the good people are there, they’re just quiet.”

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