Progressively Speaking: Jews come in all shapes and sizes – so do their opinions
Rabbi Deborah Blausten looks at recent comments made by Seth Rogen - and offers a Reform response to the row
There’s been much debate over comments made by Seth Rogen, one of Hollywood’s more recognisable Jewish entertainers, about his educational upbringing.
Rogen attended a Jewish school and went to camp with Habonim Dror, but it wasn’t until he was much older that he encountered a more complex picture of Israel, including learning about the occupation and questioning the need for a Jewish state.
He shared this on Marc Maron’s podcast, along with some informally phrased comments about his Jewish education.
The debate about the nature of his comments and their substance (or lack thereof) has been well turned over, but it leaves behind a challenge about how the mainstream Jewish community responds when a Jew with a public platform says or does something that does not sit comfortably with others in the community.
Within days of Rogen’s comments, his mother was contacted. Dozens of tweets, op-eds, and social media posts debated his comments, turning a light-hearted conversation between two Jewish men on a comedy podcast into a serious communal crisis.
I wondered what the way this is playing out says to a generation of Jews who are finding their feet in the community? Jews who think differently and ask questions, who want to be honest about their experiences and share the things that concern them. What is the communal infrastructure saying here about its mobilising power, and how it is prepared to use it? What happens the next time Seth Rogen wants to go to shul?
Jews come in many shapes and sizes, as do Jewish opinions. Extreme or discriminatory comments aside, each of us has the right to our own Jewish expression, and the right to explore that and voice it without being policed by others.
It doesn’t mean we cannot disagree, but the line between disagreement and policing, between a shared understanding of common good and a litmus test for communal participation is uncomfortably blurred in Rogen’s case.
Eilu v’eilu divrei elohim chayim. “These as well as those are words of the living God.”
Rabbinic tradition preserves multiple voices, even ones that sit uncomfortably. Can the contemporary Jewish community say that we are able to do the same thing?
- Rabbi Deborah Blausten serves Finchley Reform Synagogue
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
