In Part 1 of the episode, I kibitz (chitchat) with Jess about what it means to be a queer diasporic Jew at this moment and in relation to Ashkenazi history and culture. They touch on the possibilities and limitations of what lies in the past, such as the influence of historical anti- and non-Zionist resistances on liberatory movements today. From this context, Jess troubles Jewish authenticity, or the idea of a single, valid Judaism and how modern Zionism has erased the diverseness and multiplicity of Jewish identities across the diaspora. They discuss the importance for them in embracing a longing for Yiddishkayt (Jewishness), or shtetl (town or village) culture in the Pale of Settlement, including Yiddish language, writing and arts as a path towards cultural rootedness. Together we explore the potentialities of “enoughness” as settler Jews in exile on stolen lands. 

Jess Goldman is an anti-Zionist Jewish writer, comics artist, and amateur puppeteer based on the traditional, unceded lands of the Sḵwxwú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm peoples. Their writing has been published in Maisonneuve, the CBC, and Room Magazine. A graduate of University of British Columbia’s MFA in Creative Writing Program, their writing explores that sweet spot where Yiddishkayt and queer culture joyfully collide. 

Follow Jess @yentlthewriter