Star of David in My Pocket: Reflections on Moldova, Safety, and the Weight of Identity | Josh Aronson
In a personal column, journalist Josh Aronson describes his decision to hide his Star of David at Istanbul airport due to antisemitism, and his visit to Moldova where he saw a renewing Jewish community. He links hatred to Freud's theories, and recounts a visit to a former psychiatric hospital in Vienna that became a Jewish school. He reveals a mental health crisis he went through, and the support he received from the community and from President Herzog's 'Kol Ha'am' initiative. He concludes that Zionism is mutual responsibility and solidarity.
In a personal column published in Maariv, journalist Josh Aronson describes his decision to hide his Star of David before passing through Istanbul airport on his way to Eastern Europe. He explains that this was a calculated survival decision, not cowardice, in light of rising antisemitism. He describes his visit to Moldova, where he witnessed the resilience of a growing Jewish community. He links blind hatred to Freud's theories on human nature, and calls for education and dialogue as tools to combat antisemitism. He recounts visits to Budapest and Vienna, including the former psychiatric hospital where Dr. Hans Asperger sent people with disabilities to their deaths, and which now serves as a thriving Jewish school. He describes a severe mental health crisis he recently experienced, and says his Jewish community, including President Herzog's 'Kol Ha'am' initiative, supported him. He concludes that for him, Zionism is mutual responsibility and solidarity, not a political slogan.