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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Hi OP.

First and foremost, you should wear whatever you want without fear of personal safety.  If you want to wear a Star of David necklace, you should be free to do so.

I hope you read the next paragraph in the spirit in which it’s offered.  I am not trying to offend you or other Jewish people.

These days, when I see someone wearing a Jewish star, I think they are signaling that they are ok with the carnage in Gaza.  I know intellectually that Israel =\= Judaism or Jewish identity.  I also know that support of Israel does not mean support of the current government and their actions.  That being said, when I see someone today wearing a Star of David, especially someone who until recently wasn’t wearing any Jewish jewelry, o think they are signaling their “side” in the conflict.  I know it doesn’t matter what I think and you should be free to wear whatever you want unconstrained by the biases of others.  [/quote]
Not OP. I appreciate the disclaimer you offered there, but that's still very offensive. Do you also assume that everyone who wears a crucifix is signaling their homophobia, or anyone who wears a headscarf supports Al Qaeda? (Not to imply that those things are all apples-to-apples by any means).[/quote]

I probably wouldn’t notice jewelry on a stranger (or ascribe motives to it).  If I knew someone who has over our acquaintance worn a Star of David occasionally, I wouldn’t think twice about them continuing.  But if I saw a friend who had not previously worn this type of jewelry, I wound assume they are signaling support for Israel even if it means poor outcomes for Palestinians.

Again this in no way means that OP should not feel safe and free to express herself however she wants to. [/quote]
I think most people in the US who are reacting to October 7 by wearing a Star of David (or being more visibly Jewish in other ways) are motivated by the same thing that motivated Jews to wear a Star of David after the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh or after the "Jews will not replace us" rally in Charlottesville. It's a reaction to hate aimed at us.

In some cases, it might be support for Israel, but it's definitely NOT safe to assume that. For one thing, there are forms of support for [i]Israel [/i](dog tag necklaces, blue ribbons, etc) that are direct reactions to this particular war and people who want to express support for the IDF or Israel's war effort are wearing those. For another thing, even many Israelis aren't supportive of Bibi's government (see the numerous failed elections Israel went through over the past few years and the protests all summer after he was finally reelected), so it's ignorant to assume that your neighbor here in the US pulled their Star of David necklace out of their jewelry box specifically in support of Israel's response in Gaza, rather than in solidarity with Israeli victims and hostages or their own sense of Jewish identity following the rise in antisemitism worldwide.

Honestly, I know a lot of pretty secular American Jews, including some of my family, who are really struggling with the death toll in Gaza, but who at the same time felt very little support from the non-Jewish world on October 7 and October 8 (before Israel's counter-offensive when it should have been easy to condemn Hamas), let alone in the months since. And that initial lack of support (or outright celebration of Hamas' attack as "resistance") underscored how alone the Jewish people really are in the world. So, even with serious misgivings about the particulars of Israel's military campaign, lots of Jews are wearing the Star of David for Jewish pride and solidarity.[/quote]

That is really well put, PP - and really describes my own thoughts and feelings, and a lot of people I know.

I think people who aren't Jewish don't really understand how shocking this has been for us. How, paradoxically, it's pushed us closer to Israel - even if we've been very critical before, and are very critical now.[/quote]

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