In IfNotNow, we believe in standing up for our values while getting down to party.
For the past few months, we’ve seen Jewish institutions cozy up or remain silent in the face of rising white nationalism, misogyny, and hatred.
For the past 30 years, the MatzoBall has been committed to bringing together “a high-profile, affluent audience” where “the Jewish guy can hunt for his wife, the same way a lion hunts for his prey.” Their tagline: “Where all the meat is Kosher.” The Matzo...
In IfNotNow, we believe in standing up for our values while getting down to party.
For the past few months, we’ve seen Jewish institutions cozy up or remain silent in the face of rising white nationalism, misogyny, and hatred.
For the past 30 years, the MatzoBall has been committed to bringing together “a high-profile, affluent audience” where “the Jewish guy can hunt for his wife, the same way a lion hunts for his prey.” Their tagline: “Where all the meat is Kosher.” The MatzoBall is a classic display of misogyny.
Don’t believe us? Just look at their memes: https://www.facebook.com/MatzoBallPage/
At the MatzoBall, women are devalued, interfaith relationships are discouraged, queer people are erased, and rape culture is in full swing. These kinds of parties are unsafe for women and gender non-conforming folks and hold up toxic ideals of how men should behave. We see the ways that this obsession with Jewish demographic continuity at all costs is driven by our community's historical fear and trauma——the same obsession and fear that drives Occupation and violence towards Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza and racism and Islamophobia here in the United States.
But, in the words of Michelle Obama: “When they go low, we go Crown Heights.”
On December 24, IfNotNow is hosting an alternative Hanukkah party at Friends and Lovers (Winner of Time Out: Love New York 2016). We’re creating a space that affirms our vision of Judaism that values our WHOLE community: Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Jews of Color, interfaith couples, LGBTQ+ Jews, Jews of all class backgrounds, and the Jewish women who lead the way, all committed to ending our support for the occupation and fighting for freedom and dignity for all. Non-Jewish friends, family, and allies are welcome too—please party with us!
The #JewishResistance we’ve reignited together isn’t just about protesting in the streets, it’s about creating Jewish spaces that reflect our values—and dancing the night away. On December 24, let’s make resistance irresistible.
There’s NO COVER, and 15% of the bar tab goes directly to supporting the work of IfNotNow!
Featuring:
+Live Set by DJ JustMax
++Homemade Latkes
+++IfNotNow merch available for purchase
++++6 Hours of Dancing…or Davening
Be sure to use the following hashtags: #FestivalofRights #LionessesGrabBack #JewishResisDance