The New Jewish Exodus

January 3, 2021 By Adrienne Skolnik

Three months ago, with great sadness, I terminated membership with my synagogue. I am not alone.  This phenomenon is happening to thousands of religiously conservative Jews throughout our nation who are Republicans.  What would cause thousands of Jews to feel so alienated they would break from tradition and be without a “religious and spiritual home?”  How much sadness has this caused within this segment of the Jewish community?  Even more importantly, When did Judaism stop being Jewish?..............

 Progressive-left ideologies and social justice discourse monopolized conversations and email newsletters.  Even sermons contained political references.  Tikkun Olam (improving the world) by their definition, was not to be questioned.  As a Republican, I didn’t agree with their causes or agendas, so sadly the once peaceful feeling in my “religious and spiritual home” was vanishing.  Many Republican friends were experiencing similar situations and ended their memberships.

Then a series of events occurred.  When Tamika Mallory (a known anti-Semite) spoke at UNC, my Republican Jewish friends peacefully protested.  In the next synagogue newsletter, they were publicly criticized. The author apologized to the black community and hoped it didn’t hurt relations.  My friends wrote a concerned letter to the Board of Directors asking that the newsletter not have political content.  The letter was ignored, so they ended their membership.  (After black radicals killed two Jews and their employee in New Jersey, and attacked Jews with machetes in New York, I asked the author if the black community apologized to the Jewish community so it didn’t hurt relations?  When I heard that members of my synagogue protested with BLM and one got arrested, why weren’t they publicly criticized in the newsletter?) 

Some members even tried to convince me that BLM is an idea.  You can’t see an idea!  Ideas don’t destroy cities, loot and harm people. A Republican Christian friend sent me these videos and an article debunking and exposing the radical Marxist BLM doctrine because there is also a Christian exodus occurring.

Six months ago, an article appeared in the synagogue newsletter presenting, “Jews of Whiteness and Jews of Color.”  This identity politics terminology upset me, since I have an Ethiopian son.  When people ask me if he is black, I answer, “I never noticed.  He’s a Jew.”  Why is this divisive rhetoric in our community?  What is this self-imposed segregation?  It was so offensive I wrote an article called, “Whiteness, the New Evil.”     ............To Read More....