Maya: Okay, so the first question is: what is your experience with being a Jew in New York City? From your perspective, how large is the Jewish community here?

Rabbi Zauzmer: In a certain way I feel like I live in a bubble on the Upper East Side and especially as a rabbi on the Upper East Side, where so much of my life is the Jewish community and in reach within the Jewish community, but I do find it very scary and alarming when I read news reports and see on social media the antisemitism that does exist, not just in places that are far away, but right here in our own area of New York City. Right after October 7, I went to one of the rallies I think, by the UN, and I took a cab to get there. When I got in the cab, I told him where I was going and he figured out the location of the protests and he said “Are you Jewish?” And I sort of didn't know what to do in the moment. I there was a part of me that thought, well, I should be a proud Jew and say yes and like, live my full Jewish self and was also a part of me that felt like I am at this person's mercy being in the backseat of his cab and he's the driver and I don't know what his intentions are. I don't know why he's asking me if I'm Jewish. I said no. But that moment has sort of haunted me where I feel on the one hand, bad for not standing up for my Jewish identity in that particular moment, but I also know that I felt like I did. I do, but I felt like I did what I had to do to keep myself safe in that situation. And that's just one story – I had actually heard of that. happening. A lot of people especially in the weeks right after October 7, like cab drivers and Uber drivers, asking people they're Jewish and then doing and saying really scary, alarming things to them afterwards. It is just one small example, but I think it's affecting everyone in this city.

Maya: Yeah, absolutely. I think you kind of touched on this in your answer, but have you felt any change in attitudes about Jewish people in your community since the start of the war?

Rabbi Zauzmer: Yeah, I mean, again, I'll say my community is very Jewish. My community is really the Park Avenue synagogue community. So in that way, no, I mean, actually, in that way yes. I have felt that our community has really come together in ways that are amazing, and we've had more people showing up to our Shabbat services and our programs and our social action initiatives, everything that we do – we’ve brought in a lot of speakers people just want to be here. Sometimes it's because the speakers are related to Israel, but sometimes it's just because people want to be among like minded people. They want to feel comfortable, they want to feel understood, which they often don't elsewhere in their other New York City communities. So maybe that's the answer to your question that the change I've noticed in my own personal community, which is really the Park Avenue synagogue community is a coming together, which I think is is the result of the change that a lot of other people have been feeling in their personal communities where they feel isolated, and they want to show up here and we're packing the sanctuary because this is where people want to be they want to be together.

Maya: Yeah. 100% I completely agree. So have you been directly affected by antisemitism in the wake of the events of October 7, and then how did that compare to antisemitism you may have faced before October 7

Rabbi Zauzmer: Yeah. I consider myself very lucky that I have not been the target of a lot of antisemitism. It really over the course of my life. I've maybe had little comments here and there, little tiny incidents, nothing particularly significant, and the only thing that really stands out to me since October 7, is the incident of getting in that cab, like I just told you about. That was scary, but I know it's so much smaller than actually what a lot of people have experienced and dealt with in the weeks and months following October 7. I mean, I think my primary experience with antisemitism lately is on social media and when the posts that I see, what people write, the things that people really believe, which is so scary that – it's scary to see what people believe that is so far from reality. Yeah.

Maya: And then, do you have any strategies to combat antisemitism either, you know, in your own personal experience in those little incidents or on social media, both in the past few months and throughout your life? And because of any of your past experiences have any of those strategies shifted a little bit?

Rabbi Zauzmer: Yeah, I think that since October 7, what I've been thinking most about in terms of combating antisemitism is the power and the value of being together as a Jewish community. That that really gives us all so much strength that then when we leave this little bubble of Park Avenue synagogue and walk out onto the streets of New York, city, we can feel more empowered, more proud of who we are, which I think helps when we don't want to feel like we're cowering in fear. So I think number one, I would say being together in Jewish community. Number two, I do think that we have to do what we have to do to keep ourselves safe. And sometimes that goes against being loud and proud about our Jewish identities, but doing what we need to do to make sure that we are safe and secure. And then third, you asked about social media. I think it's really complicated because I think there are situations where responding on social media can be helpful, but a lot of times where it can be the opposite of helpful and you have to be able to figure out is this someone that really wants to engage with me, that's really open to having a dialogue with me. Do I have a relationship with this person? Is this a random person that I've seen posting or is this someone I have a relationship with where I can privately DM them? Sit down with them over a cup of coffee and say, hey, I want you to know that what you posted was really hurtful to me. And you might not have meant it to be antisemitic, but it struck me as antisemitic. And is that someone who will be able to have the openness to hear that or not. I think we have to sort of pick and choose, which are the moments when we engage because we can’t engage with everyone on social media who posts antisemitic things. Unfortunately, there are so many of them that would take up every minute of every day. And probably end up causing us more harm than good, at least psychologically, if not worse. But I do think there are situations where it's where it can be really helpful to call somebody out, ideally in a way that where both people are open to dialogue and conversation that person can understand why what they wrote was problematic and antisemitic, and you can also understand what why they're coming from where they're coming from and where they're getting their information from. Yeah.

Maya: Yeah, absolutely. And then, do you have anything else that you'd like to add that we haven't touched on or any questions about the project?

Rabbi Zauzmer: I think it's an amazing project. I feel so proud to be not only a rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue, where we've done so much amazing work in the wake of October 7, but also our teens are doing amazing work with combating antisemitism in this website, but also that I'm the rabbi who gets to work with the teens and see up close and personal, all the different things that that you're working on with this website and with combating antisemitism in your schools and your own communities and on social media. Though it has been a really horrible past six months, it has also filled me with a lot of hope for the future because of the work that I've seen the next generation doing. I also get to work with the 20s and 30s here, and the way that I see them standing up for themselves as Jews and as Zionists, in their workplaces and their communities and on social media, and our teens and the work that you all are doing combating antisemitism in your schools and understand through this website. The past six months have left me sort of both feeling a little hopeless about the state of the world but hopeful seeing everything that the next generation here at Park Avenue is working on.

Maya: Thank you so much!