And, as an aside, there was even a photograph of a Jewish lesbian in this book who shares my name-talk about representation! This book gave me a lot of comfort and sense of belonging, and context for understanding my own life, putting things together in a way that clicks for me. something about that was really powerful to me. Seeing them written, articulated by other Jewish lesbians, written in this book published nearly a decade before I was even born. Not always as Jewish experiences, but just as my life. And that often, each space lacks what the other holds for me. That sense that how safe I feel in Jewish spaces/in Israel as a Jew and how safe I feel in women's spaces/surrounded by dykes as a lesbian have something in common. How Israeli and Jewish views of womanhood complicate my life. Or, how the word 'lesbit' in Hebrew always felt dirty in my mouth, 'feministit' just awkward how our language is not built for us. Or, ties between how as a Jewish woman and as a lesbian, I am seen as pushy, domineering. Or, how as an Israeli-born woman, I feel distinctly judged for my short hair and lack of feminine presentation, misgendered despite being quite obviously female. Things like: How, as a 3rd generation descendent of still-living Holocaust survivors and as a Jewish woman, the familial pressure to have children and provide another generation, named after our ancestors, is strong.

but somehow had never consciously realized that, of course, other Jewish dykes exist! And may feel the same way. There were many themes in here I had felt for years. I loved the sense of being deep into an anthology that was so catered to my experiences in the world as a Jewish lesbian, to experiences like mine.

Nice Jewish Girls by Evelyn Torton Beck