But if one Orthodox Jew could make a video that could be watched in every corner of the planet – well then a religious Jewish person and personality could be spread as far as the internet could reach. So I started a YouTube show called “Jew in the City” as I asked myself “who am I?” And the answer was “a Jew in the city.” The show developed into a blog (at JewintheCity.com) which features the videos, articles, and Q&A’s.
We just finished our fifteenth video, have gotten a decent amount of coverage in the Jewish press and have even slowly, slowly gotten some attention in the mainstream media. And the results are just as I believed they would be – as soon as the “scary, black and white clothed” “bearded” “unfriendly” image of the stereotypical Orthodox Jew is broken down and people see a laid back, young Orthodox Jewish woman with a voice and a lot of opinions, the desire to explore traditional Judaism is being awakened in so many viewers.
JITC’s videos and articles have covered topics like science vs. Torah, the myth about the hole in the sheet, mikvah, homosexuality, and much more. We now have a team of interns who are helping to spread this information as far as possible. But an Orthodox image makeover campaign need not only be accomplished through JITC. Each and every one of us can do our part to break down stereotypes about Orthodox Jews in our daily lives.
