We are already familiar with the ways of BDS to push Jews out of cultural spaces; demanding even the smallest connection to Israel be renounced – or else. I would like to point out a quieter form of exclusion, which most of us have felt even before October 7th: Spaces that do not necessarily state support for BDS, but are also not willing to face any backlash for hiring or collaborating with an Israeli or a Jew, either. They might renounce the project or ask them not to mention their identity, and in some cases, they will make the excuse of: “Yes, they are from Israel/ are Jewish, but…”
Collaborating with a Jewish artist is getting treated like an infectious disease. If someone hires us, lets us in their space or project, they are at risk of being exposed to violent backlash, while openly excluding Jews or Israelis (sorry, Zionists. Much better.) is getting moral kudos. It happens at big events such as the Eurovision, where countries want Israel out of the competition unless they show up without the flag, or even to small Jewish creators, like @cheftova, an Instagram influencer from New York who was hired to create content for a brand but was told they were not going to pay her because she said she was Jewish, which is a political statement and in violation of her contract. It’s nothing new. In 1945, when attending the Miss America contest, Bess Myerson was advised to change her name to sound less Jewish, but she refused. During the contest, judges were warned not to vote for her, and after her win, 3 out of 5 sponsors pulled out of the agreement that the winner would advertise them. Sounds familiar? It absolutely is.
Let’s look back at the Black fashion movement “For us, by us”. Created by Daymond John in the 90s, it was the African Americans‘ answer to the refusal of high-end fashion brands to work with them. It wasn’t a declared policy, but rather a quiet rule. Black hip-hop artists did not fit with the image that high fashion brands wanted to hold. “For us, by us” answered a need that this demographic had for a creative space that they were shunned from. That way, they found a way to make it their own, without having to hide their identity just for a slight chance they might get included.
Whether it is antisemitic, racist, or political, Jews don’t fit in the eye of the beholder. Too different from society to be part of it, too assimilated and then accused of misleading. Greedy, bank-controlling capitalists on one side, while simultaneously being communists and undermining Western values on the other. Now it’s either you renounce Israel completely or be labelled as a government propaganda puppet. It has always been like this, and not just for Jews. There are always those who find it uncomfortable to engage with “controversial” groups. Whatever the intention behind this form of exclusion is, we should always pay attention to those who either encouraged it or simply gave in to it.
Source list: Jewish Women’s Archive
Article by Koral Ann Baruch, Student, B.A. English Philology and Comparative Literature, Berlin. This article was first published in the 5th printed EDA-editon and posted online August 12th 2026.