Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.05.2017, Page 64

L I F E , T R AV E L & E N T E R TA I N M E N T I N I C E L A N D
Issue 08 × 2017
May 19 – June 01
www.grapevine.is
L’Chaim On
Laugavegur
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen
Before meeting me, most if not all of my
friends here had never met a Jew. Sure, they
knew ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
and vaguely that Jews wore funny hats (yar-
mulkes). The Chosen People, in their minds,
were bankers and doctors and lawyers who
bomb Palestinians (true, but I am not getting
into that shitshow here).
✡ ✡ ✡
Unlike black people or hijab-wearing Mus-
lims, there’s no definitive way to identify a
Jew in the wild. Some have big noses and curly
hair—hey, they are stereotypes for a rea-
son—but most just look like average white/
Mediterranean people. Therefore, when indi-
vidually each friend found out about my bibli-
cal birthright, it felt like Christmas. “OH MY
GOD!! I HAVE NEVER MET A JEW!! TELL ME
EVERYTHING!!”, they would cry. Phrases like
“Bat Mitzvah” and “Shalom” elicited whoops
of glee. Everything I had been embarrassed
about my whole adult life and desperately
tried to downplay became, I guess, cool. Be-
ing Jewish became a factor of my personal-
ity that people knew. For instance, when I
walked into BlazRoca’s concert last Friday, he
yelled from the stage, “It’s Hannah Jane! My
favorite Jew!” Mazel Tov me.
✡ ✡ ✡
This is a phenomenon most “minority”
friends of mine in Iceland have also expe-
rienced. Minute details of their personal-
ity—any of which deviate from being white
and Icelandic—become “cool.” They become
interesting.
✡ ✡ ✡
This year I went drinking with my friends
for Hanukkah. They loved it. I loved that they
loved it. I reclaimed and happily adopted the
Icelandic term “júði,” which is a racist word
for Jews. Also, as you know, I work in the me-
dia, which is all part of the Jewish agenda
in Iceland. But I guess it’s working—I mean,
you’re reading this.
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