Shabbat Social brings Zionism to the forefront for young adults
Upcoming event encourages 'joyful conversation about what it means to be a Zionist and to have a connection to Israel'
An upcoming event is encouraging young adults to create in-person community and support the Jewish state. Slated for June 20, Shabbat Social is an opportunity to celebrate Zionism and “our connection to Israel,” according to organizers.
Beth Vander Stoep, assistant director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Relations Council, said she and colleague Moshe Luzer planned the event in an effort to “combat antisemitism with radical Jewish joy.”
Through conversations with Pittsburghers aged 20-40 Vander Stoep noticed an “incredible feeling of isolation,” she said. Individuals repeatedly conveyed, “I’m Jewish. I’m a Zionist and I feel so alone in my workplace or in my friend groups.”
Recognizing the difficulties many people are having “professionally, emotionally and socially, we decided to have our young adult Jewish community come together and have a joyful conversation about what it means to be a Zionist and to have a connection to Israel,” she said.
The upcoming program, which requires a reservation and runs from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill, will include hors d’oeuvres, Israeli wine, space to speak and an opportunity to hear from Amy Albertson, a California native who regularly addresses Jewish diversity, Zionism and combating antisemitism.
Before arriving in Pittsburgh, Albertson told the Chronicle her intention is to “bring people together and try to empower people.” One message participants should walk away with is to “remind ourselves that we’re the Jewish people and we come from a very long line of resilience.”
Through her social media posts and speaking engagements, Albertson often references her identity as a Chinese-American Jewish woman.
“I come from a pretty, what I guess we would call, an atypical Jewish upbringing and background and a mixed family,” she said.
Albertson explored her heritage and connection to Judaism and the Jewish state during a six-year stint living in Israel, where she posted content as “The Asian Israeli.”
Whereas most of her current advocacy concerns Jewish diversity and pluralism, she said she’s also focused on helping “reclaim” a certain buzzword.
“We always hear that ‘Zionism is racism,’ ‘Zionism’ is white supremacy’ and that Zionism means oppression or occupation of Arabs, or things like this,” she said. “None of that is true. Zionism comes from our ancient texts and our history. It was reinvigorated in the modern Zionist movement to create the modern state of Israel, but it was always centered on Jewish people, on us reclaiming our homeland. It’s centered on us being sovereign. There’s no official policies of Zionism or tenants of Zionism that are about oppressing someone else or committing violence against someone else.”
Albertson, who was named by Hadassah Magazine in 2023 as one of “18 American Zionist Women You Should Know,” said it’s important to not only post about these matters but address them in person.
“So many of the most impactful conversations and interactions are happening in person and even on a smaller scale, even one to one,” she said. “Speaking out on social media is great, but remember those in-person interactions.”
Researchers repeatedly underscore the primacy of in-person communication.
“Due to its intrusiveness, the smartphone reduces the quality of face-to-face interactions and, as a consequence, their positive impact on well-being,” Journal of Economic Psychology reported.
Similarly, in sharing findings from a four-week pandemic lockdown period, Nature noted several problems that arise when in-person communication is eschewed.
“Digital communication may not activate the largely subconscious, neurophysiological tools which have evolved in order to help humans determine who is friend and who is foe,” researchers said. Regarding depersonalization and other unfavorable outcomes, “research and anecdotal reports show that videoconferencing can cause adverse effects such as mental tiredness; anxiety due to a focus on appearance, prolonged eye contact, larger faces due to screen size and the perceived dominance of a communication partner due to low camera position; and cognitive burden due to the slight technological asynchrony of video calls.”
Albertson is hoping to maximize her in-person engagements in Pittsburgh.
“It’s always really important for me to connect directly with communities,” she said. “As much as the messages are universal, delivering them I think should always be very personal.”
The goal of Shabbat Social is to create a large social event for young adult Jews in Pittsburgh, Federation staffer and event co-organizer Luzer said. “This is an opportunity to meet new people, hang out with friends, embrace and be a part of the community we are building here. We need to get everyone together.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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