Seeing through the Sudra (Part 1)
25 Iyar 5784 (June 2, 2024)
For those familiar with our presence on social media, admittedly small and niche, our spats, jabs and criticisms of the Zionist activist community will not be news. Certainly not the criticisms and memes launched at the sudra-man himself Rudy Rochman.
Let’s however establish one thing: Rudy gets certain things right.
Before I launch into what I hope will be a well-reasoned and sharp machloket, it’s important for me to point out something Rudy gets correct so that my thoughts don’t get dismissed as unreasonably hateful or otherwise useless. Above all, I think the aesthetics that Rudy employs are exactly in tune with the current social milieu. A large bearded brown man who dresses himself in “decolonized” patterned scarves is for sure an image people want in a guilt-ridden generation that craves indigenous worship and hates “the white man”. Combine that with a guru's sense of grandly vague speech and a progressive vocabulary and you have an appealing icon to tune into. I don’t mean any of this as an insult, however satirical it may sound. It’s important to get aesthetics right. First impressions and exterior looks dominate our value judgements far more than many would like to admit. It’s certainly helped Rudy inspire many Jews to investigate their own identity. It’s certainly a departure from the lanky Ashkenazi caricature that inspires Mort from ‘Family Guy’. I won’t diminish that.
However, just as he has aroused many young jews to become more curious about their own conception of Judaism, we should pay requisite attention to his. The ideas, philosophy, and fundamental principles are more important to analyze and assign weight to over exterior aesthetics. I’m going to focus on one dimension of what seems to build Rudy’s worldview. For the sake of clarity, I have many gripes with the takes he’s espoused and I’ll probably expand on those separately for the sake of accuracy and fairness. I’m also rediscovering how much I enjoy writing again, so there’s a bit of selfish motivation there as well.
I’m going to address the stark difference in the way Rudy engages our partners in the Abrahamic faith circle. Jews have lived alongside Christians and Muslims for quite some time now. We’ve witnessed the rise and fall of Christian and Muslim empires and have at various times been advisors, partners, and victims within their spheres of influence. The point of this piece isn’t to analyze historical grievances. What I care about more today is how we interact with these groups on a narrative level.
On May 27th, Rudy uploaded a 9 ½ minute video to his channel called “Jew Shuts Down Jew For Jesus”. As you might deduce, it covers his exchange, edited at some points, with an American Christian missionary, who was actually fairly pleasant. Let’s not play games though, I loathe, as all Jews should, the act of proselytization no matter where it comes from and find it especially predatory when it’s visited upon Jews who are uneducated on their own chain of tradition. Rudy seemed to embody this attitude in his conversation with the missionary as well. Though not as combative as some of the Christians in the comment section made him out to be, his opposition was quite robust. He openly chastised Christianity as idolatry, foreign, and destructive to Jews as a faith practice. The historical record of forced conversions was mentioned as well. I would say he was justifiably territorial in his defense. He also, however, added some takes which are foreign to Judaism, and it’s not the first time he’s done so. Claiming for example that “mashiach is a generation and not a person” is a new one to me and I feel confident that Rambam, or any Orthodox Rabbi for that matter, would take issue with such a statement. Even also saying “zichrono le’vracha” (may his memory be a blessing) in mentioning Jesus’ death was a bit weird. As usual with the sudra-man it’s a mixed bag of correct, strange and confusing. Still though, perfection is a folly desire and overall his disposition was acceptable.
The most immediate thought I had though, after watching the video was: why doesn’t he engage Islam or Muslims with the same vigor? Let me add some context by citing two other videos he’s uploaded: “Can Islam and Judaism Work?” and “Does Afghanistan Have Secret Jews?”.
When it comes to Islam, Rudy seems far more charitable in his analysis and interactions with its ideology. As an example, during his conversations with a Pashtun Afghan, Rudy emphatically labels “King Dawud, Sulayman, Ibrahim, Yaakub and Yitzhak” as Muslims! Oh and “Mussa” (Moshe Rabbeinu to us decolonized Judeans), was a Muslim as well. Rudy adopts the definition of a Muslim as someone who “submits to Allah” and like Islamic proselytizers, reflexively labels our patriarchs as Muslims. I wonder if he would be offended if I proceed to label him as a Muslim from now on given that he also claims to “submit to Allah”. I won’t lie, it’s rather grating to hear a big Jewish activist reproduce the same rhetoric I’ve heard from aggressive dawah crowds. It just feels gross, conciliatory and weak. For someone so eminently focused on “decolonization” (whatever that means) he seems to embrace the retroactive colonization of our history and narratives with open arms. Labeling our forefathers as Muslims brings with it a couple problems. It’s obviously a temporal problem, as Islam has only existed for about 1400 years, but it’s also an identity error rooted in etymology. “Israel”, our nation’s given name, quite literally means “to contend/struggle with G-d” which is entirely different to “Islam” which means “submission to G-d”. Not that submission to G-d is unfounded in Judaism, but to capitulate and compromise our own narrative to one that has also forcibly converted our people and subjugated us to dhimmitude is unfortunate to watch. For someone who pushed so vigorously against Christian misreadings of our faith and text, you would expect the same defense when facing Islam. Rather, he’s actually adopted their revisionist history. I don’t think he of course actually believes they were muslims but he’s very obviously trying his best to win their approval by subverting our story.
In “Can Islam and Judaism Work?” he expands on the goals of conquest in Islam: “True Islam taking over the world means making sure the world understands that we’re all a part of one, under Allah, under Hashem… a part of oneness”. It’s an incredibly arrogant statement actually. If I were a muslim I imagine I’d feel some indignation. Imagine a missionary coming to tell you what “true Judaism” means, as if we don’t hold the truth about our Torah. As if jihadists aren’t expressing a true faith in Islam (which is what I think Rudy really wants to sidestep). Why does Rudy Rochman, or any other non-muslim for that matter, get to define what “true islam” is?
Frankly, it’s a manipulative rhetorical tool that Rudy employs often to justify his points. He will lift a word, term or idea out of context from it’s original setting and redefine it to serve his own ideological purposes. He’s done this before with the word “nakba” by reducing it to a simple expression of Palestinian Arab pain and grievance and not a political desire. If we’re going to pursue emet (truth), we should engage ideas and words from their respective origins and not relabel them to suit our own needs. This is a similar tactic used by missionaries in reading Jesus into the the text of the Tanach where he simply doesn’t exist. Off the tangent though, I think this outward embrace of Islamic narrative connects to his larger views on the Israeli-Arab conflict. Not to delve too much into this meshugas (I’d like to go into it another time), but it certainly helps his lofty ambitions to convince the Jewish people that Palestinians are our “Levantine” cousins with whom we should strive to establish a single state with a right of return. Uh, how about no?
Just to reiterate: this super charitable and embraceful attitude towards Islam and Muslims isn’t one seemingly extended to Christianity and its followers.
Some of you at this point may say or think that this is a justified attitude however, simply because Islam’s conception of monotheism is closer to our interpretation of G-d than that of Christianity. Perhaps you’ve even heard that Jews are allowed to pray in Mosques but not in Churches (I don't imagine many jews care for praying in a mosque these days). Though that is true, and I don’t really want to get into the game of apologetics, I could with equal weight say that Christians fully accept the divinity of the Hebrew bible (Tanach) whereas Muslims do not. I could equally say that as a consequence of that reality we are allowed to discuss Torah with Chrisitians and not Muslims. Is that not an important point of observation in figuring out how to engage with our religious neighbors? I don’t actually personally desire to act in the world like this, I seek to find commonality and good faith with anyone who recognizes the reality of G-d. But if you’re going to engage in the game of apologetics, at least do it fairly and with proper defense no matter who is facing you.
At this point I also feel a responsibility to analyze more contemporary history as it relates to Jewish-Christian relations. The reason for doing so is purely because I think many Jews in the west today live with an uninformed meme of what they are today.
In the American context, the history of Chrisitan practice and belief is far more sympathetic to Hebrew jurisprudence and history than Islam is or European Christianity are. Many of the Puritan colonists who arrived and were present at America’s founding were more loyal to the Hebrew bible than they were to the New Testament. Some refused to celebrate Christmas and pushed to establish Hebrew as an official language in their own communities (this was to be a symbol of separatism from the English monarchy). The fathers of the American Revolution found great inspiration in the imagery of the Bible and that extended through the age of abolition. In the narratives, songs and symbols of slaves escaping to freedom, the example of Moses leading Israel to the Promised Land is ubiquitous. Zion is freedom. It's also the name of national parks and countless towns in the US. The Ten Commandments sit authoritatively over the Supreme Court and some of our most venerated law schools (and other higher ed spheres) seal their identity with Hebrew words and phrases. You really won’t find another country on Earth (wagering in history even) that has such an infusion and embrace of Hebrew history and identity (that’s not managed by Jews of course).
It’s beyond obvious that a big part of why Americans overwhelmingly support Israel is because of their familiarity, belief, and emphasis on the Hebrew bible. The point I want to make is that on a narrative level today, it’s far easier to find friends in the West than it is in the East. There is a base layer of shared values, text, and intellectual culture that simply doesn’t exist elsewhere at the moment. I find the small but vocal Zionist opposition to the West (Rudy notably among them) entirely misguided and blinded. “Judeo-Christian values” may truly be an inefficient term, but it has practical merits and we shouldn’t ignore them just to appear edgy and counter-culture.
Overall I think that Jews, especially in the Western world, need to balance our interfaith evaluations properly. I don’t mean to underestimate the emotional and spiritual toxicity of proselytization, I’ve experienced it in person and at vulnerable moments, but the vast majority of interactions I’ve had with nominal church going Christians have been entirely pleasant. Whether it’s Catholics or Seventh Day Adventists, I really don’t expect the antisemitism that plagued Medieval Christian Europe. In fact, most of the vitriol that seems to come from Christians is entirely relegated to a terminally online LARP’ing crowd that fantasizes about crusades as they log onto 4chan, a center of degeneracy. I cannot same the same for Muslims as a whole. There are bright spots of course in the UAE and others who sign onto the Abraham Accords but I’m not going to ignore proportions for the sake of political correctness. And for that reason, I think Rudy ought to contend with practical realities far more than the abstract contrived ideas he chases, and that goes for most of his other takes as well.
It’s time we took a closer look at what’s behind some of the propagated ideas from Rudy Rochman with honesty and proper Jewish disputation. I believe he deserves criticism for some of his exploits. As an example, his unfortunate arrest in Nigeria stands as an example.
(Edit on 6/9/24 begins here)**
I’m expanding here because it’s necessary to establish some context. My characterization of Rochman’s trip to Nigeria was lacking. In trying to avoid bloating this piece, my terse explanation was low resolution and consequently unfair.
The Nigerian Civil war (1967) killed over a million people. That war, which ended in 1970, produced an ensuing conflict that is being fought between the Nigerian state and a separatist group of ethnic Igbos known as ‘Biafra’. Its also important to know that the State of Israel, in trying to establish ties in Africa during the 60’s, has an involved history here. A Times of Israel article expands on Rudy’s trip there: "Nigerian authorities arrested [Rochman and two friends] on suspicion that they had come into contact with Biafran separatists”. As later reported by Israel Hayom the arrest and release was managed by “a line of communication with the three families and the various Israeli, French and US embassies/consulates”. The current leader of the IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) “maintains the Igbo people, who are in the majority in southeast Nigeria, are a lost tribe of Israel and it is his mission to lead them to the promised land of Biafra”. This is a hot conflict with charged political motivations surrounding Israel and Judaism. That an activist popularly associated with Israel gets arrested after inserting himself into the sphere of this conflict for esoteric reasons, and can’t tolerate criticism of it warrants some attention.
It’s a story that gets far too much compassion without any balance. Overall though, the point isn’t to chew him out as a person, the point is to elucidate our own thinking and filter out bad ideas. This piece will serve as Part 1 to a series that seeks to do exactly that. I wholeheartedly look forward to seeing our readers' engagement, disagreement, and discourse throughout this series.
**
I’ll just end with a funny interaction. About two years ago I was looking for a contractor to build some greenhouses. After sweeping google and collecting some names I fell upon one man named Moses Beiler from Pennsylvania. “Oh great” I thought, “Moshe, another ballbusting Israeli contractor”. Well, I scheduled to meet him anyway, after all, what the point of having a tribe? Maybe I could weaponize some of that Jewish guilt and squeeze a family discount out of him. Two men stepped out of a truck on that day. Long beards, funny accents, flip phones and modest personalities. Not Hasidim, but two Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonites. I spent the next hour really enjoying my time speaking to the two men, who although come from a far more insular and separate society, felt somewhat fraternal to me. Talking about the Bible, Hebrew and German as languages, our religious customs, some politics, and the minutia of wood fencing flowed with ease. I didn’t end up using them as contractors, but the interaction is one I won't soon forget. (Even the Mennonites and Amish who sell their products at Teaneck’s Farmers Market are adequately trusted by Orthodox Jews for pest control and inspection.)
Signed,
The Lawless Levite
Always thought this guy was a clown and pseudo intellectual. Thanks for writing, really put into words alot of the uncomfortable feelings I get whenever I come across this guys rhetoric. Almost feels like a "jews for Mohamed" thing with this guy
I am so relieved that we are finally addressing this situation. For some reason, Rochman’s audience has soared. It might largely be because he is a nice guy, relatable in a lot of ways, and he fulfills the desire for many Jews to soften reactions to our increasingly-controversial identity by co-opting indigenous and third worldy identities.
As it turns out though, the true believers in these ideologies will never accept Rudy. Their goal is to legally and demographically dismantle “the west” (developed countries) and make them essentially indistinguishable from those of what they describe as “the global south.” And Rudy kinda knows this. At some level he understands that, despite his advocacy for modern Jewish independence and IDF service, he has to essentially advocate for the dismantling of the Jewish State and creating some kind of multicultural utopia in its place.
Thus we have to “acknowledge the Nakba” and “establish a right of return for both peoples,” because if we don’t at least call for this, then his third worldist bona fides could never be established and the people whom he so desperately wants to impress wouldn’t even give him the occasional time of day out of curiosity as they do now.
So, he makes a mistake very similar to that of many liberal secular westernized leftists: hating the people who love us and loving the people who hate us.
It’s a recipe for disaster and creating more “pro Israel” Jews who believe all the wrong things about the true (dark) nature of Palestinian culture, our actual allies & friends in the American Evangelical community, the vital and sacred need to expand and grow Jewish demographic headwinds inside of Israel, and the physical and spiritual danger posed to us by impostors like BHIs and Palestinian Arabs who claim a “Canaanite” identity as if we’re supposed to forget that they overwhelmingly identified with the pan-Arab identity until just a few decades ago.
Ultimately, Rudy’s energy vis a vis our enemies is the same of that of the StandWithUs brand of Liberal Harbarism.. “pleeeease love us, why are all one we just want peeeeaaacr pleeesssassseee we want to hug you just love us” and “it’s Hamas, it has nothing to do with the [trigger warning] innocent poor palestinian people”
He just promotes this via a Sudra and a funny French-Israeli English accent. Our enemies won’t buy it, and neither should we as a valid approach to create the Total Jewish Victory we need to survive.