Being visibly Jewish

It's really interesting what you're sharing about your experiences. It sounds like there’s a lot of nuance to the way people view the situation, and I can see how it might be tricky to navigate, especially with the increased visibility of Palestinian causes lately. On one hand, the "Free Palestine" rhetoric can feel like a direct challenge to a core part of Jewish identity for people who feel a strong connection to Israel. On the other hand, there’s a wider conversation happening about what it means to criticize Israel without crossing into antisemitism, which gets messy really quickly. It’s encouraging, though, that you’re seeing positive interactions in your day-to-day life. It seems like a lot of people, even with the complex geopolitical issues on the table, can still hold admiration and respect for Jewish culture and people. That moment with the guy who commented on the Nobel Prizes is especially heartwarming it shows that the admiration for Jewish contributions to society is still strong, even among people who might not fully understand the complexities of the Middle East situation. In a way, it sounds like people are making a distinction between Jewish individuals and the politics of Israel, which is encouraging. There’s a lot of complexity in people's views, but your own interactions, with people from different backgrounds, seem to reflect a kind of curiosity and respect that helps combat the larger negative currents we sometimes hear about.