Yom Kippur Service Taking Place At Occupy Wall Street
Dispelling the stereotypes of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators.
Yom Kippur Service Taking Place At Occupy Wall Street
by Jaweed Kaleem
NEW YORK — It’s rare that Mae Singerman, a self-described secular Jew who grew up in a Reform family, observes Yom Kippur by praying, fasting or attending synagogue.
A Yom Kippur service is held across from Zuccotti Park to show support for the Occupy Wall Street protest movement in New York on Friday October 7, 2011. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
But at sundown on Friday, the 27-year-old from Brooklyn planned to join hundreds of other Jews at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration for Kol Nidre, the opening service of Yom Kippur that starts the holiest time on the Jewish calendar.
“For me, it’s about bringing my Jewish identity and my politics together…” — Mae Singerman
“For me, it’s about bringing my Jewish identity and my politics together,” said Singerman, who has participated in several anti-capitalism protests in recent years and visited the demonstration at Zuccotti Park for the first time last week. “Having a Jewish service or ceremony brings more Jews who wouldn’t necessarily come. I know people coming tonight who are pretty skeptical about Occupy Wall Street but are willing to give it a try because of the Yom Kippur service.”
Organized mostly via Facebook over the last week, the Kol Nidre service starts at 7 p.m. across from the downtown park where demonstrations have occurred since mid-September. Almost 500 people have RSVP’d on Facebook, although at least a few dozen of them are out-of-towners who are just showing their support.
Hat tip goes to @jaweedkaleem. Follow the Huffington Post link for a slide show and further information.
Yom Kippur observence also took place in several OWS locations around the country including Philadelphia.
Yom Kippur service at Occupy Philadelphia (AP Photo)
Protesters taking part in the Occupy Philadelphia demonstration, participate in a Yom Kippur service in the lower concourse of Dillworth Plaza at City Hall in Philadelphia, Friday Oct. 7, 2011. Organizers of the demonstration, which is in it’s second day, say the protest is meant to be a stand against corporate greed.
