FLASHBACK: On Being a Jewish Conservative.

This is Karol Markowicz in 2015:

It was easier for me to be conservative in NYC than it might be for others since my community, Soviet-born Jews, tends to lean right, but it was still wasn’t easy. People who barely knew me were downright hateful to me. I never hid who I was, even when it was difficult or uncomfortable. I was confident in my beliefs, unafraid to be open about them when engaged. If someone didn’t want to be friends with me because I believe in lower taxes or a strong foreign policy, that was their bad.

In the last year, my pride at being a Jewish conservative has been at an all-time high. Last summer, when Israel and Gaza flared up, I watched liberal Jewish friends lose their bearings. Who were they? Who were their friends? I’d watch them get into arguments and see their surprise that their friends thought Israel should just accept a few rockets and kidnapped teenagers. The confusion often turned to despair. They couldn’t believe they had to explain again and again why it was imperative for Israel to defend itself, why the discovery of the tunnels was a huge deal, why the barrage of rockets mattered. They were sad and I truly was sad for them.

Me? I watched my conservative non-Jewish friends change their Twitter avatar and Facebook profile pictures to Israeli flags.

Karol also says, “If you’re an American Jew, you’re not actually on the front-lines of this fight,” but that’s changing.