JNS
The suggestion by the actress to show solidarity for a U.S. ally has drawn both smiles and frowns, and certainly, curiosity.
Patricia Heaton, a non-Jewish actress perhaps best known for her role in “Everybody Loves Raymond,” has emerged as a prominent pro-Israel voice since the Hamas terrorists attacks on Oct. 7.
But a suggestion on social media on Monday—for non-Jews to show solidarity with Jews and Israel by hanging mezuzahs on their doorposts—is drawing both smiles and frowns, and certainly, curiosity.
“As we head toward the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7, I ask that you please join me in the 'Myzuzah Yourzuzah' campaign to show solidarity with your Jewish friends and neighbors, fight antisemitism and bless your household,” she posted.
A resident of Nashville and the founder of the October 7th Coalition, Heaton recommended that followers purchase a mezuzah and post a video of themselves putting it up. “I’ll be liking and sharing videos throughout the campaign,” she wrote. “Let’s show our Jewish friends we stand with them!”
Actress Kathie Lee Gifford (née Epstein) was among those who did so, even though she has had one on her Tennessee home for a long time.
An official Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry account responded to Heaton’s post: “We are lucky to have you” and “We love this so much.”
“As antisemitism reaches unprecedented levels, thank you, Patricia Heaton, for standing in solidarity with the Jewish people,” it said.
“You are the definition of a righteous gentile,” wrote John Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary magazine. “Thank you, Patricia Heaton.”
Michael Dickson, the executive director of StandWithUs, wrote that “this is some serious love, allyship and solidarity,” and “may the mezuzah protect your home and your loved ones.”
The watchdog StopAntisemitism said it was “thrilled” by Heaton’s call.
Others responded a little differently.
“I have mixed feelings about this, but I’m grateful for people who want to show solidarity with the Jewish community. If every house had a mezuzah and if every male wore a kippah, Jews wouldn’t be such easy targets,” wrote David May, the research manager and a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Heaton “isn’t claiming to be Jewish and isn’t claiming to represent Jewish values,” he wrote. “She is just there to show solidarity.”
Julia Ioffe, a founding partner of Puck News and its Washington correspondent, wrote that non-Jews shouldn’t affix mezuzahs. “This is not a show of solidarity but of weird and continued appropriation of our culture and religion,” she wrote. (In another post, Ioffe, who is Jewish, joked about non-Jews getting circumcised in solidarity with Jews.)
“This is not the move. There are far better ways for allies to show their support,” wrote Shlomo Litvin, a rabbi who co-runs Chabad of the Bluegrass and the Chabad Jewish Student Center at the University of Kentucky. “Having said that: If you don’t have mezuzos .... don’t comment here.”
