“It's better to ask questions than remain completely oblivious.” I found myself telling classmates this during my computer science class. A boy sitting next to me was watching a video, and I overheard him saying, “Shabbat Shalom.” Out of curiosity, I asked him what he was watching. He showed me the reel, which was hinting at an antisemitic stereotype. I laughed out of discomfort and told him that the video was not great. He then remembered that I’m Jewish and started asking me questions about it, leading to a conversation.

As we were discussing some things he hadn’t heard about, a girl sitting near us joined in and asked, “Is Judaism a race?” The boy I was talking to said, “My parents told me not to ask questions like that.” I understood where he was coming from, and I told him that it was perfectly okay to ask me that. Many people shy away from asking vulnerable questions out of fear that they might be offensive or inappropriate, but I would rather have them ask me a million questions than remain completely oblivious. I explained to both of them that Judaism is an ethnoreligion, leading to numerous questions from both, which I answered to the best of my ability. We ended up having a conversation that led to more understanding.

What really puzzled me about this conversation is that I live in a community with a pretty significant Jewish population. Many people are understanding and supportive of the Jewish community, yet there are still a significant number of young people who do not know much about Jews. They likely haven't gotten the chance to talk to a Jewish teen, meet a Holocaust survivor, or learn from a rabbi.

With antisemitism rising at the current rate, it is extremely important that we can, and strive to, have open conversations about Judaism. Unfortunately, many people have begun to get their information from social media, which quickly leads to people believing untruthful and harmful things. If you hear someone asking a question or mentioning false information regarding Jews, I urge you to step in. Have an open conversation and let them know the correct information, even if it's difficult. If we can build a standard of having open and respectful conversations, there will be much more acceptance in the world.