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[wilburmay]

Growing up Jewish and Asian in Scotch Plains New Jersey wasn’t always easy. My parents wanted me and my brothers to keep our religion a secret. Nobody knew that I was Jewish because I was Asian. When people did find out they asked if I was a convert, or if my parents were. I had faced a lot of ignorant claims. I was labeled a “Chinese Jew”. At my workplace my co workers were making antisemitic remarks, they were wondering what religion I am, they constantly mistook me for buddhist. At college African Americans kept questioning my identity. A black guy called me a “chink jew” because I said that I support the war on drugs and think that it should have been stronger. In business clubs people blamed Jewish people for gentrification, and Asians for job loss. I was the only Jewish person, and only Asian in class, let alone the whole school.