I remember the first time I came across Rabbi Linda Goldstein on social media. I instantly realised I was looking at a conservative or reform woman rabbi, but that wasn't the only thing that freaked me out – Rabbi Goldstein, with her very classic Jewish last name, posted a bunch of rabid hideous anti-semitic memes and classic Pro-Hamas propaganda – I was outraged for a while until I saw that Rabbi Linda Goldstein is none other than a satirical social media account – a fictional "chief rabbi of Gaza" – who has apparently caught other accounts posing as Jewish anti-Israel activists in an elaborate prank.
The humor centers on the fake rabbi using obviously absurd Hebrew phrases that any Jewish person would recognize as suspicious: The account asked if someone attended "Yeshiva Ahevet Banot" (which means "I love young girls" in Hebrew) - a clearly inappropriate and fake name for a religious school.
The punchline is that accounts claiming to represent authentic Jewish anti-Israel groups took these ridiculous names seriously, suggesting they might not actually be run by Jewish people as claimed.
Adding to the satire, the fake rabbi also:
- Asked for donations for a "temple in Gaza" (temples aren't used in modern Judaism, and Gaza currently has no functioning synagogues)
- Engaged with known anti-Israel figures who didn't notice these obvious red flags.
The story is particularly ironic because these exposed accounts had previously been accused of being operated by non-Jewish people in countries hostile to Israel, including Turkey. Their inability to recognize obvious Hebrew jokes and basic Jewish terminology strongly supports those accusations.
The fake rabbi account had previously used similar tactics to expose other figures, including successfully tricking a UN official (Francesca Albanese) with a history of controversial statements about Israel.
0 Comments