2 Live Jews – As Kosher as They Wanna Be
- Deric Hollings
- 5 hours ago
- 10 min read
In elementary and junior high school, my dad taught me tenets of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. This included lessons about Jews, or the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah who traditionally adhere to Judaism.
Teaching me to love all fallible human beings, as God so loved the world (John 3:16), I wasn’t taught antisemitism (hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews, as a person who harbors it is called an anti-Semite, and which remains debatable as a form of racism).
As an aside, my dad laughed when I confessed that I was physically attracted to Barbra Streisand (“Babs”)—of Jewish descent, an assessment with which he admittedly concurred. And for the record, I don’t care what anyone says, Babs was subjectively beautiful from the ‘70s-‘90s.
In any event, shortly after my late mom demanded that I be returned to her custody, I was transferred to a children’s home which was sponsored by the Churches of Christ. Although the act wasn’t permitted religiously or morally, I enjoyed listening to music by 2 Live Crew.
For example, in ‘91, I received a cassette tape of the group’s third studio album, As Nasty as They Wanna Be (1989). Had I been caught with the contraband when residing at the children’s home, I likely would’ve lost all of my privileges associated with a token economy point system.
Alternatively, with my allowance money, I was able to purchase the debut studio album As Kosher As They Wanna Be (1990) by comedy hip hop duo 2 Live Jews. Its name is a parody of 2 Live Crew. I first heard the comedy album when listening to radio broadcaster Dr. Demento.
From what I recall, the Churches of Christ had a similar perspective as the Jehovah’s Witnesses in regard to the Jews. As the Old Testament largely involves Jewish practices, though the New Testament concerns Christianity, I saw nothing wrong with the term Judeo-Christian beliefs.
Nevertheless, I wasn’t taught dispensationalism (a Christian theological framework that views history as divided into distinct periods in which God interacts with mankind in specific ways). Specifically, I wasn’t told that it was righteous for flawed humans to bring about the Rapture.
Similarly, I wasn’t taught Christian Zionism (a political and religious ideology that espouses the return of the Jewish people to the Holy Land, and that the re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty in the Levant is a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). I simply didn’t learn it.
Actually, after a family with whom I attended Church of Christ worship services invited to live with them, I learned a controversial lesson on the Second Coming of Christ. Detailing the account in a blogpost entitled Waiting for a Savior, I stated:
I think that sharing my memory of the youth minister may be more illustrative than mere citation of biblical passages which I used in that post. If memory serves, the youth minister’s example was thus:
Okay, how many of you think Jesus is coming back to Earth for a second time? Raise your hands. All right, I see everyone is convinced there’ll be a second coming. Let me ask you this, how many times I have I entered this classroom today? This isn’t a trick question.
Right! Once. [he then proceeded to leave and then reenter the classroom] Now, how many times have I entered this classroom? Again, this isn’t a trick question. That’s right! Twice. I came in once this morning before beginning the class, I exited just now, and I then reentered the room. That’s twice.
In the Bible, we learn that Jesus came to Earth when being born, right? That was once. At some point in His 30s, Jesus died. He went away. We learn that He then descended into Hades. After that, He was resurrected when coming back to Earth. That makes how many times? Twice!
In a relatively short period of time after providing that narrative to his Sunday morning class, the youth minister was relieved of his position. Nonetheless, I enjoyed As Kosher As They Wanna Be, held no ill will against Jews, and thought Babs was a smoke show for a few of her decades.
Since October 7, 2023 (“October 7 attacks”), a series of coordinated armed incursions from the blockaded Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, carried out by Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups, I’ve paid close attention to how Jews have been treated.
As an example, I’ve observed how evidence has been suppressed regarding the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) employment of the Hannibal Directive (a controversial procedure used by the IDF to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces) during the October 7 attacks.
In the interest of justice, in a blogpost entitled Appeal to Emotion (10/14/2023), I denounced the reported lie about how “Hamas attackers cut off the heads of babies during their shock attack.” No credible evidence of such an event took place, or the occurrence of a mass rape event.
Likewise, in Indiscriminate Killing (10/14/2023), a post which was targeted by copyright trolls, I stated, “Like so many other people I’ve observed since last week’s Hamas attack on Israel, maybe you’ve become intoxicated by rhetoric of a herd mentality and now cannot think critically about your previous moral and ethical principles related to human life. You may very well irrationally believe that civilians uninvolved with active conflict concerning Israel deserve Israel’s retribution.”
Thereafter, in a blog entry entitled False Dilemma (10/21/2023), I denounced the statement, “You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism,” and added, “While I understand that tensions are high concerning the Israel-Hamas war, alienating and emotively-driven rhetoric of this sort is based in irrational belief.”
Then, in a post entitled Facts Don’t Care About Your Feelings (10/25/2023), I stated, “I can concurrently denounce the nation of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians while condemning the terroristic actions of Hamas. I can simultaneously advocate human rights for residents of Palestine while supporting Israel’s right to defend itself from imminent aggression.”
I could go on citing evidence of how I’ve condemned the actions of Israel, specifically the IDF, following the October 7 attacks. Yet, you likely get my point: I stand opposed to military-condoned rape, genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and terrorism carried out by Israel.
All the same, perhaps due in large part to how I was raised, and maybe in equal part to my personal and professional practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I don’t hate Jews. Admittedly, while my dad taught me to love everyone, that lesson never made sense to me.
Therefore, I unconditionally accept that some Jews behave poorly, many IDF members have committed crimes against humanity, and that all humans are fallible. Perhaps Jewish people are “as kosher as they wanna be,” which is as subjective a matter as my view of Babs as a baddie.
Still, the treatment of most Jews that I’ve seen online—which in no way constitutes most or all Jews worldwide, isn’t just (having a basis in or conforming to fact or reason). It’s little more than form of collective shame, and I don’t support that.
Though one can search the term “Israel” on my blog and discover many results regarding my criticism of the nation’s actions, I’ve provided far more search-result critiques of my displeasure with the United States—a country whose military in which I once served (1996-2007).
Now, I’m adding this post for posterity. I don’t hate Jews or anyone—even my ex-wife, who was likely Jewish. I liked the content of 2 Live Jews, Babs was subjectively pretty, I imagine that some IDF personnel may be innocent of crimes, and life’s too short for ethnoreligious hate.
If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
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