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.
