The “Queen of Jewish positivity” on how to safely tackle antisemitism
Karen Cinnamon, a businesswoman and influencer who has been dubbed “the world’s number one Jewish wedding expert” and the “Queen of Jewish positivity”, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she gave her advice on safely tackling antisemitism.
Ms Cinnamon is the founder of both Smashing The Glass, the world’s biggest Jewish wedding media platform, and Smashing Life, a private club for Jewish women, who has been featured in numerous publications such as the New York Times, BBC and Mail Online.
On being asked how to challenge antisemitism in a safe manner, Ms Cinnamon said: “I wouldn’t say ‘That’s crazy! That’s an antisemitic thing to say!’ I would elegantly unpack it and explain why its harmful to Jews. That’s the way to talk about things.”
However, the businesswoman admitted that this approach does not apply to everyone.
“I want to caveat by saying I wouldn’t open that conversation up with a manic Jew-hater. It’s more about the masses in the middle that maybe don’t realise their actions could be harmful to Jews.
“I wouldn’t say its a blanket thing,” she clarified, adding that her conversational approach applies more to family and friends who might be more willing to listen.
“Gently unpack it and point it out, always in a less aggressive, more compassionate tone coming from a point of ‘Did you know that what you just said is actually really harmful to Jews?’”
Ms Cinnamon added, however, that in order to challenge antisemitism, it is vital that one is sufficiently educated on the matter: “It’s really hard to pull apart things without doing the research and understanding why what they’ve said is harmful to Jews.
“Me, personally, I’ve had to deal with it online, and I don’t really go there online, because [there are] lots of keyboard warriors. You’ve got to choose, especially when you have a public platform like me, where you want to put your energy.”
Ms Cinnamon also spoke on the importance of looking after one’s mental health when challenging antisemitism.
“Protect your mental health first. Don’t feel that you are a spokesperson for the Jewish people and you have to always point out and educate. Mental health first,” she said.
Throughout the interview, Ms Cinnamon also discussed the challenges faced by Jewish women, why she won’t judge other Jews and her secret to happiness.
This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.
Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.
Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.
