The blogging community can easily find common themes from one Jewish Punk website to another. It is important to acknowledge this subgroup and the people who label themselves “punks” because the negative connotation that the word once had has now morphed into a definition of being an empowered and confident individual. The movement also signals stylistic and musical preferences. The term “punk” is now an embodiment of conviction that takes pride in ownership of one’s behavior and personal tastes.
Punk Jews is a blog that took on a life of its own and eventually became a documentary film. Its online community takes pride in this social label and adheres to many of its descriptors. However, these are not just “punks,” but self-identifying Jews. They identify themselves as a group of people who contest mainstream thinking and yet also attach themselves to some Old World customs. One may assume that to be both punk and Jewish is a paradox, a literal walking contradiction, but the community is still growing and continues to have an online presence.
Rachel Schiff, “Jewish Subcultures Online: Outreach, Dating, and Marginalized Communities” (Master’s thesis, California State University, Fullerton, 2016), 89.