[soft upbeat music] [bright upbeat music] - I grew up in Orange County, California and I am Cantonese and Ashkenazi Jewish.

I definitely felt like I didn't really fit in with other Asian Americans.

Simultaneously, I wanted to feel more Jewish but Jews in Orange County, we had to be kind of quiet about it.

[bright upbeat music] I haven't seen the Haggadah yet, like printed.

- It looks amazing, and it's so us like colorful and vibrant and useful.

- We came up with the idea for Lunar in 2020 so it was already this time of increasing hate crimes both against Jews and against Asian Americans.

And so, we would check the news and it's like, oh, which of my people was hate crimed today?

Okay, anti-Semitic hate crime, lovely.

Anti-Asian hate crime, amazing.

It was just this back and forth, this wave and I think a lot of us had suppressed our feelings around it.

You kinda had to.

[soft upbeat music] The Lunar Collective was founded as a film series.

We really felt that we needed a community with which to make ourselves visible.

- I am a Korean American Jew.

- As half South African Indian and half Ashkenazi Jewish.

- I'm adopted from Vietnam.

Both my parents are Ashkenazi Jews.

- I identify as being both Taiwanese and Ashkenazi Jewish.

- [Jenni] So first it was just that shock of like, okay, there are so many of us, wow.

All of us thought we were the only Asian Jew.

- Chinese and Jewish, so I'm Chewish.

- Like why did it take us this long to find each other?

- I thought everyone had Chinese grandparents.

I thought everyone did Shabbat every Friday.

- What do the Asians think about this?

I'm like, "Well, I don't know, "there are more than a billion Asian people."

- I would see myself as not Asian but also not white.

- Very complicated stuff, very emotionally gunky concepts of not enough.

- Nothing is ever black and white when it comes to Asian American Jewish identity.

♪ I was just a child ♪ So my song "Water & Oil", I was like I don't fit in.

It was kind of like earlier stage like angsty feelings around mixed identity.

Over time, the song started to evolve to then kinda bringing in like microaggressions I experienced and realizing like, this is the landscape I live in.

Kind of unearthing some of the frustration and resentment that I felt underneath the surface.

♪ And it fuels my shame ♪ ♪ I'm caught between ♪ ♪ Water and oil ♪ ♪ Always out of my element ♪ I think when people think about commonalities between the Jewish community and the Asian American community, they often lean on the model minority tropes like, oh, they're both really into education and like all these other things that are sometimes true and sometimes very much not.

- This really flattens both communities and the reality with an Asian American community, there's a tremendous diversity.

- I think calling Jews or Asian Americans the model minority sets us apart from other minorities in kind of a teacher's pet sort of a way.

- It's not a good thing.

It's really part of a political strategy to divide communities to say if you are quiet and don't speak out, that's what a good minority does.

And when you do speak out, when you are vocal, that's being a bad minority.

- When I think about the cyclical nature of anti-Semitism and anti-Asian racism, I think the simple answer is just that in both cases, we are an easy scapegoat.

- I think we're living in a time that's really polarized.

I think we're living in a time where things are harder and less predictable and I think in those moments, people look for folks to blame.

- Because we're perceived to be successful or hardworking.

These anti-Semitic tropes of control or conspiracy theories manifest.

And I see the same thing happening with Asian American communities, especially as the rivalry between the U.S. and China heats up, this sort of xenophobic tradition that our country has had for over 200 years.

We see that really bubbling to the surface against both the Asian and Jewish communities right now.

- I think both communities are always going to be one national emergency away from being the target of hate in this country.

And when I say that, I'm talking about things that happen on the geopolitical level in Asia, things that happen in Israel.

- If we want fairness and dignity and respect for one community, we have to fight for fairness, dignity and respect for all communities.

- The fact that the conversation around race is usually Black and white, I think means that people are disregarded.

That if they don't fit into one camp or the other, that basically their experiences are considered secondary.

- In order to achieve the promise of true equality and true equity, we do need different groups to work together in ways that are transformative that allow us to actually understand our both different and common experiences, to share power and to ultimately work towards common goals.

- So growing up biracial, there's huge potential there for those of us who understand completely what it means to be a part of multiple traditions.

To see how well things can come together and see how well things can harmonize.

- How is this night different from all other nights?

I definitely think Lunar is in a unique position to act as a bridge between the Jewish community and the Asian American community.

And then from there, I think it's all about deepening our relationships with our broader communities and being able to stand together collectively against hate.

If we can craft a more inclusive landscape now, then future generations of Asian Jews won't automatically have that imposter syndrome, that struggle to fit in or to claim your identity or to really connect.

They'll think of the joy of finally having this community, this home and being able to engage in it, indulge in it, celebrate our identities, feel really proud.

- Chag Sameach, everyone.

- [Group] Chag Sameach!

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