News

The news of Hulk Hogan’s passing last week instantly brought back one of those childhood moments you never forget: the day I found out WWE was fake. For 9-year-old me, it was the equivalent of learning Santa isn’t real. 

I loved watching Hulk Hogan. He always seemed to win in the end, and of course, he always tore his shirt. It looked so cool, I secretly used to rip my undershirts in the mirror just like him, until my mom found out and screamed at me to stop wasting perfectly good clothes. 

Fast forward to adulthood: Hulk Hogan doesn’t influence me anymore.

Back then, it was shocking to discover that pro wrestling was fake because everything else we consumed in the media seemed real. But as I’ve gotten older, I find myself doing a lot more reading between the lines: of the news and of people’s reactions in social media. Today, including in our own Jewish community, everyone is trying to be Hulk Hogan and compete for attention using dramatic choreographed fights and feigned outrage. I try to pause and ask: 

What’s real here? What’s just for show? 

I don’t want to let myself be swayed by every loud voice or every dramatic post, and I certainly don’t want to let today’s influencers, or their digital shirt-tearing, get to me.

Running a Jewish organization is harder than ever. Our students are increasingly more nervous to be publicly Jewish and making things worse are the so-called “leaders” of our community: the self-proclaimed “influencers” on social media. Some lean far left on Israel, others far right. But what they all seem to have in common is this constant need for dramatic outrage, another Hulk Hogan shirt ripped.

Sometimes it’s over a real issue. But sometimes, it’s noise.

And the students feel it. I hear it in one-on-one conversations all the time:

Will the Jewish community be okay? Will violence against Jews in the US increase? Who are the leaders of the Jewish community that represents us?

They’re anxious, uncertain, and I don't believe they are looking to be represented by influencers with hashtags.

I try and tell them the truth: The challenges facing Israel won’t be solved overnight, and maybe not even in our lifetime. But our job as Jews in 2025 is the same as it’s always been: stay grounded, stay proud, and find meaningful ways to live Jewishly, even when things feel chaotic.

And here’s what I won’t do: I won’t be influenced by the influencers.

One of the greatest strengths of the Jewish people is our ability to think independently, to hold tension, and to stay thoughtful during turbulent times. That’s the Jewish trait I’m holding onto.

So if others want to spend their days tearing their shirts Hulk Hogan-style, so be it. Me? I’d rather keep mine on and keep doing the work in the Jewish community that's needed.