The HW Jewish Association hosted freelance music and culture journalist Eve Barlow on Wednesday. Barlow answered student questions and discussed her experience with anti-Semitism in the music industry to educate students.
Barlow has published reviews and profile features on Pitchfork, GQ, The Guardian, Tablet magazine and The Los Angeles Times. She formerly worked as the deputy production editor of NME Magazine, where she was able to hear the first demos of Lana Del Rey, Florence and the Machine and other alternative bands.
Barlow also has a prominent social media presence throughout her career. She actively speaks out against anti-Semitism, writing articles about the burning of Delaware’s Chabad house in late 2020 and using her Twitter to discuss issues plaguing the Jewish community.
“I am passionate about diversifying the space and making sure that we are telling all sorts of stories and not just the same story all the time,” Barlow said. “I am being more cognizant of the Me Too movement and the conversation that we are having with the antiracism movement. I have also become a much louder advocate for the Jewish community because I realized that I was constantly fighting for all of these other fights and not one that was specifically personal to me.”
Barlow has held many jobs in the music and journalism industry
Barlow was originally studying to be a lawyer at the University of Manchester, but due to a recession, her ability to get a job in that field was lowered, so she returned to Glasgow and became a concert photographer. This kickstarted her blog, where she reviewed all of the artists she heard while photographing, starting her music journalism career.
Co-Chair of the HW Jewish Family Alliance Susan Lynch has listened to Barlow’s podcast and read her articles, of which she said were relevant and interesting, so she naturally wanted to share her ideas with the school.
“She is so well-versed and so well-respected globally, we just thought it was a great opportunity,” Lynch said. “Our mission statement in our group is to educate and bring opportunities and build community and so we thought she would be really interesting for the students.”
HW Jewish Family Alliance student board members Kayla Graiwer ’23 and Gabe Glassman ’22 said that there are upcoming plans of action coming from the organization and that they want to incorporate lessons that give Jewish students the tools to fight back against anti-Semitism.
“There are more similarities between different ethnicities and religions than there are differences,” Graiwer said. “We all face difficulties and we all face struggles, so what I am hoping for, is that more people can see into the anti-Semitism that is happening in the U.S. and that people besides just the students in the Jewish Alliance can also help combat the antisemitism.”
Barlow gave advice to Jews facing anti-Semitism in the future and discussed being cautious about not absorbing false information about the state.
“My advice to you in that capacity is: open the books, swat up, learn the information, learn about your Jewishness, your Jewish pride and your identity,” Barlow said. “[Learn] The story of our people, where we come from and why we advocate for it because the more knowledge you have, the more power you have to hold your own in those conversations.”
