Mistaken Identity

I love living in Tel Aviv. I'm still only slowly making friends, but I'm happy here. I automatically have a connection with any American I meet (for better or worse, it's easier to connect to Americans than Israelis), I've found it easy to be shabbat-observant, and I even have a Masorti (Conservative) kehila of which I'm a part. In short, being an American and being observant have not made me miserable here.
But as much as I've had no problems yet with my own observance, my "religiousness" (read: kipah) stands out wherever I go. Obviously there are few kipah-wearers at hip hop clubs and concerts, but I haven't even been to many of those. But amongst my friends I'm often the token dos; in my classes I'm the only guy with a kipah; and at peace rallies, you can bet there aren't a lot of minyanim around.
And people start to assume things about me. The Peace Now guy on campus asked how I reconciled my politics with my being religious. If I were wearing a baseball cap, he wouldn't have assumed anything about my religion, since we hadn't discussed it. But at least he understood why my religious beliefs are the cause of my political beliefs, instead of the two being in conflict. The protesters at the Rabin Memorial were perhaps less understanding. Trying to say hi to two Women in Black (anti-occupation protesters) whom I recognize from school, I was answered with dirty looks instead of friendly hellos. Maybe I shouldn't have worn my orange shirt.
Of course, my most obnoxious interaction related to the upcoming Jerusalem Pride Parade, a march in support of rights for homosexuals. At a birthday party, a complete stranger decided he wanted to discuss controversial topics (his words). He asked me my feelings on the upcoming march, and I told him that I planned to go to Jerusalem to march in it. He laughed and answered, "now how do you really feel?" I really felt like he was a huge moron, but I stuck to the topic at hand.
So where do I direct my anger? For one, the idiot at the birthday party. But more importantly, even though it's the left-wing that seems to have trouble accepting me, it's the religious whom I blame. For sure, there are others out there who are more religious than I and more left-wing. And I'm sure some of them are politically active. But I think it's time that religious left-wingers start justifying their politics on the basis of their religious beliefs, and not despite them. I'm clearly furious at those who use religion to justify homophobia, murdering a prime minister, or denying basic human rights to Palestinians. But I'm also more than a little pissed that they've made religious observance so synonymous with these things that I'm pegged as advocating things I find abhorrent. So Friday, I'm going to march proudly. Proud that people can identify my kipah with a cause in which I believe.