'Non-Jewish' To 'Now-Jewish': Viral Nanny Says Hamas Attack Made Her Convert

A social media personality, Adriana Fernandez, popularly known as the viral "non-Jewish nanny", has converted to Judaism and become the "now-Jewish nanny" - saying that the Hamas' October 7 attack on Israelis made her do it.

For years, Ms Fernandez's followers have seen her posts reflecting her insights and experiences as a non-Jewish nanny working in observant Jewish homes. However, she became an official Jewess last month after a year-long conversion process.

"October 7 attack made me want to be Jewish more...My determination to convert to Judaism is a way to fight antisemitism. My first thought on the attack wasn't, 'How do I get out of this?' I felt an even stronger connection to God," she said, as quoted by the New York Times.

She said that while everyone pleaded that the world hates Jews, she did not hesitate.

"These are my people too. I was already in the process of converting - I could have stopped, but I didn't," Ms Fernandez said.

According to her, earlier, many of her Orthodox clients' customs baffled her, such as discovering that a religious mom wears a sheitel, or wig, for modesty and that a mezuzah on the doorpost denotes a Jewish home. However, they soon became "powerful" to her.

Ms Fernandez, who went by the name 'non-Jewish nanny' on TikTok and Instagram, has changed her name to 'now-Jewish nanny'.

While many celebrated her conversion on social media, some users did not take her decision well and called her a "mashugana" - a Yiddish word for 'crazy' - for becoming a Jew after the attack in which at least 1,200 Israelis were killed.

Ms Fernandez, who attended a private Christian school with almost no exposure to Judaism, is also a classically trained singer. She has also worked as a bartender and is a budding opera singer.

The viral nanny is now ready for her first Passover as a Jew, she said. A Passover is when Jews celebrate how their ancestors left slavery behind and when they were led out of Egypt by Moses. It is celebrated with a series of rituals symbolising a different story.