CommUNITY to end Bigotry
The increasing and recent attacks against Jews are deplorable. My thought, prayers, and actions are with my Jewish brothers and sisters.
Systemic injustice, structural racism, threats for existing, and violence from law enforcement against Black/Brown people are disgraceful. The missing and murdered Indigenous women and the inhumane treatment of people at the southern US border are shameful. The Islamophobia, targeting, and oppression of Muslims are lamentable.
No human life is greater or more valuable than the next and we should condemn all forms of hate and protect humanity. Our lives are all interconnected whether we are conscious of it or not, what impacts one, impacts us all at varying degrees.
“No one is free, until we are all free” — Fannie Lou Hamer
We must understand that our freedom as Jewish people are inextricably tied to the liberty, justice, and equity of other humans. In order to combat anti-Semitism, we must first do the following internal and inter-community work:
1) Our Jewish community is very diverse. We must embrace and respect the various levels of Torah observances within our community. We must stand by Hasidic Jews and also be in solidarity with Reform Jews. We must accept all Jewish sects and love another without condition.
2) We must examine ourselves and our community. We must truly live our Jewish values and DO Jewish. We must have compassion, empathy, and care for our fellow Jew who may be in need. We must care for our home and community, first, in order to be a strong united team to fight hate together.
3) We must eradicate the segregation / exclusion, anti-Blackness, and antiSemitism within our own community. We must understand how we may be unconsciously biased, and how we participate in and benefit from racism and oppression. Diversity is our strength and as our Jewish community continues to become more racially diverse, we must include racial and gender representation. Diversity should be reflected throughout our community and in our organizations. Black, Asian, Mizrahi, Indigenous, and Latinx Jews should be leaders of organizations, serving on Boards of Directors, and managing programs. They should not be discriminated or retaliated against, muted, or ostracized for holding the mirror to our community, instead they should be embraced and invited to participate in the transformation that is needed to make our community more inclusive and equitable for all Jews. In order to create more harmony in our own community, we must balance and distribute the power and influence to other non-White Jews. We must evolve our community to embrace diversity and we must all personally do the work to be better mensches. When we change… the system changes. When individuals DO better, racism, bigotry, and hate are eradicated.
We need to address our inter-community issues first, then we can be a stronger team to address antiSemitism and racism externally. It is imperative to accept and celebrate the diversity in the Jewish community, because when everyone feels apart of the commUNITY, respect, trust, and solidarity flourishes. It is also critical to our very existence to stand together as one, not divided in religious sects, colors, races, genders, lifestyles, incomes, etc., but united as a diverse community holding one another with love.
As we continue to self reflect and do what we can to protect our lives, we must also start to do the work to abolish racism AND antiSemitism. Below are a few ways we can protect our safety, freedom, and existence:
1) Education:
* Learning about other people, their history, culture, and societal issues that impact them, help to combat ignorance and biases. When we understand other people we can create a better connection to effectively partner with them and solve problems together.
* Self study and self help are also important to personally evolve to be an empathetic person who respects differences. Reading books to understand unconscious racism, micro-aggressions, equity, systemic racism, antiSemitism, and implicit biases all help to create awareness related to issues that impact others and possibly ourselves. We can learn how we can do better to ensure the world is a better place for all people.
* Educating our youth regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion is important to ensure a better future. Teaching them by example and by study is critical to their development as a leader who lives our Jewish values. The youth are watching and learning from our words, actions, and inactions. When we are complicit regarding hateful comments, gestures, and bigoted actions, we teach our youth. We must immediately address the issue and teach them to be respectful of differences. We must teach them how to be better and have open and honest dialogue with them about current events, societal issues, fragility, privilege, and white supremacy. We must monitor their exposure to media that may demonize one group of people and correct the false information that is shared that may result in hateful thoughts and actions toward others. Teaching youth to value and celebrate diversity should be consistent and embedded in the school curriculum, Sunday school lessons, religious studies, and addressed throughout spring and summer camps. Our youth must understand history, Jewish relations in US and around the world, and the experiences of other people (genocide, apartheid, Jim Crow laws, colonization, etc.). Youth should also participate in activities to expose them to different people and attend trips to explore cultures around the world. Consider reading The Global Purpose Approach to learn more about ways to engage youth in diversity and cross cultural education.
2) Intersectional social justice:
Tikkun Olam and Tzedek must be intersectional. We must not only do what benefits Jews, but the lives of other non-Jews. We must support Black lives as they suffer chronic injustices and inequities. We must protest the cruelty of human life and advocate for immigrant rights, we must protect and care for our Muslim brothers and sisters oppressed and persecuted all around the world. We must stand in solidarity with other communities and work with them to improve their circumstances. When we support other issues that do not directly impact us, we build commUNITY with others. We create stronger human relations that reduce ignorance, intolerance, and bigotry.
3) Legislation
We must support ordinances, policies, and laws (local, state, & federal) that protect the rights of humans. We must advocate for hate crimes bill and ending mass incarceration. We must be conscious of fighting for laws that protect our community, without putting other people’s human and civil rights at risk. We must not only support laws that benefit us, but support laws that can help improve the lives of people different from us (immigration, reparations, gentrification, equitable education, etc.).
4) Representation & Inclusion:
We must ensure diversity inclusion within our community and create events/programs that include other people who may be different from us. When we create open community wide events embracing non-Jews, we should ensure representation from various races, cultures, and religions (not only Muslims and Christians, but Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, etc.). Working with Asian, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQIAP, Mizrahi, Israelis, Palestinians, and disabled people is important to create a bridge for better understanding and teamwork. We demonstrate respect for others as we work through the conflicts that may arise and as we consciously explore commUNITY together. We should also engage diversity in the planning, programming, and promotions of open community-wide events. We should understand the similarities between various religious holidays/celebrations and consider joint events to celebrate our diversity. We should have engagements that foster brave conversations to build awareness and empathy. Working on joint projects, initiatives, legislation, and doing community service together will also create strong bonds connecting our communities and reducing the fear that breeds hate.
5) Black and Jewish relations:
Jewish and Black communities have a long history of collaboration especially during the Civil Rights Movement. This history serves as a good foundation for how we should work together today on issues impacting both communities. We should understand the context of the historical tension between Blacks and Jews and study the current day impact. Many Blacks believe they are hated by non-Black Jews and some Jews are subjected to antiSemitism by Black people. We should investigate and explore the root cause of hate from both sides. We should be factual, objective, and authentic as we engage with one another to build a strong commUNITY. Transparent discussions are critical and Black Jews should be included in leading these conversations with Black people and White Jews. The conversations should result in strategic actions that ensure sustainable transformation. Black and Jewish coalitions should be revised to include the leadership of Black Jews. Jews should learn more about and support the current Black Lives Matter Movement. Jews should take actions to end structural racism that is destroying lives and the ability for Black people to equitably thrive. Black people should learn more about Jews and take actions to end antiSemitism. Swiftly condemning all acts of violence and terrorism, also demonstrate compassion and solidarity. Co-organizing, collaborating, and courageous conversations are important to reducing fear, distrust, intolerance, disrespect, and ignorance. Blacks and Jews have a shared history that intersects centuries ago. We are more connected than we may even realize, we are one in the same. It behooves us to join in the effort of eradicating bigotry that impacts us all.
Combating antiSemitism requires internal work within ourselves and our community first. Then it requires education, exposure, experiences, and collaboration with others. We must do all we can to protect ourselves, our families, and our community. We must also engage and seek common ground with others. We must unite to work on issues that are mutually beneficial and transformative.
I really hope for a better world, I hope we can all unite to fight hate and abolish all forms of bigotry. As we start the New Year 2020, may we start to take dedicated actions to make our communities stronger, safer, and more united than ever before.
