Dear
Readers,
These columns began on my area of America Online, called: Judaism
Today: Where Do I Fit? People anonymously
sent me E-Mail, and I began to choose one for a public response
in my Jewish E-Mail of the Week column. The column has become
quite popular and is now syndicated internationally in many
Jewish papers and websites. I hope you find they help you
as you think about the Ethics, Spirituality and Peoplehood
components of the Jewish way of Life. I welcome your
comments... see the end of the column.
Gil
PS
Teachers and others, feel free to copy my columns and forward
them or use them as you see fit. Please see the friendly
copyright notice at the end. |
 |
|
JEWS,
BLACKS AND PREJUDICE
|
  |
These two emails came in separately. I
hope you will respond! Read on...
Dear Gil:
I remember when there was a sense of
community between Black and Jewish people. A camaraderie that doesn't
seem to exist anymore. Are any of your readers working to change this?
I'd love to hear from others.
P
Dear Gil:
I am African-American, 48 and I am
and have always been a friend of Israel and the Jewish people. My mother
worked as credit manager for a furniture chain that was Jewish owned and
they gave her a chance to make good, long before equal opportunity
employment.
What I don't like is the schism that
is steadily growing between the Black and Jewish communities. Our two
cultures that have suffered similar histories -- slavery and it's
degradations, and the Holocaust and it's cruelties give us more in
common than anything else.
I will always be a supporter of the
Jewish people and I know that with the Love of God we, as a people, will
advance together. Live in Perfect Peace,
K
Dear P and K:
In 1968, when I was in fifth grade, I
had a white teacher who was a hero and ahead of her time. My teacher,
Ms. Helland, marched and fought for Civil Rights in the South in the
60's and had her life threatened. She taught us of the evils of racial
discrimination and developed a curriculum that I remember vividly to
this day of amazing contributions made to America and the world by Black
people (years before there was a Black History Month in our country.) I
will never forget her anguish when Martin Luther King was assassinated.
The lessons she taught about prejudice
and discrimination resonated especially strongly with me because I knew
my family had suffered because of hatred.
Both of my parents lost large numbers
of their families in the Holocaust.
With this as a personal backdrop, I
view as tragic the strain in the relationship between Jewish and black
people in recent years. I have read all the claims and counterclaims by
Jews and African Americans on all sides of the various disputes. Yes, I
have seen data showing anti-Semitism amongst African Americans. I have
also personally heard on many occasions Jews speaking racist words.
While both behaviors are pathetic, I want to believe that most Blacks
and Jews would like to get along.
I agree with your comment that we have
much in common. We, who as minorities have suffered from persecution
must work together. We used to do this a lot. Many people don't realize
that in 1909, Jews were amongst the founders of the NAACP (including 2
rabbis.) A year later, Jews also helped form the Urban League.
During the civil rights movements of
the 60's Jews participated in large numbers, contributing money,
marching in the South, even giving their lives. Martin Luther King
himself wrote "It would be impossible to record the contribution
that the Jewish people have made toward the Negro's struggle for freedom
-- it has been so great."
But today, Blacks and Jews don't seem
to work together as we did in the Sixties. As a reader of this column
you may be thinking "I am just one person, what can I do?" I
have one timely suggestion that relates to the current controversy about
the Confederate flag flying above the capital in South Carolina. The
NAACP and others have called for this flag to be removed as it is a
symbol of slavery and bigotry toward Blacks.
As a Jew, I empathize with this
protest. Imagine if the Nazi flag was flying proudly from a city hall in
a German town or for that matter from any government building anywhere
in the world. Would Jews not protest loudly and clearly?
Well, we Jews should be loudly and
clearly protesting now in solidarity with African Americans. I am not
motivated by the politics of this issue. I am moved by a sense of
ethical obligation to speak out as a Jew. The Torah tells us repeatedly
to remember Egypt and what being an oppressed minority feels like.
So readers, I encourage you to speak
up, email or copy this column and send to others, write letters to the
editor, and ask your rabbis to do so as well. Contact your local Jewish
Community Relations Council and ask them to issue a statement. Ask
teachers in your religious schools to teach children about this flag
controversy and why Jews should care and speak up. Do something!
These efforts may be a small step in
improving relations between our two peoples, but it is a step. As the
Talmud says, "You are not obligated to complete the work but
neither are you free to ignore the work." I hope you will speak up!
Gil
A FRIENDLY COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© Copyright Gil Mann
These columns can be found at www.beingjewish.org. Not
only do I give you permissions to copy these Jewish Email
columns...I HOPE YOU WILL and that you share them with others!
All I ask is that you never charge anyone for them and that you
also include this little copyright notice. Thank You!
|
|
