Some of you may be thinking: what is a nice ultra-Orthodox lady like yours truly doing writing an article for a super left-wing website like this one? I’m supposedly part of the “establishment”–house in Lakewood (Ir Hakodesh), kids in yeshivas and Bais Yaakovs with recognizable names, husband davens in a shteibl (tiny gathering, smaller than a shul). I have the minivan, the 12’ long dining room table and the kosher flip phone with the “under Rabbinical control” sticker on it. Did I take a wrong turn somewhere?
No, I didn’t. I may be among the establishment, but do not mistake me for being of the establishment. Machiavelli and I share a similar sentiment: “There is nothing more to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in introduction of a new order of things.”
As Deputy Editor of Tribe Herald, I see the stirrings of change everyday. I search social media for relevant, authentic content that reflects the views the organization shares, that we want to share with others. Tribe Herald is unafraid to ask the hard questions, the ones that make you feel a bit like you need Rolaids and a sit-down afterwards.
2020 (so far) has been the year where all the questions are being asked. Shouting them down, talking over them, or beating them into a box is no longer tolerable. Time to put up or shut up, and not a single member of Tribe Herald is going to be quiet until every marginalized voice is heard, until every single Jewish person can walk down a street and know their Jewish is equal to everyone else’s Jewish (thanks for that turn of phrase, MaNishtana!).
This is the year of Black Lives Matter, the census, and the crippling of the Blaine Amendment. Statues of past oppressors are toppling into rivers and seas, and a good hard look is being taken at nearly every facet of race and ethnicity. One such facet is White privilege.
White privilege allows Caucasians to move freely in society. It doesn’t hinder them in terms of education, place of residence, freedom of inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It allows for opportunities in education, employment, and expressions of opinion that a non-White person rarely would get to experience. It provides safety in numbers, and allows those who are White a rare chance to live unburdened with the limitations and prejudices of their own races or ethnicities. It’s like living in smog and taking a breath of clean country air.
Supposedly. I don’t know too much about that, and neither do most Jews I know.
For Jews, White privilege is both fact and fiction. The ability to “pass” is dependent on so many factors fitting into place, and of course the begrudging, controlling so-called generosity of the White people around them. When it is convenient, trendy or charitable, there is more White privilege, more room to breathe. When it is not, then you have the expulsions of old and the systemic prejudices of today.
So let’s ask the question, shall we? Are Jews that are not of color “White”? “No” is the overwhelming answer I received after a few questions asked among different groups of friends and family–Jews, non-Jews, persons of color, white persons, older and younger persons. I wanted a wide source of opinions to see if there was a common factor, something that would form a pattern.
These are generalizations, but they are interesting to note.
Many (the majority) of Jews not of color identify as “Jewish” or “Other”. To most, Jews are not White, they are Jews, period. Skin color doesn’t determine that but who your parents and grandparents are and where they came from does. Converts who are not of color and with no Jewish ancestry identify as White or their ethnicity. Some Jews feel that they are all colors, and that Jews as a whole can be and are of all colors, White included. Jews who are older and more secular tended to identify as white, because of the lack of appropriate language (such as on official forms) or the fact they feel Judaism isn’t a race or ethnicity, but a religion and set of traditions. “Other” is too vague, “White” brings connotations of anti-Semitism. But if your skin is pale or olive and obviously not of color, it was safest, easiest, most expedient to check the box next to “White”.
For those who refused to identify as White, such as the ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic Jews, their vehemence came from personal or familial experiences, and/or a sense of pride in their Jewish identity. From having family that escaped the pogroms and death camps, to having relatives who were ostracized or unwelcome in certain areas, this translated into a defiant pride in being Jewish.
White privilege may exist, but it is no easy concept to live with. There is gratitude, because in instances it literally has saved lives. There is a sense of guilt, of taking advantage. There is also anger and resentment–White privilege is a tool of manipulation and a smoke screen at best, non-existent at worst. White privilege will offer with one hand, then beat and discriminate with the other. It is of benefit when whites need something, and it never lets you forget your place when they have no more use for you.
Where is the privilege in knowing one day Mr. and Mrs. John Smith are friendly and wave “Good morning!” to you, and the next day act as if you were an evil that needs to be destroyed? Where is the privilege of being friends with your co-workers, your schoolmates, your neighbors only to have that camaraderie fade away like chalk drawings in a rainstorm? It starts slowly, barely noticeable, and progresses til you know not to go to certain places without a cap or a sheitel, you pull your kids from public school, and you quite possibly move to somewhere less hostile.
Jews come in all colors, races, ethnicities and nationalities. There are Jews in every continent in the world, in almost every country of the world. Yes, it is important to know where you came from, who and what you are for no other reason that to feel that yes, this is where I belong. These are my people, my Tribe. G’d made 12 of them for a reason.
Must I give my opinion? Well, put up or shut up. G’d knows I don’t shut up, so here goes.
I don’t care, and it doesn’t matter to me. (And no I am not color-blind, so don’t give me that mess). What your outside looks like or where you come from is of no importance–your menschkeit (good character) is. As Jews in the Diaspora, we all have to live with confines and constructs that don’t sit easily within us. Yet, we still live. Be unafraid. Never be apologetic for your Jewishness, for the color of your skin. Safely (because you’re supposed to live as a Jew as opposed to dying as one) magnify your presence and your voice. And do not stop until everyone’s Jewish is on the same wavelength, with none better or worse because of skin color, ethnicity or tradition.
Nissim Black says it best, far better than I ever could. There are no translated lyrics online, so I listened to his song “Yachad” about 10 times to get the relevant parts. Apologies for any mistranslations in advance.
So I figure I speak/on the topic of we Cuz when we look at it deep/we see the opposite, see Sefardi, Teimani, it won’t matter to a Nazi If he’s Ethopian, if he’s religious or Mizrahi
We let Hashem choose it/His words are These and Those Remember He won’t see a guf/only neshama
Be Hispanic, Jamaican, or Germanic/Italian, Japanese, Indian or Pakistani
I see the G’d in your eyes, will you imagine it?
