By Rabbi Rick Jacobs and Chris Harrison
On May 6, ReformJudaism.org published an article called “How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Impacting Jews of Color,” which was written to highlight the experiences and amplify the voices of Jews of Color who have been disproportionately affected by this global crisis.
The piece includes the voices and experiences of Reform Jews of Color and quotes statistics from “Counting Inconsistencies: An Analysis of American Jewish Population Studies, with a Focus on Jews of Color (2019),” a demographic study by the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative, led by Executive Director Ilana Kaufman. Analyzing data from 25 different population studies, “Counting Inconsistencies” determined that an estimated 12-15 percent of American Jews are Jews of Color.
On May 17, eJewish Philanthropy published an article by Ira M. Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky called “How Many Jews of Color Are There?” In quoting the Initiative’s findings, the authors assert that their data is false and that the actual percentage of Jews of Color is closer to 6 percent.
It is appalling that the authors chose to publish their article at all, but especially during such an uncertain, devastating period such as the one we’re enduring now. Sadly, their words reflect the stark reality that racism does indeed exist here, in our Jewish community.
At the Union for Reform Judaism’s 2019 Biennial gathering (which itself, sadly, was not free of racist behavior), held in December, attendees and presenters alike discussed at length this reality: Racism isn’t only “out there somewhere;” it also lives within our own Jewish communities – and inside us individually. Our commitment to embracing our Jewish diversity and combatting hate is one of the most urgent moral imperatives of our time, and we can’t dismantle racism if we haven’t done the work of checking our own.
In a time when our only certainty is uncertainty, when death and loss surround us, and when our spiritual leaders are calling for unity, we have the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the most vulnerable among us. And yet, during this time when unity is more important than ever, the authors instead used their voices to further alienate Jews of Color and undo the work that has, frankly, only just begun to better support this underrepresented segment of our community.
So many times, Jews of Color have chosen to speak about times when they were met with aggression, asked to prove their authenticity as Jews, or made invisible in majority-white Jewish spaces, only to then be ignored or met with skepticism, defensiveness, and/or denial. Articles like this, fueled by a similar lack of empathy, neither alleviate the hurt that Jews of Color have endured nor suggest ways to make our spaces environments where Jews of Color would want to be. Instead, such reactions purport that they barely exist at all – sentiments that inevitably leave many Jews of Color feeling less welcome in Jewish spaces on the whole.
Further, such arguments seek to separate scholarship from the lived experiences and accompanying emotions of Jews of Color. By focusing solely on statistics, detractors neither examine nor even consider why, exactly, Jews of Color are not visible in our communities in a way that reflects Kaufman’s data. As writer and speaker Ally Henny explains:
“Intellectualizing about racially oppressed folks without incorporating their feelings and experiences into the intellectual process is an act of white supremacist violence. Whiteness has a lot of people convinced that black, brown, and indigenous folks are incapable of being reliable narrators of our own stories … and places our stories … into the hands of people who stand to benefit from our marginalization.”
Further, we ask: Even without the numbers, even without the studies, are the voices and shared experiences of Jews of Color not enough? Is our anti-oppression work only “worth it” if the number of Jews of Color in our ranks reaches a certain percentage? The answer, we hope, is a resounding “of course not.” As Jews, we are driven by our pursuit of justice and of treating equitably all who are marginalized, for we know that our liberation is interdependent upon one another.
Articles like Sheskin and Dashefsky’s are indicative of the fear that resides in many white-dominated spaces and are reactionary to the work that organizations like ours seek to do: the work of disrupting oppression within our communities, addressing unearned power and privilege, and acknowledging our actual Jewish diversity.
We want to make a few things absolutely clear.
The Jews of Color Field Building Initiative is led by incredible researchers who have done tremendous, valuable work to determine their statistics – despite faulty Jewish demographic studies of the past, which led to the need for “Counting Inconsistencies” in the first place. The Initiative is made up of consummate professionals who have gone above and beyond to right the wrongs of the past and to bring all Jews together, and we commend them for it.
Just as the Reform Jewish Movement stands with the Initiative’s statistical findings, so too do we stand with Jews of Color.
In a time when resources are shrinking, when the economy is suffering, and when companies and organizations must reduce workforces in order to survive, it is often the most vulnerable who become even more vulnerable. The URJ will continue to shine light on the voices of the most marginalized among us, including Jews of Color, and to reiterate both their existence and their essential value in our sacred communities. We will not forget the needs nor will we ignore the voices of Jews of Color during this pandemic, chaotic as it is, and we will guarantee their necessary role in our future Jewish communities.
It is clear that considerable work still remains to be done. To make up for faulty research of the past, new studies, like ”Counting Inconsistencies,” must be conducted in order to more fully understand how many Jews of Color exist in America, where they live, how they engage Jewishly, and other important questions. But we will not tolerate white intellectualism intended to diminish research conducted by and about Jews of Color.
The times in which we live are far from certain – which is why we pledge our continued commitment to honoring, valuing, and recognizing the essential value of Jews of Color in all areas of Jewish life.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs is the president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the largest movement in North American Jewish life. Chris Harrison is a writer and editor for the URJ, focusing on the work of Audacious Hospitality.
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Good thoughts. It is so important, during a time like this, a time in which our society is so divided.
seriously? because someone says 6% and someone else says 12%, you call the 6% folks racist, or at least insinuate that they are racist? “Sadly, their words reflect the stark reality that racism does indeed exist here, in our Jewish community.”
of course we stand with Jews of color, whether they be 1%, 6%, 12%, 80%.
I’m just confused why you would label someone racist because their numbers show something different than yours. sad.
Excellent response to this very polarized and unproductive conversation. Thank you for being truly inclusive and working to create a community that best reflects our shared values.
It is unfair to insinuate racism because another opinion on statistical analysis is used. That is not in the spirit of science. I fail to see what difference it makes if Jews of Color are 6%; 9%; 12%; or 15%. We need all Jews to join together to fight against antisemitism and for the survival of Israel. I am tired of “progressive” people always using racism as an argument against any opinion they don’t agree with. I am against this as I am against ultraorthodox telling anyone that they are not a Jew.
Iran does not care where you exist on the political spectrum or the color spectrum, they will kill you if they could.
When I was a High School debater I took the “con” side of the issue, which meant to prevail we had a few choices: we could argue the ineffectiveness of the solution, an alternative solution that was better, or we could argue that the problem was not important enough to be addressed.
The article to which Rabbi Jacobs and Mr. Harrison is responding, was a thinly veiled attempt at the significance argument – by cutting in half the number of Jews of color, and ignoring the methodology of reports like the Pew report that will certainly undercount Jews of Color, those authors, without saying it, suggested that there aren’t enough Jews of color for us to worry about. It is a diminishing of the lived experience of Jews of Color.
The real question is, what was the point of that article? If the number doesn’t matter, why write an article contradicting the significance of the issue?
The idea put forth here, is that if I read a statistical report, and disagree with the methodology utilized, I can not put forth that disagreement, because, if I do, I am “fueled by a (…) lack of empathy,” “(my) words (would) reflect the stark reality that racism does indeed exist,” and I would have engaged in “white supremacist violence.” I am disappointed to read that this is apparently the position of the Reform Movement.
Righting the wrongs of the past has nothing to do with inaccurate data. If your data models are better, show your work. Furthermore, there’s actually a simple answer to your question about the voices and experiences of JOC or anybody else being enough: nope, subjective experience isn’t enough when looking at population level problems. There’s a reason that social science has both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, both of which are important. I really, really doubt that when Rabbi Jacobs laid off 20 percent of the staff of the URJ, he relied solely on the “voices and experiences of the staff” to determine who got the ax. I’m betting there were some numbers involved, but please, prove me wrong.
How sad that in a year of the national census, mandated by our Constitution, religious leaders would viciously attack demographers for doing their best professional work. For the purposes of a moral stance of inclusion, it doesn’t matter if the percentage of JOC (or any other Jewish demographic) is 6, 8, 10 or 20, but for the purposes of dollar allocation and program planning, it sure as heck does. I’m confident Rabbi Jacobs knows that and it’s unfortunate that he’s chosen to obscure the difference.
All we did here is to point out that the Pew Report 2013, the most reliable data available on American Jews, says it is 6%, not the “at least 12-15%” that the Jews of Color report suggests. Apparently Jews of Color think the number is important since an organization that advocates for Jews of Color sponsored the study that came up with the 12-15%! But that number is simply wrong and Jewish community planners need to know this.
It does not mean that we do not support inclusivity. We do. It does not mean that we are racists. We are not. If you think there is something wrong with the 6%, call Pew. We just reminded people that that is what Pew said. We did not come up with our own number. We simply reported a number from a reliable source.
Ira Sheskin
to know the real reason Rabbi Jacobs engaged in these ad hominem attacks read here
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/our-true-colors
Self righteous disguised as empathy does disservice to the Jews of Color by applying the new Progressive McCarthyism ” don’t bother me with the facts, you are a racist for questioning two plus two equals four”. The real reason is that Rabbi Jacobs’ acceptance of Jews of Color is limited to a security guard at his URJ’s offices
Larry – this is a great article ( https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/our-true-colors ) and i only see where the author praises rabbi jacobs while simultaneously explaining the serious issues of her experiences at a reform movement event. not sure why he would need to write the above essay “in response” – oh well.
All,
I just read the article and it is a great article. Our article was NOT about this issue. It was simply reporting a number. But hopefully this article will get reprinted in many many places so that people will understand the issue.
Ira
I don’t understand how trying to see how many JOC really are there is racist. Rather the opposite, don’t we, as a community want to know how many Jews of different races, origins and backgrounds are so as to have an accurate date of our community and plan accordingly? The authors didn’t throw out incendiary, unproven data, they quoted Pew, the most respected research org in America. They didn’t advocate against inclusion, they just wanted to get the rigth data. I really don’t get the anger. BTW, the indignant article of the URJ doesn’t say that the data is wrong, it acusses the authors but doesn’t discuss their points.
Ronnie,
Thank you for your comments.
Ira
Just so long as you count three of my four grandchildren as Jews of color you’ve got it right, because they are.
First, I stand with Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Chris Harrison, & Jews of Color. Second, as to the above Comments that deliberately miss the article’s point, or argue against it, WOW. Just WOW.