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You are here: Home / The Blog / White Jews – Wake Up. We’re Part of the Problem.

White Jews – Wake Up. We’re Part of the Problem.

June 21, 2020 By eJP

By Matt Fieldman

I want to speak to white Jews like myself: people born into middle-class families, who have done as well or even slightly better than our parents. We are everything our immigrant grandparents and great-grandparents hoped we would be socio-economically. My own grandfather came to this country after World War I from Poland, orphaned and accompanied by his six siblings, with not a penny in their pockets. He would be thrilled to see his college-educated Jewish grandchildren and great grandchildren, firmly entrenched in the middle class, enjoying our white collar jobs, owning homes in suburbia, and sending our children to Jewish day school and overnight camp. The beneficiaries of intergenerational wealth and status, we are the very definition of white privilege.

I’m writing this to call us out; out of love and brotherhood, I want white American-born Jews like myself to step up for racial justice. I want us to evolve the way we talk about race with our children. I was taught growing up that since white Europeans were the people that murdered my grandfather’s family back in Poland, along with millions of other Jews, then we were not white Americans. That Jews had no role in slavery (not true). That Jews had no role in the Confederacy (not true). That Jews were on the front lines in the civil rights movement (only partly true). That we understand what oppression is, having lived through it ourselves (problematic at best).

It took a two-day training through the Racial Equity Institute to open my eyes to the realities behind my family’s narrative. The programs so venerated by white American Jews – the GI Bill that sent my grandfather to college; the FHA loan for his first house in Park Rapids, Minnesota; the small business loan to start his Army/Navy Surplus store – were critical to our ascension into the middle class. But look under the hood, and you realize those programs discriminated against Blacks, women, and many others.

Instead of thinking critically about who lost as we gained in America, we instead subscribed to the notion that we built our businesses on our own, lifting ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We were lulled into complacency by our nice houses in the suburbs and cushy, recession-proof jobs. We believed that, because America was founded on Judeo-Christian values, all Americans must believe in b’tzelem Elohim: that all lives matter and our country respects people of all backgrounds. Ironically for a people obsessed with our own historical narrative, Jews have accepted the excellence of this country without recognizing or reconciling with its horrific past. We have internalized the American myth, “Jews are an ethnic minority. Since we succeeded in this country, other diverse groups should be able to as well.”

Sadly, the American dream for Jews, to paraphrase Malcolm X, has been a nightmare for Black people, and we can’t even begin to relate. In America, we didn’t have to fight legal battles for hundreds of years just to be considered a full person, a full citizen with human rights, the way African-Americans did. When Black people protest, the police show up in riot gear with tear gas; when Jews show up to a rally or protest, the police wave and guide traffic. We aren’t seeing Jews die disproportionately as a result of COVID-19. And while we remember the singular lynching of Leo Frank, we can’t forget that African-Americans have been lynched in over 800 American counties – a list that continues to grow to this day.

Worse than our own gullibility, in our move to the suburbs and higher up the socioeconomic ladder, we have left others behind. As Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti put it, we have moved from “a past of persecution to a present of privilege,” accepted into the elite ranks of American society. We have moved our Jewish institutions to the suburbs without making investments in our cities and the non-Jewish communities residing – and sometimes relegated to – polluted downtown neighborhoods. We have lost proximity to others that need us, particularly black, brown, and indigenous communities. Because we have been so warmly welcomed and integrated into this country – in no small part because of our white skin – we have been lulled into complacency, enjoying our “insider” status instead of remaining vigilant in our struggle to protect and defend other outsiders. As a result of this acculturation and assimilation, we have forgotten the words of Rabbi Joachim Prinz, spoken on the steps of the Capitol during the 1963 March on Washington: “Our fathers taught us thousands of years ago that when God created man, he created him as everybody’s neighbor. Neighbor is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept. It means our collective responsibility for the preservation of man’s dignity and integrity.”

This complicity has come from both sides of the political spectrum. On the right, conservative Jews advocate dismantling social programs that directly help people of color, and demanding unwavering support of Israel as a prerequisite for engaging non-Jews on social issues. On the left, liberal Jews read a few books and consider themselves “woke” – not realizing that awakening is a journey and process, not a destination – then fall victim to what Julius Lester called “benevolent racism,” imposing new and paternalistic social programs on communities, without their buy-in or input. We have demonstrated ignorance and outright racism in our hiring practices, our housing preferences, and so much more. I can only speak from my limited perspective, but one need only look at the marginal nature of many race-conscious Jewish social justice organizations, like Be’chol Lashon, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, and Jews United for Justice to see how we have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to this crucial issue.

It’s time, as American Jews, to put our Jewish identities first. As Avraham Infeld reminds us, Jews don’t have history, we have memory. We must remember that for the vast majority of our 3,500 year history, we’ve been the outsiders, the outcasts of whatever society we found ourselves in. Our past experience of persecution requires us to join our Black brothers and sisters on the front lines today. Our 400 years of general tolerance and acceptance in this country is a proverbial “drop in the bucket” in the larger arc of Jewish history. In America, that arc has not bent towards justice for all citizens, and we can no longer stand idly by the blood of our neighbors.

With this American outlier in its historic context, we have to speak out about the injustices we see from the depths of our Jewish souls, and stop being okay with the incongruence between American society and our Judaism. For example, mass incarceration is not a Jewish value; in fact, the only instance of incarceration in the Torah is when a corrupt Egyptian system unfairly jails Joseph as a result of the incident with Potiphar’s wife – perhaps the first unjust incarceration. We are a people that believe in teshuvah, returning to the right path after a transgression, yet as Americans we reject, demean, and discard people returning from incarceration. We have to recognize that the police, for all their good works serving Jewish communities and even protecting our synagogues on Shabbat mornings, have become instruments of subjugation inside Black neighborhoods.

As the American reality has drifted so far from our Jewish ideals, we must realize that oppression is as real today as it was in Biblical times. Except now, we have to consider the possibility that we, white American-born Jews, are the Egyptians in this situation. Abraham Joshua Heschel saw this back in 1963, proclaiming, “We are all Pharoahs or slaves of Pharaohs. It is sad to be a slave of Pharaoh. It is horrible to be a Pharaoh.”

In many ways we have fought to maintain a racist and oppressive status quo. When asked to support Black Lives Matter, many of us have pointed to Black support of BDS and Palestinian liberation as a flimsy excuse to stand on the sidelines. We have lived the mantra tzedek, tzedek tirdof – “justice, justice you shall pursue” – as long as it didn’t require any sacrifices of our own privilege or resources. We aren’t the conductors of this train called America, but we’ve certainly enjoyed our comfortable seats on it. We have been complicit in many aspects of systemic racism, and we are in need of our own teshuvah. As Jerry Isaak-Shapiro wrote recently, we are in need of beating our chest and reciting, “Al chet she-chatanu lefanecha – for the sin of not accepting that we are privileged, and that while we face very real prejudices – still, and still tangible and dangerous – it is incumbent upon us to marshal that privilege, to do all that we can with all that we have…”

If we want the relative peace we’ve experienced as American Jews to last, we have to start thinking about race, and we need to use an equity lens for every decision we make. We can’t just condemn the blatant racism we see on a cellphone video, but – like searching for chametz before Passover – we need to find and root out the racist structures and policies undergirding all aspects of American society. It is hard to argue that any American system – education, healthcare, law, social welfare, etc – isn’t stacked against Black people, and Jewish leaders at all levels of these systems have to push harder for change and improvement. We have to challenge the status quo – even though the status quo got us to this point and undermining it may have negative ramifications on our white-skinned Jewish community.

Friends, we have done an amazing job of living the Jewish value, “Kol yisrael arevim zeh la’zeh” (all Jews are responsible one for the other). It has served us well to this point, but it’s time to move on. It’s time to stand with the Black community in dismantling unjust systems. It’s time to recognize, in the words of the African-American poet Gwendolyn Brooks, “We are each other’s
harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”

Matt Fieldman is a social entrepreneur and fundraiser living in Beachwood, Ohio. He helped start several workforce development programs, including EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute and Cleveland Codes. He is currently a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Civil Society Fellowship, A Partnership of ADL and The Aspen Institute, and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shelley Fishbach says

    June 21, 2020 at 3:27 pm

    Kol HaKavod, Matt!

  2. Peter Margolis says

    June 21, 2020 at 4:59 pm

    These are powerful words and a call to action. And, like everything that involves Jews, it gets complicated very quickly. Black Lives Matter does not merely support BDS, it is a demonstrably antisemitic political movement racing rapidly toward the mainstream. The “Palestinian liberation” that it supports is far too often predicated on the elimination of the Jewish state “from the river to the sea.” And the elevation of George Floyd (who, let it be said unequivocally once again, did not deserve to be murdered) to near-sainthood is a singularly poor choice of hero given what is known about his life of crime, misogyny, and abandoned children. Yes, we can and must do better in confronting racism, including choosing the forces with whom to forge new alliances. There are other options besides BLM, and as Jews we have the right to disqualify any organization that is tainted by antisemitism.

  3. Bradley Caro Cook says

    June 21, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    I’d like to offer a separate, and personal interpretation for Kol Yisrael arevim zeh b’zeh” that might be worthwhile for we as Jews to consider in relation to your strong article.
    If you break apart Yisrael, Yisra-El to being those who struggle with Power (meaning El, G-d’a powerful name) it changes the meaning of the phrase to what you are encouraging. All those that “struggle with Power” are responsible for on another.
    In separate ways Jews and Blacks have struggled with power over the millennia. Therefore this timeless G-d sent wisdom, still applies to all humanity beyond the commonly understood translation.

    May we soon see a time when we all take responsibility for all humanity and the world no longer needs to be repaired.

  4. Bob Hyfler says

    June 21, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    The day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, I hitched a ride on the elevator of the Yeshiva of Flatbush H.S. (I was a graduating Senior.) On the elevator were two Talmud instructors, one Ashkenazi Haredi, one Syrian Sefardi. One turned to the other and in a normal voice, not a whisper, said, “??? ??? ??”. Some are guilty, all are responsible.

  5. Bob Hyfler says

    June 21, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    Correction on my comment above with Hebrew text “ode kelev met” translated into english:

    The day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, I hitched a ride on the elevator of the Yeshiva of Flatbush H.S. (I was a graduating Senior.) On the elevator were two Talmud instructors, one Ashkenazi Haredi, one Syrian Sefardi. One turned to the other and in a normal voice, not a whisper, said in Hebrew, “another dog has died”. Some are guilty, all are responsible.

  6. Sarah Leeov says

    June 22, 2020 at 4:28 am

    Fantastic article. Well put. We should all look in the mirror, and at our own actions (or lack thereof). To the other comments above, just because some Jews were involved in the civil rights movement does not mean that enough Jews were involved in the civil rights movement. Read ‘price of whiteness’ by Eric Goldstein if you need more info. Also, BLM and BDS are NOT the point of the article above. Instead of looking for some reason NOT to accept any responsibility, please pause for just a moment and think about what YOU have done to help black people get to where white jews have gotten. Exactly.

  7. R'Evan says

    June 22, 2020 at 5:25 am

    Matt, so delighted to read this!

  8. Irene S Rabinowitz says

    June 25, 2020 at 3:59 pm

    “We aren’t seeing Jews die disproportionately as a result of COVID-19”. This is incorrect. We are seeing Jews dying from Covid 19 disproportionately. Daily messages from Brooklyn, Monsey, Five Towns, etc. reached those of us who live in Israel. Virtual shiva visits after Purim became all too common. Maybe because the writer has no contacts within the Orthodox community, he is unaware of the incredible losses we have suffered. I won’t address the rest of the article that I find objectionable. Only this because it made me realize that some non-Orthodox Jews do not value Orthodox lives.

  9. Renee Rubin Ross says

    June 26, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    Matt –thank you for your courage in speaking up. There is so much work to do to move toward a more equitable society.

  10. Fran Gordon says

    June 27, 2020 at 7:29 pm

    Matt, thank you for your passionate piece. I agree that those of us who have benefited from our white privilege must use our political, economic, social and communal power to undue systemic racism in all its forms. It is THE Jewish imperative of our times.

  11. Richard Skeen says

    June 29, 2020 at 4:21 pm

    This is a moment that demands deeper thinking and louder voices from the Jewish community, and like so many, I’ve learned and appreciate younger voices (including those in my own house) who’ve brought new perspective, urgency and a willingness to actively protest against injustice. Many of those orgs and activists fighting this fight for some time feel justifiably emboldened, but I’d suggest your message is stronger if it both takes into account two elements you overlook: 1. the significant work Jews have done to fight poverty, education access and civil rights before this moment (I live in the Newark suburbs that Rabbi Prinz so heavily influenced: his legacy and that work still animates what we do, including educating our children in truly integrated schools, and working to close the various gaps that still haunt our society…maybe not the virtue-signaling social media highlight of marching, but very important work). 2. The reason groups like JFREJ had a tepid embrace from mainstream Jewry is that while we shared their aim, their sometimes reckless alliances and actions undermined the work. It is hard to imagine Rabbi Heschel or Prinz siding up with those who disregard Jewish self-determination or threaten Jewish well-being (MLK recognized why Jews supported his effort, and shared Israel’s right to exist). When fringe groups like JVP, IfNotNow and JFREJ chose to embrace Sarsour, or Odeh, it isn’t unreasonable for some of us to feel suspect that we’re not all on the same page, or at least frustrated that the distraction undermines the critical work. Still, a good piece.

  12. adamhecktman says

    July 1, 2020 at 3:54 am

    Don’t we have a responsibility regardless of whether or not a segment of the Black population supports BDS? Doesn’t the concept of justice sit a level or two higher than a movement that we oppose? I feel like it is a missed opportunity not to fight for equity when in another time, this was us.

  13. Elana Wien says

    July 2, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    Re: “I want to speak to white Jews like myself: people born into middle-class families, who have done as well or even slightly better than our parents…enjoying our white collar jobs, owning homes in suburbia, and sending our children to Jewish day school and overnight camp. The beneficiaries of intergenerational wealth…”

    I greatly appreciate this article and the key points about white Jews needing to recognize their privilege and taking an active role in dismantling racism.

    I am also seeking a more nuanced class analysis that I feel is lacking in our communal discussion of these issues, also reflected in our broader society. Too often white Jews refer to other white Jews as if they have the same characteristics of what I would call our “donor class” – folks who are not middle class, but actually wealthy with the ability to own multiple homes and be major philanthropists. What I see: a shrinking middle class for decades in this country, directly reflected in our Jewish community. White-identifying Jews, raising families as a single parent, or with a white partner, or in a multiracial family, not able to own a home, not able to send their kids to day school and summer camp, with boomer parents not able to retire, let alone pass along intergenerational wealth. I have done no formal research on this – it’s just what I see. And my purpose for raising it not to detract from this piece and the ideas put forward. I understand how a white person in that situation is still in a position of great privilege due to being white in our society. And I also get that the author was very clear at the top of the piece to clarify who the target audience was. And…
    There are a lot of ways we can help white Jews recognize their own privilege and dismantle racism that is also consistent with their economic realities, and I would love to see more discussion of that.

  14. J Rafsky says

    July 2, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    Why were the comments made by me and by another person prior to me, disputing the premise and content of this article, deleted?

  15. Editor says

    July 3, 2020 at 2:17 am

    Because we received multiple complaints that they were disrespectful.

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