David Holifield; Unsplash
Last week, hosted by the Avodah Institute for Social Change and the Black Jewish Liberation Collective, hundreds of people gathered on Zoom to discuss antisemitism, racism, and how we can combat both. Our discussion oriented around one core idea: that there is no vision of a safe haven for Jews in the United States if that vision does not also include an end to racism and other oppressions. Our liberation is unquestionably intertwined.
It is possible to insist that antisemitism needs to be addressed in all of its forms, and also to understand that it only truly happens when we are part of essential movements working towards a better world for as many of us as possible. We are not going to let either of these cancel out the other – we are not going to abandon either our commitment to addressing and dismantling antisemitism or our commitment to social justice movements. We have to turn towards that work, not away from it. We can say that this work matters to us, and that the safety of all Jews matters to us, and that those overlap.
We can continue to address antisemitism and call on our allies to stand up for us, and we can make sure that we show up for them. We have a choice to make: do we believe in an interdependent future where we are all liberated or not? And, perhaps most importantly, what are we each willing to do to get there?
—excerpt from an upcoming op-ed by Sarra Alpert (Director of the Avodah Institute for Social Change) and Gamal Palmer (Lead Faculty, Avodah Institute for Social Change and Global Diversity and Inclusion Specialist)
Recommendations
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