It is not unusual for a Jew of color to be asked, “How did you get to be Jewish?” Quite simply the question stems from their appearance, “You don’t look Jewish.” There are a number of ways that an adult from a biracial Jewish or interfaith family can arm themselves for these micro-aggressions. Join Kim…
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Black Lives Matters & Yes, there are Black Jews
I had an ah-ha moment this week. I had attended a community meeting on the subject of responding to the violence against black people. We met at a black church. The event was organized by PICO, an organization that teaches faith-based community organizing. There were people of different faiths and races present. Afterwards there was…
Read More »Jewish and Asian in San Francisco
A 2004 study of the bay area Jewish population found that 14% of families in our community include Jews of color. That means that at least every tenth Jew you see is a multiracial Jew or lives in a multiracial family. But that was nine years ago. That percentage can only have grown. You would…
Read More »Multiracial Jews, “You don’t need to ask how I happen to be Jewish”
Sunday’s program was quite powerful. Young adults talked about being Black, Asian or biracial AND Jewish. They described the painful and incessant questioning that white Jews typically feel the need to do: Are you Jewish? How did you get to be Jewish? Did you convert? Did one of your parents convert? Which one? Recently I…
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