Jews are a complex people:
We are not just Ashkenazi-we are also Sephardic, and Mizrahi.
We are not just “white”-but mixed and People of Color
We are not just straight - but gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex
We are not just US/European born-but living all over the world and are of many cultures
We are women and girls
We are of all class backgrounds
We are not all able bodied
We are practicing and non-practicing Jews
Some of us have converted some of us born
We are not the only community to experience Anti-Semitism
All of us Jews.

The narrow way that Jewishness is framed inside and outside of the mainstream Jewish Diaspora in the United States is highly problematic for many of us and is a clear example of how dichotomies stymie our social justice work. The mainstream U.S. based Jewish Diaspora, for the most part, does not recognize our diverse expressions of Judaism, our many cultural and racial backgrounds and our complex experiences of Anti-Semitism. As a result, those of us who are not Ashkenazi, white, US born and straight are marginalized and made invisible within the Diaspora; our opinions are marginalized and de-legitimized by Jews and non-Jews alike. And still we are subject to anti-Semitism as well as to narrow definitions of anti-Semitism.

Many of us radical Jews, mixed race Jews, queer Jews, trans Jews, Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews work to challenge the sexism, racism, classism, homo/bi/trans phobia, xenophobia and other forms of oppression that are perpetuated within our ranks. Yet, this is not where our struggle ends. We are still confronted with all of the -isms (including anti-Jewish oppression) that are perpetuated by folks outside of the mainstream Jewish Diaspora.

Our social justice movements are not exempt from these binary forms of thinking, or from anti-Semitism. We believe it is imperative to begin asking questions about agency and accountability within our movements: Anti-Semitism is not a dead issue; it is alive and well in both its internalized and externalized forms and affects our ability to organize across communities. Jews with white privilege cannot substitute white guilt for Jewish identity; Jews of color within our movements exist and are a necessary and powerful force for confronting oppressions in their multiple forms.

Our experiences of our Jewishness and of Anti-Semitism highlight this point:

Ana:
“I cannot separate my experiences of Anti-Semitism from racism in particular, and to a lesser degree from sexism or homophobia. It is the assumptions that all Latinos are Catholic/Christian; or that all black people are from the United States; or that there are no Jews of color; or that being mixed makes one “less than” or “half” of something that is supposedly whole; or being Jewish means you own Brooklyn; or that Israel is homogenous; or that being queer means you don’t belong. It is being asked the question “So, is your mother Jewish?” (other Jews who have converted but who have white-skinned privileged are not subjected to this question) or having my mixed race identity being boiled down to a black, white and Jewish equation. These kinds of assumptions and experiences have ALL affected me, and yet, they do not diminish my personal relationship with Judaism and with positive social interactions that serve to affirm and confirm my sense of Jewish community and identity. These assumptions will never make me less of a Jew.”

Lisa:

“I can not separate out the anti-Jewish oppression that I often face from Anti-Arab racism, homophobia and sexism. As someone who lives at so many intersections, it’s very difficult to tease out or isolate the particulars of how one form of oppression manifests itself because what many people react to the whole package – Jewish/Arab-American, lesbian, women, mixed race. However, I also know when Anti-Semitism is part of the equation. It’s like I can smell and taste it. It’s an automatic response from my gut. What automatically comes up for me are those feelings I felt in Temple as a young child listening to stories of the Holocaust. Those painful and sick feelings that act as a clarifying force in my life and interactions with people. What I find interesting is that these feelings have given me what I need to take agency in situations where Anti-Semitism or any other form of oppression is present. They guide my actions, consciousness, my deep and strong desire for solidarity and determine who I form relationships with.”

Using Anti-Semitism as Fuel for an Exclusionary Agenda

The bottom line for both of us is that framing Jewishness and Anti-Semitism in narrow ways only furthers two very troubling premises: that all Jews are Ashkenazi, white, straight, wealthy and US/European born.; and that Jews are the only community to be targets of Anti-Semitism. The first premise only serves to perpetuate racism, sexism, homo/bi/trans phobia, classism and xenophobia inside and outside of the Jewish Diaspora. The second premise prevents the building of solidarity between Jews and other non-Christian communities who are targets of Anti-Semitism in a particular form. It is our belief that the reason why Anti-Semitism is framed in either/or ways is specifically to feed an imperialist/neo-colonialist and exclusionary framework that shatters all possibility of solidarity between non-Christian, mostly of color, communities.

Our stories highlight how problematic the first premise is. There is so much diversity in the Jewish community that it is impossible to define Jewishness and the experience of Anti-Semitism in simplistic ways. In addition, there are many Jews, including Aurora and Ricardo Levins Morales and Elly Bulkin among many, who have contributed significantly to challenging and deepening our understandings of the complexity of Jewish identities.

What we rarely see explored, is how narrowly Anti-Semitism is defined. Narrow definitions of Anti-Semitism get used as a tool of oppression and as justification for not building bridges of solidarity across communities. Why can’t we begin to make a distinction between the particularities of anti-Jewish oppression and the collective experience of Anti-Semitism that many non-Christian/Catholic communities face? In not making this distinction we perpetuate the notion that Arab Jews, Muslims, Hindus etc...do not exist and furthermore do not experience racism and Anti-Semitism simultaneously. These dichotomies and erasures not only serve to perpetuate a reactionary and conservative neo-colonialist/imperialist agenda worldwide but, within the framework of Zionism, they also fuel the Israeli government’s justification of the occupation of Palestine. In other words, with the ways in which anti-Semitism is currently utilized within our language and frameworks, the Israeli state does not have to own its racist actions because the occupation of Palestine is a necessary tool in combating Anti-Semitism and maintaining the Zionist project.

What we are calling for is an end to these false dichotomies. A misuse and abuse of identity politics by our movements has created a culture in which we risk our spiritual, physical, emotional and economic lives naming these intersections and dichotomies. Why are we so intent to separate ourselves from one another when we have enough pressure from outside of our movements to remain isolated and divided? This kind of reactionary politic must stop because our passion and vision for justice is being suffocated by this kind of thinking and practice. We are missing so many opportunities to band together, honor our humanity and have the collective awareness to understand the depths and complexity of the issues our communities face in facing the broader, sweeping forms of anti-Semitism.