>it was said in 1988--
>
>"While generational change and increased education have led to lower
>antisemitism among whites, among blacks, age and antisemitism are not
>highly related and the effects of education are significantly less
>powerful among blacks than among whites . . .. As a result of the weak
>correlations among blacks between age and antisemitism, and education and
>antisemitism, increased education and generational change have not led to
>lower levels of antisemitism."

I've had many conversations about this with black
Jews (a growing group of converts to Judaism
happen to be black, and there are now 15 black
rabbis that I know of in the USA, coming from
Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and
Hebrew Israelite or "Commandment Keeper"
backgrounds).  According to what they told me,
nearly all of them learned anti-Semitism from
their churches, where the belief that the Jews
rejected and killed Jesus is still taught.  They
also learned the cultural myths which blamed "the
Jews" for being greedy, predatory, and deceitful,
especially in communities where some of the
owners of businesses were white and
Jewish.  Again, I am not saying these beliefs are
true-- there is NO evidence that white Jewish
shop-keepers were any more likely to cheat or
deceive black consumers than Korean or Irish or
even upper class black shop-keepers.  But my
point is that the perception of the Jew as
someone who loves money and would even sell out
Jesus for 30 pieces of silver is still treated as
a theological fact in many black churches, and is
still being taught to young black children.

I'd like to make another point that may also be
related to this conversation.  Based on what I've
seen (I have several friends who are black and
Jewish) as well as on anecdotal reports I've
read, organised Judaism doesn't help itself by
being unwelcoming or suspicious of potential
converts who are black.  Alas, the "face" or
organised Judaism still tends to be white and
European.  There isn't a lot of outreach to
communities of colour, and many misunderstandings
are allowed to intensify as a result.  I was
working on an article about Jews of colour a year
ago, and was surprised that none of the major
rabbinic seminaries even offer a course on Jewish
diversity.  The assumption that the "typical" Jew
is white persists.   As a result, I have seen my
black Jewish friends (one of whom was born
Jewish, the other of whom converted) stared at
when they go to shul, and I've seen them have
their Jewishness questioned.  I don't know when
the folks who write the children's books or teach
the courses will start including non-white Jews,
but believe me, it needs to be
done.  Demographers like Gary Tobin and others
can prove that non-white Jews are a growing
segment of Judaism, even if they remain a far
smaller group than the Ashkenazi
majority.  Tobin, who was quoted in the previous
post, has done yeomanlike work in establishing
(along with his wife Diane) "Bechol Lashon", a
newsletter about Jews of colour; the two of them
have also established a San Francisco-based think
tank that addresses the changing face of Judaism.

Bottom line-- when my friend Rabbi Capers
(Shmuel) Funnyé, the first black Jew to be
appointed to the Chicago Board of Rabbis, speaks
to black groups, he hears many of these same
misconceptions about what "the Jews" are really
like, and he works hard to refute these
myths.  There needs to be more dialogue between
Ashkenazim and communities of colour, and not
just black rabbis should be doing this
work.  Also, in spite of all the misconceptions
and myths, there really are African-Americans who
feel called to investigate Judaism and who even
want to convert.  We ought to welcome them.  But
so far, it seems we still don't.

Donna Halper
Emerson College Boston MA


--
Yocheved Menashe
List Editor, H-Antisemitism

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