Big Tent Judaism

Opening our Eyes to the Diversity of the Jewish Community

If someone asks you what a Jewish person looks like, would you have an answer?

Here is what your answer could be: there is no “Jewish look.” In fact, Jews have been ethnically and racially diverse for millennia, and are even more so today with globalization, intermarriage, adoption, Jews-By-Choice, and the far-flung communities of the Jewish Diaspora. Still, despite the growing diversity in Jewish demographics, non-Ashkenazi Jews are often questioned in terms of their “Jewishness,” or worse, unacknowledged by the community.

The website MaNishtana.net is seeking to change that by raising awareness of Jewish diversity.

Just by reading the website’s “Who’s Who,” you will find the biographies of several Jews of Color who not only proudly proclaim their Judaism, but also advocate on behalf of greater inclusivity. Almost everyone listed in the “Who’s Who” has experienced an intense relationship with Judaism, having had to wrestle with both their religious and ethnic identities, not only for themselves but also as individuals within their communities. With their greatest struggles now mainly behind them, they are looking to help others through the process.

At our conference in May, titled Judaism2030: A Working Conference for a Vibrant Jewish Future, one of the individuals on MaNishtana.net’s ”Who’s Who” list, Lacey Schwartz, will be speaking to these issues of “Belonging” and diversity. As the Director of Outreach, North America, for Be’chol Lashon, an organization that seeks to “strengthen the Jewish people through ethnic, cultural, and racial inclusiveness,” she regularly works to lower barriers within the Jewish community and break down stereotypes of what it means to “look Jewish.” Her presentation at Judaism2030 on the shifting definition of “belonging” will address how Jewish community structures can ensure inclusivity for its increasingly diverse people.

Through our Big Tent Judaism Coalition, JOI has long advocated for leaving behind assumptions of what Jews “look like.” By “opening the tent” and redefining what it means to “look Jewish,” Jewish organizations and communities can mitigate the doubt and sense of isolation that many Jews of diverse ethnic backgrounds face. “Opening the tent” means opening our eyes and realizing that Jews have every “look.” The more the Jewish community expects a diverse Jewish population, the easier it will be for all Jews to define themselves as Jewish.

Comments

No comments yet.

Leave a comment