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Be'chol Lashon Newsletter: January 2012
During my first years of adaptation to the American way of life, I must confess that I found many things confusing. Chief among them, was the seriousness with which young people took politics and the democratic process here. Guadalajara Conference: Rabbi Juan Mejia and Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Madger joined rabbis and leaders from around the world at the 13th Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the Caribbean conference in Guadalajara.
Be sure to read a touching letter authored 5th grader, Aviv Hogal Appell. The letter won the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest in New Jersey!
Sign up today for the early bird discount at Camp Be'chol Lashon, a new overnight Jewish camp for children who want to be part of a global Jewish community. Generous camperships are available.
Every stable family has the opportunity to embrace the most vulnerable humans on the planet when we give children a home and family. In addition to the moral imperative given the current global state, the Torah strongly condones adoption.
Why do we consider Barack Obama a black man with a white mother rather than a white man with a black father? In order to even address we need a sociological understanding of ancestry and descent.
Vincent H. Cohen, the first African American partner at his Washington law firm, died Dec. 25 at Washington Hospital Center. According to family lore, the name derived from a group of black Jews who had settled in Jamaica.
Jews with African American, Chinese, Indian, and Mexican backgrounds to name a few. Jews of color are born into Jewish families, some Jews of color are adopted, while other Jews of color come from the union of two parents who are racially different. Despite the racial and ethnic diversity that exists within the Jewish community, it is still commonplace to assume that a Jew is someone who looks like Barbara Streisand or Woody Allen or Sarah Silverman.
At a dinner party I was seated next to a professor of Judaic studies. I turned to him and asked, “Is it possible to convert to secular Judaism?” He paused for a moment and said, “No. You have to convert the usual way and then have a fight with your rabbi.”
“I’ve always been a seeker,” Councilwoman Jan Perry told the Forward. The African American politician was responding to a question about her conversion 30 years ago to Judaism. But her comment could also have applied to why she was running for mayor of America’s second-largest city.
Ignoring the color factor would also be unwise. Discriminating against people based on their skin color is sadly a phenomenon which exists and therefore Israel needs to invest in its educational resources to combat that. But these things take time and we shouldn’t expect miracles to happen overnight.
A few months ago, I stopped for lunch at the Bukhara Indian Bistro in Minnetonka. Upon leaving the restaurant, I noticed a beautiful mezuza affixed to the front door. Seeing me look at the mezuza, the young man at the front desk smiled and he told me that it belonged to him.
This year, Israel and China mark twenty years of diplomatic relations. I am confident that the coming year will bring a deepening of the great friendship between our two peoples. Happy Year of the Dragon! Long Niy'an Ji Shyiang!
400 Miles to Freedom, a documentary executive produced by Be'chol Lashon, chronicles Avishai Mekonen's exploration of identity, premiered to a sold out crowd on Jan 11th and 18th at the 21st New York Jewish Film Festival! For more information about screening the film, click here. Save the date for the next screening: Sephardic Film Festival, March 20 and March 21, 2012, NYC. Food memories are vivid. What you ate as a kid can whisk you right back to that lost time in your life — but for my mother's parents, Martha and Jerry Schneider, one special food memory eludes them. My grandparents spent most of their lives in Mexico City but now live in Los Angeles and there is still one memory that stands out: the best Jewish food they had ever tasted was cooked by a couple in downtown Mexico City on a street called Justo Sierra.
In 1962 Ezra Jack Keats started a quiet revolution that in its own way had as much influence as some of the decade’s louder protests. An author and illustrator, Keats published “The Snowy Day,” about a small boy’s delight in his first snowstorm. Nothing radical there. But the story differed profoundly from virtually all the mainstream American picture books preceding it: Peter, the little boy, was black.
On Second Sundays, it’s Preschool Gallery Hour at the CJM, when the Museum opens early just for preschoolers and their families. Join Be'chol Lashon for music by Asheba and multi-cultural crafts.
Diane Tobin, director of Be'chol Lashon, takes us on journey to discover some of our lesser-known fellow Jews around the world and explore the multicultural reality that is American Jewry today.
Cosponsored by: Be'chol Lashon, Program in African American and African Studies, UC Davis Cross Cultural Center, Department of Sociology, Jewish Studies, Congregation Bet Havarim
Growing up Jewish in Mumbai was more perplexing to those around him than Samson himself. As a first generation Indian Jewish guy with zero historical knowledge of American Standup, Samson brings a refreshingly new approach to cerebral, witty, thought-provoking humour with a global perspective.
NEW! Be'chol Lashon and Sixth & I sponsoring new discussion groups in Washington, DC. Groups for individuals and parents starting in January.
Yasmin Levy, who sings in the Judeo-Spanish language Ladino, combines traditional Sephardic styles with Flamenco and Mediterranean influences to create music.
Photographs of Yemenite Jews have provided some of the most iconic images of pre-state Palestine. Monochrome shots of striking-looking people of all ages, generally with peyot and in traditional dress, can be found in coffee table books on Eretz Israel. We welcome your participation in the Be'chol Lashon Newsletter! Please send us information about events in your community or articles of interest that relate to Jewish diversity. E-mail Esther Fishman. Submissions are subject to editing for content, clarity and style. Special thanks to all the contributors who make the newsletter interesting and informative. |
Israel is not a racist nation
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