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Be’chol Lashon Newsletter: May 2010
SPOTLIGHT: BE'CHOL LASHON MEDIA AWARDS WINNERS
The dramatic account of a secret U.S. government mission to rescue Jews from Yemen, the ongoing story of Jewish life in Castro's Cuba and an interactive Web site on Chinese Jews took top honors in the third annual Be'chol Lashon Media Awards.
Thanks to an unlikely confluence of history and genetics — the fact that he is African-American and president — Barack Obama has a unique opportunity to reshape the debate over one of the most contentious issues of America’s racial legacy: reparations, the idea that the descendants of American slaves should receive compensation for their ancestors’ unpaid labor and bondage.
When it comes to transracial adoptions in this country, where are we? Stacey Bush is the white child of a black mother whose adoption sparked controversy and whose attitude forces people to think about the issue differently.
Of the 111 justices who have served on the U.S. Supreme Court, 91 have been Protestant. But if Solicitor General Elena Kagan is confirmed as the 112th justice, no Protestants will sit on the nation’s highest court for the first time in history. Kagan, who is Jewish, would join a bench that already includes six Catholics and two Jews.
The biblical Ruth, one of only two women in the Bible who have their own book, was a convert to Judaism. Still, she became an accepted member of the Jewish people and the grandmother of King David.
Jewish players in the NFL are rare commodities, but now fans of the San Francisco 49ers have one to root for in Taylor Mays. A native of Seattle, Mays is the son of Laurie Mays, an executive with Nordstrom who is Jewish, and former Washington Redskins defensive lineman Stafford Mays, who is African American.
Judaism says, “Be fruitful and multiply,” but sometimes creating families is not that simple.
Adoption is an alternative. According to the Talmud, someone who raises another’s child is viewed as if the child had been born to him. The adoptive parents’ name is used because “he who brings up a child is to be called its father, not he who gave birth” (Exodus Rabbah 48:5).
The tentative agreement is the product of months of painstaking negotiations between the Foreign Office and the Yemeni authorities, who have struggled to contain rising anti-Jewish sentiment as they battle growing al-Qa'ida-inspired militancy.
An imposing structure, Ohel Rachel was built in 1920 to accommodate a large contingent of Baghdadi Jews that had settled in the port city since the 1870s. Today, locals look to the synagogue as one of the most significant symbols of Shanghai’s colorful Jewish history.
A massive restoration project aimed at refurbishing one of the oldest and most beautiful synagogues in southern India has gotten underway thanks to funding and support provided by local and federal Indian authorities.
It is not by chance that the study of Portuguese Jewry has been neglected, but because Portugal's Jews have in large part been lumped together with those of Spain, since the two countries, whose borders fluctuated throughout the Middle Ages, were both part of medieval Iberia.
When Maina Singh visits synagogues, universities, and Jewish community centers around the country discussing her new book Being Indian, Being Israeli: Migration, Ethnicity and Gender in the Jewish Homeland, she displays such a deep understanding and appreciation for Indian Jewry that it often surprises audiences to learn that she is not a child of Israel.
What held the emerald trade together was a network of families, most of them Portuguese 'New Christians’ (converted Jews). Those clans of Portuguese Jewish traders, strung out across the oceans from Colombia to Goa (and, later, from Jamaica to London to Madras) may have been, after all, the first truly global families in the world.
Join us for a presentation with Amina Rachman, "From X to Aleph – One Woman’s Journey within the Wonderful World of Judaism." Facilitated by Ernest Adams. RSVP required: Judy Levitan or call 212-399-2685 ext 219. Co-sponsored by Be'chol Lashon and JBFCS.
Like the tiles in a mosaic, Jewish identity is multicolored and multicultural. Differing communities contribute their own experiences, practices, and perceptions, shifting and enriching Jewish life. Driving a discussion on this important topic, Emily Soloff brings together rabbis from communities that illustrate aspects of Jewish diversity – African American Jews of Chicago’s South Side, and anusim, the secret Jews of Latin America and Europe. With them, we will explore the multifaceted and shifting parameters of Jewish identity. Click here to buy tickets.
Visit the Be'chol Lashon Kids Zone for interactive performances, including West African drumming and dancing, plus arts and crafts for the entire family. Stay for the headliner, T-SLAM, pioneers of Israeli Rock 'n Roll!
Mixed Roots Literary and Film Festival presents Off and Running: An American Coming of Age Story. Opening the film is the teaser for Outside the Box, a documentary which traces Be'chol Lashon Outreach Director Lacey Schwartz's upbringing in a white Jewish family, discovery at eighteen that her biological father is Black and personal exploration of her mixed-race identity, all the while exploring her connection to other Black Jews in America. Click here to register.
Camp Be'chol Lashon's mission is to offer a safe, nurturing, challenging residential Jewish camp experience for children of racially and ethnically diverse Jewish families and those who want to be part of a global Jewish community. Register | Apply for staff
If one were to do a Google image search for the word “Jew”, one would find pictures of a stereotypical Jewish man looking like he stepped out of a shtetl in eastern Europe: black hat, beard, peyas. But anyone who has ever sat in a coffee shop in Tel Aviv knows that Jews are a diverse people. Exciting news! In June, Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, alongside Diane Tobin and her family will dedicate the Tobin Health Clinic in Mbale named in memory of Dr. Gary Tobin z”l. Stay tuned for videos/photos/blogs about the opening. Celebrate the dedication with a donation! Be'chol Lashon advocates for a global understanding of the Jewish people that reflects contemporary identity. Get the word out there! Support diversity by putting a banner on your website and connect with Jews around world by joining the new Be'chol Lashon social network! Be'chol Lashon is now on Twitter! Follow us at www.twitter.com/bechollashon. And, if you haven't already, become a fan of Be'chol Lashon on facebook: www.facebook.com/bechollashon. 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. |
