Building pathways for Jews of Color to be decision-makers in Jewish communities—not only for matters of diversity and equity, but all facets of Jewish life—can ensure that we build a beautiful second chapter that will sustain and transform the Jewish people.
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As a Philadelphia-based non-profit organization, ALEPH focuses on deepening Jewish connection and spirituality through a trans–denominational approach known as Renewal.
Pettis and Webster are focused on understanding how Jews of Color experience identity not only through internal understandings of oneself but in relation to other people.
Changing our institutional structures can be an overwhelming task. Perhaps many of the innovations that come from brainstorming sessions, workshops, and meetings end up as crumpled paper, forgotten, or labeled too challenging to legitimately undertake. We want to change that.
In order to build a community focused on Earth, unity, movement, and Judaism, Silverstein wanted his collective to be guided by “the ability to connect to nature, to get your hands dirty, and then to have shared meals and to have access to delicious, nutritious, locally-resourced food together.”
“There’s so much energy required for someone to sit down and read something really dense,” Alana Chandler began. “But food? Food is something everyone needs to live. And not only is it necessary sustenance, but there’s so much culture and tradition infused into recipes. Recipes really tell a story.”
As the Jewish community continues to learn from and engage with Beyond the Count: Perspectives and Lived Experiences of Jews of Color, communal leaders are sharing their reflections, wonders, and hopes for what comes next. Adapted from two dynamic panel conversations with Jewish leaders of color, this article shares the voices of Dr. Analucía Lopezrevoredo, Janu Mendel, Ginna Green, Paula Pretlow, Tiffany Harris, and Gamal Palmer.
As the selection of fellows for our Jews of Color Initiative Leadership Fellowship in New York comes to a close, we sat down to talk with Riki Robinson, Program Director of our New York Hub, about how the Fellowship was developed. This conversation revealed how communal learning is at the core of the Fellowship’s design, paving the way for fellows to confidently enter the Jewish professional ecosystem.