Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz exposes and challenges the common assumptions about whom and what Jews are, by presenting in their own voices, Jews of color from the Iberian Peninsula, Asia, Africa, and India. Drawing from her earlier work on Jews and whiteness, Kaye/Kantrowitz delves into the largely uncharted territory of Jews of color and argues that Jews are an increasingly multiracial people—a fact that, if acknowledged and embraced, could foster cross-race solidarity to help combat racism. This engaging and eye-opening book examines the historical and contemporary views on Jews and whiteness as well as the complexities of African/Jewish relations, the racial mix and disparate voices of the Jewish community, contemporary Jewish anti-racist and multicultural models, and the diasporic state of Jewish life in the United States.
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"In the aftermath of 9/11 and the volatile politics of the Middle East, this carefully researched and compelling study is timely and sure to provoke debate in various circles. It is an important contribution to our understanding of the Jewish diaspora and contemporary race relations writ large." —Beverly Guy Sheftal, co-author (with Johnnetta Betsch Cole) of Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women's Equality in African American Communities
(Beverly Guy Sheftal, co-author (with Johnnetta Betsch Cole) of Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women's Equality in African American Communities )"Kaye/Kantrowitz is a courageous activist and thinker and her invigorating, illuminating book does what all great political writing should do—it refreshes your mind and spirit by effectively discombobulating habitual complacencies, and re-acquaints you with the world." —Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning, author of Angels in America
(Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning, author of Angels in America )"Every once in a while a book comes along and smacks you in the face with its wisdom, intelligence, and compassionate politics. The Colors of Jews is such a book. Its documentation of radical, anti-racist Jewish history, its unwavering commitment to the practice of solidarity across deeply divisive borders, and its elegant interweaving of personal, communal, activist and scholarly voices in mapping a complex and visionary landscape of struggle make this an invaluable book for our time." —Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Professor of Women's Studies Syracuse University, author of Feminism Without Borders, Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity
(Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Professor of Women's Studies Syracuse University, author of Feminism Without Borders, Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity )"Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz has long been an astute interpreter of Jewish culture and politics. Her new study The Colors of Jews is fascinating and provocative, filled with original insights. It will both inspire and challenge its readers to think more deeply and act more forcefully." —Susannah Heschel, author of Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus
(Susannah Heschel, author of Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus )"The activist intellectual Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz has written a mind—stretching, moving and pragmatic book..This is a book of hope, based on experience. It deserves wide circulation and serious discussion." —Adrienne Rich is the prize winning author of many books of poetry and essays
"Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz is among our most creative, provocative and courageous thinkers and writers..In The Colors of Jews, she once again upsets our applecart of easy assumptions and expectations, challenging us to go beyond the usual lines that limit and divide us." —Si Kahn, Executive Director, Grassroots Leadership
(Si Kahn, Executive Director, Grassroots Leadership )From the Publisher
A Jim Agnew The Literary World book pick (7/27/07)
--This text refers to the
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Elisheva
Format:Paperback
Like Kylopod, I found Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz's discussion of Jewish multiculturalism extremely thought provoking; however, unlike Kylopod, I also value her discussion of diasporism and Zionism. There are many Jews who do not find her critique of Zionism "offensive," including myself and other Jews committed to tikkun olam --the Jewish concept of healing the world-- for everybody, including Palestinians.
I also do not agree with Kylopod that "a disproportionate level of anti-Semitism exists among African Americans." Kaye/Kantrowitz addresses this as a myth fostered by the media. She also challenges the narrative the posits Jews and African Americans as two separate categories of people perpetually in conflict since the supposedly golden age of the Civil Rights movement. When Jews and African Americans are opposed as two combating groups, African American Jews are made invisible and impossible, when in fact, 200,000 people in the U.S. are both black and Jewish. Kaye/Kantrowitz presents a nuanced history of interactions among Jews, African Americans, and African American Jews.
Kaye/Kantrowitz not only highlights the voices of Jewish cultural minorities to address the intersections of racism and anti-Semitism, she also challenges many traditional beliefs about Jews. In order to counteract the dominant conception of "Jewish" as light-skinned, European, and Yiddish-speaking, Kaye/Kantrowitz emphasizes the diasporic nature of the Jewish people. Shifting the center away from Europe, she introduces the histories of Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews. Mizrahim are Jews who lived or live in Arab countries and Turkey in predominately Muslim, rather than Christian cultures. Mizrahi means "Eastern," and is often used in Israel interchangeably with Sephardi. This confusion results at least partially because many Sephardim, who trace their ancestry through Spain and Portugal, returned to the Middle East after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. They also migrated to Europe, Greece, North Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas. The Jewish diaspora has created an incredibly diverse Jewish world; there are Chinese Jews, Indian Jews, and African Jews from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, and Zimbabwe. However, we rarely hear about these cultures in the U.S. where Ashkenazi Jews are in the majority.
Ashkenazi Jews trace their ancestry through Germany. The Ashkenazi communities of Europe were nearly exterminated by the Holocaust, which makes it ironic that Ashkenazi Jews get collapsed into the category of "European." Nonetheless, many Ashkenazi Jews in the U.S. have internalized Eurocentrism and racism on their journey to assimilation. Jews of color are often looked on with suspicion, not seen as "really Jewish," and made to feel unwelcome in Jewish spaces. Ashkenazi culture is presented as THE Jewish culture, and Ashkenazi-centrism is reinforced every time a cultural event, book, or reading reflects only Ashkenazi experiences. Reframing Jewish identity, Kaye/Kantrowitz insists that we open up Jewish culture to reflect its global diasporic reality.
This reframing allows Kaye/Kantrowitz to also challenge the dominant narrative about Israel/Palestine that posits Arabs and Jews as two separate categories of people who have been enemies throughout time. As both Arabs and Jews, Mizrahim contradict the very notion that this conflict is somehow inevitable. Many Jews were relatively integrated into Arab countries at various points in history, where they were generally treated much better than they were in Europe. Understanding this history is imperative for those of us working against the occupation of the Palestinian territories because we discover a Jewish critique of Zionism embedded in the history of the region. Many Jews who were living in Palestine when European Jews started arriving resisted the European Zionist project of creating a Jewish nation-state. These Palestinian Jews had neighborly relations with other Palestinians, and viewed Palestine as a shared homeland for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. They favored the notion of creating a Jewish cultural support center in Palestine, but not a state exclusively for Jews.
Kaye/Kantrowitz argues that the problem for Jews is not the diaspora itself, but the few options we have in the U.S. for expressing our Jewish identities beyond celebrating Zionism, challenging anti-Semitism or canonizing the Holocaust. These options are limited and alienating for Jews who are critical of Israeli policy, don't (or cannot afford to) belong to a synagogue or don't relate to the Holocaust.
The alternative she provides is for us to embrace the diaspora and start creating homes and fighting for racial and economic justice wherever we are. Instead of imagining that we can find home/safety solely in the nation-state, we can nurture Jewish identities rooted in our traditions of social justice. We can work on ending racism within and outside of Jewish communities by challenging Ashkenazi-centrism and developing resources about Jews of color defined by scholars and activists who know those cultures. Resisting both nationalism and assimilation, Jews can begin working toward liberation for all people.
I also do not agree with Kylopod that "a disproportionate level of anti-Semitism exists among African Americans." Kaye/Kantrowitz addresses this as a myth fostered by the media. She also challenges the narrative the posits Jews and African Americans as two separate categories of people perpetually in conflict since the supposedly golden age of the Civil Rights movement. When Jews and African Americans are opposed as two combating groups, African American Jews are made invisible and impossible, when in fact, 200,000 people in the U.S. are both black and Jewish. Kaye/Kantrowitz presents a nuanced history of interactions among Jews, African Americans, and African American Jews.
Kaye/Kantrowitz not only highlights the voices of Jewish cultural minorities to address the intersections of racism and anti-Semitism, she also challenges many traditional beliefs about Jews. In order to counteract the dominant conception of "Jewish" as light-skinned, European, and Yiddish-speaking, Kaye/Kantrowitz emphasizes the diasporic nature of the Jewish people. Shifting the center away from Europe, she introduces the histories of Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews. Mizrahim are Jews who lived or live in Arab countries and Turkey in predominately Muslim, rather than Christian cultures. Mizrahi means "Eastern," and is often used in Israel interchangeably with Sephardi. This confusion results at least partially because many Sephardim, who trace their ancestry through Spain and Portugal, returned to the Middle East after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. They also migrated to Europe, Greece, North Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas. The Jewish diaspora has created an incredibly diverse Jewish world; there are Chinese Jews, Indian Jews, and African Jews from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, and Zimbabwe. However, we rarely hear about these cultures in the U.S. where Ashkenazi Jews are in the majority.
Ashkenazi Jews trace their ancestry through Germany. The Ashkenazi communities of Europe were nearly exterminated by the Holocaust, which makes it ironic that Ashkenazi Jews get collapsed into the category of "European." Nonetheless, many Ashkenazi Jews in the U.S. have internalized Eurocentrism and racism on their journey to assimilation. Jews of color are often looked on with suspicion, not seen as "really Jewish," and made to feel unwelcome in Jewish spaces. Ashkenazi culture is presented as THE Jewish culture, and Ashkenazi-centrism is reinforced every time a cultural event, book, or reading reflects only Ashkenazi experiences. Reframing Jewish identity, Kaye/Kantrowitz insists that we open up Jewish culture to reflect its global diasporic reality.
This reframing allows Kaye/Kantrowitz to also challenge the dominant narrative about Israel/Palestine that posits Arabs and Jews as two separate categories of people who have been enemies throughout time. As both Arabs and Jews, Mizrahim contradict the very notion that this conflict is somehow inevitable. Many Jews were relatively integrated into Arab countries at various points in history, where they were generally treated much better than they were in Europe. Understanding this history is imperative for those of us working against the occupation of the Palestinian territories because we discover a Jewish critique of Zionism embedded in the history of the region. Many Jews who were living in Palestine when European Jews started arriving resisted the European Zionist project of creating a Jewish nation-state. These Palestinian Jews had neighborly relations with other Palestinians, and viewed Palestine as a shared homeland for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. They favored the notion of creating a Jewish cultural support center in Palestine, but not a state exclusively for Jews.
Kaye/Kantrowitz argues that the problem for Jews is not the diaspora itself, but the few options we have in the U.S. for expressing our Jewish identities beyond celebrating Zionism, challenging anti-Semitism or canonizing the Holocaust. These options are limited and alienating for Jews who are critical of Israeli policy, don't (or cannot afford to) belong to a synagogue or don't relate to the Holocaust.
The alternative she provides is for us to embrace the diaspora and start creating homes and fighting for racial and economic justice wherever we are. Instead of imagining that we can find home/safety solely in the nation-state, we can nurture Jewish identities rooted in our traditions of social justice. We can work on ending racism within and outside of Jewish communities by challenging Ashkenazi-centrism and developing resources about Jews of color defined by scholars and activists who know those cultures. Resisting both nationalism and assimilation, Jews can begin working toward liberation for all people.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
I would have liked if the book stuck to scholarship rather than polemics
August 19, 2007
By Kylopod
Format:Paperback
Designed to raise awareness about Jews of color, this fascinating book presents numerous anecdotes about the experiences of nonwhite Jews, followed by stimulating discussions on the implications of this research. The book is marred for me by its anti-Zionist standpoint, which culminates in a final chapter that has very little to do with the rest of the book. The back cover sports endorsements by Tony Kushner, Chandra Talpade Mohanty, and Adrienne Rich, all left-wing thinkers squarely in Kantrowitz's ideological camp. I get the sense that Kantrowitz underestimates her audience, thinking that her discussions about racial diversity in the Jewish community either will appeal only to those with her positions or will inevitably move readers toward those positions. Instead, her dogmatic advocacy of ideas that most Jews find offensive will likely turn away many readers who would otherwise find much value in the information she presents.
What types of nonwhite Jews are there? The question is not as easy to answer as one might expect, because it depends on how one defines "white" and "Jewish," both highly contested categories. Most Americans today assume that the prototypical Jew (which usually means Ashkenazic Jew) is white, but that was not always the common perception in this country. The very act of designating Jews as white or nonwhite can be a political statement, because it is taken to suggest something about their status and position in society. (I have known Jews who mark themselves as "other" in forms asking for their race.)
With these precautions in mind, Kantrowitz considers several types of people: (1) African American and Asian American converts to Judaism (2) nonwhite children adopted by Jewish families (3) children of mixed marriages (4) Ethiopian Jews and other black African communities that have practiced Judaism for centuries or more (5) the most ambiguous category, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, some of them quite dark-skinned, others scarcely distinguishable from their Ashkenazic brethren.
One reason this information has value is that Jews, despite a long history of crucial involvement in the civil rights movement, also have a history of racism that persists today in some religious communities. The historical tension between Ashkenazim and Sephardim can take on racial overtones. More pertinently, many Jews have trouble accepting the very concept of a black Jew--it seems an impossibility, a contradiction in terms.
One anecdote really struck home for me, reflecting the type of compartmentalized behavior I've witnessed as a Jew. The daughter of black converts attended a Hasidic elementary school, and on one occasion when she complained to classmates who were denigrating non-Jewish blacks, they assured her they weren't talking about her. The inconsistent thinking required to sustain this kind of attitude demonstrates why Jews of color may help stem the tides of bigotry coming from both Jews and non-Jews.
Kantrowitz wishes to uproot the perception that "black" and "Jewish" are mutually exclusive categories, and to reveal the Jewish people as a racially diverse group. She feels that recognizing this reality will ease the tension between Jews and blacks. Her point is that if the two categories can overlap, people will be less inclined to view the two groups as enemies of each other.
She weakens her argument, however, by trying to downplay the well-documented fact that a disproportionate level of anti-Semitism exists among African Americans. She fails to discuss any of the official studies, such as Harris Polls taken over the last several decades. As Charles Silberman noted in his book "A Certain People," black anti-Semitism is not a mirror image of Jewish racism. The latter is far more marginalized in the Jewish community than the former is in the African American community. The problem is not that most blacks agree with Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitic pronouncements, but that leaders like him exhibit far greater influence than any comparably racist figure in the Jewish community.
She also wishes to blur the line between "Jew" and "Arab" by emphasizing the strong Arab element of Jews who are the product of Arabic land, culture, and language as surely as American Jews are Americans. She eagerly embraces the term "Arab Jew" to highlight this dual identity.
She correctly observes that Islamic countries in the Middle Ages generally treated Jews far better than Christian countries from the same era did. The height of this relatively peaceful coexistence occurred in the Golden Age of Spain from the eighth to twelfth centuries. But the picture is more complicated than she would like to believe. This period, when Jews enjoyed more rights and privileges than any time until the modern age, ended not because of the fifteenth-century Christian rulers who instigated the Inquisition, but because of violent Muslim invaders from two centuries earlier.
In addressing this fact, Kantrowitz performs a remarkable sleight of hand. She quotes Victor Perera saying, "[u]ntil the arrival of bloody-minded Almohade Berbers in 1146, bent on implanting Islam in all of Europe, Spain's Jews generally lived at peace with Muslim rulers and their Christian subjects; and they thrived culturally and commercially as never before or since" (p. 81). She immediately comments, "This peace persisted until the Christian conquest of Iberia and the Inquisition," which is not only false, but directly contradicts what she just quoted!
The final chapter of the book is little more than an essay on forging a Jewish identity apart from Zionism. Too bad. There is considerable merit to her thesis that recognizing racial diversity among Jews will help improve relations with other people. She doesn't seem to accept, or even consider, that Jews can support Israel and still be fully committed to peaceful relations with non-Jews. I hope that intelligent readers will be able to overlook the book's flaws, because beneath the rhetoric lies some valuable material about forgotten portions of world Jewry.
What types of nonwhite Jews are there? The question is not as easy to answer as one might expect, because it depends on how one defines "white" and "Jewish," both highly contested categories. Most Americans today assume that the prototypical Jew (which usually means Ashkenazic Jew) is white, but that was not always the common perception in this country. The very act of designating Jews as white or nonwhite can be a political statement, because it is taken to suggest something about their status and position in society. (I have known Jews who mark themselves as "other" in forms asking for their race.)
With these precautions in mind, Kantrowitz considers several types of people: (1) African American and Asian American converts to Judaism (2) nonwhite children adopted by Jewish families (3) children of mixed marriages (4) Ethiopian Jews and other black African communities that have practiced Judaism for centuries or more (5) the most ambiguous category, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, some of them quite dark-skinned, others scarcely distinguishable from their Ashkenazic brethren.
One reason this information has value is that Jews, despite a long history of crucial involvement in the civil rights movement, also have a history of racism that persists today in some religious communities. The historical tension between Ashkenazim and Sephardim can take on racial overtones. More pertinently, many Jews have trouble accepting the very concept of a black Jew--it seems an impossibility, a contradiction in terms.
One anecdote really struck home for me, reflecting the type of compartmentalized behavior I've witnessed as a Jew. The daughter of black converts attended a Hasidic elementary school, and on one occasion when she complained to classmates who were denigrating non-Jewish blacks, they assured her they weren't talking about her. The inconsistent thinking required to sustain this kind of attitude demonstrates why Jews of color may help stem the tides of bigotry coming from both Jews and non-Jews.
Kantrowitz wishes to uproot the perception that "black" and "Jewish" are mutually exclusive categories, and to reveal the Jewish people as a racially diverse group. She feels that recognizing this reality will ease the tension between Jews and blacks. Her point is that if the two categories can overlap, people will be less inclined to view the two groups as enemies of each other.
She weakens her argument, however, by trying to downplay the well-documented fact that a disproportionate level of anti-Semitism exists among African Americans. She fails to discuss any of the official studies, such as Harris Polls taken over the last several decades. As Charles Silberman noted in his book "A Certain People," black anti-Semitism is not a mirror image of Jewish racism. The latter is far more marginalized in the Jewish community than the former is in the African American community. The problem is not that most blacks agree with Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitic pronouncements, but that leaders like him exhibit far greater influence than any comparably racist figure in the Jewish community.
She also wishes to blur the line between "Jew" and "Arab" by emphasizing the strong Arab element of Jews who are the product of Arabic land, culture, and language as surely as American Jews are Americans. She eagerly embraces the term "Arab Jew" to highlight this dual identity.
She correctly observes that Islamic countries in the Middle Ages generally treated Jews far better than Christian countries from the same era did. The height of this relatively peaceful coexistence occurred in the Golden Age of Spain from the eighth to twelfth centuries. But the picture is more complicated than she would like to believe. This period, when Jews enjoyed more rights and privileges than any time until the modern age, ended not because of the fifteenth-century Christian rulers who instigated the Inquisition, but because of violent Muslim invaders from two centuries earlier.
In addressing this fact, Kantrowitz performs a remarkable sleight of hand. She quotes Victor Perera saying, "[u]ntil the arrival of bloody-minded Almohade Berbers in 1146, bent on implanting Islam in all of Europe, Spain's Jews generally lived at peace with Muslim rulers and their Christian subjects; and they thrived culturally and commercially as never before or since" (p. 81). She immediately comments, "This peace persisted until the Christian conquest of Iberia and the Inquisition," which is not only false, but directly contradicts what she just quoted!
The final chapter of the book is little more than an essay on forging a Jewish identity apart from Zionism. Too bad. There is considerable merit to her thesis that recognizing racial diversity among Jews will help improve relations with other people. She doesn't seem to accept, or even consider, that Jews can support Israel and still be fully committed to peaceful relations with non-Jews. I hope that intelligent readers will be able to overlook the book's flaws, because beneath the rhetoric lies some valuable material about forgotten portions of world Jewry.
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