Op-Ed: For black Orthodox Jews, constant racism is exhausting |
Op-Ed: For black Orthodox Jews, constant racism is exhausting
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York, New York
2015-07-16
Chava Shervington, President
Jewish Multiracial Network
NEW YORK (JTA) – When I was 24, an Orthodox matchmaker tried to set me up on a date with a man older than my parents. When I objected, she told me, “Stop being so picky. Not many guys are willing to consider a black girl.”
As an African-American Orthodox Jew, this was hardly my first encounter with the questionable treatment I and my fellow Jews of color endure.
“Why is the goy here?” one black Jewish parent overheard when taking her child to a Jewish children’s event.
At one yeshiva in Brooklyn, the mother of a biracial student was asked to stay away from the school because it made the other parents uncomfortable.
An African-American acquaintance told me he overheard a worshiper at morning minyan talk about how he didn’t want to daven with a “shvartze” – while my acquaintance was putting on his tefillin.
Orthodox society is a beautiful community dedicated to charity, Torah learning and growth through observance of mitzvahs – and I believe we’re better than this racism suggests…
Read the entire article here.
Tags: Chava Shervington, Jewish Multiracial Network, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, JTA