Tamar Manasseh is the founder and president of Mothers Against Senseless Killings.
Tamar Manasseh
By Tamar Manasseh
-
Opinion ‘I’ve seen this all before:’ Without meaningful reform, I won’t celebrate Chauvin’s conviction
You will have to forgive me for not celebrating the conviction of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis last May. Of course I’m gratified by the three guilty verdicts meted out by the jury this week. But I know better than to breathe a sigh of relief until the judge…
-
Opinion When it comes to race, American Jews must do a better job pursuing justice
Last month, the House of Representatives passed the The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a law designed to transform the way law enforcement interacts with Black communities nationwide. Especially as the trial of George Floyd’s killer, Derek Chauvin, gets underway this week, it’s an important step to ending police abuses of Black people, and…
-
Opinion It’s time for white Jews to get over Sammy Davis Jr.
When I was growing up, I thought that I was related to Sammy Davis Jr. Whenever people would find out I was Jewish they would instantly ask, “Like Sammy Davis Jr.?” It was as if he was the only Black Jew in the world — besides me, of course. Yet we had nothing in common…
-
Opinion Anti-Semitism – And Racism – Are Forcing Me To Choose Between My Black And Jewish Identities
Editor’s note: In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Forward is resurfacing some of our recent coverage related to the Black-Jewish experience and racial justice. This article originally appeared in May, 2019. On a recent late night run to a chicken shack in my neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago, I felt real…
-
Opinion Black Jews Are Being Forced To Answer For Jersey City. It’s Disgraceful.
Being black and Jewish, I’ve heard it all. “What’s your story? How did you become Jewish? Did you convert? Are one of your parents white?” My whole life, the self-appointed gatekeepers of American Jewry, almost always white people, have found my Judaism incomprehensible. Now, after the killing last week in Jersey City of four people…
-
Opinion It’s Time For Jews To Say Dayenu And Speak Up For African Americans
On June 19, 1865, the Union army arrived in Galveston, Texas with big news for the thousands of human beings who were enslaved there: They were free! It’s worth noting that these folks had actually been free ever since the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, a full two and a half…
-
Community Why Can’t You Let Us Be ‘Just Jewish’?
I recently read about Naomi Wadler, the 11 year-old girl who gave an impassioned and fearless speech at last month’s anti-gun rally in Washington DC, only to be picked on by other kids for being black and Jewish. I know exactly how Naomi must feel because 30 years ago, I was Naomi. I am now…
-
Opinion Judaism is My Wakanda
I think I may have been the last black person in America to see Black Panther. For weeks it was all I heard about. Once again, black people were talking proudly of their African heritage and culture; I haven’t seen this much black power since Spike Lee made Jah patches mandatory for the young black…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion Elon Musk is doing everything conspiracy theorists accuse George Soros of
- 2
Fast Forward ‘Modern-day Mein Kampf’: NYC Mayor Adams under fire for Hitler reference as calls for his resignation mount
- 3
News Elon Musk’s Jewish problem
- 4
Books Despite her multimillion dollar fortune and celebrity pals, Ina Garten is a true balabusta
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, threatening ceasefire deal, after Shiri Bibas’ body returned
-
Fast Forward California school district halts ethnic studies courses following lawsuit over alleged antisemitism
-
Fast Forward After pushback, Trump says he’s ‘not forcing’ his plan to depopulate and take over Gaza
-
Opinion I’m Palestinian. Here’s why Trump’s Gaza gambit might just work
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
