Tamar Manasseh is the founder and president of Mothers Against Senseless Killings.
Tamar Manasseh
By Tamar Manasseh
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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…
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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…
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Community Why Would Anyone Want To Be Jewish?
Each year, the anniversary of the founding of the African American Jewish community in Chicago is commemorated with a special Shabbat service and a huge party. All of our community rabbis come from far and wide, creating a great sense of unity. The one rabbi who was my greatest influence was Rabbi Hailu Paris, ז׳׳ל….
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Opinion Stop Calling Me A ‘Black Jew’
I’ve gotten a lot of questions since I started introducing my opinions in these pages. Some have been good questions. Some have been difficult ones. And some I won’t even dignify with an answer. But the most common question I’ve received, and the one I feel compelled to discuss this Martin Luther King Day, is…
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Opinion Criticizing Israel While Black Means Losing Your Status As A Jew
Whenever the kids on my block used to see a white person in our neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, they would always yell out, “Tamar, someone’s looking for you!” In a place where the only white people the kids saw were either teachers or police, it was strange to see random white people…
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Opinion I’m Black And Jewish. Israel Is Not My Promised Land.
I recently received an invitation from the Consulate General of Israel in Chicago to visit Israel. I should have felt proud. I should have felt honored. I should have felt something. But I didn’t. Imagine, a trip to the Holy Land, the land promised by God to Abraham: I’d wanted to go for so long,…
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