Letter To The Editor: Jews Have Never Been Disengaged From Social Justice
Image by Getty Images
By Ann F. Lewis August 24, 2017
I am proud to stand with Bari Weiss and Jake Tapper in the Forward article of August 22, 2017, “Worried About Anti-Semitism? Practice the Tolerance You Preach,” that claims we use “the same talking points (as) the white nationalist movement.”
Apparently, criticizing leaders of the Women’s March is like quoting The Daily Stormer. Who knew?
Unaccustomed as I am to being called a “right wing Jew,” I can laugh and live with it. I really object when someone tries to devalue the entire Jewish community for their own purposes, claiming Jews “have been disengaged from movements for social justice for decades.”
Disengaged? What about the Jewish women and men who have been working for social justice for years, fighting for reproductive choice and LGBTQ rights, against racism and anti-immigrant orders?
Want to see Jewish engagement? Look at the honor roll of those who opposed the nomination of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, and are fighting his regressive policies now. We shouldn’t have to defend voting rights in 2017, but I’m so glad they are — that’s social justice in action!
I appreciate the Forward giving me the opportunity to respond to this unfortunate rant.
Ann F. Lewis is president of the JAC Education Foundation.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
