Each year around Martin Luther King Day, my Jewish high school on the Upper West Side would gather for an assembly marking our community’s namesake. The school was named for Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Jewish leader remembered for his commitment to advancing civil rights. In the annual gathering, we would look at old photos…
When the March for Racial Justice announced its sister marches on the day following Yom Kippur, several Orthodox Jewish social justice activists decided it was time to speak up, too. Approximately 400 people showed up for the march on Sunday, with a large percentage visibly from Jewish groups including T’ruah, Hitoreri, Zioness Movement, and American…
Yesterday, I attended the March for Racial Justice in New York City. It was a march graciously and thoughtfully put together after the organizers of the same march in DC realized that they had scheduled their original march on Yom Kippur. It was a perfect, sunny day. There was a feeling of hope in the…
Usually, after Yom Kippur, I write a list of character flaws I vow to address in the new year, place it in my wallet, and then promptly forget about it. I always want that final shofar blast to truly awaken me, to shake me into action, to help me become a better person, but I…
Have Your Say is your chance to tell us what you think. This week, we asked you if it’s anti-Semitic to schedule something on Yom Kippur. Here are some of your answers: “If there is a significant specific population and if the event is likely to be of interest or concern to that population, then…
When the Jewish community learned that the March for Racial Justice was scheduled for Yom Kippur (September 30), outraged responses filled social media. It was the immediate aftermath of Charlottesville, and we Jews had been made keenly aware that we, too, remain objects of hate by White Supremacists. It had been made clear that, like…
The aftermath of the deadly white supremacist violence at the “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville over the weekend has left marginalized communities across the country traumatized. It has also resurfaced long simmering debates on racial justice brought to a head in the Trump era. The stated reason for the rally, a protest of the…
The March for Racial Justice is planning on making up for its Yom Kippur flop by holding a sister march on October 1, the day after the Jewish holiday, in various cities around the country. Fellow Zionists, mark your calendars. Show. The. Hell. Up. You may think this isn’t about you — but you’re wrong….
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