There was an interesting article in the Jewish Press last week. It was an interview with people who are both Jewish and black. And I once again stand in awe of those who come to Torah Judaism on their own by finding truth in it.
What makes this article unique is that the people interviewed were black. And there was one very telling statement by Dr. Pinchas McCoy, a Black Jew. When asked how as a black man, is received by various segments of the Jewish community his answer was unfortunately not surprising to me and it is very condemning of Orthodoxy. From the article:
Question: “Are Jews of color treated differently by Reform and Conservative Jews than they are by Orthodox Jews?”
Answer: “Unfortunately, there are vestiges of racism that are alive and well in all [denominations] of Judaism. In my experience in the Orthodox community, I have found the culture of being Orthodox and Jewish to be deeply tied to a need for conformity. Having a different skin color and heritage than the majority in an Orthodox community essentially defies conformity and can be an issue on various levels, depending on the level of tolerance maintained by the individuals with whom they interact.”
The prejudice against non-Jews by some of the more RW Jews in Orthodoxy is, unfortunately well established. But the prejudice against black people encompasses all of Orthodoxy, not just the Right Wing. Of course there are a large number of exceptions, people in the Frum community that are truly color-blind. But it is an unfortunate fact that in my experience, prejudice exists against a black person even if he is a Frum Jew.
We have some Frum Black people in Chicago that I know of. And to be honest, I don’t see anything but complete acceptance by the community here and that includes everyone from Right to left. But at some level it is there. And when no one is looking… all the prejudices seem to come out. All the stereotypes are about blacks believed. And the most frequent and biased statements come out of the mouths of people from the greater New York area. The most insulting comment I often hear is “Of course you’re not prejudiced… you don’t live with them!” When I quote Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous statement about not judging people by the “color of their skin but the content of their character”, I will often get derisive responses about Dr. King!
These are religious people. MO and Charedi! It doesn’t matter. The prejudice is there. To them all blacks are inferior and stupid! Of course in public they are generally polite to them but in private all the derision comes out, especially if the are Easterners (although there too, there are exceptions). Very sad.
Perhaps the reason has something to do with what Dr. McCoy was saying, that our issues with respect to conformity within our community makes it harder to accept someone from without of our conformist environment, I think the prejudice is a specifically learned one from parents and/or peers. And it is reinforced by the stereotyping that general society has of blacks.
Some of it is based on he fact that there are high crime rates in poor black inner city neighborhoods. Others point to a culture in those inner city environments that eschews education and values. But those cultures do not define the essence of a human being. They only define how a human being who grows up in that culture will behave. Black people are no more prone to choose those values than are white people. One should not judge an entire race by the products of a sick culture. And certainly not a Frum Jew… one who has chosen to be Jewish and accepting of the Ol Malchus Shamyim.
Several years ago a young Frum Chicago man, who was educated in Yeshivos and I would describe as Modern Orthodox in upbringing but more toward the Charedi side in Hashkafos met and married a Black Baalas Teshuva who lived in the Chicago Jewish community. The Mesader Kedushin was a very popular Charedi Rav. They were well integrated into the community here. But his parents could not accept it. They did not attend the wedding and basically disowned their son. They did not even acknowledge his existence. How sad for the son and the parents. The young couple moved away to another city when a job offer came along. They now have a beautiful family with 5 beautiful children.
Unfortunately his mother contracted cancer. Upon realizing her own mortality and facing an uncertain future, she came to realize the error of her ways and re-connected with her son and his family. They now have a loving relationship. Although I know them pretty well I am not so close to this family. I hope all is well and that she is in remission and complete health. But it took a deadly disease for her to come to realize her own prejudices. I would hope that those of us who harbor these kinds of prejudices rethink them. This is no way to treat a fellow human being even behind his back. And certainly not a fellow Jew. We should remember that for those of us that are Frum from birth, Judaism chose us. But to the Gerim, it is they who chose Judaism. And for that I honor them more than I honor myself.
