Posts Tagged ‘white privilege’
Jewish Multiracial Network Thirteenth Annual Retreat: June 11 – 13, 2010
Join dozens of other Jewish multiracial families and Jews of Color of all ages for an inclusive Shabbat experience that will celebrate the diversity of our community. The weekend includes exciting adult discussions and workshops, youth and teen programming, childcare, multi-generational family programming and time to relax and enjoy all that the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center and JMN have to offer.
Ashkenazi and/or White Jewish Privilege Checklist
I can walk into my temple and feel that others do not see me as outsider.
I can walk into my temple and feel that others do not see me as exotic.
I can walk into my temple and feel that my children are seen as Jewish.
I can walk into my temple with my family and not worry that they will be treated unkindly because of the color of their skin.
I can enjoy music at my temple that reflects the tunes, prayers, and cultural roots of my specific Jewish heritage.
No one at my synagogue will attempt to assign me to a ethnicity to which I do not belong (e.g., assuming all Jews of African descent are Igbo or Ethiopian).
I can easily find greeting cards and books with images of Jews who look like me.
I can easily find Jewish books and toys for my children with images of Jews that look like them.
I am not singled out to speak about and as a representative of an “exotic” Jewish subgroup.
When I go to Jewish bookstores or restaurants, I am not seen as an outsider.
I find my experiences and images like mine in Jewish newspapers and magazines.
I do not worry about access to housing or apartments in predominately Jewish neighborhoods.
My rabbi never questions that I am Jewish.
When I tell other members of my synagogue that I feel marginalized, they are immediately and appropriately responsive.
There are other children at the religious school who look like my child.
My child’s authenticity as a Jew is never questioned by adults or children based on his/her skin color.
People never look at me and say “But you don’t look Jewish” either seriously or as though it was funny.
I do not worry about being seen or treated as a member of the janitorial or administrative staff at a synagogue or when attending a Jewish event.
I am never asked “how” I am Jewish at Jewish dating events or on Jewish dating websites.
I can arrange to be in the company of Jews of my heritage most of the time.
When attempting to join a synagogue or Jewish organization, I am sure that my ethnic background will not be held against me.
I can ask synagogues and Jewish organizations to include images and cultural traditions from my background without being seen as a nuisance.
I can enroll in a Jewish day school, Yeshiva, and/or historically Jewish college and find Jewish students and professors with my racial or ethnic background.
People of color do not question why I am Jewish.
I know my racial or ethnic background will not be held against me if I attempt to join a minyan in prayer.
I know my ethnic background will not be held against me in being called to read the Torah.
I am not discriminated against in the aliyah process as a Jew of my particular ethnicity.
Text not copyrighted. Developed for educational purposes by the Jewish Multiracial Network, 2006–2009. Please distribute and add to the checklist.