The Importance and Beauty of Black and Jewish Unity

Our struggles for liberation and justice are bound together. We all deserve to move forward with hope, understanding and love.

Over the past few weeks, American Jews have been brutally reminded how rampant and entrenched antisemitism still is in this country. After Kanye West’s remarks and threats against the Jewish people, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving came under fire for promoting an antisemitic documentary to his Twitter. Neo-Nazis held banners over a highway overpass in Los Angeles that read “Kanye was right about the Jews” as cars enthusiastically honked in support; credible bomb threats have caused evacuations at synagogues and Jewish community centers, while Holocaust museums have been flooded with harassment and threats. It has been a difficult, traumatizing time for Jews — and for Black Jews in particular — but it is imperative that we use this moment to remember our shared struggle for liberation, and the enormous power of our unity.

There is no denying the historical tensions between Black and Jewish communities in America. Once having lived alongside each other on the margins of society in places like Brooklyn, many light-skinned Ashkenazi Jewish people were eventually able to assimilate into society. Following the path of the “model…