Washington Post/ABC News Poll: Racist Feeling in America June 22, 2008

Roughly 3 in 10 Americans admit to harboring “some feelings of racial prejudice”, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll released this week has found. Some 30% of white respondents and 34% of black respondents answered yes to the question: “If you honestly assessed yourself, would you say that you have at least some feelings of racial prejudice?”

The numbers in the June 15th poll represent a 12% decline from 1999, when 34% of Americans answered yes to the same question.

When asked, “Generally speaking, do you think race relations in the United States are excellent, good, not so good or poor?”, however, a full 51% of Americans — 36% of Black Americans — responded that race relations were positive in America (47% saying “good”), more than double the dismal 21% — 10% of Blacks — who answered positively to the same question in 1992, and nearly double 1996’s 28% (11% of Blacks). (The Post notes that the gap between White and Black positive responses — 17% — is the largest since polling on the topic began in 1992.)

These numbers should strike hope in all of us. While showing that we have far to go, these numbers also show some measure of how far we have come. While, yes, over 6 in 10 Black Americans considered race relations to be negative in America, this is a far cry from the 9 in 10 who considered them to be so in 1992 — and the number of Black Americans who consider themselves to have a close, personal White friend is up to over 9 in 10 in 2008, a 10% increase from even 2003. (I have a personal issue with the phrasing of the question, “Do you think blacks experience discrimination…?” in the Washington Post poll — this clearly ignores the anti-White discrimination that 1 in 4 White Americans said they experienced in a 2006 CNN poll. In that CNN poll, however, barely 1 in 8 Americans considered themselves “racially biased,” but this poll shows that an “honest” assessment of “racist feelings” perhaps brings out more closet racists.)

We really are coexisting more.

While a country where two-thirds of Black Americans have been subjected to hearing offensive racist remarks (as a March 2008 CBS News poll showed), the far-reaching majority (nearly 9 in 10) White Americans said that they think America is ready for a Black president, and that alone shows that we Americans have the perception that our country is ready to move forward to a new chapter in its history.

We Americans believe our country has “grown up” from its racist past to at least some degree.

And now all we need to do is take it that many steps further, towards what we all know we are capable of achieving.

Obama and the Jews III: Bloomberg Steps In

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg stepped up to the plate for Barack Obama on Friday forcefully denouncing anti-Obama propaganda e-mails directed at the Jewish community, the New York Times reported yesterday. Bloomberg, in a rare display of faith, spoke to Jewish communities in South Florida denouncing the e-mails as “lies” and raising speculation about an outright Obama endorsement, or perhaps even an Obama-Bloomberg ticket:

Speaking before a crucial constituency in the coming election, Jewish voters, in the pivotal state of Florida, Mr. Bloomberg said that rumors of Mr. Obama secretly being a Muslim represent “wedge politics at its worst, and we have to reject it — loudly, clearly and unequivocally.”

“Let’s call those rumors what they are: lies,” said Mr. Bloomberg, who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for both Mr. Obama and Senator John McCain, the likely Republican nominee.

Residents of South Florida, home to the second-largest population of Jews in the United States after New York City, have received e-mail messages claiming that Mr. Obama sympathizes with radical Islam and does not support Israel. Mr. Obama, a Christian, has repeatedly rejected both claims.

The article continues:

Mr. Bloomberg is Jewish, but he rarely discusses his faith in public. On Friday, he broke with that tradition. He joked about sitting through long Jewish holiday services (“I thought Yom Kippur was the longest day of the year”) and referred to “our people.” Mr. Bloomberg, an outspoken supporter of Israel, said that fears about Mr. Obama’s faith “are cloaked in concern for Israel, but the real concern is about partisan politics.”

“Israel is just being used as a pawn, which is not that surprising, since some people are willing to stoop to any level to win an election,” he said.

Jewish voters, he added, “have a particular obligation” to fight such false claims.

A particular obligation.

A particular obligation to declare that Obama’s “links to radical Islam” are outright lies, that Obama is not a Muslim but an observant Christian, to declare that Obama’s future will be adamantly Wright-free.

Obviously lie-filled emails like these also damage Jewish-Muslim relations as well, with Bloomberg also saying that this most recent email campaign “threatens to undo the enormous strides that Jews and Muslims have made together in this country.”

The National Jewish Democratic Council also recently released their “Obama vs. McCain - A Jewish Perspective” checklist, worth reading (even if they connect their premise only to “progressive” values).

Jews in particular — but all American Democrats also — need to realize that there is far too much on the line when the election contest is Obama vs. “in Iraq for 100 years.” There is far too much on the line when the economy is in recession, human rights are under suppression and the people are feeling depression. From health care to the economy to homeland security to domestic spending — America is in desperate need of change and one should shudder at the thought of four more years of Bush policies, whether foreign or domestic.

America deserves far more than this, far better than this. America deserves the positive change that Obama represents — the tikkun if you will — and I hope all Jewish Democrats (and Independents, and even some Republicans) realize that this November.

The Rising Black American Jewish Population June 18, 2008

Baruch Hashem v’yishtabach Shmo for this story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Rachel Pomerance.

Black Americans make up a “significant portion of those learning about Judaism” in Atlanta, a sign of a growing Black American Jewish population:

At Congregation Shearith Israel, a conservative synagogue in Virginia-Highland, where Pamela Harris works as the senior nonclerical staff member, at least eight of the roughly 20 people learning about Judaism with Rabbi Hillel Norry are black.

At the Marcus Jewish Community Center in Dunwoody, roughly 20 percent of the nearly two dozen people enrolled in Steven Chervin’s introduction to Judaism classes are black.

Although there are no sound statistics on the subject, anecdotal evidence suggests that, in the past 15 years, increasing numbers of black Americans are exploring Judaism, said Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research in San Francisco.

“Ten years ago, it was almost unheard of that a black person would come in and want to convert,” said Rabbi Ilan Feldman, who is working with the Harrises and two other black people pursuing conversion.

Until their conversion courses intensified last year, the Harrises led a weekly learning/support group in Decatur for about a dozen African-Americans interested in Judaism.

Putting aside issues and debates regarding halachic status — this shows a sociological occurrence which deserves to be noted: namely that, in at least one congregation, 40% of the new people coming in as debutantes to Jewish observance will be African-American. About 12 black people interested in Judaism coming to a support group. Baruch Hashem Black Jewish visibility is increasing and ken yirbu, may Jewish communities of all ethnicities continue to thrive.

While this particular family, the Harrises, happen to be in Atlanta, the founder of Temple University’s Center for Afro-Jewish Studies says that Black Jews have long been all over America:

The 2000-01 National Jewish Population Survey, conducted by the United Jewish Communities, North America’s central Jewish fund-raising organization, found that 1 percent of Jewish adults, or 37,000 people, identified as black or African-American. An additional 1 percent of Jewish adults called themselves biracial or multiracial. However, that was based on a total estimate of 5.2 million Jews in America, a number that [Institute for Jewish & Community Research President Gary] Tobin and other key Jewish demographers have called too low. Tobin believes the number of black Jews in America exceeds 150,000.

The notion of black Jews is hardly new. The Jewish history of worldwide migration has led to Jews of every ethnicity. But much of the black Jewish experience in this country has flown under the radar of other Americans, [Center for Afro-Jewish Studies founder Lewis] Gordon said. That’s because many black Jews historically practiced privately or in segregated communities, he said. The population was “swept up in the tides of racism in scholarship and institutions” that saw Jews as exclusively white, even though American Jews of European descent did not consider themselves white until recent decades, Gordon said.

“There have always been communities of either black people who are already Jewish or black people considering coming to Judaism. What is different is that institutional structures are changing,” he said. Gordon speculates that as many as 1 million black people in the United States have Jewish roots, among them African-Americans, African and Caribbean immigrants and Afro-Latinos.

Which is why Gordon thinks that, among the rising numbers of black Americans coming to Judaism, some of them are simply returning to it.

The next logical question then becomes, if a black person knows that their mother is a Jew, why would they not identify themselves as Jewish? The answer to that lies not only in racial and cultural alienation — both the black and Jewish communities have elements which perceive their counterparts as the epitome of “the Other” — but also in the pervasive racism and anti-Semitism which unfortunately permeates many areas of American culture. We grow up in a world where unfortunately pervasive — but by no means ubiquitous — racism and anti-Semitism make being standoffish a norm, and to embrace both identities becomes more difficult. But the more black Americans who are already Jews begin to realize that Judaism as practiced is for them, the more Jewish neshamot living in bodies of black Americans will come home — upon seeing all the familiar faces.

May we see the uniting of the Jews from all four corners of the earth — speaking all their languages and looking as distinct from each other as G-d intended — speedily in our days.

Hawking Anti-Obama Propaganda

Apollo Braun (real name: Doron Braunshtein), an Israeli-born New York-area visual artist, has begun to gain notariety as of late for his ever-creative anti-Obama gear. In March, he launched his line of $129-250 custom “Who Killed Obama?” T-shirts, calling himself very “punk rock” to the fashion blogger at the New York Press. In May, Braun launched his Jews Against Obama T-shirt (pictured), also retailing for $250 from his Lower East Side boutique. On the release of this newest piece of politico-fashion, Braun gave his true feelings on Obama in a statement:

“I am a true anti-Obama New York Jew. The word on the street is that New York Jews will vote for McCain anyhow. The majority of the Jews – at least the ones that are proud of their religion and practice it – like me, don’t want to see Obama – a man who’s middle name is Hussein, and his family from his Kenyan father’s side is Muslim, as the leader of this great country.

More than that, after Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright honored Louis Farrakhan – definitely one of the most racist and anti-Semitic people alive – Obama lost us Jews totally. That made me start this political movement in the first place.”

And today, I get an Email from Mr. Braun’s publicist, telling of his new $30-creation, an “Obama=Hitler” T-shirt, perhaps his most shocking creation to date:

Israeli born, New York based pop artist and fashion designer Doron Braunshtein, also known as Apollo Braun, owner of the five year old “Apollo Braun” boutique on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side, crossed all limits and boundaries with his new creation: a t-shirt bearing the slogan “Obama = Hitler”. As of yesterday, the batch of the first 200 t-shirts came to his store and seven of his most devoted customers already bought the t-shirt, which cost only $30. “I never thought I would ever sell something that I created at such a cheap price,” Braunshtein says, “but you have to understand me, I want to see as many people as I can wearing my idea, and I don’t want money to stand between them and this fabulous t-shirt.”

Braunshtein explains why he made the association between Obama and Hitler: “I have an incredible imagination, you can call it a Jewish imagination if you want and it is what it is, Obama reminds me of Hitler in more ways than I can explain. I mean, every time I hear Obama speak, I automatically think about Hitler.

Hitler was an excellent speaker, who gave great speeches and made the masses follow him almost blindly, Obama is also an excellent speaker, who gives great speeches – like the incredible speech about race – who encourages the masses to follow him. But exactly like Hitler, in my opinion, Obama doesn’t talk, he just preaches, for God’s sake, does anyone understand a word he is saying? All I hear him do is just preach and preach. Also, Obama, exactly like Hitler in his time, will tell you whatever you want to hear, can manage any kind of crowd of people and will promise you the world, but what can I tell you, I am just not his fan. He cannot fool me.”

First of all, the fact that any Israeli-born artist would ever call anyone who is as pro-Jewish and pro-Israel as Obama “Hitler” makes me shudder and cringe. To do so is shortsighted, ignorant, and completely baseless. Dov Hikind’s March assessment of Barack-lash, that Jewish voters would make “a mass movement toward Sen. McCain” in November, while it could be expected, should not be applauded and certainly not taken as a harbinger of a “true New York Jew.” Obama was so pro-Israel when he addressed AIPAC it would leave Arab-Americans and Palestinians wondering if they could even support the nominee.

As blogger Gershon Goremberg says in the name of ambassador Dan Kurtzer: “The one candidate who speaks in clear terms of taking a new approach to the Mideast is Obama. This is what scares the small coterie of American Jewish rightists who would eagerly fight to the last Israeli. If you care about Israel, you should hit “delete” when you get their emails.”

People who care about Israel, says the ambassador, delete such filth from their inboxes.

So given Obama’s fervently pro-Israel stance, pro-Jewish stances, pro-diversity and anti-racist stances, and his distancing himself (or outright rejecting) sequentially from every prejudiced member of his inner circle, precisely where does one draw the parallel between Obama and Hitler? Precisely where does one get off making visual fiascos as offensive as to have someone dressed as Hitler in front of a Palestinian flag?

I’d say that “some people do anything for a buck”, but Mr. Braun is letting these objets go at one-eighth his normal asking price. Besides, he believes his own filth anyway.

Apparently, in some minds, no amount of fact can change a fallacious opinion.

Beitar Illit: Acid Spilled on 14-Year Old? June 5, 2008

A new disturbing word has apparently entered at least a few Yiddish speakers’ vernacular: טאליבאניסט’ן (talibanisten — accent on the next-to-last syllable), “the Taliban”, to describe the new radical, violent charedizealots who have no problems terrorizing and injuring and maiming women in the most audacious of places.

Please, someone, someone tell me when it has finally gone too far.

YNet brings the lamentable story of that which should have never taken place:

A 14-year-old girl from Beitar Illite was taken to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem after an unknown person spilled acid on her face, legs and stomach, causing light burn wounds.

The act has been attributed to a representative of the so-called ‘modesty guard’ in this town where religious and secular residents are increasingly at bitter odds.

Right there. The leader line — and I rarely praise Neta Sela, whose charedi “exposé” articles can often border on anti-haredi prejudice — says it all. A 14-year-old girl was rushed off to a hospital in the closest major city because someone spilled acid on her face. The graphic on the Ynet article — of the girl with chemically burned, wrinkled eyelids — even if it is a stock photo, is most disturbing. One can only imagine the trauma this girl is enduring, and the most skilled plastic surgeon’s most precise laser can not make the slightest impact on the deep psychological scars this girl must have.

MDA received the call just before midnight on Wednesday and paramedic Dror Eini who arrived on the scene to treat the girl also managed to calm her down enough so she could explain what had happened. Eini told Ynet that “the modesty guards have been threatening her for quite some time.” According to the paramedic the focus of the threats has largely been the victim’s 18-year-old sister and some suspect the attacker mistook the younger girl’s identity for that of her older sister’s.

Eini said the teenager was in a difficult emotional state: “She cried the whole way to the hospital, partly because she was in pain but mostly because she was terrified.” According to Eini at the time of her attack the girl had been wearing loose-fitting long pants and a short-sleeved shirt.

“If she would have been wearing the same thing in Jerusalem or in Tel Aviv, she would not have stuck out in any way,” he added.

An ultra-Orthodox teen from Beitar Illite who is in contact with the girl’s family spoke with her sister who described the incident. According to the boy, the attacker stopped the girl and first asked her for directions. Then, after confirming her surname, he spilled a bottle of acid on her.

I don’t know what else I can say. This actually makes the Meah Shearim spate of bleach-throwing incidents almost pale in comparison — whereas, in Meah Shearim, women were only physically injured as an unintended upshot of the attempts to ruin what were perceived as immodest clothes, here, a 14-year-old girl had acid spilled in her face. Naomi Regan, who was beaten on a mehadrin bus in Jerusalem in a chillul Hashem of cosmic proportions, was an adult — who could at least attempt to fight back — at the time of her brutal attack. This was a 14-year-old girl who had acid spilled in her face solely because of her last name.

Of course, and rightfully so, people in the charedi world, both in America and Israel, are calling for this man to be found and punished.

Punished? Were there the means to do so, I think he should be deported. The mindset — the values — that would propel one, in the name of modesty, to throw acid in a teenage girl’s face are as distinctly un-Jewish as that of any missionary or white supremacist. And if not this attacker, then whoever it was that put it in his mind to do such a thing. If this is how the Beitar Illit modesty patrol is operating, it is time for a Rabbinical Court — and if not a beit din, then the police — to completely revamp it.

This can not be allowed to continue for even another moment — because, remember, this attacker wasn’t targeting her.

He was looking for her sister.

And now one can only wonder what will happen to her if this organization seeks reprisal for this first attacker’s (G-d willing) imminent arrest, or if nothing happens, and the attacker goes out with another bottle of acid to “ask for directions” again.

Bahrain’s Newest Ambassador June 2, 2008

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain made a historic appointment on Wednesday, the appointment of Huda Azra Ibrahim Nunu to the post of ambassador to the United States. Ms. Nunu is Bahrain’s third female ambassador — the first being to France and the second to China — but it is not Ms. Nunu’s gender that makes her appointment so significant.

Ms. Nunu is Bahrain’s first Jewish female ambassador — and the first Jewish ambassador from the Arab world.

It was not initially known to which country Bahrain’s king would send the 43-year-old parliamentarian of Iraqi descent, but it soon became clear, Ms. Nunu was bound to represent her country in the United States. Ms. Nunu said she was proud to serve her country “first of all as a Bahraini”, and was quick to note that her appointment was not due to her religion, with one Bahraini official stressing that the selection of Ms. Nunu as envoy was “not propaganda”:

“This is not a public relations move,” the official told AFP, referring to the expected naming soon of Huda Nunu as the Gulf kingdom’s ambassador to Washington. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said King Hamad informed US officials during a visit to Washington in March of Bahrain’s intention to name Nunu…

“This move is not propaganda. It reflects a climate of tolerance towards minorities in Bahrain,” which is ruled by a Sunni dynasty and has a disgruntled Shiite majority…

“Nunu’s appointment stresses the seriousness of Bahrain’s reform policies … It shows that Bahrain does not differentiate between men and women in public offices and does not discriminate against citizens on the bases of their beliefs,” the official said.

Ms. Nunu’s appointment has drawn some criticism in Bahrain, where some have questioned the “political motives” which precipitated King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s decision.

Ms. Nunu’s brother Ibrahim was previously the first Jewish member of Bahrain’s Shura Council, the upper house of Bahraini parliament, and Ms. Nunu, a Shura Council member for three years, is herself the co-founder of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, and is the granddaughter of Ibrahim Nunu who, in 1919, served as the Bahraini Jewish Community’s representative under the British authorities.

Bahrain’s tiny Jewish community numbers no more than 40, but its members are well-represented in Bahrain’s business community. The community in Bahrain dates back to Talmudic times, and Bahrain’s capital boasts the only synagogue in the Persian Gulf. When asked about her Jewish observance, Ms. Nunu told the Jerusalem Post:

“We keep Rosh Hashana and Pessah and the other holidays in our homes,” Nonoo said, according to a report by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. “When my son had his bar mitzva, I flew a rabbi over from London for it.”

The Bahraini king’s decision comes amidst talk to grant “full citizenship rights” to Jewish returnees to Bahrain, whereby any Jews “who were residing in Bahrain and are of Arab or Iraqi roots who migrated from another country” can become full Bahraini citizens.