As President Barack Obama begins his final year in office, it’s worth noting that for most Americans, the notion of an African American president is no longer novel.
For a country once riven by slavery, Civil War, Jim Crow laws and a tumultuous civil rights movement, that’s a miracle in itself.
While we still have a long way to go in ending racism, this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on Monday, Jan. 18, is a time to celebrate the bonds between the Jewish and African American communities.
Our story this week highlights several pulpit exchanges taking place between Bay Area synagogues and black churches in conjunction with the holiday. The exchange between two San Francisco institutions — Third Baptist Church and Congregation Emanu-El — is in its 29th year. Similar church-synagogue exchanges are also scheduled, one involving Congregation Kol Emeth of Palo Alto and another Congregation Beth Shalom of Napa.
These events are not simply one-day-a-year, see-you-next-January affairs, either. They represent enduring friendships between congregations, and reflect the Jewish community’s opposition to racism and injustice.
It is common at this time of year to recall historic ties between the two communities, in particular how Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched with Dr. King in Selma. But as Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder of the S.F.-based nonprofit Be’chol Lashon has noted, it’s no longer enough to stand on the laurels of events that took place 50 years ago. We need, as the rabbi wrote, “to take action in the present.”
Abusch-Magder urges Jews to diversify the information they get regarding the issue of racial justice and to take local action. Whether it’s standing against gun violence, abusive police or improving education in poor neighborhoods, we all have a role to play.
This is especially important because, unfortunately, forces hostile to Israel have insinuated themselves into the Black Lives Matter movement. These forces invoke a notion of intersectionality between the struggle for racial justice here and the Palestinian struggle against “apartheid” Israel.
For some activists, the line between Israel and Jews can blur. Hatred of one can become hatred of the other. We cannot allow this to occur. There is too much at stake.
It is right that Jews and African Americans express mutual support. Just as we pledge our solidarity to the African American community and its issues, we call upon African Americans to stand with Jews in opposition to all forms of racial, ethnic and religious bigotry, including anti-Semitism. Open, honest dialogue and person-to-person interaction, like the kind being generated by the upcoming pulpit exchanges, are excellent ways to strengthen our communities’ ties.