Subjected to anti-Semitism and racism, Jews of color feel 'stuck in the middle'

As a Black man in America, Marlon Amitai-Aviv Mcelveen is familiar with the omnipresent fear of a routine police stop turned deadly, the intrusive questions that come when he walks in particular neighborhoods.   

But the South Jersey resident was unprepared for the outpouring of hate that came two years ago when he became a Jew.

"There were friends and family members that didn't know the first thing about Judaism but their mindset was set on, 'These people are evil' or 'They killed Jesus,'" he recalled.

The last few months — with a record number of anti-Semitic attacks and the grim spectacle of George Floyd's killing at the hands of police in Minnesota — have pushed him to the breaking point, he said.

"It's harder for Jews of color because we are stuck in the middle," he said. He loves studying Jewish texts and observing the faith's traditions, but when he goes out in public wearing his kippah, the head covering worn by religious Jewish men, he encounters cruel remarks from strangers who share his own skin color.

"You get people saying, 'If you're Jewish you must be an Uncle Tom,'" said the 40-year old from Delanco, just north of Camden. He said his 11-year-old daughter begged him to stop wearing the kippah because "she doesn't want anything to happen to me."

"I see so much hate," he said. "It really hurts sometimes." 

Mcelveen, who adopted his Hebrew middle name after converting, is hardly alone. 

Estimates on the size of America's nonwhite Jewish population vary — and have sparked controversy. But whether due to conversion, adoption or intermarriage, or simply more recognition of existing diversity, their numbers appear to be growing, experts said, particularly in cities with large Jewish populations such as New York, Los Angeles and Miami. 

A 2013 Pew Research Center study found that 6% of adult American Jews define themselves as people of color, while researchers for the American Jewish Population Project at Brandeis University put the number closer to 11%.  

And a 2019 study commissioned by the Jews of Color Initiative in Berkeley, California, which also tallied children, found that 12% to 15% of American Jews — about 1,000,000 of America's 7,200,000 Jewish residents — identify as Jews of color. 

The studies vary in large part because they used different methods and criteria to determine their statistics. 

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Jewish institutions have been paying more attention to their nonwhite brethren in recent years, moving to include different races on staff and boards of directors, and working more with mixed families.

The Union for Reform Judaism, representing the largest Jewish denomination in the U.S., has launched Audacious Hospitality, an educational and marketing campaign that strives to "incorporate the diversity that is the reality of modern Jewish life. In early August, the Reform movement announced a $600,000 multi-year grant to support diversity across its institutions.

"Some were drawn to Judaism and converted in adulthood, others were adopted by white families at birth, or were born into Black families that have been Jewish for generations," said Bruce Haynes, a sociology professor at the University of California, Davis, and author of "The Soul of Judaism: Jews of African Descent in America". 

A new generation

American Jewish households have become more diverse as younger, more ethnically and racially diverse cohorts replace older, more homogeneous ones, said Haynes, an African American man with a Jewish wife.

"There's also been increasing numbers of Jews who are Sephardic [Hispanic Jews with roots in the Iberian Peninsula], and Asian American, and other Jewish families that have adopted non-white children," Haynes said. "These changes, along with the migration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel, have brought greater awareness to the profile of Jews of color." 

Mcelveen began contemplating a conversion 11 years ago while working as a maintenance supervisor at a synagogue in Voorhees.

"I was inspired by the people I met there," he said. As he walked the hallways, he eavesdropped on the rabbis' lessons. "I learned how to recite the prayers and about the meaning of the holidays," he said. "The Jewish religion is so beautiful. It teaches you that God walks with you everywhere." 

Aaron Jordan, 27, who is African American, began exploring Judaism over five years ago after befriending an Orthodox Jewish woman at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He was moved by Judaism's emphasis on action. The religion is progressive in that it "calls for social justice but it is also rooted in traditional values," he said. "It is an ocean of potential to unlock how to live a meaningful life while putting your relationship to God and your fellow man at the forefront." 

The woman who sparked his interest in Judaism, Talia Mizkovsky, is now his wife. The couple belongs to an Orthodox synagogue in Englewood, where they've been warmly received, Jordan said.   

Yet, there are moments when he feels emotionally drained by the reactions of other people to his dual identity. He said a Black Hebrew Israelite once told him his conversion to Judaism was "completely unnecessary and historically dishonest." And when he enters a new synagogue, he often gets double-takes or "kippah checks" to confirm that he is Jewish and belongs.  "I find it particularly frustrating since we all know that Judaism is not a monolith," said Jordan, a dentist. "There are so many different types, colors and hues of Jews." 

A common history of struggle

Haynes, who grew up in Harlem, recalls tensions between Blacks and Jews in New York during the Crown Heights riots in the early 1990s, along with other incidents. But he's gratified that he and his wife, a Jew from birth whom he married 25 years ago, have been embraced by their Reform synagogue. Haynes hasn't converted, but "if you act like you know what you are doing — you wear your talit — and look as if you belong, it's not an issue," he said, using the term for a Jewish prayer shawl. Most of his social circle, he said, is Jewish. 

Black and Jewish communities share a common history of struggle and resilience in the U.S. The groups have aided each other through challenging times: The NAACP was founded with the help of American Jews in 1909, and Jews marched alongside Black civil rights leaders in the 1960s.

In 1964, the murders of Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Chaney, two New York Jews and an African American man campaigning for civil rights in Mississippi, helped galvanize support for the movement and became an enduring symbol of solidarity between the two communities.

More recently, Jews of all denominations took part in the Black Lives Matter protests around the world.  

But there has also been recent conflict, with anti-Semitic rhetoric espoused by Black celebrities such as Philadelphia Eagles star DeSean Jackson and attacks against ultra-Orthodox Jews in New York by young Black people. Some Jewish community members, in turn, have been accused of racism. Many Jews of color complain that they've been mistaken for outsiders at their own synagogues. 

Longing for spirituality

When Lauren Rudin of Cherry Hill was growing up in a non-religious home in Burlington County, she longed for spirituality in her life and was envious of her church-going friends. In adulthood, she became a devout Christian but eventually discovered Judaism and fell in love with it, she recalled.

"The prayers are focused solely on Hashem, no saints or intermediaries," she said, using the Hebrew name for God. "We weren’t praying in anyone’s name. We were praying to God and only God." The Kaddish hymn of praise to God, for example, reminded her of the sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways." "For me it was as if the congregation was counting all the ways that we love God," Rudin said.

Rudin collected a small library of Jewish books and devoured them, and dropped in on a Friday night service at a local synagogue. "I immediately felt like I was home," she said.

Following years of reflection and study, she converted to Judaism 13 years ago, a decision her close-knit family supported, she said. "They love celebrating Chanukah with me, and they encouraged me to have a traditional Jewish wedding when I got married two years ago," she said proudly. 

But Rudin, now in her 40s, said she has grappled with discrimination because of her skin color, as well as bigotry because of her religion, sometimes from her own community. 

"When Desean Jackson posted anti-Semitic remarks, my Jewish friends were hurt that their Black friends didn't speak out against that, and you even had other athletes doubling down in support of Jackson," she said. "That was disheartening."

Even the Black Lives Matter organization has made many Jews of color feel like they have to choose sides, some say. The group's original charter advocates for a boycott of Israel, denouncing it as an "apartheid state" that commits "genocide" against Palestinians, and protesters at some BLM rallies chanted anti-Israel slogans. In May, rioters in Los Angeles attacked synagogues and Jewish schools. 

"While I don't appreciate BLM's anti-Israel statements, I do appreciate their efforts to create a safe and equitable society for people of color," said Rudin. 

In spite of negative encounters, Rudin, a social worker who works at the Jewish Federation of South Jersey, is optimistic about the future.

"I have hope for reconciliation because people overwhelmingly wanted to do something to help" after George Floyd's death, she said, noting that many Jewish organizations issued statements of support. The Jewish Federation took time during a staff meeting to discuss Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the U.S.

"Change is already happening," Rudin said.

Black and Orthodox

Gamliel Respes, 62, who was born into a large Orthodox Jewish family, grew up feeling great pride in his Jewish identity. His father, Rabbi Abel Respes, was a respected rabbi who founded and led Adat Beyt Moshe, a black Orthodox Jewish congregation in the South Jersey town of Hammonton. The synagogue, which opened in 1951, is now defunct.

Respes believes his family is descended from the "Crypto Jews," also known as Marranos — Spanish Jews who in the 14th and 15th centuries were forced to convert to Christianity but continued to practice their faith in secret.

Other Black Americans, he said, are descendants of Jews who lived in Africa but were forced to become Christians after they were sold as slaves. 

Respes' father loved studying Jewish texts. Inspired by his example, his son has spent much of his career as a Judaic studies teacher for youngsters at Congregation B'nai Tikvah Beth Israel in Gloucester County  and, more recently, at a religious high school in Voorhees. "I'm concerned about the religious future of our children," said the father of five. 

He recalls the firm religious convictions of his late brother, Mauel Respes, a star athlete who turned down a college scholarship for track because he didn't want to compete on the Jewish Sabbath. 

Respes is surprised by reactions he sometimes receives from other Jews. On occasion, when he attends a new synagogue, worshipers look at him quizzically or assume he's the hired help, Respes said. 

Too many people assume Jews are white without realizing that there are Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews, those from North Africa and the Middle East, who have dark skin, he said.

"There's a lack of knowledge in America about what Jews should look like," Respes said. "Jews have mixed nationality — a Jew can look like almost anyone in the world. What unites us is our shared values and traditions." 

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: yellin@northjersey.com Twitter: @deenayellin