The "Whitening" of Jews
Before beginning this project, I was unaware that many Jews of color were viewed and perceived as being different than Jewish. This ignorance drove me to learn about how this came to be and the consequences of being a "nontraditional Jew."
According to Karen Brodkin, the 19th and 20th centuries were a period of time where many European races were considered to be inferior and these races were destroying America. Further, the influx of European immigrants also correlated with the rise of the Jewish population. For a vast period of time, Americans viewed Jews and the European races as something other than white, as Brodkin describes (Brodkin, 293) Further, the increase in the Jewish population was also associated with an increase in anti-Semitism. While anti-Semitism does still exist, in my opinion the belief that Jews are an inferior race has been declining in popularity. Over time, Jews have become a very successful race. Brodkin claims that this success is in part due to the values that many Jews uphold such as “hard work and deferred gratification (Brodkin, 293).” However, Brodkin also claims that the success was also due to the removal of social barriers and obstacles.
After World War II, Americans shifted their beliefs from viewing European races as inferior and non-white to viewing them as white, model citizens (Brodkin, 293). Prior to the war, Jews were limited to a small number of occupations and businesses including the garment industry. She attributes this shift to government policies that changed races. One such policy was the passing of the GI (government issued) Bill of Rights passed in 1944. This bill provided educational and financial benefits to those met the criteria. Many people including Karen Brodkin viewed this legislation as a form of affirmative action that was “aimed at helping Euro-origin GIs,” many of which including Jews (Brodkin, 296). For a large period of time, other GIs that were African-American were not assisted. Additionally, the “1940 census no longer differentiated between native white of native parentage and non-native white of immigrant parentage which led to an expanded notion of whiteness that included Jews” (Brodkin, 87). These government changes and policies led to the belief that Jews were part of the white race. Although white Jews reaped the benefits from the change in government policies, non-white Jews (including black Jews) became widely ignored. In conclusion, black Jews were not privy to the privileges that Caucasian Jews benefited from (Brodkin, 297).
The discrimination against Jews during the early 19th and 20th century was similar to what African-Americans were facing. Due to this prejudice, Jews played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement and also helped form the NAACP. However once Jews came to be viewed as White and upwardly mobile, the gap between African-American and Jews grew vastly (Levitas, momentmag.com). Further, after the bombing of a temple in Atlanta in 1958, Rabbi Rothshild became an outspoken critic of racial injustice ("Rabbi Jacob Rothschild" The Temple.com). Eventually Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Rothschild developed a relationship, and Martin Luther King Jr. also became an advocate for Israel. In this sense, he attempted to correlate the success of African-Americans with the success of the Jews ("Black-Jewish Relations: Martin Luther King and Israel" Jewishvirtuallibrary.org). On the other hand Roberta S. Gold writes, “Jews had much more to lose from being linked with blacks, precisely because they had much more to gain from being cast as whites” (181). I believe that this widening gap between the two communities led to the notion that Black Jews were distinct from White Jews, and thus subject to Anti-Semitism in addition to race discrimination.
According to Karen Brodkin, the 19th and 20th centuries were a period of time where many European races were considered to be inferior and these races were destroying America. Further, the influx of European immigrants also correlated with the rise of the Jewish population. For a vast period of time, Americans viewed Jews and the European races as something other than white, as Brodkin describes (Brodkin, 293) Further, the increase in the Jewish population was also associated with an increase in anti-Semitism. While anti-Semitism does still exist, in my opinion the belief that Jews are an inferior race has been declining in popularity. Over time, Jews have become a very successful race. Brodkin claims that this success is in part due to the values that many Jews uphold such as “hard work and deferred gratification (Brodkin, 293).” However, Brodkin also claims that the success was also due to the removal of social barriers and obstacles.
After World War II, Americans shifted their beliefs from viewing European races as inferior and non-white to viewing them as white, model citizens (Brodkin, 293). Prior to the war, Jews were limited to a small number of occupations and businesses including the garment industry. She attributes this shift to government policies that changed races. One such policy was the passing of the GI (government issued) Bill of Rights passed in 1944. This bill provided educational and financial benefits to those met the criteria. Many people including Karen Brodkin viewed this legislation as a form of affirmative action that was “aimed at helping Euro-origin GIs,” many of which including Jews (Brodkin, 296). For a large period of time, other GIs that were African-American were not assisted. Additionally, the “1940 census no longer differentiated between native white of native parentage and non-native white of immigrant parentage which led to an expanded notion of whiteness that included Jews” (Brodkin, 87). These government changes and policies led to the belief that Jews were part of the white race. Although white Jews reaped the benefits from the change in government policies, non-white Jews (including black Jews) became widely ignored. In conclusion, black Jews were not privy to the privileges that Caucasian Jews benefited from (Brodkin, 297).
The discrimination against Jews during the early 19th and 20th century was similar to what African-Americans were facing. Due to this prejudice, Jews played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement and also helped form the NAACP. However once Jews came to be viewed as White and upwardly mobile, the gap between African-American and Jews grew vastly (Levitas, momentmag.com). Further, after the bombing of a temple in Atlanta in 1958, Rabbi Rothshild became an outspoken critic of racial injustice ("Rabbi Jacob Rothschild" The Temple.com). Eventually Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Rothschild developed a relationship, and Martin Luther King Jr. also became an advocate for Israel. In this sense, he attempted to correlate the success of African-Americans with the success of the Jews ("Black-Jewish Relations: Martin Luther King and Israel" Jewishvirtuallibrary.org). On the other hand Roberta S. Gold writes, “Jews had much more to lose from being linked with blacks, precisely because they had much more to gain from being cast as whites” (181). I believe that this widening gap between the two communities led to the notion that Black Jews were distinct from White Jews, and thus subject to Anti-Semitism in addition to race discrimination.