In a conversation both deeply personal and grounded in history and sociology, Ilana Kaufman, CEO of the Jews of Color Initiative, shares her mission and why the work has been so challenging in a post-October 7 world. Kaufman explains why it’s been so counterproductive to consider Blacks and Jews as separate groups — erasing a sizable population identifying as both. She talks about why statistics and demographic matter for Jews of Color and the entire Jewish community. She shares how she came to write the afterward to Marc Dollinger’s book, “Black Power, Jewish Politics.” The conversation also touches on the Civil Rights and Soviet Jewry movements and why educators should draw more explicit connections between the two.

Visit our home on the web — Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations: http://evolve.reconstructingjudaism.org

Subscribe by Email at http://subscribebyemail.com/evolve.fireside.fm/rss

Read these show notes on the web at https://evolve.fireside.fm/1

This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.

Special Guest: Ilana Kaufman.

Support Evolve

Links:

• Sign up for Evolve's free newsletter to stay up to date on the latest essays, videos and podcasts
• Read Ilana's Evolve essay
• Watch Ilana's Eli Talk
• Learn more about the Jews of Color Initiative
• Listen to Bryan's conversation with Marc Dollinger
• Read Marc's Evolve essay
• Check out The Forward's coverage of the controversy surrounding the publication of "Black Power, Jewish Politics"
• Register for Writing Disability Torah
• Support Evolve with a donation of $36