Building an Anti-Racist Jewish Future
Judaism is predicated on a covenant which outlines the holy obligations we hold to one another as members of a community with a collective purpose. We must align the tenets of our modern covenant to remind us that those with freedom within our community have an obligation to help free and empower those who are without a voice, authority, or legitimacy. When we honor our commitment to each other then our communities will flourish with rain at its proper time, grain, wine, oil, and grass in our fields. When we do not fully commit, we risk the future of our very community. So we call in our community to re-imagine our sacred covenant to one another and to our collective future.
We believe the fulfillment of these obligations anchor the essential foundation of a loving, liberated, and anti-racist Jewish community.
This work will be hard, and these obligations are by no means exhaustive. It will require critical conversations, internal reflection, and an ongoing commitment to be imaginative in our love for one another. We call for this re-imagination to include the following seven obligations upheld by all Jewish funders and organizations.
1) Explicit endorsement that Black Lives Matter.
Recognizing that Black Lives Matter is a statement that is inherently true and should be accepted without caveat or qualification.
2) Establish racial justice and social equity as an explicit pillar of your organization.
This should include but not be limited to:
a) investment in education, spiritual nourishment, and community repair for the effects of racism within the Jewish community
b) investment in solidarity and support initiatives between JOC and non-Jewish POC communities
c) the creation of a fund to explicitly support anti-black racism initiatives and policy change in the communities you operate in
d) creation of an ongoing protocol for naming and addressing instances of racism when it happens and engaging in restorative justice
3)
Commit to explicit intersectional anti-racist and inclusive hiring and compensation practices.
This should include but not be limited to:
a) 20% of all Board Seats be occupied by people of color of which a significant portion should be JOC
b) 20% of all employees be people of color
c) 20% of all senior leadership be people of color of which a significant portion should include JOC
d) a dedicated fund to hire an external POC-led recruiting firm to source employees and board positions
e) internal support structure to ensure retention, training, and support explicitly for employees of color
f) mandated quarterly in-person and/or digital unconscious bias and anti-black racism training for all employees to be led by Black, JOC or POC consultants or consulting organizations
g) periodic review of compensation levels for all staff across various dimensions of diversity
h) 30% of compensation for senior leadership be contractually tied to the achievement of anti-racist hiring, staffing, and compensation goals
i) a mechanism to track these metrics and publicly post the results for community accountability.
4)
Commit to anti-racist educational initiatives, curriculums, and frameworks.
This should include but not be limited to:
a) appreciation for the inherent multiracial identity of the Jewish community
b) inclusion of history of JOC communities around the world, and historical figures that identified as Black and Jewish
c) an anti-racist framework and lens for organizational decision making
d) public statement acknowledging the erasure of Jews of color and their traditions from textbooks, trainings, and Jewish education, and a commitment to actively and aggressively correct this erasure
5)
Invest in JOC and POC leadership development
This should include but not be limited to:
a) a commitment for Jewish institutional funding to allocate 20% of all granted dollars to JOC and POC led organizations & initiatives
b) develop a strategic initiative within the Jewish Federated system with JOC leadership to fund JOC led organizations, initiatives, and individuals
c) JOC and POC involvement in the design, implementation and review process of all initiatives that impact JOCs and POCs
d) JOC and POC involvement in all strategic decision making processes that impact the broader community
e) commitment to pay JOC and POC whenever they are asked for advice, consultation, or engagement with organizational initiatives
f) fully funded opportunities for JOC to engage with Jewish life at no cost, including Day School, Synagogue membership, fellowships, camps, conventions, and rabbinical schools
6)
Create a robust list of racial justice, equity, and inclusion requirements that all grantees receiving Jewish institutional funding must adhere to.
This should include but not be limited to:
a) a commitment to replacing contracts with police departments with alternative structures of community safety that prioritize inclusive anti-racist security practices
b) mandated quarterly in-person and/or digital unconscious bias and anti-black racism training for all employees to be led by Black, JOC or POC consultants or consulting organizations
c) anti-racist and inclusive hiring and compensation practices
d) public metrics to track ongoing anti-racism work
7)
Engage in the development of a fully funded initiative to assist in our communal accountability.
This should include but not be limited to:
a) at least a $1.5M annual operating budget guaranteed for at least 5 years
b) a leadership team composed of majority Black Jews and JOCs
c) a focus and investment in coalition building among JOC led organizations and ventures
d) active support of this initiative to empower it to consult, support, and provide metrics for accountability to Jewish funders and organizations as they implement the above obligations
e) the creation of said organization should be advised by a JOC led and majority JOC task force