Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry / Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness
Anti-Racism Plan
Dec. 2, 2021
The Tauber Institute and the Sarnat Center continue to combine resources and efforts to reassess anti-semitism.
The Sarnat Library within the Tauber Series has regularly solicited and supported publication of such texts as "Inside the Anti-semitic Mind," "Germany’s Prophet: Paul de Lagarde and the Origins of Modern Anti-semitism" and "Jews and Race" in the Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought. We will open the colloquium season with a paper by Marc Dollinger on anti-semitism on college campuses (Dollinger is the author of Brandeis University Press's "Black Power, Jewish Politics").
Future efforts include:
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Attempts to assess relations of Black thinking about Jews and Judaism in relation to Jewish thinking about the Black experience and Black Christian thought.
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A planned Brandeis seminar on the utility of concepts such as anti-semitism and Judeophobia.
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Attempts to coordinate discussions of how anti-semitism relates to anti-Black racism.
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Invited a proposal for the Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought for a contemporary source book on Black-Jewish thought and relations, edited by Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College; Shaul Magid, Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College; Jay Carter; and Anthea Butler, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania.
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In an effort to promote meaningful conversations, engagement and critical explorations of race, Black-Jewish relations, Jews of color,and other relevant topics, the Tauber Institute began offering time-sensitive micro-grants up to $400, which may be used to support academic research, creative projects and educational initiatives (i.e., reading groups). We have coordinated this effort with Wendy Cadge in the dean’s office and spread the word among numerous departments and programs.
Proposals are accepted and funded after review on a rolling basis. Those received to date include:
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A monthly reading group featuring material by Jews of color and about the experiences of Jews of color, also featuring speakers who identify as Jews of color.
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A five-person Zoom speaker series of diversity leaders in Jewish life, including Sandra Lawson, a rabbi of color in the Reconstructionist movement; Jonathan Branfman, a scholar on issues of race and anti-semitism; and Tema Smith, a Jewish diversity advocate and Black Lives Matter activist, among other Jewish writers, thinkers and activists.
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An interactive website that educates users on Black-Jewish relations and acts as a portal where engagement opportunities around the U.S. are presented.
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A reading group focused on the history and relationship of Jewish and Black communities in the American South, followed by multiple small community reading groups involving synagogues and Black activist groups in the Hudson Valley.
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Support for Hornstein Program community conversations discussing readings from the book "The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race and American Identity" by Eric L. Goldstein, as well as other collected readings from Baldwin and Hooks on Jews and African Americans (and their intersections).