What does a Jew look like?
CVK
Check out this article on Jews of color from the Atlanta Jewish Times Online, featuring MMW’s very own Jen Chau! The article is based on Jen’s presentation at the Jewish Outreach Institute Conference. To find out more about our workshops on mixed race identity and interracial relationships, please visit the New Demographic Web site.
At religious school and synagogue, her peers questioned whether she was Jewish.
“In that space I found it was not OK to look the way that I did,” Chau told the group.
Everything hit home the day of her bat mitzvah. Her father participated in her bat mitzvah practice, and the family was planning for him to be on the bimah when she was called to the Torah. But the night before the service, her family received a phone call: The synagogue made a decision that in order not to promote intermarriage, he couldn’t participate.
“That was a very clear message that I was not supposed to be here, that I was not supposed to be in the community,” said Chau, who spent most of her bat mitzvah day crying. “It really was a hurtful situation and one that made me pretty sure as a12-year-old that I didn’t want to be a part of this.”
Renu wrote:
Man, MMW is on a media-exposure wave!! Congrats to both JC and CVK for having some extremely high-profile opportunities, and thanks for striving to clear up all the stereotypes and portray us all as simply Humans.
Posted 30 Dec 2005 at 10:35 am ¶
anon wrote:
Jen,
Sorry to hear about your story, as I’m sure yours is very common in general for those of mixed racial/ethnic identities! As far as the “who’s a Jew” ? goes, it amazes me how many times we assume that Jews look like white Europeans/Americans with Hebrew names! Granted, the vast majority of Jews today are Ashkenazi, but it wasn’t always like that, as a millennium ago most Jews would’ve identified themselves as Sephardi/Israeli, which brings into ? the whole portrayal of Christ as an Ashkenazi Jew when there most likely was no such thing during the time when he lived! Ultimately it’s the Jewish community’s loss that they limit membership according to “fullbred” Jews, which if you think about it would largely exclude most/all the Ashkenazi Jews today, as they’re of mixed ancestry as well. Abraham, Moses, David and others that lived before and even during Christ’s time most likely didn’t look like Max Von Sydow’s rendition of Christ with long brownish/blond hair, as these features are more common of modern Euro/American Jews than those in the Middle East today. Not to mention the folks who may’ve considered you Goyem(?) would not be considered purebred themselves in Israel! Well, keep ya head up!
Posted 30 Dec 2005 at 4:47 pm ¶
WD wrote:
The Jewish community, led by the Ashkenazi majority, has had a problem with non-full-blooded Ashkenazi members for awhile (of course I’m speaking in generalities). Look at the treatment of Mizrahi and Ethiopian Jews in Israel.
Posted 30 Dec 2005 at 11:28 pm ¶
Racist Jews wrote:
Thus, the rank hypocrisy of American Jews leading the Black Civil Rights movement here - when in fact their own culture, language and religion is inherently deeply racist.
Jews using Black Americans as pawns and the NAACP as a front for their own agendas:
“The NAACP’s first president was Arthur Spingarn, and only Jews served as NAACP presidents from its founding (1909) until the 1970s.”
http://www.martinlutherking.org/ma-chapter18.html
Institutionalized anti-Asian miscegenation by Israeli Jews:
“Jerusalem - An Israeli company has required thousands of Chinese workers to sign a contract promising not to have sex with Israelis or try to convert them, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday.
According to the document, male workers cannot come into contact with Israeli women - including prostitutes - become their lovers or marry them, spokesperson Rafi Yaffe said. He said there was nothing illegal about the requirement and no investigation had been opened against the company.
The labourers are also forbidden in the contract from engaging in any religious or political activity. Those who violate the agreement will be sent back to China at their own expense. ”
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,6119,2-10-1462_1462877,00.html
Posted 31 Dec 2005 at 10:26 am ¶
ugh, it's THEM again wrote:
Isn’t Martin Luther King.org a hate site?
Don’t you have better things to do than to go to sites that are against everything you believe in and everything you stand for to spread your propaganda to people who don’t care?
Posted 31 Dec 2005 at 3:55 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
RJ: *ROFLMAO*
Like I believe ANYTHING written by that hatemonger David Duke!
If you really are a wanna-be AN skinhead, then I call “troll” and it’s not worth arguing with anyone like you. Especially here. Guess that one article on the WP-Olsen-Wannabes attracted you here?
If you really aren’t, you need to learn some major skills vital to net use… like reading… and critical thinking.
Posted 31 Dec 2005 at 6:09 pm ¶
The International Jews wrote:
The “racist jews” psycho is certainly persistent, but honestly, I’ve got more effective trolls growing on my ass.
And about that website Martinlutherking.org:
Domain ID:D3064706-LROR
Domain Name:MARTINLUTHERKING.ORG
Created On:14-Jan-1999 05:00:00 UTC
Last Updated On:13-Jan-2005 21:49:57 UTC
Expiration Date:14-Jan-2006 05:00:00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Intercosmos Media Group Inc. (R48-LROR)
Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:ODN-520527
Registrant Name:Don Black
Registrant Organization:Stormfront Inc
Registrant Street1:PO Box 6637
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:West Palm Beach
Registrant State/Province:FL
Registrant Postal Code:33405
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.5618330030
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:+1.5618200051
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:root@STORMFRONT.ORG
Admin ID:ODN-520527
Admin Name:Don Black
Admin Organization:Stormfront Inc
Admin Street1:PO Box 6637
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:West Palm Beach
Admin State/Province:FL
Admin Postal Code:33405
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.5618330030
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+1.5618200051
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:root@STORMFRONT.ORG
Tech ID:ODN-520527
Tech Name:Don Black
Tech Organization:Stormfront Inc
Tech Street1:PO Box 6637
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:West Palm Beach
Tech State/Province:FL
Tech Postal Code:33405
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.5618330030
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:+1.5618200051
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:root@STORMFRONT.ORG
Name Server:NS12.ZONEEDIT.COM
Name Server:NS19.ZONEEDIT.COM
Name Server:SVR02.STORMFRONT.ORG
Posted 31 Dec 2005 at 9:09 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
STORMFRONT!! OMG!!
I mean, I kind of knew, but still, gotta love when the techies come through
Aren’t they bankrupt yet? I know WCC has had problems.
Posted 01 Jan 2006 at 1:19 am ¶
LOUIS FARRAKHAN wrote:
“The question that I always raise is ‘Are you using your influence to bring people to God? Or are you using your influence in a Satanic way?’ That is not anti-Semitism. That is dealing with truth, as I see it. So when I see Jews and Anglo-Saxons involved in manipulation, like causing members of Congress to take away from the government the right to print money and instruments of credit, and then establishing a Federal Reserve system so the printing of currency of America is not owned by the government, but by families –that, to me, is Satanic, man!”
American “Jews” have become America’s chief social architects (via our media, medicine*, banking, universities, AIPAC**, gov, etc) within the last 50 years. 9/11 was in no small part payback for over 50 years of American imperialistic Zionism**! But not according to our media… Because instead, they have methodically preemptively discredited any legitimate criticism of any of their anti-American activities as blanket “White Power anti-Semitism.”
An objective look however will reveal that many such objections are NOT based upon an irrational racist hate for Jews OR White Power - and are, in fact, LEGIT political observations formed outside Hebrewood. The American public (as seen here) is sooo brainwashed by this point though that they can never see past such isolationist propaganda to factual reality.
* http://www.rense.com/general19/enemy.htm
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1929636008/104-3863544-5509501?v=glance&n=283155
** http://www.wrmea.com/us_aid_to_israel/index.htm
There are also many positive aspects that Jews have given society, but to completely ignore and write an unaccountable blank check for their looming darkside is sheer guilt-ridden racism and image-conscious activist vanity.
Posted 01 Jan 2006 at 11:16 am ¶
Kaonashi wrote:
Jen, I’m sorry that happened to both you and your father. That’s just….wrong on so many levels, and it also makes me sad. Not meaning to be an ass, but if I were from a group of people who have been hunted, exprimetned on and murdered in the millions I would have a extremely hard time being bogus or exclusive to ANYONE, but that’s just me.
What bothers me the most is that they did not take into consideration that this was your Bat Mitvah and that was your father they decided to exclude, or what sort of effect that would have on your family. Awful.
Posted 01 Jan 2006 at 2:33 pm ¶
Anti-Zionist Nationalist wrote:
Geez, y can’t some brainwashed PC liberals just admit that many Jews can be and often are highly racist - instead of always just passing the buck to some stereotypical hooded rednekkks?
Cuz, this is obviously not all just some isolated anti-Semitic KKK propaganda.
Jen Chau has experienced a lifetime of painful Jewish racism up close & personal. As have ANY non-Jews in Israel. From Palestinians to African-Americans* to Chinese** laborers to Mizrahi and Ethiopian Jews in Israel, etc etc.
* http://www.sfbayview.com/100604/heroism100604.shtml
** http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=291271&sw=deportation+Jaffe
Yes folks, ANYONE can be virulently racist…EVEN…*drumroll*…JEWS! *gasp!* Yes, “Yahweh’s chosen ones” are humans too! And there is a REAL problem here, and continually looking right past it ISN’T HELPING. At some point, SOMEONE has to inform the emperor that he HAS NO CLOTHES ON!
Posted 01 Jan 2006 at 4:22 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
Oh right, we’re supposed to believe that LF isn’t RJ?
So how’s life under the bridge? See any noisy goats?
Posted 01 Jan 2006 at 9:15 pm ¶
Troll Detection Team wrote:
“Geez, y can’t some brainwashed PC liberals……”
Uh huh, because poor, disenfranchised loners who constantly whine about the liberal media and the international Jewish Banking Conspiracy CLEARLY haven’t been brainwashed. Way to show critical thinking skills!
BTW, you are probably a closeted Jew yourself, like your good buddy Adolf Hitler. I suggest you run, don’t walk to a good Jewish psychiatrist immediately to figure out why you keep running from the truth.
Posted 02 Jan 2006 at 12:46 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
Having laughed sufficiently at the Sybil-troll (apologies to all actually suffering from any personality disorder IRL), I say we just fail to respond from here on. We’re all on the same page of reality
Just wanted to add a REAL comment, that I wonder if there are any communities/synagogues that are actively reaching out to Jewish people who don’t fit the mainstream stereotype. I feel like there have to be some Reform Synagogues with a significant ethnic-minority representation in the NYC area or the eastern seaboard. If not, can we say untapped resource?
Posted 02 Jan 2006 at 1:07 pm ¶
jen chau wrote:
lyonside, there are definitely synogogues out there that are more open to jews of color, LGBT jews and their families, mixed race families, etc… i have quite a few friends who have found places where they feel comfortable being jewish AND _______ (fill in the blank). so while it’s not completely hopeless, the accepting places still seem to be few and far between.
and then, organizations like the Jewish Outreach Institute (http://joi.org/) are trying to reach out to unaffiliated jews who have been turned off or turned away…
and then there are orgs that focus on Jewish diversity and serve as a support to Jews of Color — like Ayecha (http://www.ayecha.org/)….
so, things are happening…but much much much more work still needs to happen. a very SMALL minority of the jewish community recognizes the problems in a *real* way. the others think that throwing “multicultural celebrations” will make all of the issues disappear.
Posted 02 Jan 2006 at 7:02 pm ¶
Hapa Meister wrote:
That’s a nice pic of Jen Chau. I’d like to see more of you.
Posted 05 Jan 2006 at 5:53 am ¶
Hapa Meister wrote:
LOUIS FARRAKHAN - if that’s really him, I just might be smoking CRACK.
Posted 05 Jan 2006 at 6:04 am ¶
dana wrote:
after reading through the plethora of comments here, it was refreshing to read your response jen. your comment had resources and hope. and fortunately, there are people out there working to make the jewish community a more open and embracing community.
as a chinese jew, i am well-aware that there are problems of racism and exclusivity within the jewish community. i’m not seeking to deny the matter. HOWEVER, i am also very aware that the jewish community (at least here in the united states) is constantly in flux, like many communities here in the united states, and is in the process of facing and trying to adapt to various societal issues. like jen, i experienced some hurtful moments within the jewish community. but i think it’s important to find productive means of dealing with the matters (instead of denegrading and rejecting the community) so that a community can stay alive and strong. after all, being of mixed race and ethnicity shouldn’t mean you should have to chose one side over the other. we should be able to be proud of all of our cultures.
interestingly enough, i noticed that many of the people interviewed on the addicted to race video-cast identified as jewish. so wouldn’t that lead one to believe that the jewish community isn’t SO closed minded after all? if it were, where are all these bi-racial/multi-racial jews coming from?
anyway, thanks for all the excellent work jen and carmen.
Posted 06 Jan 2006 at 7:01 pm ¶
dana wrote:
one more thing, just wondering how the rest of conference went. conclusions… commments of participants… goals set? … i’m assuming (perhaps incorrectly?) that jen’s initial comments were a starting-off point and not a conclusion for the conference…
Posted 06 Jan 2006 at 7:05 pm ¶
Jewlander wrote:
So, based upon these painful “Who’s (NOT) Coming to Bar Mitzvah” personal anecdotes and articles revealed here, would it be fair to say that the Jewish community is actually one of the most insular and racist in America? Even moreso than Middle Class White America?
And if not, is there then a stereotype-based double-standard in holding each group racially-accountable - which then only further ENABLES Jewish racism? Aka - “I can’t be racist, I’m a JEW!”
Posted 08 Jan 2006 at 1:13 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
Don’t go by the articles. They’re bogus.
Instead please base any ideas on Jen’s initial article (the full one) and her subsequent information about congregations that ARE inclusive. The mssage is, work has been done and more work needs to be done.
Just because a faith community and/or ethnic group has some ways to go doesnt’ mean the entire group should be denigrated.
The “Jewish” community is not more or less monolithic than any other… despite what the hatemonger(s?) in this thread have claimed.
Posted 08 Jan 2006 at 7:42 pm ¶
Jewlander wrote:
Uh, these articles are “bogus?” How so?
http://www.http://www.sfbayview.com/100604/heroism100604.shtml
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,6119,2-10-1462_1462877,00.html
Maybe YOU’RE bogus?
Posted 10 Jan 2006 at 7:58 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
>Maybe YOU’RE bogus?
Oh, there’s the voice of maturity.
Look, 1) I was actually refering to the earlier articles. It’s not all about you. Oh wait, unless it is and you’ve just changed your name… you know, again?
2) Reread the following until you understand it. Look up whatever words you need to: [B]”Just because a faith community and/or ethnic group has some ways to go doesn’t mean the entire group should be denigrated.
The “Jewish” community is not more or less monolithic than any other… “[/B]
Your articles refer to a supposed policy in ISRAEL. Do Israeli politics speak for all Jewish people? I think not. Just like I hope to God that all actions of the US Government don’t speak for me as a citizen.
Just as I know that the particular actions of Ireland, France, Germany, Bermuda, and whatever nations of West Africa are in my makeup don’t speak for me.
And (since Judaism is really is first and foremost a religion, despite being associated/tied to various ethnicities), the Church of Rome doesn’t necessarily speak for me either, despite the fact that I am Roman Catholic.
Posted 16 Jan 2006 at 10:13 am ¶
Farrakhan X wrote:
Which articles are bogus then?
The one Jen Chau contributed to in The Atlanta Jewish Times Online recounting her racial rejection as a Jew due to her Asian heritage - by the Jewish-American community?
http://jtonline.us/main.asp?SectionID=46&SubSectionID=105&ArticleID=101
Whose painful experience is also amazingly echoed by poster, dana - another Chinese Jew also rejected due to her Asian heritage here.
Or the article detailing the NAACP’s unbroken line of Jewish Presidents since its inception in 1909 until 1975?
http://www.martinlutherking.org/ma-chapter18.html
Well, despite its source, I briefly googled and found confirmation from various other sources and nothing to believe otherwise…
The one mandating 100% complete segregation between Chinese male laborers and Israeli women by a company in Israel has been widely-reported by several news sites?
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,6119,2-10-1462_1462877,00.html
Morris Fishbein’s sabotage of Royal Rife & Harry Hoxsey is well-known - and reported by multiple sources.
http://www.rense.com/general19/enemy.htm
Freud was a coke-addled failed psychic whose theories have now largely been debunked. Old news…
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1929636008/104-3863544-5509501?v=glance&n=283155
This story of heartless anti-Asian discrimination in Israel is reported by an Israeli source?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=291271&sw=deportation+Jaffe
Or this eye-opening story of the brutal beating South African Christian volunteer Chris Brown suffered in Israel while fighting the racial apartheid there?
http://www.sfbayview.com/100604/heroism100604.shtml
So, which is it? And did I miss any?
Posted 16 Jan 2006 at 4:33 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
YAY! TROLL!
MLK.ORG is a racist HATE SITE.
By definition, everything they write is going to be inaccurate misrepresentation in order to push an agenda.
YOU are a racist TROLL.
By definition, everything you write is going to be inaccurate misrepresentation in order to push an agenda.
Just cause it’s on the web doesn’t make it true. There are sites dedicated to Bigfoot. And having MET Jen Chau, I sincerely doubt she’s going to be championing any of YOUR causes any time soon. Stop miscon-screwing what she wrote… oh wait, that would mean you actually READ what she wrote.
Posted 16 Jan 2006 at 7:47 pm ¶
Malcolm Y wrote:
In 1975 Hasia Dinner wrote a PhD thesis about the way that “Jewish support for black causes was a way for Jews to broaden their own rights without becoming conspicuous by advocating their group interests.”
NAACP, “took shape” at the estate (”Troutbeck”) of Joel Spingarn who became its Board Chairman in 1915. He served in this position until 1929 when he became, instead, the president, til 1939. He was succeeded by his brother Arthur (for many years head of the NAACP’s Legal Committee) till 1966, when another Jew, Kivie Kaplan, “a millionaire manufacturer of patent leather,” [HILLEL/LEVINE, p. 127] took over. “By 1968,” note Hillel Levine and Lawrence Harmon, “the perceived paternalistic leadership style of Kaplan and other prominent Jews in the civil rights movement was coming under increasingly sharp attack. Activists called for his resignation; Kaplan refused.” [HILLEL/ HARMON, p. 127] Only with Kaplan’s death in 1975 did the NAACP — 64 years after its founding — have the opportunity to elect its first Black president.
With Jews holding the purse strings to many ostensibly Black organizations, in 1976 Black activist Julian Bond sought the directorship of the NAACP. Although critical of Israel, Bond found it necessary to sign a yearly “Black Americans in Support of Israel (BASIC)” statement “if he was to have any chance of winning the NAACP position, given the powerful influence of Jews within the organization.”
“Any support of human rights in general by Jews,” says Israel Shahak, “which does not include the support of human rights of non-Jews whose rights are being violated by [Israel] is deceitful … [Jewish] support of Blacks in the South was motivated only by consideration of Jewish self-interest.”
Jacob Billikopf, also Jewish, became chairman of Howard University, a Black college, in 1935. Fisk University also had influential Jewish board members.
Southern Poverty Law Center
1996 the local Montgomery Advertiser printed an embarrassing expose about the Center
The Advertiser further noted that “One thing remains a constant at the nation’s wealthiest civil rights charity, the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center: All the top-paid, top-level management jobs are held by whites.
In SPLC’s 25-year history “no black person has held a top-level management position, and only one black staffer has ever been among the top five paid positions.”
“IN A TIME OF UNIVERSAL DECEIT, TELLING THE TRUTH IS A REVOLUTIONARY ACT.” - George Orwell
Posted 16 Jan 2006 at 9:30 pm ¶
Farrakhan X wrote:
“I was actually refering to the earlier articles”
“MLK.ORG is a racist HATE SITE.”
So, really you only thought one of the article”s” was bogus, then.
And while such a site is obviously biased, does that automatically discredit EVERYTHING on it? Or is that just an ignorant lazy man’s way to preserve his prefabbed worldview and ego?
A fact is a fact, its source is secondary.
So…are you claiming that the NAACP did NOT have Jewish leadership from its inception in 1909 until 1975? That the following succession of Jewish leaders is not accurate?
1915-1929 Board Chairman Joel Spingarn
1929-1939 President Joel Spingarn
1939-1966 President Arthur Spingarn
1966-1975 President Kivie Kaplan
Your “proof” being that “MLK.ORG is a racist HATE SITE?”
Also, I found similar revelations about MLK Jr on a very credible mainstream site:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030502.html
Posted 17 Jan 2006 at 10:46 pm ¶
Y? wrote:
Why even try to keep joining up with these insular racist bigots, then?
Isn’t that like a half-White kid persisting on trying to join the KKK, even after repeated denials?
At some point, perhaps it’s better NOT to become a member of such an intolerant group? Maybe that’s a GOOD thing?
Posted 18 Jan 2006 at 6:08 pm ¶