Message to “mainstream” Jews: We don’t all look like Woody Allen or Barbara Streisand. GET OVER IT!
JC
Okay, maybe this is some of my damnhowdidtheweekendflybysoquicklyagain angst talking, but I’m just gonna run with it. 
Saw an article in American Jewish Life Magazine about Esti Mamo, an Israeli model. She happens to be Ethiopian, and that of course becomes the focus of the story.
This is yet another instance of “Whoa! Who would have thought that this person of color would be Jewish?” Honestly, it’s so ridiculous. Obviously there are Jews of color. There have been for all of time, and there are many of us around now, actually (in this country, and in Israel). Yet, always this shock and surprise. The “Jewish community” (how much of a community is it when so many of us are not included?) needs to get over it. Maybe once it does, it will see Jews of color joining their congregations, getting involved in their organizations… I have been in a lot of conversations with Jewish organization professionals who wonder why they don’t see many of us. Well, when the majority of the “broader/mainstream Jewish community” constantly makes Jews of color seem like strange occurences, we tend to want to run away from that, rather than join in and deal with all of the awkwardness and questions. Who needs to feel like a freak in a place where one should be welcomed and considered to be a fellow “countryman”? I’m pretty tired of it, but the truth is that there is no room for this weariness. There is a lot of work to be done (admittedly, I used to be active in efforts around issues of diversity in Judaism and I left it due to my already full plate…but to be honest, on top of that, it seems like there is very little change. It has been about six years since I was active, and the same need to create visibility alone is still very much present).
Hot Israeli supermodel — the description conjures up certain images of tanned brunettes with chiseled features and a look that says, “I’m trained with heavy weapons; don’t try anything.” Naomi Campbell or Tyra Banks, arguably the most famous of black supermodels, is not what you might picture. Nevertheless, Esti Mamo is the latest fashion-clad sabra to come out of the Holy Land, and she looks more Naomi than Upper West Side JAP. The 24-year-old is a member of Israeli’s Falasha community of Ethiopian Jews.
So, not only do I read this article and feel estranged because a fellow woman of color is not being included as a natural part of the Jewish community, but the words are directed at an audience — the Jewish community — which obviously does not include my kind of thinking. The author says that someone who looks like Esti “…is not what you might picture” to be a Jewish person. Oh really? Who says? I wouldn’t naturally assume she wasn’t! Good work author, you just pointed out that the “you” here is just as close-minded and ignorant as can be. The “you” refers to a group of people who would assume that Israeli looks like olive-skinned and brunette, and Esti Mamo could not be Jewish. I don’t think like that, so clearly, I am not part of the audience. For which I am happy.
Jewish people can be Jamaican, white, Indian, Puerto Rican, Chinese, black… they can be anyone. Get with it already, and absorb that. Jews don’t all look like Woody Allen or Barbara Streisand. 
(De ja vu. See what I mean? I’ve been delivering the same message over and over. I think it’s that — one — people don’t absorb it, and — two — there aren’t enough of us saying the same thing. If you are interested in helping the cause and getting the Jewish community to recognize and be inclusive of diversity, give Ayecha a holler and tell Yavilah Jen sent’cha. :))
Ilana wrote:
This is a great article, putting forward a much-needed good point. But “white” Jews do not consider themselves so, they are actually Ashkenazic. A white Jew would be a white person who has converted to the Jewish religion.
Posted 05 Sep 2006 at 11:46 am ¶
Adrianna wrote:
I think the problem with that is that people don’t learn enough about history, If they did they would know that king Solomon had a son with the Queen Of Sheba , King Menelek and that they converted to Judaism, so did Ethiopia, there is also stories of many Christians and Ethiopians banding together to stop the spread of Islam there. I think that African history is not as popular as European history that ’s why people are suprised that there Jews of color. Clearly the Author did not bother to read on the subject before submitting the article. It’s a damn shame.
Posted 05 Sep 2006 at 12:11 pm ¶
Ben wrote:
“Obviously there are Jews of color.”
This wasn’t obvious to me, because when I think of Jewish people, I think of American Jews, and it is my totally unscientific observation that non-white American Jews (i.e. excluding mixed Jews with a white Jewish parent) are quite rare.
Then again, it wasn’t until I read this post that I even thought to Google “Ethiopian Jew.” Learn something new every day!
Posted 06 Sep 2006 at 12:55 am ¶
H wrote:
Adrianna-
Don’t mean to be a smart aleck, but you should check out information about Ethiopia yourself. The Solomon-Queen of Sheba story was a myth by Ethiopian royalty to pad their geneaology, similar to early British monarchs trying to connect their lineages to Brutus of Troy. And “Ethiopia” has never been Jewish. The Axumite Kingdom, the predecessor to Ethiopia, went from polytheistic to Christian. The Beta Israel (or Falasha) were most likely Ethiopian Christians who “Judaized” (basically becoming so fundamentalist that they considered themselves Jewish).
H, Ethiopian
Posted 06 Sep 2006 at 1:29 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
Shooooooot, how could a group of people that has been everywhere NOT look like everyone!!
it’s not often that Jewish diversity is brought up in the U.S. I discussed this with a Jewish friend (Israeli of Yemeni descent). Her response was “racism”. Apparently there is a tendency for some Ashkenazim to look down on Sephardim, Mizrahim etc… in Israel (& I suppose elsewhere). It took awhile for the Falasha community to even be accepted as Jews.
I wonder to what extent that racism is internal or a function of European heritage??hmmmm
Posted 06 Sep 2006 at 10:53 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
fyi
There is still some debate as to the the Queen of Sheba’s origins. She may also have been from S. Arabia. being these locations are separated by a narrow body of water there have to be ties
Posted 06 Sep 2006 at 10:54 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
gatamala:
I figure, since the entire area of the Fertile Crescent east to Northern Africa and the Meditteranean west to Persia was such a crossroads of trade, in peace and wartime, that whether we’re talking in “Biblical” times (i.e. 1500-1000 BCE) or anytime in the last 2000 years, it’s almost impossible to say what people LOOKED like, especially since what little art survived was not usually intended to be a portrait, but rather an idealized version of someone important enouigh to have their image on a coin, a bust, a sculpture (the exception being some late Greek and Roman art, where the intent was to show a realistic face).
As far as European Jewish racism/bias, I’d say that 1) for a while, they were the most visible face of Judaism in the West (and really, stilll are) and 2) it may be a factor of being oppressed and isolated for centuries… i.e. keeping to one’s own for fear of yet another pogrom or regional/local diaspora. As has been brought up around here before, being the target of one form of racism or discrimination does not mean that the targeted group is immune from doing the same.
I also think it may be an error to lump all European Jews (or any group) together. From what I’ve read, the traditions and lifestyle of, say, the Russian Jews would vary much from those in London, or the US, etc. and would vary from rural to city areas, etc. Yes, the core religious language and rituals would be the same, but the methods would change with the area and dominant culture in which the group is living.
Posted 06 Sep 2006 at 4:06 pm ¶
Adrianna wrote:
H :
I’m read it from a history book. It’s called Women leaders in African history / David Sweetman, and this website http://www.royalty.nu/Africa/Ethiopia/index.html#books. Maybe the book is wrong, but that what i read. I’ll do more reserach
Posted 06 Sep 2006 at 7:10 pm ¶