Photo by Gili Getz - Jewish Antiracist Currliculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Race, Religion & American Judaism

Research and resources for studying the
multicultural, multiracial realities of Jewish life.

Race, Religion & American Judaism

Research and resources for studying the multicultural, multiracial realities of
Jewish life.

Dedra Walker - EmoryRose Photography - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Learning about racism and its history is critical.

As Americans of all backgrounds confront structural racism and seek to understand our own roles and responsibilities, learning about racism and its history is critical. This project highlights how the study of Jewish history, experience, and ethics illuminates the problem of racism and lays a foundation for positive change.

Race, Religion, & American Judaism takes you on an educational journey with leading scholars as your guides. Using the prism of Jewish life to examine the complexities of identity, culture, and society, it promotes knowledge and inquiry as central to the pursuit of equity and repair.

Topics

Theories of Race and Jewish Identity

The Diversity of the American Jewish Experience

Jewish Ethical Responses to the Problem of Racism

Ground your efforts to confront racism in knowledge and research

Our downloadable curricula and easy-to-navigate resources offer the following benefits:

Combines academic research with practical resources
Provides curricula for educators of both adults and children
Centers Jews of Color and highlights the diversity of Jewish life
Reflects and encourages a variety of perspectives and views
Equips students to identify and challenge racist ideas and practices

Who This Is For

Educators in formal & informal settings

Academics interested in research of peers

Community leaders and activists

Individuals pursuing personal growth & learning

About The Project - Jewish Antiracist Curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

About The Project

Race, Religion & American Judaism is a project of the Center for Jewish Ethics at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The project’s goal is to produce cross-disciplinary research, public scholarship, and curricula that will advance scholarly and public understanding of:

  • Race, religion, Jewishness, racism, and antisemitism
  • Multiracial, multicultural heritage of the Jewish people
  • How to challenge racism effectively and in keeping with Jewish ethical ideas.

This website will become the central location for self-guided learning and for curricula geared toward adults and youth in higher education, religious communities, schools, camps, and other settings

Meet The Team

Research Fellows
Abebe, Bezawith - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Bezawit Abebe

Dr. Bezawit Abebe is a research fellow at Be’chol Lashon. She is a human rights activist, and before coming to America, lived in Israel.
Abusch-Magder, Ruth - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, PhD

Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder is the Director of Education at Be'chol Lashon, an organization that celebrates and promotes the racial diversity of the Jewish people.
Bitton, Mijal - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Mijal Bitton

Dr. Mijal Bitton is a sociologist of American Sephardic Jews, a Scholar-in-Residence at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, and the Rosh Kehilla of the Downtown Minyan.
Bjork-James, Sophie - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Sophie Bjork-James

Dr. Sophie Bjork-James is an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University with more than 10 years of experience researching both the US-based Religious Right and the white nationalist movements.
Crane, Jonathan K - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Rabbi Jonathan K. Crane, PhD

Rabbi Jonathan K. Crane, PhD serves as the Raymond F. Schinazi Scholar in Bioethics and Jewish Thought at Emory’s Center for Ethics.
Glaser, Jennifer - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Jennifer Glaser

Dr. Jennifer Glaser is an Associate Professor of English and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Cincinnati.
Goldberg, Mark - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Mark Goldberg

Dr. Mark Goldberg is an Associate Professor of History and Director of Jewish Studies at the University of Houston. He researches and teaches courses on U.S. Latinx history, immigration, and the history of borders.
Greenberg, Maxwell - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Maxwell Greenberg

Dr. Maxwell Greenberg is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Jewish, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.
Longmire-Avital, Buffie - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Buffie Longmire-Avital

Dr. Buffie Longmire-Avital is a diversity, inclusion, and racial equity (D.I.R.E ©) scholar-educator.
Naar, Devin - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Devin Naar

Dr. Devin Naar is an associate professor of History and Jewish studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he serves as the chair of the Sephardic Studies Program.
Sippy, Shana - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Shana Sippy

Shana Sippy is an Associate Professor of Religion at Centre College. She is engaged in public scholarship as the Co-director of Religions Minnesota, a Research Associate in the Department of Religion at Carleton College, and a founding member of the Feminist Critical Hindu Studies Collective.

 

Senior Advisors
Mbuvi, Amanda - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Amanda Beckenstein Mbuvi

Amanda Mbuvi is a scholar of the Hebrew Bible, author, and teacher with a wellspring of academic, administrative, and nonprofit leadership experience.
Lopezrevoredo, Analucia - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Analucía Lopezrevoredo

Analucía Lopezrevoredo is a Peruvian-Chilean-Quechua-American Jewtina, born in Peru and raised in Spain and the United States.
Kim, Helen - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Helen Kim

Helen Kim is a Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Her scholarship focuses on race and American Judaism in the contemporary era and has been profiled in the New York Times, NPR, and Huffington Post.
Dollinger, Marc - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Marc Dollinger

Marc Dollinger holds the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility at San Francisco State University.
Mehta, Samira - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Dr. Samira K. Mehta

Samira Mehta is an Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies and of Jewish Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Lawson, Sandra - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Rabbi Sandra Lawson

Sandra Lawson works with senior staff, lay leaders, clergy, rabbinical students, and Reconstructionist communities to help Reconstructing Judaism realize its deeply held aspiration of becoming an anti-racist organization and movement.

 

Program Staff
Mira Wasserman - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Rabbi Mira Wasserman, PhD

Project Director
Mira Beth Wasserman’s work as a rabbi and scholar bridges Talmud study, community building, and the pursuit of social justice.
Eli Cohn-Postell - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Eli Cohn-Postell

Project Manager
Eli Cohn-Postell is a project management consultant and educator. His professional interests include the intersection of race and American Judaism, equity and inclusion, and Israel/Palestine.
Shahar Colt - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Rabbi Shahar Colt

Curriculum Writer
Shahar Colt specializes in creating welcoming, Jewishly rich experiences for communities with interfaith and multicultural families.
Deitra Reiser - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Deitra Reiser, PhD

Curriculum Writer
Deitra Reiter is the founder and principal of Transform for Equity, LLC, an antiracist repair group. She partners with nonprofits and synagogues to further racial equity and justice within the organization.
Meredith Lewis - Jewish antiracist curriculum - Race Religion and American Judaism

Meredith Lewis

Instructional Designer
Meredith Lewis serves as the Director of Community Impact and Partnerships at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts.

 

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