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Arthur M. Horwitz
Publisher / Executive Editor
ahorwitz@renmedia.us
‘Time To Learn About Your Fellow Neighbor’
F. Kevin Browett
Chief Operating Officer
kbrowett@renmedia.us
A
s a black American
As the daughter of a black man,
child, I grew up with
I fear for my father’s life, and I
my parents teaching
can’t help but feel sorry about the
me I wasn’t inferior and that
misrepresentations of black men.
my blackness wasn’t something
I’ve often witnessed my father
to be ashamed of. The truth of
being treated differently. It was as
the matter is that in the United
if my father lacked the ability to be
States, the black experience is
respected and treated as a human
Aliza Bracha
much different than the “white”
being. I know my father is often
McMillan
experience.
placed in a category with gang-
That being said, yes, I am
bangers, drug dealers, women
Jewish; however, the majority of
beaters, rapists and deadbeat dads
the time, I will be seen
— just because he is a black
and treated as black first.
However, my father
“I am Jewish; male.
My mom would say, “We
does not fit any of those
can’t blend in; they can see
stereotypes — stereotypes
however, the
our skin color from a mile
that have been inflicted on
away.” This made my expe-
black men since the time of
majority of
rience as a Jewish person
slavery.
different from that of my
At times, I find many
the time, I will
peers.
people learn about black
be seen and
The recent racial ten-
culture through the media.
sion that has surrounded
And most of the time, I see
treated as
us these past months has
only a negative portrayal of
made me sick.
black Americans. We are
black fi rst.”
In order to fully under-
often portrayed as unedu-
stand the black experi-
cated gang-bangers with no
ence, it is important to ask
respect for authority or for
questions about that black experience. We human life. Indeed, you might be tempted
must ask questions about black culture
to believe such things because of what
and be careful not to overgeneralize the
you see on the news. However, if you were
black community as a whole. We can ask,
to take the opportunity to get to know
“What is it like to be black?” Or more spe- many black Americans, you would realize
cifically, “What is it like to be a black male we are much more than what you see on
in America?”
your screens, that we possess an enriched
American history. We are teachers, doc-
tors, lawyers, scientists, presidents and
much, much more.
Black American culture has deep roots
in mainstream America, from our music,
hairstyles, fashion and speech, which is
known as African American Vernacular
English. And last but not least, the ath-
letic abilities of many black athletes have
become idolized. Though it is wonderful
to see black American culture have such
a substantial impact on so many, our
contributions to society are often thrown
out of the window when negativity about
our culture begins to overshadow the
accomplishments our culture has made to
society.
But what do I say to my future chil-
dren — more importantly, to my son? Do
I tell him he is perfectly fine rapping and
throwing a football, but that he better not
be caught being who he is: black? I sup-
pose I will have to repeat history and teach
my children what my parents taught me
— not to be inferior.
All in all, while I am upset about the
misrepresentation of black males and
about the lives that have been taken, I am
also upset that so many police lives are
being lost to anger and revenge. As has
been stated before, this is not the time to
finger-point, this is the time to ask ques-
tions, to learn about your fellow neighbor
and to understand the intricacies of a cul-
ture other than your own.
*
commentary
U
Contributing Writers:
Ruthan Brodsky, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen,
Don Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman,
Adam Finkel, Ryan Fishman, Stacy Gittleman, Judy
Greenwald, Ronelle Grier, Esther Allweiss Ingber,
Harry Kirsbaum, Barbara Lewis, Rabbi Jason Miller,
Alan Muskovitz, Robin Schwartz, Steve Stein
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to be a 50-year struggle for Jewish state-
hood.
The fact that Abbas has chosen to take
on this historic declaration, almost 100
years after its announcement and 68
years after the birth of Israel, tells us so
much about why the conflict between
Israelis and Palestinians remains unre-
solved.
First, the initiative continues a pattern
of Palestinian rejection of Jewish con-
nection to the Land of Israel. This denial
of that connection, which sustained
the Jewish people for 2,000 years of the
diaspora, is at the core of Palestinian
rejectionism. When Ehud Barak was
offering the Palestinians a state of their
own at Camp David in 2000, a moment
of great opportunity for peace, the
Palestinian reaction was a denial that
continued on page 8
6 August 4 • 2016
Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl
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Story Development Editor: Keri Guten Cohen
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| Fulfillment
Abbas vs. Balfour: Far Worse Than Ridiculous
pon hearing the initial
world power, which only months
report that Palestinian
later was to gain control in the
Authority President
Holy Land by ousting the Turks
Mahmoud Abbas was asking the
in World War I, was a turning
Arab League to sue Great Britain
point for the Zionist movement.
for its Balfour Declaration of
Founded in 1897 by Theodore
1917, I thought this must be a
Herzl, Zionism had as its origi-
satire of the sort put out by the
nal central goal the recognition
Kenneth
Onion.
by a central political power,
Jacobson
I was wrong as it turned out.
mostly the Ottoman Turks, of
Apparently, Abbas is serious. So Times of Israel
the Jewish right to establish
let’s treat his initiative seriously.
a political entity in Palestine.
The Balfour Declaration, a statement
Having failed with the Turks, the break-
by the then-foreign secretary of Great
through with Great Britain gave momen-
Britain, Lord Balfour, called for the re-
tum to the Zionist idea going forward.
establishment of a Jewish homeland in
We know, of course, that the next 30
the historic home of the Jewish people,
years generated many agonies in the
Palestine as it was then known, or the
relationship between the Zionists and
Land of Israel.
the British. Still, the Balfour Declaration
The declaration coming from the
remains a high point in what turned out
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