Jews in the D

HUES from page 20

22 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 

Aryeh, who is white. In social situations, 
people sometimes treat Aryeh with more 
respect. And it’
s especially hurtful when 
someone thinks it’
s OK to make a racially 
inappropriate comment to Aryeh.
“I don’
t necessarily see things as being 
racially insensitive like my wife sees it,” 
Aryeh says. “So I’
m constantly attempting to 
see things from her viewpoint … Often, the 
best response is to do nothing while show-
ing I understand that what happened was 
hurtful, and to just be there for my wife to 
provide comfort and support.” 
The Kleins initially met six years ago. 
Aryeh was hosting a fundraiser and Aliza, 
an active volunteer within the Jewish com-
munity, was asked to help with the event. 
A few years later, a friend set them up. The 
couple married in December 2017. They do 
not have children yet. The pair is concerned 
that when they do start a family, their kids 
will have to deal with racism, not only from 
within the Jewish community but from soci-
ety as a whole. 
“We want to raise strong children and 
will try our best to make sure our kids are 
exposed to positive people with positive 
attitudes,” Aliza says. “Unfortunately, there 
will always be ignorant people. And while 
we can’
t control how they act, we can control 
our responses to them.” 
Ashira Solomon, a single Orthodox Jewish 
woman with a 4-year-old daughter, hopes to 
meet someone that her neshamah (soul) con-
nects with. She wants to get married again 
but she’
s been told it might be hard for her to 
get a shidduch (match). 
Solomon isn’
t necessarily offended by this 
comment, saying she understands the chal-
lenges of why a Jewish person — whether 
they’
re Orthodox, Conservative or Reform 
— may not consider marrying a Jew who 
isn’
t white. 
“When you’
re surrounded by a bunch 
of people who mostly look the same and 
you’
re taught that saying derogatory words 
like schvartze (“black” in Yiddish) is OK, 
then what happens when you meet a Jew of 
color?” she says. “How do you react? 
“It’
s a mixed message.”
Solomon believes the key to addressing 
such stereotypes is through education and 
being conscious of the fact there are different 
types of people with unique characteristics. 

GROWING ATTENTION
A handful of initiatives and organizations, 
many working on a national level, are 
addressing the needs of a more diverse 
Jewish population. 
Olivia Guterson, a 29-year-old artist living 
in Detroit, wouldn’
t mind seeing more local 
initiatives. She says she usually connects 
with other Jews of color when she attends 
conferences that more actively recruit or 
create space for them. 
In a city like Detroit, where 85% of the 
population is black, Guterson says she is 
surprised she hasn’
t come across more Jews 
of color. She occasionally attends the Isaac 
Agree Downtown Synagogue and guesses 
she knows two or three others who identify 
as a Jew of color. She suspects there may be 
more who are not visibly identifiable. 
As part of its 2020 programming, the 
Union for Reform Judaism is spearheading 
an initiative called Audacious Hospitality, 
designed to embrace Jewish diversity. URJ 
hopes to listen to the experiences Jews of 
color have in majority-white spaces and 
provide educational resources that address 
how to improve in the areas of diversity, 
equity and inclusion, according to Chris 
Harrison, a writer and editor for Audacious 
Hospitality and a Jew of color. 
Harrison, who recently relocated to 
Michigan, serves as a committee member 
on the Audacious Hospitality working 
group with Temple Beth El in Bloomfield 
Township, where he is a member. 
Harrison says congregations can take sev-
eral steps to help others feel more welcome. 
“When Jews of color talk about their 
experiences, microaggressions they’
ve 
received in Jewish spaces, believe them, 
promise to do better and act on it,” he says. 
“Look at your congregational or institu-
tional practices, ranging from engagement 
to hiring, to the resources you provide in 
your religious schools and libraries and 
beyond. Do the images on your website 
and social media reflect true Jewish diver-
sity? Has your staff taken implicit bias 
training? 
“Taking these steps can be challenging 
and cause some discomfort,” Harrison says, 
“but they are necessary and healing and 
will help make your communities places of 
true belonging.” 

LOOKING FORWARD
Now, at 94, Jones continues to 
learn as much as he can and is 
gravitating toward exploring the 
concept of Jewish identity.
“It’
s a good year for me — I’
ll 
be 95 on May 2 
,
” Jones said. “I 
told my wife this is going to be 
my year.
”
Jones stays active by regularly 
performing Shakespearean plays 
at Temple Beth El for congre-
gants, including The Merchant 
of Venice and, most recently, 
a return to Othello, where he 
weaves biblical themes into each 
play. Jones hopes to soon perform 
his 400th rendition of Othello and 
finish his book on his transition 
from Christianity to Judaism.
Regarding his relationship to 
Judaism, Jones says his philos-
ophy is, “I’
m still learning.
” He 
participates in weekly Torah 
study courses and attends Sunday 
minyan, which for him, “feels like 
family.
” 
“I feel satisfied, I feel comfort-
able — I still feel I have beautiful 
challenges,
” Jones said. “I still feel 
motivated to learn and to study 
Torah each week.
” 

Catch Dr. James Allen Jones per-
forming “The Torah and Shakespeare” 
on April 24, May 1 and May 8 at the 
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit. 
 Laura Bonnell contributed to this 
article.

“I found the 
satisfaction 
that I wanted to 
in Judaism. It 
was like coming 
home.”

— JAMES ALLEN JONES

JOURNEY from page 20