6 | APRIL 16 • 2020 Views L ike so many media outlets nationwide, the Jewish News has faced a difficult revenue crunch in the past few weeks. We depend on advertis- ing dollars to cover the cost of printing, strength- ening our digital presence and pay- ing staff, but many of our advertisers have been affected by the coronavi- rus crisis and are unable at this time to offer their goods and services to our readers. As a result, the publication has had to cut two of our five full-time editorial posi- tions and reduce our freelance budget for the foreseeable future. This is gut-wrenching for our small team, and not the state any of us wanted to be in as our community continues to face a deadly pandemic of unknown length. The JN, like local publications across the country, has been hit hard by the economic downturn as a result of the coronavirus. We are trying to fulfill our mis- sion of bringing you the most up-to-date, relevant information about how this virus has impact- ed Metro Detroit’ s Jewish com- munity, but we are also casting about for answers just like the rest of you. In the last three weeks since the coronavirus spread like wildfire across Michigan, our staff, supplemented by a stable of freelance writers, has pro- duced more digital-first content than ever before, covering the crisis from every angle, includ- ing pointed conversations with medical professionals and gov- ernment officials; reports on the debilitating effect on the local economy and schools; and sto- ries on local fundraising efforts to support vulnerable popula- tions. We have also continued producing our weekly, up-to- date print edition filled with spe- cial coverage of COVID-19, and we’ ve done all of this remotely. Doing all this has been a physically and mentally draining experience for our staff. That will be even more true going forward. At the same time, we also understand and feel the extraordinary pain so many of you, our readers and advertisers, are enduring as your businesses close and jobs evaporate. We are in this together. I am sharing this news with you because we exist to serve Metro Detroit’ s Jewish com- munity and depend on your readership, patronage of our advertisers and support to sus- tain us. And because of that, you deserve to know about our chal- lenge. Though I’ ve been at my job for a little over two months, it feels as though I’ ve already been here for years. Nevertheless, we will continue to be guided by the Jewish value of emet (truth and integrity) as we press forward with our work. Like you, we will do the best we can with the resources we have. May we all see our way through these times together and make it to a brighter day. L ast month, I joined an esteemed panel of experts to make history at the annual AIPAC Conference in our nation’ s capital. The panel’ s topic was “Identifying Potential Allies Among 15 Million Americans With Significant Jewish Ancestry. ” This was the first time that a major Jewish or pro-Israel organization held such a large and high-pro- file event on this subject. I’ m a suicide prevention grant manager at American Indian Health & Family Services in Southwest Detroit, executive director of Detroit Fashion Community, the managing director for USA-North Central for the Israeli based nonprofit Ezra L ’ Anousim and a founding partner, along with my husband, Marvin R. Fried, of Indijewness. I am what is known as Bnei Anousim (meaning “coerced” or “forced”). In the 14th century, around 80% of world Jewry lived in Iberia. Spain’ s Inquisition began in 1492, with Portugal’ s Expulsion following in 1497. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were forcibly disconnected from Judaism, then violently convert- ed to Catholicism. Many sailed with Christopher Columbus to North and Latin America, and the Caribbean. The Anousim are a multi-ra- cial/ethnic people of African, Indigenous and European admixture. Late last year, 50 universities conducted a mas- sive genetic research study, discovering the identities and locations of their descendants. There are around 200 million Anousim in the Americas, with at least 15 million in the United States. There is a database with around 11,000 surnames, which anyone with interest can check for their own connection to the Inquisition. In 2016, I received my mtDNA (maternal) full-sequence results from Family Tree DNA. Thanks to Ph.D. candidate Yehonatan Elazar-DeMota’ s research, my mother’ s family claim was scien- tifically substantiated. Some of my ancestral surnames are De La Rosa, Diaz, Lara, Mederos, Miranda, Monteiro, Portes, Valdes, Sanchez and Tejeda. I had assumed my Jewish con- nection was from the Holocaust; however, with the examination of this diaspora’ s migration, a differ- ent narrative emerged. Through wire-wrapped Swarovski crystals made into rings attached to small bags, called ringlets, each named after a maternal grandmother, Indijewness became a platform to share my story. I’ ve been fortunate to trace back six gen- erations to date. My aim is to go back 15 generations, like Miami- based author and educator Genie Milgrom. I was on the panel with Reconectar President Ashley Perry, adviser to Israel’ s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister from April 2009 until May 2015 and direc- tor of the Knesset Caucus for the Reconnection with the Descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Communities during the last Knesset; Dr. Lorenzo Trujillo, affiliate pro- fessor of music and the direc- tor of the Metropolitan State essay Empowering Bnei Anousim Editor’ s Note A Rough Road For JN Elizabeth C. Kincaid Andrew Lapin Facing the challenges ahead with a reduced staff. continued on page 10 S M 25