Between Us offers an innovative new tool for antisemitism education rooted in the belief that durable understanding is built not only through information, but through connection that can hold complexity without collapsing it into the common pitfalls of defensiveness and polarization.
“My vision is to create those tools to have discussions with high schoolers so when they get to universities or jobs they already know, and are not surprised to see, that there is diversity in the Jewish community,” Michal Avera Samuel said.
By making grants to projects that generate new educational efforts and resources as well as continuing our long-standing tradition of community education through key speaking engagements, JoCI and our partners are ensuring racial diversity is reflected in Jewish education.
Aweku Michal Avera Samuel, an Ethiopian Israeli educator, is pioneering research and initiatives to integrate racial justice into Jewish early childhood curricula. As a key figure in the Shalom Curriculum Project (SCP), she collaborates with the University of Wisconsin, Madison, to create engaging materials that reflect the ethnic diversity of the Jewish community.
The use of theater as an educational form that involves students in the narrative production of new experiences is a critical pedagogical innovation. The team at EBN understands the power of storytelling in all cultures, not just Black or Jewish, and harnesses that power to advance racial equity.
An event with the URJ and the RAC drew prominent Jewish leaders of Color and allies. From sharing shocking statistics and quotes from the study to holding an affinity space for Jews of Color to reflect on the findings, this event set the tone for Reform Movement-wide institutional change.
Riki Robinson, Program Director, New York, has led the fellows through activities to help them explore possible avenues for their leadership in the Jewish community, get to know one another to build community among the cohort, and work on professionalization skills.
A new endeavor into a co-hosted podcast has taken our expansive approach to learning and paired it with a desire to make prominent, diverse leaders accessible to anyone.
Now as the pandemic begins to subside, institutional changes are still needed so that Jews of Color are not left by the wayside in moments of crisis.
