White Jews: deal with your privilege and call out Jewish support for white supremacy

JVL Introduction

A speech delivered after Charlottesville three years ago is as relevant as ever.

Speaking as both a Jew and an African American, Williams finds herself gratified to hear Jewish leaders and organisations call for the destruction of racism.

But they do so, from a position of privilege: “White Jews need to accept that they are white and that whatever harassments or humiliation they may experience from antisemites, they nevertheless dwell under the all-encompassing shelter of white privilege. Police do not murder them in custody, their votes are not systematically undermined; they do not overwhelmingly live in poverty or adjacent to poverty…”

They need to look at their own institutions, too. These have often not only failed to challenge white supremacy, but in some cases, examples of which Williams gives, “are openly complicit in its preservation.”

This article was originally published by Mondoweiss on Mon 21 Aug 2017. Read the original here.