Mr. Paskow, now long gone, was a transplant to these shores, an Eastern-European-born Holocaust survivor who, in the 1970s, attended services at the small shul where my late father served as rabbi. Like many of his generation, Mr. Paskow (not his real name) harbored some deep, overt racial prejudices against what he referred to as shvartzes, Yiddish for “blacks.” It was 1969, and race riots in a number of cities provided the elderly shul-goer with ample fodder for his racial railings. He would surely have dismissed as insane anyone who suggested that America might one day have a black president.
Waiting each day for mincha services to begin, congregants would gather in the shul, and Mr. Paskow would pontificate about political and social issues.
I was just a teenager and held my peace. To be sure, I had experienced black anti-Semitism. Like the boy who liked to yell “Heil Hitler!” at my father and me when we walked to the synagogue on the Sabbath, or the public school students who, having been invited by a group of us Jewboys to play a game of softball, lost interest in the ball when they were up to bat and wielded the wood against us. But I had also grown fond of my yeshiva’s black gym teacher and become close friends with a black neighbor. I tried to see people as just people. So I ignored Mr. Paskow’s ravings.
Until, one day, he was praising Lenny, a boy he had employed years earlier in his haberdashery. Another congregant asked Mr. Paskow whether Lenny, whom the elderly man had effectively adopted and whose college education he had actually underwritten, was Jewish. “No,” said the elderly man. “He was a shvartze who just walked into my store one day and asked for a job.”
I was, as the British say, gobsmacked. Old bigoted Mr. Paskow’s protégé was black? And he had given him a job for the asking? And paid his college tuition? Who could have guessed?
I filed that revelation away for future reference.
When my wife and I married and had children, we raised them to respect all people of whatever ethnicity. In the early 1990s, I was privileged to write a biography of a local man of African and Native American ancestry whose determination to become a Jew inspired me, and, if readers’ responses are any indication, many others as well.
None of that erased the hatred for Jews I had experienced from some African Americans. But I knew there’s no dearth of white haters either. And there’s racism among Jews toward blacks as well.
But from what I’ve seen in recent years, and aside from Louis Farrakhan and his tired tirades, I think that blacks and Jews have grown less wary of each other, learned that “the other” isn’t really quite so “other.” Blacks and Orthodox Jews have increasingly interacted in politics, businesses and many professions.
In late April, the leading haredi newspaper Hamodia editorialized about the new museum in Montgomery, Alabama, memorializing those who, over the decades, were lynched because of their race. The editorial asserted “the need for all Americans, even those of us whose forebears were far from American shores when African-Americans were killed and seen as subhuman, to ensure that the tragic history of American racial violence, too, is not forgotten.”
My thoughts cycle back to Mr. Paskow. I suspect that the puzzle of his apparent racism and his real-life colorblindness derived from the fact that, although his attitude toward blacks was influenced by radicals and rioters, deep in his Jewish soul he could see beyond a nebulous group to an individual. And that allowed him to treat Lenny as, in effect, an adopted son.
Most Americans are not true bigots, but we all have prejudices.
Decades of thinking about racism leave me with the conclusion that it will always be with us, in people’s minds if not in their actions. Racism, I fear, may be a fact of life, and its eradication an unattainable goal. “Curing” racism would be a perfect thing, but, as so often, the perfect is the enemy of the good. But there is a way forward. Rather than trying to disabuse people of the biases they may coddle, we must charge them to focus on individuals.
Let people joke and grouse, if they must, about whites, blacks, Jews, Muslims or whoever else, specious though the stereotypes may be. It shouldn’t matter what people think about group X or group Y. It doesn’t matter to me, a visibly Jewish Jew, if someone assumes I possess traits that anti-Semites attribute to my tribe. I am, indeed, rather cliquish, preferring the company of my own people. No apologies there. But I’m neither wealthy, nor do I have business acumen. And I can’t control my weight, much less the world. All I ask is that others see me, whatever their beliefs about Jews, as an individual. Judge me as me.
It might seem radical to abandon the traditional assumption that fighting racism, sexism and anti-Semitism requires hitting some reset button. But what if there is no button, if looking for it is a fool’s errand?
Most Americans are not true bigots; they don’t hate anyone. But we all have prejudices. Maybe the best we can and should do is accept that fact but remind ourselves constantly that whatever we may think about a group of people, each of its members, in the end, is an individual.
Even Mr. Paskow was able to do that.
This article originally appeared in Moment magazine.
(12) Nancy, June 1, 2020 11:33 AM
Carefully Taught
This was a song written by the great Rogers and Hammerstein back in the '40s. It comes from the musical South Pacific. I suggest everyone google it to gain an even greater insight into racism.
(11) australiano, August 8, 2018 6:43 PM
Race is a subjective concept
Phenotype VS Race
Because all populations are genetically diverse, and because there is a complex relation between ancestry, genetic makeup and phenotype, and because racial categories are based on subjective evaluations of the traits, there is no specific gene that can be used to determine a person's race.
(10) australiano, August 7, 2018 9:16 PM
Racism and ethnocentrism are the two faces of the same coin
Marilynn Brewer, a prominent social psychologist from the United States. As you leaf through the works of Dr. Brewer and other social psychologists who have been working on inter-group relations, you realize that most forms of group bias do not result from negative feelings towards the other group as much as they do from favoritism towards one's own group.
It is this in-group favoritism, or in-group bias, that it is popularly known as, that forms the basis of discrimination. If one believes that a person belongs to the same group as he is, he will have positive views of him, and thus, will give him preferential treatment; but obviously, at the cost of others.
Ayelet, August 15, 2018 2:29 AM
Do you favor your sister over an aquaintence? Don’t you feel more kinship toward your sister? If you love favor everybody equally than you favor no one, and you’ve lost the meaning of connection and love. I think Sara Yocheved Rigler has an article on this site with the subject of “concentric circles”. An interesting read.
(9) Trevor Wilson, August 6, 2018 10:37 PM
Well said
Very good viewpoints here and it is a pity, highlighted by on-the-ground politics today, that America will never be the great nation she could be because of this foundation of racism.
If only we could all appraise and treat people as people, instead of relying upon our biases and prejudices,....as the song says..."What a Wonderful World it would be".
(8) Anonymous, August 6, 2018 1:37 PM
Heard from my husband - very easy to dislike or hate an entire race but difficult to hate one person!!! Keep in mind!
(7) Anonymous, August 6, 2018 11:39 AM
To the commenter who called Rachel honey
That was very disrespectful.
(6) Nancy, August 6, 2018 11:38 AM
My experience vs. that of a black person
On the rare occasion that I am shopping in a brick and mortar store, salespeople leave me alone. In fact, I usually have a very hard time getting ANY type of sales help. In contrast to my experiences, I have read where black women are followed around stores for no apparent reason. What are salespeople thinking? Do they see a shoplifter in their midst?
(5) Mazal, August 5, 2018 7:11 PM
What about a Jew that is a shvartze
I am a convert ... A black convert your article is nice if you can separate everyone in a nice little box.
Yes I have Jewish ancestry but I converted for the love of Hashem.... I am Happy that you can cling to your people unapologetic....It's just a shame that the hate for blacks run so deep that every time I want to daven to Hashem in shull and feel the closeness to my people the "Jewish people" a lot of them only see a shvartze.... Baruch Hashem he gave me the strength to cope but believe me it's not easy.... I was even bullied in my own shull ones being told I don't belong there. Baruch Hashem I do have good people that can truly see a person but it says a lot about the people my people who I held on a pedestal.....I will tell you it hurts more then I can and would want to describe... the Irony is that blacks can be hated and looked down upon and hated so deeply for riots but whites even descendants of Germans that killed so many of our people can be looked up 2 and forgiven.
Rachel, August 5, 2018 9:21 PM
I'm so sorry you've been treated this way!
How awful for you! These people are not practicing Torah Judaism if they treat you this way. I can relate a little bit because I'm a blond, blue-eyed convert and have been treated this way, or at least been told that I don't look Jewish, but what you've experienced is much worse. At the end of the day, I remind myself that it's really between me and HaShem, not me and bigoted people, but that doesn't always make it easier.
(4) Sara Urban, August 5, 2018 6:06 PM
This story has touched me so much. Being an Iranian Jewish I
experienced exactly the same racism as Rabbi wrote.
My dad RIP worked as a textile merchant in the bazaar (Market) for all his life. Being surrendered by the most fanatic Moslem religions
Hajjes. We also experienced much difficulties as Jews. At the same time we were loved, trusted, and respected by many. My mom had given birth to 7 children, which 6 of us were born at home, with the help of midwife, and our Moslem neighbors. When we moved to NYC, my dad would receive every Sunday a phone call from the Hajees, begging him, Yousef why did you leave? We love you and miss you. The feelings were mutual. I am for the passed 45 years studying, and living abroad. Have numerous Persian friends and adore them. It is us treating each other as an individuals. Thank you
(3) William H Stokes, August 5, 2018 3:37 PM
But what if the individuals behaviour supports the stereotype?
In my local travels on public transportation I get to witness diverse groups of individuals in conversation. Based on what some of these individuals say (in their imagined cones of silence) I would not want to know more of them or their aspirations. At other times I have the opportunity to interact with the "woke" class. But they refuse to interact with me because they can discern no benefit in doing so. Woke people respect power and kiss up to it. Some think they kiss up to wealth but it is power in the end. Realizing this has taken a lot of irritation out of my day. Am I myopic?
Anonymous, August 5, 2018 9:26 PM
So what?
There are blacks (and other people) who commit crimes. There are greedy Jews (and non-Jews). There are Arab (and non-Arab) terrorists. And so on.
But none of these individuals' behavior justifies stereotyping other members of the same group.
(2) jackie, August 5, 2018 2:47 PM
sounds good on paper but...
Rabbi Shafran is correct as far as he goes. However, the very problem is that those who stereotype about different racial or ethnic groups will not see the other as individual. Why? They avoid all contact with them because theyare undesirable. Or, unlike the man he mentioned, they will not treat individual members well because of these assumptions Education about the dangers of stereotyping large ethnic groups is a must. We know what happened when on man (yimach shemo) stereotyped Jews. I think Rabbi Shafran is begging the question. Without challenging stereotypes there is no way to focus on individuals.
(1) anonymous, August 5, 2018 12:21 PM
Wish it was so simple
This issue is a lot more complicated today than ever. If it was just Farrakhan alone, that would be one thing. However, while the Black Christian community is getting smaller, more Blacks in this country are converting to Islam and joining up with nefarious groups that hate Israel and Jews. The Black Lives Matter movement has gained momentum in this country with the support of the progressive left which also dislikes Israel and the Jews. White genocide is now going on in South Africa and all you here from our government in congress who is afraid to be politically incorrect, is "crickets". The media is colluding with the left to start a civil war in order to overthrow Donald Trump. They truly do not care about the safety and security of this nation, just about maintaining their power. It is frightening times that we are living in. I long for Martin Luther King's message from several decades ago to judge people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, however we have gone so far from this beautiful simple philosophy with the race mongering and hatred and divisiveness that I wonder if we can ever get it back. Pray for Peace!
Rachel, August 5, 2018 6:50 PM
Have you talked to individuals with whom you disagree?
I'm an Orthodox Jew and a lifelong Democrat. I support the overriding message of Black Lives Matter because of the numerous horrible shootings of innocent African Americans, including children, at the hands of police officers. I suspect that if Jews were being routinely shot by the police, you would support Jewish Lives Matter, as would I.
I am aware of a too high crime rate in South Africa, but I would appreciate some facts about why you call it white genocide.
The media is calling out Donald Trump when he tells falsehoods and when he calls our free press enemies of the people-- something that should be off-limits in any democracy. NO ONE in their right mind wants a civil war. I have no opinion about whether Trump has committed impeachable offenses and will continue to wait and see until the Mueller investigation is concluded.
There are plenty of people on the left who are pro-Israel without necessarily supporting the Netanyahu government.
Anonymous, August 5, 2018 11:26 PM
Hate to break it to you
Honey, I hate to break it to you but you have been a victim of fake news. There are more white people killed by police every year than black people and the amount of people generally killed by police unjustly is very small. Look up the stats and don't just get your facts from the BLM/Democracy Now/ George Soros types that have an agenda. No one in their right minds wants a civil war, however the deep state, antifa etc. will do anything in order to overthrow our wonderful President. If the BLM movement truly cared about their people they would be advocating and protesting against all the Black on Black crime that has devastated their communities. They would also be advocating for marriage and strong family values in their communities. The BLM movement thrives on promoting victimhood and bitterness and have also called for the death of cops. I suggest you start studying facts and not just going with your emotions. May I recommend you start by reading some of Dennis Prager and Candace Owen literature to expand your info about this. As far as our President goes, there has never ever been a time in history where the leftists and the media are working together to topple our leader with hysterical and malicious fake news. It is a shanda and unfortunately you have bought into it.
Rachel (not Honey), August 6, 2018 5:02 AM
I read all sorts of reporting. While more whites die at the hands of police, it seems that a preponderance of unarmed police shooting victims are people of color.
The “deep state” is a right wing fantasy. I leave you to your paranoid delusions.
anonymous, August 6, 2018 2:35 PM
Rachel
Sorry Rachel, meant no disrespect. However, I assume by your reply and calling me paranoid you won't be checking out Dennis Prager and Candace Owens anytime soon. By the way approximately 60 people were shot in Chicago's inner city over the weekend with at least five dead so far. So far I haven't heard of any BLM rallies for this travesty. It's outrageous! Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year and I hope that this year will bring true peace in the world!
Alan S., August 5, 2018 8:28 PM
Drinking the Kool-Aid.
"The media is colluding with the left to start a civil war in order to overthrow Donald Trump."
My goodness...who knows where to begin. I won't debate this issue as this is not what the comments section of Aish.com articles are meant for.
But, the media is not colluding with anyone to start a civil war. You've been brainwashed by reading too many articles by internet trolls, Nazi right wingers and KKK into this crazy belief.
What's even more ludicrous than internet trolls, Nazi right wingers and KKK spreading this insanity is the ….President of the United States doing the same thing.
Pray for Peace! Yes! But -- Pray for America, too.