‘Jew Of Color’ To Speak At South Orange Temple About Racism

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — How can the local Jewish community better embrace “Jews of color?” That will be the focus of a free, public forum on Tuesday, June 5 hosted by a trio of South Orange houses of worship: Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, Congregation Beth El and Oheb Shalom Congregation.

Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (TSTI) at 432 Scotland Road will host Yehuda Webster, a South Orange native and son of a former pastor, who will speak about “Jews of Color: Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in the Jewish Community” at 7:30 p.m.

The forum is “open to all” in the community, organizers said. (Learn more here)

According to TSTI:

“Webster, who grew up in South Orange, is the son of a former pastor, whose entire family converted to Judaism when he was a child. As a Jew of color, he will talk about his experiences with racism in the Jewish community and lead a discussion on how Jews can be inclusive of Jews of color and work towards eradicating systemic racism. He will also share resources-related to the racial justice movement and how Jews can be more involved. Webster is a community leader of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice and the founding director of B’nai Mitzvah Campaign, a Brooklyn-based organization that offers experiential bar and bat mitzvah tutoring.”

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Photo: TSTI