The Colors of Jews: Racial Politics and Radical Diasporism

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“Kaye/Kantrowitz is a courageous activist and thinker, and her invigorating, illuminating book does what all great political writing should do—it refreshes your mind and spirit by effectively discombobulating habitual complacencies , and re-acquaints you with the world.” —Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize– winning author of Angels in America “Every once in a while a book comes along and smacks you in the face with its wisdom, intelligence, and compassionate politics. The Colors of Jews is such a book. Its documentation of radical, anti-racist Jewish history, its unwavering commitment to the practice of solidarity across deeply divisive borders, and its elegant interweaving of personal, communal, activist, and scholarly voices in mapping a complex and visionary landscape of struggle make this an invaluable book for our times.” —Chandra Talpade Mohanty, author of Feminism Without Borders, Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity “The activist intellectual Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz has written a mind-stretching, moving, and pragmatic book. . . .This is a book of hope, based on experience. It deserves wide circulation and serious discussion.” —Adrienne Rich, poet and essayist This book exposes and challenges the common assumptions about what defines Jewishness JUDAICA Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz exposes and challenges the common assumptions about who and what Jews are by presenting, in their own voices, Jews of color from the Iberian Peninsula, Asia, Africa, and India. Drawing from her earlier work on Jews and whiteness, Kaye/Kantrowitz delves into the largely uncharted territory of Jews of color and argues that Jews are an increasingly multiracial people ; a fact that, if acknowledged and embraced, could foster cross-race solidarity to help combat racism. This engaging and eye-opening book examines the historical and contemporary views on Jews and whiteness as well as the complexities of African/Jewish relations, the racial mix and disparate voices of the Jewish community, contemporary Jewish antiracist and multicultural models, and the diasporic state of Jewish life in the United States. Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz is a feminist scholar and poet whose books include The Issue Is Power: Essays on Women, Jews, Violence and Resistance; My Jewish Face & Other Stories; and (co-edited) The Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women’s Anthology. She is currently Adjunct Professor in Comparative Literature at Queens College/ CUNY and recently taught in the Bard College Prison Initiative. INDIANA INDIANA University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis http://iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796 The Colors of Jews $24.95 Cover illustration: Right, second from top, photo by Marion Ettlinger. All other photos by author. Author photo by Maria Maritzer. KAYE/KANTROWITZ The Colors of Jews Racial Politics and Radical Diasporism Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz The Colors of Jews ...