US Jews must learn to advocate for themselves - opinion

The conventional wisdom of the day is that American Jews are terrible at advocacy. This is the explanation offered to explain why Hamas sympathizers are running circles around the Jews in the current public relations war. But this adage is just not true.

Jews were instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, demanding equal rights for African Americans. Ruth Bader Ginsburg and decades of litigators who followed insisted on equality for women. More recently, Jews have been essential in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, marriage equality, immigrant rights, and even fights against Islamophobia.

American Jews are not bad at advocacy.  We are bad at Jewish advocacy. 

For millennium, Jews have been taught to be self-reliant. Our families instruct us from infancy not to rely too heavily on the society around us because our “host countries” may turn their backs on us at any time.

In every country where Jews have lived throughout the Diaspora, we have been taught to keep our heads down, stay out of trouble, and take care of our own families. Even in America, where Jews have gained enough security to empower other peoples, we have been unwilling to demand “too much” for ourselves.

The current legislative agenda of the Council on Islamic Relations (CAIR) in California includes bills to recognize “Middle Eastern and North African” as an ethnic group. This distinction would be used for election re-districting, funding, and distribution of social services and to alter the K-12 school curriculum under the banner of “ethnic studies.”

CAIR is seeking accommodations for religious or cultural observance in workplaces, schools, and public spaces. CAIR is effectively selecting and supporting political candidates for local elected office, from school boards and city councils to state representatives.

In contrast, what do the Jews do? We mark ourselves as “white” on any governmental form, even though any DNA test will show that we compose our own ethnic/racial group regardless of our varying origins and religious practices. We build our own schools so that our kids can observe holidays and religious customs, bypassing any need for accommodation. When our kids go to public school, we just mark them down as “sick” on Yom Kippur to avoid a fight with our school districts.

Jews span the political spectrum. Have we perhaps not fully understood the critical power of local politics and policies in our lives? Do we fear alienating a fellow Jew with different political opinions? It is possible we just haven’t done the work to see that there are local politicians – Jews and non-Jews, Republicans and Democrats – who can effectively represent our values at the local level. Regardless of the true reason, we must focus significant efforts on local elections, and we must do it now!

We must demand that US civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination and disparate treatment based on race, religion, nationality, and ethnicity apply to Jews. We are a “people” protected under law, whether we are Orthodox or Reform; whether we wear tzitzit or crop tops.

At times, Jews don’t fit neatly into the categories of protected legal classifications, but that does not mean the law doesn’t protect us. It means we must clearly explain to legislators and courts exactly how Jews are a people, regardless of whether or not we are observant or religious. We are an ethnicity, whether our families came to America from Egypt, Iran, Ukraine, or Poland. We are part of one nationality, whether or not we have ever stepped foot in Israel.

We must insist that our traditions and culture be honored in the ethnic studies curriculum. We must fight not just against anti-Israel propaganda but also proactively to insist that Jewish history be accurately reflected in the curriculum in universities and K-12 institutions.

We are not oppressors nor are we solely victims. We are not colonizers or privileged “whites.” In order to change the narrative in our popular discourse, we must demand that diversity, equity, and inclusion accurately reflect the struggles and triumphs of the Jewish people.

We must stop pretending that when people spew “anti-Zionist” hatred, it is anything other than a very thinly veiled attack on Jews. When “ceasefire advocates” denounce “American Zionists,” they are not talking about people who support a particular policy of the Israeli government. When American university students post signs on campuses that say “Zionists are not welcome,” the message is clear to all Jewish students, regardless of their political ideology. Indeed, what is a “Zionist” on an American campus? Who is a “Zionist” asking the local city council not to engage in international affairs? The answer, of course, is a Jew.

In 2024 in America, “progressives” think that while “antisemitism” is unacceptable, there is no problem with opposing Zionists. Our first step in advocating for ourselves is to demand that this is not the case. Yes, one can disagree with Israeli policies and politicians just as we can disagree with American elected officials or policies.

This is not what the word Zionist is being used for in this context, and we all know it. We know that the word “Zionist” is used openly as a substitute for the word “Jew.” We must demand that every American know that too. When we do, we can call out the bigots for what they are: plain old Jew-haters.

Jewish activists need to truly understand what they want to achieve

THE POINT of civic engagement, be it grassroots advocacy and voting, lobbying for legislation, or litigation in court, is to effect change. The Jewish community today must be clear on what we are asking for. We know we want to stop antisemitism and protect the safety of our synagogues, schools, and other gathering places. These are rightful defensive actions. But again, at their core, they are requests to “just be left alone” so we can take care of ourselves.

We need clear demands. We need to assert our own needs in OUR society and OUR government. The answer to the post-October 7 world cannot be the typical Jewish response of pulling ourselves apart from society and avoiding attention until this particular tide of antisemitism has receded.

In a country where we are a tiny minority, American Jews thought that we could best protect ourselves against antisemitism by sticking up for other vulnerable Americans. It is heartbreaking that we were wrong. We must continue to stand up for our neighbors and fight injustice wherever we see it, both because it is the right thing to do and because it comports with our own Jewish values.

Yet we must also recognize that, while we have been successful advocates for other groups in America, it is time to advocate for ourselves. We do know how to do this. In fact, we have quite a bit of practice in advocacy. The only question is whether we will find the courage to do it.

The writer is a lawyer, former law professor, and grassroots activist.