Conference Report

Oakland, California

August 2004

by Judy Andreas, Conference Coordinator

This is a success story. A story of how we in the San Francisco Bay Area successfully invigorated progressive activists by meeting about anti-Semitism -- a topic that has too often become associated with polarization and despair. In August of 2004, 250 widely diverse activists and social change workers met and tackled anti-Semitism in ourselves and in our organizations. Freedom, openness, and relief were created by our intense discussions on anti-Semitism and our agenda for social justice. Even with the emotional nature and political and historical complexity of anti-Semitism, we were able to emerge from three days together enlivened and more collaborative. Yet, a more challenging topic can hardly be found.

Have you noticed a feeling of discomfort in Progressive meetings or conversations when any Jewish concern is raised? That some Jewish organizations are now reluctant to join anti-war rallies? Do you sense a lack of compassion in response to Jewish concerns or in criticisms of Israel? Have you felt hopeless, confused or ambivalent about responding, due to the complexity of the subject and the seemingly indefensible nature of Israeli military or government actions? I've lived most of my adult life with these feelings, which I pushed aside or occasionally shared with only a few close friends. As a white gentile woman, I had learned to speak up against racism, homophobia, ageism, ableism, and classism, but I'd never learned how to speak up against anti-Semitism, so I quietly tolerated my discomfort.

Then 9/11 happened. After my initial shock and grief, I reacted, as did many Americans, by personally reaching out with flowers and good wishes to my local Muslim community. It became clear that many Americans, in general, and particularly many of us in The Left, had learned from the first Gulf War. We were more prepared to resist the wildly increasing anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiments and attacks. Soon, reports of personal assaults on Jews, anti-Jewish graffiti, and attacks on Jewish institutions were also increasing. Anti-Jewish bigotry, like anti-Muslim and anti-Arab prejudice, had also intensified. Sadly, I found my activist community's response not one of concern, but a hard-hearted, "What do you expect when Israel's causing people to hate Jews?" I plunged into hopelessness that became intolerable. I had to transform my reaction, or risk losing my home in the activist community that had always nurtured me.

After encountering hateful anti-Jewish graffiti in my own neighborhood, my despair changed to resolve. I would organize a conference where I could join with other activists who also wanted to deal with anti-Jewish prejudice! That's how FACING A CHALLENGE WITHIN: A Progressive Scholars' and Activists' Conference on Anti-Semitism* and The Left was born. And what is this challenge? The challenge is to link our concern for Jews with that of all historically oppressed peoples. The challenge is to look within ourselves and confront our own hidden anti-Jewish stereotypes. The challenge is to examine anti-Semitism with a commitment to taking on the hard issues. The challenge is to refuse to be pushed into polarizing against one group to support another. The challenge is to have the courage to care -- even when we know our caring will not be welcomed by everyone.

The asterisk in the title was used in all conference publicity to show the true nature of the gathering, with this definition: "* ‘Anti-Semitism’ is used here to mean the historic and ongoing attacks against and prejudice towards Jews. As Progressives, we also acknowledge with concern other Semitic people, such as Arabs, who are targeted by attacks and bigotry." By tying this definition to the very name of the conference, the tone was set for inclusion in caring which resonated within America's social change community.

And the conference succeeded. Grounded in Unlearning Oppression and Coalition political philosophies, the conference filled with 250 participants and presenters from around the United States. Anti-racism activists, grassroots organizers for immigrants' rights, Lesbian/Gay/Queer community leaders, supporters of Israel, international humanitarian relief workers, Middle East peace activists, socialists, liberals, those dedicated to Palestinian Rights, labor organizers, feminists, youth activists, leaders in Jewish-Arab relations, community mediators, and peace activists from the whole spectrum of The Left came. We were of Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Unitarian and Wiccan backgrounds and spiritual practices. Participants represented Ashkenazi (Jews from Europe), Mizrachi (Jews from Arab countries), Latin, East Asian, African American, Middle Eastern, and European heritages. There were able-bodied and disabled workshop leaders and participants. Teenagers and octogenarians -- all of us spent precious time and resources to attend because we welcomed the opportunity to think and feel freely about anti-Semitism in an environment that honored our motive of challenging oppression. We didn’t even know how to talk about many of the subjects raised at the beginning of the conference. Apprehension dominated as we first gathered. Yet, the feeling of community across differences became tangible as the conference experience progressed.

The Opening Panel embodied our Coalition spirit. A diverse group of six Progressives energized the plenary session by speaking to their particular experiences and ideas about anti-Semitism. This conference was dedicated to the late Ricky Sherover Marcuse, a Jewish woman, who brought the Progressive community the concept of Unlearning Oppression in the early 1980's. Yeshi Sherover Neumann, Ricky's sister, was the first speaker. She is member of the local Women in Black organization, which holds silent vigils to oppose Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. In her very personal and deeply moving presentation, Yeshi spoke of the need for Jews to move beyond fear in their reactions about Israel.

The second panelist was Victor Lewis, African American activist minister who is known for his role in the anti-racism documentary, "The Color of Fear." He spoke of his appreciation for the Jewish community from his early childhood. He noted that we must develop greater ability to analyze complicated conflicts like that between Israel and Palestine, because there are dozens of equally complex conflicts around the globe. If we don't, he concluded, "Then there's no hope for the human race."

Cherie Brown, an Ashkenazi Jewish woman and the conference keynote speaker, then spoke about her 35 years of activism in black/white dialogue, beginning with the Civil Rights movement. She advanced another reason for those opposed to racism to tackle anti-Semitism. She observed that unexamined "anti-Jewish oppression has over and over scuttled work against racism."

Next, Regina Waldman spoke of growing up in Libya where her family had lived for over 2,000 years. She spoke of her family and the entire local Jewish community being driven from their homes when she was a very young woman. Her personal story illustrated her point that the conflict in the Middle East produced two populations of refugees -- Palestinians, and a similar number of Jews displaced from their ancestral homes in Arab countries.

Kenji Liu, a young Asian American activist, then spoke about his commitment to understanding and fighting anti-Semitism fueled by love for his Jewish partner. He spoke of her pain as an anti-racism trainer in being categorized as "white" because she is Ashkenazi. Kenji pointed out how strange that categorization was for her grandmother who was not considered white because of her Jewishness. He emphasized both the dominance of secular Christian culture in the U.S. and the fact that the race concept is "full of contradictions. . . . White Christian supremacy was first tried out on Jews."

As the conference coordinator, I spoke last. I introduced myself as an ally of Christian heritage. I shared my personal political history; how my everyday life has been lived through all the liberation movements – Civil Rights, Feminism, Gay Rights, Ecology, and Disability Rights. But as I began to speak of anti-Semitism in my radical community, I received much resistance, even anger. I vowed to stay involved and to advance conversation about anti-Semitism in my own community. Finally, I welcomed everyone to FACING A CHALLENGE WITHIN, and ended by reminding us to "respect our differences. Let's stay open to each other. And let's go change the world!"

The whole conference rose to its feet in ovation for the panel. A dynamic feeling of gratitude and hope filled the room, as participants left for workshops on the first conference day of this breakthrough event. The unique nature of the conference was most simply due to this -- a space had been created where Jews were cared for, and this caring was connected to care for all.

The strong presence of allies who care about Jews was important. In response, many of the Jewish attendees expressed hope and relief. Far more powerful than merely speaking concern about Jewish oppression, the presence of so many supportive people from gentile backgrounds and cultures created an environment that embodied progressive coalition with Jews.

The relief of activists from various non-Jewish cultures was also obvious. Here was an environment where they could be themselves politically on many fronts, yet not divided from their fellow Jewish activists – even without agreement about Israel. For, even with serious differences about the emotional issue of the Arab/Israeli conflict, showing concern for anti-Jewish prejudice created a new opportunity for mutual solidarity.

The conference as a whole took no position on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. In order to provide a "big tent" for so many parts of The Left and to keep the conference focused on the prejudice of anti-Semitism itself, all conference material included the notice that, "This conference will not attempt to resolve any international disputes and will not produce any resolutions about any international conflicts." This was effective in discouraging the common reaction of discussion about anti-Semitism being diverted into an argument over differing views of the Middle East.

Interactive workshops were the heart of the conference. Workshop leaders held widely divergent perspectives (including on Israeli/Palestinian issues), and they chose their unique style of presentation about anti-Jewish oppression. Organizational affiliations and political orientations of the workshop presenters were made clear, and participants chose which workshops to attend. In this way, the conference steadfastly remained neutral, and did not attempt to influence participants’ political views.

Some examples of workshops that demonstrated the conference political philosophy are: "Including Anti-Semitism in Anti-Racism Trainings," "Cultural Christian Dominance," "People of Color Fight Anti-Semitism," "Queers and Jews," "Common Issues in Jewish and Muslim American Communities," "Why Anarchists Should Be Zionists," and "Deconstructing Anti-Semitism for Those Opposing Israeli Occupation of Palestine." Many workshops were lead by visionary progressive activists. Their interest in participating in the conference, despite very busy schedules, confirmed that many in the Left want a place to consider their beliefs about anti-Semitism within a social change context – and within a context that cares for Arabs and Muslims as well.

There were only three occasions that the conference met as a whole in plenary session: 1) the Opening Panel that embraced the conference diversity in its composition, 2) Sharon Ellison’s presentation on Powerful Non-Defensive Communication that can be used from any political orientation, and 3) Cherie Brown’s Keynote Speech directly tackling anti-Semitism in the activist community. The anti-oppression and coalition political underpinnings of the conference were not delivered in a lecture. Instead, they were embodied on the conference web site, in the conference outreach, and in subjects presented in workshops.

The presence of on-call mediators was announced to the whole conference at the Opening Panel, giving all attendees the feeling that their emotional wellbeing was important at this event. Each piece of publicity had announced that this conference "will not produce any resolutions." This eliminated the divisive nature of voting on resolutions in plenary session. Rather than ending the three days of developing mutual support by focusing on our differences in a plenary debate, we went out to a friendly, delicious, and animated group lunch.

In contrast to the tension of the opening day, the closing luncheon embodied the relaxed positivity that developed during the conference. As laughter echoed off the restaurant walls, we celebrated our newfound unity and openness of _expression about anti-Semitism. An unlikely, culturally diverse group from Liberals to Radicals, we sat together and shared experiences and ideas from the conference, glad to be together in exploring our concern for Jews, too.