The Advocate

Now that we are fully immersed in the horrors of the Trump Regime, I might as well wax aspirational about what the political roadmap for rebuilding the country should be (in my humble opinion). My plan is based on over a decade as an advocate and community organizer, working with marginalized groups across the country and sitting in rooms with the powerful where it happens; as well as another decade as a public servant, doing the people's business from the inside out and the bottom up to repair broken systems amongst crumbling institutions. It's not a perfect plan or a final plan. It's just a roadmap, but I think it's a pretty good one, all things considered. Here we go! *** Organizing motto: Building a better world for everyone Organizing strategy: Do everything everywhere all at once and all the time Organizing principles: Fundamental fairness through social and economic justice Civil rights and responsibilities for all Growth and abundance for shared prosperity Organ...

I'm a Jew, so I'm White enough to get into the room but not White enough for the people actually in the room. I'm a Jew, so I'm White enough that I won't get pulled over by the cops while driving for no reason, but not White enough that the cops won't watch my synagogue burn down. I'm a Jew, so I'm White enough that no one follows me around a store to see if I'm stealing, but not White enough that the store owner won't call me a cheap money-grubbing cheater when I try to pay. I'm a Jew, so I'm White enough to go to law school, but not White enough to be anything other than one of those shylock shyster lawyers. I'm a Jew, so I'm White enough to go to medical school, but not White enough to be anything except a blood-sucking organ snatcher. I'm a Jew, so I'm White enough to help corporations get away with financial fraud, but not White enough to get away with it myself. I'm a Jew, so I'm White enough to be blamed fo...

The Moorish Zionist Temple, Harlem, NY, 1929 (James Van Der Zee/The Folklore Research Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem via the National Library of Israel Digital Collection) * This is a subject I've been wanting to write about for quite some time and, in honor of Black History Month this year, I'm finally taking the time to do so. It's about the first Black Jew in America and, more than that, the stories of the incredible lives of those who claimed the title. Now, before we get started, it's important to recognize that my research and learning on this subject is almost entirely indebted to the work of Jewish scholars, most of them Black Jews themselves, who came before me. I am  particularly indebted to scholar and rabbi ,[1] Shais Rishon, known by his pseudonym of MaNishtana. Toda raba, mishpocha. *** This story starts in the town of Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts, circa 1668 .[2] On June 30 of that year, two people were presented to the local grand jury for...