Opinion: Jews no longer prioritize social justice? Look at what they’re doing in L.A.

Most of the few dozen reader responses to Mark Oppenheimer’s op-ed article on Aug. 19 about Jewish ambivalence toward Black Lives Matter took issue with that group’s denunciation of Israel’s actions toward the Palestinians. A few others, some of which were already printed, disagreed with Oppenheimer’s premise: that Jewish communities today have lost their commitment to justice and service.

Additional letters have since trickled in citing examples of service by Jews. Below are two of those letters.

Jennifer Thompson, a professor of Jewish studies at Cal State Northridge, says facts on the ground belie Oppenheimer’s argument:

Los Angeles has a number of nationally recognized rabbis who are leaders in social justice. One does not have to look outside American Jewry to find examples of hands-on solidarity with the poor. Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta has operated a homeless shelter in its basement for nearly 30 years, and other synagogues operate shelters as well.

Additionally, Jews are not overwhelmingly wealthy. A 2013 study of New York Jewry, for example, found that one in five Jewish households in that area is poor, and that poverty is growing faster than the Jewish community itself.

I agree that it is valuable and important to be in solidarity with the poor through personal experience with the realities of their lives. I also agree with philosopher Peter Singer, who says that for some people, “effective altruism” can be best accomplished by working in a high-paying profession in order to donate the greatest possible amount of money to support the work of those skilled and educated in helping the poor.

The article ends with, “At the end of the day, we write checks from our affluent enclaves, vote Democratic, and call it a day.” Oppenheimer’s “we” is not the same American or Los Angeles Jewry that I know.

The leadership at L.A.’s Temple Isaiah — Rabbis Zoe Klein, Dara Frimmer, Joel Nickerson and Aimee Gerace; cantor Tifani Coyot; and Honey Kessler Amado, the temple president — cite scripture:

On behalf of our Reform congregation that has a 30-plus year relationship with First AME Church in South Los Angeles and strong commitment to the pursuit of justice, we wish to counter the author’s notion that “there is very little moral ambition, and almost no prophetic vision, among American Jews today.”

Like many Reform Jewish communities, we dedicate a significant portion of our time and resources to educating and training our congregants as to how they can engage in effective direct service, community organizing, philanthropy and activism. The pursuit of justice, as commanded in Deuteronomy 16:20, is as much a part of our Jewish identity and practice as what we eat and how we pray.

We will continue to be morally ambitious and devoted to our vision that we are active partners with God in healing a broken world, making it more just and compassionate.

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