Black-Jewish Alliance Has Fruitful History

In his op-ed piece this past Wednesday, Justin C. Danilewitz offers a powerful condemnation of the anti-Semitic murder of Yankel Rosenbaum. Like Mr. Danilewitz, we mourn Yankel Rosenbaum's death and believe we must fight anti-Semitism wherever it arises. We also agree with Danilewitz that people should not be attacked for the actions of other individuals within their community.

Danilewitz, however, falls into precisely this trap when he uses the Crown Heights incident to encourage Jews to reevaluate their relationship with African-Americans and "realign their traditionally liberal political allegiance."

The actions of a few individuals in Crown Heights should not reflect on all African-Americans and ruin an alliance that has had fruitful results in advancing social justice in America.

We feel that justice and social change, both of which are promoted by the black-Jewish alliance, are an important part of the Jewish tradition. Furthermore, we believe that Jews will be most secure in a society that strives to overcome the discrimination of its past and builds a "beloved community."

We think the incident in Crown Heights should not be used to increase animosities between races and religions, but rather, should encourage us to build such a community. --Matthew Mayers '97   Adina H. Rosenbaum '98   Co-Chairs,   Progressive Jewish Alliance