(upbeat music) good morning. and welcome to mosaic. i'm as we're going to have a major conversation about race in the jewish community. we would like you to meet avana kauffman who is at san francisco because

relation council and the rabbi, the senior rabbi at temple. what are your experiences in the jewish community? >> for the most part, my experiences in the jewish community have been positive, that is why i find myself as a leader in the community now. my family is biracial. i'm chinese and jewish. growing up, that posed a challenge at times. people with question or challenge why we were there or if we were jewish, or are you you're jewish? that was tough at times. >> i was one of few kids that's with for white or recognized as white in the community. i grew up with jewish values and practices in the community. and people were wondering if i was

adopted. when i became jewish, when my hebrew was so good and i learned a prayer and a fabric of the jewish community. >> we have this tremendous respect for what we think of our text life. that means that we value words and play with words and we like to think what the words mean and who words to event and bring into the culture. can you reflect a little bit about the way we used the language biracial. are you really jewish? and what about our language? what does it tell us about this issue in our jewish community? >> i think it comes to mind is that -- i have often experienced, this conversation in which we're talking is specific in united states in

dynamics of race that we're discussing. inlanguage, rabies and jewish leaders talk about the affinity for the other and the care in community on behalf of the other. and we talk about race and we often talk about people of color as the other. thereby, not assuming there are people of color in the jewish community. so the red flag around language is talking abouce thapeof color are the other rather than a part of the jewish-based community. >> that is an important point. we often think of about judaism connected to other parts of the world. it is an american phenomenal that we have jewish people that don't identify as while the. it is matter of what we are. it is not welcoming someone that is suddenly coming

from the outside of the community. >> the dynamic of being able to talk about people of color as the other gives us a way that the u.s. have framed our jewish narrative. we talk about how we were once slaves too. and just that frame, presupposes. we rely on the language of others to create narrative how we talk about jews in the united states. >> is there an interesting word that people use is intersectionality, when is in ways is a modern word and in some ways is a clumsy word. they try to unique the american realities how we talk about race in our country and how we talk about culture. so does that help us in terms of

saying, the other is us and we are the other? so there is an odd dynamic and a pouriousness in which we're basically in some ways pushing at that narrative and demanding inclusion in a way that may or may not be assumed. >> i think that is true. i think in that respect, i think everyone, it required a lot of patients on everyone's side. to it be open is one of the most important pieces for us as a jewish community to be open with what the possibilities are and sometimes for people to be in that space where they say we're the other begins an opening to have that conversation about the fact that we thought there was a distance or they were a stranger when they were not. and it is important for us to be open and reflective how we understand what makes us jewish and how we understand what can make someone else jewish at the

same time. >> we'll take a quick break and come back to the conversation. we'll be back in a moment as we continue this wonderful conversation here on mosaic.

we're back talking about race until in the jewish

community. welcome back to my guests. we were talking about in the jewish community, the function of otherness and how that notion comes out of our theology, principally out story of the exodus passover holiday. it seems natural to ask, what about being white? what about whiteness? what about that aspect of our culture, of the way that functions racially in you and your lives and in your families? i know that is a big topic and a big way of asking the question. but i think people that are familiar with race in the faith community, is it part of the conversation that some people may not be familiar with. what about whiteness in all of this? >> i was thinking in the last

segment that we were talking about intersectionality is that allows people, all of us, all of us have multiple identities. and we're often challenged and pushed, pick one side or the other. for the jews, when you have two white parents and white privileged. they were not labeled as white. they were marginalized because of their religious backgrounds. a lot of jews that are pushed feel that they have to jump into whiteness that doesn't resinate with them. >> let's just say that we jews

is that we come out of a place in which privilege was based on ethnicity in a country that says that prejudices that roots in skin color. so even though internally, we would never identify as anything but jewish and that experience of prejudice, we come to a country that from the outside sees us as white and gives us a kind of presumption of access so society, based on the color of our skin without regard to how we feel internally. and we succeed, in part because of that. >> i think actually looking at jewish white privilege in a white context can give us an interesting perspective outside the jewish community as well. you walk into a jewish space and you're challenged if you

don't look white if you really belong there. and jews that do look white are not challenged. that is privilege. you are not being asked or given some legitimate reason why you're there. in the jewish context because it is about belonging and when you walk into a jewish space, you want to feel that embrace by the jewish community will give you, it gives you an interesting perspective on what that means, if you're white, you have the benefit of the doubted. that is what privilege is. if you're not, you're asked to explain yourself. that is what it is in the jewish community. we take that outside in the greater community and issues of justice and equality, we see how that plays out in the bigger picture as well. >> to add to the largeness of the conversation, both of you are leaders in the jewish

community. you are rabbi and director of civic engagement and public affairs for jewish community agency. so people come to you for your leadership and your expertise in the broadness of the jewish community. again, is it a big question, does this issue play out, not play out? there are certainly subtleties like if you're gay or lesbian, or trr enandewoman, can you talk about where this existence doesn't exit when people come to you as rabbi for a consultation how to deal with an issue in the community? >> sure. it plays on all kinds of levels and layers. i choose to be in this role. it is a

privilege to be a jewish community leader. with that, i choose the things that come with that in the jewish environment. people take a second look at me when they see me from the first time. so this event is unfolding and it may be and set at the synagogue that i'm visiting in and working in as a consultation. i'm an educator and someone that advanced the conversation that holds the community together and still have authentic feelings about it. the other thing is that because of my background as i person of color that is also working in the jewish community it gives me vantage points and portals

that maybe pe my background and experience can uniquely make and behalf of our larger community. on one hand, there may be complications or assumptions or racist things that happen. there are communities and connections and all communities working together as allies. >> i think there is something interesting about the fact that we grew up in jewish community we had to look at our identities and how we understand ourselves and what makes us jewish. that puts us in a unique place as leaders as well to help other people understand what they are and what makes them jewish. >> i was going to say it brings an extraordinary richness to actually developing jewish identity in a greater authenticity for people that

may struggle with in that way. we're going to say good-bye to aliana and stay hello to another guest. we thank you forsaking with us and we invite you to return with us to mosaic in just a moment.

welcome back to mosaic. we're in the middle of a wonderful conversation about race in the jewish community. and now joining us with rabbi jackie mate's mission. it means in every tongue. it advocates for racial and ethic diversity in the jewish community. so welcome, diane. what are your experiences in the jewish

community? >> i adopted a child 18 years ago. and i am, like many people, when you talk about white privilege, many people just are not aware of race. that is not a part of their lives. our life became very much, i didn't know any black jews. and they did a studying to understand who is around, what does that work look like? and now 15 years later, we provide a space for a lot of people that normal jews and jews that are making different choices in life. this is a world that is very open, internet and social media and social networks allow us to make choices about our identity in our life. people are closing to be jewish and your synagogue

and a lot of different things. it is creating the space. i do a little bit like you do, i meet people where they are and people that come from all different spaces. >> so you say people are making different choices, can you comment a little bit until the jewish context, the degree to which people, if i can say it this way, take their jewishness to this other place and experience, if that makes sense? >> if you touched earlier, we came to the united states as a persecuted minority and we fought for our lives and try to fit in with other european americans. it is interesting to think about this, it has only been like that after world war ii. it some ways provides

affirmative action for european males. at that moment, we suddenly became latin american and had that opportunity. so i don't think that was a mistake. it was what it was. and no need to rewrite history. we're at a moment in time now where the americans are more diverse, more multi-racial. the whites will be a minority as of 2042. so this is a moment here as a jewish community, we think who we are and how we got here and where we want to move forward. so jews are a multi-cultural world. this say global world now and we're global people.

>> so we, the jewish community are african-americans and ethiopian and latinas. >> exactly. >> so to funnel that global reality to american life, can you comment on the experience of when your jewish and you go into the chinese community, injure experience and when you go into at the time african-american community. how does this identity in some place dominate. how do you take what the core of who you are into the community? how does that function? >> you take the core of who you are with you all the time. you are always everything that you are. i think for a lot of people it is -- it kind of

exists naturally in a way that melts. when i go into the jewish community, i say that with me, the symbols and the cultural experiences that i encounter, those spark the specific kind of reactions within me. but in the end, those are going to be informed by my greater experiences as a jew as well and as the fact that i'm chinese as well. it deals with a holistic kind of way, rather and that make is choose one or the other, it enables us to understand and relate in a broader kind of a way all the time. >> diane, i know you're going to answer this question too. but your comment makes me think, do we subtly force an america of parsing of identity that actually is not humanly

accurate? >> i think that people are projecting their own experiences. i think what we're finding is the greater mix of races and ethnicity and the greater pieces of who we are as americans. the more we do that and experience that, the less we're going to force one or the other. thank you. we're going to take a quick break. please joins us back here on mosaic.

welcome back to mosaic. we're having a wonderful conversation. this is diversity and ethnicity. so, diane, we were in the middle of the conversation about how notions of understanding the experienced in the jewish community and you were going to add to this communication. >> jackie made a good point. you have diversity in your family, that that changes the whole character of the family. for me, i grew up and coming in the jewish community and

have an african-american son that rocked my world forever. my world view is completely different. i feel so lucky to have that world here. it made my life so much richer and meaningful. i feel sad for people that we may accuse people of being racist or having white privilege, but in the reality most people don't have the experience, don't have the exposure. we work as an organization to provide that to them and have those conversations. i think people, overall, they just don't think about it. we have a film coming out called the little white lie. it is on netflix and itunes. these people just don't think about it. >> believe it or not, we're about to come to an end of our timing to and it is just a comma of this bigger conversation in our community

and in the country at large. it seems to me just to ask if you have a final reflections, it seems to me that with all the ways in which, let's just say when something like this happens in your family suddenly, you have a different reality, let's say, that it takes a tremendous amount of love to really get to what the court of a person and the human being. i just wonder, in the minute, you have a comment sort of on that level of the experience for yourselves? >> yes. i think it is a lot of love and understanding, openness. i think we're in and exciting time. the race piece is just one aspect of what it means to create an american/jewish persons. i think that is and exciting place that we are. the mixing of families and races, it means that we're becoming a unique

experience in e historroy ss al the jewish people and people may be choosing to be jewish. they are choosing. >> thank you so much. i want to thank you so much for joining us on mosaic. please join this conversation in your lives. thank you very much for being with us this morning.

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