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34 FEBRUARY 18, 2021
L ifestyle /C ulture
Identities Continued from Page 25
being able to talk in a group and
decide — so this is a commu-
nity, what do we stand for? Who
are we? And what does it really
mean to be these things?”
Slosberg and Rudolph
decided to take the concept —
bringing Asian American Jews
together to talk openly and
casually about their identities
and experiences — and branch
out with it. Beyond just Chinese-
Americans, they found Jewish
people with what was for them
an unexpectedly diverse array
of different Asian backgrounds,
from Indian to Thai to Filipino
and more.

One thing they quickly
realized was that all of them
felt that they had not seen
their identity represented in
American Jewish spaces.

The American Jewish
community has begun to pay
more attention to the experi-
ence of Jews of color in recent
years, as highlighted by the
rise and expanded profile of
groups such as Be’chol Lashon
and the Jews of Color Initiative,
and the increasing number of
Jews of color in organizational
leadership roles. An analysis by
researchers from 2019 found
that Jews of color have been
slightly undercounted in broad
surveys on American Jews.

But there has not been
much research done on Asian
American Jews in partic-
ular. Sociologists Helen Kim
and Noah Leavitt — who
are also a married couple —
have published two landmark
research papers on Asian
Jewish families, one in 2012
and another in 2015. Besides
that, Slosberg and Rudolph did
not have previous projects like
theirs to turn to for inspiration.

“We saw a gap in the media
that could be filled,” Rudolph
said. She and Slosberg remained
mindful throughout their
project of how broad the term
“Asian American” can be a
flattening term.

JEWISH EXPONENT
The Lunar project brought more than 20 Asian American Jews together in
conversation. Courtesy of Lunar: The Jewish-Asian Film Project via JTA
“The Asian diaspora is just
so huge and diverse that it feels
weird to kind of lump ourselves
in, but also — white America
lumps us all in together
anyways,” Rudolph said. “So
that’s kind of a common thread
that we’re all relating on. We
have a lot of very common
experiences.” For
participant Jacob
Sujin Kuppermann, born to a
Brazilian Ashkenazi father and
Thai mother, the project’s diver-
sity was an important selling
point. “That’s kind of what made
me excited about this project
— that there was a very diverse
range of different Asian experi-
ences,” Kuppermann said.

“Obviously there’s not a huge
amount of discussion about
mixed race Jews [in American
society]. But usually when it
comes up, it’s tiny. It’s Chinese
American.” In the inaugural video,
participants talk about how
their knowledge of both Jewish
and Asian foods helps them feel
like they “have stake in” each
broader cultural community,
in the words of one person.

Another said that that knowl-
edge helps her “prove” her
Jewishness in Jewish spaces that
are predominantly white. Some
pointed out the ways in which
Asian and Jewish flavors go well
together, while others talked
about the difficulty of eating
Asian dishes while trying to
keep kosher — stemming from
the fact that multiple Asian
staples, such as shellfish and
pork, are not allowed in Jewish
dietary law.

Katz-Ali shares in a clip that
Ashkenazi Jewish food doesn’t
always “feel like home” for her,
but she’s always excited when
finding Indian restaurants that
are kosher. After participating
in the project, in December
she inaugurated “pakoras and
menorahs,” her name for a new
Chanukah tradition that incor-
porates a traditional Indian
fried food into the Jewish
holiday that celebrates oil.

Now she’s trying to keep the
Lunar group together, in part
by planning OneTable Shabbat
events for them.

“I’m so excited that this is
taking off,” she said. “This is
also going to give more permis-
sion to people to create and
find that place of belonging
and community that they can
gather within.” l
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



C OMMUNITY
NE WSMAKERS
Bucks County Kehillah hosted a panel conversation on Feb. 10
titled “Combating Bias ... Creating Allyship in Bucks County:
Th e Connections Between Racism and Anti-Semitism.” Robin
Burstein, senior associate regional director of the Anti-Defamation
League’s Philadelphia offi ce, Karen Downer, president of NAACP
Bucks County, and Danny Th omas, executive director of Th e
Peace Center, were the featured speakers. Rabbi Aaron Gaber of
Congregation Brothers of Israel moderated.

Th rough Golden Slipper Gems, about 75 people attended “A Visit to Jewish Rome” on Feb. 14
with tour guide Micaela Pavoncello. Pavoncello, who is an art historian, spoke about Jews of
Rome. Photos by Moriah SimonHazani
Danny Thomas, executive director of The Peace Center
Robin Burstein, senior associate regional director of the Anti-Defamation
League’s Philadelphia offi ce
Screenshots by Jesse Bernstein
Th e National Museum of American Jewish History
screened the documentary “Flory’s Flame” on Feb. 10.

Th e movie tells the story of Flory Jagoda, known as “Th e
Keeper of the Flame” and “La Nona” (Th e Grandmother),
an important preservationist of Sephardic cultural history,
especially music. Following the screening, her friends,
family and colleagues hosted a talkback celebrating
Jagoda, who died on Jan. 29.

Clockwise, from top left: Lori Jagoda-Lowell (Jagoda’s daughter),
Betty Murphy (Jagoda’s daughter), Susan Gaeta (Jagoda’s
apprentice) and Jon Lohman (former director emeritus of the
Virginia Folklife Program and Jagoda’s friend)
Courtesy of the National Museum of American Jewish History
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FEBRUARY 18, 2021
35