O pinion
Kellerman Continued from Page 16
His positive leadership led to
a positive school environment,
and a warm and embracing
school culture. I was proud to
be earning an education degree
so that I could also make a
difference. In the summer I attended a
workshop about culture. The
workshop hit home because of
my own story. I learned that
your culture may change as you
grow. We often make assump-
tions about a person’s beliefs
based on just one thing, but
culture is more than a single
indicator. It is a combination of
Rudy Continued from Page 17
Ashkenazim are not “real Jews”
because they don’t know the
expansive, complicated history of
Jewish people in Europe. But a
conversation centered on and led
by Ashkenazim while Mizrahi,
Sephardi and numerous subdi-
visions are overlooked leaves
us ignored by the rest of the
world, too.

Which means our stories aren’t
part of the conversation. Which
means our cultures, languages,
traditions and struggles aren’t
considered part of the whole
Jewish experience and history.

Which means I’ll spend my whole
life telling people I’m a Sephardic
Syrian Jew, and the response will
always be, “I thought Jews were
from Europe?” or, “So you’re not
a real Jew.”
My question isn’t why has
this happened, for the answer
is complicated, painful and too
dense to sum up. Instead I ask
how: How can we as Jewish
people combat anti-Semitism
and miseducation regarding
our very existence and history
if the experiences and validity
of Sephardim, Mizrahim, Beta
Israel, Jews of Color, Black
Jews and so forth is constantly
questioned, denied and excluded
within our own communities?
But that framing can be
20 OCTOBER 8, 2020
beliefs and values and groups
we belong to. When educa-
tors create a classroom that is
both culturally proficient and
responsive, students thrive.

Sometimes we view someone’s
traditions based on the food they
eat, the clothing they wear, or
the holidays they celebrate. But
it is all larger than what we see.

If I created a circle and wrote the
word “culture” in the middle, the
words around the circle would be
“feelings,” “thoughts,” “attitudes,”
“behavior,” “social groups,”
“values,” “race” and “ethnicity.”
Our heritage is not only where we
came from but also determines
who we choose to be as adults.

We need to ensure children
learn more about this. Raising
awareness about our differ-
ences is crucial. It can help a
child succeed in school without
feeling excluded. Making
connections between peers
and co-workers establishes that
warm environment I felt at my
father’s school. If culture had
been a topic of discussion when
I was a child, maybe my story
would have been different. l
problematic, too, because
it does something that I am
unequivocally against: It
implies that the only way we
can be united as a people is if
we focus on combating hatred.

I don’t want a rally cry of
unity for the sake of fighting
back against anti-Semitism. I
don’t want the reason we come
together as a people to be for
the sake of being a united front
against hate.

But there are two truths that
exist: I firmly believe that we cannot
face anti-Semitism head-on
if we don’t face the biases and
prejudices within our own
communities. We cannot be a
united people for ourselves if the
classification and inclusion of
Jewish people and experiences is
continuously determined solely
by the majority (and by extension,
the rest of the world).

I believe that if we are to
come together, our motivation
should not be spite, hatred
and fear. I yearn to learn more
about all Jewish traditions,
heritages and stories because I
love being Jewish and I love my
own traditions, heritage and
stories. Community is a vital
part of Judaism, and while I
have been fortunate to be a
member of a Sephardic Syrian
community, it’s the bigger
picture I’m concerned with.

Stepping out and interacting
with the “real world” while
simultaneously witnessing
the influx of anti-Semitism —
particularly in New York and
New Jersey, where I live — was
something of a rude awakening.

But my rudest awakening was
seeing my Judaism questioned,
denied and pushed aside by
fellow Jews.

I find myself thinking about
my mother’s story often, how
she went home that day and
told my grandmother and
great-grandmother to stop
giving her pita bread, or other
“weird food,” for lunch. My
grandmother refused, telling
my mother to stand her ground.

I don’t think my mother has
stopped standing her ground
since. I certainly don’t have to
ask her what she brought for
lunch the next day.

The fact that I was raised
in and belong to a community
of Sephardim from Syria like
myself and my family, the way
I love and cherish my Judaism,
how it is rooted in every aspect
of my life — it all stems from my
mother’s pride in her heritage,
which stems from her mother,
her grandmother and so forth.

One can say I’m simply keeping
up with my family tradition. l
Carolyn Leigh Kellerman got her
master’s in education from The
College of New Jersey and holds a
certificate in early childhood. She
is working on a special education
endorsement certification and
teaches in New Jersey.

This piece originally appeared in
Alma. JEWISH EXPONENT
Letters Continued from Page 14
Runyan Overlooks Iran Deal
Joshua Runyan says, “A President Biden would do no harm to
Israel,” (“Why Trump’s Not Getting This Orthodox Vote: He’s
Neither Good for the Jews, Nor for Judaism,” Sept. 10) He already
has! It is called the Iran deal.

Biden supported giving $150 billion to the mullahs, providing
funds to their terrorist proxies. The arms embargo is about to
end, courtesy of the Iran deal. By 2030, the deal sunsets and Iran
has the right to build a bomb. Biden wants to restart funding
to the Palestinian Authority that would be used to support
terrorism against Jews. Biden has a short memory, as he was
only blocks away as Taylor Force was being stabbed to death by
a Palestinian terrorist.

Would a President Biden have helped achieve the peace with
UAE and Bahrain, and support the other Sunni Arab nations, so
more peace deals will be made? I think not. Biden wouldn’t be
trusted by them as he still believes the Iran mullahs will change.

He refuses to take down terrorists, whether Osama bin Laden
or Suleimani. Biden wants to fund UNRWA, which supports
schools that teach that Jews are pigs, promoting anti-Semitism.

Having already done serious harm, it is time for our Jewish
community to look elsewhere.

Ted Harrison | New Hope
Rose Overlooks Moral Defects
In reply to the op-ed by Binyamin Rose (“Many Orthodox Jews
Support President Trump. I’m One of Them — Here’s Why,”
Sept. 10), we’re surprised that Rose is willing to overlook these
issues: • Donald Trump has stated he knows more than the generals
and that he alone can fix our problems; he makes fun of the
physically handicapped; said that in the “old days” people
who dissented from speakers at political rallies were “carried
out in a stretcher”; and said “when you’re a star ... you can do
anything” you want to women, including “grab them by the
p****.” • Rose believes Orthodox Jews need to support “family values.”
Does Donald Trump’s behavior reflect family values?
• Any so-called breakdown of law and order and actual increase
in anti-Semitism are happening during Donald Trump’s presi-
dency and watch.

These are simply a few demonstrations of Trump’s character
which require that he be voted out of office. Any of Biden’s flaws
are minor in comparison to the much more serious moral defects
sadly present in our current president.

Rose’s overarching message seems to be that the Orthodox
vote needs to be made for Trump because of Trump’s support for
Israel and Jews. Our point is that the vote should be made against
Trump because his character is devoid of values that Israel and
Jews hold dear. l
William and Lynn Thames | Wynnewood
www.jewishexponent.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM