Photos
Check out our Instagram feed to see what we’ve been up to lately.
As we celebrate the release of the Israeli hostages taken on October 7th and continue to hope for the safe return of all who are still held captive, Be’chol Lashon staff member Dr. Beza Abebe reminds us to not forget the life of Avera Mengistu, who is still being held hostage by Hamas for over 9 years.
Read the full story at: bit.ly/BLBringAveraHome
November is National Adoption Month! We`re excited to share this wonderful survey invitation for Jewish adoptees of color.
Do you know a camper who would love to be a part of a multiracial Jewish summer camp experience? If so, Camp Be’chol Lashon is the perfect place for them this summer! Learn more and register today at bit.ly/CBLregsummer24
We are glad to be one of many co-sponsors for Zioness`s gathering space tomorrow. The zoom will offer support and solidarity for Sephardic, Mizrahi, and all Jews of Color—a space to process, grieve, and be together in this impossible moment.
Be`chol Lashon joins Zioness, along with this growing list of amazing co-sponsors, @jewishfederations JEDI, Khazbar, @JOCMishpacha Project, @JIMENA_voice, @globalJews Be’chol Lashon, Project Shema, @Kamochah, @IPFAtid.nes, @jewbianprincess, @NCJWinc, @atljocc, @awiderbridge, and @30yearsafter invite Jews of Color to gather together to connect with each other, grieve together, address trauma and approaches to coping, explore resources, and be in community.
Join our virtual gathering space on October 26th at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT via Zoom.
We hope this space offers safety and healing. Please note that this is a closed space specifically designed as an affinity space for Jews of Color. We ask that you respect the space and participate in accordance with that designation.
Register at: linktr.ee/latestfromzioness
May this Shabbat give you even a moment of what you need.
---
Our hearts are with Israel, and they break for every human being impacted by the terror and violence of this war. For those of you who are not subscribed to our newsletter, you can read the message we sent to the community earlier this week at: bit.ly/blisraelresponse
Thank you @dannynewtv for featuring Camp Be`chol Lashon on ABC News! We are grateful and glad that Camp Be`chol Lashon continues to be a space of positivity for young Jews from racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse backgrounds.
A quote from Danny: "As many of us break the fast for Yom Kippur, I wanted to share this story from Friday that moved me. Most of you know that I was a big camp kid growing up, and seeing what Camp Be`chol Lashon in California has become for Jewish People of Color is awesome 🙏🏼✡️❤️"
We are so excited for @sionaware`s new banner, "Lillith in the New World," on display at @montclair.newjersey now through August 4. Siona`s art colorfully and thoughtfully expresses her transcultural and multicultural Jewish and Indian narratives, and we can`t wait to see her next creation!
We hope you`ll join us at this great event for JOC professionals!
The Jews of Color Professionals Network (JoC Pro Network) is designed to enrich and support a pipeline of emerging talent by facilitating connections in and beyond the Jewish communal sector. Join the @JoCInitiative on Thursday, October 5 from 6-8pm in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn! There will be a kosher dinner to enjoy in the sukkah, followed by a workshop on How to Have Successful One-on-Ones.
Register here: https://bit.ly/JoCPro-Sukkot
#JewsofColor #JoC #jocleaders #jocprofessionals #bipocleadership #jewishcommunity #sukkot #jocinewyork @jocinitiative
As we celebrate the near year, the authors of Be`chol Lashon`s Jewish& have recipes, reflections, teachings, and more to help us welcome these new beginnings.
You can eat, listen, read, and learn sweetly at jewishdiversitystories.org!
We are SO excited for @galeetd to release her new album! We hope you join us at the launch event on September 9 and experience Galeet reinventing the ancient ritual of Selihot— poetry sung nightly preceding the Jewish New Year as spiritual preparation—by singing with remixed samples of her grandfather`s legacy recordings.
Get your tickets at https://bit.ly/BLmonjatlaunch
Thank you @apnews for sharing the story of Camp Be`chol Lashon! We are beyond grateful for another summer where our Jewish campers of Color got to be their full selves while making new and happy memories.
Read the full story at: https://bit.ly/APNewsBLfeature
"One camper, from Oakland, California, has a white Jewish mother and a father who is Black and Muslim. Another was adopted in Uganda by a white Jewish woman; they now live in Montana.
Like many of the young people who shared challenges and adventures with them this summer, they grew up often feeling like outliers — and then found a near-magical comfort zone at Camp Be’chol Lashon in the rolling hills of California’s Marin County. Its founders say it’s the only sleepaway summer camp specifically serving Jewish children of color, creating a safe space for candid conversations on race and identity.
Isaac, the 10-year-old from Oakland, went to a traditional Jewish summer camp last year and said he was bullied by some campers for being Black.
Isaac’s mother was relieved to find Camp Be’chol Lashon.
“If camp this summer didn’t work out, we were going to be done with Jewish camps,” she said. “My child was suffering.”
Over the past 14 years the camp has offered children like Isaac a haven where they don’t have to explain their identity or downplay a part of who they are. It functions as an extended family for campers who are often the only Jewish child of color in their hometown or treated more as a curiosity than a full-fledged member of Jewish or Black communities."
-AP News, Jacquelyn Martin
Image: Maya Johnson, 7, of New York, is playfully swung into the lake by her friends during Camp Be’chol Lashon, a sleepaway camp for Jewish children of color, Friday, July 28, 2023, in Petaluma, Calif., at Walker Creek Ranch. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Yom Huledet Sameach, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to Rabbi Alysa Stanton, the first African American female Rabbi!