Jews for Urban Justice facts for kids

Jews for Urban Justice (JUJ) was a group of Jewish-American activists. They were based in Washington, D.C. and its nearby areas. This organization started in 1966. Their main goal was to fight against anti-black racism within the white Jewish community. They also worked for social justice for everyone.

How the Group Started

Jews for Urban Justice began in the summer of 1966. It was started by young Jewish thinkers. They wanted to stop anti-Black racism from white Jewish landlords and business owners. They believed this racism made antisemitism (prejudice against Jewish people) worse in the African-American community.

JUJ said that some white Jewish people and organizations were "part of the power structure." They felt that some white Jews were unfair to African-Americans in poorer neighborhoods. JUJ asked rabbis and other Jewish leaders to deal with racism and class differences within their own community.

Fighting for Fair Housing

JUJ worked hard for equal housing rights for African-Americans. At that time, some white Jewish land developers in the D.C. area used special rules. These rules were called racially restrictive covenants. They stopped African-Americans and other people of color from buying homes in white Jewish neighborhoods. JUJ fought against these unfair rules.

Important Campaigns and Events

JUJ took part in several important social movements.

Supporting the Poor People's Campaign

They were involved in Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign. This campaign aimed to help poor people of all backgrounds. JUJ also joined the Mothers Day Welfare Rights March. This march supported the rights of mothers receiving welfare.

Helping Farm Workers

JUJ also showed support for the Delano grape strike. This was a strike by farm workers, mostly Mexican-American, who were fighting for better pay and conditions. JUJ asked synagogues and rabbis in the D.C. area not to use California grapes in their sukkahs. A sukkah is a temporary hut built during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. This was a way to show support for the striking United Farm Workers. JUJ even convinced Joseph Danzansky to stop selling California grapes at his Giant Food grocery stores.

The Freedom Seder

JUJ helped organize a special event called the Freedom Seder. This happened on April 4, 1969. This date was the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.. A "seder" is a traditional meal held during the Jewish holiday of Pesach.

Arthur Waskow, a JUJ member and rabbi, helped create this unique seder. He wrote a new Haggadah for it. A Haggadah is a book that guides the Seder. Waskow explained that he "wove the story of the liberation of ancient Hebrews from Pharaoh with the liberation struggles of black America, of the Vietnamese people, passages from Dr. King, from Gandhi."

About 800 people came to the Freedom Seder. It was held at the Lincoln Temple United Church of Christ. This church was historically a Black Protestant church in Washington, D.C. The event brought together Black and white people, Christians and Jews. Important Black civil rights leaders, like Reverend Channing E. Phillips and Topper Carew, also attended.

JUJ's Beliefs

In 1970, JUJ released a paper called "The Oppression and Liberation of the Jewish People in America." This paper explained what they believed in. They were an anti-racist, anti-war, Jewish socialist group. They often disagreed with the main Jewish organizations of the time.

The paper called for white Jewish people to stand with other communities. These included African-American, Native American, Chicano, Italian-American, and Appalachian communities.

JUJ's paper also criticized some Israeli policies towards Palestinians. They supported the idea of Palestinians having their own self-determination. However, they were not completely anti-Zionist. Zionism is the movement for the self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, Israel. JUJ's paper warned against confusing Zionism with being Jewish. They also spoke out against antisemitic (anti-Jewish) ideas that were sometimes mixed with anti-Zionism.

JUJ believed that Jewish people should work with others to create a more fair society. They wanted a society where different communities could live freely and happily. They believed that a liberated Jewish people would find their place in such a society.