®
NEW JERSEY JEWISH NEWS
G R E AT E R M E T R O W E S T E D I T I O N A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E J E W I S H W E E K M E D I A G R O U P Vol. LXX IV No. 22 | May 28, 2020 | 5 S IVAN 5780
njj ew is hnews . c o m
‘I’m lonely and isolated’
Bedouin women in Israel exercise their right to vote
Independent seniors tap inner strength during pandemic
Opinion page 16 ➞
Johanna Ginsberg NJJN Senior Writer
B
N.J. appoints new head of Commission on Holocaust Education
State & Local 4
A Bedouin woman casts her ballot for Israel’s Knesset election in March. PHOTOS COURTESY PHYLLIS BERNSTEIN
What’s a parent to do when camp is canceled?
But who’s counting? A debate over Jews of color goes viral
Opinion 15 Demography and the perilous politics of race, identity, and inclusion State & Local 4 Andrew Silow-Carroll demography turned into an Opinion 15 Special to NJJN explosive debate over Jewish Calendar/Community 22 identity and exclusion. don’t know if you followed Here’s the fast version: A LifeCycle 23 the debate last week about 2019 research project led by Touch of Torah 28 and among Jews of color, The Jews of Color Field BuildExit Ramp 31 but — hoo boy. What started ing Initiative determined that
I
out as a dry bit of academic
approximately 12-15 percent of American Jews could be defined as “Jews of color.” Last week the website eJewish Philanthropy published a response, titled “How Many Jews of Color Are There?” Two well-known Jewish demographers, Ira Sheskin and Arnold
Continued on page 12
efore the Covid-19 pandemic abruptly curtailed her active lifestyle, Audrey Kaufman, 90, spent little time at her Cranford home. She played mah jongg at the YM-YWHA of Union County, participated in the Y’s senior group New Beginnings, frequently gambled in Atlantic City, attended Hadassah meetings, and took a Yiddish class — in addition to driving to the grocery store, and running other errands. “Now I can’t do any of that,” Kaufman told NJJN in a phone interview. “We’re cut off from everyone.” For months, she’s been isolated and alone in her 10-room house, and she doesn’t own a smartphone or a computer. Kaufman can’t visit with her daughter, who lives in Scotch Plains but is immobile from a broken ankle. Her other daughter, a nurse, lives in Seattle. “I haven’t seen a person in 10 weeks,” Kaufman said. Her days are limited to taking walks, doing laundry, and talking to her daughters on the phone. But mostly, she said, “I watch a lot of TV, mostly ‘Law and Order.’” Some days the sense of isolation is worse than others. “I feel lonely on the weekends,” she said. “The days seem short during the week, but on the weekends they seem longer. I don’t know why.” Everyone has lost the hustle and bustle of daily life as a result of precautions taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But the lack of human contact and sense of isolation is amplified for seniors who prided themselves on their independent and active lives but are now confined to their homes. “I’m lonely and isolated and feel unwell in many ways,” said Sari Becker, 69, who lives in Village Apartments of the Jewish Federation in South Orange, one of four senior residences that comprise Jewish Community Housing Corporation (JCHC). Other than to
Continued on page 8