Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of Chicago has busted out of their small 1902 synagogue and moved into bigger, better digs, once a former safehouse for Martin Luther King, Jr. The congregation traces back to 1915, is predominantly African-American and has grown to 70 families strong in recent months.
Gary Tobin, president of the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish & Community Research, says: “We fully expect over the next 20 years for the face of Judaism (in the United States) to change dramatically from largely a white, Eastern or Central European group to include many more Asians, Latinos and blacks.”
We think the suburbanites all our local JCC might find black people in yarmulkes shocking, but we’re looking forward to a more diverse face of Judaism. That’s what Jmerica’s all about, brothers and sisters.