Despite the fact that multiethnic Jews account for nearly 20% of Jews in the United States, far too many Jewish communal spaces look largely homogenous. As a result, Jewish communities are not reflecting the beautiful diversity of the Jewish diaspora. Engaging multiethnic Jewish voices in the fight against antisemitism requires establishing inclusive Jewish communities that also fight against the fallacy of white supremacy. Contemporary antisemitism is complex and animated by people who view the world through the lens of the oppressive power structures of colonialism, patriarchy, and white supremacy all of which are complicated by multiethnic Jewish voices. This presentation will explain how to build inclusive Jewish communities that effectively combat the narratives that function to perpetuate contemporary antisemitism in movement spaces without tokenizing multiethnic Jewish voices.
The training will take place from 3-5pm. Join JPro San Diego for a happy hour immediately following!
Meet Our Facilitator:
Kiyomi is an Afro-Latin, queer, Jewish, Marine Corps veteran, mother who works to ensure that all of the intersecting identities of her and her children feel at home in any space. If there is one word to sum up her life’s work it would be “inclusion.” Kiyomi’s social justice activism is centered on creating more inclusive spaces for Jewish people of all backgrounds as well as eradicating racism and antisemitism. To that end, she develops, produces, and facilitates panels, workshops, and discussions on the topics of race, racism, and antisemitism and utilizes non-violent communication approaches to coach people through tough conversations and promote productive dialogues. In 2020, Kiyomi co-founded Jewbian Princess, a Black, Jewish women-led organization to deliver corporate-level diversity and inclusion education to Jewish organizations through a Jewish lens. Kiyomi joined the Project Shema team as a coach and facilitator to help educate people on antisemitism and its root causes within social justice activism in 2021. In her role as the Director of Partnerships at Project Shema, Kiyomi works with Jewish activists to provide a training and support strategy with the goal of slowing the tide of antisemitism to ensure Jewish voices are included in progressive activism. Recently, Kiyomi joined the facilitator team at Ta’amod to “stand up” for creating psychologically safe Jewish workplaces through empathy, education, and equity. In addition to her day jobs, Kiyomi serves as a board member of the Los Angeles section of the National Council for Jewish Women (“NCJW”) and the national board of Jewish Council of Public Affairs (“JCPA”). She has a degree in political science and a Juris Doctorate with an emphasis in public service. Kiyomi lives with her partner and two children in the suburbs of Los Angeles where she can be found watercolor painting, embroidering, and sewing pieces of flare to inspire a more just world. Learn more about her at KiyomiKowalski.com.
In partnership with 
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