Diaspora and Belonging: Black Jewish Americans and the State of Israel

This book explores the relationship that Black American Jews have with the state of Israel, and claims that for some Black Jews who are marginalized within the greater American Jewish community, close ties to Israel can increase their legitimacy. This project posits that social positionality can shape identity formation and examines perspectives of individuals who experience different levels of marginalization in order to examine how an individual's social position in the diaspora can affect that person's connection to a homeland. The extent of a Black Jewish person's marginalization in the United States depends on a number of factors including one's synagogue or the origins of ones ties to Judaism. While there is a continuum of experiences and identities within the diverse Black Jewish community, generally those individuals who are most marginalized in the United States tend to identify most strongly with Israel as their homeland.