A new partnership is aiming to dispel prejudice and foster closer ties between Philadelphia’s Black and Jewish communities.
“New Golden Age,” as the coalition is known, was spawned following a meeting between between Jason Holtzman, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, and Carl Day, a prominent pastor and founder of the nonprofit Culture Changing Christians.
“We made an agreement at the end of the meeting that we would bring members of our community together to start having a dialogue and talking about our history, talking about our struggles, the struggles that we face today,” Holtzman told Metro.
Though publicly rolled out Wednesday, the effort got underway in the spring, with monthly meetings among a small cohort of Black and Jewish community leaders beginning in June. In November, the group traveled to Harrisburg to meet with state elected officials.
“I believe that it was really divine, because we got together and the next thing you know, months later, we see the big war in the Middle East go down,” Day said.
In the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, and the war in Gaza, reports of antisemitism have risen dramatically. The Anti-Defamation League recorded a 360% increase in Jewish hate between October and January, compared to the same period last year, with incidents ranging from harassment to anti-Israel rallies.
Holtzman said the war was a topic of the October New Golden Age gathering.
“We didn’t censor anything,” he added. “We were very open and honest, and had a really meaningful dialogue and an important dialogue. It didn’t rip us apart.”
In the future the group plans to tackle other difficult topics, including the 2024 presidential election.
“We really need each other,” Day said. “I think it’s gonna be pivotal for us to really work together, fight together, but also educate and inform our communities together. And really become family. So that takes relationship building, and we’re committed to it.”
The partnership’s name refers to the Civil Rights era of the 1960s, which is sometimes referred to as the “golden age” of Black-Jewish relations. Holtzman and Day acknowledged that darker moments have existed between the communities, and they want to prevent the spread of antisemitic and racist stereotypes.
New Golden Age is also committed to reducing shootings, hate crimes and other violence in Philadelphia and building support for a more robust social safety net.
Tentative plans include an advocacy trip to Washington, D.C., with stops on Capitol Hill, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture; a potential Black-Jewish conference in Philadelphia; and study trips to Israel and Civil Rights landmarks in the South.
The Jewish Community Relations Council is part of the region’s Jewish Federation, which has been funding the meetings so far. Holtzman said New Golden Age also aims to launch fundraising efforts.
