Jack Salzman, Cornel West Struggles in the Promised

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Jewish Ideals, Jewish Interests
JEROME JEROME A. CHANES
CHANES
he recounting of history, like a Hindu god, takes many forms. 1 Nowhere is
this more true than in the narrative of the Jewish encounter with affirmative
action, and its implications for Black-Jewish relations. Since the early
1970s, few issues have been more salient on the Jewish community's domestic
public-affairs agenda. Clearly — almost tautologically, inasmuch as race-based
affirmative action deals with race — the Jewish stance on affirmative action has had
profound implications for the relationship between Blacks and Jews.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Black-Jewish relations over the past decade
have had very little to do with anti-Semitism in the African American community,
and almost everything to do with public-affairs issues, especially affirmative
action. The affirmative-action controversy stemmed from the long-standing
Black-Jewish coalition, and subsequently led to fault lines in the coalition. 2 he recounting of history, like a Hindu god, takes many forms.
With
all the Sturm und Drang surrounding this issue, some observers of intergroup relations
believe that the fallout from affirmative action has had a great impact as well
on Jewish intra-communal relations. Still, the bitter divisions between Blacks and
Jews over affirmative action were more striking and helped shape the relationship
for twenty-five years.
1 Nowhere is
this more true than in the narrative of the Jewish encounter with affirmative
action, and its implications for Black-Jewish relations. Since the early
1970s, few issues have been more salient on the Jewish community's domestic
public-affairs agenda. Clearly—almost tautologically, inasmuch as race-based
affirmative action deals with race—the Jewish stance on affirmative action has had
profound implications for the relationship between Blacks and Jews.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Black-Jewish relations over the past decade
have had very little to do with anti-Semitism in the African American community,
and almost everything to do with public-affairs issues, especially affirmative
action. The affirmative-action controversy stemmed from the long-standing
Black-Jewish coalition, and subsequently led to fault lines in the coalition. 2 With
all the Sturm und Drang surrounding this issue, some observers of intergroup relations
believe that the fallout from affirmative action has had a great impact as well
on Jewish intra-communal relations. Still, the bitter divisions between Blacks and
Jews over affirmative action were more striking and helped shape the relationship
for twenty-five years.
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fourteen
A word about terminology: There is no easy answer to the question, What is
"affirmative action"? Indeed, in large measure the ambiguity over the term's
definition itself has resulted in a sizable zone of ambiguity with respect to stances
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