Whether the topic is class, racism, Israel and Palestine, war, anti-Semitism, violence against women or violence by women, the issue is power-- in all its complexity. "Bright flashes of originality...subtle insights" -- Publishers Weekly "What would it really feel like to be a woman and to walk through the world without fear? [Her work]. . . pushes us to look beyond the usual solutions." -- Sojourner A fine collection of strong feminist writing." --Library Journal ". . .urgently, often brutally honest.. . a book about the successes and the failures of a whole generation of women discovering the lives they have to live. Their radical politics and sexuality, their longings for a family love they can endure, and their search for a usable tradition are sketched in so accurately, with such humor and pain. . . I came away from this book as if from a roomful of vivid and articulate people who have discovered they have nothing left to hide." -- Rosellen Brown return home |
BooksThe Colors of Jews: Racial Politics and Radical Diasporism (Indiana University Press)
"This is a big and important book, wonderfully free of . ..hyperbole, calcified rhetoric and self- aggrandizement. . . and hence a real pleasure to read. In her calm, reasonable, assured voice, with formidable intellectual clarity, a wealth of reading, a fine ear for balancing argument, statistic and anecdote, Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz throws open to questioning every assumption about the meaning of race, identity and justice––about the meaning of history––as these pertain to Jews and Jewishness and the immensely complicated issue of Jewish relatedness. The tidy conventions of tribalism and nationalism, with their carefully patrolled borders, are overturned, revealed as both defensive and aggressive fantasies beneath which a marvelously detailed, rich, dynamic complexity is roiling. Kaye/Kantrowitz is a courageous activist and thinker and her invigorating, illuminating book does what all great political writing should do––it refreshes your mind and spirit by effectively discombobulating habitual complacencies, and re-acquaints you with the world." ––Tony Kushner "The activist intellectual Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz has written a mind-stretching, moving and pragmatic book, based on extensive research, including many interviews, and on her experiences as an organizer with and among diverse communities. , .she draws on specific experiences from a spectrum of lively accounts by workers for change who have, like herself, been changed through activism." ––Adrienne Rich ". . a rich and exciting exploration of multicultural Jewish identity, a de-centering of Israel, a re-centering of Diaspora in Jewish life, and a look at what this all means for progressive Jewish activism." ––Paul Kivel, Anti-Violence Educator "Every once in a while a book comes along and smacks you in the face with its wisdom, intelligence, and compassionate politics. The Colors of Jews is such a book. . . an amazing tool for teachers and scholars in feminist, anti-racist, postcolonial and American studies, and for social justice workers everywhere. A book . . . by a comrade and sister who understands and respects difference, dissent, and solidarity at a deep level." ––Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Syracuse University "Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz's book is deeply thoughtful, emotionally challenging, and politically important. Sharing stories of those who are Jews of color, she addresses issues of race, class, identity, and culture, all within a framework of social justice. While she theorizes about these issues and incorporates the voices of many writers and activists, the beauty and strength of this book for me is the way in which she consistently connects it to who we are and want to be in the world and our daily, ongoing struggle for justice. I believe anyone interested in issues of justice will find this book enormously moving and valuable." ––Donna Nevel, Co-Director, Center for Immigrant Families "Feminist critic Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz has already produced a substantial body of progressive scholarship under the rubric of Jewish Studies. The Colors of Jews: Racial Politics and Radical Diasporism captures the diversity, complexity, and richness of Jewish experience, around the globe (including Africa) and in the U.S. (including Jews of color). In the aftermath of 9/11 and the volatile politics of the Middle East, this carefully researched and compelling study is timely and sure to provoke debate in various circles. It is an important contribution to our understanding of the Jewish diaspora and contemporary race relations writ large." ––Beverly Guy Sheftall, Spelman College "Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz has long been an astute interpreter of Jewish culture and politics. Her new study The Colors of Jews, is fascinating and provocative, filled with original insights. It will both inspire and challenge its readers to think more deeply and act more forcefully." ––Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College "I approached this many-layered, richly textured book as part of my quest to learn what enabled Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, an American Jew, to co-organize with me, a Palestinian Arab, a public demonstration on the steps of the New York Public Library one bitterly cold November 29, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. I've come to know a large number of Jews who share this faith in basic human rights and wanted to understand how they stepped outside what appears to be their mainstream. In this timely book, Kaye/Kantrowitz crosses cultures and centuries and draws on people's stories to trace the diverse multi-racial strands that make up the diversity of Jewishness.She describes a vision and a reality: the reality of the many colors of Jews who share a vision of a different world. These “diasporists” welcome mixed races and culture: “Our vehicle is not the bloodline but culture, history, memory." ––Nadia Hijab, human rights advocate "Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz is among our most creative, provocative and courageous thinkers and writers. She stands at that dangerous intersection where race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and class cross and clash, offering us tools to proceed with wisdom. In The Colors of Jews, she once again upsets our applecart of easy assumptions and expectations, challenging us to go beyond the usual lines that limit and divide us. Her work helps us – Jews and non-Jews alike–be better at understanding just who and what we are; it leaves us, whatever our self-perceived and real inadequacies, grateful to be human." ––Si Kahn, Executive Director, Grassroots Leadership The Issue Is Power: Essays on Women, Jews, Violence, and Resistance (Aunt Lute, 1992)
click title for more reviews "What would it really feel like to be a woman and to walk through the world without fear? [Her work]. . . pushes us to look beyond the usual solutions." -- Sojourner The Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women's Anthology (Beacon Press, 1989)
click title for more reviews Co-edited by Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz and Irena Klepfisz. "This potpourri of short fiction, poetry, essays and interviews is a vigorous, stimulating celebration of a multifaceted Jewish womanhood. Cultures outside the mainstream American experience are illuminated via memories of childhoods in a Jewish Sephardic home in Catholic Argentina and in a segregated Russian-Jewish community in China." -- Publishers Weekly We Speak in Code (Motheroot Publications, 1980)
"Integrity characterizes both the individual poems and the entire structure and spirit of We Speak in Code. Everywhere she makes the connections: between her past and the past of her female ancestors; between her everydays and the context agasint which all women survive, when we survive: between the intimacies of loving women and violence surrounding that love." -- Sinister Wisdom |
|
