A Star of David is visible among the ornamentation at the Brodyer Synagogue at the ordination of new Rabbis Shlomo Afanasev and Moshe Baumel on August 30, 2010 in Leipzig, Germany. Though both Afanasev and Baumel were born in the former Soviet Union, they grew up in Germany and are among a growing number of German-raised rabbis graduating from the Ronald Lauder-supported Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) A new relief fund is providing financial aid to Jews of color who are struggling economically due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Jews of Color Field Building Initiative announced the launch of an emergency relief fund on Tuesday. The San Francisco-based group will be providing aid of between $250 and $2,500 on a rolling basis to individuals struggling with basic necessities, such as rent, groceries and medical bills.
The organization has received two application since launching yesterday, said Angel Alvarez-Mapp, who serves as the initiative’s director of programs and opperations.
“What happens in the general U.S. community happens to the Jews as well. We don’t live in an isolated little bubble,” he said. “So we’ve been able to see that the impacts of COVID-19 not only are affecting people of color in the United States, but they’re also also affecting Jews of color in ways that are similar to the people of color community.”
African-Americans have been affected by the coronavirus and face economic struggles due to the pandemic at disproportionately high rates.
Jews of color as well as people of color working for or affiliated with Jewish organizations are eligible to apply.
“We were thinking about synagogues and JCCs and these massive buildings that run usually because there’s a staff of people behind the scenes that nobody really sees, who generally are not Jews, and those people are suffering right now,” said Alvarez-Mapp.
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