Jewish Inclusion Seminar gives diverse voices a platform
The Jewish population is a small fraction of Cache Valley’s cultural and religious makeup, and the lack of synagogues or kosher markets lining the streets reflects the invisibility of this minority. Jewish faculty and students at Utah State University are building an inclusive environment for the Jewish community in Logan through the Jewish Inclusion Seminar series.
The series was a three-day event from March 25-27 featuring speakers, films and presentations meant to reflect the diverse experience of Jewish people from all backgrounds.
The series aimed to continue the success of the first annual Jewish inaugural event in 2023, which focused on identity and empowerment. This year’s event included three workshops.
Ronen Sebag, the senior advisor for inclusive excellence with the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, was the primary organizer of the series.
“We did the inaugural seminar series last year and there were two focal points,” Sebag said. “One was Jewish identity, and the other was talking about the unfortunate reality that we’ve been witnessing for several years, which is the rise in anti-semtism. We discussed manifestations of anti-semitism and ways to address it on and off campus.”
The first event garnered enough attention and people to make the series into an annual occurrence.
“It was very well received,” Sebag said. “Individuals from the Jewish community here in the valley attended, and many more who are not a part of the Jewish community attended, which is also our objective — to create connections and understanding.”
This year’s series event was a celebration of the diverse array of voices making up the community.
“The students felt that it was equally important to highlight elements that are typically not known about the Jewish community,” Sebag said. “We listened, and we decided to highlight the cultural and traditional aspects of Judaism not just as a religion, but as a whole.”
According to Sebag, people often view Jewish culture two-dimensionally and don’t recognize its inherent complexity.
“Judaism is a religion, a tradition and a people,” Sebag said. “It’s many things, and it depends on who you ask. Research shows there’s a vast continuum of how individuals identify themselves within the Jewish community.”
Judaism is sometimes associated strictly with religion. However, according to Pew Research Center, only 17% of Jewish people aged 18-29 identify as Orthodox, while 41% claim no particular affinity for American Judaism.
The goal of this year’s series was to provide a new level of depth previously misunderstood in an area like Cache Valley.
“The more we know about each other, the deeper we understand each other’s identities,” Sebag said. “We understand things that are important to us as individuals, across groups, across cultures and across traditions. Oftentimes that melts away implicit stereotypes.”
Sebag identifies as a Mizrahi Jew. Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews draw their cultural heritage from the Middle East, North Africa and Spain and represent distinct subcultures of Judaism. Ashkenazi Jews are the predominant ancestral group throughout Europe and the United States.
“Sephardi, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi traditions and cultures are equally beautiful and rich,” Sebag said. “It’s just that the Sephardi and Mizrahi traditions have not gotten their due representation.”
According to Jewish Virtual Library, only 0.2% of Utah’s population is Jewish. As a result, Jewish people are underrepresented, and those from non-American or from Ashkenazi backgrounds are often not represented at all. The series aims to alleviate this problem by featuring all subgroups.
“It represents the multifaceted diversity within the Jewish universe,” Sebag said. “That’s the objective: to show the diversity of Jewish culture, of the Jewish experience and of Jewish voices.”
Monday’s presentations featured Yael Gidanyan and Roni Fantanesh Malkai, encompassing Jewish-Ethiopian and Jewish-Iranian experiences. Tuesday focused on Jewish-Americans with speakers Judith Amsel and Eric Mendelsohn.
Amsel, a board member of the United Jewish Federation of Utah, discussed Jewish mothers and daughters for her presentation.
“It’s a very personal, kind of anecdotal presentation,” Amsel said. “Having been both a Jewish daughter and a Jewish mother, it was easy for me to speak to that.”
Amsel’s presentation tackled different stereotypes surrounding Jewish families and family dynamics.
“Stereotypes need to be understood as coming from a particular perspective at a particular place of time,” Amsel said. “At times, those stereotypes simply need to be imploded. It helps to explain why Jews may be perceived the way they are or why they perceive themselves the way they do.”
Amsel moved from Ohio to New York City to Ogden, where she said a small but active Jewish community thrives.
“The community has remained small, but it’s very vibrant,” Amsel said. “It seems counterintuitive, but by coming out here we were able to be in a place where it matters if you show up on a Friday night for services.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints majority in Utah has posed unique situations for other practicing religious groups emigrating from states who aren’t as closely tied to faith.
“We had no idea what it meant for LDS to be the dominant culture until we moved here,” Amsel said. “For example, when we want to go see plays in Salt Lake City, the FrontRunner doesn’t run on Sundays. The fact that I celebrate my Sabbath on Saturday means I have to make adjustments to the way I observe the Sabbath.”
As part of the United Jewish Federation of Utah, Amsel is working to increase the visibility and opportunity of Jewish people. The federation distributes funds and helps kickstart initiatives like the Hillel Program.
“Hillel is a program for college students which puts on Friday night Shabbat dinners, have speakers and provide support for students,” Amsel said. “The program in Utah is pretty much restricted to Salt Lake City.”
Hillel has one program at the University of Utah. According to Amsel, numbers and effort are necessary for a Hillel program to expand to USU.
“It’s always possible to have a sort of grassroots group if the work being done at USU right now continues, and people continue to come out of the woodwork and say, ‘I’m here and I’m Jewish,’” Amsel said.
Amsel said she hopes attendees gain a greater understanding of the depth of the Jewish culture.
“We’re certainly not monochromatic, and we cannot be painted with a single brushstroke,” Amsel said.
Iris Zaki, Sami Shalom Chetrit, Rotem Elkayam and Mara Rabin closed out the series Wednesday with presentations from Jewish-Moroccan, Jewish-Israeli and Arab-Israeli backgrounds. The series was aptly named “a diverse picture of Jewish voices, images and experiences.”
“It’s predominantly Jewish-American voices for good reason,” Sebag said. “That’s the vast majority of Jewish voices here. At the same time, the Jewish world is much more diverse so you’ll see a variety of voices at the event.”
Sebag said he lived in three separate worlds when it comes to the Jewish experience, having moved from Israel to Texas and finally landing in Utah.
“To be Jewish in Israel is a really positive privilege,” Sebag said. “You don’t even have to think about it. It’s just all around you. The holidays are Jewish holidays, you’re surrounded by Hebrew and you’ll find multiple synagogues within walking distance.”
According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, Jewish people comprise 74% of Israel’s population. In comparison, Pew Research Center has found that only 2.4% of the U.S. population is Jewish, congregated in major cities like Dallas or New York City.
“There’s a large Jewish community in Texas,” Sebag said. “There are multiple synagogues and most grocery stores have kosher that is certified by a Rabbi. There’s a Jewish community center and Jewish events. It’s not like Israel, but you can still live a very rich experience.”
According to Jewish Virtual Library, there were 5,650 Jews living in Utah in 2022. This small population size makes organizing certain traditions difficult, as the Torah dictates at least 10 people are necessary for public worship.
“There is not a single public Jewish space in Cache Valley,” Sebag said. “We are literally and figuratively invisible here. There’s not a synagogue, Jewish Community Center or Jewish student organization. It is challenging to be Jewish here.”
The series aimed to shine light on this invisible portion of Aggies by deepening understanding of the Jewish community and fostering connections between those that occupy Cache Valley.
“I really believe it’s important that we look at the bigger picture,” Sebag said. “Jewish Inclusion is one piece of the important puzzle, which is to provide an inclusive and welcoming environment for all students on campus.”