Why Jews Should Invest Communally in Low-Income Non-Jewish Communities

By ABIGAIL WEINBERG

When Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his most famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, I wasn't even born. Still, his message of inclusiveness and his vision of African-American uplift rooted in the uplift of all Americans have served as a key inspiration to me as I work, year to year, in Jewish life.

Inclusiveness, after all, is what I seek as a liberal Jew: I'm part of a Jewish community that is held together by its boundaries without being imprisoned by those boundaries; that counts every Jew without discounting non-Jews; that lifts up Jewish spirituality and culture without vilifying or ignoring the cultures that surround us.

The theme of particularism versus universalism - "Is it good for the Jews?" versus "Can't we liberate everyone?" - is central to Jewish identity. In my work for The Shefa Fund and in my own synagogue community, I have found that the pull of particularism has renewed strength. People are rightfully concerned about the loss of Jewish identity, the impact of intermarriage on their Jewish communities, the isolation of Israel, the resurgence of international anti-Semitism, and so on. Within the synagogue and in other organized Jewish activities they are searching for the strongest possible affirmation of their particularism as Jews.

Meanwhile, I find that Jews on the outside of Jewish life are often literally repelled by the very question, "Is it good for the Jews?" and attracted powerfully by the prophetic vision of universalism. In a world far too divided, they feel, between rich and poor, young and old, West and East, men and women, and so on, indulging a feeling of Jewish "special-ness" or "chosen-ness" is seen as retrograde. As a result, these Jews lose touch entirely with the inspirational core of our tradition, our calendar, our Jewish values and identities.

In that remarkable speech that I was too young to hear live, but which has, thank God, become a fundamental American document, Martin Luther King, Jr. revealed the pathway by which we can begin to integrate our particularism and our universalism. In his speech, he urged that the "marvelous new militancy which has engulfed" the African-American community "not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers [sic], as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom."

Apply this wisdom to the contemporary Jewish community and it yields Jewish partnership with non-Jews, -- universalism - rooted in Jewish teachings and values - particularism. The Rev. King, were he Rabbi King, would have taught that the "marvelous particularism that has engulfed the American Jewish community should not lead us to withdrawal from the concerns of all people, for our identity and survival is inextricably bound to the destiny of all."

For the past 4 years, The Shefa Fund's TZEDEC Economic Development Campaign (TZEDEC) has been encouraging Jewish institutions and individuals to break through the wall of particularism that has defined our tzedakah and tikkun olam activities for so long by helping them explore the concept of investing in non-Jewish, low-income community development.

By enabling Jews - particularly those leading the Jewish community - to practice community investing, TZEDEC hopes to see Jewish resources put to work for the benefit of the broader community in a way that truly creates partnership between the two communities.

Community investing is most often done by making loans and deposits in community development financial institutions, or, CDFIs. CDFIs are essentially modern day Hebrew free loan societies, whose primary mission is to meet the needs of low-income communities that do not otherwise have access to financial services. CDFIs have worked for over three decades to link unconventional borrowers- primarily women, minorities, and other traditionally "high-risk" borrowers - to the economic mainstream. CDFIs are locally-controlled, federally regulated organizations that focus on both a financial bottom line and a social bottom line. There are currently more than 550 CDFIs working in every state in the US, controlling $7.6 billion in total assets.

Different CDFIs serve different needs, but they all contribute to the improvement of communities. Some of what they make possible include:

• construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing;
• loans for small businesses which offer quality employment opportunities and needed services to economically disadvantaged communities;
• loans for community facilities providing childcare, healthcare, education, art, and social services in marginalized communities;
• Individual lines of credit to help secure mortgages for first-time home buyers.

One of the first CDFIs in which TZEDEC invested was Shiloh of Alexandria Federal Credit Union which serves the members of the Shiloh of Alexandria Church, founded over 170 years ago by former slaves. Most of us in the Jewish community can't fathom how important an $18,000 TZEDEC investment can be; yet, it allowed Shiloh to make a loan to a woman named Karen who was in bad financial shape when a boyfriend left her with a child and many bills to pay. Karen's payday loan, credit card late fees and high rates made it impossible to dig herself out of the hole she was in. Luckily she had her credit union. After reviewing her debts, Shiloh Credit Union made a $3000 debt consolidation loan at 11% that paid her debts off. She hasn't missed a payment in two years.

It is not hard to see the benefit of community investing to the communities they serve. But what are the benefits to our particular Jewish community? There are at least three reasons why wide spread Jewish communal investing in low-income neighborhoods is "good for the Jews."

1. Community investing educates and engages unaffiliated American Jews Many Jews who have been involved for years in secular philanthropy, have spoken about how meaningful it is for them to be able to wed their political commitments with their dormant Jewish identities. Jews who have not felt connected to their Judaism also tell us of their excitement at being able to "do good" as Jews and through a Jewish organization.
2. Community Investing Helps Low-Income Jews Today Community investing has improved the old urban centers of Jewish life and offers opportunities for Jews to reinvest in the neighborhoods from whence they came. For example, In Boston, the Jewish Employment and Vocational Service runs the area's only micro-enterprise loan fund - making loans of $250-5,000 to create jobs for Ethiopian and Russian Jews along with other immigrants and minorities.
3. Community investing allows American Jews to fulfill our historical mandate of helping the stranger because we were once strangers in the land of Egypt and in this land as well. American Jewish wealth was itself fostered by community development strategies. The prominent historian Rabbi Henry Feingold has pointed out that the most critical ingredient in the American Jewish economic success story was the prototypical CDFI, the Hebrew Free Loan Society, which enabled Jews to withstand credit squeezes caused by anti-Semitism during the first quarter of the 20th century.

Today, in the very cities where our people found their way through self-help networks - cities in which Jewish real estate, retailing and other urban-based businesses flourished - poor people are trying to apply the same self-help strategies to their communities. Jewish institutions are behooved to remember that we, too, were strangers in the land only two generations ago and to give support to those who are struggling similarly today.

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Throughout our history, Jewish survival has depended on Jews caring for Jews. Jewish interests were primary, and interaction with non-Jews was often a luxury that a small, persecuted people could not afford. Today, however, while concerns about Jewish continuity and survival are certainly still relevant and it is still important to care for each other and support the Jewish community, most of us are in a position to look beyond our own particular needs and extend a hand to those struggling today with what our ancestors faced.

On the weekend of his birthday, Dr. King's dream remains a call to all American's - black and white, Jew and Gentile - to work together to fight the persistent problems of our society. It remains a call to our communities and to each one of us to make sure we are using our resources at every level to fulfill our Jewish ideals. Investing in low-income community development is a first step towards this goal.

For more information about community investing contact Abigail Weinberg, TZEDEC organizer at aweinberg@shefafund.org or 215-483-4004.