Tagged Selma march

John Lewis and the Jews: 6 moments that showcase an enduring alliance

John Lewis, D-Ga., and Norbert Bikales, who was part of the Kindertransport from Berlin to France in July 1939 following the deportation of his parents and brother to Poland, light one of six candles representing the more than six million Jews who were killed during the Holocaust, in a ceremony in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., April 9, 2002. (Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)
July 22, 2020 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — When John Lewis, the civil rights icon and congressman from Georgia, died at 80 over the weekend, Jews in America and abroad lost an ally of nearly six decades. Lewis never tired of telling folks to “get into good trouble,” to defy the authorities and the… Read more »

Black lawmakers vow to stand by Israel despite sitting out Netanyahu

Rabbi Jonah Pesner, left, the new head of the Reform movement's Religious Action Center, and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) in Selma, Ala. (Courtesy photo)
March 10, 2015 /

WASHINGTON (JTA) — It was not the first time John Lewis had invoked the Jewish-black alliance that fought for equality during the civil rights era. But it was the first time that the Georgia congressman, a civil rights hero, invoked it to explain why he was skipping a speech… Read more »

Pursuing justice in Alabama: Angeleno recalls rough summer of ‘65
January 14, 2015 / Edmon J. Rodman, JTA
David Sookne, front left, and Bruce Hartford, third from right, in Alabama during a voter registration drive in 1965. (Courtesy of Bruce Hartford)

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — How big of a “We” were the Jews in “We shall overcome”? Since the nationwide release of “Selma” a week before the national holiday commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I have wondered about the extent of Jewish participation in the civil rights movement.… Read more »