Black and Off-White: An Investigation of African American and Jewish Conflict from Ashkenazi Jewish American Perspectives

In recent decades, increased attention has been turned to tensions and conflicts between African Americans and American Jews. The current study employed a qualitative research methodology and identified, described, and analyzed intergenerational Jewish perceptions of the concepts of "race" and "white privilege", and perceptions of African Americans and the relationships and conflict between African Americans and Jewish Americans. The study had as its theoretical foundation a taxonomy of intergroup conflict theory based on four distinct though interrelated levels: Realistic-Group- Conflict Theory, Sociopsychological Theories of Intergroup Conflict, Social Identity Theory, and Theories of Cross-Cultural Styles in Conflict. Research participants included sixteen Jewish Americans (primarily of Ashkenazi heritage), with an equal number of females and males of disparate ages (from 19 to 56), and across a wide spectrum of Jewish religious affiliations (from Orthodox Hasidic to Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, to those approaching Secular).