Jewish cabaret group partners with BLM in anti-racism video

A Jewish cabaret group has partnered with Black Lives Matter (BLM) in an anti-racism video to raise money for the Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE).

Along with singers from London’s The West End and from around the world, The JEWish Cabaret have recorded a rendition of Carole King’s ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ in 22 languages to show their solidarity with anti-racist groups globally.

The video, featuring 25 performers, was released on Monday, to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The project was born as a way for The JEWish Cabaret to show a universal allyship and support for the BLM movement, despite being isolated from one another, with many borders closed.

Since 1976, JCORE has worked both inside and outside the Jewish community to provide a Jewish voice on Race and Asylum issues. JCORE works to engage the Jewish community in social action across wider society, focussing on race equality and justice for refugees and asylum seekers

The JEWish Cabaret is an egalitarian theatre collaborative dedicated to challenging the perceptions of what it means to be Jewish by creating innovative theatrical productions inspired by their own Jewish identities. They draw on Jewish traditions, while also challenging them through humour, satire, and pride.

In reference to this project, they have said: “We wish to actively continue the long tradition of Jewish people standing in solidarity with communities of colour in their struggle to end racial discrimination, as taught by Jewish leaders such as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and others.”