Navigating Diversity and Identity in Jewish Organizations: An Interview with Edith Pick
By: Kathleen McMahan
November 8, 2024
Dr. Edith Pick, a postdoctoral associate at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, and the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, as well as a lecturer in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and the Hornstein Program, has spent years examining how Jewish identity is understood and politicized within Jewish communal spaces. Her background is in organizational research, with a particular focus on identity and diaspora. Originally from Israel, she completed her Ph.D. at Queen Mary University of London, studying diversity in Jewish organizations.
Her work with nonprofits in Israel and the U.K. eventually brought her to the United States, where she found that Jewish identity, while unified by certain cultural and historical touchstones, varies significantly between Israel and the Jewish diaspora. “Moving to the Jewish diaspora in the U.K. and then in the U.S. was eye-opening. It showed me how differently Jewishness is perceived, experienced, and managed outside the Jewish State,” Pick reflects, “I became interested in what this means for organizational practice, and how the complexity and diversity of Jewish identity fits into organizational theory, discourse, and practice.”
Pick was attracted to Brandeis not only for its deeply rooted Jewish values and ethos but also for the diversities it offers that go beyond the Jewish community. “As a social agent that shapes public discourse, [Brandeis] navigates its commitment to advancing Jewish concerns with a broader vision of social justice. This intersection brings tension, as we have seen since the painful war in the Middle East started over a year ago. So, for me, Brandeis is a stimulating environment to think about Jewish identity and organizational life,” she explains.
In this interview, Pick shares her insights into the dynamics of diversity and politics in Jewish organizations, and how Brandeis undergraduate students can navigate conflict and promote feelings of community on campus.
Exploring Diversity and Politics in Jewish Organizations
Professor Pick recently published an essay in The Elgar Research Handbook on Inequalities and Work (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024) in which she examines how diversity and politics intersect in Jewish organizations, primarily in the U.K. Her interest in the topic came from analyzing organizational messaging such as in diversity statements, mission statements, and values, along with interviews conducted through her PhD work with employers, employees, and volunteers. “When Jewish organizations talk about political differences, issues related to Israel-Palestine often take center stage. In many cases, this type of politics is much more present than local British politics,” Pick explains, “It was also fascinating that many organizations emphasize and celebrate political and ideological diversity as a core value, but at the same time, they are strictly Zionist, and strongly advance ideas of unity and loyalty to Israel.”
Her research also opened up avenues for exploring ethno-racial diversity and concepts of homeland, as well as Jewish identity within DEI organizational frameworks. “It was clear that in Jewish spaces, white-presenting Jews are sometimes constructed as White and sometimes as non-White. This made me wonder what diversity management can possibly mean in a space where identity is so elusive,” she says. By conceptualizing Jewish nonprofits as diaspora organizations, Pick found her attention shifting to the concept of “Jewish space as a place where relationships with homeland are formed,” with homeland being seen as more of a concept or idea than a physical location. This relationship can be complex, according to Pick: “Diaspora organizations can be a space where the homeland is celebrated but also where it is contested. It can be a space where nationalist narratives are reproduced and also challenged. In this in-between, transnational, space members can question issues of belonging and loyalty.” Such “transnational spaces” have continued to fascinate Pick as an organizational researcher.
In viewing Jewish nonprofits through a diasporic lens, Pick’s work frames how “politics of diversity” evolve within these organizations. She identifies four key relationships between diversity and politics in her research, which offer tools for exploring issues related to diversity and politics within these diasporic contexts, and in organizations as a whole.
- Politics of Diversity: How socio-political and historical contexts create identity and define diversity within organizations.
- Political Case for Diversity: The motivation to manage diversity as a means of fostering national unity, particularly around Israel.
- Managing Political Diversity: Handling political ideological differences within an organizational setting.
- Diversity Across Political Boundaries: How issues like Israel-Palestine influence diversity discourse in Jewish diaspora communities.
Advice for Brandeis Undergraduates on Navigating Conflicts
When asked about how students can navigate difficult conversations and conflicts related to current events, Professor Pick offers two pieces of advice. First, she encourages a broader understanding of Jewish identity and what it means to care about Jewish concerns. She believes that different perspectives—whether they focus on Israel, broader human rights, or are disconnected from the issue altogether—should be seen as genuine and legitimate. “We can see how on U.S. campuses today, Israel and Palestine carry different meanings to young diaspora Jews. Some Jewish groups focus on a more particular Jewish agenda around protecting Jewish lives, safety, lands. Some Jewish groups organize to protect life and human rights in a broader sense. Other Jews may be disconnected and alienated from Israel-Palestine altogether,” Pick explains, “There is a challenge for some Jewish mainstream organizations to accept that protecting Palestinian lives is, and can be, a Jewish concern too. This act of expanding what Jewishness means also occurs when we challenge the construction of Jewishness as Whiteness, when we challenge Eurocentric perceptions of Jewish culture, and when we challenge the notion that Jewishness is only a matter of faith or ancestry.”
Pick also encourages students to explore “intellectual confrontation,” stating that “When we focus on ensuring that everyone feels comfortable, that discussions are balanced, and we keep emphasizing what we have in common – we lose something. Democracy is about disagreement, not unity.” Pick believes that students can hold respectful and civilized debates, through mutual respect and a recognition of the historical roots of DEI: social justice and repair. “I would embrace not just inclusion, but also critical thinking, involvement and action, curiosity, and self-reflection,” she concludes.
This interview was abbreviated for the purposes of this piece.