Rabbi Walter Isaac addresses the topic of Hebrew Israelites in course for Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute

Rabbi Walter Isaac presents course on Afro-Jews, Colonization and the Modern Fight for Emancipation for the Jewish Spiritual Leaders' Institute

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, June 19, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Rabbi Walter Isaac presented a course on Afro-Jews, Colonization and the Modern Fight for Emancipation for the Jewish Spiritual Leaders' Institute on May 21st. The current two cohorts of Rabbinic students were enthralled to hear about the history of American Hebrew communities of color.

The Jewish Spiritual Leaders' Institute is a progressive program for Jewish professionals who are called to become Jewish clergy. The program focuses on offering its students pragmatic rabbinics and current topics that resonate with the modern Jew.

Walter R. Isaac, PhD is a rabbi and scholar who researches the African influences on Atlantic world Jewish history and culture. For three decades he has worked as an advocate for marginalized communities, including Hebrew/Israelites, LGBTQ persons and victims of urban violence.

Dr. Isaac’s writings can be found in scholarly publications such as Contending Modernities, Violence in American Society, the Journal of the Middle East and Africa, Black Existentialism, and a seminal article on Afro-Jewish Studies in the Blackwell Companion to African-American Studies. He is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Rabbi Isaac is currently the President of the Olaudah Equiano Institute, a nonprofit organization promoting human rights and educating the public about Jewish diversity. www.equianoinc.org.

ABOUT SIM SHALOM AND JSLI

Sim Shalom is an interactive online Jewish Universalist synagogue which is liberal in thought and traditional in liturgy. Created in 2009 by Rabbi Steven Blane on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Sim Shalom offers a means of connecting the unconnected. Rabbi Blane and Associate Rabbis lead accessible Shabbat services every Friday night using a virtual interface and additionally Sim Shalom provides online education programs, Jazz concerts, conversion and life-cycle ceremonies along with weeknight services at 7:00PM EST.

Rabbi Blane is also the founder and director of the Jewish Spiritual Leaders' Institute, the online professional rabbinical program and of the Union of Jewish Universalist Communities, http://www.ujuc.org.

Sim Shalom, a non profit 501 © (3) tax-exempt organization, nurtures a Jewish connection through its mission of innovative services, creative education and dynamic outreach to the global community. For more information visit the website or call 201-338-0165.

Carole Kivett
Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute/Sim Shalom
+1 201-338-0165
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