Joey Friedman

Major: Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity

Honors Thesis: The Soul of the World Weeping Through Us: Constructing a Grief Ritual Performance as a Counter to Colonial Violence

This thesis explores Indigenous and Jewish diasporic wisdom to confront colonial violence and collective trauma. I draw upon on the scholarship of Healing Justice activists as well as my own Jewish lineage to grapple with diasporic survival amidst colonial violence. From the rich tapestry of diasporic Jewish wisdom, I unearth insights about grief enshrined within the yearly ritual process of Tisha B’av and the poetic tradition of communal lament which offer spiritual and political frameworks for redistributing power in the face of colonial catastrophe. These threads inform a ritual performance grieving the Israeli occupation and destruction of Gaza, heightened since October 2023.

Joey also served as the Jewish Studies liaison to the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE) for the 2022/2023 academic year.