JTA
Elijah Cummings started a program that brings African-American teens to Israel
by Josefin Dolsten
August 1, 2019

Eight years ago Aaliyah Cuthrell knew little about the Jewish community, beyond what she had seen on a visit to her local Jewish community center to use the pool. Things look different now for the 24-year-old. As a high school junior, she joined a prestigious two-year program for African-American teens in Baltimore. The program, founded by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., seeks to strengthen ties between the African-American and Jewish communities in his Baltimore district. As part of her fellowship in 2011-2013, Cuthrell met with Jewish teens, attended seminars on topics such as anti-Semitism and the Holocaust and spent close to a month living in a youth village in Israel’s north. READ MORE