Some stories don’t need an introduction. They need a spotlight.
Kolot (Hebrew for “voices”) is a bold new webinar series from Voice of the People that shines a light on layered, unexpected, and deeply personal stories of Jewish identity—told by those living them. Each session brings forward voices often left out of mainstream narratives, making space for honest conversations around identity, belonging, and the evolving fabric of Jewish life.
That’s what this month’s Kolot webinar gave us—a stage for three unforgettable voices to speak their truths, not as case studies or representatives, but as full human beings. What followed wasn’t just a conversation. It was a moment. An invitation. A challenge.
Hosted by Voice of the People as part of the Kolot series, this session peeled back assumptions and let lived experience take the lead. Each speaker brought a different vantage point on what it means to be Black and Jewish. But together, they reminded us that identity is not a fixed label. It’s a dynamic, textured reality—one shaped by history, choice, geography, and imagination.
Paula Pretlow: The Power of Choosing
Paula Pretlow didn’t just tell her story—she owned it. Born in segregated Oklahoma, she traced her journey through the civil rights movement, corporate leadership, and ultimately, a chosen Jewish identity. “I found strength in the rituals,” she said. “But also in the questions Judaism allows us to ask.”
Her story made it clear: being Jewish isn’t always inherited. Sometimes, it’s built. Sometimes, it’s fought for. And that kind of ownership? It shows.
Nate Looney: Holding All of Who You Are
Nate Looney came in calm, sharp, and unwavering. A veteran, a trans man, and the Director of Community Safety and Belonging at JFNA, he spoke about the exhausting task of code-switching in Jewish spaces. “People try to put us in boxes,” he said. “But identity doesn’t work that way.”
His ask was simple but seismic: Let people show up whole. Let them be complex. Let the Jewish community stretch wider—not in theory, but in structure.
Katsuri Anderson: Rewriting the Script
Katsuri Anderson lit up the virtual room. A media producer with credits across Marvel, Netflix, and Warner Bros., she talked about what it’s like to rarely see yourself reflected—in Jewish spaces, or on screen. “So I started creating them,” she said.
Her message was clear: if representation doesn’t exist, build it. And do it with joy, with beauty, with honesty. She’s not just behind the scenes—she’s reshaping what’s in frame.
You could feel it through the screen: this wasn’t a panel. It was a reckoning and an honoring.
We talk about the Jewish people as a global family. But families have blind spots. This webinar was a gentle but firm push to look again at who we are, who we’ve missed, and who’s always been here.
What would it mean to build a Jewish future that doesn’t just tolerate difference but honors it as essential?
We’ll keep asking that question. This was the first in a series of Kolot events spotlighting underrepresented Jewish identities. More stories, more voices, more truth-telling is coming.
