Reform Judaism

Healthcare Activists Look at Pinchas

2009-07-13T04:15:09Z

by Larry Kaufman
On behalf of the Just Congregations Healthcare Team
at Beth Emet - The Free Synagogue, Evanston, IL

When I'm called upon to prepare divrei Torah, my usual procedure is to look at the parasha and try to extract a message that will establish its relevance to my hearers or readers. But for this foray into Biblical explication, the procedure had to be recalibrated. I was invited to the bimah this past Shabbat to talk about the work of my congregation's Just Congregations Healthcare Team, and had to work backwards from its message to the sedrah.

Fortunately, the parasha was Pinchas, so the quandary dissipated. Pinchas not only deals directly with healthcare, beginning as it does with the end of a plague that has killed 24,000 Israelites, but it also stands out as a manifesto for taking action and standing up for one's rights, along with other parallels to our work as a Just Congregation. Now, since other Reform congregations and other faith communities share our concern, I invite others to latch onto our cause on its merits, if not on its connection to Pinchas.

As the parasha opens, our ancestors are still wandering in the wilderness, paralleling the economic wilderness which heightens our concern about healthcare and healthcare reform. Our congregations would at any time be concerned about millions of Americans without medical insurance - and 14,000 more losing it every day as it vanishes with their jobs -- al achat kama v'kama, how much more so are we concerned when the Jew in the next pew, and others of our friends and neighbors, are jobless and thus plunged into that coverage vacuum.

Without Moses or Joshua to lead us out of the wilderness, we have turned to Jonah - not the Jonah of the whale, but Rabbi Jonah Pesner, who has one whale of a mission in heading the Reform Movement's Just Congregations initiative, guiding Reform congregations to apply the principles of community organizing to the expressed needs of their communities.Rabbi Pesner's visit to Beth Emetlast year gave impetus to our Just Congregations process -- sharing stories, listening, and responding to specific cases when we can, but also seeking cures for the underlying causes through coalition efforts -- as our siddur suggests, joining hands with others and marching together.

Our Just Congregations stalwarts interviewed over one hundred Beth Emet members with a central question:What keeps you up at night? Among the pervasive concerns, health issues were a prime driver for congregants' insomnia: access to affordable providers, to social services, to 24/7.care for an elderly parent, to solutions for replacing the health insurance that disappeared along with their lost jobs.

If dozens of our congregants tell stories like these, think of the many more we haven't reached, or who have been reticent, and if these situations prevail in such numbers in our congregation, think about the prevalence of similar problems in the greater community. The situation mandates action; to know exactly what to do, we seek guidance both from the Torah, and from congregants who share our concerns.

We come to Pinchas remembering that the previous week's episode in the Biblical narrative closed as an enraged Pinchas summarily executed Zimri and his Midianite lover Cozbi, for publicly flaunting their idolatrous liaison. Now, as the new sedrah begins, Pinchas and the community are rewarded for his zealotry in upholding God's word.

The Rabbis are troubled by Pinchas taking matters into his own hands rather than following due process, but God's verdict in this case is clear -- in extreme circumstances, you seize the moment, and stamp out a dangerous situation before it spreads.Pinchas comes down to us as a meritorious symbol of zealotry, a positive role model for taking prompt action.

God now instructs Moses to do what God often instructs Moses to do when things get slow - take a census, or to use today-speak, compile a database.The people have some challenges ahead of them, as they get ready to take possession of their promised land, and it's important to know what and who their resources are.Our team has been working to take a census of our resources, to identify the people in our congregation who need help with health-related issues, the people who can provide help or at least access to it, and the social activists who can connect us to coalitions seeking to repair a broken system. The Reform movement, through our Religious Action Center and its coalition partners, is already on record as favoring a single payer solution, but ready to support lesser remedies that include a public option.The important thing is that we put the needs of people ahead of those of insurance companies.

We have invited the congregation to an open meeting in the interest of census and consensus - the two-way sharing of information, to learn what's on the mind of our concerned participants, and to hear suggestions from a panel of experts on affordable insurance, low-cost medical care, available social services ,and political action for improving the U.S. healthcare system.This will create a platform for deciding what to do next.

That platform will be built on the lesson extracted from part three of Pinchas, the tale of the daughters of Zelophehad.Living in a society where men owned all the real estate, the five brotherless sisters come to Moses to assert their right to inherit their father's property,

Moses consults with God, and the sisters prevail, not onlysecuring their own inheritance but establishing the ongoing right of women to inherit.Tradition says the favorable verdict was a direct outcome of the Z girls' proper presentation of Talmudic arguments - but the point we derive is the importance of standing up for one's rights, even, maybe especially, when they seem counter to the status quo.

The parasha continues with Godonce again sending Moses to a mountain-top, this time to view the promised land that Moses will not enter. Weary and too-often challenged, Moses reminds God of the need for succession planning, and the orderly designation of a new leader.Clearly he is now ready to fade off into the sunset.Moses's condition reminds us that we Jews are the fastest aging segment of the American population, making health care reform a parochial and personal issue as well as an expression of our universalistic concern with social justice.

In sum, Pinchas teaches us to be zealous in doing the right thing at the right time, to end a plague that menaces our community. It reminds us to start by tallying our own resources so we can move forward effectively. The daughters of Zelophehad role-model the need to speak up, to assert the right to affordable access to care, and coverage, for every member of our community and our society.As individuals, as congregations, and as coalition partners, we have to take our case to the highest levels:making sure our representatives in government hear our views, joining with our Reform movement leadership and our partners in other faith-based communities, in traveling out of the wilderness to a promised land of health care and social justice for all Americans, struggling or secure, young or old, employed or unemployed.

We are not only a Just Congregation, but also a just congregation, and our values demand that we be rodfei tzedek, pursuers of justice.We invite you to join your hands with ours as we march out of the healthcare wilderness.

This is the Week, Let's Make it Ours

2009-06-24T21:08:15Z

by Rachel Cohen
Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center
(Originally published on the RACBlog)

Have you ever thought about taking action on climate change and wondered, "does my voice really matter?" If so, then today is your day! Congress is about to vote on the most important piece of climate and energy legislation in years, and many members of the House of Representatives (especially the "Blue Dog" Democrats) remain undecided. Despite weeks of drafts and compromises to bring the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) to this point, much uncertainty about the bill and its fate remains. Many of our own partners in the faith community are unsatisfied with the aid provided to the most vulnerable developing nations to adapt to climate change, and some of the most progressive environmental groups claim that targets for emissions reductions and renewable energy are insufficient to the challenge we face. And of course, there are still those who refuse to take any action on climate and energy.

To be clear, this bill is far from perfect. Still, the American Clean Energy and Security Act is a historic piece of legislation - the first climate bill to get to the House floor at all - and we must do all we can to strengthen the bill AND move the process forward. As we struggle to rebuild our economy, we need clean energy legislation to unleash investments and jobs building wind farms, installing solar panels, and weatherizing and retrofitting homes. These clean, green jobs will help get our country back on track and protect our planet.

As the landmark climate change report released last week and carbon calculator recently unveiled in Midtown Manhattan demonstrate yet again, this is a truly urgent issue. We are already seeing the effects of climate change - not just in low-lying or drought-prone regions around the world - but all across the U.S., and if we do not move forward now, we may not be able to avoid the worst impacts. So this is the time for action; the time for each and every one of us to speak up and call on our elected officials to lead the way to strong domestic laws, and a global deal on climate change at Copenhagen later this year.

Expect a week filled with long nights and hard fights on the Hill, and follow the debate - through the RAC's blog and special climate resources, Facebook, and Twitter pages - and on the front pages of your favorite news outlets and advocacy groups. Call or write your Member of Congress and urge him or her to take action for a clean energy future TODAY, and talk about the issue that brings you to the climate and energy debate (green jobs, environmental justice, clean energy, wildlife protection, etc). And, of course, let us know how we can help you make your voice even louder. Because if there was ever a time to speak up, this is it.

Why I Am Fasting for Darfur

2009-06-16T17:24:27Z

by Rabbi David Saperstein
(Originally posted on the RACBlog)

Today I find myself once again fasting for Darfur. My first fast for Darfur, which I did only a few days after being arrested with Representative John Lewis, four other members of Congress, and leaders of Darfur advocacy groups, was undertaken to underline the urgency of the suffering in the internally displaced persons camps in Darfur after President Bashir had expelled over a dozen aid groups from the region.

Now, though, three months later, as I take up the same fast again, the situation has not materially improved. Aid groups report that while they have covered some gaps, their efforts are neither sustainable nor sufficient. Food and other supplies have been unable to be pre-positioned before the rainy season in necessary amounts. Aid groups report that hunger and water-borne diseases will spread in the rainy season, with feared results of mass migration. Children are disproportionately susceptible to the results of insufficient sanitation, food and medical supplies. Families in other parts of Sudan also suffer as aid groups were pushed out.

All this while our hopes for a lasting peace in Sudan also dwindle, as reports of clashes in South Sudan has raised death rates to levels even higher than that of Darfur.

On my last day of fasting, I am honored that rabbis from around the world will join in the fast. Fasting is a traditional part of Judaism, usually accompanying the memory of a great tragedy or deep repentance. But we cannot let this fast be a yearly activity, as our traditional fasts are. If that is the case, it will mean the world will have allowed the children of Darfur to slowly die, not the quick deaths at the hands of the Janjaweed, but slow deaths of hunger and disease, while promises and negotiations fail to return life-saving aid to these displaced people. Let us do everything possible to ensure that this will be the last fast necessary to draw attention to the urgent need for both relief and long-lasting peace for the people of Sudan.

Together, activists around the world have committed to continuously pounding the drumbeat for Darfur, and Special Envoy Gration is working hard to negotiate a restoration of the humanitarian aid and to restart a just peace process and recent reports are that he is making progress in his negotiations. Yet they have still not been able to stop the suffering that is at once urgent and slow-moving. Negotiations about returning aid groups have not yet achieved real results. So, the stomachs of one group of our nation's moral leaders will be hungering this Thursday to draw attention to people who are dying - urging the restoration of aid to the people of Sudan.

Rabbis who wish to join the last day of Rabbi Saperstein's fast on Thursday, June 18, can RSVP here.

Eulogy for Dr. Tiller

2009-06-09T17:49:42Z

by Rabbi David N.Young
(Originally posted on the RACBlog and Rabbi Young's Blog)

The poet Marcia Falk adapted a poem ascribed only to the name Zelda, called "Each of Us Has a Name," which reads in part:

Each of us has a name given by the source of life and given by our parents

Each of us has a name given by our stature and our smile and given by what we wear

Each of us has a name given by our enemies and given by our love

[On Sunday, May 31st] in Wichita, KS, a man whose name is known to many in the political, social action, and medical communities was shot and killed in his church. He was serving as an usher, handing out programs much like our Shabbat greeters do here at Temple Sinai. His wife was singing in the choir when a man walked in, shot and killed Dr. George Tiller, and ran away.

Dr. Tiller made a name for himself, given to him in many forms. He was named a friend and supporter of Kathleen Sebelius, our current Health and Human Services Secretary. He was dubbed "Tiller the Baby Killer" by Bill O'Reilly. He was labeled hero by the hundreds of cards and letters that line the walls of the Women's Health Care Center. He was named "Godless Murderer," and "Church-Going Martyr," in the same article of the Wichita daily newspaper. He was called father to four, and grandfather to 10.

I have been to Wichita only once -- April 9th to 15th, 2006. Natalie and I met Dr. Tiller, and spent time with him in his clinic for a week. We did not want to go, but to us there was no real choice. About a month before our ordination and investiture from HUC, Natalie was 34 weeks pregnant, and we discovered that the baby had microcephaly and lissencephaly. In plain English, the head was too small, and the brain was not developing. The first, second, and third opinions all told us the same thing. Our baby would not live outside the womb. So Natalie and I made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy.

In the United States, abortion is legal, but it is up to the states to determine limitations or restrictions on these laws. The Women's Health Care Center in Wichita is one of three locations in the US that legally performs late-term abortions, or abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy. Dr. Tiller was referred to us as the best of those three, so we quickly made plans to fly to Wichita.

Though I do not wish this experience on anyone, I can say that Dr. Tiller deserves his designation as a caring, compassionate professional in his field. My memory is weak about our time there, perhaps subconsciously as a defense mechanism. I remember fake wood paneling on the walls, worn couches in several different waiting areas, and sympathetic faces on everyone on staff.

We were there with three other couples, all going through the same thing, though for different reasons. Not one person was there because of an unwanted pregnancy. All of us were distraught that our babies could not survive outside the womb. Dr. Tiller and his staff guided us gently and honestly through this incredibly painful process.

Throughout our week there, Natalie spent a lot of time asleep or in a drug-induced haze, so I had a lot of time to sit in our hotel room and think. I kept a journal when I could handle it emotionally, and I read. I read emails and magazines, and studied a little Mishnah. I took in the words of Tractate Niddah (5:3) which says, "A day-old son who dies is to his father and mother like a full bridegroom." This phrase stuck in my mind, especially the use of the word "bridegroom." There are many words the Talmud uses to distinguish different stages of life. It could have said elderly man, full-grown son, or young man with equal gravity to describe a parent's loss. Using "bridegroom" must be intentional, and it works on two fronts.

The first is independence. A bridegroom is clearly of an age where the parents have completed raising the child until he is ready to be on his own. They know who he is, the kind of person he is, what interests he has, and what his aspirations are. Their loss equals the loss of a fully developed human being, no matter what age he is.

The second speaks to emptiness. Even before a woman gets pregnant, she is making plans for the child's life. When a couple discovers that they are going to have a child, the plans begin. If this is the birthday, then this will the Bar Mitzvah. This will be graduation, and hopefully around here is the chuppah. Who knows, maybe by this year we'll be grandparents! Describing the loss as "like a full bridegroom" reminds us that we are going to miss out on every simchah that might have been, from birth to the wedding and beyond.

Dr. Tiller had an understanding of this pain, perhaps better than anyone who has never gone through it personally. As a doctor he was upfront about everything he was about to do and everything we needed to do to make things go well. When we arrived, he sat all four couples down and told us everything that was going to happen. He showed us the instruments he was going to use. He told us how the drugs would make the women feel. He told them flat out that it was going to hurt and she needed to be ready. He was brutally honest. He told us that he had lost a patient about a year and a half prior to our visit. He asked if we had questions, and when challenged, he answered respectfully and honestly.

He also asked about us. He wanted to know who we were, what we did, and how we lived as couples and families. When it came out that Natalie and I were about to become Jewish clergy, he mentioned that his on-staff chaplain was not Jewish, but he wrote down the name and number of a local Reform rabbi who we might want to talk to. Admittedly, we did not use the number. So the next evening, that rabbi called us in our hotel room. He said Dr. Tiller had called the synagogue, let them know we were in town, and said he suspected we weren't in a place where we could make the first move. He invited us to Passover Seder at his home two nights later, and said we could decide anytime up to dessert being served that we wanted to show up, and that he would understand if we wanted to keep to ourselves. All because Dr. Tiller cared enough to make sure someone was reaching out to us.

Judaism acknowledges that life is sacred. Dr. Tiller personified the value of pikuach nefesh, saving a life, putting his own life at risk every day in order to fulfill this value. Jewish tradition dictates that before Kaddish we do not say the name of non-Jews unless they fall under the category of gerei tzedek, the righteous gentiles who live ethical and valiant lives. In that vein we will add Dr. Tiller to Temple Sinai's Kaddish list tonight, honoring him as a ger tzedek.

In the words of Dr. Cheryl Gutmann, Chair of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism: "As our hearts and prayers go out to Dr. Tiller's family, we think of his personal heroism and that of the other brave and courageous providers and professionals who are part of reproductive health centers across this country."

Zelda's poem closes:

Each of us has a name given by our celebrations and given by our work

Each of us has a name given by the sea and given by our death

Zichrono livrachah: May his name be remembered for a blessing.

Saperstein Video Blogs About Obama's Cairo Speech

2009-06-08T14:25:47Z

by Kate Bigam
(Originally posted on the RACBlog)

After President Barack Obama addressed the Muslim community in a speech in Cairo, Egypt, Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the RAC, recorded a video response to the speech for Patheos.com, a newly launched religion website.

Check out Patheos' page on the Obama speech, where you can watch video responses from Rabbi Saperstein and from Eboo Patel, Director of the Interfaith Youth Core. Responses have also been posted from religious leaders across the country representing various faiths. Here's Rabbi Saperstein's take:

The Reform Movement also responded to the President's speech in an official statement. In it, Rabbi Saperstein says:

We are hopeful that today's speech, which was broad in its scope and ambition, will form a solid basis for U.S. Middle East policy. History has shown that U.S. leadership is critical to advancing the cause of peace. To that end, we look forward to working with President Obama, Prime Minister Netanyahu and others to realize a peaceful and secure future for Israel and her neighbors.

For more Jewish reactions to the Cairo speech, JTA has a nice round-up of organizations' responses. What did you think of the speech?

Ask Judge Sotomayor

2009-06-02T14:07:43Z

by Jessica Weiser
(Originally posted on the RACBlog)

So, we have a nominee in the pipeline. Now what? The confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice does not happen overnight. In fact, it takes an average of 72 days for a nominee to go from being named to being confirmed. (If your knowledge on the judicial nominations process is a bit rusty, check out the RAC's one page summary of the nominations process and the ways that you can have an impact.)

The next major landmark in the process will be the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on Judge Sotomayor's nomination.

The hearing is a chance for Senators, after reviewing Judge Sotomayor's record and her opinions in various cases, to ask her questions about her approach to the law and her stances on various legal issues.

And, it is a chance for the American public, via these Senators, to pose questions to Judge Sotomayor. That is why the RAC has set up a website (www.askjudgesotomayor.com) where you can submit questions that you want members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to ask Judge Sotomayor during her hearing. We will compile all of the questions that are submitted and communicate with the Committee to be sure that some of them are raised. Please submit any questions that you would like raised and forward the link to friends who are also interested in finding out more about Judge Sotomayor.

Also, check out this great article from yesterday's print edition of the Chicago Tribune (an expanded version of a blog post about the RAC on the Tribune's site earlier this week), highlighting the RAC's work on judicial nominations and enumerating the reasons why other religious organizations should get involved!

Obama at the National Archives: Political Theatre at Its Most Powerful

2009-05-22T02:21:19Z

by Mark J. Pelavin
(Originally published on the RACBlog)

Today's speech by President Obama laying out his plan for closing the detainee center at Guantanamo Bay was a masterful example of the power of political theatre, in all the best senses of that term. I was honored to be in the Rotunda of the National Archives to hear the President speak.

As at any theatre performance, even before the performers take the stage, you take note of the set. By choosing to speak at the National Archives, flanked by the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the President's embrace of the rule of law was dramatically reciprocated; he was, in turn, embraced by our most fundamental laws.

You also take note of the audience. President Obama's exhortation to adhere to the rule of law was emphatically clear, especially to the front row of his audience which included the Attorney General; the Secretaries of State, Defense, Homeland Security; the Director of the CIA; and the National Security Advisor. Every good director knows you need to have the key characters on stage at the key moments. Their future actions will be shaped by what they hear.

What about the script? The script, the message, must be at the heart of great theatre. And this was the key to the power of today's speech. The President knew what he wanted to say, he spoke to both our loftiest values and to the gritty specifics of the situation. He grounded his approach in our most deeply-held values, but in doing so made clear that his approach was not about idealism for idealism's sake. He said:

We uphold our most cherished values not only because doing so is right, but because it strengthens our country and keeps us safe. Time and again, our values have been our best national security asset - in war and peace; in times of ease and in eras of upheaval.

All of this, of course, is not to say that there is no room for substantive disagreement. Although we are encouraged by President Obama's plan to close the Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay and reform the process through which detainees currently held there will be brought to justice, the Reform Movement continues to have concerns about the use of the Military Commissions system to try detainees and by the abuse of the State Secrets Privilege.

Finally a word about the performer. I found this to be among the President's most effective speeches (and, yes, that's saying a lot). He was clear about what he was doing and why, but never cocky. He was forceful, but not bullying. As he usually does at his most effective, he connected his life story with the policy he was expounding.

It's easy, too easy, to write off the atmospherics of speeches as mere staging. Sometimes, though, the theatricality of an event can do exactly what great theater can do - help us to better understand our world.

Mr. Netanyahu Comes to Washington

2009-05-18T20:56:25Z

by Mark J. Pelavin
(Originally posted on the RACblog)
Mark J. Pelavin is Associate Director of the Religious Action Center as well as Director of the Commission on Interreligious Affairs of Reform Judaism.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due in Washington this week for his first meetings with President Obama. The meetings will kick off a major diplomatic campaign for the President, who will welcome the Prime Minster, President Mubarak of Egypt and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority between now and the end of the month. According to the White House, "With each of them, the President will discuss ways the United States can strengthen and deepen our partnerships, as well as the steps all parties should take to help achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and the Arab states."

There is lots of interesting advance commentary about the meeting in this weekend's papers. Here are some of the best "curtain raisers:"

Writing in The New Republic, Shmuel Rosner, who blogs at Rosner's Domain on the Jerusalem Post's website, offers this fairly optimistic analysis. Here's a key paragraph:

... the outlook of these two leaders is much more alike than commonly thought. The meeting between them will be a delicate dance of the inner realist in both: In the updated version of Netanyahu, Obama will find a leader that's looking for practical solutions for the overwhelming problems he has to deal with. In the post-election version of Obama, Netanyahu will find the leader who still carries the slogan of "change," but at least in the international arena is quite far from being the wide-eyed naïf that some people had hoped he will be. The tension surely has the potential to explode. But for the time being, it is a dance. And for every couple, as important as this first dance might be, the important question is whether this will be followed by a second dance."

Over at the New York Times, Jeffery Goldberg, whose blog on the Atlantic website can (and should) be read here, focus on the Prime Minister's thinking on Iran.

... Netanyahu faces the daunting task of maintaining Israel's relationship with the United States, while at the same time forestalling Iran's nuclear program. If Iran gains nuclear capacity, Israel will have judged him a failure as prime minister; if he does serious damage to his country's standing in Washington, he will have failed as well.

I was also very interested in this full page ad, addressed to President Obama, which the Israeli Policy Forum ran in the New York Times. As the New York Jewish Week's Jim Besser notes here, it is quite an usual "welcome letter" for an Israeli Prime Minster.

Finally, Jim Besser (yes, him again), in the New York Jewish Week, has this very good overview of what to expect (with a focus on the atmospherics).

What do you think we should expect? What will mark this visit as a success?

Sustainability Conference a Huge Step Forward for American Jewish Community

2009-05-18T14:51:33Z

by Rachel Cohen
(Originally posted on the RACblog)
Rachel Cohen is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center.

It's always an exciting moment when the four main streams of American Judaism - not to mention a dozen other national Jewish organizations from the JCC Association to the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education - join together as part a single unified initiative. That is exactly what happened when the RAC's Rabbi David Saperstein, Jesse Paikin of the URJ Camps Department and I represented the URJ this week at a meeting of more than 40 leaders from across the broad spectrum of the organized American Jewish community for the first national Jewish Sustainability Conference.

On May 11 and 12, we gathered at the incredible Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center outside Baltimore for two days of learning, workshops, and discussion on sustainability. This complex and often misunderstood terms has many implications but, at its core, sustainability means creating communities that meet the basic human needs of all of their members by rethinking and often limiting both what we take from the natural world and the by-products that we put into the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the public spaces we enjoy together. We came to understand how the American Jewish community can unite around the goal of building safer, healthier communities for ourselves and our children based on these fundamental principles. The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), a program of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, organized and sponsored this historic gathering and is poised to lead the way toward a more sustainable Jewish community following the Conference.

We began the conversation by talking about buildings, a shared foundation for all of our organizations and the source of 30% of our operating costs and an equal percentage of our carbon emissions. The buildings owned and operated by the Union for Reform Judaism, with our 900 synagogues and 12 camps across the United States and Canada, have a massive impact on the environment. We are already taking steps forward as a Movement - through our online Greening Reform Judaism initiative and extensive programs at many of our synagogues and camps - to reducing our environmental impact and even leaving a positive footprint on our natural world.

While the topic of 'greening' has become all the rage in recent years, rarely does the conversation extend beyond how we can reduce our carbon footprint and cut our energy bills by changing a few light bulbs or turning down the thermostat. However, at the Conference we learned about how to frame all of the choices we make as individuals and communities- from transportation choices to the type of food we eat (local, organic, vegetarian, etc) to the materials and labor practices that go into the products we purchase - with an eye toward investing in systems that are healthier for everyone. This means much more than just "greening" our facilities, though that is certainly a wonderful and important place to start. When we see environmental issues within the larger framework of building sustainable futures, we come to understand that we can all take steps toward a healthier world without decreasing our standard of living or further tightening our already short budgets.

Building communities and institutions that can coexist with our surroundings is not only essential for our long-term ecological survival, but also part of a Jewish imperative to protect vulnerable communities, refrain from activities that destroy our natural resources, and ensure opportunities for present and future generations to thrive in a healthy environment. This is true sustainability, and it is an idea that all Jewish communities can agree on.

It was inspiring to join with leaders from so many Jewish organizations that are already taking steps toward sustainability in their own communities. The participants hope that by joining their efforts, the American Jewish community can become a leader in promoting sustainable communities. However, my colleagues and I understand that our meeting this week was only the first step on a long journey toward creating a more educated, aware, and active community of practice on this issue. We are committed to learning from each other and the efforts of our institutions, and working together as a unified Jewish community toward this common goal. And we hope you will join us along the way!

To get involved, please visit us and sign up for our new Greening Reform Judaism online community. And stay tuned for more ideas on what you, your synagogue, and your community can do to not just to 'go green,' but to become truly sustainable!

For more information on the Jewish Sustainability Conference, see the JCPA Press Release.

Reflections on the AIPAC Conference

2009-05-07T19:52:53Z

by Rabbi David Jay Kaufman
(Originally posted on the RACblog)
Rabbi David Jay Kaufman is the rabbi at Temple B'nai Jeshurun in Des Moines, Iowa. All views expressed are his own.

There is a false perception that somehow an organization of the political right. Anti-Israel groups have worked hard to give people that false impression. Many in the Jewish community see AIPAC also (wrongly) as an advocate for the Israeli political right. In many ways, Jewish peace groups are responsible for that falsity. One need only look at the depth and breadth of the AIPAC Policy Conference to see the dramatic error in those false conceptions of AIPAC.

AIPAC is a bi-partisan organization seeking to maintain and strengthen the bonds of friendship between the United States and Israel. It does not advocate for or against specific policies of the nation of Israel. AIPAC's lobbying agenda this year included three things, all of which were sponsored by leading Senators and Representatives from both parties.

First, efforts need to be strengthened to increase the diplomatic pressure put upon Iran to cease its development of nuclear weaponry and to allow its nuclear efforts, regardless of whether they are intended for peaceful purposes as Iran contends or for military purposes as others contend, to be monitored far more closely by the IAEA. Failing this effort, should Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, the Middle East will become a new home for nuclear proliferation as other nations will follow in their footsteps. Additionally, as a grossly destabilizing force in the Middle East, Iran's power and influence would be strengthened, something that bodes ill for the future of the region. To have the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world in possession of nuclear weaponry will enhance the threat that all terrorist organizations backed by Iran pose to Iran's enemies, which includes at the top of the list, Israel and the United States. Furthermore, to have Iran, which has threatened Israel's demise, in possession of the means to execute that plan is simply unconscionable. Thus, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act is being introduced in the House and Senate by leading members of both parties in the hope of achieving an end to Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions short of military action by strengthening sanctions against Iran.

Second, as there is a new administration and new Congress in Washington, there is a desire to reiterate the basic points essential to maintaining a positive working relationship between the United States and Israel regarding the peace process. To that end, a letter was written to President Obama, again with bipartisan origin, asking that the fundamental principles of the peace process be maintained, namely that the US must continue to insist that the Palestinians recognize Israel's right to exist, that they renounce terror, and that they abide by previous resolutions. This is particularly important considering efforts to form a unity government including Hamas, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist, promotes and practices terror, and refuses to abide by previous resolutions. Additionally, the administration is asked to promote a bi-lateral solution to the crisis between the Israelis and Palestinians with the understanding that imposed solutions have failed to achieve positive results. The parties must negotiate face to face with each other.

Third, maintaining the security assistance to Israel and passing the entire foreign aid bill is essential. The assistance is vital to Israel's security and since 75% of the money given in aid is spent in the US, foreign aid also provides a stimulus to our economy.

These three issues have overwhelming bipartisan support.

As I listened to Shimon Peres, the President of Israel - once vilified in Israel for his dovish attitudes by its political right and who spent almost his entire speech talking about Israel's pursuit of peace - being shouted down by American Jewish peace protestors chanting "Free Gaza," as if this Nobel Prize winning peace maker wanted something other than freedom for the people of Gaza, I felt strengthened. Peres' voice of peace, honored by AIPAC, was far more powerful than the "peace protesters" voices in support of ignorant hatred. I wanted to call out to those souls blinded by hatred of their fellow Jews, "Free them from Hamas! Free them from hatred!" But to have interrupted Shimon Peres again would have been to insult the desire for peace, because that desire was the central theme of his speech that day and that desire has been the central theme of his life. Three misguided protestors brought that point home all the stronger.

The first protestor shouted without listening as he said, "It is clear in our eyes that peace may require painful compromises, difficult concessions. Compromises require two conditions. First, peace must be real, lasting, mutually respected. We have to guarantee that our children - actually, all children - will be free from war, will breathe the fresh air of peace - all children, from all nations, from all parties. And then, secondly, peace should enable Israel to protect its people, to realize the fundamental responsibility of a free government, namely to defend its people from harm, to enable them to meet opportunities."

The second protested jeered without caring as he said, "The same is true for the future of the Palestinian people as well. I say it loudly, because I believe in it more fondly. The Palestinian people have the right to govern themselves. We don't want to be their masters. They have the right to invest their resources, to direct aid to civil high tech, not military rocket - to books, not bombs - to their people, so their people can be both free and prosperous, free from fear, free from hunger."

The third protester stood and blotted out his memory when he remembered, "I can still see with my eyes and feel with my heart when President Sadat landed from Egypt. We thought he came from the moon. If Anwar Sadat had not courageously taken the one-hour flight between Cairo and Jerusalem, I doubt peace would be achieved. We were ready. He showed his readiness."

And at the conclusion of his speech, he might as well have been speaking to those protestors when he said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, to know the future you have to remember our history. Calling history is actually remembering the past. But as you know, we are pragmatic people. So when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he turned to his people and called them. "People, listen, Israel. Shema Yisrael." He asked them - he asked us - to listen, so we shall be able to hear the prophetic message, the mountainous music of peace and justice to this very day. But as you know, we are pragmatists. So the people replied, "We shall do and listen. Naaseh Venishma."

AIPAC is an organization that includes large numbers of Christian supporters of Israel from every ethnicity in America, of every economic level, and of walk of political life. It is an organization for all of those who support Israel's security and advocate for its peaceful future. It's membership does not by any means all agree on the ways to go about achieving those goals, but that membership understands that the friendship between the United States and Israel is essential to them and mutually beneficial. If only more of us listened, perhaps more of us would do the right things. Naaseh v'nishma!

Od yavo shalom aleinu v'al kol Yisrael v'al kol amim. Some day peace will come for us, for all of the people of Israel, and for all peoples.

Smell the Justice of Coffee! And Chocolate! And Flowers!

2009-05-06T16:33:48Z

by Micaela Hellman-Tincher
(Originally posted on the RACblog)
Micaela Hellman-Tincher is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center.

Special thanks to Legislative Assistant Rachel Cohen for her contributions to this post.

This weekend, you can help set a world record AND build a more equitable and environmentally sustainable global economy simply by taking a coffee break. A Fair Trade coffee break, that is. On and around May 9th, join activists and concerned global citizens to celebrate World Fair Trade Day by indulging in a cup of Fair Trade coffee, chomping on a Fair Trade chocolate bar, or giving Fair Trade flowers to a loved one. To learn more about the World's Largest Fair Trade Coffee Break, check out their website for tips on planning an event (even tips on making sure that your event- like Fair Trade coffee- is environmentally conscious) or finding one near you.

Fair Trade certified products are produced in an environmentally sustainable manner by workers earning good wages, working under safe conditions, and often participating in cooperatives that democratically decide how to invest profits into their communities. Non Fair-Trade coffee, on the other hand, is often sold through middle-men who demand that local farmers sell at very low prices to ensure their own profits despite the constant flux in world coffee prices. Farmers end up losing money when they are forced to sell at prices lower than the cost of production, creating a cycle of debt. This system also often encourages clear cutting forests and other environmentally degrading practices that cut short-term costs at the expense of sustainable growth.

Introducing Fair Trade products to your home, school, workplace, and congregation is an easy way to start a conversation about global responsibility just by switching coffee brands. While it may cost a little more, you can be sure that your coffee and other Fair Trade products are made in a way that encourages community growth and environmental protection, rather than the exploitation of workers and the planet. Equal Exchange has faith resources that can help you begin the discussion in your synagogue and community.

It is easy to find Fair Trade products. Just look for a Fair Trade certification label at the grocery store (a good guide of products can be found here), or order online.

Can't get enough fair trade? After your coffee break, buy fair trade flowers or chocolate for Mother's Day and throughout the year. As Transfair's website explains, these gifts will not only please your mom, but also moms everywhere who benefit from the higher wages, more sustainable environments and social programs that are possible through fair trade certification.

Crack the Disparity

2009-05-06T14:35:10Z

by Jason Fenster
(Originally posted on the RACblog)
Jason Fenster is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center.

Last week the Crack the Disparity Coalition held its second annual (and last) lobby day seeking to reform the egregious crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity.

The lobby day was a very exciting experience. We kicked off the day with speeches from Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), the lead sponsor one of the legislative options, Hilary Shelton of the NAACP, and Rabbi Saperstein, who delivered an inspirational and rousing speech that can be found here. There were people from across the country: community leaders, clergy, educators, and concerned citizens. They came and spoke to their Senators and Representatives about a foolish drug policy that has been a blemish on the American criminal justice system for over two decades.

For those unfamiliar with the problem, our current sentencing policy creates a 100:1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine. In practice, this means that for 5 grams (the weight of about 2 sugar packets) of crack, a person gets a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison. The trigger for that same 5-year sentence when it comes to powder cocaine is 500 grams (the weight of about 10 Mr. Goodbars). While there are countless reasons that this policy is foolish and ineffective, the most troubling statistic I have encountered is that while 1/3 of crack users are Black, they account for 81.8% of defendants (page 4 of this Sentencing Project report). Clearly, a policy with such severe racial implications ought to be addressed.

With an ever-booming prison population, it is crucial that we start taking a serious look at the failed War on Drugs and how we can and must reform our policy. Thankfully, the tide is shifting and, more and more, people and authorities are recognizing the importance of instilling justice and fairness into our drug policy. In the last week there have been editorials urging sentencing policy reform in the Philadelphia Inquirer (4/27), Huffington Post (4/28), New York Times (4/30) and Boston Globe (5/1) as well as calls from the Justice Department and President to eliminate the crack-cocaine sentencing disparity. (Time Magazine also had an interesting article last week that received a lot of buzz. It discussed the effectiveness of decriminalization in Portugal as a model for national drug reform).

As I mentioned before, this year was the second annual and last national lobby day crack reform because this year, we are going to win. We have been waiting 23 years and, as Rabbi Saperstein said: "Together we can, we must and we will succeed."

Earth Day: Door to Door L'Dor va Dor

2009-04-22T16:08:03Z

By Barbara Lerman-Golomb
(Originally posted on the RACblog)
Barbara Lerman-Golomb is a member of the Commission on Social Action and the Northeast Camp Commission. She is the Director of Education and Outreach for Hazon and an author, environmental activist and experiential educator. All views expressed are her own.

There's no question about it, "green" is in and not just on Tu B'Shvat and Earth Day. For me, this is taking some getting used to since it's been out for so long. But while "green" may be in, according to a Pew Research Center poll taken a week before the inauguration, global warming ranks dead last on the public's list of concerns.

I first started talking publicly about global warming over 15 years ago, before it became the issue du jour - when it was still called "global warming" and not the more accurate "global climate change." Common sense and public health idrew me to it. I'm also predisposed to having a penchant for underdog causes, which to borrow a phrase from Al Vorspan, Director Emeritus of the Commission on Social Action, is what being a nudnick for social justice is all about.

In 1999, I was living in rural New Jersey when it became one of the first states to deregulate its electricity. I was a volunteer for an inter-religious group called Partners for Environmental Quality, now GreenFaith, which was instrumental in bringing a renewable energy company, Green Mountain, into the state. We were going "door to door" trying to encourage houses of worship and their congregants to purchase renewable energy. It was a hard sell considering they still had to pay for energy through their regular public utility. (It wasn't much easier when I ran a fund raiser at my synagogue in 2000 selling compact fluorescent light bulbs - CFLs - for $10.00 a pop when you could get a regular incandescent bulb for 99 cents!) My argument was always the same: Making lifestyle choices like purchasing renewable energy is simply the right thing to do. I went "door to door" for l' dor va dor.

Renewable energy has remained a hard sell even though many public utilities make it easier by allowing you to purchase it directly through your regular energy bill. The proposed national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) would require utilities to generate at least 25% of their power by 2025 from renewables such as wind, solar and geothermal, which can be supplying a much greater proportion of America's energy needs. This would create a large and increasing market for clean, renewable sources, reduce global warming pollution, create jobs, and save consumers money. As citizens we can begin to do our part by urging our representatives to sign on as co-sponsors of this bill.

When I spoke at synagogues and churches and uttered the scientific term "global warming" those many years ago, people's eyes glazed over. The devastating statistics and disaster scenarios were too doomsday-ish. So, I started opening with a Woody Allen joke to lessen the blow before going into the urgent need to take pekuach nefesh action. It became more difficult to soften the blow when I began speaking on panels with real people living in small island states and developing nations who were already experiencing the affects of flooding or drought, already becoming climate refugees;" or after the record deadly heat waves sweeping across Europe; or after Hurricane Katrina and other extreme weather patterns.

The energy issue, in general, is confusing: trying to figure out the most economic and efficient way to deal with emissions of heat-trapping gases; trying to decipher carbon offsets, carbon trading, carbon tax, carbon caps, and cap and dividend. To add to the confusion, whenever I went out to do my talks and I touted energy that was CO2 free, invariably someone in the audience would bring up nuclear power. In the height of the No-Nukes era, when I was a 19-year-old college student, I made a public service film about the dangers of nuclear power with a Japanese physicist and Cat Stevens singing "Where Do the Children Play?" in the background. As we know, this issue hasn't gotten any easier to address.

Fortunately, there are some creative people out there who see the challenge of solving the energy issue as a chance to put on our global and American ingenuity "thinking caps." But even with the current administration on board and great minds working on the problem, we can not become complacent. We need to move global warming from the issue du jour to the main menu. For me, this has meant engaging in everyday energy actions, as well as continuing to advocate for clean air and clean water, protecting endangered species and national forests, supporting a healthy food system, increasing fuel efficiency and renewables, and moving towards a more sustainable energy policy. If I didn't, what kind of self-respecting nudnick for social justice would I be?

Housing Beyond Homelessness

2009-04-08T17:18:33Z

by Rabbi Asher Knight
Assistant Rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Dallas
(Originally published on the RACblog)

Our Jewish texts and sources say little about the Jewish responsibility to build affordable housing. We have no biblical command that mandates, "Thou shall build affordable housing for the needy in your community." Yet, we have texts that instruct us to share our bread with the hungry, to welcome the poor into our homes, and to clothe the naked (Isaiah 58:6-7). Our people and our tradition are well aware of the problems of poverty and homelessness. The challenge for us, as American and as Jews, is to broaden the scope of our thinking about housing beyond the homeless and poorest of the poor.

We must ask ourselves a few questions: How do we consider the needs of those who have housing but whose housing is insufficient? How do we advocate for those who are working one, two, or three jobs but cannot afford to live in neighborhoods that nourish their children's lives? How do we respond to the needs of the elderly - whose mobility may have decreased, whose income is fixed, and who cannot afford to sell their homes and move to corridors that have access to food, healthcare, and public transportation?

Our challenge is to think of housing more broadly than homelessness. Our challenge is to think about how our communities can be great places to live for people making all kinds of livings. The key is to understand that affordable housing doesn't just provide shelter. Affordable housing can affect our health, it can be an anchor for our children's education, it often boosts our economic position, and enhances our sense of safety and community.

In the area of affordable housing, Temple Emanu-El is engaging in both study and action.
In late March 2009 our community began building our fifth home with Habitat for Humanity. Over the next three months we will have over 200 congregants working on the house. On March 26, 2009, we also hosted an affordable housing forum titled "Chasing the American Dream-Affordable Housing and the Role of the Private Sector in the Public Good." With more than 160 people in attendance, our panel included Mary Suhm, Dallas City Manager; Brent Brown, an architect and the Founder of building community WORKSHOP; and Regina Nippert, the Executive Director of Dallas Faith Communities Coalition. These people are première experts of affordable housing issues in Dallas County. Our community is having an impact with our Habitat house and by confronting the broader, systemic, and complex issues facing housing in our city. After the forum, over 50 congregants responded and said that they were interested in working on the issue. We are now in the process of developing advocacy committees with our partners in the Dallas Faith Communities Coalition.

Our tradition tells us that for forty years our people walked from servitude to liberty. The desert experience teaches us important lessons about the inherent difficulties we can face when have no permanent homes. From our experience in the desert, we learned to have compassion for all people, to build communities that strive for excellence in education and learning, to ensure access to healthcare and doctors, to care for our elderly, and to assemble communities of faith and tradition for sacred encounter. Let us think of affordable housing in ways that will nourish the generations of our communities tomorrows. Let us actualize and realize the lessons that our people learned in the desert as we build communities that include affordable housing.

Galilee Diary - Green thoughts IV: Ponzi and Heschel

2009-04-07T15:08:54Z

by Marc Rosenstein
(Originally published in Galilee Diary and Ten Minutes of Torah)

The solution of mankind's most vexing problem will not be found in renouncing technical civilization, but in attaining some degree of independence of it. In regard to external gifts, to outward possessions, there is only one proper attitude - to have them and to be able to do without them. On the Sabbath we live, as it were, independent of technical civilization: we abstain primarily from any activity that aims at remaking or reshaping the things of space. Man's royal privilege to conquer nature is suspended on the seventh day.
- Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath (1951)

American immigrants here always used to joke about how the new developments and cultural fads of Europe and North America generally took a decade or two to find their way into our mainstream. Often we had the sense of living in a state of delayed development. We were still carrying reusable baskets and even refillable bottles to the market when America had long changed to disposables; we were still mostly riding the buses when everyone in America had a car. Now, however, the time lag has shrunk considerably, probably to zero. Indeed, I think we were even ahead of America in the use of ATMs and later, of cell phones. So now, the world-wide fad in environmentalism has arrived here pretty much simultaneously with its flowering elsewhere. We too now recycle plastic bottles (though only the 1.5 liter ones); we too now use cloth bags instead of plastic at the supermarket; the elites are even buying hybrid cars and installing solar panels.

I wonder, however, if these admirable actions are not merely band-aids on a cancer. As I suspect is the case elsewhere, it is not clear that these visible fads are associated with a deeper understanding of the fundamental problem. We may put our stuff in cloth bags, but are we buying less stuff? We may be building greener homes, but are we building fewer and smaller homes? We may be using more fuel-efficient cars, but are we driving less? My sense is that these measures, which are certainly good and useful, do not address the deeper cultural phenomenon of consumerism, of the assumption that the goal is to make, have, build, and buy more, that growth is necessary. But if in fact resources of space, and energy, and water, are ultimately limited, then, sooner or later the system has to fail. A few months ago only business historians knew what a Ponzi scheme was. Now the whole world knows. And as a number of commentators have pointed out, the category seems applicable to the entire consumerist system - we keep distributing dividends to ourselves by taking more from the next wave of investors, who in this case happen to be our children; when the oil/water/open space run out, we won't be around to suffer the consequences.

For decades, many of us - and not only the Orthodox - thought that there was something right and appropriate that Shabbat in Israel was an official day of rest, when businesses were closed. That seemed part of what a Jewish state was all about. Of course it led to hardships and inequities and made life difficult for many people, and one could always argue about how rigidly it should be enforced - and about who should have the authority to decide just what should be allowed. Ultimately, over the years, the claim of individual rights has trumped that romantic notion of a Jewish state, and the capitalists and secularists have "won" over the clericalist bureaucrats - many malls are open on Shabbat, and are packed with shoppers, for shopping is, after all, a form of family recreation (at least here we don' t yet see child-size shopping carts with the sign "consumer in training"). So we have a victory for individual freedom - and a sad failure by Israel to demonstrate the power of our tradition to stand against the tide of consumerism, a missed opportunity to find a way to integrate the powerful universal message of Shabbat (as articulated so well by Heschel) into the culture of the Jewish state.

Galilee Diary: Green thoughts III: humility

2009-03-24T18:39:01Z

By Marc Rosenstein
(Originally published in Galilee Diary and Ten Minutes of Torah)

We will dress you in a dress of cement and mortar;
We will spread for you carpets of gardens;
On the soil of your redeemed fields
The grain will sing out like bells.

Through the desert we will carve a road;
The swamps - we'll dry them all up.
What more we can give you, we will,
What haven't we given that we still can give?
-Nathan Alterman, from "Morning Song" 1934

Originally written for a Keren Hayesod (European UJA) fundraising film, this song by perhaps the most popular and prolific Israeli poet and songwriter of the pre-state and early state period was sung by generations of school children until it fell out of favor in recent years. The song's disappearance from popular culture is a striking indicator of the change in consciousness that has occurred and is occurring regarding our relationship to the land of Israel. For decades we lived on the myth that Israel had once, long ago, been a fruitful, green land - in the years when we were sovereign here and cultivated and cared for the soil. But then, when we left, the land fell into disrepair and was abused - armies cut down the trees, goats ate the new growth, silt plugged up the streams - leaving the dismal and pathetic combination of swamp and desert that the Zionist pioneers found when they returned.

Our mission therefore was restoration, development, showing our love for the land by redeeming it from its misery. We set out to drain the swamps, to green the desert, to build passable roads, to replace the miserable hovels and stagnant villages of the Arabs with modern, orderly, healthy, towns and cities. Out of a backwater of the Ottoman empire we envisioned creating a European utopia. Of course, this vision implied that the status quo was unnatural, that what we were doing was rehabilitation, restoring the land to its original healthy state.

Reality, as is so often the case, turned out to be a bit more complicated than myth. As the twentieth century went by, we discovered that demonstrating our love for the land by dressing it in cement wasn't so romantic after all; especially when we had to carve up the mountains to quarry the limestone to make all that cement - leaving that carpet of gardens under a pall of haze and smog from the quarries and kilns. And the classic case study in misguided enthusiasm for reclamation was the draining of the Hula swamp in the 1950s, perceived for years as the pinnacle of the Zionist effort to renew the homeland... Until we found out that the swamp had served important ecological functions - not only as a habitat, but as a filtration system for the water entering the Kinneret, and as a stabilizer for the soil in the entire valley. Dust storms, fires, soil collapse, mouse infestations - our great achievement brought us a series of plagues until, in the 1990s we re-flooded sections of the valley (creating what is now a popular and beautiful nature reserve).

The Hula story is a cautionary tale about humility in our relationship with the land - about the temptation to think we know more than we do. The green movement has had some impact on popular culture, but we still have not gotten over our need to show our love for - or our possession of - the land by bulldozing and paving it.

When you rent for years and then move into your own home, you feel this sudden liberation - you can drive nails into the wall, paint the woodwork any crazy color you want - the house is really yours to do with as you will. Zionism was like that. But now that we've asserted our freedom of ownership, we need to sober up and consider how to keep the house solid and livable for our grandchildren.

The Epidemic in our Backyard

2009-03-19T18:32:34Z

by Jill Zimmerman
(First posted on the RACblog)
Jill Zimmerman is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center.
A new report released Monday by D.C. health officials says that at least 3% of residents in our nation's capital are living with HIV or AIDS, a 22% increase from the nearly 12,500 reported in 2006. And since research indicates that one-third to one-half of infected people are unaware, the real number is almost certainly higher.

That makes the D.C. AIDS epidemic worse than West Africa's.

According to the report, every mode of transmission is on the rise, and it's affecting every race and sex across the population and neighborhoods. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to increase testing, and to introduce a marketing campaign emphasizing the use of condoms and clean needles and other forms of prevention.

Mayor Fenty seems to have the right idea. While the AIDS epidemic is particularly frightening in D.C., this is certainly not the only city facing a crisis. And the best way to stop it is through comprehensive, medically accurate education about sex and contraception.

On Tuesday, Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced a bill called the Responsible Education about Life (REAL) Act, which would create the first ever federal funding stream for comprehensive sex education in public schools that includes information about both abstinence and contraception. Comprehensive sex education is effective not only in preventing teen pregnancy, but also in preventing sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS. Given the economic crisis and current budget constraints in many school districts, we cannot afford to continue spending over 50 million dollars a year on ineffective abstinence-only programs that discuss only the failure rates of contraceptive methods.

This weekend, the RAC--along with Advocates for Youth, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the United Church of Christ--is hosting an interfaith Sexuality Education Advocacy Training. Over 35 young adults from across the country are coming to the capital to learn how to be advocates in their communities for comprehensive sex education in their schools. Look forward to a blog next week about the training from Cara Fisher, RAC conference planner extraordinaire!

Lines, lines, lines

2009-03-17T14:18:52Z

Reflections from visit to refugee camps at Dadaab, Kenya
by Rabbi Marla J. Feldman
(This is the fourth in a series of posts from Rabbi Marla Feldman's recent trip to Kenya to deliver insecticide-treated bed nets purchased through the Reform Movement's Nothing But Nets campaign, which is underwritten by the U.N. Foundation.)

Traveling back from Kenya we were struck by the number of lines we had to go through at the airport. There was a security line to enter the terminal, another line to check in, another security line into the gate area and no less than two security lines to get into the gate itself. Lines, lines, lines.

So too, we saw many lines when we were at the refugee camps at Dadaab. Upon my return, I was asked whether the refugees ever became hostile or rebellious in the face of the abominable conditions in which they live. My response was that most seemed beaten down by the daily rigors of their existence... miles of walking from one line to the next in equatorial desert heat, hours upon hours of waiting for each service for which they depend for their sustenance, cultural norms that keep women and children silent and subservient, and the world's indifference to the plight of the most long-suffering refugees in Africa.

Upon arrival to the camp the refugees wait outside the gates, squatting on the sandy soil in family clusters, carrying whatever possessions they have. More than 500 per day arrive at the camps that already have tens of thousands more than they should hold. Those with family members already in the camps may have sought to join them, only to be redirected to a different camp that still has room for new-comers. They can't just 'squat' with family members because without formally registering they cannot receive the necessary paperwork for their food rations or other critical support.

Once ushered into the registration area, new arrivals stand in line for an initial intake - name, nationality, family members. Then they stand in another line for their children to receive vaccinations - without health records the assumption is that children have not been inoculated and are at risk for yellow fever, measles and a host of other killer diseases that the developed nations eradicated long ago. They also receive bed nets as they go through the initial health post, though without having received living quarters yet, the set-up demonstration seems lost on them. Next they wait in line for more formal intake and finger-printing, which is a new system in place to prevent refugees from registering more than once to get additional ration cards. Then they wait in more lines to be assigned a plot for their family and receive the basic necessities to build their stick/twig hovels.

Once situated, there are even more lines to wait in for basic necessities. Lines to fill jerry cans at the water taps, impossibly squeezing out enough water for drinking, cooking, laundry and hygiene, recently reduced from the optimal 20 liters per day, per person to only 10 or 13 liters, depending on the camp. Twice a month they stand in lines to receive their food quota from the World Food Programme. Periodically there are lines to receive "NFIs" - non-food items such as mattresses, blankets, pots, bowls and, again, bed nets. Then there are the lines at the health posts where they go for maternity care, child wellness and urgent care. Those with more serious medical needs wait in lines outside the single hospital in each camp and, if lucky, can see one of the volunteer doctors who visit periodically to provide surgical support to the camp's two resident doctors.

Lines, lines, lines. Patience born of resignation and depression, defeated by the blazing sun that saps every bit of energy, and submission resulting from 20 years of life in these forgotten camps.

I'll no longer complain about the lines at the air-conditioned, restaurant-laden, wifi hosting airport in which I write this message.

Delegation to Dadaab-Feb. 09

2009-03-10T13:55:01Z

By Stephanie Garry
(This is the third in a series of posts from Rabbi Marla Feldman's recent trip to Kenya to deliver insecticide-treated bed nets purchased through the Reform Movement's Nothing But Nets campaign, which is underwritten by the U.N. Foundation.)

I had no idea what to expect--traveling to Kenya to visit refugee camps in Dadaab. I had been on safari to Kenya 14 years ago with my husband and son and so loved the air of the land and the romance of the sky---and the vistas of animals on our planet.

While I knew this trip would be of a different nature--I could not have prepared myself for the overwhelming experience I was about to have.

After our 24 hour journey from New York we arrived in Nairobi for 6 hours of sleep before departing for Wilson Airport to catch our flight to Dadaab. On a 17 seater UN charter flight we met others from the UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency), members of a film crew and a few doctors from Kenya who donate a few days every other month to "help" out in one of the three camps---Hagadera, Dagahaley and Ifo.

When we landed I was struck by the pervasive heat, the red sand of the dessert and yes the vast space that surrounds you. Africa seems endless. We arrived at our "guest quarters" at the UNHCR compound and sat down to a briefing and lunch at the dining hall.

So- our journey in Dadaab had begun. The magnitude of this experience is truly hard to describe. Over the next three days we were educated about the conditions of how 250,000 people exist in space for far less. Their homes are made from twigs or in some cases mud brick with a floor of dirt. We saw the truly heroic efforts of relief workers trying to give people a better life.............and we saw humanity. Humanity in all shapes and sizes, struggling to find a semblance of life. 20% of the population are children under the age of 5. We visited hospitals,met the doctors that provide care for the tens of thousands of patients that walk through their 'doors", we visited maternity wards where babies had just been born and I wondered if their whole life would be spent in Dadaab or if they would have the opportunity to resettle outside of the camp and experience life that would be easier and filled with the carefree giggle of a childhood or continue to live the difficult existence that is all about survival.

While giving out the nets I was reminded that sometimes we must remember that doing simple acts of kindness does make enormous difference---the problems within the refugee camps are far too large for any one person to tackle,---so giving that net meant that I WAS making a difference- in a small but most important way. Malaria is now the #5 killer in the camps---down from #1.

To bear witness was a gift I will treasure. -and now to move forward seeing how we can best deliver the message that a net does save a life-----and isn't that the message we take from this experience of being Jewish? To save a life is to truly save the world.

Support Nothing But Nets and purchase an insecticide-treated bed net today.

Calling for Cleaner Cars

2009-03-09T17:32:10Z

By Rachel Cohen
(First posted on the RACblog)
Rachel Cohen is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center.

Today I joined our Legislative Director, Barbara Weinstein, as she delivered testimony before the EPA on a critical set of greenhouse gas emissions regulations for cars and trucks. Though the hearing room was packed and speakers included dozens of experts from environmental, public health, consumer advocacy and auto industry groups, ours was the only faith voice in the room. And I am proud to say that we were there, speaking out for policies to protect our environment, our public health, and our national security today and in the future.

The case involves states' abilities to set stronger efficiency standards for cars to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. California, backed by 13 other states and the District of Columbia, regularly requests the right to set emissions standards for cars and light trucks that exceed national minimums under the Clean Air Act. For decades, the EPA has granted this waiver and allowed California to move ahead with its aggressive and progressive clean cars program. Since 20% of our nation's greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, and since U.S. autos produce more emissions than all sectors combined for many large developed nations, granting the waiver seems like a no-brainer. However, the waiver was denied by the EPA in 2008 after two years of delay, under claims that the Clean Air Act does not cover greenhouse gas emissions, and that California and the other states lacked a 'compelling and extraordinary' interest in setting higher standards.

Luckily, in one of his first acts in office, President Obama asked the EPA to reconsider the case, and we are hopeful that EPA will soon grant the waiver and allow California to lead the way to stronger emissions standards for automobiles. The urgency of addressing unchecked emissions becomes clearer by the day, and our window to act against climate change is closing. Increasing automobile efficiency is critical to building a green economy and hitting the 80% emissions reductions targets for greenhouse gases that leading scientists say we must meet to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

The case is open for public comment until April 6, so anyone can go online to the EPA website for instructions on how to voice their opinions on the matter, and see this sample petition from the Repower America campaign for ideas. We will be following the case as it moves forward, and encourage you to do so as well!

Life in the Dadaab Hell

2009-02-25T15:49:33Z

by Rabbi Marla Feldman
Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism
(This is the second in a series of posts from Rabbi Feldman's recent trip to Kenya to deliver insecticide-treated bed nets purchased through the Reform Movement's Nothing But Nets campaign, which is underwritten by the U.N. Foundation.)

Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world, is a living hell. Situated on the equator, it is demonly hot, parched and barren. The soil ranges from sand to red manure-laden dirt that turns to snake-invested mud during the rainy season. Bits of scrub provide twigs to make the refugees' small huts and sustain the goats that some of the refugees have been able to bring with them or that they have purchased with funds from relatives who have made it to the promised land of other countries. Though built nearly 20 years ago to house 90,000, there are now a quarter of a million people who dwell in this hell-hole. They have little to do - other than a small market run by their Kenyan neighbors, there is no industry permitted by the host country lest others be encouraged to come. That does not stop the 5,000 additional refugees from coming each week. Most children attend some school, but with the need for multiple shifts there is a lot of free time for them with none of the typical youthful entertainment available - no balls, games, or television. Girls have a particularly difficult life as they are obligated for household chores and the care of younger siblings, while their mothers have one child after another as long as their bodies can endure.

Daily living involves treks to the few existing water taps with jerry cans, washing by hand the few clothes they have with the little water that remains, miles of walking to the bi-weekly World Food Programme distribution or the periodic "NFI" (Non-Food Items) distribution centers to gather a mattress, a bowl, a blanket - whatever is available that month. Occasionally there is the journey to one of the health posts - each serving tens of thousands - for a maternity wellness visit, vaccinations for the children, or to collect a bed net donated by Nothing But Nets. Some of the residents of Dadaab have lived there since the camp opened; some were born there and have lived in the camp their entire lives. They know no other home; their home is hell.

Angels in Hell

Only two groups of people end up in Dadaab: refugees who have no other place else on earth to go, and the angels who care for them. Spread over miles of the harshest equatorial desert, three camps (Ifo, Hagadera, Dagahaley) arise from the dirt, impossibly sustaining hundreds of thousands of desolate souls, mostly women and children (50% are children; 20% are under 5). The camps are run by UNHCR (UN High Commission for Refugees) - an agency that is sometimes reviled by host countries and criticized by world governments, but whose staff members are nothing less than heroes. UNHCR and other NGO staff members live either in the camps themselves, or in their own camp down the road. Their camp has amenities - a ping pong table, a tennis court (though who can play tennis in 100 degree heat is beyond me!), a bar that serves beer and bottled water, and a mess hall that serves the same food every day. (OK, I'm exaggerating - at lunch sometimes they serve spaghetti noodles and sometimes they serve rigatoni noodles for variety.) For a change of scenery, there is a small Ethiopian restaurant down the road opened by an entrepreneurial refugee, although staff members are not supposed to go there without escorts since a UNHCR staff member was kidnapped in Pakistan recently. It is considered one of the most difficult assignments, yet each commits to a minimum of 6 months in the Dadaab Hell, facing the same risks as the refugees: scorpians, snakes, malaria, cholera, heat, floods.

As staff members enter the camps, they are immediately surrounded by refugees, each with a different need, desperate for someone to hear them, hoping for someone who can help them, angry by their lot in life. We are shepherded through the camp by Maeve, originally from Ireland, who is responsible for the Hagadera camp housing nearly 100,000 people, though built for 30,000. Despite an outbreak of cholera and a growing water shortage (the Kenyan government won't allow them to bore new wells as they fear that will lead to an expansion of the camps), Maeve spends her day with us, showing us the community health posts and the single hospital (with just a single doctor - a young 20-something woman from elsewhere in Kenya). Hagadera is the only one of the three camps that has a surgical unit, and that day a volunteer doctor from an organization called Bethany Children Services is doing assessments for surgery to take place in the camp or for treatment elsewhere. Leading us through the "blocks" that make up the camp housing areas, Maeve is accosted by an elderly man waving his health card insisting that she help him immediately - she reminds him that he needs to go to the health post for care. Meeting in the Sudanese block, she is confronted by angry residents, who are fearful since someone was murdered a few days previously - she assures them there is an investigation and that she has been in regular communication with David, their elected block leader, who serves as our translator. Visiting the homes of the most at-risk residents to deliver nets, Maeve gently strokes the arm of an elderly blind woman, tenderly calling her the honorific 'Mama' as she explains to the gathering neighbors how proper hygiene can avoid cholera, which has become a growing concern (14 cases and 1 infant death to date).

If not for these angels - the UNHCR staff members, workers from NGO's like Care and Save the Children, undaunted doctors and the volunteers from within the camps themselves - life in the Dadaab Hell would be impossible. With grit, compassion and dedication, these ordinary heroes save lives each and every day.

Support Nothing But Nets and purchase an insecticide-treated bed net today.

View more pictures of this trip on flickr.

HuffPo Features Saperstein Piece on Judiciary

2009-02-20T17:00:45Z

By Kate Bigam
(Originally posted on the RACblog)
Kate Bigam is the Press Secretary at the Religious Action Center.

If you're like most of the RAC staff, you've got enough blogs plugged into your Google Reader to keep you busy for hours at a time just reading through daily posts. But here's one piece of reading you should make sure you get to today - Rabbi David Saperstein, the RAC's director, has a piece up today on Huffington Post about the significance of the judiciary!

In "Our Rights in Peril: The Future of the Courts," Rabbi Saperstein discusses the importance of the judiciary in making crucial decisions that affect our everyday lives, even when we feel far removed from the court process - and details the potential dangers of a future Supreme Court that leans more conservatively than the present. For both these reasons, he encourages progressive religious organizations to follow the Reform Movement's lead in "creating formal processes for considering whether to oppose and support judicial nominees." Rabbi Saperstein writes:

It is far past time for the religious community to join the many progressive organizations that are fighting for a fair and independent judiciary. Sitting out vital debates about judicial nominees jeopardizes the crucial gains we have made and will make in the legislative arena. We need to ensure the appointment of judges who will uphold an expansive interpretation of the law as it applies to our fundamental rights and the separation of church and state.

Don't take my word for it - check out Rabbi Saperstein's Huffington Post piece for yourself, and then click on through to the RAC's page on Judicial Nominations to learn more about what we're doing and, of course, what you can do. There, you'll find resources like background information, key terminology, URJ resolutions and the RAC's latest publication on judicial nominations, titled Rights in Peril: Why the American Jewish Community and Others Cannot Afford to Sit Out the Debate Over Judicial Nominations.

Nothing But Nets: Dadaab Travel Blog

2009-02-18T17:58:16Z

by Rabbi Marla Feldman
Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism
This past week I had the opportunity to travel to Kenya along with Nancy Solomon and Stephanie Garry, board members of the Union for Reform Judaism, and Adrianna Logalbo, Nothing But Nets coordinator for the United Nations Foundation. Our mission was to witness and take part in the delivery of insecticide-treated bed nets to help stem the tide of malaria that rages in refugee camps throughout Africa. To date, the Union for Reform Judaism and its affiliates have raised nearly $300,000 towards the effort to cover refugee camps in Africa. That's 30,000 nets for 120,000 people who can sleep peacefully at night. These efforts have been made possible by a generous grant from the UN Foundation.

Flying over Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world with a quarter-million people, one gets a clear picture of just how stark life is in that equatorial desert of sand, red dirt and scrub. Three camps comprise this vast expanse of humanity - Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley - each with 70,000-100,000 refugees and each bursting with tens of thousands over capacity. Most of the refugees are from Somalia, and some from Ethiopia, Sudan and other troubled regions. Each day hundreds more find their way to the camp, adding 5,000 per week to the already overcrowded camps.

At each camp we visited several health posts, each of which services tens of thousands of people. There is one hospital in each camp, with two doctors and a few nurses. Only one camp has surgical facilities. Bed net deliveries take place at these health posts, and serve as a draw to bring in refugees who might otherwise not seek medical attention. Once there, they receive health education and medical consults in addition to receiving their bed nets. Hospitals are comprised of a few separate shelters for maternity care, pediatrics, and those with contagious illnesses. Bed nets are widely used in the hospital facilities, and those receiving treatment are given nets to take home with them. Circumstances are grim, with a cholera outbreak just beginning and a shortage of water. Each person should receive 20 liters of water per day, but some of the camps are down to 10-13 liters/day, making health and hygiene even more precarious.

In each camp there are targeted efforts to provide nets to the most vulnerable populations - those with children under five, pregnant women and seniors. Teams of health workers and volunteers from the "blocks" go home to home to deliver nets. ("Homes" at the camps are generally tukuls, round tent-like structures made of twigs, or small mud and twig huts. The more substantial structures are made of mud brick with tin sheets as a roof. Most have mattresses on the ground for sleeping and little else inside.) There the net teams gather the neighbors around, explain the importance of using the nets and actually set up the net for the residents. This way they are sure the nets are used properly while they educate others and create excitement around the use of nets.

What we witnessed in Dadaab was abject destitution; people living in horrendous circumstances at the barest of subsistence levels, dependent on others for every morsel of food, every drop of water and whatever meager shelter they could cobble together. But we also saw heroic efforts by UNHCR staff members who set their own lives aside to care for the world's forgotten refugees. We met orphans raising other orphans and youth who have no reason for hope yet seek an education nonetheless. We watched doctors with few resources care for tens of thousands and voting, democratic communities rise from the dust of the earth. And we saw children with absolutely nothing to call their own - no toys, no balls, no books, no games - find joy in the simple possession of a bed net.

Support Nothing But Nets and purchase an insecticide-treated bed net today.

View more pictures of this trip on flickr.

Jewish, Muslim and Christian Leaders United for Middle East Peace

2009-02-13T15:29:27Z

By Jeff Oakley
(First posted on the RACblog)
Jeff Oakley is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center.
Last month, Rabbi Joshua Davidson of Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester in Chappaqua, NY, wrote here about his synagogue's dialogue with members of the Upper Westchester Muslim Society. Rabbi Davidson described his effort, a part of the Muslim-Jewish dialogue sponsored by the Union for Reform Judaism and Islamic Society of North America, as 'planting a seed of hope' which helps show that "the act of sitting together and listening to each other and talking of a shared vision for the future is the only way toward peace."

One of the non-legislative aspects of my work here at the Religious Action Center is to help coordinate this Muslim-Jewish dialogue, I'm thrilled to be a small part of planting these seeds of hope at the grassroots level, and helping communities build a foundation for a shared future. The cooperation between URJ and ISNA kicked off with both Rabbi Eric Yoffie's address to ISNA and Dr. Ingrid Mattson of ISNA's address to the URJ. In addition to the initiative between our movements, there are other incredible efforts at the 'grasstops' in which our leaders are involved.

One such effort, working to help fertilize these 'seeds of hope', is the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East (NILI). This initiative brings together the top leaders of the various denominations of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, who are committed to a shared vision of Middle East Peace. Most recently, they sent a letter to President Obama, applauding his early progress toward "active, fair and firm U.S. leadership for Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace" and calling for "urgent U.S. diplomacy" to achieve a "truly effective and sustainable ceasefire." These religious leaders agreed that "as Jews, Christians and Muslims, we share a common religious commitment to peace with justice for all of God's children."

To learn more about NILI, the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East, check out their website, which includes NILI's previous statements as well as other resources for interfaith peace advocacy.

For more information about how to get your synagogue involved with Muslim-Jewish dialogue, visit our Muslim-Jewish dialogue site and email me if you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Children of Abraham dialogue guide.

Finally, you can take action now using our action alert to send a letter to your representative to support the appointment of Special Envoy Mitchell and support American diplomacy for achieving peace.

Tu B'Shwatt: Serving up energy action at the seder

2009-02-07T03:08:52Z

As Rachel Cohen blogged recently, Tu BiSh'vat takes on a new and special meaning as concern for the environment moves to the forefront of our collective consciousness. Barbara Lerman-Golomb -- a member of the Union's Commission on Social Action and Union Temple of Brooklyn, Director of Community Relations for Hazon, and much more -- writes in her article for the JTA, "Tu B'Shwatt: Serving up energy action at the seder":

"... this year as I sample the foods traditionally eaten at the Tu B'Shevat seder to commemorate springtime in Israel -- dates, almonds and figs, to name a few -- I'll not only be thinking about the farmers who planted them but the distance the foods traveled and the amount of greenhouse gases associated with their journey.

According to the Worldwatch Institute, the average food item travels 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to fork. For many, the foods featured at the seder are not locally grown and therefore catapult that "food miles" figure off the charts, increasing our carbon footprint.

One way to assuage our guilt is to be more intentional in taking energy-efficient actions, or to purchase carbon offsets to make up the difference for the carbon emissions being released in the atmosphere from our seder food choices.

We can even integrate energy action into the four worlds of the kabbalistic Tu B' Shevat seder."

We urge you to read the full article on JTA.org, and to visit the Union's new website, Greening Reform Judaism, as well as our TuBiSh'vat resources page, for more information and ideas about celebrating the holiday and living an environmentally responsible life.

Strangers in a Familiar Land

2009-02-05T19:27:04Z

By Jason Fenster
(First posted on the RACblog)
Jason Fenster is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center.

As Jews, we are intimately familiar with feeling unwelcome and excluded. We have been strangers in Egypt, in Babylon, in Europe, and even in America, but it is this shared experience that compels us to open our doors to those who sit outside our community.

In Exodus 23:9 we read, "You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt." Being a grammar dork, I looked at the Hebrew and found something interesting in the different "yous" we find in this verse. The first "you" is singular. You shall not oppress a stranger. It is your obligation to make an person-to-person connection to ensure that this ger, this stranger, is a part of the community and is not forced to remain outside the walls of our synagogue. The "you" who knows in their hearts and souls what it means to be left out is plural; the "y'all" form of the verb. We not only have an individual mandate to make inclusion a reality, but also a communal obligation stemming from our shared history.

In general, we as a community are well seasoned at looking outside the walls of our synagogues. We look for opportunities to bring in new people and to help those in need; however, we must also look inside those walls to ensure that we maintain those values for those already inside. Who do we make strangers through inaccessible buildings and materials? Who is forced to the outside circles because of non-inclusive programming? We need to recognize those in our communities whom we render strangers by not addressing their needs and desires to be part of all aspects of synagogue life, not just the parts we choose to make accessible.

As Rabbi Landsberg wrote on the RACblog last week, February is Jewish Disability Awareness Month. We should take this month as a jumping off point for a larger, comprehensive effort to make our synagogues and communities open and accessible to all people, especially those with disabilities. A number of different organizations have resource materials for Jewish Disability Awareness Month including the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning and the Federation of Greater Washington, United Jewish Communities, Jewish Family and Children Services of Minneapolis, and the UJA Federation of New York.

Additionally, the URJ Jewish Family Concerns website has a fantastic collection of ideas, programs, advocacy, and community action tools available to help ensure that all people, with a disability or not, are able to fully be a part of our Jewish community.

Progress by Pesach

2009-02-04T16:02:30Z

By Jill Zimmerman
(First posted on the RACblog)
Jill Zimmerman is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center.

"When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." (Leviticus 19:33-34)

Thirty-five times this principle is repeated in the Torah. Thirty-five times we are reminded of our own immigrant history. Thirty-five times we are commanded not only to welcome the stranger, but to "love them as yourself."

Today, we face the enormous task of fixing our nation's broken immigration system. Over 12 million undocumented immigrants live as "strangers" in our communities. U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raids, such as the one in Postville, Iowa at the Agriprocessers kosher meatpacking plant, have torn apart immigrant families. Detention centers across the country leave thousands in legal limbo and offend our sense of humanity. It is time to tell Congress and the Administration to enact solutions.

In this light, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) in coalition with a number of other Jewish organizations, including the Union for Reform Judaism, has launched a new campaign for comprehensive immigration reform: Progress by Pesach.

Passover is a time when we celebrate our freedom from bondage, remember when we were strangers in a strange land, and connect our history to modern-day liberation struggles. This year, consider the strangers who sojourn with you by telling President Obama and Congress to make comprehensive immigration reform a priority by Passover.

Here's how you can get involved:

Help collect petition signatures and sign the letter to President Obama and Congress
Host HIAS's interactive and educational "Welcome the Stranger" program on immigration
Participate in monthly interfaith immigration national update and coordination calls
Host an interfaith prayer vigil for immigrants on Presidents' Day weekend
Deliver a D'var at your shul
Follow and post to the blog
Be a part of coalition work with immigrant groups and immigrant allies
Help with press strategy: write editorials, write to editorial boards, etc
Attend local events to support the campaign, by checking out the event calendar link on the HIAS Web site
Host a house party to educate and mobilize your friends, family and neighbors about immigration issues: we've got plenty of materials and support to help you create a great event

Kickoff to Jewish Disability Awareness Month

2009-02-02T16:34:21Z

By Rabbi Lynne Landsberg
(First posted at RACblog)
Rabbi Lynne Landsberg is the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's Senior Advisor on Disability Issues. She is a former Associate Director of the RAC and a former regional director of the URJ's Mid-Atlantic Council.

This month, February 2009, is the first annual Jewish Disability Awareness Month, recognized by all streams of Judaism (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist) and most, if not all, national Jewish agencies. Local synagogues, organizational chapters and federations are observing Jewish Disability Awareness Month with special programming to educate their members about people with all kinds of disabilities -- physical, intellectual, psychological and more.

We would never consciously do it, but are we putting a stumbling block before the blind? As Jews, we must understand that serving the community of individuals with disabilities means more than just constructing a ramp to the front door: We shut Jews out by not altering other physical barriers. We shut Jews out by continuing non-inclusive programming and religious education. We shut Jews out< by maintaining attitudes of discomfort and disdain.

If you or your congregation are on the lookout for programming ideas for Jewish Disability Awareness Month, you can find ideas at any of these Web sites:

URJ's Department of Jewish Family Concerns
Jewish Special Education International Consortium
Jewish Community Inclusion Program for People with Disabilities Resource Guide
Empowering Jews with Disabilities
Interfaith Disability Organization
United Jewish Communities has also created an extensive resource guide.
And please send any information about events you plan to hold or have already held to me at llandsberg@rac.org!

While we're at it, here are a few more options:

Check out the Web site for ""Praying with Lior"," about a Jewish boy with disabilities, to see if it is playing locally and/or how to arrange for it to be shown at your synagogue. A home DVD version is not due out until late March, but a newly published "Praying with Lior" Jewish study guide is available.
People with disabilities are treated as animals in many countries, as exemplified by extensive research done by Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI), which has produced three disturbing videos on the issue. As such, the URJ is advocating for the signing and ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the US has not signed or ratified. For more information, see www.un.org/disabilities and RatifyNow.org or email the RAC's Disability Legislative Assistant, Jason Fenster.

Let us use February 2009, Jewish Disability Awareness Month, as our starting point to become truly welcoming, both congregationally and individually. Together let us break down physical, communicative and attitudinal barriers wherever they are. We must come together both as Jews and as Americans to help others to recognize that people with disabilities are people first -- people with unlimited potential who are not to be defined by their disabilities.

Get more information at the Jewish Family Concerns website, and join in the discussion on their new online forum.

President Obama and the Reform Jewish Community

2009-01-29T21:36:15Z

by Albert Vorspan
President Obama embodies the impossible dreams of generations of Americans. Indeed, he represents the golden harvest which we gather today, but it is the product of all those who planted the seeds in the hard, sometimes bloody, ground under constant duress for countless decades.

Obama has said that he stands on the shoulders of that great coalition of decency which prepared that soil and nurtured the faith. Central to that coalition was the alliance of blacks and Jews who marched, organized, did the heavy political lifting, provided their votes and streamed into jails to protest segregation. This Reform Jewish Movement, I can testify, played a central role in mobilizing the conscience of the Jewish community and partnering with the black leadership to transform America.

In this effort, Jews played a disproportionate and crucial role. When a call went out for volunteers to come to Mississippi to help register blacks, a high proportion of the volunteers were rabbis, Jewish educators and young Jews from both religious and secular backgrounds. Many came from segregated communities in the North and would have scoffed at the idea that they were following in the spirit of Amos and Isaiah and other Hebrew prophets. But they put their lives on the line for justice, and two of them--Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner--died alongside their black co-worker James Chaney in the red soil of Mississippi at the hands of a lynch mob of KKK terrorists.

I spent much time in the Deep South in those years, trying to strengthen inter-religious and inter-racial coalitions of change. I will never forget my visits to Mississippi where I met with a brave rabbi, Charles Martinband, and an equally courageous white newspaper editor, P.D. East. In their homes, I met a remarkable group of black intellectuals and leaders--college presidents, doctors, teachers, preachers. Not one of those folks had ever been permitted to vote. Not one of them ever expected to vote. It staggers me to realize that not only can they vote, their vote has transformed the South and the entire country.

Like many American Jews, I was privileged to know and work with Martin Luther King, Jr. King had a special relationship with American Jews. We contributed generously to the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Committee) because we trusted King, respected the non-violent pursuit of social justice, felt a kinship with the prophetic faith which drive King. We knew that, to King, justice was a seamless web and he cared about the plight of Soviet Jewry, the security of Israel. He denounced anti-Semitism, even from black bigots.

I marched with him throughout the South, including his last demonstration in behalf of sanitation workers in Memphis. Earlier, in 1963, I joined with sixteen Reform rabbis and rushed to St. Augustine, Florida, to challenge racially segregated public accommodations in that historic town. We all ended up in jail; my transgression was sitting down with white and black colleagues in a nice restaurant for lunch. Not only were we arrested, we were subjected to cattle prods for presuming to request non-segregated confinement. The sheriff, to whose tender mercies we were entrusted, was also known as the Grand Kleagle of the KKK.

The demonstrations in the South--and especially the widely televised brutality in Birmingham, Alabama--generated powerful momentum in Washington. The civil rights coalition organized the March on Washington. Black and Jewish agencies spearheaded the effort. Behind the public pronouncements was the extraordinary cooperation of Bayard Rustin, Will Maslow, Arnie Aronson and Rabbi Richard Hirsch, then director of the newly-formed Religious Action Center. The largest civil rights rally in American history will be remembered, justly, for the soaring I Have a Dream oration by Martin Luther King. But I am not the only person in attendance who was profoundly moved by the words of Rabbi Joachim Prinz, a rabbi who had fled Berlin to escape the Nazis:

"When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned many things. The most important thing that I learned was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is...Silence."

The prairie fire sweeping America inevitably penetrated the halls of Congress and the White House. The landmark civil rights laws of the U.S., especially the Voting Rights Act adroitly engineered by President Johnson, were drafted by non-governmental civil rights lawyers, working under the Leadership Council for Civil Rights, in the conference room of our organization, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. In both houses of Congress, unprecedented inter-faith coalitions were everywhere, putting the members' feet to the fire. Mobilizing the citizens lobbies and turning up the political heat were Clarence Mitchell, Washington representative of the NAACP, and Joe Rauh, Jr., member of our Commission on Social Action, representing much of the labor movement and much of the Jewish community, including the agencies of Reform Judaism. The giants of the Congress got used to the two lawyers, black and Jewish, so joined at the hip that they were referred to with grudging admiration as the "gold dust twins." Blacks and Jews, then and now, vote closely together, even in 2008 when the majority of white Americans voted otherwise.

The black-Jewish coalition transformed America for everybody. As one who grew up in the Twin Cities when it was known as the capital of anti-Semitism, I know what changed it into a liberal bastion of pluralism, decency and equal opportunity. It was the civil rights revolution, which Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota bravely helped ignite, which brought down the walls of discrimination and, in its sweep, leveled barriers against women, against gays and lesbians, against persons with disabilities. The conscience of America was touched and slowly roused to action, but it has transformed us forever.

The Reform Jewish community played our proud part in writing this history. Today we hail an African-American Chief of State, and our tears join those of millions, of all races throughout the world. We will have occasion to complain in the future and maybe to protest Obama policies because our Movement is not in anybody's pocket. But with our work and with our votes and with our faith in the possibilities of repairing this world, we helped America to overcome the night and witness the rising glow of a new dawn.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the RAC, blessed President Obama with a stirring benediction. That was a fitting tribute to the part we played in ushering in this miraculous day. But now comes the hard work, for Obama, and also for the Reform Jewish Movement, joining in an ever-widening coalition of decency, to save America, to heal the planet and to repair God's world.

Albert Vorspan is the Senior Vice-President Emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism and founding director of the Commission on Social Action. He has authored and co-authored many books including Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice with Rabbi David Saperstein.

Tu BiSh'vat in the Age of Green

2009-01-29T20:29:32Z

By Rachel Cohen, Eisendrath Legislative Assistant
(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah)
Each year, even as many of us struggle against the cold winter days of February, we engage in a celebration of nature's renewal with the ritual of Tu BiSh'vat. Just as Israeli farmers begin to see signs of spring, Jews worldwide celebrate an ancient tradition marking the age of trees. With the rise of the environmental movement, Tu BiSh'vat has been branded the "Jewish Earth Day" and transformed from a minor observance into a mainstay of the Jewish calendar. Tu BiSh'vat has taken on many meanings to many people: a celebration of natural wonders, a chance to recommit ourselves to environmental stewardship, and a day to reflect on our role in the complex ecosystem that is planet Earth. But by now, we have heard all this before. Climate change is everywhere, green is the buzzword of the new century, and we are aware of our religious obligation to "till and tend" God's earth (Genesis 2:15). This year, however, we can move beyond a one-day celebration to more long-lasting and persistent efforts throughout the entire year that truly honor our environment.

In the 16th Century, Kabbalists in Safed created the ritual of a Tu Bish'vat seder, modeled after the Passover seder and celebrating the natural resources of the land of Israel. More recently, Jewish environmentalists have adopted the Ten Plagues, a central Passover seder ritual, as a modern environmental tale by offering the litany of the "Ten Modern Plagues" waged by humankind upon our environment; these afflictions include air and water pollution, toxic waste, and deforestation.

Although the Ten Modern Plagues may be a useful tool for raising ecological awareness, we do no justice to our environmental obligations when we present Tu BiSh'vat as little more than a contemporary, greenwashed version of Passover. Experts agree that we are nearing an environmental tipping point, and that if we do not act now, we will not be able to avoid the worst impacts of climate change in the future. This year, hosting an environmental Seder on Tu BiSh'vat is simply not enough. Rather, this ritual meal is only the beginning, and the true celebration is in carrying its lessons forward throughout the year.

So what are these lessons, and how do we act on them? Tu BiSh'vat commemorates the incredible biodiversity of our natural world. During the modern seder ritual, we drink wine and say prayers over the plant species we encounter each day, from fruit-bearing trees to the cedar and olive trees that dot the Israeli landscape, and give thanks for all plant and animal life. There is no greater threat to the diversity of life on earth than climate change, which affects the habitats of millions of species. Since trees play a vital role in mitigating the greenhouse effect and keeping our ecosystem in balance, one simple way to celebrate Tu Bish'vat is to promote forestation by planting trees in our own communities or sponsoring forestation projects where they are needed throughout the world, including Israel.

Tu BiSh'vat begins Sunday, Feb. 8th at sundown. The celebration does not end, however, by planting a tree on February 9th. This April, we commemorate Birkat HaHammah, a unique blessing that is said when the sun returns to its 'original' place in the heavens at the precise time and day of its creation, once every 28 years. In honor of Birkat HaHammah, several congregations plan to install a solar-powered Ner Tamid. Other ideas for the observance of Birkat HaHammah include installing compact fluorescent light bulbs, purchasing carbon offsets, or engaging in other actions that promote energy efficiency and conservation. When we couple tree planting and other environmentally-friendly actions on Tu BiSh'vat with smart energy decisions on Birkat HaHammah, we commit ourselves to a deeper rethinking of the way we interact with our environment.

Looking beyond the Jewish calendar, we are also in the critical early days of a Congress and Presidential Administration with the greatest opportunity, and the greatest publicly-stated political will, to make the tough choices necessary to confront our energy and climate crises. At such a time, "Jewish Earth Day" can be a call to action on climate change, and the threat it poses to so many species on our earth.

It is easy to let ritual events slip away with only a passing reference. We spend an evening around a communal table, plant a tree, and pack up our Tu BiSh'vat resources for next year. Yet, we know that this is not enough, especially as we expand our knowledge about our planet and its changing climate. We cannot let this holiday, and our opportunities to take action this year, pass us by.

My favorite Talmudic commentary on environmental stewardship comes from Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah: "When God created the first human beings, God led them around the Garden of Eden and said: Look at my works! See how beautiful they are, how excellent! For your sake I created them all. Take care not to spoil or destroy My world, for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you." As we celebrate Tu BiSh'vat, let us not forget our responsibility, this year more than ever, to care for God's world.

The Union for Reform Jewish has just launched its "Greening Reform Judaism" web portal. This addition to the Union website is a one-stop resource for congregations and their members seeking to live more sustainably and engage more deeply with environmental issues.

Inauguration Reflections

2009-01-26T15:24:44Z

by Shira Kleinman
Student at Muhelenberg College, Allentown, PA
1:30 am Tuesday morning I crawled out of bed and walked towards the performing arts center with five friends. We all huddled together for warmth while waiting for our buses to arrive. At about 2 am 250 students from Muhlenberg College loaded up 5 buses bound for Washington DC with the intention of witnessing history. I have spent many a rally on the Washington Mall, but never witnessed something like this. That Tuesday, the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, was the largest political gathering in history, and I was a part of it.

At 5 am we unloaded the bus and began our walk in the cold towards the Mall. Even the four layers of clothing I was wearing could not keep out the bitter early morning cold, that appeared to last all day. All the streets were closed off and just as the sun was beginning to rise, thousands upon thousands of people walked through the streets of Washington DC all to say that they witnessed the inauguration of the first African American president. As I approached the mall and tried to push through the crowd I thought about what a momentous event I was about to witness. I remember doing a report of the civil rights movement in 5th grade and calling my grandpa who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma. He relayed the story of thousands of people cramped together all just to hear this man speak and to be inspired by his hope for a more united and equal future. Now as a 19 year old I understood for the first time what he was talking about. On the 41st anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's death more than 2 million people from all across America joined together to watch his dream come to fruition.

We stood in the cold for 6 hours meeting people from all across America who came to celebrate this event for different reasons. A couple from New Orleans came to support the man they thought could change their future. We met a family from Houston Texas who took off work and school to drive together and witness this momentous inauguration in person. Before long our bodies were numb from the cold, but we did not care as the ceremony was about to begin. As President Obama took his oath of office the crowd roared with excitement. A man who brought his young daughters and his mother was filming the event. As he panned the camera to his aging mother to see her reaction I truly understood the magnitude of this event. The old woman was not jumping or shouting or clapping, she was standing bundled in her jacket crying. It was at that moment that I understood that all the work of the 50 years before this moment had not been in vain. That woman who saw a time when she could not vote was now standing at the inauguration of the first African American president. I was so proud to be there not only to carry on the values that my grandpa had but to be part of such an integral moment in our country's history.

A Day to Remember: How the RAC Staff Spent Inauguration

2009-01-22T18:59:18Z

(First posted at RACblog)
All weekend, Washington, DC was abuzz with a wide variety of inauguration-related festivities, culminating with the Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony and parade on the National Mall. Keep reading below the jump for inauguration reflections from several members of the RAC staff!

Jill Zimmerman, Legislative Assistant:
On Sunday I had the great pleasure of attending the 2009 EMILY's List Inaugural Luncheon, featuring Secretary Janet Napolitano, Secretary Hilda Solis, Governor Bev Perdue, Senator Kay Hagan, and (just confirmed by the Senate as I'm writing) Secretary Hillary Clinton. A few weeks ago, in my blog "8 Reasons to be a Feminist," I wrote that men rule our country - after all, the vast majority of elected officials in the United States are men. Sitting in the enormous hotel ballroom surrounded by thousands of feminists celebrating the elections of so many powerful women, it became clear that the days of men being the overwhelming majority of those in charge are coming to an end.

Jason Fenster, Legislative Assistant:
The last few days have been filled with events and experiences that I will be telling and retelling to friends for years. The day after, however, what is making the biggest impact on me is what I (and we) will do next. In his inaugural speech, President Obama said "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America." Immediately those words stuck with me and reminded me of an Alliance for Justice panel I went to on Monday called "Driving Change: The Role of Activists during the Obama Administration." The event included the requisite awesome-factor of a welcome from Josh Lyman, er, actor Bradley Whitford, and musical guest Peter Yarrow. The overall message of the panel was that while the past few days have been exciting, we are not free of responsibility. We have the obligation to push our government to enact the change and progress that We the People are calling for.

Rabbi Michael Namath, Program Director:
On Monday morning the social hall at Washington Hebrew Congregation was filled to capacity for the Martin Luther King Work Day. People had arrived and were eager to help because they saw service as a way of celebrating the inauguration. At one point the group was welcomed to the congregation and the members of the congregation were asked to raise their hands. About half of the people in the room raised their hands. Then the question was asked, "Who is here from out of town?" The other half of the room raised their hands. When they were asked where they had come from, it was amazing to hear their answers of Arizona, California, Michigan, and New Jersey to name a few. The feelings of hope, excitement, and thanksgiving floated through the air as the sea of people did their part in trying to make the world a better place.

Rachel Cohen, Legislative Assistant:
The best part of the inauguration day, for me, was the camaraderie I felt with complete strangers, simply because of our common excitement about being part of this historic event. We had friends and family crash on our couch and floor simply for the chance to walk down to the Mall in the morning with the crowds. While waiting for the ceremony to begin, I spoke to a father and son who traveled from Springfield, Illinois, to be in Washington for Inauguration. They had been in attendance when President Obama announced his candidacy, which now seems like a distant memory, and had faithfully followed his campaign ever since. In my opinion, the news reports are getting it right; yesterday felt like history in the making, and taking the time to talk to those who made the trek to Washington to be part of it was just another reminder.

Arielle Gingold, Legislative Assistant:
Being on the Mall Tuesday with the huddled (and freezing!) masses as President Obama was sworn in was an experience of a lifetime. We began our eight-hour stint on the Mall as the sun rose over the Capitol, a beautiful and fitting start to a new presidency. But having spent months advocating for an end to U.S.-sponsored torture and indefinite detention, an issue about which I care deeply, the most powerful and emotional moment for me came when President Obama said: "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers...drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man...Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake." I could not agree more wholeheartedly.

Jessie Weiser, Program Associate on Judicial Nominations:
Being in DC for Barack Obama's inauguration was undoubtedly one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Witnessing and participating in the various ceremonies and celebrations was certainly a wonderful way mark this historic moment. But my favorite moment of inauguration weekend was walking through Dupont Circle and seeing a giant Constitution, which thousands of people were signing. It was a great reminder that our nation was built on the belief that each individual matters and that each one of us is responsible for helping to build a more perfect union. President Obama reflected this sentiment in his inauguration speech as he emphasized the need for all of us to do service and contribute to society in every way that we can. Hopefully this transfer of power will also begin a national transformation that leads each American citizen to be empowered, important, engaged, and involved.

Micaela Hellman-Tincher, Legislative Assistant:
The election of the first African-American president is special to us young folks at the RAC, but it was clear that it had even greater meaning to the generations before me. My mom and I joined the crowds to watch the inauguration together, and I not only enjoyed the view of the capital, but also of my mom reveling in the moment. Since she was little she's been committed to making America a better, more just place, and has been teaching U.S. History for decades in an effort to make help make a world where inaugurations like yesterday's are not fanciful dreams, but reality. Later in the day I spoke to my grandmother, who also had worked for civil rights and a better America for many years before I was born. She said she had not known when or if an inauguration like Tuesday's would happen.

Obama called for all of us to work together to remake our economy, our country and our world. Sometimes I feel like my work in this arena-trying to stop genocide, making a dent in global poverty-will never meet real success. But for the generations before me, I think many felt their work find success yesterday, and so I can remain inspired that our activism today will also prevail!

Barbara Weinstein, Legislative Director:
I moved to Washington over a decade ago, inspired by the ideas of public service and communal responsibility. To this day, I get a buzz when I drive past the Lincoln Memorial. I grin when I exit the highway under the sign marked "U.S. Senate." And I never look at the White House without feeling a bit of inspiration. But I have rarely been as awed as I was on Tuesday, standing in the shadow of the Washington Monument, looking at the sea of people that stretched ahead of me to the steps of the U.S. Capitol. For a period in our nation's history when circumstances could in many ways be described as "bleak," a sense of good cheer was everywhere. No doubt there were plenty of people in the crowd of 1.5 million who did not vote for the new President. But each wanted to do more than witness history; each wanted to be a part of history. And so we were.

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle walk the parade route while Conference Planner Katie Dochen watches from the bleachers and snaps this picture, amazed by just how tall the two are in person.

Update from Haifa: To the people of America and Barack Obama, we salute you!

2009-01-21T22:04:57Z

The Union has been receiving regular updates from Rabbi Edgar Nof of Or Hadash, a progressive congregation in Haifa, Israel. Here is a recent email:

Dear Friends,

Shalom! I want to write tonight to all of our friends in America and around the world, to commemorate the inauguration of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, and the first African American president, as a very special event. I hope that Obama's administration will bring about positive change, embrace peace and security, and also promote economic stability to the world. Now it is our turn to be in support of you, and we have done so by raising the American flag in our preschools to show our love and solidarity. We all at Or Hadash wish Barack Obama and the American people good luck on this very historical day and in the coming four years. Mazal Tov!

I also want to say that we in Israel are very relieved to report that the war in Gaza has come to a close after three long weeks. Despite us being afraid that Hamas will take this opportunity and time to build up their arsenal of weapons, we are glad that we can finally rest easy that our sons, friends, and relatives are longer in immediate danger, on all sides of the border. Tonight we are praying that the ceasefire will last, and that peace will prevail. Those of us who are optimistic are still hoping for a better and more hope-filled future for the state of Israel and the Jewish and Palestinian peoples.

Personally, I hope that the Palestinian leadership will realize that this can not be done by attacking Israel with rockets, but by once again by being open to taking real steps towards peace, while allowing the people of Israel to return to some degree of normalcy in our lives. Still we are very thankful to have had the support and constant outpouring of love from our Jewish friends abroad, especially in America, who have remained so loyal to Israel throughout the duration of the war.

In Friendship,

Edgar

Activism for Progressive Judaism: Can We Do Better?

2009-01-21T17:52:22Z

by Russell Cohen
(Originally published on Russell Cohen's blog Cafe Birkenreis)
During the latter half of 2008, the WUPJ lent its support to two online petitions (e-petitions) on behalf of member unions. In both cases, the response from progressive Jews worldwide was less than rousing

In the first case, the IMPJ (Israel) attempted to gather signatures in support of the effort to achieve official recognition and a state salary for Rabbi Miri Gold, of Kibbutz Gezer in Israel. This is a potentially ground-breaking case, as a positive outcome would set the precedent for official recognition of progressive rabbis across Israel, and eventually lead to improved status for progressive Judaism as a whole.

In the second, the SAUPJ (South Africa) is attempting to gain access to the King David Jewish day schools network for Netzer, the Reform youth movement. The King David schools should be a resource for the entire SA Jewish community, but have instead been hijacked by the Orthodox majority there.

Progressive Judaism claims to be numerically the largest stream within Judaism worldwide. Progressive Jews are presumably largely computer literate, and have in the past overwhelmingly supported similar initiatives on behalf of anything from Climate Change action to the genocide in Darfur. Despite these factors, however, only 3,500 signatures had been gathered by end-November 2008 for the IMPJ e-petition (against a target of at least 10,000). In the case of the SAUPJ initiative, only 538 signatures (against a target of 500) have been received to date. In order to be truly effective, the first needs to be supported by tens, if not hundreds of thousand of signatories, while the second would have carried far more weight if endorsed by thousands rather than hundreds.

These results are disappointing, to say the least; perhaps even shockingly so. What went wrong with these two initiatives, and how can we ensure that future efforts receive the support they deserve from progressive Jews worldwide? To my mind, there are two factors to be addressed:

Attitude

I think we're seeing an example of the barber's children going with hair uncut. Progressive Jews have simply adopted so many causes, that there's no drive or energy left for causes closer to home. Charity doesn't have to begin at home, but it should also not be neglected.

Not neglecting our own issues is doubly important in the case of those relating to Israel. I believe that progressive Judaism will always be taken less than seriously, will always find itself in a defensive posture, until it receives official recognition and equality in the Jewish State.

We need to take the approach that "an injury to one is an injury to all", and simply not accept second-class citizenship or a lesser status for progressive Judaism anywhere in the world, but particularly in Israel.

Approach

To ensure an effective response to issues such as the two above, the initiative still needs to begin with a union (e.g. IMPJ, SAUPJ or URJ), but should then be adopted and coordinated by the WUPJ.

The issue and call to action (e.g. an e-petition) should be communicated to all progressive Jews worldwide, either by the WUPJ, the union, the congregation, or a combination of all three. The issue (including links to the appropriate online petition, donation page, etc.) should also be communicated through the official websites, blogs and e-newsletters of all these bodies. Members should also be encouraged to forward the material to their own "e-brigades" (we all have them).

Issues relating to privacy policies, etc., should be addressed by all progressive unions worldwide before the next such initiative, to ensure that no union is unable to support an initiative due to privacy or related concerns.

Such a combined "bottom-up" and "top-down" approach should prove more effective in both reaching and motivating the widest possible audience when these initiatives are undertaken in future.

In conclusion, progressive Judaism is facing many challenges, opportunities and threats worldwide. Where armchair activist tools such as electronic or online petitions can help us to meet those challenges, the WUPJ and all its member unions and congregations should present a united front and a coordinated approach.

Russell Cohen is a progressive Jew from Johannesburg, South Africa who writes and blogs under the pen name "Maskil".

RJ.org editor's note: The Union has solicited support for the cause of Rabbi Miri Gold in its Weekly Briefing, and we encourage you to visit the IRAC website to sign the petition.

Blessings for Today: A New Day in America

2009-01-21T15:34:00Z

By JanetheWriter
We Jews have blessings for all occasions: for bread, for wine, for joyous times, for sad times, upon seeing a rainbow, for flowers and herbs, for social action... the list goes on.

Each morning we thank God for returning our souls to our bodies and for a host of other daily miracles: enabling us to distinguish day from night, opening our eyes, freeing the captive, lifting the fallen, and so on.

In our minyan this morning, we added three more blessings for the day:

Baruch atah Adonai, asher sam chelki b'medinah chofesheet v'democratit.
Praised are You, Adonai, Who has allowed me to live in a free and democratic country.

Baruch atah Adonai, asher tzivanu lirdof acharei ha'tzedek tokh milui chovoteinu ha'ezrahiyyot.
Praised are You, Adonai, Who commands us to pursue justice through the fulfillment of our civic obligations.

Baruch atah Adonai, asher tzivanu la'asok b'ma'asei tikkun ha'olam.
Praised are You, Adonai, Who commands us to engage in acts of repairing the world.

I would add a fourth:

Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam shecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higyanu lazman hazeh.
Praised are You, Adonai, Sovereign of the universe, for giving us life, for sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this time of joy.

Amen.

Future History Classes Bring Aid to Darfur

2009-01-09T21:52:39Z

by Micaela Hellman-Tincher
Legislative assistant at the Religious Action Center
(First posted at RACblog)
Just this week, President Bush's National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley announced that President Bush had approved an airlift of equipment to help the peacekeeping mission in Darfur. He even decided to waive a 15 day Congressional notification requirement due to the urgency of sending the aid to save lives.

But hasn't sending emergency supplies to the peacekeeping mission been urgent for a while? While Darfur activists are excited about President Bush finally answering their calls for logistical support for peacekeeping forces, the New York Times reports on Jerry Fowler, executive director of Save Darfur pointing out, "There is this question, 'Why haven't they done this before?' " and adding that the airlift "might be a little bit of last-minute legacy shopping by the administration."

There are worse reasons to do things, but President-Elect Obama should not be looking to his legacy, but rather the urgent cries for help in Darfur and the unceasing voices of the anti-genocide community in the United States to direct his action. Let's urge him to make Darfur a priority for the first days of his time in office, not the last weeks of his administration. So far, Reform Movement congregations have led the way in their communities, most recently by joining the effort to collect postcards to send to President-Elect Obama calling for him to make Darfur a priority issue. Let's continue our leadership in this effort, with the hope that President-Elect Obama will create an anti-genocide legacy from day 1. Order postcards for Darfur here!

Update: What's next for action in Darfur? It is unknown but President-Elect Obama's nomination of Susan Rice for UN ambassador suggests that tougher approaches are on the horizon. The LA Times reports on some of the options previously rejected by President Bush.

A New Approach in Washington

2008-12-31T19:41:15Z

This week's U.S. News and World Report takes a look about how President-Elect Obama is consulting with religious groups across the spectrum on issues ranging from domestic poverty to bringing peace to the Middle East.

"This is the most extensive outreach and listening tour that I've ever seen a new administration take, and that is certainly true of their outreach to the faith community," said Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, who has worked with presidential transition teams going back to Jimmy Carter's.

It's a remarkable departure from the Bush administration's approach. As Tanya Clay House, director of public policy for People of the American Way said, "The old administration listened to just one side of the argument."

"Our Katrina" - A Message from Detroit

2008-12-25T00:04:12Z

By Rabbi Norman Roman
(First posted at RACblog)
Rabbi Norman Roman is the rabbi at Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield, MI. This post is adapted from Rabbi Roman's message in the January 2009 Kol Ami bulletin.

Early in December, I was invited by Cardinal Adam Maida to attend a small gathering of Detroit area religious leaders, an urgent interfaith response to the economic crisis and the auto industry's needs. It was good for the 14 of us to be together (14 is, of course, a 'yad' - a helping hand, in Hebrew!), the news media reported on our meeting, some ideas were shared of what our various communities were doing in Churches, Mosques, and Synagogues to assist our members, and personal connections were made for future participation in "prayer, political action, and programming."

Several insights from this crisis are very clear to me, and others have been suggested for me (and you) to consider:

First, what is happening in Southeast Michigan especially, is what I am calling "our area's Katrina". It is a monster storm that in some ways was expected, but its catastrophic consequences are yet to be fully grasped. On the horizon are winds of change: total disruption of home, professional and family life for many. Countless numbers of our friends and neighbors will need (or already are in need of) new jobs, new residences, and most importantly, hope. Other areas of the country received 'help' very quickly, some without too many conditions attached. But in our area's situation, there have been repercussions and threats, Congressional hearings, and scapegoating. Washington, and much of the U.S. do not seem to comprehend the extent of this crisis (the size of the hurricane), how many people outside the immediate area will be affected (the levies will break), nor has anyone prepared adequately for the rescue and clean-up operations that will be necessary (FEMA's failure). Is this possibly because many see this crisis as an opportunity to 'break' the labor unions? Or, as we heard in the accusations of racism towards New Orleans, is Detroit also being 'sacrificed' because the population is predominantly black?

Secondly, even though a loan package or other assistance may have been legislated by the time 2009 begins, a new government, with a new President and a new Congressional Majority, will take office in January. We must communicate with Washington about support for our area, our manufacturing industries, and the Main Street versus Wall Street divide that has become so real during this Recession. And more, we must share our pain and our stories with our relatives and friends who live in other parts of the country. For apparently, they and their representatives in the House and Senate refuse to see the human effect that this crisis has brought. They do not accept that failures and foreclosures and plant closings in Michigan will inevitably also mean failures and foreclosures and closings in the South, as well. They refuse to acknowledge the major advances that the American automotive companies have achieved in the last few years. We need their voices to be heard on our behalf, and we need their prayers, as well.

This is a very difficult time - for all of us. Again, please know that the Temple is here for you: we pledge to listen, to advocate on your behalf, to try and make connections for job placement or other types of assistance. The key phrase for our Jewish community and for our congregation recently has been, "No One is Alone." Our tradition teaches both that we should not despair and that we should always stand ready to help.

As Jews and as Americans, let us proudly welcome the New Year and the New Administration, and let us work and pray for a better tomorrow!

The RAC is blogging from New Orleans!

2008-12-22T21:39:55Z

by Kate Bigam
Press Secretary at the Religious Action Center
(First posted on RACblog)

Thirty young Jewish adults took off for New Orleans, Louisiana this morning to help rebuild the city's 9th Ward, still damaged from 2005's Hurricane Katrina. These volunteers are participating in the Union for Reform Judaism's Tzevet Mitzvot: Young Adult Mitzvah Corps program, which combines five days of social action, worship and fun in the Big Easy.

Want to follow along with their NOLA adventure? Good news - they'll be blogging about it like crazy! The trip is being led by Barb Weinstein, legislative director of the Religious Action Center, and Naomi Abelson, manager of congregational relations of the Commission on Social Action - both will be live-blogging about the group's experiences in New Orleans. You can check them out over at the RACblog, where we'll post daily updates until their trip ends on Christmas Day.

One more thing: If you want to be even more Web-savvy than standard blogging, check out the RAC on social networking Web site Twitter, where Barb will be "microblogging" more than daily with updates both large and small about what the group is up to.

And don't forget: You can let Barb, Naomi, and the rest of the group know that you're following along with their trip by commenting on their posts!

Hitting the Hill During the Holidays

2008-12-19T20:16:43Z

by Rachel Cohen
(First posted at RACblog)
Rachel Cohen is a legislative assistant
at the Religious Action Center

Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of meeting over 500 high school students from across the country at the Religious Action Center's Bernard and Audre Rapoport L'Taken social justice seminars. Each four-day intensive learning program brings students from across the country to D.C. to learn about social justice and Jewish values (read what some of the participants had to say about their experience). The program culminates with a visit to Capitol Hill, where students meet with their Senators, Representatives and their staff to discuss the issues that matter most to them. As my fellow RAC staff and I led the participants past the Capitol and Supreme Court to their meetings, I got several interesting questions about my experiences on the Hill: "Oh, you must be here all the time, what's your favorite place to go eat?; Who is the most famous Senator/Member of Congress you have ever met?; Do you ever see the President??"

I answer honestly that visiting the Hill is only one of the many activities included in my job description. Even as full-time advocates, walking the halls of Congress and hobnobbing with the Hill crowd is not something I do on a daily basis. However, lately I've gotten to travel to the House and Senate more often, meeting with Hill staffers and members of the Obama transition team along with our partners at other faith groups. While these meetings are interesting and informative, it is often a challenge to translate our visits into the change we want (and need) to see on the issues that matter most to us.

During the holiday season we are often focused on spending time with friends and family, and intentionally disconnect from our 'everyday' lives. While this break is important and often necessary, we cannot forget our long-term goals and the steps we must take to achieve them. As the new administration and Congress prepare to take office in January, we have a unique opportunity to shape the agenda by making our voices heard on the climate and energy issues that matter so much to our community. We have an opportunity to act now, and must continue to raise our voices to keep the environment on the agenda, especially during these hard economic times. I encourage you to take break from your break this Chanukah and take action by urging the President-elect to make climate change a priority in the first 100 days of his administration, calling on Congress to pass a real, green stimulus, advocating for clean water, and more. It may be the best gift you can give to your loved ones this holiday season, and you don't even have to travel to the Hill to do it.

Make a Great Miracle Happen There

2008-12-10T20:55:49Z

(First posted at RACblog)
by Micaela Hellman-Tincher
Eisendrath Legislative Assistant
at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Over Chanukah, we all look for thoughtful, useful and interesting gifts for our family and friends. Amid the ads for watches, sweaters and digital cameras this winter, you might notice an ad for another kind of gift. A bed net. As part of our goal to deliver 50,000 nets abroad, the Union for Reform Judaism will be advertising Nothing But Nets in Jewish media around the country this winter.

While you may not know anyone who wants their bed covered in insecticide-treated mesh, there are people abroad to whom this gift won't simply be nice and thoughtful, but life-saving. A child dies from malaria every 30 seconds, and the use of a bed net can reduce disease transmission by up to 90%. The bed nets donated through the Union for Reform Judaism's Nothing But Nets initiative will go straight to refugees of conflict in Africa-one of the populations most vulnerable to malaria. It takes only $10 to send a net.

And while your friends and family won't receive a bed net themselves, they will get the gift of leaning how small efforts at home can change lives far away. They will get a broader understanding of and connection to the world around them. They will get the chance to teach their children about issues facing children abroad. They will get an appreciation of the goodness in their lives. And most of all, they get to take part in one of the most important and amazing things in the world-saving someone else's life.

As Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, noted yesterday (on a call promoting ONE Sabbath, a great way to extend your Nothing But Nets activism,) "When you buy one net for $10, you are saving a life. That is a very rare thing to do. When you feed someone for $10 you will need to do it again. When you buy one net, it stays there."

This winter, due to the efforts of congregations, b'nei mitzvah students and others, the first shipment of bed nets will be delivered to the Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda, providing malaria protection for the entire camp.

We are halfway to our goal of delivering 50,000 bed nets. Inspire your friends and family with the gift of saving a life this Chanukah. Give them each a donation to Nothing But Nets. Ask them to give the same to you. Have a net-giving party for your whole family! Make a great miracle happen there.

Too Little, Too L8

2008-12-08T21:05:31Z

By dcc
Sound-out the title; it makes sense. But what doesn't make sense is the latest edition of movie-star outrage over California enshrining oppression in the State Constitution. A group of Hollywood illuminati got together to make Prop 8: The Musical. It is laugh out loud funny, well made and absolutely irrelevant.

You can watch it or just take my word for it:

I loved the short and think it is pretty well done. Jack Black plays a very compassionate, if type-cast Jesus. (Who knew Jesus also was the same rock-n-roll lovein', fast-talkin', not showerin' dude as every other Jack Black character?) You will notice a number of well know faces and think to yourself, "wow, this is great...but why did they put this together after Prop 8 passed?"

Prop 8 was bank-rolled by lots of people on both sides of the story, but money wasn't the problem. People didn't hit the streets effectively; the LGBT community and its allies dropped the ball. It is pretty pathetic that in the most progressive state in the Country, that this kind of ballot initiative would pass. The thing that is the most disheartening is that with organizations like the Musical Team here, they couldn't figure out how to stop it.

There are more legal battles to come for Golden State and its somewhat inconsistent stance of civil rights. This and other after-the-fact statements to the ridiculous nature of this proposition are a waste of time and energy. Perhaps next time we will plan ahead.

Because He Couldn't, Let Us Remember HM

2008-12-05T21:42:37Z

By Gardening Grandma
I sometimes suspect the urge to make the world a better place is part of the DNA of every Jew, yet I recognize that it runs in the veins of people of all persuasions, often when they're not even aware of their actions.

An obit of "H.M., an Unforgettable Amnesiac," appears on the front page of this morning's New York Times. After experimental brain surgery in 1953 to correct uncontrollable seizures, he lost the ability to form new memories. And, because he and his family were willing to be the object of intensive study, the world of modern neuroscience was born.

For 55 years, each time H.M. met a friend, each time he ate a meal, each time he walked in the woods, it was as if for the first time. God's world was created anew each day for him.

Judaism teaches us that we are God's partner in Tikkun olam--repairing the world. Because H.M. had no memory, he could not know that by the simple act of living, he was working with God and giving us and future generations a gift far beyond measure.

The article ends with a simple line. "Henry Gustav Molaison, born on Feb. 26, 1926, left no survivors. He left a legacy in science that cannot be erased."

To that I add, Amen.

Getting Serious about Preventing WMD Terrorism

2008-12-05T20:16:38Z

By Jeff Oakley
(First posted on the RACblog)
Jeff Oakley is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center.

The Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism, led by former Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and Jim Talent of Missouri, announced at a press conference earlier today the findings of their bipartisan panel. In a stark warning to the United States and the world, the commission found that "unless the world community acts decisively and with great urgency, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013."

The panel's report makes clear the urgency of nonproliferation efforts, warning that "the more proliferation that occurs, the greater the risk of additional proliferation, as nations that have to this point declined to acquire nuclear weapons will believe it necessary to counter their neighbors who have developed those capabilities." As this "increases the prospect that these weapons will be poorly secured and thus may be stolen by terrorists", the commission made a number of recommendations about addressing this threat.

The Boston Globe reports that President-elect Obama is set to heed the eighth recommendation of the commission by designating a White House principal advisor for WMD proliferation and terrorism.

President-elect Obama's administration can help prevent nuclear terrorism by taking seriously as well the recommendation to "work internationally toward strengthening the nonproliferation regime, reaffirming the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons." Only by doing so can we truly hope to turn back the tide against proliferation, prevent Iran and other dangerous regimes and terrorist groups from obtaining nuclear weapons, and ensure the instability and terrorism emanating from Pakistan do not involve even deadlier weapons.

The Reform Movement has long called for the world to work together to prevent the massive destruction wrought by the use of nuclear weapons by achieving total nuclear disarmament. While the White House must step up its efforts, we must also get involved in the effort to create a safer world free of nuclear dangers.

One way to get involved with the work to create a safer, nuclear weapons free world is to take action through our partner, the Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World.

Indeed, as the report's final recommendation states, "citizens should hold their governments accountable." Let's do so and make sure our government is doing everything possible to keep us safe by eliminating the threat of nuclear weapons from the earth.

Compassion Knows No Borders

2008-11-17T23:03:47Z

By Rabbi Eric Yoffie
(Originally published in Reform Judaism magazine)
No one can listen to CNN's Lou Dobbs without being struck by the thinly veiled contempt he expresses for the immigrants, legal and illegal, who make their way to America's shores.

Mr. Dobbs seems to think of immigrants as somehow less than human. Like Pat Buchanan, Tom Tancredo, and other anti-immigration ideologues, he speaks of them as if they were parasites who feed off the rest of us while destroying our economy and undermining our national identity.

It is true that we need a better immigration policy than the one we have--one with a more effective method of securing our borders, a system that will give illegal immigrants a way to earn citizenship, and a guest worker program that will provide the human resources our economy requires. But as important as these goals are for the next administration, it is even more important that our new president speak out against the disdain for other human beings that is at the heart of Mr. Dobbs' nativistic populism. Jews know from long experience that such attitudes usually have less to do with legitimate economic self-interest than with a petty, bigoted mindset that undermines American ideals.

More often than not, anti-immigrant hate-mongers are not talking about illegal immigration but about the Latino population as a whole, and what they fear, it appears, is the threat that Mexican and Central American immigrants supposedly pose to our national culture. While I don't object to anyone who argues that our country needs a common culture and language and a sense of history and collective destiny, I reject the baseless claim that Latinos are somehow incapable or unwilling to participate in our national narrative. Jews should remember that the same false claims were made against us in the early part of the 20th century.

As Jews, it is not only our history as an immigrant people that should make us sympathetic to the immigrant experience. Our sacred texts demonstrate an abiding concern with assuring the welfare of the stranger. As Leviticus 19:10 makes clear, the Children of Israel are commanded to show care not only to the poor but also to the foreigner.

In short, the Dobbsian contempt for the immigrant is the very antithesis of Jewish teachings. We Jews have learned that immigrants, especially in America, are almost always a blessing. We know that in welcoming others with compassion we inevitably strengthen ourselves. And we know too that people who close the borders of their country usually end up closing their minds.

When Heartland Pigs Fly

2008-11-08T01:13:43Z

By Dr. Magda Peck
(First posted on the RACblog)

Dr. Magda Peck is a member of the URJ Commission on Social Action and chairs its Task Force on Economic Justice, Women and Families. She is a member of Temple Israel in Omaha, Nebraska where she is a Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The views expressed below are, of course, her own.

When victory for Barack Obama was called just past 10 last Tuesday night, some remarkable things happened.

In the packed Omaha Hilton ballroom where usual Democrat diehards were outnumbered by fresh faces, shrieks of collective disbelief erupted. Deafening shouts of stunning joy filled room. Older Black women sunk into their seats, sobbing, palms raised high praising G-d. Gay couples openly embraced. Swarms of young folks locked arms and jumped up and down for a long, long time. My younger son David, a freshman at American in DC, called: "Ma! Barack Obama is MY President!" Sobbing and laughing, he kept shouting "I can't believe it! I can't believe it!" From Omaha to the nation's capital and so many places in between: "shock and awe," redefined.

For the last 18 years, it has not been easy being a passionately progressive, fast-talking East Coast Jew on Election Day (or any other day) in consistently conservative Nebraska. "Go Big Red" is not just about football in this massive state of 77,000 square miles, 1.8 million mostly white people, and just 6,000 Jews. But this year, prairie winds have been shifting.

We knew something was happening last winter when nearly 10,000 people flooded the Civic Center to hear Barack Obama on less than 48 hours notice. A few days later, more than 1,700 people showed up at our polling place alone for the first Democratic caucus in 40 years. The line outside to register persisted for three hours in blustery 14-degree weather. In the end, I cradled a makeshift ballot box for Obama as hundreds and hundreds of people filed by, placing their blue slips of paper in the bulk toilet paper box we had requisitioned from the middle school janitor's closet. "Keep it safe!" they pleaded. "Do you think it will really count this time?" asked an older black man with tears in his eyes.

When the Obama campaign established an office in Omaha and put paid staff on site, we scratched our heads. Then three more offices opened, with more staff and a growing army of volunteers to blanket the district. Back when it was neck and neck, the "Omaha scenario" had some national play. Like Maine, Nebraska splits its electoral votes by congressional district. If Obama took CD2 - Omaha - it could be the one-vote tiebreaker.

Going door-to-door last weekend in 75-degree weather, hope oozed. When doors opened to us in the last hours of daylight on the 4th, most folks were positively beaming: Yes, ma'am, we've voted. There was a swelling pride, a palpable sense of real possibility. And then it happened.

But it was more than just Barack Obama. Within the Black Jewish Dialogue I have convened about once a month for the last 10 years, all five folks running for offices - State Legislature, County Commission, School Board, Learning Community - were elected. All women. Four African-Americans. In all, I counted more than a dozen remarkable friends and colleagues who won their races across the state. Good people grounded in social justice, tired of being discounted, who long to serve and want to assure a reasoned, progressive voice, right here in the Heartland.

It will not be easy service. Our celebration of an American President-Elect who is African-American was deeply sobered this week by the chilling outcome of a widely approved constitutional Amendment 424: a statewide ban on affirmative action in Nebraska's public institutions. Scattered angry voices in letters to the editor and racist talk in high school corridors stoke embers of hatred, fear and retribution.

Given resounding election results elsewhere, the national media have lost interest in an Omaha scenario. But pay attention: As of this morning, that one electoral vote for President from Nebraska's second congressional district is still up for grabs. Ten thousand early and absentee votes are yet to be counted, and today's Omaha World Herald reports that it is looking very good for Barack Obama. It would be a small but significant first in American history to have a state split its Electoral College votes. And for this Nebraska mile marker to coincide with the election of Illinois Senator Barack Hussein Obama, we must ask ourselves and each other: What is now possible that was not possible before?

Who ever said that pigs can't fly in the Heartland?

Election Reflections

2008-11-06T20:14:11Z

By JanetheWriter
Yesterday during lunch, Naomi, one of my colleagues, told the following story:

Her father was a poll worker in Wisconsin on Election Day. An elderly African-American woman came in to vote. She was carrying with her a small package. The poll workers asked her what it was and she said, "I brought my ancestors with me." With that, she opened the package and took out pictures of several deceased relatives. The poll workers helped her set them up in the voting booth so they could be with her when she voted.

Naomi said that she's told the story three or four times and gets teary with each telling. She isn't the only one.

* * *

As always happens when I go to vote, I think about my grandparents. My grandfather died in March of 1986 and my grandmother in July of 1991. And, while I observe their yahrzeits at the appropriate season each year, I also think of Election Day as a pseudo-yahrzeit for each of them. In this, their adopted country, they savored the right to step up, to raise their voices, and to have them count. Never did either of them miss a trip to the polls on Election Day. Indeed, it is a most fitting tribute to their memories.

It was these thoughts that occupied my mind as I left my polling place. On the short walk home, I began to "percolate" this post in my head. That was before I found the following poem on the blog of Rabbi James Stone Goodman:

Prayer After Voting

I voted
O holy God, I voted,
I felt good voting.
I honored my predecessors -
My grandparents, my parents of blessed memory -
Knowing, for them,
Voting
Was an ascendant experience.
They had complete confidence in our country
To provide opportunity for us
Their children
- That they did not have.

That is a matter of memory
Because I have had all opportunity,
But their stories reminded me that they
Did not.

I voted with the intention to honor them.
This year I voted from frustration too.

I voted against negativist language
Stiff, formal, and unbelievable to me -
The handlers speaking through puppets
Playing off fear in our country
When I want to vote for hope.

I voted for hope.
I voted for a deeper level of discourse
For a lower timbre of speech
Don't yell at me pundits and politicians
And don't think I am so easily played.
You couldn't reach me with your strategies -
This year your strategies were transparent
And ugly -
And I turned off your voices
When they weren't honest voices.

The problem is always discernment -
This year it was easy.
I know the truth when I hear it.
I voted out of discernment.

I voted for hope
I voted with the intention of honoring
Those who voted before me
During periods of higher expectations.

O holy God, I voted for higher expectations
Authenticity
Purification of purpose
Real talk from real people.

Politicos -- don't sweet talk me.
I'll vote again.

After such eloquence, there is nothing left to say.

"You wouldn't be voting for Obama today if Andy Goodman hadn't gone to Mississippi "

2008-11-05T21:35:33Z

(First posted on the RACblog)
The following is an e-mail letter from Doug Mishkin to his daughter Arielle and their very close friend Melanie Anenberg. Doug, a lawyer with the Washington Office of Patton Boggs, is a long time activist who developed a close friendship with Carolyn Goodman, mother of slain Civil Rights worker Andrew Goodman.

Arielle and Melanie:

I woke up today thinking of the two of you. In your first election, you'll get to vote for an African-American (if I ever learn that you did otherwise, well, it's a free country and you can do what you want, but don't bother coming home).

I can't resist taking note of this. Your parents wondered whether we would EVER get to do this. How did this happen? Well, it happened for lots of reasons. But you got to touch one of those reasons personally. We sat in Carolyn's house during that vacation (you know, the best Mishkin vacation ever because Melanie was with us) and she told you the story of Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney.

Now, historians are quick to point out that we can't really prove why things happen in history; and we certainly can't prove that things would have been different if other things hadn't happened (if Lincoln hadn't been shot, would the U.S. have been different after the Civil War?).

But I can tell you this: you wouldn't be voting for Obama today if Andy Goodman hadn't gone to Mississippi to register blacks to vote. When he was killed, it pricked the conscience of our country. We are a better country than that. It took his death, and those of Schwerner and Chaney, to make the country see that. The country was never the same. So although I cannot PROVE that history would have been different without Andy Goodman, I don't need proof. I know it.

It would have been sweet had Carolyn lived to see what she and Andy and everyone else from Freedom Summer in Mississippi accomplished. As with Obama's grandmother, it wasn't meant to be. So be it. Think of her today. And Melanie, when you're with a million people tonight, give a cheer for me.

Dad/Doug

President Obama: (Community) Organizer in Chief

2008-11-05T21:00:00Z

By Rabbi Jonah Pesner
(First posted on the RACblog)
Rabbi Jonah Pesner is the Founding Director of the Union for Reform Judaism's Just Congregations.

Shortly before he began his presidential campaign, Senator Barack Obama sat down for most of an afternoon with Mark Pelavin and me. We were struck at the time by the intensity with which he listened, and by the probing nature of his questions about Just Congregations. We were happily surprised that he had read the materials on our website (not every elected official does their homework for a routine meeting!). The Senator wanted to know not just about our mission and goals, but also about me. He wasn't satisfied with what; he wanted to know why. Why did I believe in the work I was doing?

I believe that Obama's inquisitiveness is directly related to his experience as a community organizer. Among the most critical qualities of an effective organizer is an authentic curiosity about others. When Obama was only twenty-four, he learned in organizing training that to be powerful in public life, a leader needs a strong, vast network of people who will follow him or her. Consequently, he knows that people only follow a leader if he or she understands them; their values, concerns, interests and motivations. (I received my own training as a community organizer from the same group that trained Obama: the Industrial Areas Foundation, founded by the late Saul Alinsky. In fact, Obama and I were both trained by the same organizer, Arnie Graf, who now mentors me in my role as Director of Just Congregations.)

I have given considerable thought to the question: what will it mean to have a community organizer serve as the President of the United States? The answer is interesting to me as an organizer, of course, but it has significant implications about the way President Obama will govern; about our ability to have an impact in Washington over the next four years and beyond; and more broadly about what organizing can teach us about being an effective force for social justice, as the Jewish tradition calls us to be.

One can begin to understand how Obama leads in the way he ran his campaign. The pundits referred to the "ground-game" with a heavy emphasis on field offices and voter turnout efforts. What the press rarely explained was the person-to-person nature of the effort. The campaign field organizers reached out to thousands of volunteers and treated them like leaders. Rather than assign them tasks, like phone calls and leafleting, they trained them to recruit friends, family and neighbors to join an Obama team. They were given training and support, and then allowed the freedom to develop a strategy to get commitments from voters to support Obama. In this way, the campaign built a grassroots movement. They trained leaders who recruited new people, identified new leaders, and spread the campaign across the country, neighborhood by neighborhood.

Our President-Elect understands the core organizing principle that the power to make real change comes from people acting together. He knew his campaign would have to bring together a broadly and deeply engaged constituency to support his candidacy. Local efforts by an army of volunteer leaders who hosted house parties, campaign events, and various Internet-based activities were every bit as important to the Obama campaign as were television advertisements. In fact, the television ads were only possible because of effective, grassroots fundraising. Thousands and thousands of local leaders hosted fundraisers and forwarded seemingly endless emails to their friends and neighbors.

Community organizers like to distinguish between "action" and "activity." Often, they teach, we engage in activity and are busy, but nothing really changes. Action however causes a reaction - a change in the world. On the streets of Chicago, Obama was held accountable by the people he was organizing in a very straightforward way: did our lives improve? Did the city remove the asbestos from public housing? Obama ran as a "change" candidate because a community organizer believes that the purpose of bringing people together is to act effectively to make a real change that will improve people's lives.

Just as Obama ran his campaign by emphasizing local leadership and engaging a broad constituency to fight for his candidacy, he will need to govern the same way. Whether it is in passing significant legislation to reform health care, address the economic crisis, or shift course in foreign policy, Obama understands the importance of an organized, energized constituency to fight for the change. Saul Alinsky had a story he liked to tell about Franklin Roosevelt. After a White House meeting with advocates, the president said, "OK, you've convinced me. Now go on out and bring pressure on me!" All Presidents depend on organized people to apply enough pressure to overcome resistant forces - perhaps the best example was the failure of the Clinton health plan. For Obama to pass large-scale health reform, his administration will have to organize the American people to put pressure on Congress and fight back special interests and resistant forces.

Perhaps this is where we fit in. The Reform Jewish movement is an organized constituency. We are 1.5 million people clustered in more than 900 congregations in fifty-states. We have a shared set of Jewish values that bind us, and give us the capacity to influence the direction of the nation. For decades, the Religious Action Center has been the Prophetic voice of our Movement in Washington. More important, the RAC and the Commission on Social Action have had an influence on American civil and religious rights, foreign policy, and a variety of other causes.

The Obama presidency creates an enormous opportunity for Reform Jews. This administration will keenly understand the need for organized constituencies to support its agenda. This challenges us to do more than speak out on compelling issues of social and economic justice. We must organize around those issues. Just as Obama saw his volunteers as leaders who would build his base of constituents, we see our member congregations as the networks of leaders who have the ability to organize local Jewish communities to advocate for the issues of social and economic justice that reflect our most deeply held Jewish values.

The current health care reform initiative launched by Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Yoffie at the last Biennial is a powerful example. Across the country, our congregations are fighting for health reform on a statewide level. Though we are supporting their efforts, we are trusting them to determine the best strategy on a local level. When President-elect Obama puts forward a proposal on health reform, we won't just be another interested group in Washington - we will be an organized constituency that is willing to fight for quality, affordable health care for all.

It is worth concluding with a reflection on the spirituality of the next president. Obama became a committed religious person in his twenties while he was organizing in African American churches in Chicago. It was there he discovered the power of organized people to make real change in the world. He also discovered the power of religious traditions to inspire those people, and articulate their shared values, their most deeply held beliefs.

I believe Obama understands community organizing as redemptive, because through organizing local people take responsibility for transforming their own lives and communities. I also believe he sees it a religious pursuit. I felt this most keenly the night he spoke after his very first primary victory, in Iowa back in May. In defending his campaign theme of hope Senator Obama said:

"Hope is the bedrock of this nation. The belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be."

I was stunned when I heard that powerful phrase, in part because its also in the mission statement of Just Congregations which reads, "Our purpose is redemption: the sacred transformation of the world as it is -- parched by oppression-- into the world as we know it should be -- overflowing with justice." The President-Elect and I both learned the language of the "transformation of the world as it is into the world as it should be" at our training as community organizers. In truth, Saul Alinsky and the Industrial Areas Foundation didn't make it up either - they learned it from the biblical language of redemption.

On the eve of this new era for the United States of America, let us look no further than ourselves to find the leadership to transform the world. That's where the power lies.

Growing the Green Economy

2008-10-29T19:41:14Z

By Rachel Cohen
(First posted on the RACblog)
With special thanks to Legislative Assistant Micaela Hellman-Tincher for her contributions to this post.

Last week, Mayor Ron Dellums and Rep. Barbara Lee unveiled the Oakland Green Jobs Corps, a program designed to train young city residents to participate in green industry, which is rapidly expanding throughout California. While the program starts small by giving 40 young adults skills in green construction and solar panel installation, advocates hope that it will become a pilot for green jobs programs around the country. At a time when both jobs and new energy solutions are in high demand, there is clearly fertile ground for such initiatives. Weatherization programs, like the Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program, have already provided 8,000 jobs weatherizing homes in low-income communities. These workers not only help communities reduce their carbon footprint, but they also help to lower the cost burden of heating and cooling by an average of 15% for low-income families.

Americans are ready for green jobs, and scholars and advocates already have plans to put the green economy into action: Van Jones, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and longtime environmental activist, recently wrote The Green Collar Economy, a plan to solve the economic and environmental crises at once by focusing on creating jobs in the clean energy sector. A recent New York Times Magazine cover story on the new green economy explains how entrepreneurs with millions to invest have ideas to revolutionize our economy and our environment with everything from plug-in hybrid cars to algae-based biofuels. The message is simple: Green is good- not just for our planet, but for our national bottom line.

Building the green economy fulfills two of our most important obligations as Jews; to 'till and to tend' our Earth, and to care for the most vulnerable among us. In fact, Judaism teaches that the highest form of tzedakah is to help another person towards being self-sufficient, and new green jobs are a big step forward for those struggling though our economic and energy crises. The new green economy could cut carbon emissions drastically, putting us on the path to 80% emissions reductions by 2050, the standard recommended by the International Panel on Climate Change. If we build the green economy right, we can also ensure access to productive jobs with competitive wages to Americans currently facing unemployment, unpaid mortgages, and heaps of debt.

We need a massive undertaking to rebuild our transportation infrastructure, retrofit old buildings for greater energy efficiency and water conservation, and build a national network of solar panels and wind turbines to help power our electric grid. This transition will require massive amounts of labor, and as unemployment insurance runs out for thousands across the country, Americans are ready to step up and take these jobs. Finally, economists and environmentalists are realizing that they are allies, not opponents, and that together, we can be the innovative America we want to be.

Getting Out the (Disabled) Vote

2008-10-23T21:03:22Z

By Rabbi Lynne Landsberg
(First posted on the RACblog)
Rabbi Lynne Landsberg is the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's Senior Advisor on Disability Issues. She is a former Associate Director of the RAC and a former regional director of the URJ's Mid-Atlantic Council.

Earlier this month, I blogged about the Americans With Disabilities (ADA) Amendments Act and the work the Jewish Disability Network engaged in to see it passed this year. With one success under our belts, the coalition is now looking ahead to the future: Among our immediate priorities is making sure that the 37 million Americans with disabilities who are eligible to vote get to the polls on Election Day.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was followed by the National Voting Rights Act of 1965, ensuring that Americans of color were not prevented from voting. Although the original ADA guaranteed voting rights to individuals with disabilities, greater effort must be devoted to enforcement of the law.

In reality, many polling places are still inaccessible in various ways. One of the most significant accessibility problems is ill-informed poll workers who do not know how to use the accessible voting machines or are unaware some people with disabilities are allowed to have an aide of their choice accompany them into the booth. I encourage you to check out the disabilities section of the RAC's "Get Out the Vote 2008 Guide," which lists practical suggestions and vital information in helping get out the vote:

One crucial step is encouraging trustworthy people to check in advance that local polling places are fully accessible to individuals with disabilities. Keep an eye out for elevators, lifts, ramps, disability-accessible parking spots, etc. Where such accessibility aids do not exist, contact your local Board of Elections to address these issues.
Last month, I encouraged rabbis to appeal for congregants to volunteer to be poll workers. To volunteer, just contact your local election board: Just about every jurisdiction is still short of poll workers for the upcoming election.
Some synagogues have developed a list of volunteers who will drive people with disabilities and/or seniors to polling places. Now is the time to create such a list; then, by means of emails, fliers and Web sites, publicize that rides are available and detail how they can be ascertained. (Note: Because synagogues are tax exempt, you'll have to refrain from actually discussing politics during the synagogue-sponsored car ride to the polls because, well, it's illegal.)

The number of Americans with disabilities is staggering; an invisible minority. If these Americans turned out to vote, they could have a significant and tremendous impact on each party's agenda for the next presidential administration, as well as on the 111th Congress as a whole.

The Marriage Equality Trifecta

2008-10-17T23:19:25Z

By Kate Bigam
(First posted on the RACBlog)
Kate Bigam is the Press Secretary at the Religious Action Center.

The fight for marriage equality is heating up in California, Florida and Arizona, states that will see November ballot initiatives to amend their state constitutions to prohibit same-sex marriage. Here's a quick update on each state's grassroots campaign to oppose these dangerous and discriminatory initiatives (including a little help from Ellen DeGeneres!) and some insight into how Reform rabbis are helping out:

Arizonans voted no on a similar measure in 2006, and now they're up against the same thing this year. Now, Vote No on Prop. 102 is seeking volunteers to help spread the word about this dangerous initiative and offering $5.00 yard signs that advertise opposition to the amendment. Reform Rabbis Helen. T Cohn (Congregation Chaverim) and Thomas A. Louchheim (Congregation Or Chadash) joined an oppositional statement with other faith leaders, saying, "This amendment is morally, religiously, and financially divisive, and would be destructive to many Arizona families."

Clergy of varied religions and denominations, including Rabbi Jack Romberg of Temple Israel in Tallahassee, came together to launch Florida Clergy for Fairness, a coalition of religious leaders opposed to Florida's Amendment 2. Sunshine State rabbis and cantors (and other clergy, if you're reading this!) are invited to join. And in other Florida news, Fairness for All Families has posted its list of the top 10 reasons Floridians should vote no on Amendment 2.

In California, synagogues like Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood (where Rabbi Denise Eger was one of the first clergy to officiate a California same-sex wedding in May!) are joining in by participating in phone banking and engaging in interfaith work to actively oppose the initiative. Even Ellen DeGeneres has teamed up with the No on 8 campaign, Equality for All, to encourage voters to oppose the proposed constitutional amendment that would overturn the California Supreme Judicial Court's May ruling that the state's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.

The Union for Reform Judaism has long been a supporter of equality for same-sex couples. If you vote in California, Florida, or Arizona, I encourage you to learn more about the ballot initiative in your state and then, come Election Day, to vote in favor of fairness and equality.

Learning from youth

2008-10-11T01:38:31Z

By Gardening Grandma
A story in this morning's New York Times about the growing army of "eco-kids" not only grabbed my attention, it made me proud: "Pint-Size Eco-Police, Making Parents Proud and Sometimes Crazy" highlights how children are teaching their parents a lesson or two about caring for this earth, sometimes to the frustration of their parents.

While Judaism was not mentioned in the story, nothing could be closer to our hearts than protecting the earth and working to repair the damage we've created. As today's emailed Ten Minutes of Torah by Rabbi Marla Feldman notes, "to neglect our role in maintaining the fragile balance of nature is to default on our very first commitment in our covenant with God - our sacred duty to be stewards of God's Creation." She goes on to note that Sukkot is a perfect time to reinforce our connection to the natural world around us.

For more ideas about what to do this Sukkot, check out www.urj.org.

Reflecting on 5768: A Victorious Year in Disability Rights

2008-10-07T20:16:37Z

By Rabbi Lynne Landsberg
(First posted on the RACblog)
Rabbi Lynne Landsberg is the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's Senior Advisor on Disability Issues. She is a former Associate Director of the RAC and a former regional director of the URJ's Mid-Atlantic Council.

In 1999, I sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury when my Jeep skidded on a patch of black ice and wrapped around a tree. When I awoke from a six-week coma, I was unable to remember how to live. Through years of intensive rehabilitation, I re-learned how to walk, talk, concentrate, read and perform daily activities. Now, I walk with a cane, speak slowly and require assistance with minor tasks.

My activist gut, however, was one organ unaffected by my accident. Early in my new position as the RAC's Senior Advisor on Disability Issues, I met with Amy Aarons Rosen, Senior Legislative Associate of United Jewish Communities. Together, we formed the Jewish Disability Coalition, made up of the Washington representatives of national Jewish organizations. The coalition works closely with the larger organized disability community, evident especially in our work to pass the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008. The bill addresses the erosion of workplace protections for individuals with disabilities that has occurred since the original ADA was passed in 1990.

At the start of 2008, the Jewish Disability Network met with members of the Epilepsy Foundation who served as leaders within the ADA Working Group, a broad coalition of civil rights and disability organizations dedicated to seeing passage of the ADA Amendments Act become a reality. In February, with the guidance of the working group, members of the Jewish Disability Network participated in a day of advocacy on Capitol Hill, targeting key members of the four Congressional committees with jurisdiction over the bill. We also sent two letters to every member of Congress urging the bill's enactment - one was signed by a whopping 60 national, state and local Jewish organizations, the other by more than 20 national interfaith organizations.

What's more, the RAC's action alert urging passage of the ADA Amendments Act saw tons of traffic this year, resulting in hundreds of letters from our congregants to their members of Congress, and many of our L'Taken participants lobbied their members of Congress in person about the importance of protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities.

This summer, all our hard work paid off when the bill saw its first big victory. The ADA Amendments Act passed overwhelmingly in the House, a widely celebrated win that inspired further hope that Congress would enact the bill before the end of the year. After Senate passage in September, President George W. Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act into law, representing a monumental success on the part of civil rights activists nationwide. Legislative Assistant Jason Fenster and I even attended a luncheon celebrating the bill's enactment, a day we won't soon forget.

But as Senator Harkin (D-Iowa), a sponsor of the original Americans with Disabilities Act, said at an ADA 18th anniversary celebration this year, "With the ADA, we have climbed the mountain and reached the top, but we still have not fully arrived at the Promised Land.

In other words, we have much to do. The Jewish Disability Network's next and most immediate priority is to ensure that Americans with disabilities who are eligible to vote get out to the polls this Election Day, unhindered by mental and physical accessibility barriers. If these 37 million Americans were able to vote, they could have a tremendous impact on each party's agenda for the next presidential administration, as well as on the 111th Congress.

This year, we witnessed a momentous success in the field of civil rights for individuals with disabilities. As the 110th Congress comes to a close, I urge you all to bear in mind our victory this year and to maintain that momentum on as we push for similar successes in the 111th Congress.

Third Time's the Charm

2008-10-03T23:29:17Z

By Jill Zimmerman
First posted on the RACblog
On September 6th my best friend's uncles, Dan Henkle and Steve Kawa, walked down the aisle for the third -- and finally legal -- time.

Dan and Steve first became domestic partners in 1995 and were one of the few couples personally married by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom during the "Winter of Love" in 2004. (Steve is the Mayor's Chief of Staff.) They have shared a home in San Francisco for over 13 years and have two beautiful children, Katherine and Michael. But this September wedding was the first time the couple's commitment was legally sanctioned.

However, a California ballot initiative is threatening to take away the right for couples like Dan and Steve to be married under California state law. Proposition 8, which will be on California ballots November 4th, would amend the California State Constitution to say: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Similar measures will be on the ballots in Florida and Arizona, and one that would prevent gay couples from adopting children will be on the ballots in Hawaii.

So, instead of asking for coffee makers and monogrammed towels, Dan and Steve asked guests to make a donation to Equality California's No on Proposition 8 (Stop the Marriage Ban).

Jewish tradition teaches that each of us, created in God's image, has a unique talent, with which we can contribute to the high moral purpose of tikkun olam, the repair of our world. Excluding anyone from our community lessens our chance of achieving this goal of a more perfect world.

And in case that isn't motivation enough, Brad Pitt is donating $100,000 to help fight the marriage ban.

This Week Is Like a Box of Chocolates

2008-09-28T20:23:39Z

By Barbara Weinstein
Legislative Director of the Religious Action Center
I'm an I Love Lucy aficionado. I have seen every episode, can recite by heart the Vitametavegamin routine that ends with Lucy sloshed on the alcohol-laced health tonic, and know that the longest laugh the show recorded came when Lucy did the tango with a shirt stuffed full of raw eggs. But for my money, the funniest episode is called "Job Switching," where Lucy and Ethel get jobs in a candy factory. Watching Lucy-as-candy-wrapper try and keep up with the ever-faster conveyor belt of chocolates is watching a master comedian at her best.

Sometimes, I feel a bit like Lucy at Kramer's Kandy Kitchen. That's particularly true this week as Congress tries to work through myriad bills that have languished for months, while also dealing with the economic challenges on Wall Street, and trying to leave town to campaign before Election Day. The legislative team at the RAC has been busily strategizing, posting action alerts, firing off letters to members of Congress, issuing press releases, and trying to make sure that social justice values are reflected in our laws.

There's still much more to be done, but already we've seen some significant victories in the last four days. After years of failed attempts, the House and Senate have both passed identical mental health parity bills. Pressure needs to be put on Congress to make sure the bill gets to the President, but all signs look promising. And speaking of bills signed by the President, after 18 years of misguided court rulings limiting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), today saw enactment of the ADA Amendments Act. Under the guidance of Rabbi Lynne Landsberg, the RAC has helped lead the Jewish community's advocacy on this bill, which will provide greater protection for those who face discrimination because of a disability. Today's victory, just before Rosh Hashanah, seemed sweeter than honey.

We're also happy about something that's NOT happening: namely, a Senate vote on a bill that would repeal a host of gun control laws in Washington DC. Our advocacy against the bill wasn't enough to stop its House passage last week, but working with a strong group of Senators, it looks as though a Senate vote isn't in the cards. We coordinated a joint effort of groups in the faith and civil rights communities to demonstrate the broad opposition to this bill, and it is gratifying to see positive results.

But above all, we were heartened by the decision this week of the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution of

Georgia

death row inmate Troy Davis. Mr. Davis was convicted of killing a police officer over 15 years ago. Yet there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, and the prosecution's case was based entirely on the testimony of witnesses who have since recanted their statements. Many witnesses say their statements were, in fact, coerced by the police. For the past two years, we have weighed in with the Georgia State Parole Board to encourage them to review Mr. Davis's case, though Mr. Davis was again scheduled to be executed this past Tuesday. With two hours to go, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a last-minute stay, and this coming Monday will decide whether to hear his appeal. There are no second chances when it comes to the death penalty, and the Supreme Court's decision gives us hope that justice will truly be served.

This blog is already longer than Lucy's nose when she disguised herself to meet movie star William Holden, but I hope it gives you a taste of just a few days at the RAC this week. The victories have indeed been sweeter than any chocolate Lucy wrapped could be.

Go Take a Walk! Small Steps to a Better World

2008-09-25T17:38:54Z

By Gardening Grandma
Rachel Cohen, an Eisendrath legislative assistant at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, writes on the RAC's blog about the "walk to school" movements popping up in Massachusetts and around the world. Parents and children are making the conscious decision to walk more and drive less, and are doing so at a time when speed and safety are both paramount concerns for families.

It's no surprise that the motivating factor is not exercise (although with the obesity problems in our country, that alone would be great) but rather about reducing our carbon footprint.

But why limit it to children? Next time you need a quart of milk, a book from the library, or some cash from the ATM, why not leave the car in the garage and take a walk? Better yet, why not walk to services this Rosh Hashanah?

Hechsher tzedek

2008-09-10T20:11:04Z

By Larry Kaufman
Well, our Reform rabbinate has endorsed the Conservative "hechsher tzedek" stating whether or not the meat is kosher isn't just a factor of how the animal was slaughtered, but of how the workers were treated.

Back in the days when we were boycotting California grapes, we probably talked about social justice and prophetic values - but the Reform movement wasn't at the point where it could have talked about kosher and treyf.

As it happened, our speaker at Shabbat services on Labor Day weekend talked about his participation in the recent protest march at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville. (For those arriving in the middle of the movie, that's the large kosher meat company that's been the subject of a Forward investigation and of a raid and roundup of undocumented workers by the Feds.) I told our guest that I don't keep kosher, but I consider the Postville meat treyf.

The story has been told* about the sick child who was ordered by his doctor to eat bacon. The parents consulted the rabbi, who cited pikuach nefesh, the saving of life, as the operative Jewish value - and said the parents should comply with the doctor's orders, but that they should make sure the hog was properly slaughtered. Lo and behold, the hog was found to have some kind of blemish, which was taken to the rabbi for a ruling - was it permissible to eat the meat from this animal? The rabbi inspected the blemish, and said, If this were a lamb, or a calf, I would say the blemish is immaterial. But how can I pronounce a pig kosher!

The recent resolution about the hechsher tzedek seems to provide a similar anomaly. Although the third draft of what became the CCAR Pittsburgh Principles of 1999 allowed for the possibility of kashrut, by the final draft, dietary laws had been consigned to the commentary. That commentary did presage the recent action on hechsher tzedek:

An example of this might be extending dietary restrictions to animals raised under conditions violating tzar baaley chayim (inflicting pain on living creatures), or refraining from foods which demonstrate the oshek, oppression, of those who work the fields to harvest our foods.

Had I been one of the rabbis that wanted something like the above excerpt from the commentary to be in the body of the document, I think I might be feeling a little aggrieved right now about having been beaten to the punch by the Conservatives. But I would console myself by appreciating how far we've come in these nine years towards reclaiming and re-forming formerly rejected practices - and even more by remembering that the best way to accomplish something is not to worry about who's going to get the credit.

*I think the source for this tale in Let Laughter Ring, a collection of Jewish jokes compiled some 65 years ago by the late Rabbi S. Felix Mendelsohn of Temple Beth Israel in Chicago.

Awakening to Action in Elul

2008-09-08T23:50:09Z

By Micaela Hellman-Tincher
This past week marked the first week of the Hebrew month of Elul. During Elul, my mom calls me every day to blow the shofar over the phone, to get us ready for the High Holy Days. I have always been taught that the shofar was meant to be a kind of alarm that roused us from our normal lives and instructed us to prepare for the new year and the days of awe.

For me, Elul has also always marked the end of summer and the beginning of school, and shofar phone calls usually coincided with figuring out my workload for the upcoming year. This year Elul's shofar blasts mean something different as I start my work at the RAC. Elul's shofar calls come at a time when I am being shaken awake to realize the urgent issues facing the world around me.

In our orientation as new RAC legislative assistants, we've learned that there are only a few weeks left before Congress adjourns for the elections recess, and may even be the last time the 110th Congress meets at all. Just as there is less than one month till the days of awe begin, there is also only a month left in the legislative calendar for the 110th Congress. With such a short time frame, we know that not all our legislative priorities will make it onto the Congressional agenda. Elul marks a month in which we must decide which bills to focus our efforts on this year, and which will likely be brought up in the next Congress.

In my opinion, one of the most urgent bills is an economic stimulus package that addresses the pressing needs caused by rising fuel and food prices. Knowing that many more people will be unable to have nutritious meals in order to pay heating bills this winter makes it obvious to me that the stimulus package is an Elul priority that cannot wait until next Congress. I'm looking forward to going full force on this effort through the end of Elul, and you can help by encouraging Congress to support this bill.

The gates of heaven will open at the end of Elul, but the halls of Congress will be closed, likely until the secular new year, so let's get some good bills through to last us until then.

(First posted on the RACBlog)

A Journey of A Thousand Miles

2008-08-06T22:50:08Z

By Rabbi Scott Sperling
There are moments when we can sense that history is in the making. Last month, I stood in a receiving line at Spain's famous Prado Palace so that I might shake hands with the kings of Saudi Arabia and Spain. In that experience and all that happened over the ensuing three days, I felt a part of such a historic moment. I was fortunate enough to represent the Union for Reform Judaism and our Commission on Interreligious Affairs at the Muslim World League's World Conference on Dialogue in Madrid, Spain.

This conference brought together approximately 300 delegates from every corner of the globe and who represented the broad spectrum of the world's religions. While the plenary sessions were interesting and occasionally heated and controversial, the real work of the conference took place in hallways and at our communal meals. I had conversation with an astonishing variety of people.

At one meal, I broke bread with the assistant to the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and the assistant mufti for Russia. At another meal, I had an exceptionally intense conversation with an official of a Muslim organization in Mumbai (Bombay), India about the spiritual and emotional impact on him when he completed the haj-the traditional Muslim pilgrimage. Between sessions on the first full day of the conference, I spoke with a Shinto priest from Japan who is engaged in promoting Buddhist-Muslim dialogue.

There were also moments of discomfort and anxiety. While most of the speakers focused on the positive aspects of interreligious dialogue, some chose to lay a heavy burden of blame on Israel and Jews for the violence and upheavals in the Middle East. The Jewish people were well represented when Rabbi David Rosen, Director of the American Jewish Committee's Department for Interreligious Affairs, spoke with passion and eloquence about the need for the world to understand the Jewish people's historic and religious connections to the land of Israel.

Sparks also flew when some delegates raised the issue of the virtual absence of women at the conference. Yet, to their credit, the Saudi organizers of the program brought an articulate Spanish-Muslim woman onto the panel for the next plenary session.

Many people questioned the sincerity of the Saudis in hosting this event as they speculated about their motives, their reasons for holding the event in Spain and the potential for any substantive progress to be made in such a gathering. Yet, during the course of the conference, members of at least four different faith communities repeated to me their version of the maxim, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Each time, I enthusiastically agreed that this conference represented just such a first step.

In over thirty years of doing interfaith work, I have come to believe that even as we work with organizations and strive to shape governmental policies, real progress is also made by building one relationship at a time. To illustrate this point, I want to share a portion of an email (slightly edited) that I received from one of my new Indian-Muslim acquaintances.

Mr. Nisaar Nadiadwala wrote,

Greetings of Peace,

Indeed it was a great pleasure to meet you in Madrid. I did not know that there are so many organizations in the US that promote interfaith dialogue and interfaith understanding. This day my outlook towards the West has changed drastically and I believe that I am the one who has benefited the best from this interfaith dialogue in Madrid.

Mr. Nadiadwala and I and the hundreds of others who shared in this experience all benefited, as together we took the first step of a long, complicated but critically important journey towards understanding and reconciliation.

Rabbis Run for Autism

2008-07-30T21:43:38Z

By dcc
This "mini-press release" just came across my desk. The Running Rabbis have some good news to share:

This past Sunday Rabbis Benjamin David (Temple Sinai of Roslyn), Michael Friedman (Central Synagogue), and Scott Weiner (The Hebrew Tabernacle) ran the NYC Half Marathon as part of the Run for Autism program. Not only did they complete the 13.1 mile distance in record times for each of them, but they raised $3,000 in the process. This money will go toward Autism research and support for families directly impacted by Autism. The Running Rabbis are committed to inspiring others to take on creative forms of Social Action.

Learn more about these healthy Hebrews, these cross-country-ing clergy, these jogging Jews online at www.RunningRabbis.com.

The Muslim-Jewish Tipping Point - Full Post

2008-07-30T20:00:10Z

By Eboo Patel
(First posted on Newsweek/Washington Post's On Faith)
"Nobody believes you guys actually exist," I said to the group I was eating dinner with.

I was sitting with the North American Board of Reform Judaism's youth movement (called NFTY) at their summer leadership camp, Kutz.

These five teenagers were responsible for leading programming for thousands of young Reform Jews across the country. This year's study theme: Muslim-Jewish Relations. And these young leaders couldn't be more excited it.

I do interfaith work with young people for a living, and even I was taken aback by their enthusiasm.

"Tell me why this is so important to you?" I asked. The reasons spilled forth:

"Making new friends."

"Making peace."

"Sharing lessons on what it means to be religious in a secular society."

Susan Sontag once wrote, "Whatever is happening, something else is always going on." While newspaper headlines are dominated by stories of hatred and violence between Jews and Muslims, there is a quiet revolution taking place off the radar screen.

Last year witnessed an historic warming in Muslim-Jewish relations in America. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (the largest Jewish denomination in America, with 1.5 million members and 900 congregations), gave a well-received keynote presentation at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

In the recent issue of Reform Judaism, the movement's magazine, Yoffie writes: "The time has come to engage in dialogue with our Muslim neighbors and to educate ourselves about Islam."

Professor Ingrid Mattson, the President of ISNA (an umbrella body for the millions of American Muslims) responded in kind by traveling to the URJ Convention and making these remarks:

"Muslims have instinctively turned to the example of Jews in America to understand how to deal with the challenges we face as religious minorities whether these challenges involve securing the right to religious accommodation in public institutions, or dealing with workplace discrimination. At the same time, I believe that the Jewish community will also benefit from having Muslim partners in the struggle to uphold the constitutional separation of church and state, to promote civil liberties, to extend religious accommodation to minorities and to counter prejudice and hatred."

There are other Muslim-Jewish efforts afoot. Organizations like Seeds of Peace, Search for Common Ground, Children of Abraham and Abraham's Vision, have been nurturing this revolution for years. Rabbi Marc Schneier's Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which played a profound role in advancing black-Jewish dialogue with Russell Simmons, is focusing now on Muslim-Jewish issues.

We might actually be at a tipping point on this seemingly impossible issue.

And I have a hunch that it's young Muslims and Jews, just like the ones I met at the Kutz camp, who are going to push this thing over the edge.

The False Choice of Peace v. Justice

2008-07-23T06:46:13Z

By Jonah Perlin
(First posted on the RACBlog)

The last month has been an important one for international war crimes proceedings. Monday night the "most wanted man in Europe," a Serbian war criminal was captured. Even more remarkable, on July 11, just six days before the 10th anniversary of the ratification of the Rome Statute which established the International Criminal Court (ICC) -- a treaty which the U.S. and Israel have still yet to become a party to -- Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the maverick Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, announced that he was brining charges against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.

In indicting Bashir the ICC not only made a commitment to holding individuals responsible for the ongoing genocide in Darfur, it also sent a signal to all sitting world leaders that they would no longer have immunity from perpetrating unthinkable crimes simply because of their status as heads of state.

While the Union for Reform Judaism and many others came out in strong support of this decision to indict President Bashir, the first sitting leader to be charged, some in the succeeding weeks have offered the critique that in pursuing international "justice," the ICC and the UN Security Council have actually placed a significant road block toward the creation of a lasting peace.

In their view, efforts toward peace are inversely proportional to efforts of justice, because such charges simply strengthen the leaders resolve to stay in power and takes away the potential for a diplomatic end to the conflict. In academic literature this is known as the "peace v. justice" paradox.

However, as two powerful pieces written in the last two weeks point out this is simply a false choice. It is not peace v. justice, but rather justice as a part of peace. As the ENOUGH Project's excellent report on the subject explains "Holding people accountable for war crimes is not only the right thing to do from a moral perspective--it directly promotes peace and makes future such abuses less likely."

Additionally as renowned Sudan academic and activist Eric Reeves explained in the Guardian Newspaper, "With its relentless and principled pursuit of those responsible for atrocity crimes, the ICC has created opportunities for political pressure that offer the people of Darfur their best chance for improved humanitarian conditions, security and a glimmering hope of peace."

Ultimately, if the UN Security Council decides that this warrant would put more people at risk it will be able to put the trial on hold. However, they have not yet chosen to do that. So while only time will tell, it remains our movement's firm belief that international criminal prosecutions are in fact a part of peace not antithetical to it.

Dónde están las mujeres

2008-07-17T20:45:32Z

By dcc
This week the Saudi government sponsored an interfaith meeting in Madrid, Spain. Rabbi Scott Sperling, director of the Mid-Atlantic Council of the Union and representative of the Commission on Interreligious Affairs, is there for the Reform Movement. Ari Alexander, co-founder of Children of Abraham, is also attending. He is live blogging at Mixed Multitudes about the event. He was shocked to see so few female participants at the conference. In a week were where we read Parashat Pinchas, a seminal work of feminism in the Torah, his point resonates even louder for me.

It is all too easy for men to say nothing about the lack of women in a room, Alexander writes. As a young man working in a world with far more women than men, but where there are very few women in positions of power, not saying anything is not an option. We must say something when there is a clear issue of discrimination. It is also the responsibility of all involved--both those in the majority and those being discriminated against--to work against these trends.

Take a look at Alexander's post. It is worth the read.

An American Rabbi in Japan

2008-07-07T16:54:24Z

The G8 Summit begins this week in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to the arrival the world's top political and economic leaders, religious leadership from around the world gathered in Kyoto and Osaka to discuss issues of the environment, ethnic conflict and religious liberty. Rabbi Marla Feldman, director of the Commission on Social Action was there. Listen in to her report by pressing the play button below.

Josh Levin on Reform Judaism

2008-06-30T22:17:30Z

By David A.M. Wilensky
As readers of Reform Judaism magazine will recall, the RJ magazine's summer 2008 issue included a series of important questions regarding the Reform Movement and their answers as given by 30 adult members of the Reform Movement.

I'm currently at the URJ Kutz Camp with a group of people who will be the future lay and professional leadership of the Reform movement in North America. I'll be using many of them as well as many of the younger Kutz staff members this summer in a series of posts here on the RJ.org blog, in which I will be asking Reform high school and college students (and perhaps a few 20-somethings) for their take on Reform Judaism via questions similar to those used in the magazine.

Josh Levin lives in Sarasota, Florida. He is a senior in high school. This year Josh will be the Religious and Cultural Vice President for the North American Federation of Temple Youth's Southern Tropical Region. Josh has three summers of experience at the Kutz, NFTY's Campus for Reform Jewish Teens. Next year, he plans to attend the University of Florida.

What is significant about Reform Judaism? What sets us apart from other North American Jewish movements? How does that make us stronger? How does it make us weaker?
As Reform Jews, we need not feel obligated to our religion or yearn to fulfill every commandment (especially those we take moral issue with, see animal sacrifice or stoning). We need only take what connects us to Judaism and the Jewish people in modern times. This makes us stronger as we are forced to think and to choose for ourselves what from our tradition is for us in a modern world and what from our tradition is not, while maintaining that tradition for the next generation.

Why are you a Reform Jew? "Because my parents are" is a valid answer. If it is because your parents Reform, what has kept you involved in Reform Judaism?
My parents are Reform. More specifically, my mom wanted to convert, but not to orthodoxy. Reform was the obvious choice. My ability to choose for myself and life as a modern person while maintaining my Judaism and connection to the Jewish people has kept me Reform.

Do you believe in God?
Yes.

How do you feel about Reform synagogue worship (or worship you've experienced through NFTY or Kesher or here or at other URJ camps) as it's practiced today?
The traditions are varied and widespread. That is one of the incredible parts of the Reform movement: there is no "right" way to conduct a prayer service. The only issue is people not understanding why the tradition is what it is, wherever they are praying.

Is social action central to your identity as a Reform Jew?
Social action is central to my identity as a person. Simply the experience of being a human being means to me that I should support other people. Being a Reform Jew, I feel especially responsible to other Jews. "All Israel is Responsible for One Another" is one of my guiding principles as a Reform Jew.

Was the Bible written by God?
No.

How do you reconcile Torah teachings that may be inconsistent with your beliefs today?
Torah is an ancient book fundamental to the survival of the Jewish people. But I have quite a bit of faith in the documentary hypothesis, so it is not a huge issue to me that Torah and the life standards of an ancient time past do not apply today.

Do you believe God hears our prayers?
Yes. But it is up to us to carry out our own goals and dreams we contain in our prayers or we will be doomed to a passive life without any of those prayers being fulfilled.

When do you most experience or feel closest to God?
I feel that by creating good we bring ourselves closer to the divine, as everything God created was supposedly good. So by taking responsibility for my own creation, I feel closest to God.

Is the State of Israel important to you and to your Jewish identity?
It is paramount in both. Most peoples of the world have a state belonging to them. This is true for the Jewish nationality as well. Only thanks to Israel is it easy to understand "Jewish" as a nationality and us, Jews, as a people with a bond stronger than religion.

Looking to the future, what are the most significant challenges we face, as a Movement and as North American Jews?
Not speaking Hebrew, having a poor Jewish history education, and living in America without visiting Israel are the three issues of American Jewry that will connect us less to the Jewish people and more to the American people (or Canadian people). If that trend continues, it will become harder for Jews living in America to identify themselves that way and easier and easier to just be American. Assimilation, for all intents and purposes, is the biggest threat to American Jews.

Midwesterner on Midwest Floods

2008-06-27T23:29:31Z

The floods in the Midwest have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, destroyed billions of dollars of crops and business and the clean-up is only beginning. Rabbi Lane Steinger is the regional director for the Union's Midwest Council. Between filling sand bags along the Mississippi and helping the congregations hardest hit by the floods he joined us by phone to give us an update from St. Louis.

Music Makes a Difference

2008-06-27T23:10:07Z

By Mark Young
I recently had the honor of being included in several chapters of the RJ Guide - Reform Judaism 30 Stories. If you didn't yet make it all the way to Section VI-Making a Difference, here is part of what I wrote:

These days, one of the greatest joys for my wife Jane and me is when our 24-year-old musician son visits children's convalescent hospitals with us, our temple's mitzvah group, and recently our cantor and junior choir. Many of the patients we see have profound congenital disabilities and will never fully recover. Some people think they're unable to communicate, but we've learned this is far from the truth.

Our son finds ways to make contact, soul-to-soul, by singing and playing music. So-called "unresponsive" children begin to smile, laugh, clap, move, vocalize. One teenager was even moved to write a beautiful poem, which Harrison set to music on the spot. The kids let us know they don't want the music to end, so the Youngs are usually the last ones to leave. At these times we know we must have done something right, teaching the joy of sharing the gifts that God gave us--l'dor v'dor.

The reason that I feel it's worth repeating is that "a picture is worth a thousand words". You can see what I mean.

Just Congregations

2008-06-27T18:21:28Z

This week the j. jewish news weekly of northern california published a story about how Congregation Sha'ar Zahav was instrumental in expanding health care coverage to thousands of people in the city of San Francisco. How did they do it? Through Congregation Based Community Organizing. I sat down with Lila Foldes, assistant director of Just Congregations to learn more about Congregation Based Community Organizing.

Legislating Menschleichkeit

2008-06-27T01:37:40Z

By JanetheWriter
This morning, a friend emailed me to relate the less than menschleichkeit goings-on she'd witnessed during her bus ride to work. The key players were a blind man, his companion and a woman who, among other bus etiquette transgressions, wouldn't switch seats when the blind man and his companion boarded so that the two could sit together. (Talk about putting a stumbling block before the blind...) At the end of her note to me, my friend said, "Not a lot of Jewish values going on in the city this morning."

Earlier in the day, I'd read in the New York Times that the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the ADA Amendments Act (H.R. 3195) yesterday by a 402-17 vote.

According to the article, action is expected shortly on the Senate version of the bill, the ADA Restoration Act, (S.1881), although there's no guarantee that once it's through both houses of Congress, the president will sign it into law.

By coincidence, an article on a related topic from last week's Washington Post (a city with no lack of less than menschleichkeit goings-on) crossed my desk yesterday. It noted the plans of a congressman to introduce legislation that would remove the stumbling block by ensuring a greater measure of accessibility in digital devices for people with disabilities.

Although that bill, (H.R. 6320), has just entered the often-drawn-out and not-always-successful-at-becoming-a-law legislative process, the same is not true for the ADA Restoration Act. With that in mind, I hope that you'll take a minute to visit the RAC's website to track the progress of this latter piece of legislation and contact your senators--you can do so right from the website--to urge their support of this key bill. Our tradition demands nothing less.

The House Colander

2008-06-25T19:22:17Z

By dcc
My dad is a science guy and likes to explain things like floods, earthquakes and mega-storms in terms that none of us can understand. But last week, at the height of the Midwest flooding, he handed me his copy of the LA Times and said, "That bridge is a house colander."

He was referring to the picture of houses that had been swept off their foundations and flowed downriver until they were jammed against a steel-beamed bridge. Now, this engineering marvel, which usually towers over the river below, was reduced to stopping homes from continuing their trip down river. This is no time for explanations - it is time for action.

For years the Union has been know for its relief funds. Individuals, congregations and other groups know that if a check is sent to the Union's relief funds, 100% of the money will find its way into the hands of those who need it most. From natural to man-made disasters and everything in between, the Union sends funds to areas in need in record time. These Midwestern floods are no different. And some very interesting people are taking note of the Union's services.

Melissa J, a Barack Obama blogger, is calling supporters to donate to our relief efforts and has thanked the Union for Reform Judaism for its leadership on the issue.

While the Union and all other organizations affiliated with RJ.org do not and will not endorse any candidates for any office in the United States, I am happy to see that a prominent social activist has recognized the Union for its relief work. I for one am proud to be working here.

But Melissa J, who lives in the middle of some of the worst flooding (and is a member of Temple Judea in Cedar Rapids), said it best: "Now that the floodwaters are receding, the difficult and dangerous work of clean-up and rebuilding has begun."

So our work has just begun; please give generously.

Time to Talk

2008-06-24T23:37:28Z

By Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie
(First posted as an op-ed on Israel News)

The time has come to engage in dialogue with our Muslim neighbors and to educate ourselves about Islam.

Dialogue is especially critical now. We live in a world in which religion is manipulated to justify the most horrific acts and where Islamic extremists constitute a profound threat. When fanatics kill in the name of God, sensible religious people have an obligation to do something about it.

What is our task? To find the voices of moderation and to reclaim from the fanatics the true essence of religious belief. To do this, we must know what Islam truly stands for and engage in dialogue with our Muslim neighbors.

To this end, the Union has begun working together with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), an umbrella body of more than 300 mosques that brings 30,000 people together at its annual convention. We chose ISNA as our partner in dialogue because the society has issued a strong, unequivocal condemnation of terror, including a specific denunciation of Hezbollah and Hamas violence against Jews and Israelis. ISNA has also recognized Israel as a Jewish state and supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last September I was the first major Jewish leader ever to address the ISNA convention, and three months later ISNA President Dr. Ingrid Mattson addressed our Biennial convention.

Today ISNA and the Union for Reform Judaism have prepared an adult education curriculum on Islam. I urge every synagogue to consider offering a course on Islam as part of its adult education program.

In search of fruitful dialogue, the Union and ISNA have also created a five-session dialogue program (manual and video) to be used by Reform synagogues and ISNA mosques. Nowhere in this dialogue will we feed each other pabulum. Instead, we will assert our convictions with passion, even as we remain respectful of our disagreements, and we will not avoid the subject of Israel.

We enter into this dialogue with our eyes wide open. We know that ISNA--a large, unwieldy coalition--contains some anti-Zionist elements that cause us discomfort. We also know that while we have had extraordinary success with dialogue in Great Neck, St. Louis, and Omaha, so too we have had our share of failures. Nevertheless, we must not desist from this task. America is one of the very few places in the world where the promise of true pluralism is not too wild a hope. And in this great country, we are stronger and safer when we transcend our fears and work together.

On The Leading Edge Of Social Change

2008-06-23T22:23:48Z

By Emily Grotta
What brings younger Jews "into the fold?" According to the New York Jewish Week, it's outside-the-box social justice groups like the Progessive Jewish Alliance.

Outside-the-box social justice groups like PJA are responding to a communal establishment that has narrowed its vision to the twin issues of Israel and anti-Semitism by developing innovative programs dealing with a range of issues, from fair housing to sweat shops to support for Hispanic immigrants.

One of the initiatives is the Reform Movement's Just Congregations.

Rabbi Jonah Pesner, founding director of Just Congregations, says, "People were frustrated that for 30 years we've been housing people in shelters, we've been feeding people in soup kitchens, but at the same time we've been watching more and more slip into poverty, more and more affected by a catastrophic health care system. People want to engage in these issues in a way that's not just charitable."

Climate Change Beyond Diplomacy: Thinking Outside the Box

2008-06-22T05:37:28Z

By Rabbi Warren Stone

"In a world where matters of faith seem so often and so tragically to divide us, there is no issue which aligns us more deeply than our shared dependence upon and sacred responsibility to this tiny planet, enfolded within its fragile atmosphere, spinning in the vastness of time and space."

Kyoto and Bali agreements calling for worldwide reductions in CO2 emissions are a critical step in the world challenge to reduce our dependence on our diminishing world oil supplies.

Yet according to current research, even if the nations of the world adopt the protocols, they will be insufficient to counter the growing impact of climate change in the current century. (Pew Foundation: Beyond Kyoto:Advancing the International Effort Against Climate Change). It is time to start thinking outside of the diplomatic box.

With all due respect to the Lieberman-Warner Climate Bill in the U.S. Senate and the hoped-for policy change it would bring, it is time to challenge both our country and world populations to take steps beyond legislation and diplomacy to begin to transform our daily lives in ways that can impact this rise in CO2.

I recently spoke at the British Embassy at a panel on Faith and Climate Change. It was part of a Washington, D.C. symposium on Climate Change and Security for all the US British consulates around the country. I applaud them for seeking leaders of faith communities to voice their concerns with diplomats. I served on a panel with a Christian Evangelical environmental leader, Rev. Richard Cizik and a young Muslim woman known as "Sanjana," who started a "DC Green Muslims blog." The British consulates sought voices from the faith community because they realize that the issue of climate change will demand a populist response beyond diplomacy. Faith leaders can and must inspire and mobilize their communities on this urgent issue.

People of faith on this planet number in the billions. Teaching people of faith basic environmental values and practices can have an immense impact. Perhaps we need an 11th Commandment of walking gently upon this earth of ours and being aware of our own carbon footprint as a religious mandate. Our religious traditions all share a spiritual mandate for caring for a Godly creation. Reaching religious leaders and their communities on this issue could not be more critical.

Indeed, responding to climate change has become the most significant moral and spiritual issue facing humanity today. Our ancient religious traditions are concerned with protecting life and creation in the broadest sense. In a world where matters of faith seem so often and so tragically to divide us, there is no issue which aligns us more deeply than our shared dependence upon and sacred responsibility to this tiny planet, enfolded within its fragile atmosphere, spinning in the vastness of time and space.

I experienced this common faith when I served as a UN delegate representing many Jewish organizations at the Kyoto talks in 1997. At that time I spoke along with eight other religious leaders at the largest Buddhist Temple in Kyoto as a part of the conference. We concurred that people of diverse faith traditions have a spiritual and moral responsibility to act now.

As a religious leader involved in climate change issues now for many years I believe we need a gradual paradigm shift in our very way of life. In an article in The New York Times, "What's Your Consumption Factor?" January 2, 2008, Jared Diamond pointed out that world consumption is growing at an unsustainable rate in the face of a growing world population, particularly in India and China. China has a population of 1.3 billion and growing. Our forests and natural resources will not be able to sustain this demographic explosion.
Perhaps we might be able to sustain 9 billion people but multiply that in our century and you can see we are facing a consumption doomsday.

The western ethic which continually encourages more growth, more cars, more computers and media tools is fostering a road leading to disaster. Not only are we using up the world's diminishing resources, but we are also contributing to climate change and threatening the
world's species in a silent genocide. We are all imperiled by climate change -- a rise in water-borne illness, the devastation of coastal lands, frequently inhabited by some of the neediest populations --with world refugees with no where to go. We must act now. We must listen to Hillel, who chastised: "If not now, when?"

If diplomacy is not enough, what can we do and do now?

Let us begin by greening our government and its diverse institutions. Let the Capitol, the White House and Congress become green examples to the nation. So too, our state and local governments need to become actively engaged in greening.
Let us government support bold initiatives for alternative energies and their rapid development to wean us from our fossil fuel dependency.
Let's follow with our schools and universities. Let the state, county and local fleets and buses become hybrid or new fuel cell vehicles.
Let's devote resources to public transportation and bicycle paths in all our cities.
Let all our country's religious institutions become models of environmental possibilities with green architecture, use of solar and wind power, community recycling and gardening and a true application of the spiritual teachings and truths of the earth.
Let us also support a green paradigm shift by encouraging awards in environmental activism to architects, engineers, artists, statesmen and people of faith who set the highest and most outstanding standards.
Let's encourage artists, musicians and writers to adopt this greening mandate and use their tools of music, drama, art and poetry to further environmental vision and activism.
Let's support a new green foods movement which encourages a more vegetarian diet -- not only healthier and more just, but far more sustainable for the people of our world.
Let's learn from examples abroad. Last year, London had a "Sustainability Week," with 350 green events for the public attended by tens of thousands of people. Holland and Austria created a "Green Wave 21st Century" festival throughout their countries and awarded prizes for ecological leadership.

Paradigm shifts start from the grassroots up. The US civil rights movement, which gained momentum from the faith and labor communities, is an apt analogy to guide our response to today's demands of world climate change. The civil rights movement gained momentum not via legislation but rather by a populist participation throughout the South and across the country. Faith communities, those involved in labor and community leadership, as well as artists and activists of all stripes and visions can now help lead to the kind of political change and bold action necessary to preserve and protect life and all creation on this sacred home of ours.

Let's focus on the positive and the doable. We don't want our children and future generations to inherit a sense of doom and gloom, but rather to feel in full measure the innate and infinite capacity of the human spirit to arise and overcome the most demanding challenges humanity may face. We want them to see all life, including their own, as a miracle worthy of celebration. We want them to see the preservation of life on our planet as a mission worthy of their greatest passions and energies and to feel the joy that comes from joining in common cause for greater good.

Let me end with a prayer by a visionary poet, e.e. cummings:

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes

Rabbi Warren Stone is known nationally for his leadership on religion and the environment. He is the founding and current chair of the Central Conference of American Rabbis' Committee on the Environment and serves on the board of COEJL, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life. Rabbi Stone has served as rabbi of Temple Emanuel in the Washington metropolitan area in Kensington, Maryland since 1988.

Jewish-Muslim Dialogue

2008-06-14T16:57:17Z

By Emily Grotta

Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post has been observing the dialogue between members of a synagogue and a mosque in the Washington area. She writes:

Such dialogue is often a balancing act: hopeful yet guarded; genuine yet superficial; teetering on the precipice of the most emotional subjects but often stepping back. Rare efforts such as this one, which ended June 1, go beyond a single mass event and seek more depth and intimacy.

The balance is increasingly being tested across the country as interfaith efforts grow, including an unprecedented push announced in December between the continent's largest Jewish and Muslim organizations. The six-session group led by Rabbi Steve Weisman of Bowie's Temple Solel and Shadeed, a leader of the Islamic Society of Southern Prince George's County, is among 11 groups nationwide picked to try a new curriculum created by the Union for Reform Judaism and the Islamic Society of North America. The organizations have urged their hundreds of thousands of members to use it in what they say is the broadest Jewish-Muslim interfaith effort in North American history.

I was enormously proud to be a Reform Jew last December when the Reform Movement launched this project, called "Children of Abraham." Given the vitriolic hatred of the Muslim community that is voiced in many corners of our country, how can we, as Jews, stand idly by when a whole group is tarnished by the actions of a few? As Rabbi Yoffie said in announcing the initiative,

While we will fight Islamic extremism with every ounce of our being, we have been the victims of indiscriminate hatred for far too long to inflict it now on others. Jews have never taught hatred as an answer to hatred, and we will not begin now.

For many Jewish communities, it's hard to get the dialogue going. It requires a willing mosque in relatively close proximity, and it requires a commitment on the part of the synaoguge leaders. That said, there are other ways to increase Jewish understanding of Islam, including a short course that can be taught in the synagogue.

What's happening in your area?

Green Camp

2008-06-10T17:22:15Z

At a meeting of URJ Camp directors in early March the Reform Jewish summer camps took the first steps as a system in partnering with FUSE (Faiths United for Sustainable Energy) to work to make camp "greener." Since that time, many camps initiated a partnership with FUSE to demonstrate this commitment to the environment. Lisa David, associate director of URJ Camps explains some of these projects in this new RJ.org podcast.

Tell me the truth

2008-06-05T17:51:03Z

By Rebecca Blake Chaikin
(Cross Posted with the RACBlog)

The National Abstinence Education Association is in the midst of launching an aggressive campaign to drum up support among parents for sex education curricula that teaches abstinence only until marriage. They are hoping to enlist 1 million parents to lobby their local schools to adopt such curricula and to elect candidates in all levels and branches of government who support this agenda.

What is truly egregious about this campaign is that its proponents, like much of the abstinence-only curricula itself, twist the truth and even straight out lie. A debate over ideals and what's best for our nation's youth and health is more than welcome, but let's at least agree to be candid, truthful, and honorable in the exchange.

Valerie Huber, the executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, an advocacy group here in DC, rolled out the campaign by claiming, as reported in the Washington Post, "There are powerful special interest groups who can far outspend what parents can in terms of promoting their agenda. But we recognize that parents more than make up for that by their determination and motivation to protect their own children."

Well, Ms. Huber is right, except the powerful special interest groups at play are not so much those promoting comprehensive sex education (such as the Union for Reform Judaism and dozens of other faith traditions) as they are those who vehemently oppose it (including, notably, the President of the United States who has secured over $1 billion in federal funds for abstinence-only curricula). And parents are determined and motivated to protect their children, which is probably why 91% of them favor age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education for their high schoolers, and 93% favor such curricula for their junior high schoolers.

In fact, the substantial majority of parents feel that government money "should be used to fund more comprehensive sex education programs that include information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraceptives." Maybe it's because these parents know that the reality is that the majority of people in the U.S. become sexually active before they get married, and many first become active as teenagers.

Maybe they are fed up with abstinence-only curricula, and it's supporters like the National Abstinence Education Association, claiming that candidly educating our youth about their reproductive health encourages sexual activity--a claim that has been repeatedly disproved by scientific studies. Or maybe it's because the physical and mental health of their kids is at stake.

Whatever the reasons, let's continue to press our government to listen to the truth, instead of catering to the real biased, minority special interests.

Small Dollars, Big Impact

2008-06-04T00:26:40Z

Micro-philanthropy is changing the way causes raise money. Naomi Abelson, manager of Congregational Relations for the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, heads the Union's Nothing But Nets campaign. Raising money for insecticide treated bed nets, this project has launched a new cohort of young philanthropists that were recently featured in the New York Times. Click below to listen into how Nothing But Nets is saving lives and transforming charitable giving for young people.

NY Times: Saving lives is now cool

2008-06-02T21:55:18Z

By JanetheWriter
Today's New York Times carries a front page article about Nothing But Nets, the initiative to eradicate malaria that recently has exploded in popularity, making charity "cool," particularly among young people.

As the daughter of a parasitologist, I have long known about Plasmodium falciparum and the other parasites that cause malaria, as well as about Giardia lamblia, Schistosoma, Toxoplasma gondii, Trichinella spiralis, and Sarcoptes scabei, and the horrific diseases and death each can cause.

As a Reform Jew, I read the article with pride, knowing that, as is so often the case, our Movement has, as it so often does, responded in a positive, meaningful way to defeating the injustices, inequalities and inequities that surround us. By joining the Nothing But Nets campaign, Reform Judaism has provided one more opportunity for us--both individually and collectively--to raise the powerful prophetic voice that has been bequeathed to us as Reform Jews so that we can help to repair our fractured world.

Taking the Hill for Climate Change

2008-06-02T20:57:29Z

By dcc
Today at 2:15 pm EDT, Rabbi David Saperstein will take part in a press conference about Climate Change Legislation on Capital Hill. Senators John Warner (R-VA) Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) will take part in the conference as well. It will air on CSPAN-3 (Who knew they needed three channels of CSPAN? I mean ESPN only has two channels...but I digress.)

While I can't speak for the Senators, I am confident Rabbi Saperstein's address will be interesting. Unfortunately, I don't get CSPAN-3, but I ~~will post~~ have posted the link to the video ~~as soon as~~ now that it is available online.

Activists With Torah

2008-05-20T22:42:15Z

By Kathy Ruiz Goldenkranz

I am a Mexican American and a Jew by Choice. My extended family, both my mom and dad’s families, were all Central Valley farm workers. At the age of 14 I worked for the United Farm Workers, setting up and participating in corporate grocery store chain picket lines. As a high school student I marched in the streets of Modesto against the Gallo Wine company’s practice of hiring nonunion labor at below the union wage to work in the grapevine fields in deplorable conditions.

That same year, 1972, I wrote a letter to then California Assembly Speaker Leo McCarthy, who was authoring a bill to make it illegal for companies to hire children under 14 to work in the fields. I knew this issue well because starting at age of seven I’d been cutting grapes from the vines outside Fresno, working eight hours a day in the hot sun and earning about $3 a week. As a result of my letter, I was invited to testify in Sacramento, and I am proud to say that the bill passed.

That experience transformed me. I have been an activist ever since.

I am an union organizer in the building trades, board member of a community dental clinic providing excellent care for low- and moderate-income people without insurance or on assistance, and founder and chair of an interfaith coalition which promotes full GLBT inclusion within houses of worship in our neighborhood.

In addition, through my temple I co-chair the healthcare team that is part of Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action, a 25-member faith-based community organizing group that advocates for justice and fairness in healthcare, immigration, public safety, education, affordable housing, and economic justice. This issue is deeply personal: I am one of 22,000 women in America who is a victim of a faulty jaw joint implant that was untested yet approved by the FDA, and which has cost me upwards of $25,000 a year for the last 17 years.

When I teach community organizing, I like to tell the story in Parashat Yitro (Exodus 18:1–27). Burdened by his workload, Moses has sent his wife and children to live with her father, Jethro, who is a Midianite priest. At the Israelites’ camp Moses holds court in his tent for many hours each day to hear and decide upon the disputes of the Israelites, one by one.

After a while, Jethro comes to see Moses; he wants Moses to be reunited with his family. Seeing the long line of people waiting for Moses, Jethro knows that his son-in-law cannot continue to live like this. He advises Moses to establish a leadership council within each tribe to hear and handle individual grievances, except for the most extreme cases. Moses follows Jethro’s advice.

This parashah teaches two lessons: First we can benefit from the insights and ideas of people from other faiths. No person can or should try to handle all matters alone. Instead, he or she should empower others to share in the workload—it’s through teamwork that we create a just society. Second, family comes first, followed by the needs and concerns of others. Once the tribal leadership subgroups were created, Moses’ family could return home and be with him once again.

To be most effective we need balance in our lives. When I prepare my 7th grade temple school students for becoming b’nai mitzvah, I always tell them that doing their own social justice work will add to the joy of this milestone, creating a balance between being the center of attention/receiver of gifts and helping others in the community.

This is how we perform God’s work on Planet Earth.

Speaking Truth To Power

2008-05-20T22:40:30Z

By Marzy Bauer

My parents were socialists…culturally Jewish, but they rejected what they deemed to be irrelevant Jewish ritual. So, other than attending an occasional cousin’s bar mitzvah, I never set foot in a synagogue for most of my childhood or adolescence. That being said, I was taught certain values from an early age: thou shalt not cross a picket line nor buy clothing without a union label; thou shalt give to the poor and to oppressed minorities, feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and treat people fairly without regard to differences. And so my passion for social justice was instilled, along with a commitment to philanthropy and a desire to keep learning.

Two factors led me to join an organized Jewish community. One was moving from New York City, where one can be Jewish by breathing, to Indiana, where explanations are required. The second was having children. My husband and I became members of a Reform congregation when they were small, and got involved. I joined an adult b’nei mitzvah class in 1986.

Having never read Torah in any form, I was pleasantly surprised when preparing my Torah portion, Emor, to read verse 23:22: “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field…you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.” Aha! That was the genesis of the stuff I’d heard about all of my life!

Two decades and many classes later, my social justice leanings have morphed into a Jewish context. I am now the Social Justice chair for our congregation, and my passion is Just Congregations, where we enact meaningful social and political change by building relationships within the temple community and with neighboring groups outside of our tradition, with whom the majority of our congregants have no natural interactions.

Speaking truth to power, empowering groups that have never been players in the political system—it’s inspiring. Reform Judaism weaves in our traditional teachings with the present day and urges us to action.

16 Rabbis and Al go to Jail

2008-05-16T20:37:03Z

Al Vorspan and 16 rabbis spent a summer night in jail thanks to St. Augustine, Florida police department in 1964. He was booked for ordering lunch. Needless to say he didn’t get to eat his sandwich. Listen into his side of the story.

Al Vorspan is the senior vice-president emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism and founding director of the Commission on Social Action. He has authored and co-authored many books including Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice with Rabbi David Saperstein.