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A March and a Prayer

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:56:49 GMT

Standing with domestic workers and their children

By Becca Israel

On January 31, as part of a contingent from the Bay Area, I travelled to the state capitol in Sacramento to support the Children’s March for Domestic Workers’ Rights. There, I joined hundreds of domestic workers, mostly Latina women, and their children, holding large colorful signs proclaiming, "My Work Is Not Invisible" and "I will No Longer Be Silent." After a while we marched, circling the state capitol building, chanting about the need for workers’ rights. I had learned about the march through my work as a Jeremiah Fellow with the Bay Area office of Progressive Jewish Alliance & Jewish Funds for Justice. Now, being there marching in solidarity with hundreds of workers and their families gave me a true sense of community.

After marching, we visited the office of State Senator Rod Wright, where I had the opportunity to tell him why I support the California Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. The bill, which would provide basic wage and hour protections to domestic workers, will be considered by the Senate this year, having already been passed by the Assembly.

As I entered the black and white marble tile in the stunning capitol building, I smiled, both confident and nervous prior to my first-ever legislative visit. In the Senator’s office we sat around a large brown table in huge, very comfortable chairs. A facilitator from my group introduced himself, explained the purpose of the Children’s March, and told the Senator why we wanted to share our stories with him.

Despite my nervousness, I found my voice, explaining to Senator Wright that as a child I grew up with a house cleaner, Erica, who would come to work at our home every other Wednesday. My family always treated Erica with the utmost respect, paid her a fair wage and had her work a fair schedule for the amount she earned from us. But at a young age, I saw first-hand the vast inequalities that exist in our society. It frustrated me that Erica had to work such long days for her other employers. It was clear to me, even as a child, that Erica was taken advantage of because she spoke little English and desperately needed to provide for her sons.

As a young Jewish activist, I explained to Senator Wright, I feel it is fundamentally important for the domestic workers’ bill to pass, not only for the well-being of these workers, but to put our state and our nation on a more ethical and economically just and viable footing.

Paul Kivel, a Bay area resident who was part of our group, talked about how the National Labor Relations Act, which provides basic protections such as a minimum wage, has always excluded domestic workers. He made it clear that certain groups of people are still excluded from rights that most of us take for granted, and that a country that prides itself on offering freedom and justice must do a better job.

Rabbi Jacobs explained how New York State passed a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights two years ago, pointing out that California now has the opportunity to be on the forefront of progress by becoming the second state in the nation to offer domestic workers basic protections. If California follows New York, it will create momentum for other states to pass similar legislation, and spark more widespread understanding of the importance of Domestic Workers Rights.

As the day drew to a close, all of the Children’s March participants made a circle on the capitol steps. We were asked to pair up with a stranger and talk about what brought us there that day. I wound up with a Stanford student who wanted to learn more about the bill – information I was happy to be able to offer.

A prayer was said and we all dispersed back to our cars, vans, and buses to go home. I stayed behind alone for a moment to say a personal prayer in front of the capitol. I felt fortunate and blessed to be part of the Jeremiah Fellowship, which brought me to this day, and to be able to learn about this issue, which is now such a big part of my life.

Becca Israel is a Jeremiah Fellow with PJA & JFSJ, a graduate of San Diego State University and a resident of Oakland. Learn more about the Jeremiah Fellowship here.

Paranoia as Policy?

Rabbi Aryeh Cohen — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:40:02 GMT

This month, when a group of New York City police officers showed up for their required counter-terrorism training, they got to watch a movie. … The film is called The Third Jihad. It is 72 minutes of gruesome footage of bombing carnage, frenzied crowds, burning American flags, flaming churches, and seething mullahs. All of this is sandwiched between a collection of somber talking heads informing us that, while we were sleeping, the international Islamist Jihad that wrought these horrors has set up shop here and is quietly going about its deadly business. This is the final drive in a 1,400-year-old bid for Muslim world domination, we’re informed. And while we may think there are some perfectly reasonable Muslim leaders and organizations here in the U.S., that is just more sucker bait sent our way. (Tom Robbins, Village Voice, January 19, 2011)
The New York City police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, through a top aide, acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday that he personally cooperated with the filmmakers of “The Third Jihad” — a decision the commissioner now describes as a mistake. (Michael Powell, New York Times, January 24, 2012)

The book of Exodus famously starts with a new Pharaoh, “who did not know Joseph,” falling into a paranoid fantasy that the Israelites would constitute a fifth column, collude with the Egyptians’ enemies and, finally, leave the land, and leave Egypt in a shambles. Most of this comes true, you might say, so why call it a paranoid fantasy? The Israelites did leave the land of Egypt, and when they left, the country that formerly ruled the world was a destroyed shell of a nation—its people killed, its army drowned, its agriculture and livestock wiped out, and its personal wealth stolen. Was Pharaoh paranoid or prescient?

The answer depends on clearly seeing cause and effect. Prior to Pharaoh’s identifying the Israelites as a potential fifth column, they were not. Joseph had made the house of the Pharaoh wealthy to a degree unheard of, and he brought all of Egypt under Pharaoh’s direct ownership. However, the new Pharaoh, in a moment of paranoid delusion—or, perhaps, cynical political manipulation in order to direct the ire of the landless people away from the ruler and towards the aliens in their midst—created his own worst nightmare. Does anyone believe that had the Pharaoh not cast the Israelites as the enemy of the State—and driven them into bondage and oppression—that they would have finally embraced Moses’ vision of revolution and redemption? Had they had anything left to lose but their chains, would they really have followed God’s shepherd like sheep into the desert? As it was, after suffering bondage and oppression for centuries, when they finally tasted freedom, they asked to return to the “fleshpots” of Egypt!

Paranoid fantasies are not, however, solely the property of ancient Pharoahs. The medieval witch hunts and the Spanish inquisitors all rested upon their own paranoid delusions—”supported” by the testimony of the tortured—to construct an image of the “enemy of the State” or the enemy of God. As a result many people died. Many women and Jews, respectively, found themselves on the rack, reciting “confessions” as answers to leading questions in order to stop the pain. Then they were killed.

Which all leads to our contemporary inquisitors and their paranoid delusions. As The New York Times has reported, the folks who brought you the film “Obsession” have produced a new film called “The Third Jihad.” According to the Times, the premise of the film is that the goal of “much of Muslim leadership here in America” is to “infiltrate and dominate” the United States. As if this was not enough, the film was screened for more than 1,400 New York City Police Department officers during training in 2010—with the cooperation of the Police Commissioner. One is left speechless. Almost.

Domestic policy that is produced by the paranoid delusions of those whose economic livelihood depends on creating a widespread domestic enemy will lead to alienating and criminalizing the very folks whose actual loyalty to this country is the best defense against the few criminals in their midst who would do us harm. Caricaturing an entire community Hannity/Beck style with grainy photographs, ominous soundtracks and slanderous talking heads does not make our homeland any more secure. It definitely does not bring us any closer to the more perfect union which the NYPD is supposed to protect and serve.

It is our hope that this was an example of one awful judgement call rather than proof that policing policies have given ear to the profiling of the paranoids.

This blog was initially posted at www.justice-in-the-city.com.

What's so Jewish About the Occupy Movement?

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:17:32 GMT

For those who missed a fantastic discussion in Los Angeles on January 11, 2012, you can see the video of “What’s so Jewish About the Occupy Movement?” right here.

The panel featured Eric Greene, LA Regional Director; Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights and former Rabbi in Residence at PJA & JFSJ; David Levitus, alumnus of the Jeremiah Fellowship; Professor Peter Dreier, Director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Program at Occidental College; and more!

Click here for the direct video link.

Why you should donate to PJA & JFSJ

admin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:59:30 GMT

It’s December 23, so we know your mailboxes are overflowing with e-mails and letters from great organizations asking for your support. Organizations like PJA & JFSJ.

It can be tough to sort through them all. That's why we thought we’d try to make it easier for you, letting you know how much we value our supporters and sharing a few of the ways we stand out (read: tooting our own horn):

We’ve been in the business of creating a more just and compassionate America for over 25 years. We know how to make a difference in our communities, we’re training leaders to expand our reach. We know how to make sure donations reach the people and programs that are making real change where it’s most needed.
We’ve engaged over 25,000 people in our mission, building houses, supporting domestic workers, and sending young people on service learning trips. Your contribution allows us to cross lines of race and faith to build strong communities across the country.
We’re known for spending wisely and are nationally recognized for innovation. We have the highest rating (four stars) from Charity Navigator, the premier nonprofit rating agency, and in 2011 Slingshot named us a Standard Bearer for our excellence in promoting Jewish social justice.

What makes PJA & JFSJ unique? People like you who support our vision and the work we do to make a difference in the lives of Americans.

Help us light the way forward in challenging times, by giving to PJA & JFSJ before December 31.

Need more reasons? Check out our #20Reasons2Donate on Twitter.

Thank you!

Might Does Not Make Right

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:25:00 GMT

Hanukkah commemorates one of the many, many times that people resisted oppression by the powerful. Two thousand years ago, in the face of Greek imperial power, a determined group of Jews fought back against the demand that we give up our texts, our holidays, our identity, our culture. Against all odds, persevering for four years, the Maccabees won.

We are proud to partner in these times, as Jews, with the leaders of today who refuse to give in to the powerful forces that:

cause people to work long hours just to survive
allow immigrants to be exploited, suffering abuse and wage theft
cause housekeepers to endure backbreaking workloads
allow our schools and public institutions to be dismantled
allow concentrations of wealth to increase so that CEOs of the largest American companies earn on average 531 times as much as the average worker (in 2011)
have resulted in only 7% of the private workforce being unionized, down from 22% just 30 years ago

Our faith traditions remind us: Might does not make right.

The light of the human spirit shines through when we assert that

Mercado workers deserve safe and fair working conditions, regardless of their immigration status
Housekeepers deserve the right to organize, have our respect and to be free from injury
We need sane tax, budget and labor policies that address the outrage that 1 in 4 California children are poor, while concentrations of wealth increase to historic levels

Might does not make right. Tonight we light up the night to resist the forces that deprive people of dignity. We affirm our power as human beings created in the image of God to create a just society.

--Susan Lubeck, regional director of PJA & JFSJ Bay Area
Adapted from remarks Susan made at the Interfaith Celebration of Light at Union Square, a December 19 event sponsored in partnership by PJA & JFSJ and Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice to celebrate hope and light, and be present with those in our communities who struggle in darkness.

A brief candlelight procession traveled from Union Square to the Grand Hyatt to deliver a message of support for workers who have been struggling for a fair contract for the past two years.

Responsible Banking in LA

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:17:33 GMT

COR Resident Umar Hakim has been organizing around a proposed responsible banking law in LA. This is his take on the issue:

A Los Angeles Council Member recently asked this question during the public finance committee meeting on December 5th, "What is the rush for passing the Responsible Banking Ordinance out of Committee?" Let's rewind this blog-ver-ver-sa-tion for a more just understanding of events, its players and purpose.
November 2010 LA VOICE a federation of PICO National organized 800 Los Angeles community members for action on the Responsible Banking Ordinance (RBO), introduced by Los Angeles Councilmember Alarcon.

This event displayed LA Voice's outreach into Los Angeles diverse community congregations. This event also featured the presence of the Los Angeles African Muslim community, organized by a Muslim resident through PJA & JFSJ's Community Organizing Residency (COR) program. Community members gave testimony about losing their homes and business owners narrated about being consistently denied for small business loans. Local banks expressed how they are more accountable in servicing the community, and their practices are more ethical than major banks. Clergy members delivered their leadership and demonstrated solidarity in Action. This interfaith public action was the initial event alerting Los Angeles residents about unfair banking practices; sparking awareness, some news, and other actions early in 2011.

June 2011 LA Voice's community leaders went before the Los Angeles Finance Committee, chaired by L.A. Councilmember Bernard Parks for RBO. Here delivering more facts about L.A's banking practices and how it's affecting homeowners and small businesses...

Read more on Umar's blog: www.createavoice.org.

Living your values through corporate responsibility

Laura Wintroub — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:23:13 GMT

Sister Nora Nash and Tom McCaney from the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, an Isaiah Fund investor and active participant in the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, were interviewed on the NPR Program Radio Times yesterday. You can listen to the 50 minute interview here.

Sister Nora and Tom spoke eloquently about their corporate responsibility activities - investing in corporations and using their status as shareholders to call on those companies to effect change. I highly recommend listening to the interview. Sister Nora and Tom give clear explanations of how shareholder activism works, the values that guide them, and the goals that motivate them in their work.

Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the interview is the explanation that Sister Nora and Tom give about their view of their work with corporations, not necessarily against them. They aim to work collaboratively with corporations and when possible work together with corporations, often for many years, on issues.

Kudos to Sister Nora, Tom, the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility on their important work and this excellent interview.

Thanksgiving Reflections: The Blessing -- and Obligations -- of a Full Belly

admin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:48:19 GMT

By Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block

There’s something about Thanksgiving that feels Jewish. Like Passover, it’s a holiday focused around a family meal with traditional, symbolic foods and the teaching of values. In a culture where gratitude does not occupy a prominent place in public discourse, it is a wonderful chance to simply appreciate – to give thanks for -- the opportunity and abundance this country has to offer. At the same time, it’s a moment to recognize the moral obligation those of us who have benefited from this opportunity have to preserving it for future generations.

When I think of my own experience of Thanksgiving, I think of the end-of-meal feeling of having a full stomach. The Hebrew word for that feeling is soveyah, which means “satisfaction” or “fullness.” That feeling in my belly is in some ways symbolic of my own family’s experience in America. My grandparents immigrated here from Eastern Europe in the early 20th Century, struggling as sweatshop workers and peddlers to feed their own families. Yet within just one generation, their children experienced relative prosperity -- satisfaction and blessing. Like so many other Jewish Americans, I feel blessed that my family has been able to enjoy the abundance of America. Like so many other Jewish Americans, my gratitude translates into a commitment to ensuring that every American child knows the satisfaction of a full belly.

The word soveyah is most commonly known from the form it takes in the grace after meals, birkat hamazon, which says "v'achalta, v'savata u'verachta (when you eat and you are full, you shall bless).” In fact, the Rabbis understand that passage (originally from the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy) as the basis for the command to say birkat hamazon after eating. But if we look closer at how this word is used in other places, there seems to be ambivalence about the satisfaction of the full stomach. The phrase v'achalta, v'savata is usually followed by a stern warning of the risk of forgetting God. Deuteronomy 6:10-12 warns: “When the Lord your God brings you into the land … flourishing cities that you did not build, houses full of all good things that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant — and you eat your fill (v'achalta, v'savata), take heed that you do not forget the Lord who freed you from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage.” Other passages in Deuteronomy (8:12 and 11:16) contain the same warning: the satisfaction of a full belly holds the risk of forgetfulness.

That risk is real. And it’s not only forgetting the source of all food and life. When our bellies are full, we often forget our friends and neighbors who are having different experiences this year, who aren’t as lucky. When we’re satisfied, we can forget that 46 million Americans are living below the poverty line – the highest number since the Census Bureau began counting. We can forget that suburban poverty increased 53% in the past decade – twice the rate of cities. When our bellies are full, we often forget that many of the people who produce our food and bring it to us do not have adequate wages or even basic job security or safety protections. When we’re satisfied, it’s easy to forget that food processing may be having a devastating impact on the planet and the communities where that food is grown.

While we might forget these realities in our individual homes, when we come together and experience ourselves as part of a larger community, we don’t forget. Civic groups on the local, national, and international levels are working to address each of these challenges. Jewish Americans are playing prominent roles in those efforts – often working as Jews for the common good. Uri L'Tzedek works to support kosher establishments that treat their workers fairly. Rabbis for Human Rights-North America is drawing attention to the plight of tomato pickers who work in near-servitude. Hazon works with Jewish organizations to support healthy and sustainable food practices. The Progressive Jewish Alliance & Jewish Funds for Justice is working in California to address the problem of food deserts – low-income neighborhoods without access to grocery stores that can provide more than soda, chips and overpriced rotting vegetables – and to support low-wage workers in small grocery stores. Far too many of these workers earn poverty wages, endure abuse, work in dangerous environments and lack proper meal and rest breaks.

While the Torah warns of the spiritual and ethical risks of the fully belly, it also provides guidance for how a full belly can lead to positive consequences. One place where the word savata isn’t associated with forgetfulness and spiritual disaster is Deuteronomy 14:28, where the phrase is in the plural v'ochlu v'saveyu – when the satisfaction is communal, rather than individual – in can be a blessing. In fact, this phrase refers specifically to the stranger, orphan, and widow.

When the most vulnerable in our society eat until they are full every day then we can truly be blessed.

Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block is PJA & JFSJ’s Senior Director of Leadership Initiatives and Rabbi-in-Residence. On November 17th, Rabbi JKB participated in a food justice panel at Grinnell College’s Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice, alongside Farm Forward founder Aaron Gross, KOL Foods CEO Devora Kimelman-Block, and Uri L’Tzedek’s Ari Hart.

Thanks Occupy Wall Street

Mae Singerman — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:47:47 GMT

One day after I marched with 30,000 people in Lower Manhattan on the 2 month birthday of Occupy Wall Street, I came to the party without any gifts for the Movement. Instead, I have thanks to offer the Occupy Movement for the gifts it has given to me.

Thanks #OWS for the following:

The opportunity to hear people I love work through years of pent up cynicism, relenting to the idea that people can make a difference.
A new method to express silent support and appreciation for what someone is saying—up twinkles.
A new community of people who I feel a deep connection to through our shared participation in working groups.
Inspiration and pride when hearing about the concrete victories as big as billions of dollars being moved into credit unions and small banks to the small act of occupying a Harlem boiler room to get tenants heat and hot water.
Closer relationships with the people I already know who are also active in the Occupy Movement. I see them more regularly and we have better, more thoughtful conversations than I’ve had with them in years.
By convincing my mom to attend a General Assembly in Miami, I helped her experience something she never thought was possible in Miami- a large, age-diverse gathering that was about progressive politics (believe me, this basically never happens in Miami).
The gift of a commons that I haven’t had since being a college student, where I got to discuss and debate tactics, racism in movements, what the non-profit world has to offer (or not), global relationships, and the importance of (a lack of) demands.

So much appreciation to the Occupy Movement on it’s two months alive. It’s just the beginning of the beginning.

Invest in the Dream

Simon Greer — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:44:06 GMT

$4.5 billion dollars.

According to the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), that is the amount of new money deposited in credit unions between September 29 and November 2. To quote the late Senator Everett Dirksen, “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you’re talking about real money.”

The 650,000 people who moved this money into credit unions understood something simple and significant: what we do with our money matters. They understood that if enough individuals and institutions act on this insight, together we can make a real difference.

As the Occupy Wall Street protests and the 99% movement near the two month mark this week, they have inspired hundreds of thousands of people to move from protest to policy. This shift is laudable, and to help those inspired to make their money work on behalf of a more equitable society, PJA & JFSJ has created a user friendly guide to community investing. Our hope is that this will be a valuable resource; already Rebuild the Dream has shared our guide with the more than 70,000 people who they have signed on to move their money to financial institutions that align with their values.

PJA & JFSJ has long preached what Jeffrey Dekro dubbed the “Torah of Money.” Judaism, according to Dekro, President of our Tzedec Community Investment Program, has something to say about how we use our money, and specifically that Jewish law and tradition ask us to invest in socially responsible ways and to engage in righteous giving, or tzedakah. This concept undergirds Tzedec and 8^th Degree, two programs that help Jews and Jewish institutions invest in the creation of affordable housing and the growth of small businesses in underserved communities. These financial investments also complement our investments in community organizing and leadership training programs like the Jeremiah Fellowship, whose participants have been deeply involved in advocating for affordable housing and fair employment practices for years.

A recent New York Times article profiled the important work that the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, an Isaiah Fund investor, is doing together with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, of which we are a member, to positively influence corporate policies and actions. You can read more here.

If you have been watching the 99% movement with interest, wondering what you can do to turn the widespread desire for a truly fair economy into tangible action, consider aligning your pocketbook with your politics. Perhaps the Jewish community can lead the way in showing what it looks like when we all invest in the American Dream.