8.19.2022
Greetings!
 
Hello from Jefferson City where I am honored to join with so many of our partners for the Missouri Faith Voices Voter Engagement Summit & Interfaith Unity Breakfast. I was privileged to share a reading from our Jewish tradition at the Interfaith Worship Service last evening and to deliver remarks at the Unity Breakfast this morning and then again at the press conference. The theme of this day-and-a-half program is working together for social justice and social change, voter rights, and the protection of democracy in the state of Missouri. This includes—as it has for so many years at the JCRC—opposing the photo ID bill and restrictions on voting and increasing voter engagement.
Maharat Rori Picker Neiss delivers remarks at the Interfaith Unity Breakfast.

As you have heard me reference before, it was a true gift to be able to spend three weeks in Israel this summer studying with the Shalom Hartman Institute. Over 450 lay and professional leaders spent time this summer in dialogue with exceptional faculty about the future of the relationship between Israel and North America. We asked a critical question: Why Israel? And we challenged ourselves to think of Zionism as an aspirational endeavor. I’m delighted to share some of the inspiring lectures offered by Hartman scholars in these select videos that will give you just a taste of the learning and depth of discussion.
Please see below for all of the other exciting updates that are happening at JCRC, including our September 15th program "Meet the Janes", an in-person showing of the HBO Max documentary on life before Roe v. Wade. In conjunction with NCJW and many other sponsors, the program will also feature journalists Charles Jaco and Executive Director of ProgressWoman, Stacey Newman. JCRC is proud to cosponsor this program through our Bohm Social Justice Initiative.

As always, we are grateful to you for your passion, your support, and your partnership.

Shabbat Shalom,
Maharat Rori Picker Neiss
Executive Director
JCRC Updates
The End of Policy Substance in Israeli Politics
By Michael J. Koplow
Two prominent political developments in Israel received a lot of attention over the past two weeks given their importance for the potential formation of the next government. The first was the results of the Likud primary, which determined the pecking order for the Likud election list and thereby the MKs who are going to make up Binyamin Netanyahu’s Knesset faction. The second was the announcement that former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot was joining Benny Gantz and Gideon Sa’ar, and that their parties—formerly known as Blue and White and New Hope—would now be united under the banner of HaMachaneh HaMamlachti, loosely translated as the Stately Camp but using the English moniker National Unity Party. While these two developments are very different on their face, they both illustrate the way in which Israeli politics has thoroughly transformed itself in the span of a few short years away from policy substance and toward a focus on the process of how Israel is governed...
Student to Student Summer Update
We are proud to say that it’s been a summer of hard work for our Student to Student program! We are now almost full (at nearly 100 students), with just a few spots available for incoming Jewish High School Junior and Senior presenters. Our student leaders come to us through recommendations from our local clergy, educators, and leaders. If you know of someone that would like us to reach out to, contact Lauren Abraham.
  • Upcoming plans for our full group orientation on Sunday, September 18th at 6:45 pm are well underway! We look forward to training all of our student leaders together in person at our central office at 12 Millstone Drive (The Jewish Federation building). 
  • Area high schools have already reached out to us to schedule presentations during the month of September, and we look forward to being in a new school, Notre Dame High School, to present to four sections of Freshman Scriptures Class on September 1st. 
Jewish Fund for Human Needs Supports Flood Relief
The Jewish Fund for Human Needs, a program of JCRC and the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, was featured in the Jewish Light for providing assistance to ArchCity Defenders and the Little Bit Foundation. Click the button above to read the full article.
JCRC Events
Antisemitism 101: Educating and Empowering Emerging Leaders to Respond to the Antisemitism of Today
Sundays, September 11, October 23, November 30
3-8 pm CT | The J (directions)
Open to all current high school students, this 3-part series will empower students to recognize and address antisemitism in their communities and on their high school and college campuses and provide them with resources to address these issues. Although attendance for all parts of the 3 sessions is strongly encouraged, we still welcome your participation even if you cannot commit to all sessions.
A Delicious Bookend Event: Michael W. Twitty
Tuesday, September 13
7 PM | The J in Creve Coeur (directions)
The James Beard award-winning author of the acclaimed The Cooking Gene explores the cultural crossroads of Jewish and African diaspora cuisine and issues of memory, identity, and food.

In Koshersoul, Michael W. Twitty considers the marriage of two of the most distinctive culinary cultures in the world today: the foods and traditions of the African Atlantic and the global Jewish diaspora. To Twitty, the creation of African-Jewish cooking is a conversation of migrations and a dialogue of diasporas offering a rich background for inventive recipes and the people who create them. 

The question that most intrigues him is not just who makes the food, but how the food makes the people. Jews of Color are not outliers, Twitty contends, but significant and meaningful cultural creators in both Black and Jewish civilizations. Koshersoul also explores how food has shaped the journeys of numerous cooks, including Twitty’s own passage to and within Judaism.

As intimate, thought-provoking, and profound as The Cooking Gene, this remarkable book teases the senses as it offers sustenance for the soul.
Meet the Janes: The Heroes of Abortion Access Before Roe v. Wade
Thursday, September 15
6:30 pm CT | Ethical Society of St. Louis (directions)
Sponsored by Access Missouri, American Association of University Women, Ethical Society of St. Louis, Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis, Hadassah, MaTovu, National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis, ProgressWomen, WashU Hillel, and Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice
In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago. Seven women were arrested and charged. The accused were part of a clandestine network. Using code names, blindfolds, and safe houses to protect their identities and their work, they built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves Jane. Now that we live in a post-Roe world, The Janes helps us envision the enormous potential for collective action to ensure abortion access.

Prior to the screening, award-winning journalist Charles Jaco will give a brief introduction about his connection to The Janes. At the conclusion of the film, Stacey Newman of ProgressWomen will share information on how you can take action to support access to abortion.

The event is free of charge, but registration is required. There are no walk-ins. Doors will open at 6:30, the movie will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Proof of vaccination or a negative covid test within 24 hours must be shown at the door.
Arts and Faith 2022 Concert
Sunday, September 18
4 pm CT | Sheldon Concert Hall (directions)
Community Events
Rising Hate: Antisemitism in America
Sunday, August 21
8 pm CT | CNN, CNN.com, CNN apps
This important CNN report examines how antisemitism is flowing from fringe groups and obscure chat rooms into the mainstream. CNN's team was the first crew of journalists invited to document the groundbreaking work going on in ADL's brand-new Investigative Research Lab. CNN Anchor Dana Bash and her crew spent extensive time with ADL Center on Extremism VP Oren Segal and our experts to witness how we track and monitor the activity of extremists. ADL’s work in the Good Fight will be a key element in this primetime look into how antisemitism continues to find an alarming footing in American society.
Empower Missouri Fall Friday Forums
Fridays
12 - 1 pm CT | Virtual
Empower Missouri’s Friday Forums are monthly online educational offerings for Missourians to build knowledge on poverty-related policy issues and skills in legislative and grassroots advocacy. For this fall, we have scheduled four sessions covering a wide range of topics:
 
September 9th: Missouri's Private Probation System
October 7th: Tenants' Unions
November 4th: A Case for Reparations
December 2nd: Legislative Preview
Did You Miss A Recent Program?
You can click here to watch recordings of JCRC's recent programs on our YouTube channel.