NCJW Weekly Advocacy Wrap-Up:
Friday, April 15, 2022
|
|
In this issue...
Afghan Refugees Arrive Monday!
Upcoming Events
–NCJW-CA 2022 Lobby Day - April 25
–Meetings with legislators - April 25 & April 28
–NCJW-CA 2022 Lobby Day - April 25
Getting Involved: Become a Community Election Worker
–Vote Forward is kicking off!
Save the Date:
–Planned Parenthood Bans Off Abortion Rally - May 14
Chag Pesach Sameach
|
|
Afghan Refugees Arrive Monday! |
|
Welcoming the women to California during Passover is particularly meaningful, for in some ways, the story of Passover is the quintessential refugee story: A persecuted people flees oppression, undergoes a long, transformative journey, and arrives in a new land. Retelling the story of our exodus reminds us that it is a mitzvah to welcome the stranger, for we were once strangers in Egypt. Jews have traditionally donated to charities in the days leading up to Passover. This year the need is greater than ever—more than 65 million people have been displaced from their homes, making the message of the Haggadah more poignant than ever. “Let all who are hungry, come and eat.”
We have organized and are as prepared as we can be to pick them up at the airport and welcome them into our community. We have been lucky enough to have a generous member open her home temporarily, but more stable housing remains our main priority!
We can’t do this alone. So many of you have watched helplessly as innocent Afghans (and now Ukrainians) fled their lands, searching for a way to make a difference. Here’s your chance. We are depending your kindness and generosity to help us help these women begin anew.
Please help NCJW GLB & WOC by volunteering, donating furnishings, electronics (especially laptops, tablets, and cell phones), clothing, gift certificates, and most importantly, cash. To make a donation, go to AfghanRefugeeResettlement/donate and select Immigration Services Fund. If you can assist in another way with a special skill or a housing tip, please contact us through the Welcome Circle email: welcomecircle@ncjwlongbeach.org.
We are excited to be this close to receiving our guests! Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support for this important project!
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
NCJW-California's Virtual Lobby Week
|
|
JOIN US!
Kick-off to NCJW - California's Virtual Lobby Week
Monday, April 25, 9 am to noon
Hear from Keynote Speakers:
Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, about their United Plan on Reproductive Freedom.
Shimica Gaskins, President and CEO of GRACE about the End Child Poverty in California Coalition’s “$10 Billion to Fight Poverty” campaign.
Followed by: Amazing advocates who will present the details of our three priority bills:
Reproductive Freedom: AB 1666 prevents lawsuits in California courts enforcing out-of-state laws that criminalize California medical personnel or anyone else who aids an abortion of a woman from another state.
Affordable Childcare: AB 92 will create an equitable sliding scale for family fees and will temporarily waive family fees for all families through 2023 to reduce the hardships of the pandemic.
Homelessness: AB 1816 creates a reentry housing and workforce development program to allow people with recent histories of incarceration to exit homelessness and remain stably housed.
|
|
The Kick-off will be held virtually from 9 am to noon on Monday, April 25th. Our Section has scheduled virtual lobby meetings with legislative aids from the offices of State Senators Lena Gonzalez (Monday the 25th at 2 pm) and Tom Umberg (Thursday the 28th at 10 am). Email advocacy@ncjwlongbeach.org if you’d like to be part of our local lobby efforts.
|
|
GETTING INVOLVED
Vote Forward
|
|
Vote Forward’s first 2022 letter writing campaigns are here.
Why now? Starting early gives us time to write more letters and reach more voters. And with so much at stake, there’s no time to spare. NCJW Greater Long Beach and West Orange County invites you to participate in the non-partisan (social) campaigns that are offered by Vote Forward.
We are writing “please vote” letters to voters and keeping them stockpiled somewhere safe, and then mailing them on the same day in late October—just before the midterm elections, when research shows our letters have the greatest impact.
If you have already participated in Vote Forward, you know the drill, log in at https://votefwd.org and pick the “social” campaign marked with an "S".
|
|
SAVE THE DATE!
Planned Parenthood Bans Off Abortion Rally
Saturday, May 14 at 10 am
Santa Ana, CA
|
|
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is expected to release its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization within the next couple of months, which could strip back the rights provided by Roe v. Wade, and turn back the clock on 50 years of progress in reproductive freedom.
However, many states are not waiting for the SCOTUS decision to pass bans with immediate effective dates. In just the first three months of 2022, over 500 anti-abortion restrictions were introduced in 41 states, meaning access to abortion is already being stripped away from millions of people seeking care.
The threat to abortion access is real and NOW is the time to mobilize with supporters like YOU from across the country to demonstrate that the vast majority of Americans support abortion access and will rise up to defend it!
Join the Planned Parenthood national day of action at the Bans Off Abortion Rally on Saturday, May 14th, at 10 am in Santa Ana, CA
|
|
From National and our Section, we wish you and yours the best of the holiday season. Chag Pesach Sameach. Happy Easter. Hope you had a wonderful Vaisakhi. Ramadan Mubarak.
If you’re participating in a seder this year, we encourage you to use The Five Women of the Exodus: NCJW’s Feminist Supplement to the Haggadah. As Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg wrote in the updated introduction, “Despite the fact that five women are integral to the story of the Book of Exodus, not one of them is named in the traditional Passover Haggadah. Their absence is more keenly felt than ever this year, after the most brutal year of attacks on reproductive autonomy…”
|
|
Want to stay connected? Like us and follow us! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
