Israel & Our Community Edition

Dear Rabbis, Cantors, and our wonderful Jewish Community,

We want to send our sincere thanks and admiration to those of you who braved the February cold to join us last Tuesday night at the Bridgeport City Council meeting. None of us knew what to expect after the January council meetings and we were all justifiably nervous. But, by showing up in the numbers we did, and with advance behind-the-scenes work by the Federation, we saw a very different Council chamber on Tuesday night.

There was a much-needed return, at least among the audience, to appropriate civil decorum. The Council permitted an equal number of speakers for and against the anti-Israel resolution. The room was quiet and polite as each person spoke. And members of all communities present were cordial to each other during the breaks.

During the week leading up to last night's meeting, Carin met individually with many members of the Council, working with them to present a counter-resolution, one which will rescind the current antisemitic vitriol and replace it with the call for a community-wide task force to meet on the topic of the Hamas-Israel war. If Bridgeport wants to be engaged in a conversation about the Middle East, then we want to be part of that discussion.

In the end, Mayor Ganim removed the item from the agenda to the surprise and disappointment of everyone who remained in the room - Jews and Muslims alike--and quietly moved it into the Miscellaneous matters Committee.

What this means is that the Mayor and the Council saw us. They now know that we will not let the old resolution stand, and that we will not accept a summary dismissal of the new proposal. They recognize our numbers and our resolve. They see what they have awakened - something they didn't expect.

Thank you to those of you who brought friends or sent congregants, those who stood and sat quietly in the room, those who stood and spoke eloquently to the press and to the Council. You all made an impact.

To those of you who were unable to join us on Tuesday night, don't worry - there will be more opportunities.

*** Update** This Miscellaneous Matters Committee Meeting where the resolution to rescind will be debated has been scheduled for this Monday, February 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall in the Wheeler Room (which you must walk by to enter the City Council Chamber).

Between now and Monday, February 26, we will continue to work to bring forward a new resolution rescinding the current one, and a better plan to help the Council and citizens of Bridgeport understand the crisis in Israel.

Until the hate speech is removed from the record, our work continues. We hope that you will continue to encourage your congregations to show up, to show Bridgeport, Fairfield County, and Connecticut who we are and what we stand for. And, most of all, we stand with Israel.

You'll be receiving more information from us as we get closer to February 26. We really hope to see you there. But please reach out to us directly with any information or questions before then.

Carin & Sharon

Thank you,

Carin Savel, CEO

Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County

and

Sharon DeFala, Chair

Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County

BRIDGEPORT RESOLUTION UPDATE:

Rescind the ceasefire!

Stand up to hate!

Monday, Feb 26 at 5:15 PM

A new resolution has been filed to rescind the ceasefire!

This Miscellaneous Matters Committee Meeting where the resolution to rescind will be debated has been scheduled for this Monday, February 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall in the Wheeler Room which you must walk by to enter the City Council Chamber.

It is vital that our community is there to show the council what the greater community wants!

We will meet there at 5:15 PM. We will have signs or bring your own.

Join the Federation's Israel and Overseas Committee on Sunday mornings for coffee and discussion with a new online speaker series, Israel: Behind the Headlines.

Over three weeks, they will feature an in-depth look at Israel through the eyes of a journalist, a professor, and an art museum director.

The first of the series, The Political Landscape of Israel Before and After October 7th, kicks off at 11 am on March 10th with Reuven Hazan, Professor of Political Science at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Click Here to Register

Our PJ Library team and volunteers are packing up books to go to displaced children in our Afula-Gilboa partnership region. Did you know that many Israeli children learn English from reading PJ Library books?

SPECIAL GUESTS FEATURED AT MINI & ME!

A special thank you to Rabbi Evan Schultz and Director of Bonim Preschool, Alexa Cohen, for leading the songs and story time at this week's Mini & Me!

Join Jewish Federations and Central Synagogue in Manhattan to welcome Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, one of the world’s foremost experts on the Holocaust and modern antisemitism, on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 pm.

Hear Ambassador Lipstadt in dialogue with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl about the current rise in hatred against Jews and strategies for advocating stronger action against antisemitism.

INSTAGRAM ALERT! NEW YEAR NEW VOICES

Follow these fabulous new voices who are peaking out against antisemitism.

Every day, new celebrity and influencer voices are speaking up against antisemitism. New videos launch daily. Make your own, tag us and we will post to stories.

https://www.instagram.com/2024newvoices/

17 Jewish Organizations Push for Passage of Antisemitism Awareness Act

Jewish Federations of North America on Wednesday led 16 top American Jewish organizations in a joint letter to members of the House of Representatives reaffirming their support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, an accepted and widespread definition of antisemitism.

Read more here.

Give to the Israel Emergency Fund here.

Arthur Szyk historian, Irvin Unger, presents an online four-part lecture series on how and why Szyk is the artist of and for the Jewish people, and the ways his art and spirit remain eternal in the service of mankind.

Topics are:

Feb. 26 - Behind the Great Art and the Great Message Stands Arthur Szyk, the Great Man
Mar. 11 - The Fabric of America through the Art of Arthur Szyk
Mar. 25 - Injustice Illuminated: The Holocaust Art of Arthur Szyk
Apr. 8 - Arthur Szyk and the Art of the Haggadah

Click here to RSVP.

Click Here for Allocations & Grants Applications

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Click on the links below to reach out to your congregation. If you are not affiliated with a congregation but would like to connect with a Jewish clergyperson, please email info@shalomct.org.