Monthly Newsletter: June 2022 |
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Welcome to our monthly Values in Action (VIA Isaiah) newsletter: Your quick guide to improving our community and the world at Temple Isaiah. For the newsletter archive, click here.
VIA ISAIAH IS…a collection of groups within Temple Isaiah who offer opportunities to temple members to serve those in need and to make our community more just through education, advocacy and direct service. Our efforts are grounded in the Jewish values of tikkun olam, repairing the world. Everyone is welcome and needed in this effort. For details of what we do and who to contact, please click here.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”…Emma Lazarus 1883
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Our next VIA monthly committee meeting will be held
Thursday, June 2 at 7pm on Zoom. All are invited. Please get involved! There’s a lot of repair to do and it’s more fun and meaningful doing it in community.
Topic: VIA Community Meeting: Open to all who care about social justice.
Thursday, June 2 at 7pm
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 870 3266 1338
Passcode: justice11
Join by phone at (408) 638-0968.
Mark your calendar:
- Note: No meeting in July.
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Next meeting is Tuesday, August 2 at 7pm when Rabbi Lawrence will be joining us. Location and future meeting dates to be announced.
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Vote in the Primaries on June 7 and be informed on your choices. Visit the Contra Costa County Elections website for information on Voting Registration and Voting Options including resources for voting by mail, how to register to vote, voting rights, official ballot drop boxes, voting on or before election day, and looking up your personal voting information. For other information, including current elections, visit current elections.
Learn Practical Skills to Handle Difficult Conversations: Deepen connections and learn how to have uncomfortable conversations, whether on racial justice or interpersonal issues with family and friends. The Compassion Course is offered annually and registration is now! This online course offered through the New York Non-Violent Communications organization can be life changing, whether you want to learn how to manage conflict or deepen connection in your relationships. It’s one year, not as daunting as it sounds, and incredibly transformative. Join with a friend and form a chevrutah (learning partner). Here’s the link to register and for information https://www.compassioncourse.org Got questions? Contact Terri Moss at terrimoss55@gmail.com
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Get Out the Vote (GOTV) Engagement for Voter Protection. Help people get engaged in voting so they will vote in the Primaries and in November. This is critical to our democracy! Join us for GOTV post card writing in the TI Social Hall 4:30-6pm on these dates Click here. We will educate and empower the under-represented voters by encouraging early voting. Bring a friend and join us! This is open to the public. Current Temple Isaiah mask and vaccination policies will apply. Contact: Judy Carney judy.carney0@gmail.com, Leslie Shafton leslieshafton1@gmail.com or Adina Zinn adina@loveyourwork.com
*** This is How We Make a Difference ***
Center for Common Ground/Reclaim Our Vote shared that there are 1.2 million black voters in Florida who did not vote in the last 3 primaries. There is a primary coming up August 23. Democracy is about a vote to voice.
“After three weeks of early voting ahead of Tuesday’s primary, record-breaking turnout is undercutting predictions that the Georgia Election Integrity Act of 2021 would lead to a falloff in voting. By the end of Friday, the final day of early in-person voting, nearly 800,000 Georgians had cast ballots — more than three times the number in 2018, and higher even than in 2020, a presidential year.”
“Voting rights groups said they have stepped up their voter registration and education efforts to ensure that Georgians know how to vote under the new rules and are not afraid to do so. With 95 percent of eligible voters actually registered, Georgia currently boasts the highest registration rate in the nation, and voting groups take some of the credit for that.”
—The Washington Post, May 21,2022
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RAC-CA’s new campaign, Climate Tzedek, will work with local and statewide partners to build Jewish, interfaith, and multiracial political power to implement solutions to the climate crisis. Climate change affects all of us, and while it is about the future, it is also already here. Now is the time to put it at the center of Jewish and congregational life, and to respond to this physical, spiritual, and political challenge. This campaign will integrate our work on the national Every Voice, Every Vote campaign to get out the vote and fight voter suppression. Click here to register now to join the RAC-CA Climate Tzedek campaign Kickoff on June 9, 7-8:15pm.
Ways to Donate for Ukraine:
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WUPJ (the World Union for Progressive Judaism) has created its Ukraine Crisis Fund to support the Ukrainian Jewish community. Donate to the WUPJ here.
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Our local Federation’s Ukraine Emergency Fund where 100% of donations will go to support relief and rescue efforts through the JDC (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee). You can donate here.
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HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) has worked in Ukraine for decades. Learn how they are helping Ukrainians as they cross into Poland and donate to their Ukraine crisis response here.
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The Women of Reform Judaism's YES Fund is providing emergency assistance to those in need. To make a designated gift, please visit https://wrj.org/donate-wrj and select "YES Fund - Ukrainian Support Donation."
Help for Afghan Refugees JFCS can use our help with purchasing household essentials for refugees. The newly arrived Afghan family that we are helping is expecting a baby girl in August. They need the following items:
- Diaper bag backpack
- Bath Tub
- Crib
- Swaddle wrap
- Stroller
- Dresser with changing table
- Newborn clothing
- Diapers
Join the Multi-faith ACTION Coalition as we advocate to tackle the root causes of poverty. People from all faith backgrounds meet to identify issues, research potential solutions, and advocate by meeting with elected local and state officials, attending legislative visits, supporting bills, and writing letters. Contact Doug Leich, leichd@gmail.com to be connected with the task forces you wish to join. https://www.multifaithactioncoalition.org/newsletter/2022/
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Racial Justice: Are you “Color Blind?” Many of us think that when we say we’re “color blind” we mean that skin color doesn’t matter to us and we treat everyone the same. We were taught that this is how we can be inclusive, when in fact it negates or denies someone’s ethnicity. If you attended Dr. Lori Watson’s four-part workshop on racism or read and talk about racism issues, you’ve probably realized that no one is “color blind” nor is that a goal to aspire to.
Have you considered that if you’re White or pass for White, that you are “color blind” to the White culture that automatically grants you privileges not available to people of color? I know! As an educated White person, I was shocked at my blindness to these privileges, like:
- Getting pulled over for a traffic violation or broken tail light and assuming I’ll live after the encounter
- Buying (or renting) a home at market price
- Asking police for help (and seeing them as a source of protection)
- Qualifying for a mortgage
- Speaking “White” that gives the impression that I’m educated and smart
- Shopping in a store without suspicion
…that’s just for starters. We may unconsciously encourage nonwhites to assimilate into the “American” culture by adopting these values or behaviors. There’s nothing wrong with these values, beliefs and traits, but if we are imposing them on nonwhites in order to suggest they “belong", are we really being inclusive and respecting diversity?”
Learning to be an anti-racist or more inclusive in our daily interactions starts with awareness. Ask yourself: Thinking of “whiteness” as a color, what does it mean to look “white?” As a culture, what does it mean to behave “white?” As a consciousness, what does it mean to think “white?":
Here’s a PDF of some aspects and assumptions of White culture in the United States. They are common characteristics of most U.S. White people most of the time. We assume that non-White people should fit into “our” culture in order to succeed. Is this you?
Look for a continuing series this fall through our DEI and VIA initiatives on how to have difficult conversations about race and other educational opportunities to learn about our racist tendencies, racism in our country and how to truly contribute to a more inclusive, loving and compassionate world, country, and community.
Get Involved in Bay Area Environmental Actions. Receive useful information regarding local Bay Area actions and events dedicated to fighting the climate crisis. https://350contracosta.org
2022 WRJ Reproductive Health & Rights Resource Guide is intended to help all Reform women - in congregations, women's groups, and/or as individuals - mobilize and advocate for reproductive health and rights in their communities. Download and join this critically important work! Reproductive Health & Rights Resource Guide 2022
Learn What Jews of Color Experience. Jews of Color face discomfort at synagogues. Learn about their experiences so Temple Isaiah can become a more welcoming place to all.
“Here I Am” is a new initiative demonstrating the vibrancy, diversity and values of the Bay Area Jewish community through grassroots storytelling videos that seek to bring light to personal experiences with antisemitism and educate our neighbors how to be Jewish allies in these times. Get more information https://www.hereiamstories.org/
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Learn About the Jewish Response to Reproductive Justice. The National Council of Jewish Women, San Francisco Section, will be holding a Reproductive Justice Virtual Panel Discussion via Zoom on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 from 5:30 pm – 7 pm. This timely panel discussion will feature influential leaders and will come around the time of the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v Wade. This is a free event. Register here to attend: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpcumgqTgjHdIGboxdHlQSMncKGoWg3CDg
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Mental Health Support for Adults: Second Sundays from 3-5pm online. Whether you are struggling with Covid, going through a difficult period or have ongoing mental health issues, join us for our free monthly drop-in support group. We provide an opportunity to share and support one another as part of a nonjudgmental, caring community.
Mental Health Support for Family Members: Fourth Mondays from 7-8:30pm online. Are you a parent, sibling, or child of an adult with mental health issues? This free drop-in support group provides information as well as the opportunity to share and support each other as you learn to help your loved one. Facilitated by licensed clinical social worker, Rosemarie Frydman, NAMI certified trainer Karen Cohen, and Diana MaKieve.
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To contribute information to this monthly VIA newsletter, please contact co-editors
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