Teen Activist Reflects on Or Tzedek Retreat

Emily Isaacson wrote this reflection based on her experience at Or Tzedek’s first annual Winter Leadership Retreat.

Providing the Tools for Change: Or Tzedek’s Winter Leadership Retreat

By Emily Isaacson
Or Tzedek participant, Winter 2011

Leadership Retreat participants Meirav (from left), Emily and Rachel hanging out in the city.

Many people observe problems that plague today’s world.  But it takes a special kind of commitment to not only take a stand, but also choose to search deeper under the surface-to discover the depth of an issue and advocate for changing  root of a problem.

Or Tzedek has provided Jewish teens like me a unique opportunity to observe and begin to truly understand the corruption in our world. With this understanding, the program provides the tools to begin to make the changes we wish to see in the world today.

Or Tzedek, traditionally a week-long summer program, just hosted its first-ever winter retreat. As a participant in the three-day winter Or Tzedek program were extremely eye opening.

An Or Tzedek Activist’s Social Justice Journey

Doug Lavey participated in Or Tzedek’s first program in the summer of 2007.  In his first post for Or Tzedek, Doug reflects on how his Or Tzedek  experience fostered a commitment to social justice and led him to take advantage of other opportunities. Doug currently studies Political  Science and Economics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

My Experience with Social Justice

By Doug Lavey
Or Tzedek Participant, Summer 2007

Doug Lavey

It is rare to be offered the opportunities for learning, growth and social justice that one can find at Or Tzedek. Indeed, your high school and college years offer a small window to take advantage of social service programs directed specifically towards teenagers.

My involvement in social justice programs began at Or Tzedek in the summer of 2007. Since that summer, I furthered my involvement and dedication to social justice through my academics, extracurricular activities and work.

My dedication to social justice has blossomed into an incredible journey that has taken me all over the world. This includes two programs through PanimWorks (Southwest and DC Jam) a trip to Costa Rica with International Student Volunteers and work as a student coordinator for Invisible Children.

Besides summer social justice programs, I volunteered and had internships with JCUA and the UIC Office of Sustainability.

Crete Detention Center: Many Questions, Few Answers

Alyse Shields

By Alyse Shields
JCUA Intern, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago

Emotions remain high in the south suburban village of Crete, the site of a proposed federal detention center.

Another 100 people attended at the latest Crete Village Board meeting held Jan. 23. The small room overflowed with residents, most standing against every available wall, eager to have their questions answered.

I attended the meeting as a representative of JCUA and the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants.

Village Administrator Thomas Durkin opened the meeting by offering responses to questions that residents have been asking about the project. His mundane and perfunctory answers added little insight. Meanwhile, as Durkin spoke, a crowd of impassioned citizens outside the chamber chanted “No Crete Detention Center!”

Dunkin’ Donuts Investigates Store Incident

By Pamela Klier-Weidner
Director of Development and Communications, JCUA

The executive suite at Dunkin’ Brands is looking into a blatant example of racism I wrote about earlier this month on JCUA’s newsblog.

In that post, I described taking my daughters to a Chicago area Dunkin’ Donuts store last October. After reading my blog entry, Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. (parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts) asked me for more details about the incident.

In a time when some big corporations seem insensitive to public input, it’s nice to know there are other companies that monitor social media and respond.

Dunkin’ Brands is serious about publicly resolving the issue, their representative told me, and they are currently investigating the situation I described. In fact, I was told that the company’s CEO, Nigel Travis, is personally involved in this investigation.

You have to appreciate their quick response and willingness to look into what happened.

What my kids and I witnessed really was egregious behavior of one of their franchisees. I’m looking forward to hearing what the company finds out in their investigation — and what they’re going to do about it.

We certainly hope they can take some kind of concrete action to ensure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.

This incident is only one example of a much larger social issue.

JCUA’s Submits Testimony to City Council Raising Concern on Proposed Ordinance Tightening Protest Regulations

On Tuesday January 17, 2012, JCUA  submitted a testimony to Mayor Rahm Emanuel regarding its proposed ordinance for tightening protest regulations.

 

JEWISH COUNCIL ON URBAN AFFAIRS

January 17, 2012

Testimony by Jane Ramsey on Mayor Emanuel proposed changes to the city’s parade ordinance governing protests and marches.

 

The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, founded nearly 50 years ago, to tackle poverty, racism and anti-Semitism in partnership with Chicago’s diverse communities, calls upon the Mayor and the City Council to ensure that Chicago residents’ rights to peaceful protest are protected.   As a democracy and a City that cherishes the expression and hearing of many voices on important matters impacting our communities and everyday lives, it is crucial that citizens’ rights to gather peacefully and to protest not be infringed upon as the City plans for the gathering of the G8.  We urge the Mayor and the City Council to ensure that, in submitting new ordinances regarding this event or any others, that no infringements, such as increases in fines for resisting arrest, size of placards, or limitations regarding permit requests for gatherings and parades are included and that the laws regarding such gatherings and parades that have been in place for many years are undisturbed.

As we showcase Chicago with opportunities such as the meeting of the G8, let us ensure that we highlight the greatness of our City, especially its embrace of its commitment to democracy and its citizens’ rights to public expression.

A Dialogue Between Imams and Rabbis

Imam Ousmane Drame of Masjid Al-Farooq (from left), Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel Congregation and Karen Danielson of the Mosque Foundation.

By Asaf Bar-Tura
Associate Director of Programs, JCUA 

Over the past year JCUA has been partnering with the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago and the Chicago Board of Rabbis to create a unique forum in which imams and rabbis in the Chicago area can break bread, exchange ideas and collaborate.

The first meeting took place in April, 2011, and the second meeting held on Dec. 13, 2011.

The group of participants is as diverse as one can imagine. Coming from all over the city and the suburbs, from a range of ethnic and racial backgrounds, men and women, from Orthodox to Reform, the group truly represents the diversity of our communities.

The main topic of discussion at the last meeting was “Challenges and Opportunities in Transmitting Religious and Communal Identity to the Next Generation in America.” The meeting was co-facilitated by Rabbi Michael Balinsky and Imam Senad Agic.

JCUA and our partners believe in the importance of building relationships among our spiritual leaders as part of a larger effort to foster collaborations between the Jewish and Muslim communities in Illinois. All partners are committed to continue to provide a platform where faith leaders are able to share ideas and engage in open-dialogue about issues pertaining to their respective communities.

Rabbis and imams interested in participating in the citywide Chicagoland Rabbi-Imam Dialogue Initiative should contact Asaf Bar-Tura at asaf@jcua.org. The next meeting is scheduled for late February 2012.

What Dr. King and Rabbi Salanter Might Have Said about Lowe’s and Racism

In commemoration of Martin Luther King Day and in solidarity with the American Muslim community, on Sunday, Jan. 15 JCUA’s Jane Ramsey spoke at an interfaith town hall meeting concerning Lowe’s anti-Muslim actions last month. The town hall meeting took place at the Prayer Center of Orland Park.

See media coverage of the event:  Southtown Star | Enews Park Forest

Watch the full town hall meeting on YouTube (see Jane Ramsey’s speech from 8:00 to 15:45).

Here is Jane Ramsey’s full speech at the event:

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born 83 years ago today. Assassinated over 40 years ago, his powerful legacy lives on. Dr. King fought on behalf of and with oppressed communities, not in defiance of American ideals, but in their name. His famous words echo strongly as ever:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Dr. King emphasized that though our past, as well as our present, are engulfed by the oppression, racism and discrimination that targets minority communities – as a society, we all face a common future.

Jane Ramsey (from left) Amina Shareef, CAIR-Chicago; Jan Shaulis, Faith United Methodist Church; and Anya Cordell, writerJane Ramsey and other speakers at a panel discussion about Lowe's. (Photo: Enews Park Forest.)

The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs stands strong here today with you, stating loudly and clearly that the outrage felt by Muslims, and by all people of good will, regarding Lowe’s shameful actions reflects our outrage. Lowe’s cowardice in buckling to the right-wing Florida Family Association’s demand that it pull its ads from TLC’s reality show “All-American Muslim” and subsequent justifications by Lowe’s for these acts, are deeply offensive and attack the very core of our democracy.

Crete Residents Protest Proposed Detention Center

Events have been heating up in Crete, Ill., a south suburb of Chicago, where local Crete officials, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and the private prison company Corrections Corporation of America, have been making plans to build a 750-bed immigrant detention center.

(Top photo: Attendees at the Crete Village Board meeting. Bottom photo: A protest sign appears at a site in Crete rumored to be the location of the proposed detention center.)

At an impassioned meeting held this past Monday night at the Crete Township hall, organized by concerned residents of Crete and the surrounding communities, and the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants, a coalition in which JCUA is an active member, nearly 160 local residents listened intently to comments about the impact this private prison would have on their town and on undocumented immigrants.

Donut Shop Encounter Teaches Lesson in Tolerance and Respect

Saturday Racism with my Kids

By Pamela Klier-Weidner
Director of Development and Communications, JCUA

“Would you like a little racism with your sandwich?”

No Dunkin’ Donuts employee ever said anything like that. But it was the clear message I heard during a recent donut run to a DD franchise just west of the Chicago city limits with my daughters Juliette and Charlotte.

As we ordered our breakfast, the store owner offered us a free sandwich for no apparent reason. A lovely gesture. We sat down to eat just as two Caucasian police officers walked in and sat beside us.

A sandwich order gone awry teaches a lesson in racism.

Fast forward.

A group of African American teenagers walked in and ordered several items. The police officers stared them down.

After the teens received their orders, one of them took a bite of a sandwich that apparently hadn’t been prepared according to the menu. One bite. He went to the owner and said, “This is not the sandwich I ordered.” The owner responded by accusing him of trying to get a free sandwich.

Or Tzedek’s Winter Leadership Retreat

Last week, 15 amazing high school and college students came together as a community to visit community partner organizations, learn leadership and organizing skills, explore Chicago, and take action. These youth leaders, activists and organizers gathered for the first annual Winter Leadership Retreat, created by Or Tzedek, JCUA’s Jewish teen institute for social justice. 

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Workshops, actions and fun, oh my!

By Rebecca Katz
Winter Leadership Retreat Program Director  

What’s in a mission?

Or Tzedek leadership member Sophie Leff planned our first workshop of the retreat. To get to the bottom of what it means to be a part of JCUA’s Jewish teen institute for social justice, Sophie guided us in the deconstruction of the words that comprise the organization’s name. Using Post-it notes, we wrote our own definitions for “Jewish,” “Council,” “Urban,” and “Affairs.” Through this exercise, we spoke about JCUA’s mission: to combat poverty, racism and anti-Semitism in partnership with Chicago’s diverse communities.