[Guest Post] Turn a Tragedy into a Victory for Justice

In May 2008, federal immigration agents raided the small town of Postville, IA – separating families and devastating a community. JCUA responded immediately (see photos), and worked with the Postville community in the years following the raid (read article). Nearly 5 years after the raid, JCUA’s partners in Iowa are calling for comprehensive immigration reform with renewed hope and urgency. 

by Sr. Mary McCauley, BVM
Dubuque, Iowa

Soon we will commemorate the Fifth Anniversary of the 2008 Immigration Raid in Postville, Iowa.  Having been in Postville at that time, I still carry with me the suffering of the people.

JCUA members, Postville – July, 2008 (more photos)

I recall the small girl with a scrap of paper in her hand crawling up the steps into the sanctuary and handing her paper to our Hispanic Minister with words that were clear and direct.  “Please bring my daddy home!”

I recall the women walking the streets of Postville with mandated GPS devices on their ankles.  During our walks and prayer vigils they held their heads high and carried signs that read:  “We are not criminals.  We came to work.  We came to feed our families.  We are mothers.”

I recall the words of Rigoberto Menchu, the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner from Guatemala, who visited with those affected by the raid:  “I see the problem of Postville as full of injustices.  You should not rest until justice is done….”

The people, the memories, the pain, the injustices and the words of Menchu continue to haunt me.  I cannot rest until justice is done.

Five years ago a tragedy took place in Iowa.  Iowans responded with compassion, sensitivity and justice. Today there is another opportunity for Iowans to respond.  May we unite with one another and support legislation for comprehensive immigration reform.    May we turn the tragedy of Postville into a victory for justice.   May we not rest until justice is done!

Mary McCauley, BVM
Dubuque, Iowa 52003

Meet JCUA’s Winter/Spring 2013 Intern Cohort

by Asaf Bar-Tura

JCUA trains interns year-round, thus developing future leaders while building organizational capacity. Read about our approach, and meet our current interns.

JCUA hosts a diverse and talented cohort of interns year-round. Our internship program has a twofold effect: first, it provides training for future social justice leaders; and second, it expands our capacity to achieve our goals.

In 2012 we had a total of 15 interns, including undergraduate, graduate and rabbinical students. This group included Jews, Muslims, and Christians, who came from across the US, as well as England and Germany.

We see internships not only as an opportunity for students to be agents of change, but also an important learning experience. Thus, we are very intentional about providing students with a stimulating environment in which they can learn, hone their professional skills and challenge themselves. We foster this environment through, individual supervision, evaluation of the internship throughout the year, as well as participation in the broader organization.

Interns are full participants in weekly staff meetings, where they have an opportunity to gain a broader understanding of JCUA’s work and strategizing. At JCUA interns develop insights related to approaching social justice through a Jewish lens, as well as strategies for interfaith partnerships.

Meet our current internship cohort:

[Video] A Tribute to Jane Ramsey’s Jewish Social Justice Leadership

Jane Ramsey has led the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs courageously and energetically for over three decades. Jane has been at the forefront of many critical issues affecting Chicago and the nation. Throughout the years, her leadership enabled the JCUA to become one of Chicago’s most active and important organizations speaking on behalf of human and civil rights issues.

As Jane retired from JCUA in September 2012, here is a tribute video to her work and legacy. It is up to us all to carry this torch forward, as is said in Perkei Avot (2:21) -

“You are not obligated to complete the task, but neither are you free to desist from it.”

Thank you, Jane.

Jane Ramsey to retire Sept. 1, capping off more than 30 years of social justice work with JCUA

For Immediate Release

Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Chicago | http://www.jcua.org
Media: Jonathan Lehrer | jonathan@jcua.org
312.663.0960 x. 126  |  After Hours: 312.521.0892

Jane Ramsey

CHICAGO, Aug. 15, 2012 – After three decades during which she defined the Jewish social justice agenda in Chicago, and shaped the organization that carried out the mission, Jane Ramsey has announced her retirement from the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs – the organization that she led for more than 30 years.

Founded by Rabbi Robert Marx in 1964 as a Jewish response to the emerging civil rights movement, under Ramsey’s leadership JCUA expanded its social justice role and has become the ”go-to” organization for those seeking allies in the fight for justice.

When then long shot mayoral candidate Harold Washington became the object of racial slurs, JCUA called for Chicagoans to act on their better nature. When CHA residents sought allies to ensure that their rights were honored as the city tore down its high-rises, JCUA pulled together the coalition of religious and civil rights institutions that became the tenants’ allies. In the wake of September 11th, 2001 when Chicago’s Muslim community became the target of hate crimes, JCUA reached out to offer support and solidarity, subsequently founding the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative.

More recently, when Chicago’s Mexican communities were threatened by both gentrification and deportations, JCUA fought for immigration reform and battled the now-infamous practices of the Agriprocessors, Inc., a kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa. This led to a nationwide effort, the “We Were Strangers Too Jewish Campaign for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”

Make the Vision Possible, Says JCUA’s CEO

Judy Levey, JCUA’s chief executive officer, was a featured speaker at our recent “Acts of Change” event (June 20, 2012). She identifies JCUA’s main issue areas as immigration, housing, Jewish-Muslim community building and empowerment of Jewish teens. The event honored immigration attorney Kalman Resnick and Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia with the Rabbi Robert J. Marx Social Justice Award.

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Judy Levey, JCUA CEO

It is an honor to be here, following the great tradition of Rabbi Marx, Jane Ramsey, and others have led this organization. Our honorees, Kalman and Chuy are role models for social justice. They, together with our community partners, and all of you – are Actors of Change.

I would like to illustrate several of the ways JCUA, with your help, makes our world more just. These examples make clear what a group of committed and focused people can accomplish when we work together.

Proposed Crete Detention Center

Let’s begin with the dramatic recent events taking place in the Village of Crete. The Corrections Corporation of America was hoping to construct a private immigration detention center there. But the CCA has a bad track record, and their profit incentives lead them to skimp on food and health care. Private detention centers in general are notorious for violations of basic human rights.

JCUA has been working in Crete since late last year, joining forces with the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants, of which we are a founding member. With our help, the residents of Crete got organized and fought to make their voices heard.

There were some setbacks, but a couple of weeks ago the Village Board of Crete voted to kill the project.

Did it happen overnight? No, it was the result of the sustained efforts of the residents of Crete, JCUA, and allies, working together, building relationships, and persevering even in the face of what looked like defeat.

Changing Our Act in “Acts of Change”

By Pamela Klier-Weidner
Director of Development and Organizational Advancement, JCUA

Why mess with the fundraising dinner? JCUA, like so many organizations, has been doing them successfully for years.

Big fundraising galas have a warm place in my heart, in my history. I’ve experienced great joy (and several additional gray hairs) in producing large scale fundraising dinners. I have, however, fantasized about taking the “gala” out of JCUA’s fundraising galas.

“Acts of Change” will honor Kalman Resnick and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, with guest speaker Tamar Manasseh and performances from “Soul Sisters–A Multicultural Musical.” Learn more and buy tickets.

This tried-and-true formula never quite hit the mark for me at JCUA. We’ve had heroic honorees. We’ve worked with devoted dinner chairs. We’ve had our events at wonderful downtown hotels where the staff dedicated themselves to making our lives easier and our event virtually seamless.

So, why mess with the fundraising dinner?

I’m not speaking on behalf of everyone at JCUA, but for nearly four years, I’ve heard so many people ask us not to do “those big dinners.” I’ve also struggled with the expense of a large dinner and the ticket prices we had to set in order to reach our fundraising goals.

At each fundraising dinner, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Are we including ALL of our communities at this gala?” I wonder if the event is true to who we really are as an organization. Is it communicating the importance of our relationships and the bridges we create across racial, ethnic and religious lines? Are we having fun?

From JCUA’s CEO: ‘Our Imperative to Help Repair the World’

Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue

By Judy Levey
Chief Executive Officer, JCUA

JCUA CEO Judy Levey

I recently spoke with many JCUA leaders and supporters at a wonderful meet-and-greet opportunity at Yusho, a hip and happening new restaurant in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood.

Our focus was on the enduring value and impact of JCUA’s social justice work and where we are going as an organization.

Together with the JCUA board of directors and staff, I am laying out a vision for JCUA that includes the active engagement of more young people in initiatives and campaigns and the shifting culture of our work into a human rights framework.

JCUA’s work is central to our collective Jewish tradition. There are a few guiding ideas that we typically use to describe the foundation for our work.

From Deuteronomy comes “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof,” which means “Justice Justice You Shall Pursue.”

From the Sayings of our Ancestors there are two:

Ramsey Retrospective: Long and Winding Road

Chicago Jewish News Profiles JCUA President Jane Ramsey

By Judy Levey
Chief Executive Officer, JCUA

Congratulations to Jane Ramsey, the subject of a major cover story in the Chicago Jewish News (March 16, 2012). As we announced recently, Jane was named to the new position of president after many years as executive director. In the article, writer Pauline Dubkin Yearwood chronicles Jane’s many contributions to JCUA.

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Long and Winding Road
By Pauline Dubkin Yearwood

There are so many memories, so many accomplishments, they tumble forth from her so fast, she sometimes has to stop and catch up with herself for a minute.

The day after Sept. 11, when a Jewish organization reached out for the first time to the Muslim community as a partner in eradicating hate.

The press conference at the Robert Taylor Homes, when the public took notice for the first time of what the Chicago Housing Authority was doing to residents there.

The time a coalition of Jews, Latinos and African Americans, wanting to send a message to Sears about jobs, flooded the teller lines at the bank on the first floor of the then-Sears Tower, leading to an elevator shutdown – and a meeting with Sears officials.

The successful effort to wrest a Pilsen housing complex from the forces of gentrification and save it for the area’s low-income residents.

And the many quieter, less public successes: a curriculum on Judaism and urban poverty that now reaches some 30,000 students; an Urban Mitzvah Corps for college students; voter registration drives; and, most cherished, joining forces with groups from other Chicago ethnic and religious communities to fight against poverty and oppression.

That’s only a small part of what Jane Ramsey recalls as she looks back over her three decades as executive director of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, a 48-year-old organization that works in partnership with other Chicago communities on social justice issues.

Read the rest of this story at the Chicago Jewish News website

Myths and Realities of Homelessness and Poverty: A Plan for Transforming Cities

By Jane Ramsey
President, JCUA

This lecture was delivery by Jane Ramsey on Feb. 29 at Iowa State University. Her appearance was cosponsored by the College of Design, the Department of Community and Regional Planning, the Graduate Community and Regional Planning Club and the Committee on Lectures.

We are here tonight to explore the myths and realities of homelessness and poverty, through the lens of Chicago’s supposed “transformation” of public housing. How fascinating that a path has been forged between Chicago and Iowa by some former residents of public housing and others who were forced out of the housing market as a result of the “transformation.”

Let me begin by sharing with you my somewhat unique vantage point as this story unfolded.

It began, coincidentally, for me as a University of Chicago graduate student in 1976 when I was placed as an intern with the city of Chicago’s economic development department, then called the Mayor’s Committee for Economic and Cultural Development. Following my internship I was hired on as a city planner…getting an invaluable, first-hand education about Mayor Richard J. Daley and the Chicago Machine.

Nachshon Symbolizes JCUA’s Courage and Leadership

Irene Lehrer Sandalow

Irene Lehrer Sandalow, director of special initiatives at JCUA, recently accepted a new position as Program Manager of the Jewish Education Project. Among Irene’s many contributions to JCUA have been her d’var Torah presentations (words of Torah) at our staff meetings.

For Irene, this week’s Torah portion, Beshalach, summarizes not only JCUA’s approach to social justice, but also Irene’s very personal experiences as one of our key staffers over the past several years.

Irene talks about sees a parallel between the Jewish character Nachshon and JCUA. Nachshon’s risk-taking behavior began “a journey of liberation.” Just like JCUA’s historical work.

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By Irene Lehrer Sandalow
Director of Special Initiatives for JCUA 

According to the midrash, Nachshon had the courage to walk into the sea before anyone else.

There is a well known Midrash (a form of rabbinic literature that provides commentary/stories to the Torah reading) about Nachshon Ben Aminadav (Sotah 37a; NumbersRabbah xiii. 7.) In this week’s Torah reading, Parshat Beshalach, the Israelites become trapped between the Sea of Reeds and a fast approaching Egyptian Army. In the face of Pharoh’s rage and remorse at their freedom, the Israelites wailed with despair at the banks of the sea.

However, the Midrash describes how one Israelite, Nachshon ben Aminadav, trusted God and God’s decision to take the Israelites out of Egypt. Acting on his belief, Nachshon jumped into the waters. Because of Nachshon’s literal leap of faith, God parts the Sea of Reeds and saves the Israelites from Pharaoh’s attack

For me, JCUA is one of the “Nachshons” of the 20th and 21th century. Yes, there is a common acceptance in the Jewish community that we should care about the needy among us.  But JCUA takes Nachshon’s leap and takes tremendous risks. We have sometimes lost money, or supporters, because we were doing what is right, not what is easy or popular.

JCUA takes actions that most are too scared to take