Muslims, Jews and Christians Have to Work Together

JCUA’s Jane Ramsey and Rabbi Robert Marx were the “special honorees” at the Inner-City Muslim Action Network’s end-of-year dinner, Dec. 11, 2011.  This is Ramsey’s acceptance speech, along with a video message from Rabbi Marx, who was not able to attend in person.

On behalf of Rabbi Robert Marx and myself, and all of us at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, I am deeply honored and moved to accept this extraordinary award from you and the Inner-City Muslim Action Network. [Ramsey's remarks continue below video link.]

I think back 10 years ago, when IMAN and JCUA became partners, recognizing that we shared a common vision for a just city and nation, and of working from the grassroots up to tackle poverty and inequities, and to build bridges across racial, religious, ethnic and class lines.

Sukkat Shalom: Between Slavery and Liberation

By Miriam Grossman and Jill Zenoff

Take part in JCUA’s Sukkot Action for Justice, during Sukkot, on Oct. 11. At the Mortgage Bankers Association meeting, we’ll be calling attention to how the foreclosure crisis is affecting Chicago families. Learn more and register for the event.

At the beginning of their journey from slavery to liberation, the Israelites found themselves displaced from their homes with little to no forewarning. Scrounging what supplies that could be found and only enough food and water to last a few days, they constructed sukkot, temporary shelters made from sticks and twigs, in which they would dwell.

Unable to see beyond their past circumstance towards the promised land, when their food and water supplies ran out, many were ready to return to Egypt. The inhumanity and brutality of slavery seemed a fair exchange for what passed as food and housing security.

It wasn’t until the Israelites became a food-secure people with the miraculous appearance of mana at morning’s dew and water from Miriam’s well, were they ready to continue on their 40-year journey towards freedom.

Sukkot Action for Housing Justice: Oct. 11

This graphic banner will be used in the portable Sukkah at the housing action day.

With American bankers meeting just feet away next week, Chicagoans will share stories about how the economic crisis has affected them.

It all happens on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at a special interfaith Sukkot action and press conference inside a makeshift Sukkah in front of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago.

Representing shelter in a time of wandering and crisis, or the halfway point between slavery and liberation, this may be the first time a portable Sukkah has been used in a protest action.

Sukkot: An Opportunity for Change

By Rebecca Katz
Or Tzedek Teen Programs Coordinator

Take part in JCUA’s Sukkot Action for Justice, during Sukkot, on Oct. 11. At the Mortgage Bankers Association meeting, we’ll be calling attention to how the foreclosure crisis is affecting Chicago families. Learn more and register for the event.

Download the Family Guide for Sukkot. This booklet, designed to be read in your Sukkah, features true stories of challenges faced by recent immigrants to the U.S.

Teshuva, the process of repentance, occurs on multiple levels: between individuals, the community and the Divine.

During the 10 days of atonement beginning on Rosh Hashanah, we undertake the very human process of repairing fractured relationships. We look at our mistakes, the very acts that demonstrate our humanity, and strive for personal growth. Then, on Yom Kippur, we remove ourselves from the practical demands of every day life — eating, bathing, working — and renew our connection to justice and to a force greater than ourselves.

We come together as a congregation, a kehilla, and ask forgiveness for the sins we have, and the the sins we have not, committed. This act of communal atonement demonstrates our renewed promise to be a more responsible member of our community. “We are truly sorry and we will prove it to you.”

But once God closes the Book of Life and we’ve done our best to assure our future for one more year, who holds us accountable to our grand promises to be a better person?

Sukkot is our first opportunity to follow through on the changes we’ve reflected on during Yom Kippur. Instead of seeking out people in our lives we have wronged, we invite friends and family, neighbors and strangers, to be a part of our homes and share in our food. The past is not forgotten, but has become a foundation on which to build new relationships. During Sukkot, we demonstrate to God and to our community that we have not issued an empty apology and traded action for apathy.

As you seek ways to achieve your New Year’s resolutions, please join us during Sukkot and throughout the upcoming year as we strive to live up to our commitments – commitments to a powerful Jewish voice for justice, to upholding the dignity of the oppressed, and to establishing meaningful partnerships with Chicago’s diverse communities.

Painting Hope on Chicago’s Southwest Side

By Leah Shefsky
JMCBI Intern

Leah Shefsky

On Thursday, May 19 a diverse group of individuals and community partners stood in front of a boarded up house in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the city’s Southwest Side. This house had been the site of countless crimes since it was foreclosed on 18 months ago.

In the middle of the block, across the street from an elementary school, 6210 S. Fairfield Ave. is unavoidable.

Through its Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative (JMCBI), the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs gathered with its community partners, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) and the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP), and dozens of neighborhood residents, not only as a symbol of unity but as a way of making it clear that collectively we can and will stand up and reclaim our community.

Community Organizations Take Action to Reclaim Neighborhood

 

For Immediate Release

Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Chicago  |  www.jcua.org
Media:  Katherine Randall  |  katherine@jcua.org

CHICAGO — Residents, local religious and school leadership and community organizations are holding an action to announce progress and plans for reclaiming the abandoned, vandalized property at 6210 S. Fairfield in Marquette Park, a neighborhood that has seen more than 5,500 foreclosures since 2006.

Collective pressure from JCUA, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) and the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) has recently led to the boarding up and securing of the building. On Thursday, May 19, community members will demonstrate their commitment to reclaiming their neighborhood and reviving the property by painting a mural on the house, creating a community garden in the backyard, and engaging in festivities on the lawn and down the block.

A news conference on the project will be held at 3:00 p.m. at the 6210 S. Fairfield house with community activities to follow until 5:00 p.m.

“This project is all about taking collective action against a place which has been the source of much fear, intimidation and pain for over a year,” said IMAN Executive Director Rami Nashashibi.

Nashashibi, Father Tony Pizzo and JCUA Executive Director Jane Ramsey will lead an interfaith prayer service to demonstrate the depth of commitment and unity on this issue. Invited legislators include: Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago), Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, and Ald. Toni Foulkes (15^th).

“The impact of bank foreclosures on area properties has been truly devastating,” said Judy Levey, JCUA community development manager. “Working together we can build the momentum necessary to fix this problem.”

About JCUA (www.jcua.org)

The mission of the Chicago-based Jewish Council on Urban Affairs is to combat poverty, racism and anti-Semitism in partnership with diverse communities. Guided by prophetic Jewish principles, JCUA pursues social and economic justice for our most vulnerable neighborhoods by promoting a vision of empowering communities from within. Since 1964, JCUA has assisted groups in low-income and minority communities, built coalitions with diverse groups, advocated on issues of poverty and racism and mobilized a Jewish constituency to create a more just city and nation.

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