“Building the Momentum”: Nikki Stein Reflects on a Hot, yet Productive Day at the White House

Ten JCUA leaders traveled to Washington, D.C. on July 28 and 29 to meet with congressional leaders and members of the White House administration as part of a trip organized by the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, a group of 21 nonprofit organizations promoting economic and social justice as a core tenet of Jewish life.

By Nikki Stein
Past president and board member, JCUA
Executive Director, Polk Bros. Foundation

Leaders of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable meeting with key White House staff in Eisenhower Executive Office Building*

July 29, 2011— It was hot in Washington—104 degrees—and the debt limit negotiations were only making it hotter. But 170 of us, all progressive social justice Jews, gathered at 6:45 a.m. Chicago time and spent the day hearing from and talking to members of the Obama administration.

Tina Tchen*

Jane got shout-outs from Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen. Irene, Ira and Bruce had their briefing stories included in materials that were shared with all of us and the White House staffers.

It seemed that senior officials, like Cecilia Muñoz, director of intergovernmental affairs, and Jon Carson, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, wanted to hear from us — what we care about and what we want them to do better. We told them how much this group supports comprehensive immigration reform and any of the steps along the way to achieving it.

JCUA Leaders Go to D.C., Meet with Congressional Leaders and White House Staff

By Jane Ramsey, Executive Director, JCUA
And Irene Lehrer Sandalow, Director of Strategy and Jewish Affairs, JCUA

Ten JCUA leaders traveled to Washington, D.C. on July 28 to meet with congressional leaders and members of the White House administration as part of a two-day trip organized by the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, a group of 21 nonprofit organizations promoting economic and social justice as a core tenet of Jewish life.

Included in the JCUA delegation were:  Rabbi Bruce Elder, Steve and Gerry Keen, Nikki Stein, Ira Azulay, Rabbi Joshua Salter, Leah Shefsky, Rabbi Michael Siegel, Irene Lehrer Sandalow and Jane Ramsey.

JCUA delegation*

That Thursday JCUA, the National Council of Jewish Women, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism coordinated meetings with congressional leaders and 40 Roundtable members. The meetings began with Reva Price, advisor to Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Price has a long history working in the Jewish community and provided us with an insider’s perspective on how to advance social justice issues on our agenda.

She shared the importance of the faith community in influencing the immigration debate, overcoming people’s fear of the “stranger,” and combating xenophobia. To win on immigration, Price encouraged us to create alliances with conservatives and the business community. She also explained that traditional advocacy tactics work and that calling and meeting with our congressional leaders makes a difference. “Take it to the public!” said Price, quoting Lincoln.

Hanukkah at the White House

Faith and perseverance were the words that echoed through the halls of the White House last night (Dec. 2, 2010) as the President, Vice President and First Lady celebrated the second night of Hanukkah with about 500 guests from across the country, including several Chicagoans– JCUA’s Jane Ramsey and Rabbi Capers and Rabbinit Miriam Funnye of Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken.

From left to right: Lewis Rice, Jane Ramsey, Rabbinit Miriam Funnye, Rabbi Capers Funnye

“The tiny candles of Hanukkah have reminded us of the importance of faith and perseverance,” said President Obama addressing guests at the celebration. [Read the President's full remarks at the event]

One symbol of faith and perseverance was the menorah used for the celebration, which was loaned to the White House by Congregation Beth Israel in New Orleans. It was found caked in dirt and mold during the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina, in which the synagogue was covered in eight feet of water.

“[The menorah] stands as a reminder of the tragedy and a source of inspiration for the future,” said President Obama.

Another symbol of faith and perseverance was Susan Retik and her family, who endured the loss of Susan’s husband David in 9/11. After being acknowledged by the President, the Retik Family performed the ritual of lighting the candles and ended with a sax solo of “Rock of Ages.”

Happy Hanukkah from the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, and may this holiday season bring you joy and blessings.

Jane Ramsey and Vice President Joe Biden

More coverage of Hanukkah at the White House:

Sun-Times– Obama White House Hanukkah Party: Kosher sushi, latkes, “Rock of Ages” sax solo

Politico– White House hosts Hanukkah party

The Jewish Week– Chanukah at the White House- with 1/3 of the Supreme Court

Illinois Senate-elect Mark Kirk and the Priority of Social Justice

Senate-elect Mark Kirk listed “getting Illinois working again” as a key issue on his campaign website, and now that he’s headed to Congress, people will be looking to him to make good on his campaign promises– they will be looking to him to make the issues they care about top priority.

What issues do you think should be at the top of Kirk’s priority list?

Share your thoughts in a quick survey.

Faith Leaders Call on Washington Leaders for Renewed Public Housing Efforts

Fifty faith-based leaders, including JCUA Executive Director Jane Ramsey, gathered in Washington, D.C. July 29 to voice their concerns on the state of the nation’s public housing with Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan.

At the forefront of the discussion were concerns with newly introduced HUD legislation would call for moving public housing units to the private sector. The Preservation, Enhancement, and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act of 2010 (PETRA) would be:

“A multi-year effort to transform properties with rental assistance contracts under various programs into properties with long-term, property-based sustainable rental assistance contracts that include flexibility to address capital requirements, to enhance resident choice, and to streamline and simplify the administration of rental assistance.”

-Department of Housing and Urban Development

Hud Secretary Shaun Donovan

From a Chicagoan standpoint, the words “transform” or “transformation” with regards to the issue of public housing are likely to induce thoughts of the city’s plan for transformation, which displaced thousands of families.

The thought that the proposed HUD legislation could lead to further losses of housing for vulnerable families, said Ramsey to HUD Secretary Donovan, “would be unacceptable.”

Donovan said HUD is looking to build safeguards into the legislation to prevent housing losses, but was unclear as to what those safeguards might look like.

What does seem more certain in HUD plans, however, is a shift back to making sure those displaced by public housing redevelopment are the first placed back in newly developed housing, and a shift back to one-for-one replacement of public housing– meaning that public housing units won’t be torn down until there are new units to replace them.

Both Ramsey and other leaders at the HUD meeting expressed the overall need to bring back a national commitment to housing development that will reach our society’s most vulnerable.

Learn more about JCUA’s housing work here.

Making the DREAM Reality

Eight Chicago students were arrested Tuesday, July 20 along with at least 12 other students from other cities for holding sit-ins in the Washington, D.C. offices of five senators. The sit-ins were another in a long line of efforts to urge House and Senate members to sponsor the DREAM Act.

JCUA staffers and about 50 other immigrant rights advocates gathered in front of the downtown Chicago offices of the Illinois Republican Party yesterday (July 21) to rally support for the act, and to show support for the arrested students.

In the below video, Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and others share their thoughts on the urgency of new immigration legislation.

If passed, the DREAM Act would award “conditional permanent resident status” to undocumented immigrants who pursue college degrees or join the military. But without more congressional support, the DREAM will be lost amidst our country’s broken immigration system.

In 2009 JCUA launched the “We Were Strangers, Too” campaign for comprehensive immigration reform noting that at one point or another, we all were strangers to this country. JCUA has, and will continue support the push for comprehensive immigration reform.

(Watch JCUA video, “We Were Strangers, Too“)

Jewish Leaders Meet in D.C. to Talk About Combating Anti-Semitism at Reception Honoring Hannah Rosenthal

Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, Hannah Rosenthal, addresses guests at reception hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (pictured in background).

Jewish leaders from across the country gathered July 13 to honor Hannah Rosenthal, special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism at a reception hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State. Jane Ramsey, executive director of JCUA; Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.); Betsy Brill, president of Strategic Philanthropy; and Michael Kotzin, executive vice president of The Jewish Federations of North America, were amongst the some 300 at the event.

Betsy Brill (from left), Lois Lipton, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Susan Winer, Jane Ramsey

Prior to her appointment as special envoy, Rosenthal headed the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and also spent time as executive director of the Chicago Foundation for Women. Since her appointment Rosenthal has participated in various events across the country and overseas in an effort to raise awareness of anti-Semitism as well as remind people of the urgency involved in combating the issue—something which also happens to be a core part of JCUA’s mission. Rosenthal’s enthusiasm for her work, said Ramsey, was evident during her speech at the reception.

“What was inspiring to me was the passion she reflected regarding the meaningfulness and importance of the Jewish community speaking out and building strong relationships across culture and faith, and the significance these actions and the relevance of that core principle in the work of JCUA,” said Ramsey.

(Learn more about JCUA’s work in human rights.)