I Will Not Become Complacent

On Tuesday, November 22, over 250 people from across Chicago came together with JCUA to reject bigotry, racism, and anti-Semitism, and to rededicate themselves to standing with the oppressed. Rabbi Megan GoldMarche of Metro Chicago Hillel delivered these powerful words.

On election night, my wife, Paige, and I decided to host a party for our college students. We figured it would be a historic night – we’d eat red white and blue popcorn and feel good about America, and progress, and the fact that our country validated our values.

As we sat down to watch the election returns, it was clear we had made a mistake.  While it may have been good for the students to be in a safe place surrounded by friends and supportive mentors, this was not the party we had envisioned, and both Paige and I were unprepared for the reality of the returns.

The days that have followed have involved counseling students who are scared for their own rights as queer young people; who are worried about friends whose status in America is less secure than their own, worried about access to birth control and health care, and have fears about where America is going.

I also heard from students who felt judged because they did not vote for Clinton. Or because they supported Trump. Or because they decided not to vote.  I listened to them as well.

I spent the days following the election listening to all of these voices. I spent my free time reading the hundreds of emails that flooded my Jewish community leadership listservs, signing petitions, texting friends in disbelief, and mostly feeling a bit numb.

On the Sunday after the election, sitting in the Philadelphia airport, I finally broke down listening to Kate McKinnon in her Hillary garb singing Leonard Cohen’s Halleluyah on Saturday Night Live. I sat and cried as I played the video again and again until Paige had to make me stop.  I was crying because the narrative I had been telling myself about the passage of time had been crushed. I believe the arc of history bends towards justice — this is my experience, this is my reality as a woman rabbi who in 2016 can be out as a lesbian living in a house purchased by generous donors under the auspices and with the support of the Jewish United Fund in Chicago where my wife and I serve as role models for young Jewish adults.  The America I live in is good to me. It was good to my grandparents who were children of immigrants and worked to provide for their families.  It has been good to my parents, who were able to raise my brother and I with every luxury a person could need, in the Chicago suburbs where I felt safe as a Jew and woman and eventually where I was able to come out at age 28 and celebrate marriage equality passing two years later — and 9 months after that marry my wife with 18 rabbis in the room — America and Judaism has been good to me.

Shout Loudly and Don’t Hold Back

By Ben Halbig
JCUA Board Member

JCUA Board Member Ben Halbig gave this drash at Mishkan’s Yom Kippur morning services for the Isaiah Haftarah . As we move into this new year, Ben asks how can we do more? How can we make this year reflect “the fast God really wants?”

“Good morning. I’m Ben. I grew up on the East Coast, but Chicago has been my adopted home for the better part of the past decade – first as an undergrad in Hyde Park, and now as a practicing lawyer living in the Gold Coast. Mishkan has been my spiritual home in Chicago since I moved back after law school. As a Chicagoan and a Mishkanite, I am honored to be sharing a few thoughts on what we are about to read together.

This has been a rough year for Chicago.

Almost a year ago – just before Thanksgiving– a judge ordered the city to release a video showing a CPD officer emptying his 9 millimeter semi-automatic rifle into an unarmed high school student. The video of Laquan McDonald’s murder tore at the heart of the city.

I remember live-streaming the protests on Black Friday 2015 in my parents’ house in Maryland. You know what has stuck with me all these months? Not the thousands of young activists pleading for justice on Michigan Avenue but Channel 5’s interviews with angry shoppers whose plans for holiday bargains had been ruined by the march. “Why today?” “Why here?” “Why can’t they just protest in their own neighborhood?”

I wish I could stand here and tell you how I am not them, how I would have been with the protesters. But the truth is – I know in my heart of hearts, I am a shopper. I am an employed white man living on the North Side of Chicago. When I think and talk about violence in in our city, it’s something that happens to other people. I don’t know anyone who has been shot this year. I don’t fear for my life when stopped by police.

Isaiah’s words in the passage we read today can be disheartening in the middle of the day on Yom Kippur. He’s essentially telling us that, after about 18 hours of fasting, praying, and asking to be inscribed in the Book of Life, we are doing it wrong. This is not the fast God wants.

You’d think after all these years of reading Isaiah’s words, we might get it right. But his message seems to be really hard for us to hear. What makes it so hard to hear?

Linking Values to Action

By Iszy Licht
JCUA Member

I first connected with JCUA two years ago through my work as a student activist at Northwestern University. I was the President of a new student group on campus committed to working against gun violence, Northwestern Students for Gun Violence Prevention. We volunteered at the JCUA’s 2014 Freedom and Justice Seder. This event was both meaningful and inspiring, providing me with an opportunity to learn more about the devastating impact of gun violence on Chicago’s communities, while also celebrating and putting into action my Jewish practices and values. I have been an enthusiastic member of JCUA ever since.

I believe in a Judaism rooted in action and social justice. Tikkun Olam, the traditional Jewish concept urging individuals to engage in social action, has always been a major component of my Jewish identity. Through my parents’ values, volunteering experiences, Jewish education at Solomon Schechter and Chicagoland Jewish High School (now called Rochelle Zell Jewish High School), and college courses on racial and socio-economic inequalities, my Jewish identity has become inextricably linked to my beliefs in progressive values and equality.

Or Tzedek is for You

By Abby 
Or Tzedek Alumni – Summer 2016

As someone who has had her fair share of experiences with programs targeted at Jewish teens, I can confidently say that Or Tzedek was one of the most meaningful experiences that I’ve ever had–Jewish or not. Or Tzedek is unlike any other program in that it combines politics, identity, activism, independence, community organizing, urban exploration, group living and Judaism all in one.

Or Tzedek is unique because it is open to all denominations of Judaism and therefore attracts a wide variety of Jewish backgrounds and experiences. This gives an added layer of sophistication and wisdom to all activities and conversations within the program. Despite our differences, everyone in Or Tzedek – the staff, campers, and community partners – has a passion for making the world a better place. Whether sitting around the dinner table, walking around Chicago, or listening to a workshop, everyone’s devotion to being the change they want to see in the world permeates everything we do.

The itinerary for Or Tzedek caters to all interests and sections of social justice work. Whether your thing is direct service or community organizing, Or Tzedek has it all. This past summer we did some of everything: registering people to vote, handing out lunches to those in need, tours through the city, workshops on identity and privilege, picnicking in Millennium Park.

Another really fantastic thing about Or Tzedek is the Kehillah, or community. You really get a chance to get to know everyone, and the program is designed to build one community, not split off into small groups. Even if you don’t know anyone going in, everyone is extremely open and welcoming. If I had to choose one thing that I took away from Or Tzedek it would be the people.

The staff are some of the loveliest people you will ever meet. They have so much love, empathy, grit and integrity, and it shows. The group of teens that Or Tzedek attracts cannot be replicated anywhere else. Every single person has a shared goal: to be kind, smart and respectful. I challenge you to find a group of people anywhere else that can provide the same support and kindness that the people in Or Tzedek have.

So to anyone considering signing up for Or Tzedek: Do it. Whether you’re a seasoned social justice warrior or just getting started, Or Tzedek is for you. No matter how prevalent your Jewish identity is in your life, Or Tzedek is for you. If you’re looking for an awesome group of people Or Tzedek is for you. If you love the city and urban living Or Tzedek is for you. If you just want something productive to do with your summer, Or Tzedek is for you.

Making an Impact and Having a Blast!

By Hannah Arwe
JCUA Teen Programming Coordinator

Hello from Teen Programming! I just finished leading my first Or Tzedek Summer Social Justice Institute and it was an absolute blast! I felt like both a leader and a learner, developing young folks’ capacity for change while also continuing to learn for myself the crucial components of organizing, agitation, and justice.

I really enjoyed getting to work with people and organizations all over the city to create meaningful experiences for our teens. Not only was it a reminder of the incredible work being done in the city of Chicago, but also it was amazing to see how, across the board, organizers and educators came out to support JCUA youth and their desire to act. Interspersed with foundation-laying workshops on root-cause analysis, systems of privilege and oppression, and community organizing, we participated in several actions around Chicago, in order to learn about and support the work already being done. Two of the teens’ favorite activities were registering voters with Chicago Votes and distributing lunches to those in need with Forward Humanity. These actions gave Or Tzedek participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in Chicago’s culture, build their communication skills, and critically analyze the structures of power that govern society. We were also able to volunteer with Growing Home, Inc., Chicago’s only USDA certified organic urban farm in the city limits. While harvesting potatoes, we learned about the important work Growing Home is doing to provide healthy, affordable food and jobs to the South Side communities of Chicago.

Building a Jewish Organizing Voice

By Ben Goldsmith
JCUA Member

On July 10^th, I was thrilled to attend Jewish Council on Urban Affairs’ first daylong community organizing training for members. On a clement summer Sunday, 30 JCUA members spent eight hours learning the nuts and bolts of organizing, connecting with each other, and discussing what a Jewish voice in social justice organizing sounds like. The strength of member interest in this training says a great deal about the appeal of JCUA’s contributions to the University of Chicago trauma center campaign and the Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights campaign to members of the Jewish community. It says that members of Jewish communities throughout Chicago are connecting with JCUA’s vision and are hungry for opportunities to work for social change by organizing Jewishly. For most members in attendance, this was the first formal organizing training. As a full time tenant organizer, I have gone through Organizing 101 types of trainings in the past but I had never trained in community organizing with an emphasis on Jewish values, or what JCUA calls “organizing Jewishly.”

The training was led by JCUA’s Director of Organizing, Marla Bramble, Jim Field, Director of Organizing with Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, and Aryeh Bernstein, a JCUA member and consultant. JCUA members learned about building and leveraging people power, and equalizing power relations to change the minds of decision makers. This included practical skills, including the basics of organizing an accountability session with an elected official or other decision maker, and the effective framing of an organizing campaign. Members also tried their hands at the all-important 1-on-1: the bread and butter of community organizing. In a 1-on-1, the organizer builds a relationship with a community member through…

From the Many, One

By Lisa Bendoff
JCUA Member

Before I begin discussing the Illinois Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights (IL DWBR), in the spirit of full disclosure, I must make the following confession: I am just a simple E pluribus unum kind of gal living in a crazy mixed up Bellum omnium contra omnes sorta world. That’s right, I believe in “from the many, one” (coalitions and allyship) over this ugly “war of all against all” that is currently being waged – particularly against those trying to earn a wage. A minimum wage. A living wage.

Disclosure disclosed. Confession confessed. I begin.

It is not every day one is approached with the invitation to become a better human being. When James Povijua, the Campaign Director for the IL Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights came and spoke before JCore, I was extended that very invitation. He began with a brief history of the long fight for domestic workers’ rights in the United states (the struggle stretching back to FDR) and the specific fight here in Illinois. He spoke of the hard, difficult work already achieved by the Illinois Domestic Workers Coalition and the efforts remaining. 

What I did not know at the time was that in addition to inviting me to be a better human being, James was also inviting me and the other members of JCore to take several trips down to the state capital. But that was just fine. My unum was all fired up, ready to get on a PluriBus and go down to Springfield to lobby on behalf of the Illinois Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights!

These were good trips to Springfield not only for the successful lobbying that was done on behalf of the IL DWBR – and we were successful – but for the way the members of the different coalitions came to know one another. We came to know each other by our given names and not only our coalition names. We came to know each other and I hope trust one another.

Passage of the IL DWBR is serious. It will determine whether existing laws will be amended to include Domestic Workers. The passage will mean respect, dignity, and humanity. The Illinois Minimum Wage Law. Respect. The Illinois One Day Rest in Seven. Dignity. The Illinois Human Rights Act which provides recourse for sexual harassment in the workplace (often someone’s home). Humanity. How do we exclude Domestic Workers from these basic rights? How can we in the Jewish community allow this?

South Side Town Hall for Trauma Care

By Aryeh Bernstein
JCUA Member

On May 19th, JCUA and the Trauma Care Coalition demonstrated tangible power in a packed town hall meeting in North Kenwood. The meeting focused on influencing the University of Chicago in implementing its Level-I Adult Trauma Center with transparency and accountability to the South Side community. The many passionate and informed voices in the room sent a clear message to the University of Chicago administrators present that the campaign is not over, that the community expects a voice in the structuring of the trauma center, and that it will act to ensure that voice is heeded.

Background about the Trauma Center Campaign

For the past year and a half, JCUA has been a full partner in the campaign to bring a Level-I Adult Trauma Center to the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC). For the past thirty years, there have been no Level- I Adult Trauma Centers on the South Side, and gunshot victims in the area have had no local options for emergency care. Since 2010, this campaign has been led by grassroots South Side organizations representing those most impacted by gun violence. Learn more about the campaign and the coalition members here.

Why this Town Hall Just Now

The Trauma Care Coalition has secured two significant victories in this past year.  In December, The University of Chicago announced that after years of refusal, it will, indeed, build a Level-I Adult Trauma Center. In May, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board unanimously approved the University of Chicago’s application for a trauma center. On the heels of these victories, the coalition called this Town Hall to make sure that the trauma center will be developed with community members at the table and with a comprehensive approach to trauma care.

What Happened at the Town Hall

The Town Hall was introduced by Jawanza Malone, Executive Director of the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), and Veronica Morris Moore, who led the campaign through the youth wing of Southside Together Organizing for Power (S.T.O.P.). Morris Moore framed the notion that a trauma center can and should provide services beyond enhanced emergency medical response to trauma. To flesh this out, we heard from a panel featuring UCMC nurse Adriana Sanchez, who lives in the Woodlawn community; Carol Reese, a member of Stroger Hospital’s Healing Hurt People (HHP) program; and Sheila Regan, staff member of CeaseFire Illinois. In response to data indicating that patients admitted to trauma centers as victims of violence are vulnerable to re-injury and return admission, HHP and CeaseFire operate violence prevention programs. HHP focuses on emotional health needs, PTSD, and chaplaincy services, while CeaseFire, staffed by residents of the communities whom they serve, works with trauma victims on alternatives to retaliation and other data-supported methods of violence reduction. HHP already works in UCMC’s Comer juvenile trauma center. The UCMC has not yet initiated any relationship with CeaseFire, which does work in four other trauma centers in Chicago, and which faces new challenges to its work since Governor Rauner cut off its state funding in March.

After the panel, town hall attendees broke into working groups  to collect community input. Prominent themes included: the importance of filling staff positions with Black residents of the local neighborhoods; parking affordability; ensuring that the first and most prominent people encountered in the trauma center are social work, mental health, and pastoral professionals, and not security personnel; and that the trauma center partner with organizations like HHP and CeaseFire on a comprehensive approach to trauma reduction – the kind of financial investment which would save the University of Chicago on more costly trauma care down the road.

There were over ninety participants, of all ages, from all the surrounding neighborhoods and elsewhere in the city, and from each coalition partner, including over a dozen JCUA members.  University of Chicago had two representatives present: Cristal Thomas, University of Chicago Medicine Vice President for Community Health Engagement and Senior Adviser to the Vice President for Civic Engagement, and Leif Elsmo, Executive Director of the Office of Community & External Affairs. Ms. Thomas and Mr. Elsmo saw an engaged, knowledgeable, diverse, and well-organized community activated by the awareness that this trauma center is an existential, life-and-death issue for the community.  They are a community poised to use its collective power to ensure that the U of C acts as a responsible neighbor in its implementation. As a JCUA member and as a Hyde Parker, I was proud to count myself in this community.

As a member of the Trauma Care Coalition, JCUA continues to organize for a community advisory board an significant investment in wraparound social services as part of the University of Chicago’s recent commitment to a Level I Adult Trauma Center. For more information about the campaign, visit our website.

 

We Must Stand Together

By Michael Goldberg
JCUA Member

A few weeks ago, I joined members of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and the Downtown Islamic Center in a joint community service event at the DIC.

When I arrived I met a group of lively volunteers. Together we worked in an assembly line to prepare peanut butter, banana and honey sandwiches. We packed them into lunch bags with salads and oranges before setting out across downtown Chicago to offer the lunches to people experiencing homelessness.

I was glad to be working alongside people from different backgrounds on a common goal of service to our sisters and brothers facing hunger and homelessness.

Both Judaism and Islam stress the importance and the necessity of feeding the hungry and helping the homeless. Both traditions emphasize social justice for the suffering, the downtrodden and the powerless. In the Jewish tradition, to perform acts of social justice is to do God’s will, and we are all called on to act on behalf of God in this world.

Service to our fellow human beings can be a vehicle for bringing us together. When we do service together we grow in understanding with one another, deepen our sense of fellowship, and inspire hope in ourselves and others.

As two new friends and I were walking down the street and offering lunches to those in need, an onlooker thanked us for what we were doing. I could tell that we had inspired some hope in him.

Now more than ever it is crucial for Jews and Muslims to come together in the name of love, unity, and understanding. We must stand together against all forms of hatred, bigotry, and division.

Amid divisive rhetoric we have an opportunity to show our strength in unity.

We are commanded: “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). As Jews we know what it feels like to be ostracized and scapegoated, and we must do everything within our power to foster unity and to not allow the heinous crimes of history that we will never forget be repeated on our neighbors.

We are children of Abraham. We can and we must come together in the spirit of love, understanding, peace and justice.

Please join JCUA for their annual social justice Seder: “The 11th Plague – Standing Against Islamophobia” on Monday, April 11 at Beth Emet Synagogue in Evanston. This is a great opportunity for people to come together and learn about ways we can work together to stand against hate. Click here to register: www.jcua.org/seder2016

Lessons for Repairing the World from the Trauma Care Campaign

Through March and April, JCUA staff and members are presenting at congregations across Chicago on the Trauma Care Campaign. We are sharing the lessons we’ve learned on putting Jewish social justice values into practice through organizing the Jewish community. On Friday, March 11, JCUA Community Organizer Daniel Kaplan and Member Avra Shapiro made this presentation at KAM Isaiah Israel in Hyde Park.

Shabbat Shalom!

Why are we talking about the trauma center campaign tonight?  Since 2010, black youth in the Woodlawn community have led a campaign for the University of Chicago to remedy the decades-long absence of a trauma center on the South Side. These organizations include Fearless Leading by the Youth, Southside Together Organizing for Power, and Kenwood Oakland Community Organization. Too many people in this area have lost their lives in ambulance rides, bypassing the University of Chicago for distant trauma care. In particular, the lack of south side trauma care has impacted the security and quality of life of black south side Chicagoans. 

Over the past year, the Jewish community has played a significant role in this campaign; and your congregation in particular has been instrumental in our involvement. In November 2015, more than 200 people from across Chicago came to your synagogue to attend “L’Chaim” – a Jewish community meeting in support of trauma care on the south side. Click below to see highlights from “L’Chaim”.

On this day, 15 rabbis and cantors signed a statement in favor of the University of Chicago taking a lead role in opening a south side trauma center. L’Chaim was a tremendous moment for Chicago’s Jewish community. Our public meeting for the trauma center campaign was an unprecedented show of support for a local social justice issue. A little more than a month after this event, the University of Chicago announced that they would build a trauma center on the South Side. We think it’s important to reflect on what this campaign has accomplished, what we have learned, and where we are now.