APPENDIX III:

Background Information on Social Action Themes

Worldwide Slavery Today

The 1927 League of Nations Slavery Convention outlawed slavery worldwide. Article 2 states that the signing nations would take the necessary steps "to bring about, progressively and as soon as possible, the complete abolition of slavery in all its forms." Slavery is defined as forced labor without pay under the threat of violence. A conservative estimate states that more than 27 million people are enslaved worldwide.

The type of enslavement varies from chattel slavery (in which slaveholders maintain ownership through the use of violence), debt bondage (in which human beings are used as collateral against a loan), forced labor (any work or service that a worker performs involuntarily or under threat of penalty), and sex slavery (where girls forced into prostitution by their own husbands, fathers, and brothers earn money for the men in the family to pay back local-money lenders).

One of the most troubling regions in regard to slavery is the Sudan. Since the civil war began in 1983, slavery in Sudan has long been denounced by many human rights organizations. In this contemporary form of slavery, government-backed and armed militia of the Baggara tribes raid communities to capture children and women who are then held in conditions of slavery in western Sudan and elsewhere. They are forced to work for free in homes and in fields, punished when they refuse, and abused physically and sometimes sexually. Raids are directed mostly at the civilian Dinka population of the southern region of Bahr El Ghazal. The government arms and sanctions the practice of slavery by this tribal militia, known as muraheleen, as a low cost part of its counterinsurgency war against the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), which is identified with the Dinka tribe of southern Sudan.

Sexual trafficking of women in the United States is an increasingly serious issue. Using promises of high-paying jobs and better opportunities in America, traffickers have begun to lure women from countries such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe. Due to such circumstances as widespread poverty, increased movement across borders, and lowered social status of women in countries of origin, the women are easily tricked into prostitution and trapped without either money or legal help to escape. Legislation should be aimed at criminalizing the trafficker’s activities, and not those of the enslaved women.

Additional Resources: Many additional resources can be found at www.anti-slavery.com/passover, a website maintained by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the American Anti-Slavery Group (www.iAbolish.com). It contains general information, sample Seders and creative readings, lesson plans, sample sermons, programming ideas and more. The site has materials designed for rabbis, educators, youth groups, social action committees, college students, and individuals looking to find out more about slavery.

Refugees and Immigration

Around the world, millions of people are currently without the security of asylum or a homeland. According to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1954), a refugee is a person who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country." More simply, a refugee is a person in flight from a desperate situation, seeking safety in other countries but often being refused. Some are internally displaced, wandering within their homeland, yet unable to return home for fear of their lives. As Jews, we are familiar with wandering, and we relate to the feeling of being a stranger, from the days of our ancient experience in Egypt to more recent times. Therefore, we are motivated to help other peoples who find themselves wandering, and must work to find them homes and security.

Additional Resources: U.S. policy on immigration and refugees is becoming stricter. The Reform Movement has always supported family reunification and fair immigration policies. The latest information and action alerts about refugees and immigration issues can be found on the RAC’s special issue page as well as on the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society website. In addition, there remain refugees and immigrants within the Jewish community who continue to need our support. Information about Jewish refugees can be found at The World Union for Progressive Judaism (www.wupj.org); the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (www.nacoej.org); and NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States and Eurasia (www.ncsj.org).

Crossing the Red Sea from slavery into freedom is one of the most powerful images in both Jewish and African American consciousness. The exodus from Egypt is one of the ultimate demonstrations of God’s power and grace. Just as Jews retell the story of their redemption annually, African Americans find resonance in the Biblical story of their own redemption from slavery. This common experience of slavery and subsequent freedom ties our two populations together in a very deep, meaningful way. Passover can serve as an excellent opportunity to come together to learn from each other, study, pray, and celebrate while remembering our similar experiences.

Additional Resources: For more basic information on the history of slavery in America, visit the following websites:

African American History –
http://afroamhistory.about.com/cs/slavery/index.htm

Social Studies for Kids: Slavery in America –
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/slavery.htm

PBS: Africans in America, “ America’s Journey Through Slavery” -
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/

There are some women in our communities who are still struggling to be saved from violent relationships, or have only recently found freedom. Our Passover story of slavery and redemption reminds us of the terrible oppression that results from domestic violence in the Jewish community and beyond. Victims of domestic violence are finally finding a voice and recognition within the greater Jewish community. What was once imagined to be non-existent in Jewish households is now acknowledged and hopefully will be eradicated soon.

Additional Resources: The Union for Reform Judaism passed a resolution regarding domestic violence against women in 1991, which can be found at uahc.org/cgi-bin/resodisp.pl?file=violence&year=1991n. The Religious Action Center has an extensive review of Domestic Violence legislation, which can be found at http://rac.org/advocacy/issues/issuedv/

Statistic courtesy of http://www.ibolish.com/faq.htm

More information on Sudan can be found on the Religious Action Center’s website at or at the Human Rights Watch website.

Information courtesy of the Center for Women Policy Studies, at www.centerwomenpolicy.org/alerts/sextrafficking.html.

See, for example, the Union for Reform Judaism’s resolution on Immigration adopted in 1995, available at: http://uahc.org/cgi-bin/resodisp.pl?file=imm&year=1995.