Repair the World at Biennial: Wednesday Tikkun Olam Highlights

As Biennial opens today, so do many opportunities to delve deeper into Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). Here are some highlights from the Tikkun Olam track for Wednesday. Stay tuned each day for more tikkun olam updates each day of Biennial! To see more of the Biennial schedule, and to watch the live stream of plenaries, visit the Biennial website here.

1:15 PM - 2:45 PM Resolutions Meeting  (Denver)

This session is open to anyone to learn about the resolutions before they are voted upon in the Thursday Morning Plenary. (The proposal from the Dues Policy Review Committee about a revised formula for Movement dues will not be discussed in this session and will instead be discussed in a 3:45-5:00 p.m. session in Grand 8A.)

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM            

Election 2016: Getting Your Congregation Involved  (Grand 4)

The faith community plays a critical role in every election. Here's how to get your congregation invovled in get out the vote (GOTV) efforts, candidate forums, and political advocacy…in line with the laws!

Chair: Charles Rothschild, Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos Hills, CA

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Fair Food is a Human Right: Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Worker-driven Social Responsibility  (Grand 14)

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a worker-based human rights organization based in Immokalee, Florida, has been a pioneer in the fields of social responsibility, human trafficking, and gender-based violence at work. In 2011, CIW launched the Fair Food Program (FFP), a groundbreaking model for Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) based on a unique partnership among farmworkers, Florida tomato growers, and participating retail buyers. Learn about the work of the CIW, their “TomatoRabbis” partnership in the Jewish community with T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, and how your congregation can get involved in this nexus of food justice and human rights.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Words Shape Worlds: How Telling Your Story Can Strengthen Your Pursuit of Social Justice  (Grand 5)

Storytelling has been a part of Jewish tradition for millennia. It has helped us both understand ourselves as a people and share who we are with the world. This past year our country has witnessed deep racial injustices that have broken our hearts anew. As individual Reform Jews and as a collective Reform Movement we care deeply about racial injustice in our country. Learn from trained organizers how to craft and share the story of why you and our Movement cares about racial injustice in order to use personal and public narrative to build relationships in your own community and engage others in the work.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Yearning to Breathe Free: The Jewish Response to Immigration and Refugee Issues  (Grand 8B)

In the 21st century, conflict and persecution are driving millions from their homes, leaving them stateless and vulnerable, and the global economy compels millions more to seek better lives in countries other than their own. In this session, participants will deepen their understanding of immigration and refugee issues by hearing from HIAS, the global Jewish organization that protects refugees in the US and around the world, and from congregational leaders who are working with immigrants and refugees in their own local communities. Our conversation will explore how congregations can engage with immigrant and refugee communities and with political issues and elected officials to ensure that immigrants and refugees can access their basic human rights and rebuild their lives in safety and with dignity. As a people, Jews have experienced persecution and forced migration throughout our history. In this session, we will explore how to translate that history and our values into action.