Community Contact Information:
TempleHar Zion
Thornhill, ON, Canada
http://www.templeharzion.com/
Goals:
· Educate congregation’s youth about anti-Semitism and racism.
· Create interfaith alliances for dialogue.
· Engage the congregants in fighting anti-Semitism and racism in the community.
Overview:
The program was started as a one-day event to sensitize the congregation's youth to issues of anti-Semitism and racism. Workshops were designed to accommodate age-specific groups.
Preparation:
The social action committee held a brainstorming session to examine ways to educate congregants about the many facets of hate and prejudice. They decided to create age-appropriate workshops for congregants. After choosing a date and reserving locations, the committee came up with a list of potential speakers and lecturers, drawing from a pool of congregants and local figures in the community who they knew to be well informed about hate from different disciplines: history, sociology, activism, legislation. They contacted faculty members from local universities, local government officials, officers of local advocacy organizations, as well as asking well-networked congregants for assistance. After recruiting speakers, the committee advertised the event through the congregational bulletin, fliers which were sent home with students, and announcements from the bimah following Shabbat services.
Project Implementation:
The senior youth group heard a lecture entitled "Anti-Semitism on Campus," the congregation's younger children learned to express their concerns artistically in a class called "Racism," and adult workshops focused on strategies to confront racism, neo-Nazism, and Holocaust revisionism. The National Director of the League for Human Rights, B'nai B'rith Canada, delivered the keynote address. Based on the success of this program, several subsequent lectures for all age groups were created to explore the history of the Holocaust and how to confront racism in daily life.
As the project grew, the congregation reached out to representatives of the local Islamic Center and the Canadian Black Teachers Alliance for additional educational resources as well as a multicultural dialogue program. Young adults from the congregation, a local church and a local mosque took part in a similar program.
Results:
The success of the program, in which over 120 people participated, was due in large part to the creation of several age-appropriate workshops. The congregation’s curriculum about racism and anti-Semitism has become a regular part of the synagogue’s religious school. The congregation has strong relations and regular opportunities for dialogue with the other local faith communities.
