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‘Make it Happen’ on International Women’s Day and Bloody Sunday
Today is the commemoration of Bloody Sunday – that day in Selma, AL 50 years ago that is seared into our visual memory, even for those who were not there or not even alive at that time.
‘Make it Happen’ on International Women’s Day and Bloody Sunday
By Marla Feldman
A version of this post originally appeared on WRJ Blog.
March 7, 2015 marks the commemoration of Bloody Sunday – that day in Selma, AL 50 years ago that is seared into our visual memory, even for those who were not there or not even alive at that time. Hundreds of civil rights activists standing toe to toe with hostile state troopers wielding billy clubs and an angry mob ready to attack. Like Moses standing before Pharoah, they choked down their fears and dared to ‘speak truth to power.’
Many heroes joined Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Edmund Pettus Bridge that day and throughout the struggle for civil rights. Our nation’s soul owes them a debt of gratitude: the freedom riders who risked their lives in the cause of justice; the students who faced gauntlets of hatred for the right to go to school; the men and women who sat together at lunch counters; the lawyers who defended them and challenged unjust laws; the clergy who spoke truth from the pulpits of churches and synagogues despite bomb threats and arson; and the politicians who, finally, heard their pleas and changed their hearts.
Praying for Peace, Healing in Wake of Attack on Police Officers
Contact: Max Rosenblum or Barbara Weinstein
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
IRAC and the URJ Stand Together Against Hateful Attacks in Israel
The Israel Religious Action Center has long brought our attention to the long, hard work that needs to be done to rid our Jewish homeland from violence, hate and discrimination. Unfortunately, IRAC was forced to remind us last week of just how much work there is to do. On Wednesday and Thursday, two religious buildings were torched, first a mosque in the West Bank town of K’fir Jab’a, then a Greek Orthodox Seminary in Jerusalem. Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of IRAC, discussed this in the IRAC newsletter, the Pluralist:
Statement of Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs Responding to the Mass Shooting in El Paso, TX
"Clergy colleagues throughout El Paso will faithfully and lovingly hold up the families of the slain and wounded. So too our hearts – indeed the hearts and prayers of all people of good conscience across the nation – are with those families."
Understanding the Unique Effect of Climate Change on Women
Today marks the last day of Women’s History Month! We’ve spent this month lobbying for the Violence Against Women Act at our L’Taken Social Justice Seminars, remembering the women of the civil rights movement during the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, and advocating for reproductive rights. As this month comes to a close, let’s not forget about gender inequity, but continue to highlight how gender plays a role in all forms of inequality and injustice. Women’s history does not just extended to conversations about reproductive health, violence against women and civil rights, but also to issues surrounding the environment and climate change.
Jewish Leaders' Letter to Under Secretary Sigal P. Mandelker
Dear Under Secretary Mandelker,
7 Things to Know About Jewish Genetic Diseases
Genetics may seem complicated, but even simple messaging can go a long way toward informing members of the Jewish community, especially when it comes to genetic disorders that are more common among Jews than in the general population.
Putting the Jew in Sustainable Food Justice
By Becky Wasserman
Sustainable food is trendy. More and more, people gloat about the heritage, organic, local tomatoes they bought from the farmer’s market and scoff at the McDonald’s burger. While it’s great that more people are starting to consider the human and environmental impacts of their consumption habits, an even bigger hurdle awaits in finding ways to make this food accessible to everyone. The good news is that Jewish communities are on the forefront of the fight for sustainable food justice.
This Passover, We are Guiding People Home
By Lara Pukatch and Rebecca Koppel
As Passover approaches, Jews remember that we were once slaves, forced into backbreaking labor and oppressed by the Egyptian pharaohs. Our escape from bondage came after forty years of wandering without a place to call home. At this time of year and throughout the Passover Seder, we often think of those who are less fortunate, who are oppressed and, of course, those who are still finding their way home.