DOCSLIB.ORG

2015 Annual Report the JEWISH FEDERATION Funds & Supports a Comprehensive Network of Organizations That Do Two Things

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
2015 Annual Report the JEWISH FEDERATION Funds & Supports a Comprehensive Network of Organizations That Do Two Things JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY 2015 Annual Report THE JEWISH FEDERATION funds & supports a comprehensive network of organizations that do two things: CARE FOR PEOPLE IN NEED here at home, in Israel and around the world. NURTURE & SUSTAIN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY today and for future generations. By working with a broad cross-section of helping the unemployed, from supporting families community members to raise and distribute funds, with special needs to funding Jewish education we ensure that the programs, institutions and and Israel experiences and advocacy, the Jewish values that enrich our Jewish community remain Federation is focused on addressing the most vibrant and strong. From feeding the hungry to pressing issues facing our community every day. 2 A MESSAGE from our leadership Dear Friends, Educating students at the Jewish Day School; providing a central place for Jewish life at the When you are raising money for pressing JCC; caring for our most vulnerable through needs year after year, it’s true that not every- Jewish Family Service. thing can be an “emergency.” Yet, right from the start, the needs this year just felt more Our Jewish Senior Life Connection program urgent. expanded this year to include PrimeTime at the J, which provides a broad range of activi- We had barely closed our 2014 campaign ties to keep seniors active in mind and body when rockets began raining down in Israel. and connect them to Jewish life. Our Young We quickly switched gears and, within days, Adult Division also expanded in both capacity opened an Israel Emergency Campaign. For and activity, and reinvigorated its tikkun olam Mark H. Scoblionko seven weeks during Operation Protective initiative, collecting food for families in need President Edge, we sent nearly daily updates to the at Thanksgiving and participating in a com- community, organized a solidarity gathering munity-wide mitzvah day on Super Sunday. and took seriously our role as a trusted part- ner in fundraising, raising more than a quarter None of this would be possible without you, of a million dollars. our committed donors, who have supported the Federation for so many years. To honor As the conflict wound down, needs at home those commitments, we launched the Silver became apparent as our college students Circle Society this year, which recognizes heading off for the semester were about donors who have given to Federation for 25 to face increased anti-Israel sentiment on years or more. May we all aspire to join this many of their campuses. To address this, we elite group. brought in a representative from the Israel Action Network to talk about BDS and pub- In times of “emergency” or not, the Federa- lished a four-page pullout section in HAKOL tion will continue to be there to address the on the topic. A follow-up session was held needs of the community, whatever they may with the students over winter break. be, but it’s because of you that we are there. Then, January brought news of the shootings Thank you for your ongoing support. in France, including at a kosher supermarket. A month later we learned of an attack at a Denmark synagogue. Again we provided the community with an on-the-ground perspec- tive from our overseas partners, who used Mark L. Goldstein Federation funds to increase security at Mark H. Scoblionko Executive Director Jewish institutions and help the communities President recover. All the while, the crisis in Ukraine that began the year before wore on, and, through our partners, we provided the necessary means for the 350,000 Jews there to survive the winter. Mark L. Goldstein Executive Director This is all not to mention our needs at home: The Federation distributed more than $3 million this year to help Jews at home, in Israel and around the world. 3 It is difficult to explain what it feels like when you tell your 8-year-old that he can go invite his friend from across the street to come over and play and as he finishes crossing the street, a siren goes off. You watch him turn back to you, his face panicked, and start running and you run to him and you pray that a car won’t kill us both because he is running without looking around and I have to get to him and I grab him and we run inside to the shelter. - Yonit Peleg, Yoav resident & Partnership2Gether coordinator When Israel needs us, WE ARE THERE. In the summer of 2014, rockets rained down on Israel for 50 days. Residents of southern cities such as Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Be’er Sheva, and those living in our sister region of Yoav, were left constantly fleeing to bomb shelters. Locations further north, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, also heard the sirens sound. Schools and camps were closed, businesses couldn’t operate and the economy was at a standstill. The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley partnered with local synagogues and Jewish communities across North America to “Stop the Sirens,” providing emergency aid to alleviate the pain and suffering of Israelis living in harm’s way. The money we raised through the Israel Emergency Campaign helped provide care for homebound elderly and disabled adults during this time of terror, respite for tens of thousands of children fleeing rocket attacks and crisis counseling for Israelis who were overwhelmed by anxiety and in need of relief. It provided emergency grants to families directly impacted by the rocket fire. In Yoav, our Partnership2Gether community, 70 percent of people do not have shelters in their homes. More than 40 per- $250,000 cent of the public shelters they must rely on are unusable. The was raised by our funds we raised are continuing to help refurbish these bomb shelters. In partnership with the municipality, our funds will also community to help Jews enable the creation of an emergency response center. The goal in Israel during Operation is that the next time the sirens sound, our Yoav family will be Protective Edge better equipped to respond. 5 In peace or in crisis, WE ARE THERE. This isn't the first time Aza Grigorenko, 88, has been workers from the local Hesed social welfare center to forced to leave her home because of war. her home. As a teenager during World War II, she and her mother But when the current crisis in Ukraine intensified, Alex- resettled in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk. sandr came back to Slavyansk to relocate his mother. There, Aza met her husband and gave birth to her only Mother and son now share a tiny two-room apartment son, Alexsandr. in St. Petersburg and receive food, medicine and healthcare from their new local Hesed. Even after Alexsandr moved to St. Petersburg, her husband died and she became increasingly frail, Aza As a citizen of a foreign country, Aza is not eligible for stayed. The Federation’s overseas partner, the JDC, has state social support. Alexsandr is not sure what else he cared for her for the last decade, sending healthcare can do. JDC is their only lifeline – their only support. UNREST IN UKRAINE The desperate situation in Ukraine speaks to the most fundamental reasons why Federations are so critical. We have not turned away. We are on the ground, and we are making a difference. Training Aid Workers Supporting the Most Vulnerable on the Front Lines Securing Schools and Ensuring a Fear-free Community Centers Summer for Teens Delivering Emergency Aid to Monitoring and Reporting Homebound and Displaced People on the Crisis Federations collectively have Assisting 20,000 Families During Brutal Winters raised and allocated more than Helping to Explore a New Life $5 million and Settle in Israel through the Ukraine Assistance Fund to supplement the ongoing support through our Annual Campaigns 7 When anti-Semitism is on the rise, WE ARE THERE. Harassment of Jews throughout the world is at its highest level in seven years. In Europe, news reports describe a significantly deteriorating situation. Fatal attacks in France and Denmark this year, as well as vandalism against synagogues and other Jewish facilities throughout Western Europe, were shocking and disturbing. Here is what we are doing: RAISING AND ALLOCATING FUNDS ENHANCING OUR CAPACITY TO ADDRESS SECURITY Federations have raised close to $1 million to supplement The Jewish Federations’ Secure Community Network (SCN) funds provided by the French Jewish community to address has developed an unprecedented level of security expertise important needs in France. This money is being used and close ties with the U.S. Department of Homeland Secu- primarily to help the community address urgent security rity, and today is assisting Jewish communities worldwide. needs, and also to assist with post-trauma counseling. Within hours of the attacks in France and Denmark, SCN staff was on the ground, providing on-site crisis management FUNDING ALIYAH FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO expertise and helping strengthen local security efforts. RELOCATE TO ISRAEL 7,000 people made aliyah from France in 2014, triple the COLLABORATING WITH OUR PARTNERS number in 2012 and equivalent to 1 percent of the entire The Jewish Federations convened a meeting of key organiza- French Jewish community. This is the largest number of tions that provide funding and services to Jews in Europe. French olim in a single year in Israel’s history, and it may Together we examined the rapidly changing situation, shared double again in 2015. information and explored potential areas for collaboration. ‘A Jew Without Fear’ Carole Sebbah grew up in a loving family in beautiful Nice, France. But as a Jew, she always felt a deep connection to Israel.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • J Street's Role As a Broker
    J Street’s Role as a Broker: Is J Street Expanding the Reach of the Organized American Jewish Community? Emily Duhovny Senior Honors Thesis Submitted to Organizational Studies University of Michigan Advisor: Michael T. Heaney March 11, 2011 1 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor Michael Heaney for inspiring me to write a thesis and for working with me every step of the way. Since our first meeting in the fall of 2009, Michael has been a remarkable mentor. In his lab group, he introduced me to the methods of organizational studies and political science research. In his classroom, he engaged my class on interest group politics and inspired me to select a thesis topic connected to interest groups. Now, as my faculty mentor for my senior honors thesis, he has dedicated many hours assisting me and answering my myriad of questions. I am especially grateful for the times when he pushed me to take responsibility for my work by encouraging me to be confident enough to make my own decisions. I would also like to thank my family and friends who have learned more about J Street and the American Jewish community then they ever could have possibly wanted to know. I especially want to thank my parents and Grandma Ruth for their love and support. Thank you to my dad, who has taught me that it is better to “think big” and risk failure than to not have tried at all. He has not only been a great sounding board, but also has challenged me to defend my views.
    [Show full text]
  • J Street Sides with Israel's Enemies & Works to Destroy Support for Israel
    ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA J Street Sides With Israel’s Enemies & Works to Destroy Support for Israel Special Report Including Executive Summary by The Zionist Organization of America by Morton A. Klein, Elizabeth Berney, Esq., and Daniel Mandel, PhD “J Street is one of the most virulent anti-Israel organizations in the history of Zionism and Judaism.” - Prof. Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School Copyright 2018, Zionist Organization of America CONTENTS Table of Contents . i Executive Summary . ES-00 - ES-13 Full Report . 1 Introduction . 1 I. J Street’s Anti-Israel, Foreign & Muslim Donors, and Its Lies About Them. 1 (1) For years, J Street Falsely Denied that Anti-Zionist Billionaire George Soros Was A Major J Street Funder . 1 (2) J Street’s Arab, Muslim and Foreign Donors . 4 II. J Street’s Interconnected Web Of Extremist Anti-Israel Organizations . 9 (1) J Street Is Part of a Soros-Funded Web of Anti-Israel Organizations . 9 (2) J Street Is Also Part of an Interconnected Web of Extremist Organizations Working to Delegitimize Israel, Founded by and/or Coordinated by J Street President Ben-Ami’s Consulting Firm . 11 III. J Street Persistently Even Opposes Israel’s Existence, Persistently Defames and Condemns Israel, And Has Even Encouraged Anti-Israel Violence. 12 (1) J Street Persistently Maligns and Blames Israel . 12 (2) J Street Speakers Have Called for the End of the Jewish State; and a J Street Official Letter to Congress Supported Those Calling for an End to Israel’s Existence . 15 (3) J Street’s Co-Founder Condemned Israel’s Creation As “Wrong” – A Repeated J Street Theme .
    [Show full text]
  • 26Th Annual Julian Y. Bernstein Distinguished Service Awards Ceremony 2021/5781
    7:30pm 4 Nisan 5781 Nisan 4 Tuesday, March 16, 2021 16, March Tuesday, AWARDS CEREMONY AWARDS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE DISTINGUISHED JULIAN Y. BERNSTEIN Y. JULIAN ANNUAL th 26 WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL Connect Here® Academy for Jewish Religion Hebrew Free Loan Society Sanctuary ACHI - American Communities Helping Israel Hebrew Institute of White Plains Scarsdale Synagogue - Temples - Tremont AIPAC - American Israel Public Affairs Committee HIAS and Emanu-El AJC Westchester/Fairfield Hillels of Westchester Shaarei Tikvah Ameinu, Project Rozana Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center Shalom Hartman Institute of North America American Friends of Magen David Adom ImpactIsrael Shames JCC on the Hudson American Friends of Soroka Medical Center Israel Bonds (Development Corporation for Israel) Sinai Free Synagogue American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) Israel Policy Forum Students & Parents Against Campus American Zionist Movement (AZM) J Street Anti-Semitism (SPACA) Anti-Defamation League (ADL) JCCA Sprout Westchester Areyvut The Jewish Board StandWithUs BBYO Westchester Region Jewish Broadcasting Services (JBS) Stein Yeshiva of Lincoln Park Bet Am Shalom Synagogue Jewish Community Center of Harrison Temple Beth Abraham Bet Torah Jewish Community Center of Mid-Westchester Temple Beth Am Beth El Synagogue Center Jewish Community Council of Mt. Vernon Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester The Blue Card Jewish Deaf (and Hard-of-Hearing) Resource Temple Beth El – Danbury Bronx Jewish Community Council, Inc Center Temple Beth Shalom - Hastings Camp Zeke The Jewish Education Project Temple Beth Shalom - Mahopac Chabad Center for Jewish Life of the Rivertowns Jewish National Fund of Temple Israel Center of White Plains Chabad of Bedford Westchester & Southern CT Temple Israel of New Rochelle Chabad Lubavitch of Larchmont and Mamaroneck Jewish Theological Seminary Temple Israel of Northern Westchester Chavurat Tikvah Justice Brandeis Westchester Law Society Temple Shaaray Tefila of Westchester Children’s Jewish Education Group Keren Or, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • A Compassionate Community Needs a Focal Point for Collective Generosity
    A vibrant community needs an engine to keep it energized. A compassionate community needs a focal point for collective generosity. 1 A connected community needs a conduit for bringing us together, in the Lehigh Valley, Israel and around the world. The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley supports and enriches our Jewish lives, builds community and is a hub for all things Jewish. But really, Federation is YOU. Thank you for being the impact Dear Friends, the community informed, raised Maimonides Society donated in Through this partnership, we have money to help with the clean-up honor of its 30th anniversary last brought 10 local community orga- This year, we asked many of our from vandalism at the Mount Car- year put into action saving lives in nizations together to strengthen supporters a question: What mel Cemetery and took a bus load Israel. our endowments and our future. inspires you to be the impact? The of community members and day answers – all different, all import- school students to Philadelphia to We continued to innovate with our None of this would have been ant – have not only educated the Stand Against Hate. campaign, promoting a month of possible without your support. We community about the work of Impact in November and a March thank you for being the impact MARK H. SCOBLIONKO Federation, but have inspired us And as we responded to the cur- Madness-style tournament for that strengthens our community President to continue to strive for greatness rent situation, we also celebrated campaign workers in the spring. now, tomorrow, the next day and in the work that we do.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Journal February 2017
    The Jewish Journal is for Kids, too! Check out Kiddie Corner, PAGE 26-27 The Jewish Journalof san antonio SH’VAT - ADAR 5777 Published by The Jewish Federation of San Antonio FEBRUARY 2017 Former Chief Rabbi of Israel to visit San Antonio and speak at Rodfei Sholom Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau will be visiting unimaginable hardship. In 2005, Lau was San Antonio February 10 – 12. He will be awarded the Israel Prize for his lifetime KICKING THINGS the scholar in residence and guest speaker achievements and special contribution to UP A NOTCH IN 2017 at Congregation Rodfei Sholom. society and the State of Israel. On April 14, See What’s Happening Rabbi Lau is the Chairman of Yad 2011, he was awarded the Legion of Honor in YOUR San Antonio Vashem and Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv. He (France’s highest accolade) by French Jewish Community, previously served as the Ashkenazi Chief President Nicolas Sarkozy, in recognition Rabbi of Israel. His father, Rabbi Moshe of his efforts to promote interfaith PAGES 14 - 21 Chaim Lau, was the last Chief Rabbi of the dialogue. Polish town of Piotrkow. At age 9, Rabbi Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau will be visiting San Antonio Rabbi Lau’s bestselling autobiography, PARTNERS Lau was the youngest person liberated February 10 – 12. Out of the Depths, tells the story of his TOGETHER: from the Buchenwald concentration tale of triumph and faith as a young boy miraculous journey from an orphaned COMING SOON camp, and he came on the first boatload during the Holocaust provides us with a Plans underway to of Holocaust survivors to Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • A Hebrew Maiden, Yet Acting Alien
    Parush’s Reading Jewish Women page i Reading Jewish Women Parush’s Reading Jewish Women page ii blank Parush’s Reading Jewish Women page iii Marginality and Modernization in Nineteenth-Century Eastern European Reading Jewish Society Jewish Women IRIS PARUSH Translated by Saadya Sternberg Brandeis University Press Waltham, Massachusetts Published by University Press of New England Hanover and London Parush’s Reading Jewish Women page iv Brandeis University Press Published by University Press of New England, One Court Street, Lebanon, NH 03766 www.upne.com © 2004 by Brandeis University Press Printed in the United States of America 54321 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or me- chanical means, including storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Members of educational institutions and organizations wishing to photocopy any of the work for classroom use, or authors and publishers who would like to obtain permission for any of the material in the work, should contact Permissions, University Press of New England, One Court Street, Lebanon, NH 03766. Originally published in Hebrew as Nashim Korot: Yitronah Shel Shuliyut by Am Oved Publishers Ltd., Tel Aviv, 2001. This book was published with the generous support of the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, Inc., Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry through the support of the Valya and Robert Shapiro Endowment of Brandeis University, and the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute through the support of the Donna Sudarsky Memorial Fund.
    [Show full text]
  • AHRC Camp Anne
    AHRC Camp Anne State: New York Type of Camp: Co-ed Special Needs Residential or Day: Residential Camp Address: 228 Four Corners Road, Ancramdale , NY 12503 Camp Website: camping.ahrcnyc.org Gender of Campers: Co-ed camp Description: Camp Anne offers a structured, yet relaxed, atmosphere for children and adults who function in the moderate, severe and profound ranges of intellectual and devleopmental disabilities. Campers enjoy a traditional summer camp experience: arts, boating, cooking, crafts, dance, music, nature, sports, swimming – all under careful staff direction in a fun environment in the Berkshire region. Emphasis is on promoting independence in daily living skills, increasing communication, increasing self confidence and improving appropriate social interaction. As a staff member you will be challenged to promote the camper’s ability to communicate, interact and increase independence in daily living skills through participation in carefully supervised traditional summer camp experiences. These include arts and crafts, boating, dance, music, nature, sports, swimming, and other camp-wide events. Staff Arrival Date: 15 Jun 16 Staff End Date: Minimum Staff Age: 18 Number of Campers: 150 Total Staff: 150 Total International Staff: 100 Staff Time Off: 12 days on followed by 2 days off. Staff Accommodation: Cabins Staff Qualities: If you are ready for the summer of a lifetime and to commit to a job that will likely push you to your limits, whilst at the same time change you as a person, and create an amazing, positive learning experience, then we are ready to welcome you to the team! Experience in the special needs field is preferred but not required.
    [Show full text]
  • Jnf Blueprint Negev: 2009 Campaign Update
    JNF BLUEPRINT NEGEV: 2009 CAMPAIGN UPDATE In the few years since its launch, great strides have been made in JNF’s Blueprint Negev campaign, an initiative to develop the Negev Desert in a sustainable manner and make it home to the next generation of Israel’s residents. In Be’er Sheva: More than $30 million has already been invested in a city that dates back to the time of Abraham. For years Be’er Sheva was an economically depressed and forgotten city. Enough of a difference has been made to date that private developers have taken notice and begun to invest their own money. New apartment buildings have risen, with terraces facing the riverbed that in the past would have looked away. A slew of single family homes have sprung up, and more are planned. Attracted by the River Walk, the biggest mall in Israel and the first “green” one in the country is Be’er Sheva River Park being built by The Lahav Group, a private enterprise, and will contribute to the city’s communal life and all segments of the population. The old Turkish city is undergoing a renaissance, with gaslights flanking the refurbished cobblestone streets and new restaurants, galleries and stores opening. This year, the municipality of Be’er Sheva is investing millions of dollars to renovate the Old City streets and support weekly cultural events and activities. And the Israeli government just announced nearly $40 million to the River Park over the next seven years. Serious headway has been made on the 1,700-acre Be’er Sheva River Park, a central park and waterfront district that is already transforming the city.
    [Show full text]
  • H E a R T B E
    HEARTBEAT heartbeatAmerican Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem 49 West 45th Street • New York, NY 10036 212-354-8801 • www.acsz.org I SRAEL IS COUNTING ON US...TO CARE AND TO CURE SPRING 2011 KESTENBAUM FAMILY MAKES LEADERSHIP GIFT TO DEDICATE ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY MACHINE IN THE PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY DEPARTMENT Alan and Deborah Kestenbaum have been involved with Shaare HEARTBEAT Zedek for more than two decades. Deborah’s father, Hal Beretz, served as the chair of the Hospital’s International Board of Highlights Governors, her mother Anita is a member of the National Women’s Division and Deborah currently serves as the Chair of the Development Board of the Women’s Division. PAGE 8 In recent years, Deborah, who has always metals with Glencore and Philipp Brothers in Profiles in Giving been involved in countless charitable endeavors, New York. Dr. Jack and Mildred Mishkin her local synagogue and her children’s schools, Recently, the Kestenbaums decided to Dr. Monique and Mordecai Katz has taken on a more prominent leadership take their leadership to the next level by mak- role in the Shaare Zedek Women’s Division. ing a magnanimous gift to purchase a new PAGE 4-7 A graduate of Queens College with a BA in Echocardiography machine for the Pediatric Economics, Deborah explains, “Shaare Zedek Cardiology Department. Highlights from the Hospital has always been a part of my family and I am looking forward to increasing my involvement While advanced cardiac care is not typ- Hospital Opens New Cosmetic with this incredible Hospital.” ically associated with younger patients, the Care Center and New Digestive reality is that a large number of children do Diseases Institute Alan, holds a BA in Economics from indeed face serious cardiac problems.
    [Show full text]
  • NEW POLL: Majority of American Jews Support Iran Nuclear Deal
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 28, 2015 CONTACT: Jessica Rosenblum, [email protected], 202.448.1600/202.279.0005 (m) NEW POLL: Majority of American Jews Support Iran Nuclear Deal WASHINGTON—The majority of American Jews support the Iran nuclear deal and do so at a higher rate than Americans as a whole, according to a new poll. The poll, conducted by Jim Gerstein of GBA Strategies and released today by J Street, finds that 60 percent of American Jews support the agreement reached between the P5+1 and Iran. This, as compared to the 56 percent of American adults who backed the deal when asked the exact same question in a July 20 Washington Post-ABC poll. “These results make clear that American Jews overwhelmingly support this deal and see this diplomatic agreement as the best way to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon,” says J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. “The numbers just go to show—once again— that the pundits and those who speak most loudly on behalf of the Jewish community are flat- out wrong in their presumption that Jewish Americans are hawkish on Iran or regarding U.S. policy in the Middle East in general.” The full survey, crosstabs and analysis can be found here. As a fierce battle over the deal between pro-Israel advocacy organizations takes shape on Capitol Hill, American Jews want their Members of Congress to approve the agreement by the same 20-point margin, 60 to 40 percent. Support for the agreement cuts across demographic groups. There is broad and, in most cases, majority support for the agreement across the Jewish community, regardless of age, gender, region, Jewish organizational engagement and knowledge of the issue.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish News Issue 3 | Volume XL | May & June 2015
    Columbia Jewish News Issue 3 | Volume XL | May & June 2015 Camp Gesher: The Best-Kept Reports from AIPAC Summer Camp Secret and J Street see page 7 see page 9 Permit No. 48 No. Permit RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED SERVICE RETURN Columbia, SC Columbia, Columbia, SC 29223 SC Columbia, PAID US Postage US 306 Flora Drive Flora 306 Non Profit Org Profit Non Columbia Jewish Federation Jewish Columbia The Secret to Jewish Immortality The Columbia Jewish News is a bi-monthly Barry Abels, CJF and JCC Executive Director publication of the Columbia Jewish Federation. Soon we will be observing Shavuot, the receiving of the Ten Commandments and the Torah at Mount Sinai. This critical event in our history was the point where we, the Jewish people, became a nation. This nation would continue to experience challenges and major trials, but would Columbia Jewish Federation also come to make a mark on the world. 306 Flora Drive This is as true today as in times past. I am Columbia, SC 29223 reminded of the words of Mark Twain in reference to our Jewish people: t (803) 787-2023 | f (803) 462-1337 www.jewishcolumbia.org “All things are mortal but the Jews; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?” Columbia Jewish Federation Staff Barry Abels, Executive Director In the previous Jewish News I discussed our belief in the value of life. [email protected], ext. 207 That explicit cultural value is one of many the many “secrets” Mark Elaine Cohen, Jewish Family Service Director Twain pondered.
    [Show full text]
  • Brief of T'ruah and J Street As Amici Curiae in Support of Plaintiff
    Case 1:20-cv-00596-MHC Document 45 Filed 10/08/20 Page 1 of 33 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION ABBY MARTIN, Plaintiff, v. No. 1:20-cv-00596-MHC STEVE WRIGLEY, Chancellor for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, in his official capacity, et al., Defendants. BRIEF OF T’RUAH AND J STREET AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF INSTITUTE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL CAPLAN COBB LLP ADVOCACY AND PROTECTION Michael A. Caplan Jonathan L. Backer* Georgia Bar No. 601039 Mary B. McCord* Jarred A. Klorfein Georgetown University Law Center Georgia Bar No. 562965 600 New Jersey Avenue, N.W. 75 Fourteenth Street, NE, Suite 2750 Washington, DC 20001 Atlanta, Georgia 30309 Telephone: (202) 662-9042 Tel: (404) 596-5600 [email protected] Fax: (404) 596-5604 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] * Not admitted to practice in Georgia Case 1:20-cv-00596-MHC Document 45 Filed 10/08/20 Page 2 of 33 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE ............................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 3 ARGUMENT ............................................................................................................ 8 I. THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS A CRUCIAL SAFEGUARD FOR MINORITY GROUPS AND VIEWPOINTS. ............................................... 8 II. SB 327 AND ITS ANALOGUES VIOLATE THE FIRST AMENDMENT. ........................................................................................... 13 A. Consumer Boycotts Are Protected by the First Amendment. ............... 14 B. Boycotts Are a Protected Form of Collective Action. ........................... 21 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 25 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE i Case 1:20-cv-00596-MHC Document 45 Filed 10/08/20 Page 3 of 33 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES CASES Page(s) Amawi v.
    [Show full text]