election

Open Letter to President-elect Donald Trump from Jewish American Organizations

JLC_Logo_for_FB_etc31.jpg
On November 18, 2016, the Jewish Labor Committee joined with other American Jewish organizations in sending the following joint letter to President-elect Donald Trump:

Dear President-elect Trump,

We write on behalf of organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Jewish Americans deeply committed to the values that underpin our people's faith, our country's democracy and our relationship with the people and state of Israel. We wish to raise several serious concerns based on issues and events from the recent campaign.

For centuries, Jews have lived as minorities in the lands of other people. As Americans, we recognize how blessed we are to live in a land that respects religious liberty and works to guarantee freedom and opportunity for all. As Jews, we have been proud to help lead our nation's steady march to fulfill its founding promise that all people are created equal-a promise that echoes the biblical assertion that all human beings are equal creations in the divine image. We have played, and continue to play, a vital role in the process of perfecting our still-imperfect laws that guarantee life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all.

Based on our community's experience, we begin by strongly condemning the many instances of anti-Semitism - both subtle and overt - that appeared around your Presidential campaign. We have been deeply concerned by words and actions during the campaign that attacked and offended Americans on the basis of their gender, race, religion, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation. Expressions of xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, misogyny and other forms of prejudice, in and around your campaign, threatened to undermine our nation's core values and to erode our people's shared sense of what it means to be an American.

As President, we expect that you will make it absolutely clear that you emphatically reject anti-Semitism in all forms, and that you are committed to ensuring the religious freedom that is at the heart of America's identity. Further, we call on you to forcefully and consistently reiterate our nation's commitment to respect the rights of all citizens and to fight discrimination in all of its ugly and un-American forms. All American citizens have the right to expect no less from our nation's highest elected leader.

Like you, American Jews are the descendants of immigrants. We believe that immigration and successful integration of newcomers into the fabric of American society has been key to our country's strength and prosperity. Because many of our families arrived in this country as refugees fleeing persecution-and because so many died when the borders closed, we are committed to defending our country's identity as a land of refuge.

As such, we will not support efforts to limit or foreclose access to this great country on the basis of a person's religious faith or country of origin. We also oppose efforts to punish those who have made and continue to make great contributions to our society, but who are here without the required documentation, often because of the near impossibility of securing a legal visa.

Finally, as Jewish Americans, we are committed to our country maintaining a strong relationship with the State of Israel - one that must be grounded in our shared values and shared interests. We, and an overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans, support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an active role for the United States in achieving this vision. We expect the State of Israel to embody democratic principles, as enshrined by its Declaration of Independence and an active role for the United States in efforts to defend those principles.

We cannot support an abandonment of America's fundamental policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - which have been recognized as vital to American national interest and supported by Presidents of both parties for 50 years. We therefore have been alarmed by changes in the Republican Platform, as well as statements by your key advisors on Israel, which eliminate the goals of the two-state solution and creation of a Palestinian state living at peace with Israel.

As you prepare to take office, we call on you to commit to be a President for all Americans - including those who did not support you.

We call on you to be a President who protects all Americans, including and especially those in more vulnerable communities who, based on the tenor of the campaign we've just experienced and the upsurge in hate crimes, are increasingly afraid for themselves, their families and their children.

We call on you to protect the great traditions of our country that have been a beacon to "the huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

And we call on you to staff your administration with individuals who exhibit excellence and empathy, and a commitment to protecting the security, honor and dignity of all American regardless of religion, race, gender, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation. Your recent decision to appoint Stephen Bannon to the post of Senior Counselor and Strategist in the White House runs counter to these principles and should be rescinded for the sake of the American people and the honor of the government of the United States.

As you begin your term we are certain that you will find willing partners in the Jewish community to join with your administration if it follows a path that upholds and defends the principles of fairness, justice and freedom on which this country was built.

But, we will not stand idly by if you choose to take actions that violate human rights, or that reverse the progress we have made at home and abroad. You will find us as powerful opponents of any effort to undermine these gains.

With hope for cooperative activity to promote peace, justice, equality, we are sincerely,

AmeinuGideon Aronoff, CEO

Americans for Peace NowDebra DeLee, President

J StreetJeremy Ben-Ami, President

Jewish Labor CommitteeStuart Appelbaum, President

Hashomer HatzairAlexis Karpf, National Director

Habonim Dror North AmericaYasaf Warshai, National Director

National Council of Jewish WomenNancy K. Kaufman, CEO

New Israel FundDaniel Sokatch, CEO

Partners for Progressive IsraelMay Flam, Director of Operations & Development

The Workmen's CircleAnn Toback, Executive Director

T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human RightsRabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director

Uri L'Tzedek: The Orthodox Social Justice MovementRabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President

Click here to view original post on the national Jewish Labor Committee page.

Post-Election: T'ruah Statement

About T'ruah: "T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights brings together rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism, together with all members of the Jewish community, to act on the Jewish imperative to respect and advance the human rights of all people."truah_logo_web_no_rhrnaPlease sign this pledge if you are a rabbi or cantor." קְרָא בְגָרוֹן אַל-תַּחְשֹׂךְ, כַּשּׁוֹפָר הָרֵם קוֹלֶךָCry aloud; do not be silent. Lift up your voice like a shofar.--Isaiah 58:1As rabbis and cantors, we fervently pledge to raise our voices, and those of our communities, to hold the new administration accountable for protecting the human rights and civil liberties of all people as precious creations in the divine image.Jewish history has taught us that fascism arrives slowly, through the steady erosion of liberties. And we have learned that those who attack other minorities will eventually come to attack us. To our great dismay, we learned this truth again when, during this election campaign, anti-Semitism rose to the fore, along with racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, and homophobia.For some Jewish leaders, there will be a temptation to accommodate the new administration in the hopes of protecting our own community’s “interests.” As Joseph learned long ago, and as the Jewish community has learned time and time again, proximity to power does not guarantee protection in the long run. Nor can we ignore the fact that our Jewish community includes people of color, immigrants, women, LGBTQ people, people dependent on the social safety net, and others at risk for reasons beyond Jewish identity. Jews will not be safe until every one of is safe in a just and democratic society.As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “This is no time for neutrality. We Jews cannot remain aloof or indifferent. We, too, are either ministers of the sacred or slaves of evil.”The UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 as the world’s response to the Holocaust. Today, we recommit to fight for these human rights, and our constitutional protections, because we remember that too many of our own family members died when fascism arose in Europe, when the U.S. and other nations refused to accept refugees, and when much of the world looked away.We have inherited a Torah that concerns itself with the fate of humanity, and a sacred tradition that demands building a just society. We pledge to fight for the human rights of all of us. We stand in solidarity with all vulnerable populations, despite and because of fear for our own safety. We call on the entire Jewish community to stand with us in this struggle."

VICTORY: Save Our Public Schools

On November 8, Massachusetts voters decisively chose to keep the cap on charter schools in Massachusetts by voting no on question two by a margin of 62.1% to 37.9%. Congratulations to everyone who worked tirelessly to keep money in our public schools! We won this victory by bringing together teachers, parents, students, unions, and community allies to fight privatization efforts from big-money and out of state donors.cwyns_fuaaaziwz

Save Our Public Schools: Vote No On 2

In August, the NE JLC endorsed "No on 2" because of the devastating impact this ballot initiative would have on our public education system. Question 2 would allow for the massive expansion of charter schools in Massachusetts. Charter schools already take $450 million per year statewide out of the regular public school budget. The loss of funding to traditional public schools hurts high-needs students the most by draining money used for necessary and important support services. Question 2 negatively affects teachers' unions and their right to collectively bargain for better conditions for teachers and students.
 
Boston Public School junior Gabby speaking at a No on 2 rally on Tuesday. Read her story herePhoto credit: Jeremy Shenk
Why No on 2?
"SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL" EDUCATION
  • Charter schools siphon money from high-needs students. Charter schools receive higher funding in districts with more high-needs students, despite providing education to a far lower percentage of these students than traditional public schools. Tradition public schools are left struggling to fund and provide ESL students and students with special needs with the support services they need and deserve.
  • According to the NAACP, charter schools increase segregation within public schools. They also point to research that documents increased punitive and exclusionary disciplinary practices in charter schools. The NAACP opposes the expansion of charter schools for just these reasons.

LOST FUNDING

  • See how much your town loses to charter schools from its public school budget here. Money lost to charters could instead go to arts, music, and special education programs that all students can access.

NO LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY

  • Charter schools lack local accountability, and are not overseen by local school boards. They are publicly funded but privately managed. More than 60% of charter schools in Massachusetts lack a single parent representative on their boards.
Read more about question 2 from NE JLC Board member Ashley Adams here, from Mayor Marty Walsh here, and from BU School of Education Professor Robert Weintraub here.