November 6

Celebrate Israel at 60, ARZA at 30, and 50 Years of NFTY in Israel
More than 100 Reform congregations have committed to participating in the Reform Movement’s Israel at 60 initiative. If your congregation or sisterhood have not yet done so, urge them to sign up to join with the Reform Movement to recognize and celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary, ARZA’s 30th anniversary, and the 50th year of NFTY in Israel. If your congregation does not sign up, your sisterhood can do so on its own.

During the Israel at 60 initiative year, we will have a unique opportunity to deepen our connection to Israel. While many of our congregations and sisterhoods have strong Israel programs, this initiative is designed to provide sisterhood and congregational leaders with new resources that relate specifically to Reform life and Reform Jewish practices in Israel. We hope that your sisterhood and congregation will join the rest of the movement in this celebration of Israel's growth and the ongoing maturation of the Reform Movement's relationship to Israel.

Mark your calendars for the Movement-wide weekend, May 9-11, 2008, when congregations and sisterhoods across North America will:

• REJOICE on the sacred occasion of Israel’s 60th year of independence
• REFLECT on our loving, and at times complex, relationships with Israel
• RENEW our connections to Israel and the greater Jewish world

ARZA invites you to visit the Israel at 60 website, www.arza.org/6030. There you will find a list of participating congregations, a calendar of Israel-related events taking place across the Movement, and a participation form to receive the program materials for study, reflection, and celebration. Sign-up for regular updates about the Reform Movement-wide Israel at 60 initiative. Also, look for the promotional poster and a sample of the weekend program materials at the WRJ assembly and URJ biennial in San Diego. We hope you will contact ARZA (212.650.4280) soon to participate.

October 15

Expand Health Care Coverage to Uninsured Children
A bipartisan majority in the House and Senate recently passed a bill that would increase spending for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) to provide health coverage to one-third of the more than nine million uninsured children in America. S-CHIP provides health care for the children of the working poor, covering children from families that earn too much to receive Medicaid, but whose employers do not provide insurance, and cannot pay for private insurance. President Bush vetoed this crucial children's health legislation citing "ideological opposition," effectively denying health coverage to millions of uninsured children. The president’s proposals would not even maintain current enrollment levels.

The Senate has the votes needed to override a veto — but there is concern about the House of Representatives which will be voting on Thursday, October 18. Twenty-four additional "yes" votes are needed in the House to overturn the Presidential veto.

Families USA is hosting national call-in days to let legislators know that children's health coverage is a number one priority for American families. Call your Representative on Tuesday or Wednesday. Call 1-800-828-0498 and ask to speak to your Representative.

Urge your representatives to vote to override the President's veto of S-CHIP!

August 31

1. 2007 Movement-Wide Symposium On Gender And Jewish Education
We recently alerted you to the pre-assembly seminar on Gender and Jewish Education, which is being held December 10-12, 2007 in San Diego, just prior to the WRJ assembly. This groundbreaking symposium on the impact of gender on learning in religious schools and on Jewish involvement in other formal and informal contexts will enable participants to take part in many important discussions and to strategize for enhanced gender-based teaching. Does it make sense to teach and reach boys and men differently than girls and women? What still needs to be done to bring women’s voices into our Jewish curricula? This symposium is jointly sponsored by the National Association of Temple Educators, the Union for Reform Judaism Department of Lifelong Jewish Learning, The Union for Reform Judaism Youth Division, Women of Reform Judaism, and Men of Reform Judaism.

For more information, including a schedule, workshop descriptions, and suggested readings, go to http://urj.org/educate/symposium. Print copies of the symposium program are available from Carolyn Kunin at 212.650.4066.

Steps for registering and obtaining the reduced fee for those who have registered for the WRJ assembly:

1. Register for the WRJ assembly (you must do this first).
2. Send an e-mail note to John Penzella, the NATE executive assistant, indicating that you want to register for the symposium, Gender and Jewish Education, at the discounted fee and have completed your WRJ assembly registration.
3. John will call to register you for the symposium and will ask you to send a check to NATE for $175.00, the reduced fee for the symposium.
   

2. Earthquakes in Peru
On August 15th, an earthquake of 8.0 magnitude struck off the coast of Peru and was followed by many smaller earthquakes, with tragic impact. As of an August 23rd report issued by the Peruvian National Institute of Civil Defense (INDECI), 514 people are dead and 1,090 are wounded, nearly 40,000 houses were destroyed and another 6,300 were damaged, and 52 hospitals were destroyed and an additional 43 were damaged.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), www.jdc.org, has informed us that in the week following the earthquakes, the local Jewish community, Comunidad Judia Del Peru came together to provide a coordinated local response to the disaster. Their emergency relief has reached two local communities, so far, and the JDC is also working with the local Peruvian Jewish leadership to investigate potential projects for long-term relief efforts. For more information about the local Jewish and JDC response to the disaster see the attached Situation Report.

Contribute to the JDC relief efforts in Peru:

Peru Earthquake Relief
P.O. Box 530
132 East 43rd St.
New York, NY, 10017
https://www.jdc.org/donation/jdc_form.cfm
212.687.6200

3. Ethical Practices in Employing Domestic Workers: Labor Day Resolve
In a 2004 resolution “Worker Justice,” WRJ notes that the “Jewish tradition recognizes the value of work and requires that workers be fairly compensated with adequate wages, benefits, and protection. Our tradition further stipulates that these precepts apply equally to our neighbors and to the stranger within our community. Women of Reform Judaism resolves to seek legislation to require a living wage, health coverage, and other benefits for all workers.”

Domestic workers are indispensable to the North American economies. America's families - including members of Reform congregations - depend on services provided by cleaning personnel, nannies, yard workers, and elder care workers. Yet, there are few laws governing their treatment. Jewish tradition and values can provide an ethical foundation and guidance for dealing with issues that come up regarding the conditions of employment of these workers. Download the newest Commission on Social Action and Religious Action Center issue packet, Ethical Practices in Employing Domestic Workers, at www.rac.org/domesticworkers to find out what you and your sisterhood can do to follow Judaic ethical precepts when employing domestic workers.

July 25

1. Urge Your Representative To Support Medical Marijuana
The House of Representatives will vote later this week, perhaps as early as tomorrow, on an amendment offered by Rep. Maurice Hinchey to the Commerce, Justice and State appropriations bill, to prohibit the use of federal funds to arrest and prosecute those who use medical marijuana in states that permit its use. Twelve states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington) permit marijuana for medical purposes. Medical marijuana has been found to aid in the treatment of glaucoma; alleviate the wasting syndrome associated with the AIDS virus; alleviate nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy; and alleviate the muscle spasms that often accompany multiple sclerosis and chronic pain.

WRJ adopted a resolution in 1999 to urge elected officials to support legislation to enable the medical use of marijuana under medical supervision, for patients with intractable pain and other conditions. Representative Hinchey’s amendment would guarantee that patients given prescriptions by their doctors for the use of marijuana for medical purposes, in states which it is legal, can do so without fear of prosecution by federal authorities.

ACTION: Please contact your representatives to urge them to vote for the Hinchey amendment by sending an e-mail to your Representative using the Chai Impact Legislative Action Center.

2. 2007 Movement-Wide Symposium On Gender And Jewish Education
If you are passionate about Jewish education for all ages, you will want to attend the pre-assembly seminar on Gender and Jewish Education, December 10-12, 2007 in San Diego, just preceding the WRJ assembly. Scholars and practitioners will discuss perceived differences in the ways males and females of all ages learn and participate in Reform Jewish educational programs and settings. Does it make sense to teach and reach boys and men differently than girls and women? What still needs to be done to bring women’s voices into our Jewish curricula? This symposium is jointly sponsored by the National Association of Temple Educators, the Union for Reform Judaism Department of Lifelong Jewish Learning, Women of Reform Judaism, and Men of Reform Judaism.

For more information, including a schedule, workshop descriptions, and a list of suggested reading, go to http://urj.org/educate/symposium . A print copy of the symposium program, workshops, and instructions for symposium registration are available from Carolyn Kunin at 212.650.4066.

June 8

Divestment Policy To End Genocide In Darfur
The Women of Reform Judaism Board of Directors unanimously adopted a statement on May 20, 2007 calling for targeted divestment from the Sudan to end the genocide in Darfur. Based on the unabated genocidal violence against the people of Darfur, despite years of sanctions by many of the world’s nations, including the United States, grass roots activism, and pressure by the United Nations, increasingly there are calls for targeted divestment from companies that provide funds or arms to the Sudanese government. Cutting off the support of foreign investors seeks to prevent the government of Sudan from continuing to fund the military operations and militia violence in the Darfur region.

• WRJ urges sisterhood members to consider divestment, within their own portfolios, from companies that invest in the Sudan.
• Urge sisterhood members to support targeted divestment policies by the federal government, states, cities, universities, and other agencies.
• Call on Canadian sisterhoods to assess the position of their federal government and provinces on divestment and take appropriate action.
• Learn how to take action regarding your investments to use the Sudan Divestment Task Force's online screening tool.

A May 18, 2007 article in www.businessweek.com states that presidential candidates John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani have committed to divestment from their personal financial portfolios of investments in firms that operate in Sudan. Both have previously spoken out about the Darfurian genocide, but were not aware that their holdings included companies that do business in Sudan. The article states that Senators Barack Obama and Sam Brownback, also presidential candidates, have indicated that they have divested their investments in Sudan-related companies.

May 14

1. Action Needed on Minimum Wage Bill Now

The minimum wage legislation, although passed by both the House and the Senate before February 1, 2007, has been held up because it was part of the Iraq supplemental spending bill which was recently vetoed for unrelated reasons. Millions of minimum wage workers are still making $5.15 an hour. If the minimum wage is passed into law today, May 14, 2007, a full time minimum wage worker would only be making $5.85 an hour on July 14, 2007, $6.55 an hour on July 14, 2008 and finally $7.25 an hour on July 14, 2009.

Let your senators and representatives know that Congress needs to complete the job now by sending a stand-alone minimum wage bill to the President for signing! Minimum wage raise legislation deserves to move forward on its own merits.

Call your representative and senators today or tomorrow toll-free at 1-800-459-1887. You can also send an e-mail by visiting our Chai Impact Legislative Action Center.

2. Urge Your Senators to Ratify the International Women’s Rights Treaty
Contact your senators and urge them to support ratification of the treaty on women's rights. This United Nations treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), has been ratified by 185 countries around the world. The United States, along with Sudan, Somalia, and Iran, has failed to do so.

More than 200 major organizations across the United States are supporting the ratification of CEDAW. Please call on your sisterhood members to urge their senators to support ratification of the Women's Rights Treaty. Do so today on behalf of women and girls around the world.

3. Call to Change Gender-Based Pay Inequities
The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) Vice President for Education and Employment recently testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions regarding substantial gender-based wage gaps that exist across every educational level - which cannot be dismissed as the result of women’s choices or qualifications. She presented her testimony just before Equal Pay Day, the approximate day of the year that women’s wages catch up to what was earned by men the previous year. Inform your members of Congress that you support the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Fair Pay Act - bills that would ensure that the promise of equal pay for equal work becomes a reality. For more information and to contact your member of Congress visit NWLC's website.

April 25

Support the Freedom of Choice Act
Just last week, on April 18, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the federal late term abortion ban. This decision prohibits a late-term abortion procedure that physicians and medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, consider necessary in some cases. Moreover the ban also does not include an exception to protect the health and life of the mother, endangering countless women. For more information on the Supreme Court decision read Rabbi Saperstein’s statement.

It is essential to move forward at this time to protect women’s reproductive health and rights by calling for congressional support of the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). Passage of FOCA would write Roe v. Wade into law. It is of utmost importance to speak up so that Congress will become aware that the majority of American people want to guarantee women’s rights to reproductive options.

Call the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for the offices of your senators and representatives. Please make three separate calls: one to each of your senators and one to your representative.

• When calling your senators, say, "I'm calling to ask Senator ____ to co-sponsor the Freedom of Choice Act, which is Senate Bill Number S. 1173."
• When calling Representatives, say "I'm calling to ask the Representative ____ to co-sponsor the Freedom of Choice Act, which is House Bill Number HR 1964."

FOCA will protect reproductive options for the American women of the future. To move forward from the devastating Supreme Court decision upholding the late-term abortion procedures ban which may pave the way for overturning Roe v. Wade, we need this protection now.

March 28

1. The Union for Reform Judaism Executive Committee Resolution on Iraq
On March 12, 2007, the executive committee of the Union for Reform Judaism adopted the 2007 Resolution on the War in Iraq. Overwhelmingly passed, the resolution opposes the escalation of troops in the war in Iraq and calls on President Bush to provide a specific timetable for a phased withdrawal of troops.

This resolution builds upon the December 2005 resolution on the War in Iraq, adopted by the general assembly at the Reform Movement’s 2005 biennial convention in Houston, and applies it to current circumstances. For additional information and background visit http://rac.org/advocacy/specialresources/iraq/.

2. The Global Days for Darfur Week of Action
The Save Darfur Coalition is working with activists from around the world to plan "Global Days for Darfur" - a week of rallies, marches, vigils, and other events intended to demonstrate that violence is escalating and the people of Darfur are devastated. Immediate deployment of an international peacekeeping force to Darfur is essential.

March 23

1. Urge US Ratification of CEDAW
With International Women's Day celebrated around the world again this month, it is time for the United States government to become part of the international effort to end discrimination and violence against women. The United States is one of very few nations that have failed to ratify the Treaty for the Rights of Women, also known as the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Help strengthen the United States' voice in support of global women's rights, ending trafficking in women, educating girls, and reducing violence against women by calling on your senators to actively endorse ratification of the Treaty for the Rights of Women. To act now, visit www.unausa.org/action.

2. Call On Your Senators and Representatives to Co-sponsor the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act
The Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act was introduced yesterday, March 22, 2007, by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA). Contact your senators and representative to urge them to stand for accurate and comprehensive sexuality education and to become an original cosponsor of the REAL Act. This is not a political issue but one of providing the information that young people need in order to make healthy decisions. For more information or to email your senators and representative, go to http://capwiz.com/siecus/home/

March 6

1. Health Care For Children
The 1996 welfare law includes inequitable restrictions, because of which many lawful newly-arrived immigrants, including children, have been left uncovered by the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid. The proposed Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act (ICHIA) would permit states to provide medical coverage to lawfully residing immigrant children and pregnant women, without a waiting period. This year there appears to be the possibility of passing ICHIA as part of congressional reauthorization of SCHIP. ICHIA has had strong bipartisan support and has previously been endorsed by state and local government organizations.

ACTION: Call for passage of ICHIA this year. The National Immigration Law Center has provided an e-mail link to Congress for your use. This sign-on is for sisterhoods only, not individual members.

2. International Women's Day: Focus on Family Health
The Religious Advocates Working Group has drafted a letter, which will be circulated at its March 8th International Women’s Day Hill briefing on international family planning and the Focus on Family Health Worldwide Act. Yearly, more than 530,000 women around the world die from reasons connected to pregnancy and childbirth! The bill will authorize funding to family planning programs, implemented by the US Agency for International Development, focusing on developing countries with serious family planning and maternal health needs and will strengthen coordination between family planning programs and HIV & AIDS prevention programs. Sisterhoods can take action by signing on to this important letter.

3. International Women's Day Message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
The new Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki moon, has released his comments, attached above, in honor of International Women’s Day. We believe that his priorities will be of interest to you and your sisterhood women. Please share his message.

February 23

1. Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Legislation
Last week the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act (BCERA), S. 579, was introduced in the Senate. Bipartisan cosponsors include Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and John Warner (R-VA). A companion bill, H.R. 1157, was also been introduced in the House of Representatives last week. Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY), Sue Myrick (R-NC) and Lois Capps (D-CA) are the chief sponsors.

The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) is calling for quick passage of these bills because scientific evidence about the relationship between the environment and the development of breast cancer is urgently needed to help understand the causes of breast cancer and develop the strategies needed to prevent and treat it effectively.

The Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act would launch a federal policy to study the connections between the environment and breast cancer, authorizing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide grants to set up research centers for this purpose.

ACTION: Call your senators and representatives to urge them to support this bill by signing on as co-sponsors. To reach your members of Congress, go to the NBCC website. It provides a list of all senators and representatives (go to Grassroots Advocacy and then click on Members of Congress) and their contact information.

2. End Genocide in Darfur
According to the Save Darfur Coalition, “the Sudanese government has thumbed its nose at all opportunities to cooperate with international efforts to end the violence.” A new approach to end the genocide in Darfur, Plan B, has been developed, but not yet implemented by the Bush administration. It is important to urge President Bush to implement "Plan B" to prevent to loss of more Darfurian lives. According to the Save Darfur Coalition, more than 400,000 lives have already been lost due to the Sudanese genocide, 2.5 million people have been displaced, and 3.5 million men, women and children are struggling to survive amid violence and starvation.

Urge President Bush to launch “Plan B” to push the Sudan government to cooperate with international efforts to end the genocide.

3. Hold a Provocative Sisterhood Program to Discuss State Mandating of the Human Papilloma Virus Inoculation
The vaccine Gardisil, which protects girls against several strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) that cause cervical cancer, has recently been mandated for girls entering the sixth grade in Texas. More than 11 states around the country, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia are considering legislation regarding this concern. Approved in June by the Food and Drug Administration, the vaccine has the potential to save thousands of women’s lives. For additional information on the vaccine read the briefing paper by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

Hold an evening panel program on the subject of mandating this vaccine for sixth grade girls in your state. You can invite your rabbi, a gynecologist, educator, or lawyer interested in civil rights as speakers. It could be a very interesting and thought provoking program.

February 5

1. Minimum Wage
Last Thursday, February 1, 2007, the United States Senate voted overwhelmingly to increase the federal minimum wage by $2.10 to $7.25 per hour over two years. It also, however, also included tax cuts for small businesses that were not part of the clean minimum wage bill passed by the house in early January. This increase in the minimum wage, the first in almost ten years, represents a small but necessary step to reducing poverty for the working poor, particularly women. Nevertheless differences in the two bills now must be reconciled before sending the minimum wage legislation to President Bush for his signature.

The Women of Reform Judaism Executive Committee adopted a statement on Sunday, January 28, 2007, calling for an increase in the minimum wage without accompanying tax cuts.

ACTION: Urge your members of Congress to pass a clean Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 without delay. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support a minimum wage increase to $7.25 an hour. The Capitol Switchboard can be reached at 202.224.3121. You can also send an e-mail or letter by going to the Religious Action Center webpage: Chai Impact Legislative Action Center.

2. Historic UN Action and Holocaust Commemorations in New York and Geneva
On January 26th the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus condemning Holocaust denial, co-sponsored by more than one hundred countries. The United States drafted, introduced and strongly supported this resolution, which “urges all Member States to unreservedly reject any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities towards that end.”

• International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
• Observances were held at UN headquarters in New York on January 29th for the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Impassioned speakers included General Assembly President H.E. Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, and Madame Simone Veil, President, Fondation Pour la Memoire de la Shoah. In a video-taped message Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General, who was en route to Addis Ababa, described the Holocaust as a “unique and undeniable tragedy.” JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) coverage of the commemoration can be read here. International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust in the Salle des Assemblées of the European Headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva
• Professor Irwin Cotler, a prominent member of the Montreal Jewish community delivered the keynote address, "Remembering the Holocaust: What Have We Learned? What Must We Do?", at the January 29, 2007 Holocaust commemoration in Geneva. His powerful speech on the Holocaust and the unspeakable genocides that have followed in the Balkans, Rwanda, and in Darfur today presented the following lessons:
  
  Lesson 1: The importance of Holocaust Remembrance
  Lesson 2: The Danger of State Sanctioned Incitement to Hatred and Genocide – The Responsibility to Prevent
  Lesson 3: The Danger of Silence, The Consequences of Indifference – The Duty to Protect
  Lesson 4: Combating Mass Atrocity and the Culture of Impunity – The Responsibility to Bring War Criminals to Justice
  Lesson 5: The Trahison des Clercs – The Responsibility to Talk Truth to Power
  Lesson 6: Holocaust Remembrance – The Responsibility to Educate
  Lesson 7: The Vulnerability of the Powerless – The Protection of the Vulnerable as the Test of a Just Society

Professor Cotler closed his comments with the compelling call to action: “We will speak and we will act against racism, against hate, against anti-semitism, against mass atrocity, against injustice — and against the crime of crimes whose name we should even shudder to mention — genocide.”

January 12

1. Child Hunger – Take Action

WRJ is committed to working towards ending child hunger. Along with several prior resolutions, the 2006 resolution Ending Global Poverty calls on us to do what we can to end world hunger and poverty. As such, WRJ awarded The United Synagogue Sisterhood, Women of Progressive Judaism, Umbrella Organization of Temple Sisterhoods, Johannesburg and Sandton, South Africa Or Ami Excellent Long-Term Project award for 60 years of school feeding programs, which today provide a daily nutritious meal to over 2,500 children.

Child hunger is a pervasive problem, over 110 million children of school-age from the poor countries of the world live with daily chronic hunger, a tragedy which can and must be addressed. The George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program provides school meals for some of these children. The McGovern-Dole Program has been enormously effective in fighting hunger and promoting education. Studies indicate that school feeding programs increase enrollment and attendance, particularly for girls. Currently, the McGovern-Dole Program will feed only three million children in 2006, so bipartisan legislation has been introduced in Congress to expand the program to reach more children.

2. Hunger In The United States – Sign On To Letter In Support of Strong Nutrition Language In 2007 Farm Bill!
The Food Research and Action Center is circulating a sign on letter calling on lawmakers to renew The Food Stamp Program, which is due for reauthorization this year, and urging that they address current benefit inadequacies and improve access for vulnerable people.

Please sign your sisterhood on to this letter, which calls for the strongest possible nutrition language in the 2007 Farm Bill. The letter is based directly on a joint statement issued recently by the thirteen organizations that comprise the National Anti-Hunger Organizations. Please do so by January 25th.

In order to build momentum for Food Stamp and emergency feeding aid initiatives, a first version of the joint letter will be issued in January, before the President's FY 2008 budget is released. It will be possible to sign on later and efforts will continue to build the list of supporters for each critical juncture in the legislative process, but it is essential to have as many signatures as possible by January 25th.

To The Point 2006