RAC-TX 100% Voting Calls & Election Advocacy, including Training on Aug. 12
HIAS Agency Requests for Comment by Aug. 10
"They Ain't Ready for Me" Film Q & A on Aug. 9
Anti-Poverty House Meeting on Aug. 18
A Word From Social Justice Coordinator Jason Taper
Shalom y'all! Social Justice is more important now than ever. I'm sharing opportunities to organize and respond from home.
In honor of John Lewis, Z"L, today I want to talk about democracy.
It's a precarious thing. Of course, something so precious would be: at its best, democracy allows a direct flow of power from the people back to themselves. It empowers even the most marginalized with a voice that's on equal footing with the most privileged. Democracy allows for our community to truly have its values reflected in the structures that govern us, something not a lot of Jews have historically gotten to experience. That the United States could maintain a democracy for this long is nothing short of a historical anomaly. Exceptional, you might say.
Yet our democracy started out much less than equal. Those not considered human weren't included. It's only through the struggle of people who protested because their existence was on the line that people of color and women have the right to vote. Amendments to the Constitution didn't just happen. They were the result of grassroots organizers, a movement of people organizing their community because they had to in order to have their voices heard.
Organizing for democracy didn't stop after the Suffragettes. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and outright violence still stood between the oppressed and the vote. Ever more subtle disenfranchisement replaces the blatant examples.
In Texas, you still can't register to vote online, or on the same day as the election. Texas is one of the only states to require voter registration by county, and not statewide. That's explicitly to stop movements like the Freedom Riders, or any coordinated statewide effort to let more Americans vote. Even the state's refusal to expand vote-by-mail stands between people and voting.
So is it any surprise we ranked 49th in the country in voter turnout in 2016? A ranking, by the way, that was a significant improvement from our previous 51st place (including D.C.). Votes are suppressed by design, by the vestiges of the same Jim Crow systems, as old as our democracy itself.
What can we do about it? The same thing Americans have always done about it: Organize. Reform Jews have committed to fighting for democracy, because we've seen the consequences of authoritarian countries: secret police. Democracy is good for the Jews. (Hot Take!)
Democracy isn't democracy unless everyone has equal access to it. And through Reclaim Our Vote, we have a chance to help fight for democracy. We can call and write to those whose votes have been so suppressed, political campaigns don't bother anymore. We can help remind those who need it most that unless their voices are heard, our democracy is still incomplete. So please, click the sign-up button below or order postcards directly from RAC-TX.
Regardless of shul affiliation, the point of contact for every initiative listed would be happy to have your help. And if you simply want to ask how best to be an ally, or how we got here, please reply to this email, fill out the form above, or call me. My email is jason.austinsocialjustice@gmail.com, and my number is 469-834-9987. Thank you!
For a More Perfect Union, Jason Taper, Social Justice Coordinator
Ongoing Action: 100% Voting at TBS & CBI: Congregation Beth Israel and Temple Beth Shalom have both had successful phone banks to increase turnout in this July 14 runoff, and are continuing that effort through to November. As we get closer to the November election, Reform Jews will participate in widespread voter engagement efforts. Temple Beth Shalom Contact: Sandy Dochen | smdochen@gmail.com Congregation Beth Israel Contacts: Mindy Lee | mindyem@gmail.com Liz Mitlak | mitlakej@gmail.com Related Upcoming Event: RAC National 100% Voting Training When: Aug. 12, 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. RSVP: here
Texas Voter Protection Coalition: RAC-TX joined the Texas Civil Rights Project's Voter Protection Coalition, and holds meetings with county elections officials across the state to advocate for best practices. Contact: Jason Taper | jason.austinsocialjustice@gmail.com Be on the Lookout: RAC-TX Central Texas Cluster Coming soon - a civic engagement partnership across Austin, San Antonio, and surrounding areas!
Work So Far: The RAC officially launched theEvery Voice, Every Vote: the Reform Movement’s 2020 Civic Engagement Campaign on May 7. Throughout the year, Reform Jews like us fight injustice by talking directly to our nation’s leaders. Our goal is not the success of one party, but the empowerment of our own community and ensuring that public policies reflect our Jewish values.
CBI Social Action Committee
Upcoming Action: The Congregation Beth Israel Social Action Committee is excited to pilot "Chavruaction Circles: Gathering, Learning & Acting Together" to explore anti-racism topics together and create a long-term initiative to build an anti-racist culture in our CBI and our local community. We look forward to expanding the program to CBI Members after High Holy Days. Stay tuned for more information!
Ongoing Action: Comments Requested on New Asylum Regulations by Aug. 10
The comment period for the last asylum regulations has closed. Thank you to all who sent comments to delay the passing of federal regulations that would cripple our asylum program. We are waiting to hear the results. Unfortunately we need to circulate instructions about how to make comments on a NEW set of regulations, which state that anyone who comes from a country where COVID-19 is present is ineligible for asylum here!!! Please look out for those instructions and circulate them as well – so that we can fight back against yet another unjust and inhumane attack on asylum. Just like last month, our intention here is to generate as many comments as possible – they will need to review each and every one of them individually before the regulation can go into effect, so this is our chance to delay, change, or stop the regulations from going into effect.
A link with information and sample language is here. Thank you, Refugee Services of Texas and TBS and CBI Donors! With the combination of the donation from Rabbi Levy and the joint CBI/TBS donors to the TBS Refugee Fund, RST will be providing tablets to ALL the ASAP (Asylum-seeker Assistance Program) families for ESL classes and other vital connections to the internet. We have also made significant donations to RST and ASN for rent assistance and have funds left to make additional donations for rent assistance and food in August and September.
Upcoming Events:
HIAS Vote for Welcome Training When: Aug. 20, 3:00 p.m. What: The Vote for Welcome campaignfor the 2020 Election is now going strong! 90 people have attended HIAS trainings on the topic, and several coalitions are gearing up to do advocacy locally.
RST Book Club RSVP here RST Texas Virtual Giving Day Kickoff Event When: Aug. 17 What: A film screening of Unsettled, followed by a panel discussion along with raffle, and an Ethiopian Coffee and Popcorn Ceremony demo! For tickets and more event info, click here.
Work So Far: During our Jews for Refugees assembly held on February 2, 2020 we were privileged to have many non-profits attend. HIAS, our partner in this endeavor, put together a flyer entitled "What Should we Do Next?"with opportunities to get involved. Our shared histories and current circumstances reveal how we are all dependent on one another.
Ongoing Actions: The Anti-Poverty Action Team met with City of Austin staff about aligned efforts and narrowed options for how to define poverty and opportunity. The team continues house meetings to learn with members of the Capital IDEA, Family Independence Initiative, and LifeWorks.
Upcoming Event: Anti-Poverty House Meeting When: Aug. 18, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Contact Larkin for details.
Jewish tradition is filled with commandments to help the poorest among us: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the widow and orphan. When we organize to place working class voices at the center of how our community morally responds to poverty, we not only improve the advocacy we undertake, but fundamentally empower those who the Torah compels us to uplift.
Advocates for Social Justice Reform (Equal Justice Initiative)
Contact: Bob Batlan | bobbatlan1@gmail.com Email Bob for a Zoom invitation and/or to join our mailing list. Ongoing Work:
Recent Forum for an Equal Justice system to spotlight unequal outcomes from arrest onwards.
Meetings with Chief Public Defender, state and county officials, judges and nonprofit leaders to improve Indigent Defense.
"Justice, justice, you shall pursue." A just system of laws is ingrained from Leviticus through King David through every contradicting comment in the Talmud. Even an eye for an eye is blind to whose eye is taken, so we organize for a criminal justice system that is truly fair and impartial.
Ongoing Action: Supporting Hilda and Iván in Sanctuary
Work So Far: protecting Hilda Ramirez and her son Iván, who are Guatemalan asylum seekers, from ICE detention and deportation to certain danger, for 4 years
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” So we show our love and solidarity with Hilda and Iván whenever we can.
And if there's anything you're involved in that's not on this list, let me know, and it will be! Here's the blurb format:
Committee or Nonprofit Name Upcoming Event/Action: When: Where: Contact: (name, email, phone # optional) Work so far:
Stay home and safe, Jason
Temple Beth Shalom 7300 Hart Lane Austin, TX 78731
