JCRC Here & Now: March 2019

JCRC HERE & NOW

March 2019 Newsletter

JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council) serves as an advocate for the issues our Jewish community cares about most. The topic on our minds this month is addressing hate and bigotry in our our communities.

PRESENCE MATTERS

“A Jew is asked to do more than he understands, so that he understands more than he does.”

-Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

When the New Zealand mosque attacks left 50 people dead and 50 injured, anyone who has ever felt vulnerable intuitively felt solidarity. As Jews, we know vulnerability too well but we also know the solidarity that others have shown us in our moments of need. So, it was not surprising that a groundswell arose, slowly at first but gathering substance within a week’s time, of Jewish community members who wanted to reach out.

People who annually attend Interfaith Ifars (breaking a fast) during Ramadan, and people who had never been to a mosque, joined together at mosques across Silicon Valley during Friday prayers. Some stood outside with signs of support. Some came to join friends for lunch and hear rousing sermons about raising the voices of good people to drown out the hate.

The warmth with which we were received as Jews coming to sit with Muslims has had a profound effect. These were sacred moments for us. We understood solidarity in a new way.

Sheldon Gilbert was moved to capture his experience of going to the Muslim Community Association, in a letter to the Jewish community.

Letter by Sheldon Gilbert

"On Friday March 15, 2019, when the terrible mass shooting took place in the mosques in New Zealand, I reached out to Diane Fisher, the director of the JCRC asking, “How should we respond?” And that is how I found myself at the Muslim Community Association during Friday prayers with hastily made posters declaring, The Jewish Community of Silicon Valley stands with our Muslim neighbors.

Honestly, it was one of the most humbling, moving and rewarding experiences of my life. As a proud member of the Jewish community, I now fully appreciate the value that the JCRC brings to all of us."

(Click here to read the full letter)

Photo: Eva Rajna Lippmann, Co-chair of JCRC, at Evergreen Islamic Center, with Muslim friends and signs created by Abrahamic Alliance International. See their website http://www.abrahamicalliance.org/aai/

WORDS MATTER

“We forget that words are a repository of the spirit.”

-Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

What began a number of years ago as a crisis of “civility”, concerned with how we express diverse opinions, has escalated to a darker threat from discourse that is peppered with demeaning tropes. While hostility on the internet has led many to avoid social media altogether, the place that hurts the heart most is school hallways where teenagers lunge hurtful insults at each other in the form of a "joke".

Schools have been scrambling to find effective ways to train “upstanders” who are bold enough to call out bad speech. But campus climate is a very tough nut to crack. Even with the best of intentions, and often thoughtful curriculum, schools are still failing to change the environment. Whether it’s using the “N” word, joking about concentration camps, or references to terrorism made to Muslim students, everyone loses in this degraded atmosphere.

The JCRC tracks reports from students and is engaged with several schools on this effort to reduce derogatory speech. Highlighted below are two powerful opportunities to strengthen teens’ sense of common cause and mutual respect. Forward questions and interest to diane@jvalley.org.

New Mexico Interfaith Immersion Trip

July 8 – July 12, 2019

Join a diverse group of interfaith high school students (10-12th grade) on a trip to New Mexico to learn about other religions, deepen your own beliefs and serve the local communities!

Intercultural Speaker's Bureau

Islamic Network Groups (ING), a long-time partner of JCRC, is starting an Intercultural Speakers Bureau for students in Fall 2019. Students will have the opportunity to prepare themselves to be comfortable speakers on panels including Muslim, Jewish, African-American, Latino, Asian and Native American students.

About Intercultural Speaker's Bureau

From Maha ElGenaidi, CEO, ING

“Working from the well-established social-science principle that face-to-face education and engagement are the most effective ways to dispel prejudice, panels will include group discussions and conclude with calls to action to counter prejudice and hate while building an inclusive society based on mutual understanding and solidarity.

The catalyst for the Bureau is the current political and social environment affecting several minority groups. The past two years have seen a sharp rise in bigotry against all racial and religious minorities in the wake of the Travel (Muslim) Ban. This has also impacted Jews, Latinos, and immigrants generally, as well as Native and African-Americans, who have long suffered from racism and bigotry.

Hate crimes against Muslims went up 17% in 2017 after surging 57% in the previous year,
Anti-Semitic incidents surged by 60% in 2017, the largest single-year increase ever recorded.
In California, hate crimes against all groups rose by 17.4% in 2017.

Since these manifestations of bigotry share common historical roots and are interrelated, the new Speakers Bureau hopes to raise awareness of the shared experiences of affected groups, and build solidarity and allyship towards creating more harmonious, peaceful communities for all Americans.”

Look for further information about engaging in this program in future issues of JCRC Here & Now.

The JCRC Here & Now Newsletter is a publication of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley. This newsletter provides timely information that is essential to the strengthening of the broad tent of Jewish life. Topics addressed will also aspire to enrich our coalitions of diverse religious, ethnic, racial and interest groups with which we share the Valley.

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