A Word From Social Justice Coordinator Jason Taper Shalom y'all!
Social Justice is still going on--remotely. During this quarantine, I'm sharing opportunities to organize from home. If you want a way to help respond to the hardships this virus is causing, keep reading.Each issue has its own current point person to contact, if you'd like to get involved. We had a general Austin Jewish Social Justice Zoom meeting, with follow-up info and COVID-19 resources in this drive. And if you want to talk about what issues you're passionate about getting involved with, email me at jason.austinsocialjustice@gmail.com or text me at 469-834-9987 and let's talk. And if there's anything you're involved in that's not on the list below, let me know, and it will be!
Stay home and safe,Jason Taper
Social Justice Coordinator
Temple Beth Shalom & Congregation Beth Israel
_______________________________________________________Reform Congregations--Immigration Work Website
Check out Daniela Weil's immigration advocacy website to find the latest actions and her thoughtful analysis, updated frequently.
Virtual Town Hall Meeting on Food Access and Seniors' Issues
Austin City Council Member Alison Alter, a member of CBI,
is having a virtual town hall tomorrow, April 21, 5:30-6:30 p.m.,
on food access and seniors issues. RSVP here. ______________________________________________________________ Opportunities for InvolvementReligious Action Center, Texas
Contact: Rabbi David Segal, dsegal@rac.org Action Item: RAC Action Alert -- Call Governor Abbott to oppose playing abortion politics in a crisis (RAC explainer here)
Action Item: Join us for the official launch of Every Voice, Every Vote: the Reform Movement’s 2020 Civic Engagement Campaign on May 7. Throughout the year, Reform Jews like you join together to fight injustice by talking directly to our nation’s leaders. Help make sure elected officials at every level of government hear us by working with your Reform community to reach 100 percent voter turnout and combat voter suppression – so that every voice is heard and every vote counts in November.
Register now for our virtual town hall launch on May 7 at 7 p.m. CT to join the campaign and stand up for our Reform Jewish values.
Work So Far:
A month ago, RAC-TX officially joined the Texas Voter Protection Coalition. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, this coalition was advocating for a list of reforms to ensure Texas has fair, accessible, effective elections. The urgency of this effort has only increased, and our state’s ability to protect the vote is a cornerstone of democracy and influences every other issue we work on. There is a legal and political fight right now, particularly around voting by mail (more on that below). In conversation with our main partners at the Texas Civil Rights Project’s Election Protection program, we determined that targeted outreach to County Elections Administrators is a strategic step: we will build relationships with the officials who administer elections, find out what the issues are from their perspective, and gain insight into how best to build power (with our coalition) to effect change.
Temple Beth Shalom Social Justice Core Team (Anti-Poverty)
Contact: Larkin Tackett, 512-657-9383, larkin.tackett@gmail.com
Advocacy win! Item 81, a $15M COVID-19 relief fund, passed the Austin City Council unanimously. Half will be allocated to social service providers to assist with essentials like rent and utilities, and half will be unrestricted grants to cover whatever is needed most.
Work So Far:
* Education about strategies highlighted in NY Times, Tamarack Institute (Canada), and Central Iowa
* Partnering with other Austin organizations (LifeWorks, Community First! Village, and Capital IDEA) to conduct house meetings to understand issues and identify leaders of families impacted by poverty.Jewish tradition is filled with commandments to help the poorest among us: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the widow and orphan. When we organize to place working class voices at the center of how our community morally responds to poverty, we not only improve the advocacy we undertake, but fundamentally empower those who the Torah compels us to uplift. Advocates for Social Justice Reform (Criminal Justice)
Contact: Bob Batlan, bobbatlan1@gmail.com
Action Item: Call & email criminal judges to release inmates without cash bail ( article here ) ( letter here )
Gov. Abbott has attempted to require judges to collect monetary bail to get out of jail at a time when jails are hotspots of COVID-19. That puts the poor and all of us at a public health risk. Instead we urge judges to continue choosing personal (non-$) bonds, which still result in high rates of court appearances.
Work So Far:
* Contacted local officials to advocate for release of incarcerated individuals who don’t pose a threat to the community due to the risks associated with COVID-19.
* Advocated for a state grant to support improved treatment of arrested individuals at the time of magistration including bail setting.
* Reached out to Central Texas Interfaith (Austin Interfaith) and Texas Fair Defense Project to determine ways to work together.
* Attended various meetings and seminars on Criminal Justice Issues and Public Policy.
* Scheduled (some past, some upcoming!) meetings with candidates for Judgeships, District Attorney, County Attorney emerging from primaries, the new head of the Public Defenders Office, and a board member of the current Assigned Council organization.
"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.
ICE Reform Advocacy
Contacts: Maria Reza, Daniela Weil
Action Item: Remote Sponsor an Asylum Seeker
One person needed to sign one letter and have one phone call with a woman detained at T. Don Hutto. Contact Daniela Weil.
Ongoing Action: Demanding Release of T. Don Hutto Detainees
Grassroots Leadership is asking folks to call (script here) and ask for the release of the women inside T. Don Hutto detention center, as they have little to no access to medical resources (the women inside have no choice but to purchase a bar of soap for $4 because the jail won't supply them with basic necessities). These are all women who are seeking asylum and have absolutely no need to be detained inside a hazardous jail, especially during an epidemic.
Austin Jews for Justice and Never Again Action held a statewide day of action yesterday. This included an in-car protest at the T. Don Hutto detention center. For more information, please reach out to austinjewsforjustice@gmail.com.
Work So Far: Organizing against ICE contracts and inhumane treatment of detainees, including research, elected official contact, and protests.
Our Jewish values compel us to show compassion to these women who fled their countries after seeing their families being killed, crossed the ocean and arrived in a place they considered a safe haven. The dangers of Germany then and Guatemala now both compel allyship. Central Texas Interfaith
Contact: Rachel Gunner
Action Item: Petition Congress for COVID-19 Relief ( petition here )
Central Texas Interfaith, a coalition of which Temple Beth Shalom and Congregation Beth Israel are a part, is one of the largest local advocates on behalf of faith communities. Austin Sanctuary Network
Contacts: Jessica Duran, Daniela Weil
Social Justice Opportunity: Supporting Hilda and Iván in sanctuary
Work So Far: This organization has been protecting Hilda Ramirez and her son Iván, who are Guatemalan asylum seekers, from ICE detention and deportation to certain danger, for four 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.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
Contacts: Nancy Wolf, Russ Apfel
Social Justice Opportunity: Congregational Organizing for Refugees
Work So Far: HIAS hosted the Austin Jews for Refugees conference, providing education on the policies and lived realities of refugee issues and connection to nonprofits working in this space to over 200 participants.
Our own people’s history as “strangers” reminds us of the many struggles faced by immigrants today, and we affirm our commitment to create the same opportunities for today’s refugees that were so valuable to our own community when we fled our gravest dangers.
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