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. Each issue has its own current point person to contact, if you'd like to get involved. No matter where you're affiliated, every group would love to have you. 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!
Thanks,Jason Taper
Social Justice Coordinator
Temple Beth Shalom & Congregation Beth Israel
_______________________________________________________ Or download a PDF of the application to vote by mail here.
_________________________________________________________If you or someone you know needs RISE Fund emergency assistance, click here for a list of participating organizations that can help. The RISE fund is a local $15M COVID-19 relief fund.
_______________________________________________________Reform Congregations--Immigration Work Website
Check out Daniela Weil's immigration advocacy website to find the latest actions and her thoughtful analysis, updated frequently. ______________________________________________________________ Opportunities for InvolvementReligious Action Center, Texas
Contact: Rabbi David Segal, dsegal@rac.org;
Jason Taper, jason.austinsocialjustice@gmail.com
Social Justice Opportunity: Civic Engagement Coalition Working Groups
RAC-TX is working on three major nonpartisan issues to ensure that our democracy is strong and our elections are free and fair. If you're interested in getting involved, you can join a training (below) in one of these areas. The groups are:
Voter Education:
Using this toolkit, the RAC's goal is to empower every congregation's members to achieve 100% voting. This includes using the TX Empower App , a tool for tracking contacts and engaging voters within your congregation and social network. Think of it as digital Jewish Geography for civic engagement.
Religious Freedom in Elections:
RAC-TX is in conversation with Texas Civil Rights Project and others about how to raise a religious voice for mail voting and other election protection measures. Please contact us if you are interested in joining.
Fighting Voter Suppression:
RAC-TX is partnering with Reclaim Our Vote, a nonpartisan group whose mission is to counteract the effects of voter suppression on communities of color. Reclaim Our Vote offers regular training for their voter outreach tools like phone banking and postcards to engage marginalized voters.
Work So Far:
The RAC officially launched the Every 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.
To that end, RAC-TX joined the Texas Voter Protection Coalition and held a meeting with Travis County Voter Registrar Bruce Elfant. A meeting is scheduled with Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, as we seek to hold accountable major stakeholders in our elections.
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.
Upcoming RAC Training Sessions:
Combatting Voter Suppression Training
Wednesday, June 3 | 7:00 p.m. CST
Register now
This training will provide actions you and your community can take to ensure voters of all backgrounds are registered and equipped to cast their vote. We’ll also share examples of how Jewish communities have had greater impact when partnering across lines of difference.
Mobilizing Our Voters Training
Thursday, June 11 | 7:00 p.m. CST
Register now
This training will discuss how to engage in repeated relational outreach, how to effectively use lists to plan and track your work, and it will feature case studies to illustrate how these best practices play out in Reform Jewish communities.
Student Civic Engagement Trainings
June 29, July 28, and August 23
Register now
These trainings, designed for voters and youth activists (ages 14-29), will frame the larger civic engagement campaign and then split into one session for high school students and one for young voters in college, graduate school, and beyond.
CBI Social Action Committee Core Team
Contact: Mindy Lee | mindyem@gmail.com
Liz Mitlak | mitlakej@gmail.com
Action Item: Laptop/Tablet Drive for Refugees
Help refugees access the internet! Every Sunday in June from 2-4 p.m., drop off laptops and/or tablets at Congregation Beth Israel's front door. Someone will be there to take them. Label them working or non-working--we have a rabbi who refurbishes laptops/tablets! Funds donated to the Temple Beth Shalom Refugee Fund may also be used to purchase internet access in certain cases.
Action Item: Apply to Vote by Mail!
Elections determine whether our representatives share our values, so we ask that if you're 65+ or have a disability, you apply to vote by mail. For the Travis County Primary Runoff & Special Elections on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, the last day to apply for Ballot by Mail is Thursday, July 2, and early voting has been extended to Monday, June 29-Friday, July 10.
Ongoing Actions:
• Immigration Justice: Continued activities around immigration justice are taking place in our community, especially with Refugee Services of Texas. Specifically, please refer families you may be assisting, donate to a COVID-19 relief fund, or to sign up to be a volunteer through RST. And please visit Daniela Weil's immigration advocacy website for more opportunities!
• Civic Engagement: Our new civic engagement issue team is working in coordination with RAC-TX to advocate for universal, no-excuse vote by mail and to support safe and fair elections, particularly during the current COVID-19 crisis. We ask that if you're 65+ or have a disability, you apply to vote by mail. For the Travis County Tuesday, July 14, 2020 Primary Runoff & Special Elections, the last day to apply for Ballot by Mail is Thursday, July 2, and early voting has been extended to Monday, June 29-Friday, July 10.Temple Beth Shalom Social Justice Core Team (Anti-Poverty)
Contact: Larkin Tackett, 512-657-9383, larkin.tackett@gmail.com
Ongoing Actions:The Anti-Poverty Action Team is moving forward with its work, creating three work groups to lead on each action goal:
1. Identify community members who are experiencing poverty and support the development of their leadership skills to review data, research, plan, and take action to reduce poverty and expand opportunity
2. Gather and share information about anti-poverty efforts from across the community, including educating system leaders about successful, community member-driven actions
3. Create a community-wide definition of poverty and opportunity
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.Upcoming Event: Monthly action team meeting led by Ofelia Zapata
When: June 10 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Via Zoom, email Larkin for link
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
Email Bob for a Zoom invitation and/or to join our mailing list.
Upcoming Events: - Internal planning meeting
- Meeting with Bradley Hargis of CAPDS
- Meeting with Trudy Strassburger of the Justice Coalition
- Meeting with Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez
- Meeting with Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt
Recent Work:- Scheduling a follow-up with Travis County Chief Public Defender Adeola Ogunkeyede to assure successful startup of the new Travis County Public Defenders Office.
- Scheduled a meeting on 6/1 with Sheriff Hernandez to advocate for the safety of incarcerated individuals and criminal justice staff during the COVID crisis and other criminal justice reform initiatives.
- As we requested, Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously endorsed the effort to submit a grant proposal to Texas Indigent Defense Commission to do a pilot project to improve legal representation during the magistration.
- Attended various meetings and seminars on Criminal Justice Issues and Public Policy.
"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. Refugee Services of Texas
Contact: Lynn Burdick | lburdick@rstx.org
Ongoing Action - Asylum Seeker Assistance Program (ASAP) Referral:
Asylum Seeker Assistance Program (ASAP) Referral:
Local donors raised sufficient funding to begin the ASAP (Asylum Seeker Assistance Program) in May. RST posted the position for a part time case manager and had an incredible internal candidate – Ahmed Abbas. Those who attended the Austin Jews for Refugees conference will remember Ahmed as one of the speakers. RST anticipates Ahmed will start taking on a caseload around mid-May, and will slowly build toward a full caseload of about 25. The requested funding from the City of Austin and St. David’s Foundation, if awarded, will be a potential resource for asylum seekers that become clients in the ASAP program, as well as current refugee and SIV clients.
Contact Refugee Services of Texas to refer asylum seeker families you may be assisting to obtain caseworker help.
Ongoing Donation and Volunteer Needs: - Emergency Assistance Fund--monetary donations for rent/utility assistance, food security, technology devices, and internet access
- Babies, babies and more babies! We had two families welcome a new member into their family. We need diapers (size 2), wipes and formula.
- Feed a family [from home] - If you're uncomfortable or unable to go out, you can still make a difference by "adopting" a family. We'll supply the grocery list, all you have to do is go online, order groceries and set up delivery through Amazon, Instacart or other delivery service. This will be posted as an ongoing opportunity on Volunteer Hub.
- ESL Teachers [from home] - Learning English is a top priority to help our clients acclimate into their new communities. Adapting to our current circumstances, we are looking for ESL teachers to help with online lessons.
- Youth Mentor Program. The Youth Mentoring Program's goal is to match community members with refugee youth ages 15-24 for the purpose of education support, career guidance, cultural learning and friendship. Pairs are expected to meet 8 hours per month for a 6 month period, working on goals set by the mentee. Pairs might also enjoy recreational activities, college visits or other activities to help the mentee integrate into their community. Spanish, Dari and Pashto speaking members especially needed. Also, we would love to connect with specialists in the medical field, law and engineering/tech. If you are interested in being a mentor or learning more, contact Chloe at cscarborough@rstx.org or Marissa at mmelnikov@rstx.org.
- Needed for VOCA Program (Victims of Crime Act Program- formerly the STEP program for survivors of trafficking): Any type of gift cards, esp. for groceries.
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.
ICE Reform Advocacy
Contacts: Maria Reza, 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.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. 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
Ongoing Actions (please contact Nancy Wolf if interested):
• Attorneys to work remotely assisting asylum seekers: hias.org/take-action
• Girls Forward: Looking for adult women mentors for teen refugee girls. Virtual tutoring and mentoring: info@girlforward.org
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 in the following categories: Advocacy, Donations, and Direct Volunteer/Service. Of course, our world has changed during the pandemic, as we all face medical, economic, and social/emotional challenges. These challenges are often magnified for our refugee and asylee populations. Our shared histories and current circumstances reveal how we are all dependent on one another in ways that we perhaps could not have understood even just several weeks ago.
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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