For your information, here are the resolutions that came out of the recent JCPA plenum. In the two years since JRF became a member religious organization and fourth Jewish movement in the JCPA, we have participated in many coalitions and sign-on initiatives. This Plenum marked the first time we were a national religious organization co-sponsoring three of the resolutions below. Thanks to Carl Sheingold (JRF Executive Vice-President), Bob Barkin (JRF President) and Val Kaplan (JRF Chair of External Affiliations) for representing us and voting on our behalf at the Plenum.

Full list of 2009 JCPA Resolutions

Full listing of partner organizations and sign-ons,

JCPA
JCPA speaks to you each week, alerting you to what the community relations field is doing to safeguard the rights of Jews here, in Israel, and around the world and to protect, preserve and promote a just, democratic and pluralistic American society. For three generations, we have brought together diverse voices in the Jewish community to unite a strong Jewish public policy force.

Date: March 11, 2009
From: Max Mulcahy, Program Director, JCPA

Below are the final versions of the JCPA resolutions as adopted by the 2009 Plenum. Click on the links to access the resolution text in pdf format. Please share these resolutions with your board and leadership. If you have any questions please feel free to contact JCPA offices.

Strengthening the Assets of Low Income Households

Challenges in Coalition Building

Comprehensive Energy Policy

Criminal Justice Reform

Darfur

Freedom of Expression/Defamation of Religion

Supporting Comprehensive Early Childhood Care and Education Programs for All

Muslim Jewish Relations

Alleviating Hunger and Food Insufficiency among Children, the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities, and other At-Risk Individuals in the U.S. and Internationally

Reform of the Federal Poverty Measure

Learn more at www.chkehillah.org/socialaction.htm

2009 Updates: http://www.jspot.org/showDiary.do?diaryId=2090

We are pleased to announce that the Chapel Hill Kehillah, a synagogue in Chapel Hill, NC, affiliated with the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, has received a matching grant from the national organization Jewish Funds for Justice to support our first year of congregational membership in the Orange County Organizing Committee.

The Orange County Organizing Committee (OCOC) is building a broad-based organization with the power to take collective action in the name of justice and the common good.  read more »

During our first week of Omer teaching, we are highlighting the efforts and energy within our congregations engaged in congregation-based community organizing (CBCO). As you read through it feel free to add comments on this page about your own experiences in community organizing or use the listserve or web page to ask questions.

Below as an attachment, you will find a PDF resource packet and the recording from our Community Organizing and Congregational Advocacy - PEARL tele-conference call, featuring:

• Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Director of Outreach and Tikkun Olam for JRF
• Shuli Passow, CBCO consultant for the Jewish Funds for Justice
• Rabbi Steve Carr Reuben, Kehillat Israel, CA
• Kathy Kaufman and Irene Zipper, Chapel Hill Kehillah, NC
• John Goldstein and David Weingrod, Shir Hadash, WI

For more information, please contact Rabbi Shawn Zevit at JRF, 215-885-5601 x 24.  read more »

Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time

Click here to register for this and other PEARL: Providing Education And Resources for Leadership tele-conference sessions.

For the last two years JRF has partnered with the Jewish Funds for Justice and some of JRF's own leading rabbis and lay leaders in the field of congregation-based community organizing to help promote and develop spiritually activist communities.  read more »

CBCO as a Reconstructionist approach to living a Godly life

The Jewish Funds For Justice has published a new pamphlet that highlights the involvement of Reconstructionist communities in congregation-based community organizing (CBCO).

Click above for the full article, in order to download the PDF attachment.

Below is a growing list of programmatic resources to aid congregations in their pursuit of Tikkun Olam, organized by issue, and type of resource.

The initial issues included are:

• Anti-Poverty/Hunger
• Homelessness/Housing
• Public Education
• Healthcare
• Public Safety/Crime
• Immigration/Immigrant Rights
• Economic Development/Living Wage
• Environmental Issues
• Voter Registration/Mobilization

These represent the most common issues being addressed by Congregation Based Community Organizing (CBCO) groups throughout the country.

For a more expansive selection, please see the list of Tikkun Olam resources located within the JRF Resources Library, as well as specific resources on advocacy within congregations.  read more »

A Scene from the CBCO National Gathering in FebruaryOn May 17, 2007, representatives from eight JRF congregations, national and regional JRF staff, and representatives from the Jewish Funds for Justice gathered via conference call to discuss their ongoing community organizing efforts.

Read my synthesized notes from the discussion.  read more »

To learn more about community organizing and ways in which JRF can assist your congregation's tikkun olam activities, please contact Rabbi Shawn Zevit at JRF, 215-782-8500, ex.24, and see our Step-by-Step Guide to community organizing.

Videos and text handouts from the Jewish Funds for Justice K'hilot K'doshot community organizing gathering have been posted to the web. Enjoy!

(L to R) Rabbis Shawn Zevit, Jonah Pesner, and Elliott TeppermanRabbi Shawn Zevit, Director of Outreach and Tikkun Olam for JRF, Rabbi Brant Rosen, Rabbi Toba Spitzer, Rabbi Elliot Tepperman, Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, myself and over 20 other leaders from 10 JRF congregations recently represented our movement in attending the second JFJ national conference on Congregation-Based Community Organizing (CBCO) in Santa Clara, CA.  read more »

At the conference 30 people joined together for a Reconstructionist caucus to discuss next steps in bringing this powerful organizing and social justice approach to their congregational life.