Happy New Year to all! At High Holiday services our Rabbis eloquently spoke about the importance of laughter, embracing change, aging well and the importance of relationships and community. Becoming involved with anyone of our Social Justice opportunities can foster all of these. Working with others to make change, can help you form new relationships which will bring joy and laughter and help you age with grace. Please join us!
All the Best, Marion Pollock Tzedek Newsletter Editor
Housing Crisis As we hear every day about the housing crisis in our Commonwealth, we wonder what we can do to help. Here are a few thoughts:
In the last newsletter we wrote about the Newton Family Navigation Center which will open in spring 2024. This Center, which is just a few blocks from Temple Shalom, will provide 42 temporary housing units that are typically occupied by one parent and one to two children, as well as common areas, classrooms, dining areas and areas for a variety of supportive services. A Newton community meeting in September provided information and we heard strong support from the community and questions about how neighbors can help our new neighbors. There will be numerous volunteer opportunities - you will be able to sign up to play with children, give families rides as needed, etc. We will provide more specific information as we approach the opening date, but you can learn more from this link: NEWTON - FamilyAid (familyaidboston.org)
The JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council) continues its work of helping migrant arrivals in the Commonwealth. We have heard from them that the most pressing needs now are donations of clothing and gift cards. If you are interested in organizing a drive for either of these items, please contact Elizabeth Connolly (econnolly@srsmedical.com).
We continue to help several Afghan families with housing in Chestnut Hill. In November you will have an opportunity to meet our newest family and hear about their harrowing journey to safety in Massachusetts - please stay tuned this month as we publicize an exciting event at the November 3 Shabbat B'Yachad. In the meantime, if you would be interested in helping two young adults with their English, please contact Marion Pollock (mcpollock32@gmail.com).
Tutoring/Mentoring Opportunities
VOLUNTEER READING TUTORS WANTED! NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! Join the group of Temple Shalom Volunteer Reading Tutors this school year. Help a child with reading a few hours once a week during the school day at the Ohrenberger or Beethoven School in West Roxbury.
To learn more about this rewarding opportunity, email Temple Shalom member janetgottesman@gmail.com
CJP’s Israel & Global Jewry team is looking for volunteers for their English Mentoring Program that matches Boston volunteers with Haifa high school seniors for conversational English. The sessions, which require no previous education, occur between the Mentor and 1-2 students online weekly during the winter and help them prepare for their matriculation exams in the Spring. If interested, please reach out to Lorri Owades at Lsowades@gmail.com.
The Temple’s Reproductive Justice Initiative (RJI) recently finished up its first direct service project. On Sunday, September 18th, eighteen congregants assembled 154 Nechama post-abortion care backpacks to distribute to abortion patients of HealthQ Reproductive and Sexual Health in Lawrence. The packs contained a range of items donated by Temple members to offer comfort to their patients following the procedure.
Susan Goodman and Shelah Fleiss delivered the load of backpacks to HealthQ for distribution. The kickoff for the direct service project was at RJI’s first educational program in May, Shining a Light on Reproductive Justice: An Issue that Impacts Us All. Kristie Monast of HealthQ was one of our featured speakers. The RJI is appreciative of support both financially and organizationally to Sisterhood and the Tzedek Team. The project also was a collaboration between several area synagogues and Jewish organizations.
The third arm of the RJI, in addition to education and direct service, is advocacy. Joy Elbaum periodically sends out email alerts to interested congregants about advocacy opportunities around reproductive justice. If you would like to receive these alerts, please email Joy at j.elbaum@verizon.net.
The RJI will convene in November to discuss what’s next. If you are interested in being part of the committee, please contact Susan Goodman, susan.d.goodman@gmail.com or Wendy Case, wbcase@aol.com. Meetings are typically held on Zoom. We would welcome your thoughts and energy even if you are out of the area for part of the year.
JALSA Alert
Supporting Abortion Rights: Jewish Community Joins in Ohio Ballot Phone Banks Every Thursday at 6pm Eastern September 28 through Election Day
Ohio residents will be voting on a ballot measure on November 7 that will protect abortion rights and reproductive health in Ohio. As part of the efforts supporting the measure, JALSA will be coordinating phone banks for the Jewish community around the country every Thursday between now and Election Day at 6 PM (Eastern).
We will be contacting people who are likely to support abortion rights, but might need a reminder to get out and vote. These conversations could have a tremendous impact on the ballot measure's outcome. As we gather each Thursday, we will be having discussions about why the measure is so important to the Jewish community while also going through the phone bank process.
JALSA's partners will have opportunities to participate in texting and postcarding efforts reaching out to Ohio residents about the ballot measure. If you're interested in those opportunities, please follow this link to view the form and let us know you are interested by filling out the last question.
If you have any questions you can contact JALSA's Organizing Director, Bryan Scrafford, at bryan@jalsa.org.
JALSA Advocacy Alert: Oct. 12th Jewish Community Zoom event about the Location Shield Act, aimed at curbing use of personal location data that creates risks for those visiting abortion clinics, those experiencing intimate partner abuse, and others.
JALSA and its partners will be hosting an online Jewish Community gathering to talk about the Location Shield Bill. This bill will ban the sale of location data, protecting pregnant people who come to Massachusetts for an abortion. If you would like to attend this Zoom event, you can sign up at this link.
According to the ACLU of Massachusetts, “Every day, unregulated data brokers buy and sell personal location data from apps on our cellphones, revealing where we live, work, play, and more. To protect our privacy, safety, access to abortion and other essential health care, Massachusetts needs to ban this practice now by passing the Location Shield Act.” This bill has major implications for the future of reproductive rights in Massachusetts. The ACLU of Massachusetts recognizes that “In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision... journalists found that data brokers have continued to buy, repackage, and sell the location information of people visiting sensitive locations, including abortion clinics. This puts people who seek or provide care in our state at risk of prosecution and harassment, creating a vulnerability in our state’s post-Roe protections.”
In addition to the risks posed to abortion seekers and providers, the ACLU has also identified these groups who might use location data to cause harm:
Domestic abusers can purchase location data to track the whereabouts of their victims;
Foreign governments can buy location data and use it to track intelligence personnel, elected officials, military employees, police officers, and scientific researchers; and
Employers can buy cellphone location data to track and discriminate against employees
To spread awareness and advocate for the Location Shield Act, JALSA is hosting a Jewish Community gathering on Zoom with groups like NCJW, ADL, and JCRC about how the Location Shield Act impacts people who can get pregnant, the LGBTQ community, the Jewish community, and others. The event will also include actions people can take to advance this important piece of legislation.
When: The event is on October 12th from 7pm-8pm.
How: Here’s the RSVP link for the Zoom. (If this page is already filled out, simply replace the information with your own.)
Finally, here’s a link to a website that the ACLU of Massachusetts created about the Location Shield bill.
