Rabbis For Human Rights - North America

From Slavery To Freedom: The 14th Annual CAST Gala (6:00 pm - 10:00 pm)

May 17,

6-10PM

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 North Sepulveda Boulevard   

Los Angeles, California, 90049

 

RHR-NA is proud to serve as a community co-sponsor of the annual gala of the Coalition to Abolition Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), California's leading anti-trafficking organization. The May 17th gala will features cocktails, dinner, and a silent auction to raise money for CAST's critical advocacy work and services for trafficking survivors.

 

SPECIAL VIP TOUR : 5PM
Women Hold Up Half the Sky
Inspired by the best-selling book Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, this groundbreaking exhibition at the Skirball Center addresses the oppression of women and girls worldwide as the human rights cause of our time.

 

To purchase tickets or learn more about Corporate Sponsorship opportunities, please contact 213.365.1906 x118 or visit castla.org.
Visit Crowdrise.com/castla to help us reach our goal to raise $50k by May 17th.

Url: http://www.castla.org

Love, Hate And The Jewish State: A Conversation On Israel And Social Justice (7:00 pm - 9:00 pm)
Love, Hate and the Jewish State: A Conversation on Israel and Social Justice

 

May 17, 2012
7-10 PM
Hub San Francisco in the SF Chronicle Building
$5 -- Get your tickets below

Share your story. Leave the boxing gloves at home.

Love, Hate, and the Jewish State is a civil dialogue for Jews in our 20s and 30s to share our personal experiences about Israel and social justice. We are creating a space where authentic discourse and diverse opinions are welcome – about love and hate, and everything in between. You get to own and author the content of the discussion. We will just provide exercises to help you talk, listen, ask questions, and create meaningful interactions around Israel and social justice.

The Problem
Too often, Israel and social justice have been offered as unconnected, sometimes polar, options for involvement and activism for young Jews. A dissonance that many experience between a connection to Israel and a commitment to social change creates numerous tensions in our Jewish community -- at times unspoken, and at times explosive. These tensions have led to internal conflicts, ruptured relationships, and, at times, complete disengagement either from Israel or from the Jewish community for many Jews in their 20s and 30s.

Addressing the Challenge
Love, Hate and the Jewish State helps create a dialogue for young Jews to grapple together - in their own authentic voices - with these tensions and challenges. We aim to support young Jews to move beyond paralysis or confrontation, and into direct conversation on difficult issues in a collegial, constructive, and vibrant environment that affirms and makes space for difference of opinion and experience. Our immediate goal is a nuanced dialogue that fosters community without shying away from differences. Our long-term goal, which would require the transformation of this one event into a sustained series, is an enhanced capacity for our young adult community to deal with the complexities of the relationship between social justice and Israel.

The History of the Program
Since the first edition of the Love, Hate, and the Jewish State series debuted in Manhattan in 2009, it has become the home of open, direct, and non-persuasive dialogue on the intersection of social justice and Israel for Jews in their 20s and 30s. We now have the opportunity to bring this cutting-edge program to the Bay Area. New Israel Fund is proud of its history in hosting these conversations, and is honored to work alongside other organizations and community leaders, notably in the Bay Area, who have contributed deeply to this work over the past few years. New Generations seeks to create an innovative place for this work to grow, broaden, and transform so as to reach the young Jewish community in new ways.

Brought to you by New Israel Fund's New Generations

Co-sponsored by A Wider Bridge, Berkeley Hillel, Congregation Beth Sholom, Bureau of Jewish Education, CalGrads, East Bay Moishe House, Hazon, Jewish Community Relations Council, J Street and J Street U, Keshet, Netivot Shalom, Pursue, Rabbis For Human Rights - North America, Sha'ar Zahav, The Kitchen, Urban Adamah, USF program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice, World Zionist Organization, and Zeek

Questions? Write to penina@nif.org

Event Location
Hub San Francisco
925 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

Contact Info : Hub San Francisco 925 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94103 Email : penina@nif.org Url: https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/8678/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=70641

Celebrate Jubilee Shabbat 2012 (8:00 am)

Shabbat, May 18-19

 

RHR-NA is proud to serve as a co-sponsor of Jubilee Shabbat, a weekend of prayer, worship, study, and action to end the cycle of poverty caused by international debt and transform our global economic system. Jewish congregations throughout the U.S. will join together in reading parshah Behar-Bechukotai, the place where the call to a Jubilee for all communities is first declared.  Throughout Jubilee Shabbat weekend Jewish communities will hold Torah studies, Shabbat and Havdalah services, Hebrew school lessons and more, reflecting on its application to our modern lives.

 

Want to get involved?

Jubilee USA will provide your congregation with resources for your Jubilee Shabbat including text studies, sample sermons, worship materials, articles from renowned Jewish leaders, and opportunities to engage your leaders on this important issue.

Fill this short form out to sign up for the event!

Further Questions?  Contact Jeremy, the Outreach and Congregations Fellow at jeremy@jubileeusa.org or 202.783.0214.

Jubilee Shabbat is co-sponsored by Jubilee USA, The Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, American Jewish World Service, Tikkun Magazine, The Shalom Center, and Rabbis for Human Rights-North America (RHR-NA).

 

Url: http://www.jubileeusa.org/actnow/special-projects-and-events/past-events/jubilee-shabbat.html.html

Celebrate Jubilee Shabbat 2012 (8:00 am)

Shabbat, May 18-19

 

RHR-NA is proud to serve as a co-sponsor of Jubilee Shabbat, a weekend of prayer, worship, study, and action to end the cycle of poverty caused by international debt and transform our global economic system. Jewish congregations throughout the U.S. will join together in reading parshah Behar-Bechukotai, the place where the call to a Jubilee for all communities is first declared.  Throughout Jubilee Shabbat weekend Jewish communities will hold Torah studies, Shabbat and Havdalah services, Hebrew school lessons and more, reflecting on its application to our modern lives.

 

Want to get involved?

Jubilee USA will provide your congregation with resources for your Jubilee Shabbat including text studies, sample sermons, worship materials, articles from renowned Jewish leaders, and opportunities to engage your leaders on this important issue.

Fill this short form out to sign up for the event!

Further Questions?  Contact Jeremy, the Outreach and Congregations Fellow at jeremy@jubileeusa.org or 202.783.0214.

Jubilee Shabbat is co-sponsored by Jubilee USA, The Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, American Jewish World Service, Tikkun Magazine, The Shalom Center, and Rabbis for Human Rights-North America (RHR-NA).

 

Url: http://www.jubileeusa.org/actnow/special-projects-and-events/past-events/jubilee-shabbat.html.html

Celebrate Jubilee Shabbat 2012 (8:00 am)

Shabbat, May 18-19

 

RHR-NA is proud to serve as a co-sponsor of Jubilee Shabbat, a weekend of prayer, worship, study, and action to end the cycle of poverty caused by international debt and transform our global economic system. Jewish congregations throughout the U.S. will join together in reading parshah Behar-Bechukotai, the place where the call to a Jubilee for all communities is first declared.  Throughout Jubilee Shabbat weekend Jewish communities will hold Torah studies, Shabbat and Havdalah services, Hebrew school lessons and more, reflecting on its application to our modern lives.

 

Want to get involved?

Jubilee USA will provide your congregation with resources for your Jubilee Shabbat including text studies, sample sermons, worship materials, articles from renowned Jewish leaders, and opportunities to engage your leaders on this important issue.

Fill this short form out to sign up for the event!

Further Questions?  Contact Jeremy, the Outreach and Congregations Fellow at jeremy@jubileeusa.org or 202.783.0214.

Jubilee Shabbat is co-sponsored by Jubilee USA, The Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, American Jewish World Service, Tikkun Magazine, The Shalom Center, and Rabbis for Human Rights-North America (RHR-NA).

 

Url: http://www.jubileeusa.org/actnow/special-projects-and-events/past-events/jubilee-shabbat.html.html

The Impact Of Religion On Political Discourse: Its Limits, Legitimate Uses, And Abuses (7:00 pm - 9:00 pm)

Concord, NH

 

Tuesday, May 22, 7:00pm

 

Temple Beth Jacob
67 Broadway
Concord, NH 03301
603-228-8581

 

Rabbi Jill Jacobs and Rabbi David Saperstein will be in dialogue at TBJ. Their topic is The Impact of Religion on Political Discourse: Its Limits, Legitimate Uses, and Abuses. This event is the kickoff program of the Shapiro Family Lecture Series.

 

Rabbi Jill Jacobs is the Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America. She is the author of There Shall Be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice Through Jewish Law and Tradition. The book addresses tzedakah, poverty, health care, housing, labor, criminal justice, and environmental justice in America, seen through a Jewish viewpoint. Rabbi Jacobs has served as the Rabbi in Residence of the Jewish Funds for Justice and as the Director of Outreach and Education for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.

 

Her latest book is Where Justice Dwells: A Hands-On Guide to Doing Social Justice in Your Jewish Community. Rabbi Jacobs has been named to the Forward's list of 50 influential American Jews (2006 and 2008), to The Jewish Week's first list of "36 under 36" (2008), and to Newsweek's list of the 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America (2009, 2010 and 2011).

 

Rabbi Jacobs was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2003, from which she also earned an MA in Talmud. She is the author of an influential teshuvah (legal position), passed by the Rabbinical Assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (Conservative Movement's Rabbinic Authority) ruling that Jews should pay their workers a living wage, create dignified workplaces, and hire union workers when possible.

 

Rabbi David Saperstein is the Director of the Religious Action Center (RAC) of Reform Judaism, representing the national Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and the presidential administration. During his 30-year tenure as Director of the RAC, Rabbi Saperstein has headed several national religious coalitions. He currently co-chairs the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, and serves on the boards of numerous national organizations. In 1999, Rabbi Saperstein was elected as the first Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom created by a unanimous vote of Congress.

 

Under Rabbi Saperstein's tutelage, writes J.J. Goldberg in his book, Jewish Power, the RAC "has become one of the most powerful Jewish bodies in Washington." The RAC not only advocates on a broad range of social justice issues but provides extensive legislative and programmatic materials used by synagogues, federations and Jewish community relations councils nationwide, and coordinates social action education programs that train nearly 3,000 Jewish adults, youth, rabbinic and lay leaders each year.

 

Also an attorney, Rabbi Saperstein teaches seminars in both First Amendment Church-State Law and in Jewish Law at Georgetown University Law School.

 

A prolific writer and speaker, Rabbi Saperstein has appeared on a number of television news and talk shows including Nightline, Oprah, Lehrer News Hour and ABC's Sunday Morning. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Harvard Law Review. His latest book is Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time.

Contact Info : Temple Beth Jacob 67 Broadway Concord, NH 03301 603-228-8581 Email : office@tbjconcord.org Url: http://tbjconcord.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=1443&pge_prg_id=5061&pge_id=1001

Solitary Confinement: Torture In Your Own Backyard (7:00 pm - 9:00 pm)

Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Own Backyard

 

Thursday, May 31, 2012

7-9 PM

St. Francis College, Founders Hall

182 Remsen St.

Brooklyn, NY 11202

 

The use of solitary confinement is up 44% at Rikers' Island over the past two years, despite decreases in the inmate population. It is time for New York State to end the use of prolongued solitary confinement!

 

Panel discussion plus screening of the NRCAT documentary on solitary confinement.

 

Moderated by:
David Stoelting (Author, Supermax Confinement in U.S. Prisons)

 

With speakers:
Michael B. Mushlin (Professor of Law, Pace University)
Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster (Rabbis for Human Rights-North America)
Sarah Kerr (Prisoners’ Rights Project of The Legal Aid Society)

 

For more information, please contact: socialjustice@oratory-church.org

Email : socialjustice@oratory-church.org