K'vod Habriot Update: 17 congregations have joined and other news

In December, 2007, RHR-NA launched K'vod Habriot: A Jewish Human Rights Network. Named for the rabbinic term for respect for all life, this dynamic partnership is the first inter-denominational, lay-rabbinic Jewish human rights program. Congregations who join are interested in furthering their connection between the core values of Judaism and human rights. Many K'vod Habriot congregations hung the Stop Torture banner and are participating in the interfaith Campaign to End Torture. Thousands of inviduals have also joined K'vod Habriot, and an active member launched a K'vod Habriot Facebook group.

Read the most recent newsletter!

Sign up for K'vod Habriot as a congregation or as an individual!

As of July 8, 2008, the following congregations had joined the Network:

Beyt Tikkun, Berkeley, CA

Temple Isaiah, Lafayette, Ca

IKAR, Los Angeles, CA

Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek, Chester, CT

Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, IL

Jewish Community of Amherst, Amherst, MA

Am HaYam Cape Cod Havurah, Orleans, MA

Beth Israel Congregation, Ann Arbor, MI

Beth El Synagogue, St. Louis Park, MN

Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives, Brooklyn, NY

Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, New York, NY

Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, New York, NY

Society for the Advancement of Judaism, New York, NY

The Community Synagogue, Port Washington, NY

Havurah Shalom, Portland, OR

Martins Run Life Care Community, Media, PA

Congregation Beth Shalom, Seattle, WA

June, 2008 K'vod Habriot Newsletter for K'vod Habriot rabbis and liaisons

Dear K'vod Habriot rabbis and liaisons,

Torture Awareness Month is nearly over, and I wanted to thank all of you for your participation! A special thank to the many K'vod Habriot congregations that displayed the Stop Torture banners. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) will be in touch over the next few weeks about future actions involving the banner. The following newsletter contains a lot of upcoming programming. Please note the information for the K'vod Habriot conference call on August 21.

You should have received an email from RHR-NA today about the Declaration of Principles initiative (please email me if you did not receive it and I can forward it to you). This email included a call for congregations to pledge to do work on the anti-torture campaign over the holidays. K'vod Habriot congregations should be at the forefront of this pledge. Please let me know what you hope to do in your community!

This update includes:
*Information about the interfaith Campaign to End Torture
*Upcoming programming: Planning for the High Holidays and International Human Rights Day (December 10th)
*Sign up individuals
*Ideas for ongoing synagogue programming
*Details for the upcoming K'vod Habriot conference call
*Information about the upcoming RHR-NA conference on Judaism and Human Rights
*Interfaith conference in Atlanta
*Links to recent articles about the torture issue

Information about the Campaign to End Torture
Join with Jews across the country in urging for a Presidential executive order to ban torture! We have partnered with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Evangelicals for Human Rights, and the Center for Victims of Torture to launch the Campaign to Ban Torture - an effort to call upon the President to issue an executive order banning torture based on six core principles embodied in the Declaration of Principles. Prominent faith leaders from Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh communities, as well top officials from every Administration since the 1970's, have joined together to endorse the Declaration of Principles. Learn more!

The Declaration of Principles endorsement is the major action campaign of K'vod Habriot over the next few months. It is critical that you work to sign on members of your community. Given the ongoing expansion of executive powers, a presidential executive order banning torture is key in ensuring that America never tortures its detainees again. NRCAT has a list of steps congregations can take.

It is essential that you ask your members to sign up. We would like a major Jewish presence among the endorsers. Please keep us updated on your efforts!

Upcoming programming: High Holidays and International Human Rights Day
In early August, you will receive RHR-NA's 2008 High Holiday material, including sample sermons, a home ritual, and a text study. The two themes for this year are Renewing America's Commitment to Human Rights and the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are asking all K'vod Habriot congregations to devote time on the High Holidays to human rights. You can:
*Put out brochures and sign up individuals
*Give a sermon on Judaism and human rights
*Use one of RHR-NA's High Holiday resources or liturgies on torture.

The High Holidays are an important time to call your community to action! Please let us know what you plan to do.

This December 10th marks the 60th anniversary of the passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Now is the time to start planning to do an event--a service, a sermon, a class, etc., in December. One exciting resource to look for from K'vod Habriot is our Human Rights Shabbat, to be used the weekend of December 12-13th. Put Human Rights Shabbat on your calendar today!

Sign up individuals for K'vod Habriot and the Declaration of Principles

One major area of outreach we need liaisons to do is to sign up individuals for K'vod Habriot and the Declaration of Principles. The more people who are signed up for these campaigns, the greater impact we can have. This also aids our advocacy efforts: we can do direct outreach to individuals when key pieces of legislation reach the floor or when immediate participation is needed. Over the next three months, we ask each of you to set a sign-up goal for your community and encourage you to try to reach it by the end of the High Holidays. The High Holidays are an important time when K'vod Habriot can be highly visible in your congregation. Please contact the office to receive appropriate brochures or contact me for outreach ideas.

Sign up individuals for K'vod Habriot.

Sign up individuals for the Declaration of Principles.

Ongoing program ideas
*Include the Misheberach for VIctims of Torture in your regular shabbat services
*Have a regular news update in your weekly bulletin about the legislative fight against torture
*Study a book on torture as a congregation. Email me for suggestions.
*Write a letter to the editor about the campaign against torture to your local Jewish or secular paper

K'vod Habriot Conference Call
On August 21, at 8PM, we holding the first of the quarterly K'vod Habriot conference calls. These calls are an important mechanism for K'vod Habriot rabbis and liaisons to discuss programming ideas, learn about upcoming events, and network. To attend the call, please dial 1-712-580-1800 and enter 421293#. The call will last about an hour and is free, other than any long distance charges incurred. RSVPs are encouraged but not required. The agenda will include the Campaign Against Torture, the High Holidays, and planning for International Human Rights Day.

Join RHR-NA and K'vod Habriot for the Second Conference on Judaism and Human Rights
Do you want to learn more about Judaism and human rights? Deepen your understanding of the issues and meet with other activists from around the country? Study texts on human rights with important Jewish thinkers? Then you should come to the Second Conference on Judaism and Human Rights, December 7-9, Washington, DC!

We are encouraging all members of K'vod Habriot congregations to come to the conference, which will cover both RHR-NA's work for RHR Israel and the Campaign Against Torture. There will be exciting plenaries on Judaism and human rights, as well as practical workshops on programming and advocacy. More importantly, the conference will be a chance for K'vod Habriot activists from across North America to meet and share ideas.Rabbis and congregants who attend together will receive a 10% registration discount.

More information.

Conference in Atlanta on Faith and Torture
Rabbis for Human Rights North America is a co-sponsor of A National Summit on Torture: Religious Faith, Torture, and Our National Soul, which is organized by Evangelicals for Human Rights and will be held September 11-12 at Mercer University, Atlanta, GA. The conference will bring together leaders of all faiths, including many of the national leaders, advocates, writers and thinkers about the issue of torture.  Rabbi Brian Walt, Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights North America, will be a respondent on one of the panels.

The conference, Religious Faith, Torture, and Our National Soul, is organized and planned by Christians and reflects their theology and worship. People of all faith traditions, however, are encouraged to attend. If the Jewish presence at the conference is large enough, we will organize programming for those in attendance. Learn more about the conference and register!

An interesting resource:
For those looking for background on the international perspective on torture, this study guide is very useful.

Links to recent articles

Harold Hongju Koh, Dean of the Yale Law School, spoke at the May 22 graduation ceremonies of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and focused his address on restoring American moral leadership on human rights. As a graduate that day, I found his speech stirring and inspiring. He spoke from notes, so there is no transcript available, but you can listen to his address.

The Senate held hearings last week on harsh interrogation methods at Guantanamo. The RHR-NA website includes updates and links.

The New York Times had a recent feature on the use on the interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

Physicians for Human Rights issued a major report on medical evidence of torture in former U.S. detainees.

Vanity Fair had an extensive article on the chain of command that led to torture at Guantanamo.

Washington Monthly devoted their April issue to the torture question. It contains a series of short articles from a variety of politicians, experts, military officers, and faith leaders.

The March issue of Mother Jones focused on the torture question.

Be in touch!
As always, please keep me posted on your human rights programming. If you are holding a public event, please let us know and we will try to help you publicize it to local members of K'vod Habriot!

Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster
Director of Education and Outreach
Rabbis for Human Rights North America
rkahntroster@rhr-na.org
917-747-9487 (phone)
866-496-0973 (fax)
www.rhr-na.org