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Urgency of Now Update

09/29/2019 01:04:23 PM

Sep29

by Marcia Vandercook

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The TBE Board has agreed that going forward, leadership of the Urgency of Now immigration and racial justice action teams will be provided by the Social Action Committee.

The Urgency of Now initiative grew out of TBE’s participation in the 2017 URJ Consultation on Conscience, which seven of our members attended. At the Consultation on Conscience, the URJ urged congregations to pursue tikkun olam through greater involvement in public policy issues, as long as their positions are grounded in Jewish values and the efforts are nonpartisan. In 2017 the TBE board unanimously agreed to participate and formed action teams to focus on three priority areas: immigration, racial justice, and the rights of transgender or gender non-conforming individuals, with a coordinating committee to oversee activities.

At TBE, the initiative has seen a number of successes:

The immigration action team works closely with local partners and sponsors educational programs and service projects. TBE has joined the Dane Sanctuary Coalition and monitors both local and national developments.

The racial justice action team focuses on how racial disparities affect the criminal justice system. It has presented a series of educational discussions and offered a simulation into the challenges experienced by people returning home from prison. This year’s Social Action Shabbat will focus on racial justice.

The transgender action team has focused on in-house efforts to make TBE a more welcoming and inclusive place. It has worked on relabeling the restrooms, changing registration forms, hosting Pride Shabbats, providing education for congregants and staff, and working with the youth groups.

Finding separate leadership for all these efforts is an ongoing challenge. It has also been hard to distinguish between the work of the Social Action Committee and the Urgency of Now action teams due to significant overlap in active members.

Going forward, the Social Action Committee will provide oversight for the immigration and racial justice action teams, without continuing to identify them as Urgency of Now issues. We plan to update the TBE policy for when and how to seek board approval before taking a new public policy position. Efforts to address transgender and LGBTQ issues will continue separately.

At the 2019 Consultation on Conscience, the URJ identified five priority areas where it offers strong support for congregations: immigration, racial justice, environment, gun violence prevention, and reproductive justice. Additional support will be provided in 2020 for civic engagement and voting.

The Social Action Committee plans to be active on immigration, racial justice, and civic engagement, and we welcome all members to join us as we carry on this important work.

March 28, 2024 18 Adar II 5784