By Mike Montgomery It’s nearly impossible to avoid the news these days and, given the awkwardness of living life in the fetal position, you likely know that our country is – what’s a nice way to put this? – at an inflection point. And you, dear citizen, are the only one who can save the […]
By Rabbi Joel Simonds Over the past few months, the JCJ community in California has been working with diverse coalitions to pass legislation that would strengthen our state’s gun violence prevention laws, protect our environment, assist those struggling with poverty, reform our criminal justice system, and protect our immigrant community. Below is a list of […]
By Ryan Biehl Ever since I was a young boy, I always assumed that voting was one of those things everyone did. This idea was ingrained in me early on by my parents, who have voted in every election that I can remember. When I was seven, they even took me out of school to […]
By Jeremy Cronig On March 24, I marched in Washington, DC with hundreds of thousands of my peers. Feeling compelled to act, we descended on our nation’s capital because we felt hopeless. My generation is not lazy. My generation is not apathetic. Young people will have our voices heard. To do so, we must vote […]
By Michelle Shapiro Sampson Growing up in my family, there was always an understanding that when you turn 18, you vote. No excuses and no exceptions. I remember the first time I voted. I had just turned 18 and I traveled with my mother to our polling place at an elementary school in my hometown […]
By Max Rosenblum Did you know that 40 percent of all eligible voters did not cast a ballot in the 2016 Election? Even more striking, less than half of young adults (age 18-29) voted in 2016. These figures provided the axis point for the particularly poignant High Holy Day sermon delivered by Rabbi Daniel Weiner, […]
Written by Julie Bressler When I sat down to write a sermon about the #MeToo movement almost one year ago, I anticipatorily included the sentence, “After a few weeks of activity, the #MeToo tidal wave was overtaken by another social justice initiative and survivors quietly retreated back into fear and silence.” When this statement […]
By Rabbi Max Chaiken from Congregation Kol Ami Every year, Americans celebrate Labor Day weekend (also known as the “unofficial end” of the summer) with beach trips, barbecues, family gatherings, and even the additional day off from work. That’s right — on a day in which we honor the role workers have played in building […]
By Leah Sternberg My name is Leah Sternberg and I am JCJ’s Manager of Jewish Engagement and Advocacy and a 5th year rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College. I am thrilled to be joining the JCJ team this year and will use this amazing opportunity to fuse my passion for Judaism and justice together with such […]
I Am Collecting a Flower Drawing for all 711 Children Still Separated from their Families By Hannah Levine, JCJ 2018 Summer Intern As of 8/10/2018 559 children remain separated from their families. When the Trump Administration began its policy of separating immigrant children from their families at the border, I was particularly upset. I […]
