A message from Deputy Director Nahma Nadich: This week, JCRC sponsored a program with Integrity First for America (IFA), a new organization that is literally taking white supremacy to court, by bringing a lawsuit against the masterminds of the violence in Charlottesville. With this week’s news of the foiled attempt to kidnap the Governor of Michigan by violent extremists, the topic was alarmingly relevant once … Continue reading Taking White Supremacy to Court
As happens every year when summer turns to fall, we recently had our orientation for new Council members. I was excited to welcome the newest members of our 117-person Council; half of whom are charged with representing organizations from our member network, and the rest serving as representatives of the community at large. As we prepared them for their service to the community – walking … Continue reading The collective and deliberative will of our community
The very best webinars – a medium which is claiming more of our attention these days – illuminate and inform their audiences on the issues of the day. That’s certainly what we at JCRC aspired to achieve this past Wednesday afternoon. So we were delighted that along with our audience being educated on a hot topic, they were also exposed to content that was genuinely … Continue reading Overcoming fear and leaning into discomfort
Each year, during the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jews around the world honor the memory of their family members by visiting their graves. But for many Holocaust survivors and their families, there are no graves to visit, and no yahrtzeits to observe, since the specific dates of their deaths are unknown. So, it is a long-practiced tradition of Boston’s community of survivors … Continue reading Sharing our Virtual Yizkor Service
With just 4.4% of the world’s population, the U.S. houses roughly 25% of the world’s prisoners–over 2.2 million individuals. We house 30% of the world’s population of incarcerated women. 1 in 15 black men and 1 in 36 Latino men is incarcerated, compared with 1 in 106 white men. Over 2.7 million children have at least one parent in prison. Nearly half of all state … Continue reading JCRC Criminal Justice Reform Principles
By Executive Director Jeremy Burton Heading into Rosh Hashana, and whatever the year ahead may bring, there are three recent moments that I haven’t been able to let go of. First moment: The New York Times had a piece this past weekend about how Jewish communities will be observing the High Holidays during COVID. As others quickly noted, amidst their explorations of Zoom services and … Continue reading Popping our bubbles in these “interesting times”
Over the past months, I’ve used this space to focus quite a bit on the primary to succeed Rep. Joe Kennedy in the House. As I write this on Thursday afternoon, ballots are still being counted. And while it may take a little longer to have a declared Democratic nominee in this race, there’s one clear winner that emerged even before they started counting the … Continue reading One Clear Winner in Tuesday’s Primary
It’s hard to imagine a time when the phrase “Back-to-School” elicited as much angst and debate as it has this summer. Schools are still in the process of finalizing their plans for the start of the school year, with major uncertainty ahead. Families, daycares, and schools throughout Massachusetts are balancing the physical safety of students, teachers, and staff with the social, emotional, and learning needs … Continue reading Back to School: This Fall’s Quandary
Last week brought the welcome news of the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. I’m taken aback and frankly disappointed that this development has not been fully celebrated in all quarters here in the U.S. That may be, in some part, due to how we overwhelmed we are by domestic concerns right now, or maybe because of our fractured political times and the key role that our current administration played in facilitating this agreement. It would be regrettable if we chose to ignore … Continue reading Why the UAE Agreement Matters
With the Massachusetts primary just over two weeks away and with voting already started, I am asked every day by friends and colleagues: “Who are you voting for, and why?” It’s a fair question. Given my work, I have the privilege of meeting and engaging with almost every leading candidate in each cycle, in our region’s congressional and state races. But this is not a … Continue reading Make a Plan of Who to Vote For