Social Action
CBE honors the divine image in every human being and welcomes you whether you are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu or any other religion or no religion. Transgender, non-binary, cis-gender or anywhere on the spectrum of gender identity and expression. Gay, straight, bi or anywhere on the spectrum of sexual orientation. A person of any racial or ethnic identity whatsoever. A person with a disability, whether visible or not. A person who was born here, who has moved to live here or is just visiting. www.jewishrecon.org
We welcome all thoughts and opinions regarding social justice, whether or not they represent the views of CBE. If you would like to submit an article for this page, please send it to cbeoffice@bethevergreen.org, along with your contact information.
On Race
Covid, Racial Justice, and the Torah
by Rabbi Jamie Arnold
As a result of systemic and persistent racial and economic injustices, black Americans are far more likely to contract the covid-19, and by some reports twice as likely to die from it than white Americans. People of color are also far more likely to be profoundly impacted, even existentially threatened, by the economic impacts of the pandemic. George Floyd was one of millions who were laid off from his job since March. And now, in response to his preventable death at the hands of a team of law enforcement officers, millions are marching in protest.
A Perspective on Racial Justice and Police Use of Lethal Force
by CBE members Nancy Friedman, Alan Rubin, Anne Wolf, Judy Sherman, Susan Marcus, and Leslie Lipstein
We are angered, deeply saddened and shaken by the senseless murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Americans who lost their lives because they were black. And what we are feeling isn’t comparable on any level to the fear, pain, anger, and exhaustion that our Black friends and neighbors must be wrestling with. The long history of systemic racism and injustice in America, from slavery to lynchings to Jim Crow to mass incarceration, fueled these tragic and unnecessary deaths and this moment challenges each of us to commit to change and reform.
Rabbi Sandra Lawson on how not to treat Jews of color
At this moment how I came to Judaism is irrelevant to the problem of racism in the Jewish community. Too often conversations around Jews of color center around, “How are you here?” “How are you Jewish?” “Tell me your story. Oh, by the way, I don’t even know your name.”
Those are the first words and they prevent other conversations from happening.