On 10 December 2012, I was privileged to attend the annual Law Society Human Rights Conference in London on a Siach Stipend.  The focus of the conference was the impact of human rights principles on discrimination law, particularly in the context of cases concerning discrimination against minority groups.

As the conference explained, the European human rights system endeavours to protect the rights of all people by virtue of their humanity, but at times this requires taking positive steps, such as reasonable accommodation, in order to ensure that certain people or groups of people are not placed in an objectively worse situation on account of their minority background.  This gives rise to all kinds of legal complexities and allegations of reverse discrimination.  It is therefore important that minority groups have a grasp of the relevant human rights principles and how to effectively put them to use in advocating for the full attainment of their rights.

In most parts of Europe these days, including the UK, Jews are considered to be an ‘upwardly mobile minority’, having managed to overcome (sometimes against tremendous odds) the barriers to equality in the societies in which they live.  At René Cassin, we use the historical experience of the Jewish people, and positive Jewish values, to promote and protect the rights of others.  As such, it is not only appropriate but also necessary that we advocate for the rights of more marginalised and excluded minorities such as the Roma.

At the conference we learnt about effective legal advocacy and the use of strategic litigation to prevent discrimination. A good example of the effective utilisation of human rights principles on discrimination law in order to advance the attainment of rights for both Jewish and Roma people, is the case of Sejdić and Finci v Bosnia and Herzegovina. This case concerned a prohibition on Romani and Jewish people standing for election to the Presidency and the House of Peoples in the Bosnia Herzegovina Parliamentary Assembly.   Both Sejdić and Finci are prominent Romani and Jewish public figures respectively who, despite their citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina, were ineligible to stand for election to the Presidency and the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly.  They successfully challenged the discriminatory provision in the constitution at the European Court of Human Rights.

Numerous other cases concerning the interplay of human rights principles and discrimination law have come before the European Court of Human Rights and national courts in Europe and the UK.  They range from cases such as D.H. and Others v. The Czech Republic, a case concerning the de facto segregation of Romani school children into an inferior schooling system; to ERRC v. Bulgaria, a case where Bulgaria had made provision of healthcare or insurance conditional on some form of registration, thereby indirectly discriminating against Roma by virtue of their itinerant lifestyle.  What became increasingly clear during the conference is that the doctrines of direct and indirect discrimination are powerful legal tools that can be applied effectively in the hands of minority groups.  These doctrines, when applied, ensure not only that similar situations are treated equally, but also that different situations are treated differently according to the degree of difference, unless there is objective justification.  In using the human rights framework and discrimination law to advocate for our own rights as well as the rights of other minorities, we enhance Jewish peoplehood and identity by using the ‘Jewish narrative’ for the benefit of other communities who have faced similar historical challenges.

The Law Society Conference therefore gave me a better understanding and ability to utilize tools that are key to both my professional field and to building up the Jewish support critically needed for our campaigns on minority rights.

Coming into the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America I wasn’t sure exactly how things will turn out. This being my first GA (unlike most people I know in the business) I felt both curious and anxious to see what all the fuss is about. Will I be able to fit in? Promote “Hechalutz” as I should? Strengthen the existence of a progressive, social and sustainable voice within the American Jewish community? Or will I be the awkward guy standing at the corner of the room, not really following what is going on?

“Zohar, relax” Said fellow Siach member and dear friend Idit Klein (Keshet). “You are exactly the kind of person a lot of people there wants to meet. Besides, you’ll have me there to help you out”. That definitely helped… And it also brings me to the first impression of being a Siach member at the GA: As a Siach member, I was surrounded by super friendly and helpful people. I can definitely say that the smiles, hugs and genuine interest I saw between Siach members who attended was heart-warming, and also was the main base of the connections I was able to create and establish during the conference. In the world of environmental and social justice their presence was not just prominent, but also effective and promoting for me.

The GA was a fascinating opportunity to have a deep look into the Jewish community of NA. I was able to take a peek into what is going on in the world’s second largest Jewish community and the encounter left me full of thoughts and also confusion. On one hand, I was humbled and amazed to see how diverse, rich and embracing this community is. Where else in the Jewish world will a launch of a document that tracks GLBT rights in Jewish organizations be attended by Rabbis and community leaders? What other community will have an opening plenary of 3000 people that is dedicated entirely to the Jewish commitment to repair the world? It was so impressive to see what is the agenda, and at the same time, these events and others were the exact same things that couldn’t help but make me feel very strongly that there is a big tear between this reality and what is going on in Israel, the community I am a member of, and feel most committed to; he talks of repairing the world and responsibility while in Israel Jewish racism is on a constant rise, the commitment and passion to democratic values, while just finishing the memorial events for the assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the acceptance of religious pluralism while in Israel the Women of the Wall are persecuted constantly- all of these brought heavy thoughts and more than a little bit of jealousy together with the inspiration they provoked.

One thing that encouraged me through these gloomy thoughts is that there is hope in the creation of an alternative Jewish reality. This encounter showed me again how much Israel is in great need of the American Jewish community. In need not of donations or political support, but of a genuine, human, direct partnership and involvement.  Of people reaching out and making their voice heard in favor of Democracy, progressive Judaism, sustainability and civil rights in Israel. To me, the existence of a book like “Torat HaMelech” is as much the problem of an American Jew as much as the disappearing of young Jewish people from congregations and federations is a problem for me, and we are committed to these issues together as a people.

The Siach network is, to me, one of the main venues through which such partnerships and dialogues are created in my life. In the 2 years since its creation this network has helped me see and get to know the people I need and can turn to, to promote the betterment of Israel and the Jewish people. The 2013 GA was another point in which I connected to people in Siach and through them to more people who share my views and efforts in a hope that together we will be able to impact reality and better our world and our people. I and “Hechalutz” owe Siach a great deal, and I think we are not the only ones. We should embrace every opportunity we have to meet each other, make our voices heard and our actions seen and enlarged this community. In the words of the poetess Rachel:

Before nightfall- come, come all!

An alert, stubborn, united effort of a thousand arms.

Will it not suffice to roll a rock from over the well?

בְּטֶרֶם אָתָא הַלֵּיל – בּוֹאוּ, בּוֹאוּ הַכֹּל!
מַאֲמָץ מְאֻחָד, עַקְשָׁנִי וָעֵר
שֶׁל אֶלֶף זְרוֹעוֹת. הַאֻמְנָם יִבָּצֵר לָגֹל
אֶת הָאֶבֶן מִפִּי הַבְּאֵר?

I believe it will suffice. Good luck to us all.

While I have attended the Hazon Food Conference in the past, it was refreshing to see new faces and new projects at the 2012 gathering. In particular I saw a strong and vibrant orthodox community this year. I was particularly impressed by the Bina School, who presented at the conference.

The Bina School is a progressive orthodox girls’ school that recently began a food awareness program.  The program included activities such as meeting with farmers, participating in gleaning projects and volunteering at food pantries and kitchens. They also spent time reflecting about their personal awareness of food consumption and food waste.

To teach about their project, they put together a fantastic video. They researched the Jewish ethics about giving to the needy as well as agricultural laws. There was also an art project fundraiser: the students were taught about photography. They took pictures from their agricultural trips and sold the prints as a fund raiser. There were poster displays featuring what they had learned, and the girls presented their project to a large group.

I was impressed with this project as a teacher and as an environmental educator. The project taught the students lots of skills: food awareness, photography, public speaking and videography. The theme was worthwhile and also introduced the students to the Jewish food movement.

I was inspired to see that the food conference continues to involve and influence new groups of people, and that the message and teaching seem to be growing in strength. Siach provided me with the wonderful opportunity to go and be a part of this one of a kind experience and renew my commitment to my own projects.

I had the great honor of attending and presenting at the Hazon Food Conference in December 2012, thanks to support from Siach. The Hazon Food Conference is a great place to meet young, passionate Jewish leaders interested in changing the world through food. This year’s workshops ran an amazing gamut, from a demonstration of shechita – kosher slaughter – to a food justice track, to learning how to make your own pickles.

In addition to meeting great people and doing my own learning, I had the zechut of presenting a case study of Jewish Food Justice can look like. Together with Daniel Gross, the executive director of Brandworkers’ International, we told the story of the Flaums’ 17. After a 2 year national campaign, Flaum Appetizing, a prominent kosher food producer and distributor, accepted a global settlement which returned over $500,000 to workers for labor violations, including wage theft, overtime violations and more, in their New York factories. The victory comes after a long campaign fought by the workers’ group, Focus on the Food Chain and Uri L’Tzedek. Rabbis and Jewish activists, led by Uri L’Tzedek, working in deep partnership with the workers of Flaums, were able to raise communal consciousness, garner the support of dozens of grocery stores and food companies, direct media attention to the cause of the workers, and ultimately broker a settlement between the owners of Flaums and the workers.

This panel was more than just sharing activist stories with a good friend and partner, it was about sharing this story as a case study of what is possible when Jewish leaders join in true solidarity with allies who have been exploited or oppressed. By coming together around shared values and relationships, and by committing for the long haul, we can make a real difference in this world. The Q&A after the panel was the most rewarding part of the session for me, as people shared their insightful questions and observations around solidarity activism, combating anti-semitism, models for certification systems, ideas for future actions, and more. It was an inspiring group and afterwards many cards were exchanged and plans for coffee dates set. I look forward to seeing what projects these new ideas and relationships foster!

Imagine a Siach that isn’t just for Jews, but isn’t secular — a Siach that’s wholly religious and spiritual, but involving many religions —  and you’d have a conference run by the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care. With financial support from Siach, NYU’s Hannah Engle Memorial Travel Fund, and generous individual donors, I traveled to Camp Mokuleia on the Hawaiian island of Oahu as the Green Zionist Alliance representative — and the only Jewish voice — in the first NRCCC conference to develop an interfaith ethic of the seas.

While we all came from different faiths, we shared the same core values as well as the belief that our religions compel us to protect the Earth. And the most-neglected and least-understood place on Earth is the aquatic ecosystem that covers nearly three quarters of the planet. We know more about the moon’s surface than about the seafloor, more than 95 percent of which remains unexplored. Israel, of course, is home to four seas — the Dead Sea, the Galilee, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea — and since both the majority of people and the majority of Jews worldwide live near the sea, we as Jews and as people are inextricably linked to the sea.

But as we learned in Hawaii, in meeting with officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others, the sea is in trouble. Increased carbon in the atmosphere isn’t just warming the whole planet, the sea included, it’s acidifying the sea as it absorbs more and more excess carbon from the air. The one-two punch is wreaking havoc on phytoplankton, which is not only the foundation of the food chain but also the source for half of the oxygen we breathe. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a concentration of floating trash in the Pacific — may be as large as twice the size of Texas, but no piece of the sea is untouched by floating garbage. The nitrogen in sewage and fertilizer runoff is causing algae blooms, and the bacteria that eat the algae are deoxidizing the sea. Combined with overfishing, it’s estimated that the sea may be fishless by 2050. Basically, three quarters of Creation is in peril.

To address these threats to the sea, the NRCCC conference was not held in a vacuum. Both before and after it, we traveled to Washington to meet with members of Congress and policy advisors at the White House. And in preparation for my participation in the conference, the Green Zionist Alliance developed three new resources:

Brit HaYam: A Covenant with the Sea

Tehillat HaYam: A Psalm of the Sea

Birkat HaYam: Blessing over the Sea

These new resources are being incorporated into the larger interfaith ethic of the seas, which is still in development. As at Siach, at the NRCCC conference we discussed and shared stories all day, and then continued into the wee hours of the morning. But we still have more work to do. We are continuing to bridge our differences, and we plan to continue meeting with officials in Washington. We have taken it upon ourselves to represent the religious voice for the sea.

Do you want to participate in the conversation? As a member of Siach, you can become a Green Zionist Alliance representative in these interfaith climate talks. Together, as people of faith, we can stand together for the sea and all Creation.

The Summer Day, by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

This October, I had the privilege of spending four full days at the ROI Facilitation Intensive, surrounded by the nurturing, inspiring woods of the Pearlstone Retreat Center and the Kayam Farm, and by the nurturing, inspiring presence of 21 other ROIers. More than a training, this gathering was an opportunity for reflection and for learning – not just from the facilitators, but from the incredible group of people gathered together.

I signed up for the training in order to improve my public speaking and presentation abilities, and to gain skills and insight about how to plan and structure conferences, gatherings and learning sessions. To be sure – these expectations were met and exceeded. I came away from the week with confidence in my own abilities and a clear, applicable set of skills, tricks, tips and principles about how to organize and execute a variety of gatherings. I look forward to executing them in my work at Yahel, as I facilitate service learning programs for young Jewish adults and help train others to do the same.

But these tangible skills, while incredibly valuable, were only a small part of what made this gathering so special. As the poem above, shared to us on the last day by facilitator Yoni Gordis, so beautifully suggests, this gathering dug far deeper.

During the course of the four days, the community of ROIers – and our two outstanding facilitators – became a supportive team of friends, colleagues and cheerleaders.  I found myself enveloped in a space of total safety, where each of us felt comfortable testing our own limits, practicing new skills, sharing personal and professional details, laughing, crying.

For a group of 22 young Jewish professionals to be able to gather without any pretenses, ulterior motives or alternative agendas is rare to say the least. But this was the case. And what’s more – the community truly embraced each other, cheering for one another, offering caring, constructive and at times brutally honest feedback with the true and pure intentions of helping each of us become that much better.

At this gathering we explored questions about who we are, where we are going and who we want to be…

So what is it, Mary Oliver (and Yoni Gordis) asks, that I plan to do with my one wild and precious life? I hope to immerse myself in communities as supportive as the one I experiences this past week. I hope to help facilitate safe, open spaces for others so they, too, can share and explore and learn.  And I hope that in some small way, I can provide the kind of support and wisdom for others that I was so blessed to receive at this gathering.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we experience time and its cycles. One of the biggest criticisms that the idea of sustainability has of Western economy and society is its linearity: linear thinking and linear ways of doing things. The clearest example is in industrial production, otherwise known as “take, make, waste.” We take all kinds of raw materials, use them up, and bury the waste products somewhere else. Sustainability is about closing the loops, designing products and processes in a ‘cradle to cradle’ fashion.

Nothing is linear in nature, there is no waste – everything is food for some other organism or process. Even our life spans, which seem like a straight line from birth through life to death, are really just a short segment of a much larger arc, as expressed in Gen 3:19: כִּי-עָפָר אַתָּה, וְאֶל-עָפָר תָּשׁוּב- “for you are dust, and you shall return to dust.” Let’s face it: the earth is just one big composter, and we (at least our physical selves) are biodegradable, organic grist for that eternal mill.

But what does that have to do with time? Well, we are often educated to see time as a line, which progresses (an important word) from primitive through to advanced, modern time. To argue whether this is true, in whole or in part, is beyond the scope of this short “blessing,” but suffice to say that there is a problematic psychological or spiritual side to this belief that is so very much a part of us.

There is something terrifying about the inner logic of the seemingly benign view that progress is the gradual and continuous improvement of society. Plainly put: if we believe things are essentially always getting better, then a) there is little of value to be learned from the past, for it is backward and primitive, and b) we don’t have to worry about the future, since it’s going to be even better than this glorious age. Past and future and our connections to them and their residents (our progenitors and progeny) are devalued. Sustainability, as a vision or a goal, becomes irrelevant: Why worry about the future, when the future surely can take care of itself?

Interestingly, Jewish views on time promote a different approach. Instead of dichotomizing the two – linear and cyclical – approaches, we merge them, and create something new.

For instance, on the one hand, with our unique lunar-solar calendar, we are strongly tied into natural cycles: the phases of the moon, the seasons of the year, agricultural milestones.

But those same festivals and holidays invariably have a historical component as well: Pesach signifies Spring as well as the Exodus from Egypt, Shavuot is the festival of first fruits, and commemorates the Giving of the Torah. Even our weekly Shabbat is celebrated as a remembrance of the act of Creation, and the liberation from slavery.

So “Jewish-time”, as it were, integrates a linear, historical perspective, with a cyclical, natural one. The shape of time then is neither an inescapable eternal loop, nor is it a rigid, unidirectional arrow, shot from a divine or human bow. It is more of a spiral. In fact many things in Jewish culture are spirals, if you think about them: tefillin (phylacteries wrapped around the arm), tzitziyot (spiral-wrapped ritual macramé fringes), even our sefer Torah, the scroll of the Torah-is a spiral shape.

Time is a spiral in that it synthesizes the cyclical with the linear. Yes, we are back at this same place – same season coming around again, same High Holidays, with the same tunes – but hopefully, if we’ve used the year well, we are slightly “higher.” Not exactly in the same place. We’ve returned in the cycle, but have worked on ourselves, and in the world, and we have grown, improved, yes, even progressed. That is, if we have worked wisely and well.

This is indeed once again, another beginning, but it’s a new beginning. New chances, new hopes new dreams. Or even if they are the same “old” hopes and dreams, if they were too big to fulfill in one short year, in the year ahead are new chances to fulfill them.

Another key verse (Lamentations 5:21) sums this up this different view of time and progress well: חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם, chadesh yameinu k’kedem, “renew our days as of old.” Kedem, ‘the days of old,’ is related to kodem, “before,” but the same root gives us kadima, “forward” and kidmah, “progress.” But this is a progress that closes the loop, that sees value in timeless wisdom, in the startling newness of ancient truths.

May we all be blessed with just the right synthesis of chadash and kedem, so that next year we can return, and say, yes: hitchadashnu and hitkadamnu, we have spent our year well, in renewing and progressing….

With wishes for a shana tova umekayemet, a good and sustainable year

Jeremy Benstein
Deputy director of the Heschel Center for Sustainability.

It seems that we just blinked and the summer has already gone by. The Olympics are long forgotten and we are trying to savor our last days of vacation and quality time with the family.

The month of Elul has already begun which means countdown to the holiday season is approaching. Elul is traditionally a time for introspection and stocktaking – a time to review one’s deeds and spiritual progress over the past year as we prepare for the new year. Elul serves as a reminder for us, who are dedicated to the value of Tikkun Olam (restoring the world), that we also must not forget about self-restoration (T’shuvah). It is time for us as individuals, as a community, and as a nation to venture on a quest for self-improvement.

In this newsletter, you will find in our spotlight feature, how the concept of self-restoration and introspection has lead to the revival of a long forgotten Elul tradition that can enrich and partake in the process of world-restoration. Additionally, you will find a very moving piece that calls for action and responsibility following the tragic burning of a social justice protester in Tel Aviv.

Finally, make sure to check out some of the great opportunities that our network is proud to present, from a special stipend, to continued learning about Shmittah to alarge number of service announcements, Mazel Tovs, and milestones.

Wishing you a meaningful Elul,
The Siach Team – Judith Belasco, David Brown, and Limor Friedman

Siach Stipend Opportunity

With the Siach conference nearly three months behind us, we are excited to offer you new opportunities to further expand your horizons and circles of networks. Siach is happy to announce the availability of up to $200 stipend towards your participation in a future conference of your choice. This conference can be related to your professional field or towards your quest to enhance your own Jewish identity or sense of Jewish peoplehood. Upon completion of the conference, grantees are requested to write a blog post or article about the conference, which will be shared with the larger Siach community.

Applications for this unique opportunity are due by November 1, 2012.

The conference you wish to attend must be held before August 31, 2013.
To find out more information or if you have any follow up questions, feel free to contact Limor Friedman, siach@heschel.org.il

Apply for a Stipend

Beit Midrash on Shmita
Opportunity for our North American Members

Building on the energy and interest during the Beit Midrash session on Shmita – wealth, work, rest, food, and debt – at this year’s Siach conference, Hazon, one of Siach’s founding partners is planning to bring a Kevah educator to lead seven lunch-time sessions about Shmita throughout the fall and early winter at Makom Hadash (125 Maiden Lane, New York, NY).

The class is limited to 10-12 people and participants are asked to commit to attending all seven session (or at least six of the seven). The course will be held a from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM on the following dates: September 20th and 27th, October 11th and 25th, November 8th and 29th, and December 13th. Members are encouraged to come early to enjoy their lunches. The course is free to Siach participants.

If you are interested, please email: Judith.Belasco@hazon.org to reserve your spot in the course. Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Spotlight on a Siach Partnership:
Rosh Hashanah LaBehema

Aharon Varady (The Open Siddur Project, USA) has joined forces with Yossi Wolfson (Ginger, Israel) and Shmuly Yanklowitz (Uri L’Tzedek, USA) to revive the Mishnaic idea of Rosh Hashana LaBehama, Rosh Hashana for animals.

So what is “the New Year for Animals?”

According to the Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah, Chapter 1, Mishna 1) the first of the month of Elul is “the new year for tithing of beasts,” the same source that tells us that Tu B’Shvat is the New Year for trees. Originally, Tu B’Shvat served as a marker of time for taxation and tithes for trees and it has transformed into a spiritual/activist holiday relating to the celebration of the environment and the natural world surrounding us. The hope is that the first of Elul can also become a holiday celebrating our relationship with animals, particularly those exploited in agricultural factories. Whereas tithing animals is not relevant nowadays – cruelty to animals in agriculture is harsher than ever. Jewish teachings about our duties to animals are thus more relevant than ever and a day dedicated to the issue is a pressing need. By renewing and reclaiming the first of Elul in this manner, we can take a day that was once connected to sacrifice of animals and can transform it into a tool for their protection…

Continue Reading “Spotlight on a Siach Partnership: Rosh Hashanah LaBehema…”

A Personal Tribute to Moshe Silman

By Rabbi Idit Lev (Rabbis for Human Rights, Israel)

July 14, 2012 was the anniversary of the social justice protest in Israel and we, the people from the social protest movement, organized demonstrations all over the State. I took upon myself to organize the demonstration in my own town of Haifa.

There was one person who had become homeless that my organization – and myself – was close to. He promised us more than once, that if he remained homeless, he would burn himself as a final act of protest. We tried our hardest to convince him not to hurt himself and thought had had listened.

But when I was on my way home from the demonstration in Haifa, I got the news: Moshe had burned himself in the biggest demonstration that night in Tel Aviv. Instead of going home, I drove for almost two hours to the hospital where he was taken and spent the night at his bedside…

Continue Reading “A Personal Tribute to Moshe Silman…”

Rabbi Idit’s eulogy for Moshe. Read more about Moshe’s personal story.

From Hava Nagila at the Olympics to Israeli Technology at the U.N.

Originally posted on eJewishPhilanthropy

By Rachel Ishofsky, Associate Executive Director, Jewish Heart for Africa.

Last Sunday, an Olympic gymnast – Aly Raisman – did a floor routine to Hava Nagila. As one might assume, she’s Jewish. And when she got up in front of the whole world to perform, she broadcast this fact to all who watched.

There are times and places in which the whole world comes together. When that happens, the State of Israel and the Jewish people have an opportunity to share our best face with the global community. We don’t want to be the bad news people, we don’t need to let conflict define our international identity.

That’s why we at Jewish Heart for Africa have spent the last 18 months pursuing Special Consultative Status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Our mission is to bring sustainable Israeli technologies to African villages. We take Israeli innovation and bring it to those who need it most. Solar technology allows us to provide rural medical clinics with light for nighttime medical care and refrigeration for lifesaving vaccines. It allows us to pump clean water for those who don’t have it, and to provide children and adults who don’t have access to light at night with educational opportunities even after the sun sets. Drip irrigation allows us to offer African farmers and their families the same technology that made Israel’s deserts bloom, giving them a source of food and income even during the dry season. In less than five years, we’ve completed 58 solar and agricultural projects, impacting over 250,000 people…

Continue Reading “From Hava Nagila to Israeli Technology at the U.N….”

SIACH Freecycle

This section is for you to post offers and requests.

Hechalutz (zohar@hechalutz.org)

An Israeli non-profit center for alternative Zionist education – is seeking Israel trip organizers in North America. We are hoping to partner with trip organizers (financially and otherwise) in order to expose the widest possible audience to our educational content. If you are connected to such an organization or individual and would like to explore this further, please contact Zohar Avigdori.

Matt Fieldman (mattfieldman@yahoo.com)

After being thoroughly inspired by Siach, he convinced his fundraising consulting company to spend more time and energy helping Israeli nonprofits raise money in the United States. Knowing that Israeli “amutot” can’t pay typical American consulting fees, they are going to offer significantly reduced rates for Israeli clients. Not only that, but they have an amazing and diverse team of consultants that will offer their contacts and expertise to help you. Matt was moved and inspired by the amazing leaders he met at Siach, and would welcome the chance to help you raise money, so please let him know if you’re interested in hearing more.

Learn more about Bloom Metz Consulting.

Yonatan Glaser (yonatan@btzedek.org.il)

At the Siach Conference last year the partnership between B’Tzedek and Project T.E.N. (of JAFI) started to form, and they just launched the new T.E.N.-B’Tzedek three-month service-learning program in Hyderabad, India. This new program is in addition to LIFE, B’Tzedek’s existing nine-month leadership development program for college graduates. LIFE is an internship-based career and leadership development program for participants from across the Jewish world together with their Israeli peers. Participants spend 4-months in India and 5-months in Israel in positions that advance their social justice agendas, all the while learning and participating in training and site visits.

Please pass on details to those who may want to apply, or who work with those who would want to apply (BOTH Israelis and young Jewish adults from around the world):

LIFE Program (applications close August 31st)
T.E.N.-B’Tzedek.

Neve Schechter – Tel Aviv (orlyd@neve.org.il)

We are happy to announce the opening of Neve Schechter Legacy Center for Jewish Culture in Tel Aviv. The grand opening will be accompanied by two days filled with cultural activities, lectures and music (September 6-7, 2012). Learn more.

Encounter (yona@encounterprograms.org)

Encounter is now accepting applications for their upcoming November 1-2 trip to Areas B and C around Bethlehem for Jewish professionals and lay leaders. Applicants with Israeli citizenship may apply. Please be in touch with any questions! Learn more.

Hava V’Adam Educational – Ecological Farm Modiin

The Educational-Ecological Farm is looking for guides for their Waste Separation Project in conjunction with the Modiin Municipality to run educational activities in schools as well as home guidance with city residents. A background in guiding and informal education is a must, experience in environmental and ecological topics are an advantage. The position is open to residents of Modiin and the surrounding area only. Send resumes to Tess.l@havaveadam.org.

Stay in Touch

We hope that you find this newsletter as meaningful and inspirational as we did, and we would love to hear from you.

• Have updates about your social justice and environmental work?
• Want to be the next newsletter’s featured partnership?
• Do you have a mazal tov announcement that you would like to share with the rest of the Siach community?
• Would you like to contribute an article to the next edition of the newsletter?

Please email us at Siach@heschel.org.il to share!

July 14, 2012 was the anniversary of the social justice protest in Israel and we, the people from the social protest movement, organized demonstrations all over the State. I took upon myself to organize the demonstration in my own town of Haifa.

There was one person who had become homeless that my organization – and myself – was close to. He promised us more than once, that if he remained homeless, he would burn himself as a final act of protest. We tried our hardest to convince him not to hurt himself and thought had had listened.

But when I was on my way home from the demonstration in Haifa, I got the news: Moshe had burned himself in the biggest demonstration that night in Tel Aviv. Instead of going home, I drove for almost two hours to the hospital where he was taken and spent the night at his bedside.

It took the media half of an hour to find me and I have talked with many reporters about his personal story. I have tried to tell the world that Moshe was not alone and that there are too many people in his situation. Moshe died after a week and there were hundreds of people at his funeral. Throughout this time, it was important for me to sound the alarm of what we should learn, as a society, from Moshe’s protest:  if someone is poor – the state should help him – and no one should be sent to sleep in the streets, or be hungry, without medicine, and ashamed.

A month has passed, the coverage on the media is over, and it seems everything is just the same as it was. I keep on thinking what we, the activists, should do to uphold Moshe’s will – no more people sleeping on the streets.

If you have ideas, thoughts I would love to hear them. If you can think of something we can do together on these issues, please let me know (rhreco@rhr.israel.net).

Rabbi Idit’s eulogy for Moshe. Read more about Moshe’s personal story.