1972 NW Flanders Street, Portland, Oregon 97209 | 503-222-1069
1972 NW Flanders Street, Portland, Oregon 97209 | 503-222-1069
Social Action Committee Meeting
Wednesday, December 4, 3:00 PM
Online ONLY; click for Zoom
Interfaith Alliance on Poverty
Thursday, December 5, 12:00 PM
In-Person ONLY
Westminster Presbyterian Church (1624 NE Hancock)
RSVP link forthcoming
Our December speaker will be Julia Nielson, Director of Organizing for Leaven Land and Housing Coalition
Make Your Voice Count
With WRJ/Beth Israel Sisterhood, CBI’s Social Action Committee, and the League of Women Voters
Monday, October 21, 6:30 PM
In-Person ONLY
Goodman Hall; Register in Advance
WRJ/Beth Israel Sisterhood and Social Action would like to invite you to come learn from the League of Women Voters of Portland about our city’s new voting methods and government structure. We will be educated about the measures that will be on our November ballots as well as an introduction to Rank Choice Voting. This is a nonpartisan presentation.
Light snacks and drinks will be provided.
As Reform Jews, we are called to act.
We are joining with others in the Reform Movement by participating in the non-partisan 2024 Every Voice, Every Vote Campaign.
Our goal is to strengthen democracy by removing barriers to voting.
As in 2020 and 2022, we are partnering with the Center for Common Ground* in their “Reclaim Our Vote” actions. These include reaching out to disenfranchised voters with postcards, phone calls and texts to encourage and support participation in voting.
* The Center for Common Ground is a non-partisan BIPOC led voting rights organization. Their mission is to empower under-represented voters to participate fully in democracy. They have proven success in achieving the goals of their mission.
We are also writing to voters in Florida to support “Yes on 4”, the measure to enshrine reproductive rights in their state constitution.
From the Social Action Food Fund and the Social Action General Fund
JFCS Thanksgiving Food Boxes – $2,000.
Lift UP – $1,000
Lift UP Holiday Dinner – $757
Mitzvah Day Food Insecurity Projects – $3,427
Refugee Care Collective (Grocery Cards) – $864
Sunshine Division – $1,000
Urban Gleaners $1,000
Total – $10,048
From Robert Peltz (z”l) 5784 High Holidays Funds for Food
Oregon Food Bank – $7,000
Lift UP (formerly Lift Urban Portland) – $5,000
IRCO (Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization) – $4,000
Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center – $4,000
NARA (Native American Rehabilitation Association) – $4,000
Sunshine Division – $4,000
NE Emergency Food Program – $3,000
Stone Soup PDX – $3,000
Urban Gleaners – $3,000
Lift UP/CBI Community Xmas Dinner – $1,234
Refugee Care Collective – $136
Total – $38,379
Our Jewish tradition is clear: “A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted” (Babylonian Talmud Berachot 55a). We believe our democracy is strongest when every voice is heard, and every vote is counted. Join our nonpartisan campaign to ensure all have an equal say in decisions that impact their lives by sending out postcards to voters across the nation.
We are excited to continue our efforts this year in partnership with the Center of Common Ground’s Reclaim Our Vote Campaign. Reclaim Our Vote is a grassroots, primarily volunteer-run campaign that focuses on increasing BIPOC voter turnout through post-carding, texting, and phone banking.
Members of our CBI community are in the process of applying to be a HIAS sponsored Welcome Circle to support a Ukrainian family as they resettle in Portland. Please watch this space for updates, and let us know about your interest in participating in CBI refugee support activities by completing this survey.
Social Action Committee Meeting and Refugee Discussion
One family’s 40+ years of joy – The story of CBI members Jim and Judith (z”l) Emerson’s relationship to the Vietnamese family they welcomed and supported.
Ukrainian Family Settles Into Portland Home -Jewish Review Article (March 15, 2023 edition; pages 10-11)
HIAS Welcome Circles – learn more about this program
Launched this Spring, Mitzvah Day 365 is an opportunity to engage in Tikkun Olam throughout the year. Activities to include education, advocacy and direct service. Email us to sign up for one (or more) of the groups listed here.
COAD
CBI engagement in Portland Communities Active in Disaster, a direct-response group providing cooling centers in extreme heat and winter warming centers
Climate/Environmental Justice
Do Good
volunteer list for one time and longer term opportunities
Every Voice, Every Vote
combatting voter suppression
Food Insecurity
Immigrant, Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support
Thanks to all who participated in CBI’s first-ever Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. Congregants of all ages came out to support Portland Backpack Project, Cascadia Clusters, Lift UP, Project Lemonade, WRJ/Beth Israel Sisterhood’s ongoing work toward menstrual justice, the Humane Society and Robison Home (via the Mini Mensches at-home projects).
As Reform Jews, we are called to act. And we did!
We responded with others in the Reform Movement by participating in the non-partisan 2022 Every Voice, Every Vote Campaign. Our outreach to voters of color in states with a history of voter suppression and barriers to voting that disproportionately affect minority votes connected with over 450,000 individuals.
As in 2020, we partnered with the Center for Common Ground* in their “Reclaim Our Vote” actions. These included reaching out to disenfranchised voters with postcards, phone calls and texts to encourage and support participation in voting.
* The Center for Common Ground is a non-partisan BIPOC led voting rights organization. Their mission is to empower under-represented voters to participate fully in democracy. They have proven success in achieving the goals of their mission.
CBI Supports Ukraine and Refugees Around the World
As part of our commitment to welcome the stranger, Social Action funds are allocated to organizations that work internationally and locally to support refugees and asylum seekers.
Generous donations to our Social Action Funds have allowed us to make allocations to organizations doing humanitarian work to support the people of Ukraine, refugees from around the world, and the many recent arrivals in our community from Afghanistan. These included a 2022 donation of $10,000 to World Central Kitchen for provision of meals to people in Ukraine and those displaced by the war there.
Interested in CBI Social Action and Immigration Justice?
Messssage: sac@bethisrael-pdx.org
Refugee “Restart Kits”
The Oregon Jewish Museum and Holocaust Resource Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland are partnering with the Refugee Care Collective to collect “Restart Kits” for newly arrived Afghans.
Lift Every Voice Oregon’s Gun Safety Measure 114 Passed!
Lift Every Voice Oregon (LEVO), a grassroots interfaith organization, was co-founded by Rabbi Cahana and two other local clergy in response to the need to act against the epidemic of gun violence.
Gun violence has taken far too many innocent lives in Oregon and across the nation. No one law will fix all that is broken, but laws in other states similar to Measure 114 have been proven to reduce gun-related deaths and injuries, including a reduction in the large numbers of deaths by suicide using a gun.
LEVO has shown that we are not helpless in confronting this problem.
A team of 1,600 volunteers, including many from our CBI community, contributed to the daunting effort of collecting the huge number of signatures required by the state to move Measure 114 forward.
Measure 114 was the only gun safety measure in the nation moved through the initiative petition process to a state ballot. Rabbi Cahana was one of the three chief petitioners for this measure.
Measure 114 will:
– Require a “Permit to Purchase” for all gun purchases
– Require a completed background check before permit issuance
– Require gun safety training (classroom and live fire) for a permit
– Ban sales, manufacture, transfer and possession of high capacity magazines (greater than 10 rounds)
We took a stand and our voices were heard.
While we rejoice in the success of passing Measure114, our work is not over. We need to continue to educate Oregon voters on the importance of common sense gun safety measures, counter misinformation, and work for additional actions to prevent gun violence.
November 2022
From the General Social Action Tribute Fund:
Cascadia Clusters – $2400
From the Social Action Food Fund:
Portland Backpack – $2,000
MealsonUS PDX – $2,000
Jewish Family and Child Service – $2,000*
* for Thanksgiving Food Box Program
NW Towers Thanksgiving Dinner – $500
October 2022
From the General Social Action Tribute Fund:
Portland Backpack – $2,000
Cascade Abortion Support Collective – $1,000
URJ Religious Action Center (RAC)* – $1,000
*in support of “Every Voice, Every Vote
June 2022
From the General Social Action Tribute Fund:
CODA – $1,500
Urban Gleaners – $ 3,000
From the General Social Action Fund:
HIAS (Formerly Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) $1,500
IRCO (Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization $1,500
From Food Fund:
Blanchet House $2,500
Mealsonus PDX $1,500
Portland Backpack $1,500
Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center $1,000
Native American Rehabilitation Association $1,000
Stone Soup PDX $500
Urban Gleaners $500
Robert Peltz (z”l) High Holidays Funds for Food
The 5783 Robert Peltz (z”l) High Holidays Funds for Food raised $19,970.
Allocations have been made to the following organizations for their programs combating food insecurity:
Oregon Food Bank: $4,070
LiftUP (Formerly Lift Urban Portland): $4,000
IRCO(Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization): $3,100
NARA (Native American Rehabilitation Association): $2,000
Virginia Garcia: $2,000
Sunshine Division: $1,800
NE Emergency Food Fund: $1,000
Stone Soup PDX: $1,000
Urban Gleaners: $1,000
Brit Olam
CBI is a Brit Olam (Covenant with our World) committed congregation, joining over 200 other Reform Congregations in linked social justice work.
CBI has an ongoing relationship with our neighbors who reside in the NW Towers and Annex buildings. Our connection with NW towers is through Lift UP’s Adopt a Building Program.
Family Support
We staff an afterschool homework club for school age children living in the Annex one to two days per week. The kids, many who have attended for several years, look forward to the club day. We have relationships with the parents so we can partner in our efforts to assist the kids. Snacks, games, art projects and socializing are compliments to the tutorial assistance.
We assist with purchase of school supplies when needed. Each child can receive either a winter coat or shoes in the fall and a holiday gift in December.
Sunday Food Pantry
CBI members provide transportation for pick up and delivery of Trader Joe’s food donations each Sunday for NW Towers’ resident-run Food Pantry. We also help with unpacking the food, which gives us the opportunity to socialize with the resident volunteers. The Pantry is a valuable source of fresh fruits, vegetables, and a variety of other nutritious items.
Social Programs
We host a variety of special events for the residents during the year including a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner, a New Year’s Eve party, and a lunch on CBI Mitzvah Day. Many volunteers of all ages are participants in these celebrations.
CBI is a member of the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty. The Alliance is a diverse and dynamic group of local faith based congregations with a mission of working to alleviate poverty in the Portland region.
Goals include:
Meetings are held the first Thursday of every month from 12:00-2:00 PM. Meeting locations vary and all meetings are open to the public and include educational components and thought- provoking discussions. The Alliance also sponsors seminars and workshops which are open to the public.
More information is available here.
An annual highlight of the CBI calendar, our community truly comes together each Spring for Mitzvah Day. Congregants of all ages participate in a variety of activities to support good works throughout the Portland area.
Mitzvah Day is run entirely by CBI volunteers, so if you have a great idea for a project or want to get involved in planning, please let us know!
Connect with Social Action at CBI
Our Beth Israel Community has a full slate of social action activities, from direct service to advocacy, that reflects our social justice teachings.
Your help is needed. Volunteer for an event or ongoing activity, or to help with the development and implementation of new programs. Participation in the Social Action Committee is open to all congregants. The following is a description of some of our programs.
The Social Action Committee welcomes requests for allocations from the Social Action Food Fund, Robert Peltz (z”l) High Holidays Funds for Food, and the Social Action General Tribute Fund. Please click to learn more and to submit a request.
Even in this time of physical distancing, we have ongoing projects to support our community. We continue our neighbors at NW Towers, including assisting with the resident-run food pantry.
With a long list of activities, there are always opportunities to help our community. These projects are open to the larger Portland- area Jewish community.
Click here for opportunities to volunteer.
Questions about how you can get involved with the Social Action Committee? Email SAC@bethisrael-pdx.org or call Program and Communications Coordinator Tracy Manaster Alifanz at 503-222-1069 to learn how you can make a difference!
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