Empathy

Bay Area Jewish Agencies Jointly Condemn Criminal Acts Against Rabbi Lerner’s Home

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I am gratified to share this announcement with all of you, sent by the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Community Relations Council, The Jewish Federation of the East Bay and the Northern California Board of Rabbis on May 4, 2010. We appreciate their swift condemnation of the attack on Rabbi Michael Lerner and Rabbi Debora Kohn Lerner’s home in Berkeley, California yesterday. Obviously, many people on all sides of the political spectrum are deeply affected by what happened. “We unequivocally condemn criminal acts perpetrated against Rabbi Lerner’s home. Political disagreements must be resolved in a civil manner, and not by resorting to violence.

Empathy

Immigration Reform and Families

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I’m a total supporter of immigration reform that recognizes the impracticality of deporting nearly 12 million people who are in our country without proper documentation. Let’s find a way to bring them out of the shadows. But, I also look at the immigrants who are here WITH proper documentation, who have been working for years – separated from their families, and I implore Congress to consider and honor those people with reform legislation that helps reunite them with those they love. I’m half Gypsy – half Russian. My grandparents immigrated to this country a very long time ago.

Inter-Culturalism

Reagan’s Refugees: Why Undocumented Migrants Have a Right to Work Here

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Undocumented migrants have a right to work here because they deserve economic reparations for failed U.S. economic policies and disastrous military interventions. We hardly need another symptom of the spiritual and social bankruptcy of the system, but this new Arizona law targeting and criminalizing undocumented migrants is a good example. You might know that Gov. Jan Brewer signed last week a new law that broadens police power to stop anyone at anytime for virtually any reason simply for looking suspiciously like an undocumented immigrant. It is supposed to take effect in August, but this is unlikely since it is probably unconstitutional and will face a barrage of court challenges. This Saturday, May Day, the traditional day for workers rights, more than 70 cities are planning protests against the law, and boycotts against Arizona are spontaneously spreading — as they should.

Politics & Society

The Divestment Debate on Israel/Palestine at UC Berkeley

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Debates continue to rage over the UC Berkeley Student Senate’s call for divestment from two companies that help Israel maintain the Occupation of the West Bank. The argument isn’t over yet, because — after failing to override student president Will Smelko’s veto of the Senate of the Associated Students of UC Berkeley’s divestment bill on April 15 — the student senate passed a motion to reconsider the vote. The student senators met again for a closed session on April 21 but failed to come to consensus about whether to override the veto, so the issue remains open. [4/29/10 Update: In a meeting that started on April 28 and concluded at 4 a.m. on April 29, the student senate came one vote short of overriding the veto. The resolution was reportedly tabled, making it available again for reconsideration at a future time.]
Rather than charge in with my own position, I want to respect the intelligence of Tikkun’s readers by offering a variety of conflicting viewpoints and inviting you all to decide what you think.

Politics & Society

The Darkest side of Occupation: Hebron 2

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Mike Godbe, a young American on a free Birthright tour of Israel, continues his diary and photos of the tour, reporting his experiences and the ways the tour staff present the history and politics of the country. Earlier posts from East Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Masada, Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem, a kibbutz, and Caesaria can be accessed by clicking the corresponding links. March 21, 2010 – Hebron
I have been putting off writing this post about my visit to Hebron because I do not feel sure of myself in conveying the power of the experience, or communicating what I witnessed daily life in Hebron to be. For the Palestinians that hosted me, fed me, and showed me around, it is important that I bring their stories outside Hebron.

Culture

Where Two Or More Are Gathered – Asylum May Be Granted

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As I headed into what we hoped would be the last of a long series of hearings, to decide whether our friend would be granted asylum, I wondered what good, if any, our silent witness had been. At each hearing at least six of us sat in the back, listening to testimony, watching exhibits argued over by our friend’s attorney and the attorney for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)… Did it make any difference for us to be there, other than providing support for our friend? A bit of background. Our friend had been a vocal opponent of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in her country.

Politics & Society

Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak Helping to "Ensure Liberty?"

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What if my little peace and social justice learning company, Reach And Teach, put a “product” on our web site and called it “Throw John Boehner Out of Congress.” Folks could purchase a downloadable PDF listing everything we don’t like about the Republican Minority Leader for, let’s say anywhere from $10 to $50,000. We could raise tens of millions or even billions of dollars and then, Reach And Teach could spend every penny running really nasty ads against Boehner in the two weeks before election day. If the public or government wanted to know who had paid for the ad, we’d tell them to pound sand, protecting our customer’s privacy. Sound like a good idea?

Politics & Society

Torture Continues: the case of Fahad Hashmi

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Read Lynn Feinerman’s new piece for Tikkun, “Torture Continues And Comes Home To Roost.” Contrary to the claims of President Obama in his recent state of the union address, news reports assert that the US is still torturing. Anand Gopal’s recent article in the Nation magazine reveals the existence of many secret field sites in Afghanistan where torture is continuing apace, while the US maintains a somewhat cleaner game in Bagram Air Base. And while the US courts have blocked torture survivors like Maher Arar in their efforts to sue the US government for damages, and the Obama justice department has swept all the crimes against humanity of the Bush years under the rug, a sinister blowback of this “war on terror” is creeping into the US itself. One of the worst cases is that of Fahad Hashmi, suspected of al Qaeda involvement.

Politics & Society

Please sign here and pass it on!

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Please send this out widely to seek signatures. From the people at Free Speech For People:

They write:
To correct the damage the Supreme Court has done to the First Amendment, we need to pass a constitutional amendment of our own that puts people ahead of corporations. Below is our resolution in support of the Free Speech for People Amendment. ADD YOUR NAME IN SUPPORT OF THIS RESOLUTION»
WHEREAS the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was designed to protect the free speech rights of people, not corporations;
WHEREAS, for the past three decades, a divided United States Supreme Court has transformed the First Amendment into a powerful tool for corporations seeking to evade and invalidate democratically-enacted reforms;
WHEREAS, this corporate takeover of the First Amendment has reached its extreme conclusion in the United States Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Citizens United v. FEC;
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC overturned longstanding precedent prohibiting corporations from spending their general treasury funds in our elections;
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC will now unleash a torrent of corporate money in our political process unmatched by any campaign expenditure totals in United States history;
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC presents a serious and direct threat to our democracy;
WHEREAS, the people of the United States have previously used the constitutional amendment process to correct those egregiously wrong decisions of the United States Supreme Court that go to the heart of our democracy and self-government;
NOW HEREBY BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE THE UNDERSIGNED VOTERS OF THE UNITED STATES CALL UPON THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO PASS AND SEND TO THE STATES FOR RATIFICATION A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO RESTORE THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND FAIR ELECTIONS TO THE PEOPLE. Learn more about the “Free Speech for People Amendment”