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Overview
The Work of the Social Action Committee
"Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander."
Holocaust Museum, Washington DC
Events and Updates
 Social Action, a vital part of Jewish life, can be done as a community, in small groups, or individually. We have obligations to each other on many levels – to our synagogue, our towns, our nation, the Jewish people, and all people throughout the world. The Committee works to achieve balanced support for a blend of international, national, and local social action causes, and to include as many members of Etz Chaim in this work as possible.
Social Action is not just the caring committee, the Walk In Ministries, food pantries, or PADS. We have done Maot Chitim to assist needy Jews in the area, provided caring baskets for neighbors, sponsored blood drives, raised money to support our PADS program through the Crop Walk, and via the Tzedakah box for Israel and our used cell phone collection box for a local women’s shelter. We support and are members of DuPage United, whose stated goals are purely social action - health, housing, and jobs. They may apply political pressure to assure government funding for social programs in those areas.
 We support local causes, but Social Action has a broader calling. It extends to national causes such as helping victims of Hurricane Katrina, through Habitat for Humanity, through support for a church and a synagogue in the New Orleans area, and through contributions of goods and money. It includes international causes such as support for the Chelyabinsk school, support for Israel, and for a resolution to end the crisis in Darfur.
In addition, supporting the Diaspora is critically important. Diaspora Jews in many parts of the world are at risk today, due in part to the declining standing of Israel in world public opinion. In the nations of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, old habits of anti-Semitism are returning to public discourse. In nations like Chile, with a small Jewish population, anything that strengthens the standing and good will relations between the Jewish and gentile communities is a good thing. Our Bomba Israel project will help a Diaspora Jewish community, and will involve temple members and others through a fund raising event. It is performing a mitzvah: we will be raising funds for a lifesaving organization, which will have positive effects far beyond the public relations aspect. (Bomba Israel is a Jewish fire station company in Chile).
Our social action work is part of our identity as Reform Jews. Policy positions for the Union for Reform Judaism and CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis) are implemented through both the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), and The Commission on Social Action for Reform Judaism. The Commission assists congregations in establishing social action committees that will help them to apply ethical Judaic principles to contemporary issues. The RAC was established in 1961 in Washington, D.C. to pursue social justice and religious liberty by mobilizing the American Jewish community and serving as its advocate in our capital city. This year our Social Action Scholar in Residence program will feature Rabbi David Saperstein, the Director of the RAC. We hope that his visit with us will inform and inspire us through the coming year of social action.
The Social Action Committee meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 PM in the library. |
the Union for Reform Judaism
