YDA Jewish Caucus » Announcements

Jewish Caucus Enters the Fray

ydajc — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 06:05:50 +0000

Today, the board of the YDA Jewish Caucus approved an advertisement
that will be run in the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia with the
support of a number of local community members. Because we believe
that the message of this ad is critically important, we would love to
spread the advertisement to people outside of the Philadelphia
market. Please take a moment to look at the ad and help us spread
the message by sending it around to people you think might be
interested.

Also, if you know of anyone that would be willing to help fund an
advertisement in your local Jewish newspaper, please feel free to ask
them about it and get in contact with me as soon as possible. My
phone number is 484-557-4594 and my email is josh@joshpasek.com.
Most weekly Jewish newspapers need 4-5 days as turnaround, so we need
to do this almost immediately

Jewish Caucus Ad

Six Shot at Seattle Federation

ydajc — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 07:23:59 +0000

Fellow YDAJC members,

I’m writing to let you know that members of the Seattle Jewish community are deeply saddened by the situation. Our active YDAJC members from Seattle are physically safe, but some of us know victims of the shooting personally and our thoughts and prayers extend to those recovering and their families.

More information and links to local news stories can be found at www.yldseattle.org.

Shalom—
–Rob Dolin

YDAJC Meetings in Las Vegas – June 9 & 11, 2006

ydajc — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:22:55 +0000

Come join the YDA Jewish Caucus in Las Vegas this weekend for our general meeting on June 9th at 5:45 PM and our strategic planning retreat on June 11th at 1:00PM.

June 9, 2006
5:45 PM – 6:45 PM
Margarita’s Cantita
Fronteir Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, NV

YDAJC General Meeting
With Speakers:

Bobby Feldman and Sam Leiberman
Israel Politics and Local Politics from a Jewish Perspective

June 11, 2006
1:00 PM
Strategic Planning Retreat
Las Vegas, NV

Please email me if you are interested in attending.

YDAJC 2006 Spring Conference Meeting

yda2006 — Tue, 23 May 2006 02:38:56 +0000

The Young Democrats of America Spring Conference for 2006 will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada June 9-11 at The New Frontier Hotel and Casino.

On Friday, June 9th the Caucus will hold its meeting at 5:30 pm at Margarita’s Mexican Cantina inside the Frontier. Our guest speakers will be Bobby Feldman from the Jewish National Fund (JNF) of Las Vegas and Samuel Lieberman, a national board member of JNF and a former Young Democrat. They will be speaking about the activities that JNF has been working on and current events in Israel.

On Sunday, June 11th at 1:00 pm, the Caucus will be holding its Strategic Planning Retreat at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reba at the Fashion Show Mall.

For full conference details visit www.yda.org.

We hope to see you there!

~YDAJC Executive Board

YDAJC Passover Message

ydajc — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 16:17:17 +0000

Passover is the most widely celebrated Jewish Holiday. Jews on Passover commemorate the Exodus from Egypt, not as simply a memory, but as if every individual had been a slave and was freed.

For the eight-day holiday, Jews refrain from eating any product that contains grain (except for Matzah).

The Seder, the Passover feast, is the longest-running political discussion in the world. For over 2,500 years, Jews have celebrated Passover by thinking about how the historical story offers insight into contemporary issues. By not eating bread on Passover, we are subtly recognizing that the world is not free, and that we do not always have choices. By remembering the Exodus from Egypt and the many steps that individuals took to bring about freedom, we recognize that we are all part of the struggle.

Passover is also a focal time for social justice issues for Jews. During the Seder we are called upon to recognize issues of hunger, slavery, oppression, and inequality in both history and in modern society.

Hunger:

Jews invite all who are hungry to come and join in the feast. This tradition is taken both literally and metaphorically. Those who can make it to the Seder table are universally invited to do so. But, as Jews, we are still obliged to help feed those who cannot attend. 38 Million Americans and Billions worldwide are wanting for food. We hope that, in recognition of this custom, you will consider a donation to Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger (http://www.mazon.org/).

Slavery:

Many Seders this year will consider the issue of slavery in both ancient and modern contexts. As we celebrate the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, we think about those who remain slaves today. Human trafficking is a particularly horrible practice that we have an obligation to fight. Similarly, we look to repressive regimes and consider how we can assist those people fighting to be free.

Oppression:

Many groups in our society lack the rights that we all profess. During Passover, we think about the struggle for civil rights. The lessons of Passover engaged many Jews in the American Civil Rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Today, those same lessons of freedom and equality encourage us to consider LGBT rights. Shifra and Pu’ah, two characters from the Exodus story, conduct the first non-violent civil disobedience recorded in history when they refuse to kill Hebrew babies. The story has been used since Roman times to begin struggles against oppression. We are compelled to do the same for the issues that challenge our day.

Inequality:

The Exodus story also teaches us that nobody is quintessentially better than anyone else. Pharaoh’s son is also killed in the 10^th plague, and women, traditionally ignored in the Bible, are central to the Exodus story. In fact, the heros of the story are entirely unexpected. Moses, for instance, is a humble man with a speech impediment. One lesson out of this is that our abilities and fates should not be defined from our beginnings. We are reminded repeatedly to seek economic justice. This year, many Seders are also focusing on issues like the minimum wage, or women’s economic equality.

—————–

Passover runs from this evening (April 12) through April 19th, 2006.

Jewish Caucus Now an Official Part of YDA

ydajc — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 19:11:25 +0000

At the Young Democrats of America (YDA) Winter National Conference in Philadelphia, delegates voted overwhelmingly to include the Young Democrats of America Jewish Caucus as an official part of YDA. For more information about the caucus, please visit www.jewishcaucus.org

New Year for the Trees!

ydajc — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 22:14:01 +0000

Today marks the Jewish holiday Tu B’Shevat, the New Year for trees. The YDA Jewish Caucus wanted to share some information on this little known holiday and encourage everyone to celebrate by making sure they recycle and protect the environment:)

What is it?

On Tu B’Shevat we celebrate a New Year for the Trees, rejoicing in the fruit of the tree and the fruit of the vine, celebrating the gifts of the natural world. Tu B’Shevat marks the beginning of spring in Israel. Sustaining rains are at the peak of their power and the world responds, brimming with buds of fragrant life. To mark this moment, school children plant trees. In fact, in Israel today students boarded buses and were brought to Jewish National Fund tree forests to plant trees to celebrate Tu B’Shevat. When American young people visit Israel through the Taglit-Birthright program they have a similar opportunity. Often these trees have been provided by the contributions of Jewish students abroad through the offices of the Jewish National Fund. Many Jews will remember selling trees in Israel as a memorable part of their Hebrew School experience. If you would like more information on JNF or planting trees in Israel visit this website (http://www.jnf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=trees)

Israel & Trees

Israel is the only country in the world that will enter the 21st century with a net gain in numbers of trees. JNF has planted over 240 million saplings, providing belts of green covering more than 250,000 acres. JNF national forest development work balances population needs with limited forest ’supply.’ While the forests of Israel belong to the people, JNF ensures their environmental soundness while promoting optimal use.

Tu B’Shevat Seders
For Jews outside of Israel, Tu B’Shevat is a celebration of the renewal of vision and awareness, a celebration of connections and connectedness–to our own inner-selves, to the social world of human beings, and to the natural world.

Many In America celebrate the holiday with Tu B’Shevat Seders. The idea for the Tu B’Shevat seder originated in 17th Century Safed, by Jewish Kabbalists. Modeled by the well known Passover seder, the Tu B’Shevat seder included drinking four cups of wine with varying percentages of red and white wine, representing perhaps the shifting of yearly seasons. The seder also included readings on trees and fruit from a range of Jewish literature.The new form of celebration spread from Safed to Sephardi communities in Turkey, Italy and Greece, and later in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Modern adaptations of this centuries old practice have been created by Hillels, Jewish environmental groups and others involved in Jewish renewal.

Visit www.hillel.org, or www.jnf.org for more information on Tu B’Shevat. If you would like to know more about the Jewish Caucus working group please visit our website www.JewishCaucus.org

Welcome to the YDA Jewish Caucus Blog

ydajc — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:30:14 +0000

The Young Democrats of America Jewish Caucus (currently a working group) is starting this blog to consolidate information about issues of particular Jewish Concern. Please enjoy any and all material that we post and send us your comments.