Local leaders attend JCPA plenum
By Stacey Dresner
More than a dozen representatives of Connecticut's Jewish community attended the 2005 Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) Plenum, held in Washington from Feb. 26-March 1.
The JCPA plenum is the largest annual meeting of the national public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community.
Lay leaders and directors from Jewish Community Relations Councils from around the state were among the 500 Jewish national leaders attending the three day conference.
The conference included sessions on issues of concern to the Jewish community, such as Israel advocacy, confronting poverty, the separation of religion and State, reproductive choice, the Federal Marriage Amendment, and the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
Just weeks before the plenum, Hannah Rosenthal, executive director of the JCPA, announced her resignation and plans to move to Chicago to lead the Chicago Foundation for Women.
Rosenthal, who is well-known for her intense passion for social justice issues, gave her farewell speech at the plenum, telling delegates, "We can be strong advocates for Israel, as well as work with community partners to reduce poverty."
High profile speakers this year at the plenum included Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), each of whom spoke on domestic issues.
Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Nabil Fahmy, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and Ambassador Arye Mekel, Consul General of Israel, discussed the future of Middle East peace.
"The Plenum brings the national and international issues to us with high level speakers who are giving us up to the minute information," said Laura Zimmerman, newly appointed executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford. "That is helpful as to what we can bring back to our community in terms of advocacy."
"The JCPA can bring in the top people on every issue, and you can't get that in your local community," added Lauri Lowell, director of the JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven. "Also, you get to interact with [other JCRC professionals.] The energy that is created when you are all working on the same issues in 25 local communities n the exchange of ideas…what works, what doesn't n is incredible. I am still charged up."
Subhead: ‘Building coalitions'
The theme of the conference was "Building Coalitions to Strengthen our Communities," and speakers highlighting that were Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and Dr. Ziad Asali, president and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine.
The JCPA, which has always been known to lean more toward Democratic policies, did some coalition building with members of the Republican party, such as McCain and McConnell, and Noam Neusner, President Bush's liaison to the Jewish community, who spoke to the JCRC leaders during a special session after the plenum.
"There was a real effort to get people from the Bush administration," said Laurie Gross, director of the CRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater Bridgeport. "I think it is important for the Jewish community not to insulate ourselves."
Prof. Matt Silver, of Emek Yezreel College in Israel, and Visiting Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Hartford, CCSU, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, attended the plenum, giving a presentation on promoting fair and balanced discussion on Israel on college campuses.
"The highlight of the plenum was watching how energized Jewish professionals and activists become about dire human rights issues, particularly genocide in Sudan," Silver said. "I also felt that years of debate about church-state issues have refined perspectives among Orthodox and Reform groups -- and they seem at this stage to be creatively reconciled about their disagreements on 'religion in the public square' type issues."
Subhead: Learning to advocate for Israel
At the same time that the JCPA plenum was taking place, the Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer B'nai B'rith Hillel Forum on Public Policy was also being held. Students from the Hillels of Trinity College, the University of Connecticut at Storrs, the University of Hartford, and Yale University, attended the forum, which allows students to meet other Jewish students and to train to become activists on college campuses.
Besides attending their own sessions and workshops, the students also joined in some JCPA plenum sessions.
Jordan Fisher, a freshman member of the Trinity Hillel delegation, said he enjoyed a session called "Judaism and Social Justice: Why to Care," which gave students information about what Jewish texts say about social justice, and a session on developing campus coalitions on the Darfur crisis.
"I was really pleased to know that as a people we are not only worried about issues that affect the Jewish community directly," Fisher said.
"It was a phenomenal conference and really the kind of thing that for some of the students could be one of the seminal moments that changes the way they look at things," said Lisa Kassow, director of Trinity College Hillel.
Besides session on topics like advocacy and building coalitions on campus, Jewish environmentalism, and social justice, the students also visited Capitol Hill. The Connecticut Hillel contingent visited Sen. Joseph Lieberman's office.
"There is a lot to be said about working together with people who share your interests and goals," Fisher explained. "Meeting 380 other kids with the same interests and goals was great."
Comments? Email staceydresner@jewishledger.com