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Public
Employee Press Celebrating Jewish
Heritage The meaning of hope
Police Dept. Chief Chaplain Rabbi Alvin Kass,
a Local 299 member, cited the Hebrew Bibles command, Justice, justice
shall you pursue, in an invocation that set the stage for speakers at DC
37s 15th annual Jewish Heritage Celebration on May 18.
DC 37 Secretary
Cliff Koppelman welcomed the hundreds of participants on behalf of DC 37 Executive
Director Lillian Roberts, who was in Albany battling layoffs: Jewish unionists
have always been there when the union has fought discrimination and social and
economic injustice. Their contribution to improving the lives of working people
has been immense.
Jewish Heritage Committee Chair Dr. Leonard Davidman,
the president of Psychologists Local 1189, said activists today stand on
the shoulders of early Jewish labor leaders like former executive directors Victor
Gotbaum and Jerry Wurf, who fought for social justice as well as bread and butter.
Mazon
leader David Napell explained how the organization allocates donations from the
Jewish community to alleviate hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds,
providing nourishment to millions of families and addressing the systemic causes
of hunger and poverty.
In his address, Jewish Values and the Obama
Administration, keynote speaker Mark Pelavin of the Religious Action Center
delivered a report from the front lines in Washington. The RAC works alongside
union lobbyists for civil rights, environmental justice, affordable health care
and other shared social and economic goals.
Pelavin gave the president high marks for using
the power of organizing and the strength of the many,
for his direct personal engagement on behalf of community needs and
his aggressive approach to fixing the economy.
He praised Obama
for giving hope to millions with his actions and speeches, especially his election
night talk in Chicago, and pointed out that keeping hope alive is a deeply held
Jewish value that is expressed in Israels national anthem, Ha-Tikvah
(The Hope).
In addition to the food for thought provided by
the speakers, participants enjoyed a kosher meal and the music of renowned Israeli
singer Magda Fishman and master guitarist Avram Pengas.
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