The Shalom Center - Justice

The Election: Dancing in God's Earthquake

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:37:44 -0400

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Elections always seem to be about the narrowest here and now -- fluctuating polls, personalities, and policies. And indeed they are. But some elections are about something bigger, weirder, wilder. Like this one. Suppose we try looking at this election from the perspective of God and Empire -- the great rhythms of religion and power in millennia of history.

Let us begin with just a century ago. How come the real energy-centers on our present national tickets are two passionate Christians –-- one oriented to renewal and one to restoration? Not since William Jennings Bryan ("You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!") and William McKinley ("I knelt to pray for guidance on what to do about the Philippines, and heard a voice: Annex them, educate them, Christianize them!") have we had such a choice.

Seeger, Zalman, Yarrow, Charlie King, Shefa -- New CD!!

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:26:21 -0400

WHEN SHOFAR MEETS FLUTE, PETE SEEGER MEETS THEM BOTH, DEBBIE FRIEDMAN & SHEFA GOLD JOIN THE CHORUS –

What could bring Pete Seeger, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi on shofar dancing with Paul Horn on flute, Peter Yarrow, Debbie Friedman, Linda Hirschhorn, Shefa Gold, Reggie & Kim Harris, David Shneyer, Aryeh Hirschfield – we could go on and on -- all to the same "place"?

An extraordinary brand-new CD, that's what, produced by The Shalom Center!

Declaring Interdependence:Renewing the 4th of July

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:15:34 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, 7/28/2004

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for the peoples of the earth —
to declare our interdependence with each other and with all the life-forms of the planet,
and our independence from efforts by the most powerful and most reckless among the national governments to create a new and global Empire;

Then a decent respect to the opinions of Humanity requires that we declare the causes that impel us to rise beyond the present Powers of the earth and to embody our planetary community in new social, political, and economic forms.

We hold these truths to be self-evident:

A Spectre is Haunting the Constitution: Alito

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 17:06:26 -0500

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow

The November 8 Philadelphia Inquirer described Senator Arlen Specter (R- Pa.) as being "in the hot seat" on whether to confirm Judge Alito for the Supreme Court.

It reported that he is worried that if he votes against Alito, conservative Republicans may deprive him of his chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and with it his influence on policy issues that he cares about: notably, asbestos litigation and immigration.

But the Constitution is a far weightier matter than those issues. And Alito will be helping define it for at least a generation.

So it is important to realize that Judge Alito's radicalism goes far beyond his disdain for a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion.

Jewish Organizations Nationwide Oppose Alito Nomination for Supreme Court

Sat, 19 Nov 2005 03:40:28 -0500

[The Shalom Center was the first Jewish organization to oppose the Alito nomination. We have joined with a number of local or regional social-justice organizations and with the National Council of Jewish Women in shaping and signing the following statement, initiated by the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (Chicago). Sheila Decter of Boston also did important work in shaping and organizing support for the statement.

[We especially want to note our admiration for NCJW, which alone among the "mainstream" Jewish organizations took swift action to oppose the Alito nomination. It is precisely because most of the older/ bigger Jewish organizations have been so slow or unwilling to act on many urgent social-justice issues that the various local groups named here have emerged in a renewal of grass-roots Jewish energy.]

Judge Alito: danger on the Supreme Court

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 10:03:02 -0500

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow

In our view, the American public should strongly and immediately oppose the nomination of Judge Alito to the Supreme Court, and should particularly focus energy on the so-called "moderate" Republicans" and "moderate" Democrats whose votes will determine whether Alito is confirmed.

Why do we oppose his nomination? His record of judicial opinions shows that he is a smart, capable, right-wing ideologue. He has supported governmental power when it invades the personal freedoms of human beings and opposed governmental power when it tries to regulate corporations to protect workers, customers, or the environment.

REPORT BACK on National Conference on Judaism and Social Justice

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 09:59:33 -0500

JCUA, 5/27/2005

On April 10-11, 2005, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs hosted Tzedek Yalin Bah/Justice Shall Dwell There: A National Conference on Judaism and Social Justice.

This conference was intended as the first step in launching a national Jewish social justice movement that will:

Build and strengthen connections among Jews involved in social justice work in different areasof the country and in various types of institutions.
Enable more effective communication among Jewish social justice groups and activists in orderfor people around the country to share strategies, achievements and challenges.
Create a forum for ongoing collaboration on national initiatives such as legislative campaigns.
Develop a plan to provide technical assistance, upon request, to local Jewish social justiceinitiatives.
Increase the visibility, both inside and outside of the Jewish community, of Jewish socialjustice work.
Broaden the pool of funding for Jewish social justice work.

Facing Pharaoh

Mon, 17 Oct 2005 23:14:26 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow 1/13/2005

In the Torah portion read in synagogues January 14, God sends Moses to face Pharaoh. It invites us to face this question:

How can we face the Pharaohs in our own lives?

Boston Social Forum: Significance, Achievements and Some Lessons Learned

Tue, 05 Oct 2004 01:00:00 -0400

Suren Moodliar and Jason Pramas, 10/5/2004

September 11, 2004

The World Social Forum (WSF) burst onto the global progressive scene in January 2001 with a 20,000-person happening in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Its mandate was to link up and strengthen dis

The Optimism of Uncertainty

Tue, 28 Sep 2004 01:00:00 -0400

Howard Zinn, 9/28/2004

Excerpt from
"The Optimism of Uncertainty"
In The Nation, September 2, 2004

In this awful world where the efforts of caring people often pale in comparison to what is done by those who have power, how do I manage to stay invo

Exploring "Shalom" with Teachers from The Shalom Center

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 01:00:00 -0400

Rabbis Berman & Waskow; National Organizer Lenchner, 8/25/2004

Rabbi Phyllis Berman and Rabbi Arthur Waskow have been leading prayer services and teaching in both mulltireligious gatherings (e.g. conferences called by Jobs with Justice, the Religiou

A social kashrut certificate

Fri, 06 Aug 2004 01:00:00 -0400

Yechiel Tropper, 8/6/2004

Dear Chevra, The article that follows calls for society-wide social justice to become part of the religious (especially Orthodox) Jewish agenda in Israel. The same questions apply in America and elsewhere. The author is a

Norman Mailer & Son: SPIRIT & POLITICS, 1967 & 2004

Fri, 06 Aug 2004 01:00:00 -0400

Norman Mailer & John Buffalo Mailer, 8/6/2004

In 1967, I took part in the nonviolent siege of the Pentagon, about which Norman Mailer wrote a brilliant book, The Armies of the Night. While executive editor of High Times magazine, his son John Bu

All the Pretty Words

Wed, 04 Aug 2004 01:00:00 -0400

BOB HERBERT of NY Times, 8/4/2004

NYTimes, August 2, 2004
Bob Herbert
OP-ED COLUMNIST

They were able to sustain the eloquence for most of the week, which had to be a surprise. Bill Clinton told us that "strength and wisdom are not opposing values."

November 3 -- and a Stolen Election?

Wed, 04 Aug 2004 01:00:00 -0400

Ronnie Dugger, 8/4/2004

Published on Friday, July 30, 2004 by CommonDreams.org

We are in an American emergency. It is the emergency of all our American emergencies. Along with the Civil War, this is our se