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Plenum Awards Ceremony

At the conclusion of the 2013 JCPA Plenum’s first day, we honored some of those in

our community who make our work possible and inspire us to go further. First,

Michael Newmark introduced Judith Lichtman, this year’s recipient of the Albert D.

Chernin Award. Named for the JCPA’s Executive Vice Chair Emeritus, the Chernin

Award is given to Jewish leaders whose life work best exemplifies the social justice

imperatives of Judaism, Jewish history, and the protection of the Bill of Rights.

Lichtman, a leading women and children’s activist for decades, stepped down as

president of the National Partnership for Women & Families in 2004. She credited

her Jewish heritage with instilling in her the responsibility to leave the Earth a

better place than we found it. In accepting the award, Lichtman proudly pointed to

the four generations of family that were with her, and her hope that we pass on the

values of tzedakah and tikkun olam.

Also honored were San Francisco’s David Steirman and Dallas’s Marc Stanley who

received the Tikkun Olam Award for their commitment and service to the JCPA,

Jewish community, and beyond. David currently is the Board Chair of UpStart Bay

Area, Board President of the North Peninsula Jewish Campus, and immediate past

Board Chair of the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA). He serves

as an officer of the JCPA, Moldaw Residences and the Jewish Senior Living Group

and is a board member of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish

Home & Senior Living Foundation. David previously served as President of the

Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma

counties, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Bureau of Jewish

Education.

Marc currently serves as Chairman of the National Jewish Democratic Council and

as Co-Chair of the Foundation for Jewish Culture. In addition, Marc is an officer of

the JCPA, and was appointed by President Obama to the US Holocaust Memorial

Museum Council in June 2011. He was also appointed by Governor Ann Richards to

serve as Chairman of the Texas Public Finance Authority. In his hometown of

Dallas, Marc serves as a Vice-Chair of the Legacy Senior Living Communities and sits

on the Executive Committee of the Dallas JCRC. In his professional life, Marc is a

trial lawyer and has also served as President of the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association

and the Texas Trial Lawyer Association.

JCPA Plenum Day 1 - Sunday March 10, 2013 THE DAY AHEAD

“From Many Paths to The

Creator, A Common Path to

Social Justice”: At 9:15 am,

national faith leaders

Sister Simone Campbell and

Reverend Jim Wallis will

join JCPA President Rabbi

Steve Gutow to discuss the

faith community’s shared

commitments to social

justice and how shared

advocacy experience can be

used in areas like the

federal budget, civil

rights, and the environment.

“Jewish Consensus and

Controversy: Same Sex

Relationships”: In response

to a tabled resolution on

gay marriage, Professor Amy-

Jill Levine, Rabbi David

Saperstein, Yehuda

Neuberger, and Jeremy Burton

will be using the subject of

same sex relationships to

explore the JCPA’s unique

role in finding and

maintaining Jewish community

consensus at 10:45.

“Welcoming the Stranger:

Pursuing a Just National

Immigration System”:At 4:30,

Secretary of Homeland

Security Janet Napolitano

will speak about the

Department of Homeland

Security’s priorities,

including immigration and

efforts to prevent gun

violence.

“Off the Record – A Special

Discussion on the Middle

East”: Immediately following

the resolutions sessions,

join us for an off-the-

record discussion on Israel

and the Middle East. While

there are no Israel/Middle

JCPA Plenum Day 1 – Sunday March 10, 2013

Plenum’s First Day

As the largest annual gathering of Jewish community relations professionals in the country, the JCPA Plenum

hosted a series of forums and workshops to discuss best methods of community action and prepare for the

challenges to come. On Sunday, this included a discussion ranging from

reframing the Zionist narrative, to defending Israel here and abroad, to

grassroots activism on human rights, to the best uses of social media as an

organizing tool.

How individual Jewish communities can respond to the movement to

delegitimize Israel through boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) was

the main focus of a discussion that centered on strategic and appropriate responses. "We need to be careful

not to add to the fire, but to provide our own grass roots with 'stuff to do'" said Sara Saber-Freedman of

Canada's CIJA. Saber-Freedman and co-panelists David Dabscheck of the JCPA/JFNA Israel Action Network and

David Prystowsky highlighted appropriate means such as "buycotting," a counter-protest measure that

involves consumers actually buying products that BDS proponents have targeted for boycott.

In a concurrent workshop, “Israel Advocacy with Interfaith and Intergroup Partners,” panelists Batya

Abramson-Goldstein from St. Louis, Jeremy Burton from Boston, and Rabbi Yehiel Poupko from Chicago

stressed the importance of sharing and spreading support for Israel with other civil society partners. Coalition

building strategies need to be tailored in order to most effectively partner with other community agencies.

Burton described the success and understanding an Israel mission for interfaith leaders can bring.

These were just a few highlights of the first day. For updates on each session as the Plenum continues, follow

the tweets from participants at #JCPAplenum.

Oren, Goldberg, and the US-Israel Relationship

Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren discussed President Obama’s upcoming trip to Israel and the importance of

strong bonds between the two counties in an interview-style conversation at the opening plenary of the Jewish

Council for Public Affairs’ annual Plenum.

Noting that not many other Presidents have visited Israel,

Ambassador Oren said that doing so is a significant gesture,

particularly as the first overseas trip of President Obama’s second

term. With a stalled peace process and the ongoing efforts to isolate

the Jewish state, Oren said the most important purpose of the trip is

to send a message about the “vibrant and deep relationship”

between America and the people of Israel.

While details of the trip remain to be determined, Ambassador Oren announced to the JCPA Plenum delegates

that president Obama will in fact lay a wreath at the tomb of Theodore Herzl, founder of modern Zionism. This

reinforces reaffirms to the whole Middle East the historical Jewish claim to the land. “Palestinians have an

unassailable right to a state of their own,” said Oren. And President Obama’s trip, particularly his stop at Herzl’s

grave, will underscore the need for Palestinians to recognize that “reciprocal right of the Jews.”