Immigrant Justice Work
Immigrant Justice Work
Solidarity with Immigrants
CDT and our members are supporting Immigrant Justice in many ways.
Two years ago, we were a founding member of the Newton Sanctuary and Solidarity Collaborative (NSSC). For a year and a half, we supported a family being hosted by the NSSC in a Newton Church - primarily by joining in as volunteer companions, being present in the space to be a support to the family as needed, and if ICE showed up. In June, the family left sanctuary, and we are determining next steps in action together.
CDT members are also active in the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network (BIJAN) offering support to undocumented people in a variety of ways: working a hotline where immigrants in detention can call for help; accompanying undocumented people to court appointments; raising money to bond people out of detention; providing transportation; showing up at vigils and rallies; and providing housing.
BIJAN works closely with immigrant communitities and immigrant-led organizations. CDT also supports policy efforts that seek to improve things for all immigrants.
Upcoming Action
SAVE the DATE: CDT, with participation by Reservoir Church in Cambridge, will lead a prayer vigil at the Suffolk County House of Corrections on Sunday, October 27, 2019 from 2-3pm. We'll gather to sing, chant, testify, pray and raise our voices in support of ICE detainees. This monthly gathering, sponsored by Massachusetts Communities Action Network (MCAN), draws together different faith traditions to stand up for immigrants' rights. Our presence will remind ICE detainees that they are not alone or forgotten. We hope you can join us! For more information, please contact Bonnie Tenneriello.
For more information about CDT's Immigrant Justice efforts, contact Stacy Chacker (chacsjc@gmail.com)
Meanwhile, there are many opportunities to support immigrants that do not necessarily require a sustained or time-intensive commitment. These include:
Please reach out to any of us if you have questions or concerns.
Wishing justice for immigrants in 5780 (2019-2020),
Stacey Chacker, chacsjc@gmail.com
Sandy Goodman, sandragon4@gmail.com
Danielle Klainberg, danielleklainberg@gmail.com
Bonnie Tenneriello, bonniet4@gmail.com
Major immigrants’ rights groups, communities of faith (including the Newton sanctuary cluster), and others have joined in the Boston Cluster Network to offer support to undocumented people, from accompanying them to court appointments to helping with transportation to showing up at vigils and rallies. You can sign up to be part of this effort, indicating what type of support you are available to provide, at this link. (Please indicate that you are a CDT and/or Newton cluster member). Contact Bonnie if you have trouble signing up: bonniet4@gmail.com.If you happen to be an attorney with an interest in taking on an immigration case, but without expertise in immigration law, CDT member Bob Warren, an immigration attorney, has offered to provide mentorship on immigration cases. You can indicate your interest when you sign up for the Boston Cluster (see above) and contact Bob, rmwarren53@gmail.com. Bob is also looking for therapists to do evaluations of immigration clients.
We can support policy changes that will improve things for all immigrants. Currently, our focus is helping to get the Safe Communities’ Act passed in the Massachusetts legislature. The Safe Communities Act would protect the civil rights, safety and well-being of all residents by drawing a clear line between immigration enforcement and public safety. Sponsored by State Sen. Jamie Eldridge (S.1305) and State Rep. Juana Matías (H.3269), it ensures that our tax dollars are not used to help the Trump administration deport immigrant families or create a Muslim registry.
Immediate ways to help:
- Click here to email your legislators and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition’s (MIRA) campaign.
- Join MIRA’s text alert. Text to 52886, and put in SAFEMA. You will get a link asking for more information. You will then get action alerts tailored to you when specific action is needed with your legislators.
Future steps will include (when notified by MIRA re: timing)
- A push to get CDT members to call their MA legislators.
- Op-Eds or Letters to the Editor.
- If you are interested in helping to make calls to CDT members and/or writing a Letter to the Editor, please email Stacey Chacker at chacsjc@gmail.com.
Finally, save April 4, 2018 for MIRA’s Lobby Day at the State House.
Although we discussed the possibility of working on refugee issues at our October meeting, we have decided to focus our group’s efforts on undocumented immigrants, given the urgency of the crisis. However, folks who wish to support refugee efforts can get involved with the International Institute of New England by signing up for a volunteer orientation on the IINE website ; by emailing the IINE’s Director of Partner engagement, Cheryl Hamilton, chamilton@iine.org; or joining the Needham Immigration Task Force in its refugee resettlement efforts, by contacting Jessica Day, jessicaday257@yahoo.com.
Sat, April 17 2021
5 Iyyar 5781
Upcoming Events
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Saturday ,
AprApril 17 , 2021Earth Day Shabbat
Shabbat, Apr 17th 10:00a to 12:00p
Our Shabbat morning service will celebrate our connections to the Earth, and at 11am, CDT member Ezra Hausman will lead a Torah discussion addressing obstacles to successfully addressing the climate crisis. Ezra has a Ph.D. in climate science and 20+ years experience in the electric energy industry, including support for efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants at the state, regional, and national level. -
Saturday ,
AprApril 17 , 2021
Shabbat, Apr 17th 3:30p to 4:30p
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Sunday ,
AprApril 18 , 2021
Sunday, Apr 18th 1:00p to 2:30p
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Sunday ,
AprApril 18 , 2021Talmud for the 99%
Sunday, Apr 18th 4:30p to 6:30p
Join Earnest for a four session Talmud class between Passover and Shavuot. In this class we will prepare for Shavuot, which commemorates the Jewish people entering into a covenantal relationship with God, by decoding a wild Talmudic story that completely reimagines the covenantal moment. We will explore the rabbis’ motivation for their subversive reimagining, and their vision for a more liberatory relationship with the Divine. This is a SVARA-Method class, each session will begin with chevruta (study partner) learning. You and your chevruta will work with the text in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, using dictionaries to decipher each word. All you need to begin learning is your alef-bet (the ability to sound out the Hebrew alphabet) and you’re ready to go! Still working on your alef-bet? Check out these resources and contact Earnest, e.vener@dorsheitzedek.org, for support. Please register by April 1st, so that we can get everyone all the supplies they need! Questions? Come to the Talmud for the 99% Info Session immediately following Shabbat morning services on March 13th at 12pm. Not sure if it is right for you? Come to the Hebrew Roots & Dictionary Skills Crash Course on Wednesday, March 17th from 7-8pm. This session is open to the whole congregation. We will learn how to identify root letters and look them up in dictionaries. We will decode a text from the Passover Haggadah together and you will get a taste of SVARA method’s joyful and rigorous pedagogy. Read below for a description of SVARA-Method learning. -
Wednesday ,
AprApril 21 , 2021Torah Study
Wednesday, Apr 21st 8:00a to 9:00a
Start your Wednesday mornings with Torah Study! Join Director of Congregational Learning Earnest Vener for a weekly hour-long study of the weekly Torah portion on Wednesdays at 8am. You are welcome to drop in or come weekly. All are welcome and no prior knowledge is required. Please email Earnest at e.vener@dorsheitzedek.org with any questions. -
Wednesday ,
AprApril 21 , 2021
Wednesday, Apr 21st 5:30p to 5:45p
All are welcome to join Rabbi Toba for a moment of calm each week. The content will vary - a brief teaching, a meditative moment, some music, or another contemplative practice. We will start promptly at 5:30pm each Wednesday, but feel free to drop in at any time. Each session will end with an opportunity for those in mourning or observing a yahrzeit to recite Mourners Kaddish. Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/97091443951?pwd=dVk4bFZIVitMcDViYllNQnRIdmhmZz09 -
Thursday ,
AprApril 22 , 2021Purity Politics and the Problem of Jewish Solidarity
Thursday, Apr 22nd 1:30p to 2:30p
This talk explores the relationship between the rise in purity politics among American Jews and the problems it raises for building solidarities in the context of such things as the Women’s March and BLM. This is part of a Reconstructing Judaism free online lecture series on Jews, Race, & Religion. -
Thursday ,
AprApril 22 , 2021
Thursday, Apr 22nd 7:30p to 9:00p
CDT member Chanda Prescod-Weinstein will read from and talk about her newly published book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred. To purchase the book ahead of the talk, go to https://www.boldtypebooks.com/titles/chanda-prescod-weinstein/the-disordered-cosmos/9781541724709/ -
Saturday ,
AprApril 24 , 2021Shabbat Morning Service & B'nai Mitzvah of Nuriel Gutman
Shabbat, Apr 24th 10:00a to 12:00p
All are welcome to join us for Shabbat morning services as we call Nuriel Gutman to the Torah as a B Mitzvah. -
Sunday ,
AprApril 25 , 2021Talmud for the 99%
Sunday, Apr 25th 4:30p to 6:30p
Join Earnest for a four session Talmud class between Passover and Shavuot. In this class we will prepare for Shavuot, which commemorates the Jewish people entering into a covenantal relationship with God, by decoding a wild Talmudic story that completely reimagines the covenantal moment. We will explore the rabbis’ motivation for their subversive reimagining, and their vision for a more liberatory relationship with the Divine. This is a SVARA-Method class, each session will begin with chevruta (study partner) learning. You and your chevruta will work with the text in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, using dictionaries to decipher each word. All you need to begin learning is your alef-bet (the ability to sound out the Hebrew alphabet) and you’re ready to go! Still working on your alef-bet? Check out these resources and contact Earnest, e.vener@dorsheitzedek.org, for support. Please register by April 1st, so that we can get everyone all the supplies they need! Questions? Come to the Talmud for the 99% Info Session immediately following Shabbat morning services on March 13th at 12pm. Not sure if it is right for you? Come to the Hebrew Roots & Dictionary Skills Crash Course on Wednesday, March 17th from 7-8pm. This session is open to the whole congregation. We will learn how to identify root letters and look them up in dictionaries. We will decode a text from the Passover Haggadah together and you will get a taste of SVARA method’s joyful and rigorous pedagogy. Read below for a description of SVARA-Method learning.
Zmanim
Alot Hashachar | 4:31a |
Earliest Tallit | 5:07a |
Netz (Sunrise) | 6:01a |
Latest Shema | 9:23a |
Zman Tefillah | 10:30a |
Chatzot (Midday) | 12:45p |
Mincha Gedola | 1:19p |
Mincha Ketana | 4:40p |
Plag HaMincha | 6:04p |
Shkiah (Sunset) | 7:29p |
Havdalah | 8:19p |
Tzeit Hakochavim | 8:12p |
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