Civic Engagement

Our Work
Tzedek, tzedek tirdof Justice, justice you shall pursue! This commandment is the basis for our civic engagement work. And we take it quite seriously, engaging in many of the issues of our day. While we sometimes do this through individual Woodlands projects or with community or issue-based groups, much of it is done in collaboration with the Religious Action Center (RAC – the Reform movement’s vehicle for working to educate, inspire, and mobilize the Reform Jewish community to advocate for social justice) and RAC-New York (focused on NYS issues). We have successfully lobbied for parole reform and driver’s licenses for all. We are very proud of our contributions toward fighting voter suppression, the passage of New York’s Environmental Bond Act, and adding the Equal Rights amendment to the NYS constitution.

Climate Change
Worried about the climate crisis but don’t know what to do? Here’s a small step you can take, along with hundreds of other concerned members of the New York Jewish community.

Four climate-focused organizations: Adamah NY; Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action; JCAN: Jewish Climate Action Network NYC: and RAC-NY are joining forces to send a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, asking her to do more to address climate crisis and keep all New Yorkers safe.

The climate crisis is a "whatever it takes" moment and we're inviting you to jump into this effort by signing the letter yourself and sharing this message with others in your orbit so they can sign on as well. It's one small, individual step that could make a big impact in protecting God's creation and all life on this precious planet.

Post-Carding Campaign
For a number of years, Woodlands congregants have been participating in postcard campaigns to fight voter suppression and encourage all Americans to vote, as well as in campaigns in furtherance of our Reform Jewish values. This year, we are joining MAZON a Jewish Response to Hunger in a national effort to send 47,000 postcards at once (1 card for each 1,000 of the 47 million people in the US who are food insecure) to the Secretary of Agriculture, urging her to protect and strengthen basic food assistance programs. Writing one postcard is a great way to have your voice heard, but writing multiple postcards, involving family members, or hosting a postcard-writing party is even more powerful.

How to Participate:

• To write a card, look for the post-carding table at WCT events.
• To write 10 or more cards or involve others in writing cards, request your postcard kit HERE (each kit contains 10 postcards and detailed instructions).
  • You will be notified when your kit is ready to be picked up at WCT.
  • When the postcards in your kit have been completed, return them to WCT, no later than February 28, in the envelope in which you received them. (There is a box for them on the shelves outside Rabbi Mara’s office.) We will send all completed postcards on to MAZON, who will deliver all 47,000 cards at once to the Secretary.
• Click HERE for information about hunger in America.

If you have any questions, contact Nicole Lesser and Roberta Roos at Postcards@wct.org .

Note: This work is being done in partnership with our Racial Justice Taskforce and Reproductive Justice Taskforce.

Leadership: Rebecca Mazin, Andrea Olstein, CETF@wct.org

CONTACTING OFFICIALS

A major way in which we advocate for a just society is by communicating our thoughts to leaders of government. Click HERE for contact information.