In the last 15 years, the Jewish community has responded powerfully to preserve Jewish identity. But, said Hannah Rosenthal, “While we turned inward, we stopped turning outward.”
The former Wisconsinite is now executive director of the Chicago Foundation of Women. She spoke to a group of 61 people at the last session of this year’s Political Awareness Series, a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Women’s Division.
Citing several current issues — including immigration reform, the Darfur genocide and AIDS in Africa — Rosenthal called for a Jewish response to world affairs as well as Jewish affairs.
Rosenthal related several stories from her work at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, where she was executive director until 2005. In that position, she was the first woman to head a major non-women’s Jewish organization.
A number of years ago in Congress, she said, several members of the Black Caucus walked out on a symbolic vote of solidarity with Israel. “I called them up and said, ‘What was that?’” Rosenthal said. “They said, ‘Did [we] get your attention?’”
That incident followed a successful effort by the Jewish community to unseat two members of the caucus for anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements.
Rosenthal said that to improve relations with coalitions like the Black Caucus, Jews must be involved in issues that relate to the world beyond the Jewish community, such as the fight against urban poverty.
She said that Jews are currently seen as a single-issue special interest group, and illustrated the danger of that image through potential Jewish responses to the Darfur genocide.
Because the violence in Darfur pits Muslims against non-Muslims, Rosenthal said, Jewish response is “seen as being anti-Muslim.” However, she said that Jews must be concerned about any genocide. The solution, she believes, is for Jews to multi-task on issues.
“My children and other young people ask, What’s more Jewish, welcoming the Sabbath queen or opening our arms to those fleeing persecution? [The] answer: It’s not either/or; it’s both.”
‘Outrage fatigue’
Rosenthal believes that Jews must be involved in the issue of immigration activism, which is currently “dominating the news.”
“We are immigrants,” she said. “How can we be silent on this debate? The organized Jewish community has been absent.”
The Jewish community is “plagued by some pretty sophisticated balancing acts,” such as security vs. civil liberties and maintaining Judaism while the separation of church and state is challenged.
“I would say frankly that the issues facing us are urgent,” Rosenthal said.
Rosenthal encouraged her audience to reject a black-and-white view of politics by working for both Jewish and secular causes.
While Rosenthal admitted that fears of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments are legitimate, she maintained that such fears should not keep Jews from becoming involved in current issues.
In fact, she said that Jewish political success has historically been due to the willingness of the community to form coalitions with other groups.
“Our success, security and safety [are] because we knew how to hook arms,” she said. “We wear our Jewish identities on our sleeves when we go into the halls of power.”
In her capacity as executive director of the Chicago Foundation for Women, Rosenthal addresses issues of gender equality and equal rights. She believes that these issues pertain to all American women, including Jewish women.
She decried this year’s federal budget, which she said calls for the elimination of funding for the Women’s Equity Act, calling it “a horrible document.”
“How do we sit silently while women and children are getting thrown off Medicaid?”
Rosenthal asked. “It might be outrage fatigue. We get news constantly and we could be overwhelmed. But we can’t afford to be.”
She called for Jewish women to actively participate in the women’s movement, as well as other civil rights causes.
“I want this to be a wake-up call to us,” Rosenthal said. “We have depended on the courts to be the protectors of civil liberties for us as Jews, as women. We can’t count on the courts.”
The Chicago Foundation for Women funds women’s programs in Chicago, and gives away over $1 million a year.
The political awareness series included eight other sessions in its 2005-2006 roster, featuring many different political topics.
According to Women’s Division director Evy Garfinkel, 120 people signed up for the nine-part series.
Loading ...