I hope this Newsletter finds you well and enjoying some lovely summer afternoons. Listed below are ways you can enhance your summer afternoons! Perhaps a drop-off at the Freedge, taking a moment to send an email to your legislator to express your support for gun legislation, a quick drop off of food at the Temple for Family Table, or support Newton Neighbors Helping Neighbors back to school drive. You will feel better and your summer will be sweeter!
Welcome and thanks to Ethel Furst who has stepped up to Chair Temple Shalom’s Freedge initiative. Please consider taking on a shift or two to help meet our commitment during these summer months.
Look for news regarding our annual High Holiday Food Drive and other volunteer and advocacy opportunities in our September Newsletter. In the meantime, enjoy, be safe and have a lovely August.
Fondly, Marion Pollock Tzedek Newsletter Editor
The Tzedek Team enjoyed a face-to-face meeting June 21 at the Temple, with the theme of “Looking Back, Looking Forward.” Many of us had a long history of involvement in Social Action and Social Justice work at the Temple; others were looking to get more involved. We reviewed a number of the Tzedek activities Temple members have done this year and started to look forward to the next program year. One focus in the next program year will be the RAC-MA Affordable Housing Initiative. More information about the Tzedek meeting and the Affordable Housing initiative went to the Tzedek Team mailing list. If you missed it and would like to see it, please contact econnolly@srsmedical.com.
Reproductive Justice Initiative
Great news! The Reproductive Justice Initiative is nearing completion of its direct service project: Nechama Packages for Comfort Care for patients of HealthQ Sexual and Reproductive Health in Lawrence. We had a tremendous response to our campaign to fill these packages. The effort, which ended June 30, was very generously supported by Temple Shalom congregants, as well as Sisterhood, which provided bags to contain the items and water bottles and the Tzedek Committee, which purchased gift cards through the Social Justice Fund. We are also grateful to Temple Beth Elohim and Hadassah for their guidance.
NEXT STEP: We will be assembling 150 packages on Sunday, September 10th at 4 pm at the Temple so that we can deliver them to Health Q for patients receiving services in the fall. If you are interested in helping to assemble the packages, please contact Susan Goodman, susan.d.goodman@gmail.com or Wendy Case, wbcase@aol.com.
Gun Violence Prevention
Express your support for the Massachusetts Gun Violence Omnibus Bill
The Massachusetts Legislature has introduced a groundbreaking gun violence prevention omnibus bill that will comprehensively update the Commonwealth's already strong firearm laws, making it a model for the country. Components of the bill include ensuring that people carrying guns in public receive rigorous safety training, updating and enforcing Massachusetts' assault weapon prohibition, prohibiting ghost guns, keeping guns out of sensitive public spaces, and promoting innovating gun safety technologies. Even here in Massachusetts, the gun lobby is highly active and already flooding legislators with messages in opposition to this bill. Legislators, including those who strongly support the bill like our Newton reps, need to hear from those in support. Please take a moment to automatically send an email to your legislator here, or look up your legislator and send your own custom message of support.
Newton Gun Buyback Success! Thank you to everyone who donated to the Newton Gun Buyback, especially to the Social Justice Fund for matching all contributions. Temple Shalom raised over $1000 for the buyback. The event was a success, with 44 guns turned in and destroyed. Those guns are no longer in our communities.Check out NewTV's coverage of the event here!
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives
Sign onto the Newton Upstanders Values Statement Mirroring national trends, groups that oppose diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming have gained traction in Newton, establishing local chapters and filing complaints aimed at undermining DEI efforts in our community. Newton Upstanders launched this past spring in response to some of those local efforts and to help advance Newton's DEI initiatives. Read more about what's been happening here in Newton and sign our values to affirm our community's collective commitment to embracing diversity and creating a welcoming culture based on equity and inclusion for everyone.
Rotary Club: Monthly Clothing and Textile Drive (May-Oct.), July 22 BY FCN ON JULY 1, 2023
Rotary is working with Helpsy, which accepts clothing and textiles in any clean condition (see details) and makes a donation to the Newton Rotary Foundation for each pound accepted.
A word from Marion and David Pollock
We have had the good fortune to meet two amazing young women who have shared their struggles and triumphs with us after escaping Afghanistan in June 2022. Their story is heartbreaking and inspiring. Fahima Ashori studied painting at the Fine Art Institute in Kabul, Afghanistan. After the fall of Afghanistan, she was brought to Wellfleet in June 2022 with the help of Yo Yo Ma's Silkroad. An oil painter for nearly a decade, she has shown and sold her artwork in Afghanistan and the United States. Her sister, Parastou, is a journalist. We hope you will take the time to read their story below. If you have any suggestions or leads on housing or would like to help support this remarkable family please let us know, mcpollock32@gmail.com.
“My name is Fahima. I am from Afghanistan. I am a visual artist and I used to have an amazing art gallery in Kabul, Afghanistan. As an active and independent woman, I became a target of the Taliban. I did many murals around Kabul City related to women's rights, equality, and freedom. I was threatened by the Taliban and forced to shut my gallery down and flee to India with my sister Parastou who was a reporter in a private newspaper in Kabul. Luckily, we could make it to the US in June 2022 with the help of some amazing people and organizations.
We are happy and incredibly grateful to be safe here in the US. We received scholarships from Suffolk University, unfortunately, the scholarships do not include housing and other living expenses that are necessary for us to live in Boston. Luckily, our brother who was a dentist in Kabul, could flee from Afghanistan and joined us safely here in Boston in January but is unable to work until he is granted asylum. His fiancé Huma Rahimi who is the first female sitar player of Afghanistan reunited to our family in mid-June 2023. We all came to the US with student visas, and we don’t have work permits yet. We all really need somewhere to stay as we wait for our asylum and work permits to be approved. We want to work of course and look forward to being contributing members of this society as soon as we can. In the meantime, we have lost everything and really need your help with the housing where we can be safe to start our new lives.”
