NCJW Joins with Women of the Storm to Urge Congress to Witness New Orleans

March 29, 2006, Washington, DC -- The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) has joined with Women of the Storm to urge members of Congress to travel to New Orleans to see the devastation of Hurricane Katrina firsthand. Women of the Storm is a group of Louisiana women who have concluded that until senators and representatives see for themselves the help needed to rebuild New Orleans, aid to the beleaguered city will continue to be grossly inadequate. At a press conference held today in Washington, NCJW Executive Director Stacy Kass made the following remarks:

"The National Council of Jewish Women stands in firm solidarity with our sisters, Women of the Storm, in their efforts to motivate Congress to witness the true scope of the Katrina disaster. NCJW has deep roots in New Orleans. Our New Orleans Section was founded in 1897, and our nearly 1,000 members there have long been active in the struggle for social and economic justice. For us, this catastrophe is both personal and national in scope, exposing government misconduct and laying bare the social inequities that have plagued New Orleans for so long. We are staunchly committed to the recovery of the area and join with all those demanding action.

"It is imperative that our senators and representatives take the time to witness firsthand the results of this overwhelming disaster. They control our nation's purse strings and can enact the programs needed for full recovery.

"Our government has already failed New Orleans twice -- once when the levees protecting that city failed because they were poorly constructed by the US Corps of Army Engineers, and again when thousands of residents were left to fend for themselves in the stench of rising waters.

"The government can not fail a third time -- it can not fail to rebuild the levees to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and to restore the wetlands so crucial to the future of New Orleans and its surrounding areas. And the government can not fail to provide the funds to meet the massive human needs created by the storm and by its own failed past policies.

"Our sisters in Louisiana have come to believe that unless Congress comes to New Orleans and sees the disaster in all its immensity, the help their communities desperately need will never arrive. We agree. NCJW is mobilizing its grass roots around the country to urge our representatives in Washington to walk the walk -- to make the trip to Louisiana.

"New Orleans can rebuild and revive if we commit ourselves to making it happen. The airport is open; the planes are landing. It is time for members of Congress to get on board."

NCJW is a volunteer organization, inspired by Jewish values, that works to improve the quality of life for women, children, and families and to ensure individual rights and freedoms for all through its network of 90,000 members, supporters, and volunteers nationwide.

Contact:
Vanessa Schnaidt
212 645 4048 x179; vschnaidt@ncjw.org