by Eleanor Levie

“Justice, justice shall you pursue” is a core religious obligation, so important that the word is repeated twice in that Torah passage from the book of Deuteronomy. So it was fitting that leaders from the National Council of Jewish Women were part of a select delegation from around the country that traveled to Washington, DC, on May 7 to address the current judicial vacancies crisis — a key barrier in the pursuit of justice in the US today.

And indeed, while in Washington, DC, we asked for justice twice: First, we urged President Obama, through Administration officials, to use the power of his bully pulpit to continue to raise the profile of this issue with the public and to accelerate the process of selecting new nominees to send to the Senate for confirmation.  Second, we met with our senators to decry foot-dragging, filibuster threats, and unprecedented Republican obstruction to the President’s pending nominees. The delays that result prevent our federal courts in keeping up with rising caseloads. These delays are bad for business, they costs billions of dollars, and they force individuals to wait far too long for their day in court.

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It was the shoes that got to me. The ripped up children’s shoes, coming apart at the seams, totally ruined. These little shoes sat on a make-shift altar in front of the steps of the Supreme Court — a centerpiece for a vigil into the night before the arguments in the Arizona v. United States immigration case. The shoes and a few other precious items — nail polish, a lipstick, a broken votive candle — were found in the desert, the passage between Mexico and the US. These relics spoke to the families who sacrificed everything (maybe their lives?) to reach a better life in the United States.

After a group of men and women who had come from Arizona to witness the historic Supreme Court hearing had recited the rosary in Spanish, the altar was changed over for the Jewish community’s turn. Rabbi David Shneyer led us off with songs and psalms, followed by several speakers concerned about immigration. I spoke for NCJW and shared our proud history of service to the immigrant community dating back to the 19th century Port and Dock Service on Ellis Island. And I shared the stories I heard in Alabama recently as part of the We Belong Together women’s trip to meet with immigrant women suffering under the draconian Alabama immigration law, HB 56 — the harshest in the nation. I shared NCJW’s concern that if the Supreme Court didn’t act to throw out the Arizona law, many states would follow suit, putting into place inhumane and unjust laws aimed at driving immigrants out.

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It famously has been stated that it takes a village to raise a child. Such a declaration emphasizes the power of community and a commitment to work together toward a common goal.  Last week, I had the honor of seeing this philosophy in action when I attended the White House Forum on Women & the Economy. For the better part of a day, leaders from the private sector, senior White House staff, members of the Cabinet, and the president himself participated in a thoughtful discussion about how women are faring in the US economy and what more needs to be done to ensure that women and girls across the United States have what they need to thrive.

As many of our nation’s most powerful leaders took turns at the podium, one message came across loud and clear: What’s good for women is good for the economy. Gene Sperling, Director of the White House National Economic Council, made this case when he asserted that one of our nation’s greatest competitive advantages is that we have more women in the workforce than do other nations. Karen Mills, Administrator of the United States Small Business Administration, agreed when she reminded us that it is women entrepreneurs who are driving the growth in small business around the US. And, Joe Eshecarria, CEO of Deloitte, made the business case for family-friendly policies when he affirmed that productivity increases when you allow employees the flexibility they need to meet both work and family obligations.

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Over the past two months, we have seen some dramatic events occurring around women’s rights in Israel. The gender-segregation issue became front page news both in Israel and around the world. In March, a bill regarding sanctions against recalcitrant husbands was passed in the Knesset, supposedly to protect the rights of agunot, women who are chained in marriages because their husbands won’t grant them a divorce according to Jewish law. It, too, was front page news both here and abroad. At first glance, I rejoiced. The National Council of Jewish Women has been concerned about the issue of agunot around the world since our founding 118 years ago. And, I was thrilled to see that finally we were getting somewhere with what appeared to be a major breakthrough. However, this may not prove to be the case. (There always seems to be a “however” when talking about women’s issues whether in the United States or in Israel.)

Whether this bill will actually help or harm women has now become the most contentious issue within ICAR, the International Coalition for Agunot Rights – a coalition of 27 women’s organizations, including NCJW.  This bill was introduced with the best intentions; however, it was revised and compromised so much that it now gives the rabbinical courts more – not less -power over the divorce proceedings at the expense of the woman involved and it has fragmented women’s coalitions on this issue. For more than a century now, NCJW’s stand on agunot rights has been for fair and equal treatment of both sides, based on the belief that marriage is an equal partnership, and that women should have the same rights as men during a divorce.

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by Christine Stone, NCJW board director and Pennsylvania state policy advocacy chair

I was thrilled to join NCJW CEO Nancy K. Kaufman in representing NCJW at a reception celebrating Women’s History Month, hosted by Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden at the Naval Observatory on Monday, March 26, 2012. The reception, the first one held to commemorate Women’s History Month, recognized the accomplishments and contributions of women across the spectrum of American life, including academia and science, business and labor, philanthropy and advocacy, athletics and the arts, as well as the military and government.

When Nancy and I first arrived at the reception, White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett warmly greeted us. We thanked Ms. Jarrett for the Administration’s support of women’s health and expressed our excitement that starting this August women will have free preventive care that includes contraceptive services no matter where she works.

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This time of year, it’s impossible to avoid the wall-to-wall displays of colorful Easter candy, including Peeps of every color (those sugar coated marshmallow chicks and bunnies). I can’t look at Peeps without smiling, recalling one of my mentors, an actor and teacher at a theater near where I grew up who nearly lived on sweets. Peeps were among her favorites. She was cheerful and comforting and played a big role in supporting my emerging self-confidence and drive for social justice work.

When I went home to attend her funeral in 2009, the sense of loss I felt was compounded by the tragedy that surrounded her death. She had delayed seeking health care when she first thought something was wrong, because it was just too expensive. Though she was a unique spirit, it turned out that my mentor couldn’t buck some troubling trends — that women are more likely than men to forgo needed health care, including preventive care, due to cost; that women report more difficulty paying medical bills than men; and that women are more likely than men to be underinsured. It also turned out that she was right when she suspected something was wrong. But, since she couldn’t afford care, she ignored the signs of colon cancer, which took her life in just about a year. She was only 46 years old.

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by Marilyn Flanzbaum, NCJW Honorary Vice President

Recently I had the privilege of going to Israel to attend the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on behalf of NCJW. The purpose of this Mission was to assess the region — what has happened and what it means for Israel, the U.S. and the world at large. Here is a recap of what I learned over the five-day conference:

Meeting the Hon. Tzipi Livni
Our meeting with Hon. Tzipi Livni solidified the fact that Israel is now facing more and more extremism. It’s coming to the point where there is a battle between the Supreme Court and Halakhic law. To solve some of the internal problems, Israel needs to make two decisions. The first is to be a Jewish and democratic state (not a Halakhic state) and the second is to move forward with the peace process with the Palestinians. There should be a constitution for Israel and the Law of Return should be the first item. Livni continued with a statement that everyone should serve in the army, everyone should learn the same things in school, and everyone should view Israel as a Jewish national state.

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Last week, NCJW activists spoke out in huge numbers through emails, letters to the editor, social media — using just about every avenue available — to let Susan G. Komen for the Cure know that defunding Planned Parenthood was wrong. Within a matter of days, Komen reversed their policy and said that they would not disqualify Planned Parenthood for funding for critical breast cancer screenings and care.

Believe me — quick victories like this are few and far between! But my 30 years with NCJW has taught me that whenever we have had a victory, it has been the result of the same unified, persistent action as the one directed at Komen last week.

Just a few weeks earlier, we had another big win! NCJW’s efforts — emails, letters to the editor, face-to-face meetings with decision makers, testimony, social media, and so on — paid off with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). On January 20, they announced that under the Affordable Care Act, the new health care law, birth control will be covered in all new insurance plans like all other critical preventive health services without out-of-pocket costs to the consumer. Furthermore, all employers must abide by this policy (except for pervasively religious employers like houses of worship).

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by Emily Alfano, senior manager of government relations

Nearly two years ago, the National Council of Jewish Women launched Higher Ground, a campaign to end domestic violence by promoting women’s economic security. Higher Ground is an expression of NCJW’s unshakable commitment to ensuring that no woman ever has to choose between personal safety and financial stability. Now it’s time for Congress to again demonstrate its commitment to the victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by passing the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act (S 1925).

When we launched the Higher Ground campaign we heard from an NCJW leader who shared her experiences with domestic violence while she was volunteering at an abortion clinic: “One of the questions I had to ask when meeting with incoming patients was, ‘Are you in an abusive relationship?’  I was shocked that so many women answered yes, and outraged that in my more than 22 years of talking with women about unintended pregnancies, the prevalence of violence only seemed to increase. One woman, I remember, told me of how her boyfriend had been verbally abusive before she got pregnant. Now that she was pregnant, he now had become physically abusive. Her name was Michelle. She told me of how her boyfriend now punched her in the stomach repeatedly, and told her that she wasn’t worthy of being a mother, and that he would leave her if she didn’t get an abortion. When I asked why she stayed with a man who beat her, Michelle stated matter-of-factly that he paid the rent and that she would be out on the street if she left him.”

Stories like Michelle’s are still far too common.

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by Dr. Nilza Kallos, Miami, FL, NCJW Miami Section

It was a beautiful day in September, 1970. I was a young intern at Bryn Mawr Hospital in the exclusive Main Line suburb of Philadelphia, having recently graduated from medical school. I was called to the emergency room to admit to the hospital a 16 year-old girl from a rich Main Line family. Her problem was intractable nausea and vomiting. Even though during my work-up she told me that she had never had sexual intercourse, for sake of completeness I ordered a pregnancy test that was reported positive. When I confronted her with the result, she confessed having had unprotected sex and that having the baby was totally out of the question, since she was getting ready to become a “debutante.”

Abortion could only be performed at that time if the life of the woman were in danger, an exception which (rightfully) included high risk of suicide if confirmed by a psychiatrist. I called for a consult with a psychiatrist, who questioned the girl if she was depressed and would commit suicide without an abortion. She picked up on the clue and answered in the affirmative. Armed with the result of the consult, she had an uneventful abortion performed by an OB/GYN surgeon in the hospital’s operating room. She was discharged within a day without any complication.

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