An End and a Beginning
The closing dinner for Washington Institute for 2010 brought everyone together again to honor the Center for American Progress (CAP) and Michael Lieberman, Washington director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). NCJW President Nancy Ratzan paid tribute to CAP as the missing piece in the arsenal of the progressive coalition. We have often lamented and even envied the role played by the Heritage Foundation in leading the opposition to our agenda — finally, in CAP we have found the combination of academic rigor and advocacy on multiple issues that our side desperately needed. CAP founder John Podesta accepted NCJW’s Social Action Award and warned that the achievement of health care reform could only be the beginning of efforts to enact a broad agenda for change. He reminded the audience that no administration can do it alone, and reiterated the key role played by NCJW in the struggle for progress.
Next NCJW honored Michael Lieberman, who has come to Washington Institute again and again over the years in support of hate crimes legislation. When the struggle to enact a bill at times seemed endless, it was Lieberman’s leadership that kept the idea alive, and the White House signing ceremony underlined the value of dogged persistence.
Finally, President Ratzan told members of the audience that they came to Washington to “deliver your voice, to seek change, to transform the world,” and that they had “delivered big time.” She urged us “to continue our tenacious work to create sustainable change — to multiply and bring home to our sections, friends, and all progressive Jewish women the power and value of NCJW engagement.” With her words echoing the hall, NCJW completed a rewarding and productive three days in our nation’s capital, exhausted but renewed for the days and months ahead.
We found John Podesta’s(CAP) message inspiring and informative. Is it possible to get a copy of his speech so we can let our section read it? Thank you.
Anne Teifeld, Co President
Rhode Island Section