“Mishpacha: Family -- How does NFTY fit into our greater community?
NFTY Addresses Human Divides

BACKGROUND: In the past, NFTY has made strides to eradicate the divisions created within our communities. The past Study Themes, “V'ahavta L'rei-acha Kamocha? Love Thy Neighbor As Yourself” (5768-5769) and “Interreligious Understanding: Hearing God’s Presence” (5764-5765) show that NFTY is committed to the unity of the human race. This past year NFTY has joined forces with other Jewish youth movements to take a stand against bullying and the divide that creates within our culture. This issue has been touched on by NFTY’s past Study Themes but in light of recent events and the deep divisions in our world it is time that NFTY makes this an action-oriented matter. NFTYites should continue to study the impact social divides have and how to prevent them in the upcoming 2011-2012 year.

WHEREAS Jewish tradition rests upon the teaching of love to all humankind as it is reinforced through the commandment to "Love your neighbor like yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), and;

WHEREAS the Talmud teaches the merit of Kevod HaBeriyot, most commonly translated as meaning “Honor due to the G-d’s creations, human beings,” allowing every human to be created of equal value and honor, and;

WHEREAS Pirke Avot states that “A person who is humiliated cannot learn” where humiliation is a direct result of a divide where one party is more knowledgeable, powerful, and admired than another, and;

WHEREAS divides within the human family create a disjointed country, religion or race where one person exerts power over another, and;

WHEREAS as political, socio-economical, gender preference and nationality differences become more prominent divisions in our culture and surroundings, we should take preventative action against the terrible results that may ensue from one person feeling as though they are better than another, and;

WHEREAS a motivating force in the Holocaust was the desire to have a master race, which would be more powerful than the rest of humankind, thereby creating a divide in humanity, and;

WHEREAS the Rwandan Genocide began with a divide of power between Tutsi and Hutu, where the Hutu wanted to exert power over Tutsi in rebellion and the physical trait of skin color became the dividing factor as to who was to live and who was to die, and;

WHEREAS in response to the divide in American politics there have been outbursts of violence, such as the shooting at Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford’s public appearance, and;

WHEREAS the American Union Movement, Ontario Public Service Employees Union, The Equal Pay Coalition, and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research all agree that in both America and Canada women tend to be paid less than men for equal work, even after the Equal Pay Act was passed in America in 1963, and;

WHEREAS in the past 3 years although the women’s median annual paycheck accounts for only 78% of the annual paycheck of a man, a further decrease is seen in paychecks earned by women of color, and;

WHEREAS three of NFTY’s Thirteen Principles uphold the justice of accepting unity (AM YISRAEL) , other forms of Jewish practice (KOL YEHUDIM) , and the obligation of justice for others (TZEDEK), and;

WHEREAS although NFTY is made up of NFTYites who share the commonality of identifying with Reform Judaism, humankind creates divides within itself that can be detrimental to the unity of the human race, and;

WHEREAS at NFTY Convention 2005 and most recently NFTY has taken initiatives against bullying, going as far as to align with other prominent youth movements to reach a more wide range of people, which stems from a divide in humanity, and;

WHEREAS the Living NFTY Initiative this past year centered around anti-bullying, and;

WHEREAS this upcoming year’s Living NFTY Initiative will highlight LGBTQ Inclusion, and;

WHEREAS NFTY has not, within recent years, employed any continued active effort to reduce human divides in other areas besides those related to Judaism and/or religion, and;

WHEREAS the concept of “Human Divides” is very broad and covers a variety of subjects, and is thus easily programmable on many different levels, and;

WHEREAS Reform Judaism is meant to be a sector of religion that is accessible to all, allowing each person to keep practices and traditions that they feel are important but still be connected to one another through an underlying bond of Judaism, and;

THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED that the NFTY Action Theme for 2011-2012 will be “Mishpacha: Family-- How does NFTY fit into our greater community? NFTY Addresses Human Divides, and;

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that NFTY Regional SAVPs choose to program on at least one “Human Divide” that resonates best with his or herself and his or her region during their term, and;

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that NFTY uses The Religious Action Center and its affiliates as a key resource on issues of injustice and inequality, and;

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that the URJ Commission on Social Action, the Department of Jewish Family Concerns, and American Jewish World Service be consulted as resources, and;

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that NFTY acts to preserve equality and human rights within the organization participants as well as in the local and global communities they participate in, and;

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that NFTYites on every level BE ENCOURAGED THROUGH PROGRAMMING AND SOCIAL ACTION, strive to reach equality in their personal and professional lives to further pursue a just world and a communal human family, and;

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that NFTYites study the potential bonds between themselves and other communities in hopes of establishing similarities with others instead of distinguishing differences.

LET IT FURTHER BE RECOMMENDED THAT NFTY REGIONAL SAVOS CREATE A LASTING CONNECTION WITH A SOCIAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATION THAT ADVOCATES FURTHER HUMAN DIVIDE.

Respectfully submitted,
Anna Gordon NW SAVP
Brittany Levy NEL SAVP

Co-signed,

Allie Weintraub SW SAVP
Amy Nicotra SAR SAVP
Avra Bossov PAR President
Becca LaMarche NW President
Becky Morris SW RCVP
Daniel Kurek CWR SAVP
Erica Dickinson MI MVP
Florie Lewine NW MVP
Forrest Yesnes NO President
Imogene Winkleman NAR PVP
Jacob Georginow STR RCVP
Jacob Glickman NW RCVP
Jodie Friedman MI PVP
Leah Cohen NE SAVP
Leah Staffin GER SAVP
Maddy Frumkin SAR RCVP
Marisa Goldstein NO SAVP
Rachel Collman MAR SAVP
Ramie Mansberg SO SAVP
Rebecca Diamond GER RCVP
Shayna Bannister SAR President
Sterling Figueroa TOR SAVP
Tali Merdler NEL President
Tara Levine PAR RCVP