UPCOMING—Call With Us: Three Calls for Equality, Freedom and the Vote

As we approach a new Jewish year, the High Holidays invite us to reflect on who we have been, who we want to become and how we can help repair the world around us. This year, Jews for a Secular Democracy and Keshet are turning that reflection into action. This special Call With Us will explain how to talk to friends and family about still participating in an imperfect democracy. 

Defending our rights and freedoms often requires us to vote for the least awful candidate. How do we explain to our loved ones who might be considering “sitting this one out” that not voting further jeopardizes freedoms for our LGBTQ+ family, women’s equality, bodily autonomy, and so much more….

Join us for a special edition of Call With Us focused on the power of personal relationships to strengthen our democracy and protect LGBTQ+ equality. Instead of calling elected officials, each participant will be invited to contact three family members or friends who may not be planning to vote, may be hesitant about voting or may not feel that this year’s election matters to them.

Together, we will explore why voting is essential to the freedom, safety and dignity of LGBTQ+ people and families—and why LGBTQ+ equality is also a church-state separation issue. Religious freedom protects every person’s right to practice their own beliefs. It should never give government officials or political movements the power to impose one religious understanding of gender, sexuality, marriage or family on everyone else.

We will provide concise talking points, a brief and flexible conversation script and guidance for approaching these calls with curiosity, respect and care. Participants will then go on mute and make their calls together before returning to share what they learned, celebrate their successes and talk through challenges.

The High Holidays call us not only to examine our values, but to live them. Through honest conversations with people we know and care about, each of us can help build a new year rooted in justice, equality, religious freedom and a democracy in which every voice matters.

No advocacy experience is necessary. Come with a list of people you think might be open to your outreach and we’ll help you narrow it down to a manageable three. As we enter a new Jewish year, this is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to tikkun olam and to the kind of just, inclusive democracy we want to help create. Register here!