Jews for a Secular Democracy Blog - Jews for a Secular Democracy

In June 2022, Rabbi Barry Silver filed a lawsuit seeking to block Florida’s 15-week abortion ban. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the new law unconstitutional under the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) as well as the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The suit argues that the 15-week abortion ban represents just one religious group’s views and not those of other faiths and/or secular beliefs. Rabbi Silver is a public interest attorney and Rabbi of Congregation L’Dor...

Meet The Rabbi Suing Florida Over Religious Freedom

22 Feb 2023

Nicole Klein Knight

Florida, Reproductive Rights

Rabbi Barry Silver discusses his lawsuit defending abortion rights on the next JFASD webinar. Does Florida’s abortion ban violate the separation of church and state? Does it violate the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act? What’s the current status of this lawsuit and what are the national implications? How might this lawsuit impact your state? Join us for this important discussion on the next JFASD webinar on Tuesday, Feb. 28th at 8 pm (EST). To register, please go to https://bit.ly/jfasdrabbi . As featured...

Welcoming Katie Reiter, Our New National Coordinator

27 Jan 2023

Nicole Klein Knight

JFASD News

Katie Reiter grew up at the Birmingham Temple, now known as the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism. She studied under Rabbi Sherwin Wine and feels strongly connected to and appreciative of the teachings of Rabbi Wine and Humanistic Judaism. Accordingly, she has spent her life advocating for her community and fighting for human rights. For over 20 years, Katie juggled raising three children with running a successful health management consulting business and being a volunteer community activist. Eventually, Katie opened Our...

“Religion Clause” – A Great Resource on Church-State Separation

26 Jan 2023

Paul Golin

Judaism, Secular Democracy

Howard M. Friedman, Distinguished University Professor and Professor Of Law Emeritus at the University of Toledo, writes regularly on issues of church-state separation on his Religion Clause blog, named on of the 100 favorite blogs of the American Bar Association. We asked Professor Friedman to tell us about his approach and how his Jewish identity in particular informs his work. He was kind enough to reply with the following: I welcome you to Religion Clause, a blog whose title refers...

Tales from the Michigan Recount: Election Deniers’ Lack of Education Cost Taxpayers Over a Million Dollars

18 Jan 2023

Nomi Joyrich

Michigan, Voter Suppression

As a social justice organizer, I like to be proactive. However, sometimes it’s necessary to be reactive. Michigan’s recent statewide partial recount of Propositions 2 and 3 was one of those times. Proposition 2 (Promote the Vote) and Proposition 3 (Reproductive Freedom For All) passed by overwhelming margins. A statewide partial recount was nevertheless requested by a Bloomfield Hills man on behalf of the Election Integrity Force (EIF). Michigan law has very different guidelines for candidate recounts and proposal recounts....

Are Jews Still Protected By Religious Freedom?

26 Dec 2022

JFASD

Events, Jewish History, Secular Democracy, Supreme Court

Presented by Jews for a Secular Democracy staff and volunteers, we discussed the historic and moral imperatives for our work. We also provided an update on what JFASD has accomplished this year and addressed ongoing issues related to the separation of government and religion as we seek to galvanize the Jewish community to combat the rising threat of white Christian nationalism.

JFASD Podcast Ep #10—Messaging for Change

29 Oct 2022

JFASD

Media, Podcast

How can we best articulate our support for important issues such as church-state separation –and amplify it to more people through op-ed writing and social media platforms? Learn from Carol Robidoux, a multimedia journalist experienced in web content management; RosemarieRung, who had a 25+ year career in corporate communications; and Rick Gold, Florida Jews for a Secular Democracy Coordinator with experience working for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Moderated by Nicole Klein Knight, National Coordinator of Jews for a...

JFASD Michigan Director Nomi Joyrich at Reproductive Rights protest

Michigan 2022 Ballot Proposals: Deep Dive and Relational Organizing Training with Nomi Joyrich

29 Sep 2022

JFASD

Events, Michigan

On September 29, 2022, Nomi Joyrich, Michigan Director of Jews for a Secular Democracy, offered volunteers a deeper understanding of statewide ballot proposals and equipped them to answer all their friends’ and neighbors’ questions. Relational Organizing is the most effective way to get out the vote and create change. Learn this structured approach and help get out the vote.

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